Kyle studied abroad at the University of San Francisco of Quito in Ecuador in the fall of 2016. There, he enrolled in five fine arts courses taught in Spanish. The following is a photoblog that documents his journey in Ecuador with his wonderful host, the Morales family.
The first full day in Quito Kyle got up at the crack of dawn for his CIS Abroad orientation and got a tour of the city with the sweet and hilarious Daysi, where he went to the Basilica, the largest cathedral in Quito. This was already his fourth time in Ecuador, but each stay is different and results in new friendships and experiences. Here's to the next 4.5 months!
The city is sprawling and crazy. Here you can see the historic downtown and the Panecillo in the background, a giant mound that showcases a giant statue of a virgin.
Two days after Kyle arrived in Ecuador he found himself traveling to Quilotoa, a volcanic lake where he was captivated in awe by its emerald green waters.
The only word that Kyle could think of to describe the landscape was "sublime." And once he finally realized that he was actually in a volcanic lake, which is literally a water-filled hole from the crater that was created when the mountain blew up, he was pretty shocked.
The next day, Kyle attended his orientation for the University of San Francisco of Quito (USFQ) where he would be studying courses instructed in Spanish for the next 4.5 months. His course load consisted of: Modern Latin American Art History, Colonial Quito Art History, Figure Drawing, Ceramics, and Plein Air Painting every Monday where he would go to various places on campus to paint the scenery. Here is the lagoon, a frequent venue for the class.
Three weeks into his journey, Kyle and his host brother Justin Morales attempted to reach the summit of the Quiteno volcano, Ruco Pichincha, although they were unsuccessful. He would have to return to conquer it.
After a month, Kyle traveled to Otavalo, the largest market town in Ecuador, with his CIS Abroad family: Stephanie Diamond, a fellow USFQ student from Boston, Diana Balarezo, the on-site coordinator, and her husband Shadi, their diligent chauffeur. Oh- and who could forget about their baby Ana!
That morning, after not having ate breakfast before as became custom with Stephanie and Kyle when they went on excursions with Diana, they insisted on stopping to eat something in Cayambe, a city known for its bizcochos and bolones de queso. This may be the most characteristic photo of Kyle's personality in existence.
The market became one of Kyle's favorite pastimes and maybe even an obsession because of the challenge of haggling with the locals to get a good price and the beauty of the endless alpaca textiles all covered with geometric Andean patterns dyed with lustrous color- in fact, he got so captivated by them that Stephanie would be the first to tell you that he accidentally bought the same sweater twice. Whoops!
On their way out of the market, Kyle ran into his friend Julia from his Modern Latin American Art History class. What a coincidence!
After the market, they found themselves following Diana's lead to yet another volcanic lake, Cuicocha, where they sailed around the lake and hiked the crater. Diana was as magnificent of a tour guide as she is a mother!
Next, Kyle ventured to the Mitad del Mundo to visit the equator with his hist sisters Witnie and Pamela and little Alejandro.
This is an actual photograph of Kyle juxtaposed with a coffee plant in the flesh. Needless to say, he was pretty excited.
After visiting the Museum of Colonial Art, Kyle and his friend Gaby Yanez (who saved him by helping him study for the midterm) from his Colonial Quito Art History class stumbled across the door to the old Jesuit school in the Compania de Jesus, which they learned about in class! Now he could tell you that it was designed by an indigenous architect and modeled after the prints by Andrea Pozzo.
Spontaneously, Kyle and his host sisters went to the Festival de la Luz in the historic downtown Quito, where they seamlessly shined lights onto the cathedrals to create amazing, eye-catching effects. This is the Companis de Jesus, which has a gray stone facade, transformed by light. Also, he had never been in a place packed so tight with so many people in his life.
