First week in Quito: classes, music, cathedrals, and futbol

By Hillary Harder

Week one of our Study period has been full of rich learning, time with host families, bonding as a group, and seeing beautiful sites around Quito! Here’s a glimpse of what our daily routine looks like on Study, as well as some highlights from this week’s activities.

Classes

Each day begins with Spanish classes at Casa de Espiritualidad (CDE). Our wonderful Spanish professors, Silvia and Fernanda, guide our students through conversations, lessons in vocabulary and grammar, and interactive activities, sometimes taking class outside into the beautiful gardens on the grounds of CDE. While the students are in class, Micah, Klever, and I meet to continue our planning and coordinating work together.

During break, students, Spanish professors, and leaders alike get together for delicious snacks, coffee, and tea prepared by the kitchen staff at CDE. Sometimes there’s time for a quick game of Dutch Blitz, a favorite card game among our group.

Afternoon classes consist of two different content areas: Lengua de Señas Ecuatoriana (LSEC, Ecuadorian Sign Language) and Nacionalidades y Pueblos Indigenas (Indigenous Nationalities and Nationalities). Our student Maille, a sign language interpreting major, studies with LSEC professor Miguel Santillan, while the rest of our group learns about the deep history of indigenous peoples in Ecuador with Kichwa Mennonite scholar Julian Guaman. Stay tuned for photos and reflections from these classes from students!

Conferencias

In the afternoons, we hear conferencias (presentations) from guest speakers. This week we were honored to hear from Juan Carlos, a musician from the Ecuadorian folkloric dance and music ensemble Jacchigua. Juan Carlos and his son, Leonel, shared a delightful hour of Andean music with us, demonstrating traditional instruments like the bombo (drum), the quena (Andean flute), the zampoña (a type of pan flute), the charango (small strummed string instrument), and the chajchas (a rattle made from goat toenails). We even got to play along and try out the instruments ourselves!

Sightseeing

On Thursday, May 14, we had a big day of outings around town! In the morning we took the Metro to Parque El Ejido, one of Quito’s many parks. Students had free time to explore the area, which includes several museums, artisan markets, and cafeterias.

In the afternoon we went back to the Centro Histórico for a more in-depth look at some of the beautiful, historic church buildings. While some had tours available in English, our very own Klever Guevara served as our guide for the rest.

Vamos, Liga!

On Friday night, May 15, we took a group field trip to the Rodrigo Paz Delgado stadium to see a fútbol (soccer) game! Along with members of students’ host families, we all piled onto the city bus and rode to the end of the line. We were all decked out in our Liga de Quito jerseys purchased the day before at the market; as the bus approached the stadium, it filled up with more and more fans in their own Liga gear. 

We cheered on the local team, Liga de Quito, as they played Técnico Universitario from the nearby city of Ambato. Vendors circulated with ice cream, papitas (chips), and palomitas (popcorn), and many of us also bought hot dogs from the concession stand. The stadium reverberated with chants and songs from the crowd – our host families knew all the words! As the sun set over Volcán Pichincha to the west, Liga triumphed over Técnico 2-1, and we went home happy. Week one is in the books!