The One With The Waiter Who Dressed Like A Purple KKK Member

There is a direct relationship between religious paintings, my period/hunger cramps, and my happiness. You see, the more religious paintings I have to pretend to be interested in, the more my stomach begins to hurt, and thus, the less happy I am. If I ran for president of Ecuador the first law I would implement would be a limitation on the number of naked baby Jesus paintings allowed in one art museum at a time. As an atheist who attends a Jesuit university and currently lives in a very Catholic country I do try to be as tolerant and inquisitive as possible about the religious beliefs I am surrounded by... however, if Jesus really cared about me he would not have chosen my lower abdomen as the site of World War Three this afternoon. 

Moving on... before the baby Jesus debacle our group visited La Panacilla which hosts a statue of the Virgin Mary who looks over all of Quito. The view from up there was absolutely incredible (picture below). I got a chance to use my new Nikon D3100 for the first time however, there is still a lot to cover in the Nikon D3100 for Dummies book that I purchased last night on my Kindle. After this excursion I had the luxury of not one but two walking tours dedicated to Baby Jesus and his homies. I will admit, the churches were absolutely incredible but I could have done without the hours of ranting about how Jesus will bring light to the world. We visited the Church of La Compañia de Jesús and the Church of San Francisco, which is the oldest church in all of South America. Construction began in 1535, only one year after the Spanish arrival. 

It was then time for lunch! Or so we thought... as the bombs and fighter planes were working their magic en mi estomago, Amanda y su hija decided that we had to visit a monastery first. In retrospect, I am glad that I was forced to go because once I entered I learned that this monastery was open to the public for the first time in over 415 years and would be resealing their doors on Friday. This was a prime example of a once in a lifetime opportunity. Once the nuns in this monastery join they are never allowed to leave its walls... It's insane to think how differently people spend their time on this earth.

Finally after 5 torturous Baby Jesus halls we were rewarded with fresh bread made by the nuns. I can't even begin to describe to you how wonderful this warm bread tasted after suffering for hours in the dark underground world of the monastery. For lunch we were treated to a very fancy meal at one of the oldest hotels in Quito. BC picked up the tab which is nice considering they make bank off of study abroad goers who have to pay BC tuition regardless of how cheap their actual program is. Pat and I shared dishes... We split the steak with eggs and avocado on top, rice, and french fries and the roasted pig with potatoes and vegetables. The food was absolutely incredible and much cheaper than those dishes in America. Perhaps the weirdest part of the meal was the man who delivered the desserts (pictured below). As a way of honoring those who had secluded themselves as a result of sin in the past, this man wore what appeared to be a purple KKK suit and delivered our desserts which included different pastries, a sorbet, and espumilla which looks like ice cream but tastes like whipped cream. 

I ended my day eating dinner with my host father, Jaime. It was nice to eat just the two of us because I got to share my story, who I am, where I come from, etc. As the days continue I don't feel as much like a stranger in their house anymore. I am more than happy with the family that I was given. Not only am I substantially closer to my university than all other 12 students, but my family is a lot of fun (I taught my dad how to say "This is the jump off" and "Peace Out" today)! Overall, it was just another wonderful day in Quito. Tomorrow is the international orientation so I am hoping to meet a lot of other students from the states! Making Ecuadorian friends will be the hard part... but I am determined.