Intro to the City

Wednesday was the first full day of classes at USFQ, the Universidad de San Franciso de Quito.  For the last couple of days (re: Monday & Tuesday), we had orientations in the morning at the University and adventures about town.  After out intro to the campus, us GAIAS kids spend the afternoon touring Quito Colonial, the historical section of the city filled with churches and overlooked by the Panecilla, little loaf mountain, it’s self-crowned with its own religious icon- the Virgin of Quito.  According to some sources, she’s the “woman of the apocalypse.”  The tour led us behind the traditional edge of the city, the calle that borders the ravine that used to ring the edge of the city before it was filled for the city’s expansion.  From there we traipsed towards the Plaza Grande besides the Catedral Metropoliano.  Fun fact: it’s also known as the Plaza Viejo, because it’s the place in Quito where the old people spend their afternoons.  Apparently several years ago there was a major strike there because the old people wanted more money in their pensions.  Though in this case, instead of protesting by being in the square, none of the viejos showed up in the square.  From there, we travelled to the Iglesia de la Compania de Jesus, which was absolutely coated in gold inside the baroque church.  Despite that, it also had a lot of Moorish influence, with geometric designs inlaid in the golden walls.   From there, we continued to pass through the old part of town, eventually making our way to the Iglesia de San Franciso, the oldest church in Quito.  As the name would imply, it was founded by Franciscans, giving the city it’s official name: San Francisco de Quito.

The historic border of Quito

View from the Plaza Grande

The church were we began our tour of the old city

Tuesday continued the trend of orientation and meeting the non-UNC members of Quito.  At 15 students, UNC makes up the largest percentage of the 54 members of GAIAS this semester.  The campus of USFQ itself is beautiful, but in a lot of ways mirrors the rampant growth that’s occurred in Cumbaya over the last couple decades.  At the center of campus is a eutrophic pond, lined with rocks and teeming with koi.  Bounding it are the Asian Studies buildings, and the packed mass of buildings on the other side.  These academic & classroom buildings are brightly colored- my ecology class was held in the “Purple building,” while orientation was in Teatro de Casa Blanca.  In far better repair than most structures in Cumbaya, the campus has the same jumbled building model, with no hint of a grid pattern, with courtyards, both green  & bricked, filling the vacancies between structures.  On campus, everyone is addressed on a first name basis.  Even the president of the University goes only by Carlos.  Two of the best moments from orientation were the quote “double spouted fountain of fury” in regards to traveler’s diarrhea, and the fact that Raphael Correa, Ecuador’s resident democratic-dictator, was fired from being a professor at USFQ for handling his responsibility terribly.  I don’t think Carlos’ stance towards Correa has changed.

View of the University of the parking lot

The pond at USFQ