Pictures, finally!

Here are a few good shots of the first week.

I am dressed in indigenous clothes in the first picture. I was part of a dance group that numbered 18 people in total, mostly students at the university like me, but some volunteers and some actual local ecuadorians. We just found out that out of all the dance groups, numbering more than 15, we were the group that won the first prize trophy. We all couldn't believe it, and weren't even sure who voted and under what premises, but we thought it was great nonetheless.

The second picture above is a typical firework from the Lumbisi festival. These different animals would be lit, begin to give off their different sparks and someone would pick them up, run into massive crowds with the thing spewing fireworks everywhere. This could last for several minutes and was funny if you had enough distance.

The final picture is taken in the historical center of Quito, and the massive statue on the top of the mountain is called El Panecillo, the guardian angel of Quito. The picture really doesn't do it justice, but it is nice to see the bright colonial style of the buildings below. We went to two amazing Baroque style churchs in the same historic center, one of them was just entirely gold on the inside. Wow. Sorry, no photos allowed in there.

Classes start tomorrow, my first one will be a meditation class. I will report later tomorrow on my first day, which we have already been warned can be chaotic ("some teachers dont show up, others late, others in different rooms...good luck"-from my wonderful resident director Maria Teresa)