Welcome to Latitude 0º 0' 0''

So, we had our first real day of class yesterday. After navigating my way through campus to “Casa Blanca,” a little white building tucked behind almost every other structure in the university, I find my way through a narrow hall, down a twisting, constricted flight of steps, around several corners, and arrive in room 105b, which happens to be tucked in the basement, graced by a single window that leaks light from the courtyard above. I sit down to pull out pen and paper, our professor, Esteban, arrives and begins hooking up his computer to the projector... and the electricity promptly cuts out, leaving us in the dark. So much for the powerpoint. Esteban leaves the room, eventually returning with two dying dry erase markers with which he proceeds to spend the following hour and a half attempting to illustrate his entire powerpoint on the white board. Welcome to 2-5 PM in Ecuador, which just happens to coincide exactly with the time slot assigned to Tropical Ecology.

Ecuador is experiencing a slight bit of what we like to refer to as an energy crisis, due to an absence of rain during October’s rainy season. The subsequent lack of water buildup in the soil of the Páramos (Andean highlands) led to a lack of groundwater, resulting in low levels of water in streams serving as sources for Ecuador’s hydroelectric dams, which produce right around 60% of the country’s energy. Ergo, when the generator decides not to work, we take notes and pee in the dark.

We live less than a mile from the university. Unfortunately, catching the bus to class requires crossing a curvy, overoccupied four-lane cliffside highway during rush hour. So, in an effort to preserve our lives, we call a cab. To get home, we catch a bus a half-block from the university. After lurching to a stop at every point the bus is hailed through the next few blocks, we speed onto the highway to Quito. Half a mile from our house, we stand up, stagger our way to the front of the bus, pay the driver’s assistant and receive change as we make our way up the hill, and hold on for dear life as the driver slams on the brakes in front of our gate. (During orientation, we were informed that guys will most likely end up leaping from a moving bus. For girls, however, the driver will almost always come to a complete stop.) In my experience the bus not only comes to a complete stop but the assistant also jumps out to help us down.

In other news, water actually does drain in the other direction on opposite sides of the equator. Hummingbirds are ubiquitous on campus, huge, and bright turquoise. Vultures roost in the tree next to our house. “Wine in a box” is given a whole new meaning in Quito supermarkets. Juice is made by tossing whole fruit, sugar, and water into the blender and thereafter draining it into a pitcher. USFQ believes in fresh, edible, well-balanced meals. What a notion. I have been happily enjoying 70+ degrees and sunny for the past five days. And, I can hold a conversation entirely in spanish, for the most part… although I had the people behind the counter at the pizza and beer joint we dropped into the other day entirely convinced I was a complete idiot. Go me.