Where in the world are Ethan and Siena?
We´ve flown down to Quito, Ecuador to visit Ethan, who is spending 2/3 of his junior year studying at the Universidad de San Francisco de Quito. Quito has the distinction of being the second highest capital in the world (behind La Paz, Bolivia). At 10,000´we find ourselves huffing and puffing as we ascend a single flight of stairs and have to remind Ethan Despacio, (slow) for the lowlanders. Ecuador, for those who do not know, lies on the equator. Ethan is in the northern hemisphere, and Siena is in the south. Amazingly, this was calculated in the early 18th century, and is still found to be accurate today. For those whose minds are always in the toilet, the notion that the water goes down in opposite directions is pretty much an urban legend. There are other factors which usually dictate the direction of swirling which have a greater effect than the weak coriolus effect. The monument behind the kids has a science museum that informed us of that and other interesting facts. Did you know that the equator is actually a 5 kilometer wide path? Because of the earth´s ¨wobble¨ there is no percise line to represent the Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the Earth). We are also lighter here. Gravity is related to the mass of the object and it´s distance from the center. The earth bulges at the equator, and we are further from the center of mass of the globe. Since the circumference is largest here as well, we are traveling at a much greater velocity. Even though we are at the equator, the altitude keeps it quite cool. Temperatures vary from 60 to 75 degrees, with no humidity, and an incredibly intense sun.
The local brew is called Pilsener, not the most imaginative name, but a mighty tasty brew. It is a fairly light beer (with a name like Pilsener, what would you expect?). But the price is really remarkable--$.75!!! Ecuador uses US currency, except for coins, which they mint here. They do not have their own bills. Public transportation is wonderful. We take buses all over the city, for 25 cents a person. There is usually some kind of entertainment to keep us occupied, whether someone is singing, preaching, begging, or selling us medicine to cure inflamed kidneys (that´s what I think they were curing).
Ethan is studying at La Universidad de San Francisco de Quito. Here is the campus! And a picture of Ethan and his host mom. He tells me she does his laundry and makes his bed. I told him not to get used to it.
This is a picture of the crater of an active volcano. People live here, and supposedly have some of the longest life spans around. No polution, no stress, lots of exercise. There is land available, and the running joke is it comes with it´s own free crematorium. There´s a hotel at the base, and we are hoping Ethan will have a chance to hike down and experience this unique locale. We have neither the time, nor have we acclimitized to the altitude. We would, quite simply, never make it back up.
Do you have any Ecuadorian restaurants in your town? I´m guessing not. The food is fairly monotonous. Chicken, rice, potatoes pretty much sum up the cuisine. There is always Aji (some kind of hot sauce, sometimes bottled, sometimes home made) on the table to provide some flavor. Unfortunately, I cannot upload the pictures. I hope all is well with you and yours and our family wishes you a most Prospero Año Nuevo.
La Familia Beattie
We´ve flown down to Quito, Ecuador to visit Ethan, who is spending 2/3 of his junior year studying at the Universidad de San Francisco de Quito. Quito has the distinction of being the second highest capital in the world (behind La Paz, Bolivia). At 10,000´we find ourselves huffing and puffing as we ascend a single flight of stairs and have to remind Ethan Despacio, (slow) for the lowlanders. Ecuador, for those who do not know, lies on the equator. Ethan is in the northern hemisphere, and Siena is in the south. Amazingly, this was calculated in the early 18th century, and is still found to be accurate today. For those whose minds are always in the toilet, the notion that the water goes down in opposite directions is pretty much an urban legend. There are other factors which usually dictate the direction of swirling which have a greater effect than the weak coriolus effect. The monument behind the kids has a science museum that informed us of that and other interesting facts. Did you know that the equator is actually a 5 kilometer wide path? Because of the earth´s ¨wobble¨ there is no percise line to represent the Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the Earth). We are also lighter here. Gravity is related to the mass of the object and it´s distance from the center. The earth bulges at the equator, and we are further from the center of mass of the globe. Since the circumference is largest here as well, we are traveling at a much greater velocity. Even though we are at the equator, the altitude keeps it quite cool. Temperatures vary from 60 to 75 degrees, with no humidity, and an incredibly intense sun.
The local brew is called Pilsener, not the most imaginative name, but a mighty tasty brew. It is a fairly light beer (with a name like Pilsener, what would you expect?). But the price is really remarkable--$.75!!! Ecuador uses US currency, except for coins, which they mint here. They do not have their own bills. Public transportation is wonderful. We take buses all over the city, for 25 cents a person. There is usually some kind of entertainment to keep us occupied, whether someone is singing, preaching, begging, or selling us medicine to cure inflamed kidneys (that´s what I think they were curing).
Ethan is studying at La Universidad de San Francisco de Quito. Here is the campus! And a picture of Ethan and his host mom. He tells me she does his laundry and makes his bed. I told him not to get used to it.This is a picture of the crater of an active volcano. People live here, and supposedly have some of the longest life spans around. No polution, no stress, lots of exercise. There is land available, and the running joke is it comes with it´s own free crematorium. There´s a hotel at the base, and we are hoping Ethan will have a chance to hike down and experience this unique locale. We have neither the time, nor have we acclimitized to the altitude. We would, quite simply, never make it back up.
Do you have any Ecuadorian restaurants in your town? I´m guessing not. The food is fairly monotonous. Chicken, rice, potatoes pretty much sum up the cuisine. There is always Aji (some kind of hot sauce, sometimes bottled, sometimes home made) on the table to provide some flavor. Unfortunately, I cannot upload the pictures. I hope all is well with you and yours and our family wishes you a most Prospero Año Nuevo.La Familia Beattie
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