Today marks the first official day in Ecuador. We accomplished so much today it’s hard to even remember it all! To start off our early morning, we had our first Ecuadorian meal. This consisted of hot coco, coffee, tea, a smoothie, eggs, and bread. While all of the food was similar to what I would eat at home, the flavors were slightly different. Our first stop of the day was the market. This was probably one the highlights of the day. The venders were selling everything from jewelry to clothing, to home goods, and even food. Although I did not try any of the food, it all smelled wonderful. We could have spent a whole day just wandering around the endless streets. The streets were stuffed with people. I now understand how Ecuadorians perceive personal space compared to Americans. They have no problem getting close to each other in a public space compared to how Americans like to keep their distance and have a 3-foot “bubble” around themselves. After the market, we took about a beautiful bus ride to Cotacachi. While here, we got to hike and experience all that the Ecuadorian environment had to offer. Hiking up the steep steps was tiring, but totally worth it! We got the opportunity to see breath-taking views of a small lagoon and the city from above. Finally, we finished our day with two workshops: a textile workshop and a musical workshop. At the textile workshop we got to see how the traditional Ecuadorian wool scarves, ponchos, and sweaters are made by hand. Although the hand made goods are more expensive than those made by a machine, they are much higher quality. All of their pieces were amazing. At the musical workshop we got to see first hand how the traditional Ecuadorian instruments are made. Then we got to see a demonstration of all of the instruments being played. This was very fun to watch since I have a music background. For dinner, we went to a traditional Ecuadorian restaurant. Although I had an American type dish of pasta and pesto, the flavors were a little different than what I was used to, just like breakfast. My first full day in Ecuador was filled with many different types of activities that introduced me to the basics about the culture of Ecuador.
