Homestays http://www.simon-bolivar.com/html/housing.html
are a great inexpensive way to learn the language, taste the food, and meet real friends
that no ordinary tourist ever could. I stayed at the home of Señora Teresa Saa
Benitz, 929 Ulpiano Paez in Quito, and became good friends with Teresa, a widow, and proud
mother of a very large and wonderful family. Living in this home was a domestic
employee named Gloria, who worked very hard, and living with her was her daughter Maria
Isabel, and Maria's son Christian. Typically, lots of people live in one house, and
if you elect a homestay, you will meet many lovely genuine people who will enrich your
life. This is the home I lived in. 
My best friends here were Gloria, and Maria Isabel (right-to-left) shown here 
and Maria Isabel's son Christian, shown here 
. Five-year-old Christian had never been to a toy store in his life, so we went.
You would be hard pressed to encounter any more honest, moral, good people than
these individuals. Teresa, the home owner, was very nice as well, and had a very
large family she was rightfully very proud of. Many families typically live in one
home in Latin America. Carlitos, the son of Teresa's son Carlos, also made my stay
pleasant 
. Tourists staying in hotels never really get to know the
people of a country.
See also http://www.Quito.org for more info about Quito from a brand new site designed by
Kjetil Haugan kjetil@accessinter.net of the Simon Bolivar school.The Simon Bolivar Spanish language
school 
is no doubt the best there is in Quito. They feature
one-on-one teaching, hire the best teachers (they pay them a bit more than the other
schools), present a friendly and well-trained professional staff, are situated in a good
location, and in general provide a good home base for your stay.
I had the good fortune to have as my maestra the talented (and patient... you need to
be patient to be able to teach someone like me Spanish) Señorita Verónica
Rivadeneira 
. Like so many of the staff at this school, Verónica was
friendly, hard-working, smart, effective, talented, and responded to my every request for
specialized tutoring. My brother's teacher was also the director of the school,
Señor Luis Mena 
. It is rare to fine such a professional and capable staff as this
one.
My brother Jim Baird and his son Corey Baird, who joined me for part of the
trip, stayed at a different homestay 
. It is best not to live in the same home as other English speaking
people if you are trying to learn Spanish.
Here are some more photos taken in or near Quito and Otavalo.
The Spanish language school Simon Bolivar |
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The people of Ecuador are very handsome |
To have a good time, visit a park with 100 balloons and 100
pieces of candy |
You will be amazed at how many friends you'll make |
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Armed guards are everywhere |
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Girl on streets of Otavalo |
Merchant in Otavalo |
Here is a close-up of the old woman=> |
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Go back to Ecuador trip |