¡Adios, Denver!

On the beautiful morning of June 5, a group of 25 Highlands Ranch students and chaperones embarked on a 10-day vacation to Ecuador. We met at the airport early in the morning. Visible on the faces of travelers, excitement; on the parents, nerves.

Security was seamless, so we had some time to get food before boarding the plane. I got Caribou Coffee's Campfire Mocha and a chocolate muffin, though many of my fellow travelers went to Dunkin Donuts for National Donut Day. We hopped on the plane to Miami around 10 AM. Unfortunately, there was a medical emergency on the plane (and it was someone from our tour group) that requires immediate action. (The girl is doing much better and will be cleared to travel with us for the trip!) I commend the actions of the flight attendants, as well as Dr. Jill Campbell and her husband, who responded right away.

Our flight required an unexpected layover in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas. After roughly an hour on the ground, however, we departed again for Miami. We arrived at around 6 pm, but missed our connecting flight to Quito. Thankfully, the airlines were able to place us on a flight to Quito that departed around 11:30 PM. (LAN Airlines, a Chilean company) During this flight, I got my first chance to speak Spanish with a native. (I have the vocabulary to be successful, but need to practice speaking more if I want fluency... That's what this trip is partially for.)

We arrived in Quito at 3 in the morning and completed customs before hitting the sack for the night. Our bags are still MIA from Miami International Airport, and are expected to be with us within the next day or two. I'm looking forward to the following days in Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands, as it will be a great chance to learn about the world we live in- ecologically and linguistically.

I plan to blog as much as possible while I'm overseas without parents for my first time. This blog will be the best source of pictures and stories, along with my Instagram/Facebook/Twitter accounts. The whole group will be tagging the page "Hrhs Hawaii Field Study" with pictures while we are over there.

QOTD: "¡Hasta la vista, I'm gonna have to say goodbye to you [Denver, temporarily]" -Ricky Martin

Until next time / Hasta luego,

Amy