Some Pictures of the Public Art

Picture of the hummingbird

Here is the picture of a hummingbird I took a long time ago. I know it isn't the best picture but it was quite hard to get a good picture of it.

Time for some stories....

     I will apologize in advance for two things. The first will be for not updating the blog sooner and the second will be for the length of this blog since I have had a lot of adventures since the last entry. 
     First, just some random points I forgot to put in the last blog. One, is that there is also public art displays here in Quito similar to the ones that are in the United States. Here, they have decorated hummingbirds and painted them in different ways. I will post some of the pictures I took of them after this entry. Another interesting note has to do with the fact about the crazy buses here. My friends and I are convinced that the bus drivers here like to race each other. The reason we believe this is the fact that if another bus is driving nearby, it seems that the drive a bit faster and honk at each other, but we could be wrong. 
     Anyways, now on to my adventures. I really hope I can remember all of them since it has been so long....I will do my best though to recap what has happened in these last two weeks. 
     Well, the first crazy adventure happened on the last Friday in January. After getting lunch, my one friend decided that she wanted to find this really cheap movie store. We first went to the Quicentro Mall since we thought it might be there. Turns out it was not. So we got something to drink at the food court and while we were thinking about leaving the mall, we found an arcade. It was so cool. So we spent about an hour in the arcade playing different games such as Guitar Hero, Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (yes you could pay to play some Xbox 360; while I never had played that game, it was nice to have 10 minutes of Xbox time for around $.60), some racing games, and a few others. Then, we decided to go to the next mall and find the movie store, which we had clarified that what we were looking for was there. We found the movie store and it was probably the most pirated DVD place I have ever seen. First off, when you can get any 3 movies you want for $5 that is the first sign. Next, when the case designs are just a Photoshop picture and some words, that could be another sign. Lastly, and the most obvious, when you open a Disney movie box and see a white disc with the title written in Sharpie, you know it is a copy. However, most movie stores here are like that so it isn't strange. My friend got some movies there and that was the end of our adventure since it was getting dark. 
     Our next adventure was on the 28th of January. The same friends from that Friday and I decided to go to the Centro Historico of Quito. We first went to this museum which was not how we thought it was going to be. It was a guided tour but the tour guide went through everything so fast that it was hard to see anything. Throughout the day, we went to various churches to look at the inside. In total, we went to three different churches.(We did not make it to the Basilica however). The churches were all so beautiful but our favorite was La Iglesia de La Compañía de Jesús. The entire inside had gold on almost every surface and just overall, the atmosphere of that church was just so beautiful. After we left the Centro Historico, we went to this park where you could rent paddle boats and row boats just to go around this little lake/river thing. For whatever reason, we decided that we wanted to get a row boat. That was the most difficult thing ever, since those things are hard to row and with only girls, it makes for an interesting experience. However, it really was a lot of fun. 

     The next adventure is quite brief and I will just state that this past Wednesday (February 1st), I actually went out to a club. Nothing extremely exciting; it was basically a club that plays a lot of American music and is cheap so that is where most of the foreigners go for clubbing. 

     Finally, the last adventure that has happened was yesterday. My friends and I went to Otavalo to the indigenous craft market there. We got there pretty late so that was all we had time to do, but there is also a beautiful lake and waterfalls to see in the area, so my friends and I want to go back before we leave. But anyways, the market was so amazing. It was very large and everything there is made in Ecuador. I bought a blanket, some just simple little thread bracelet things, a bag that says Ecuador on it, two little stone turtles, a little painting, a decorative scarf, some pants, and two coin purses all for around $40. I think that was a pretty good day and now, I have a nice blanket. =)

Anyways, that is the end of this entry. Once again, I apologize for the length but now I am all caught up with my life here in Ecuador. Now, I think it is time for a nap since I am feeling sick. Chao!!