Halfway through the semester, the school contacted Kyle to see if he was interested in going with the other international students on the trip to the Amazon that he had already paid for in his tuition fees for CIS Abroad. He had no idea. Little did he know, it would be one of the most amazing experiences of his life. A 30 minute flight to El Coca followed by a two hour canoe ride down the Napo River (pictured) followed by a two our ride in a chiva followed by another two hour canoe ride down the Tiputini river later led them to the remote biodiversity research station owned and operated by USFQ where they spent the next four days exploring the Amazon.
Nearly 150 feet in the air, the crew watched the wonders of life in the Amazon canopy after having climbed scaffolding up a 400 year old tree. This would be their favorite spot to watch the sunrise.
For some perspective.
This was Kyle's fantastic group for the hikes- Sophia, Tyler, Caitlyn, Lindsey, and Ian. They sweated together and saw some unbelievable things. Walking trees, lemon ants, spider monkeys, you name it.
For whatever reason, in all of the pictures that Ian took, Kyle looks extremely irritated. We don't know if it was the unceasing amount of sweating or not, but the photos tell quite an opposite experience. Here, however, he might actually be irritated because he didn't see the monkey that everyone else saw.
When in the Amazon, you swing on vines.
This was a canoe ride on their last day in piranha infested waters.
Goodbyes are never easy, but not sweating day in and day out is cool too.
On their way back to El Coca, there was a resident parrot in their hotel. Her name was Ramona and Kyle taught her how to yell things that people yell on the bus.
A bunch of misfits straight out of the Amazon right here. At least they know how to have a good time.
Kyle had a few field trips for his Colonial Quito Art History class. Here he and Audrey Steucle went exploring after having visited the Convento de Carmen Alto.
When Diana invited them to the adventurous smalltown Mindo, of course Kyle jumped right on it. Butterflies, water tubing, and waterfalls awaited him.
There is definitely a Creation of Adam art history reference to be made here.
What a pleasant surprise! They got a new member in their CIS Abroad family- Rachel Helten, a Canadian dance therapy intern. She was a gem to be around, even though she gave herself a goose egg hitting her head a million times.
Floating down the river was a hoot. There's a whole back story behind the discomfort of this picture, but Stephanie would have to tell you about that.
They were enjoying the waterfall, even though it was pretty chilly. Can you say ay-chai-chai?
Ruco Pichincha 2.0. This time Kyle and Justin returned with Rachel and they made it to the summit! They were so proud of themselves, especially for having free climbed rocks with their bare hands towards the top.
Three happy campers right here!
Yet. another art history reference to Corbet's "Bonjeur Monsieur"
The next Sunday, Kyle's friend Caitlyn who he met on the Amazon trip made it her mission to come to the south of Quito to check out Kyle's family's church in La Magdalena! After getting lost a few times and finally resorting to a taxt to find her way, she made it- without a working phone and ON TIME! A true miracle. Followed up by some hipster restaurant with swings for seats and a large cow sculpture that they sat on at a street corner.
Kyle just couldn't keep the volcanoes away. Here he visited Cotopaxi, the highest active volcano in Ecuador.
That atmospheric perspective though.
He descended the volcano via bicycle. Does that sound intense or what?
Kyle and the hilarious and very British Lucy Walmsley take some random museum they found and had to sit through en extremely boring movie about some liberators of Quito. He misses their coffee time after painting class on Mondays, which, by the way, saved him from falling asleep on the bus.
Having had the opportunity to volunteer at Diana's coffee shop, Cafe Anaconda, Kyle enjoyed working with the Colombian brother and sister Bryan and Luisa, even if he had so much difficulty understanding their accent that he had to constantly ask them to repeat themselves. I was an experience full of fun and surprises, especially when he unexpectedly showed up for a private party where he had to serve whisky instead of coffee.
On the day of the final in Colonial Quito Art History, Pedro finally came through by bringing in some guavas for the class after having analyzed a painting that featured the exotic fruit in class.
Daniela was such a sweet drawing partner. Even though someone stole her pencil sharpener, she still persevered.
Christmas dinner with the beautiful family at the Bellavista Restaurant was a wonderful goodbye party for Kyle. He enjoyed the stay and is eager to come back to visit!