Llamas and fútbol

Buenas tardes!
I can’t believe how fast time has gone by here.
Wednesday morning I helped a Pakistani refugee family staying at the Center to navigate Quito and get their visas registered. None of them speak Spanish, so they needed help getting through the frustrating government offices/long-stay visa process. As with any government visa/passport office, we ended up waiting for several hours. In the end though, everything worked out and they now have their visas to stay here until their permanent transfer to Canada. The three of them have been through a lot, and everyone has learned a thing or two about patience and positivity from them---they’re just wonderful people.

Wednesday evening I went to a fútbol game and had a great time. Soccer games here are very intense (as they were in Paraguay). They have riot police stationed all over and pat you down at every door you go through to get into the stadium. We were rooting for Quito’s Liga Club, who scored and won in the last 5 minutes of the game. :)

Today I went up the ‘Teleférico’, which is a cable car system that takes you up to 13,400ft on the Pichincha volcano overlooking Quito. I didn’t go all the way up to the 15,000ft summit, but I did hike around a bit, took tons of pictures, and got to pet some llamas. The views were breathtaking and my photos certainly don’t do them justice. I wish I could show you all just how gorgeous it was---plus it was so wonderfully quiet and clear. It truly is an amazing view.

Speaking of views, I don't want to miss the sunset... 
Chau,
Nadia