Journals from Abroad
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Journal: Trevor Downey: Ecuador
July 18, 2007
 La Mitad Del Mundo |
This past weekend, I felt less like a tourist traveling the countryside of Ecuador to experience something exotic and more like a native Quiteño, enjoying a more relaxing weekend with family. My Ecuadorian brother, 12-year-old Gonzalo, participated in his First Communion this past Saturday morning. So when Gonzalo's grandmother arrived to the house, we loaded into the cars and the family headed across the city to Santa Maria's Catholic School where several families had already gathered to prepare for the ceremony.
The majority of ceremony here was much like the details I can remember from my own First Communion. All the girls were in white dresses adorned with lace, and the boys were clothed in their school shirts and dress pants with ribbons pinned to the sleeves. The first communicants entered in a procession, bearing candles and arrived to their reserved seats at the front of the church. Likely the most distinct difference from my ceremony and Gonzalo's was that here, the parents and other relatives had no shame in standing up during the middle of the mass to snap a picture and capture a memory from this significant occasion.
After the ceremony, my family hosted a celebration in Gonzalo's honor. It was a great opportunity to meet some of the other family members, like aunts, uncles and cousins. We enjoyed cake, Fanta orange soda, and sopes, a Mexican snack consisting of a small corn tortilla disk filled with seasoned beef and topped with cheese and cream cheese: ¡Muy delicioso! I appreciated the opportunity to see the family together, everyone catching up, no one wanting to be the first to leave. However, eventually all were gone and only a few remains of the pineapple cake were to be stored in the refrigerator.
Though I spent my weekend in Quito, I made up for any lack of exploration and tourism on Monday and Tuesday, free time my kind boss allotted me to sightsee some of the most visited sites in all of Quito: the Panecillo, the National Basilica and La Mitad del Mundo.
 Panecillo |
 National Basilica |
The long hike to the top of the Panecillo to stand at the foot of the large statue of the Virgin Mary was worthwhile. From atop the hill, you could share the view of northern Quito from high in the center of the city. The gothic Basilica is quite a sight itself, being the largest of more than 25 Catholic churches in the downtown area.
 Balancing eggs at La Mitad del Mundo |
Lastly, La Mitad del Mundo (The Middle of the World) is a city just north of Quito through which the equator runs. Recently, GPS technology has indicated that the massive monument, constructed by an Ecuadorian and Spanish collaboration, actually marks a point about 200 meters to the south of the actual equator. Nonetheless, the true latitude of 0°-0'-0" is identified. Due to the perpendicularity of the gravitational field at this point, several nifty experiments reveal the ramifications of your location. My favorite was the task of balancing an egg on the head of nail. Apparently this feat is also possible regardless of your location, but it is much easier at La Mitad del Mundo.
