Being a tourist on exchange!

Hi guys, sorry I forgot to update you all at the one month mark a week ago, but it's been pretty busy. It's easy to realize that it's been busy because I've already been here for 5 weeks! Anyways, daily life has remained the same, which I will write about one day. For now, I will share about my experience at the center of the world! (the equator) It was so surreal to be able to stand in both hemispheres at once, and that's not something many people can say they've done. Now I'll get on with it and share some pictures!

This is what cuye looks like!

First off, I tried cuye yesterday! For those of you who don't know, that is that name of the Ecuadorian dish of Guinea Pig. That's right, I ate Guinea pig! It tasted like meat with a lot of salt on it, but it wasn't bad, I wouldn't make a habit of it, but I definitely enjoyed the experience of tasting it.

We actually went two different places yesterday; the real equator where they do experiments to show you differences between the hemispheres, and then the big statue that was built about 240 meters away from the real equator before they knew it was wrong. Now, you may be wondering why we would go to both? Well, the real equator is a little museum that tells about other parts of Ecuadorian history in the Amazon, Andes, and coast. They also perform experiments, like draining a tub of water on both sides of the equator, and the suction spins clockwise in the southern hemisphere, counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere, and straight down without spinning on the equator. It was pretty cool!


And now, why did we go to the big monument if it isn't really the middle of the world? Well, it's actually called the city of the middle of the world for a reason. There is traditional Ecuadorian dancing, shops, museums, and it's famous! Even though some people say there's no reason to go there, I enjoyed it just as much as the museum. More than anything, it was just a good day of memories and checking items off my bucket list.

Thanks for keeping up with what I've been doing, and I hope you enjoy reading about everything! If you would like to hear about a specific aspect of life as an exchange student in Ecuador, let me know and I'd be happy to write about it! Don't forget to follow in the upper right hand corner if you want to stay updated. Until next time!