Today was a very long day. Between the exhaustion of saying goodbye to my friends and family at 4:45 this morning, running on only two hours of sleep, and the fatigue from traveling for 17 hours; it's safe to say we're pretty tired. My mom and I are now in Quito, Ecuador and very excited to finally be here. As we were driving from the airport through the rain, the reality began to hit me that this is going to be my life for a while.
One of my favorite parts about traveling is experiencing new places for the first time and challenging our preconceived notions of what a place is going to be like or what a city is going to look like. This usually takes place within hours of setting foot in new territory. As the novel landscape of our surroundings passed through our taxi window, we were able to see the small stores, the different types of cars, the night clubs, the barred houses, the shacks, the signs we cannot read and everything in between. My brain immediately and automatically flashes to a mode that begins to compare this new scenery to the American one with which I am so familiar. I can't help but wonder what lies beyond the street lights.
Tomorrow, we will find out. As for right now, we will sleep.
