We're Here!

Yay...we made it!! Our hotel (Hotel de Quito) is very nice!! But before I get started on that...our flight was great! Getting through security was not bad at all! It was probably the easiest security check I've ever been through! Anyways, Melissa and I were in the first row (which was an exit row) and so we had plenty of room for our legs, which was AWESOME! We did have a slight problem with our baggage...first of all two girls were over the weight limit by at least 15 lbs (Mel and Correna) haha! So they had to take some things out and leave them in the US! My baggage was okay, which is surprising! Once we got on board, Melissa had a "slight problem" getting her "carry-on" bag into the overhead compartment...she had put stuff from her checked bag into her carry-on so it was kinda big. The captain came over the intercom and said, "The boarding process is taking too long, we need to make this process a little quicker." HAHA what a great start! Anyways, we finally got that thing wedged into the compartment! The T.V. set up for the plane was great! We each had our own individual screen (which i had to hold up bc mine was broken, but no complaints =) ) but it was great bc we could pick our movie. I watched Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2...lol anyone wanna go to Greece...bc that's totally my next trip! Anyways, the flight was like 5 hours which isn't bad at all! We're on the same time, which is GREAT and very convenient! It was raining when we landed but not too bad. It only took about 30 minutes to go through customs! I thought that was great! Dr. Bryan had sent someone to pick us up (so we had a sign waiting on us haha). The hotel is very nice! We walked into the lobby and the center piece had at least 250 roses...so of course, I assumed they were fake...oh, definitely not! Apparently Ecuardor is known for their roses... you can buy 20 roses for $1 here! We're planning on having fresh flowers in our apt. at all times haha. Anyways, once we got our hotel room arrangements setup (Jackie, Melissa, and I are in the same room) we went to the Casino! We were starving. I think that might be the hardest part for me...their food is so different here! I spend $1.50 in the casino...i lost it haha! Anyways, we went back to our room (331) and finally went to bed about 3 am. We had to be ready to leave at 9 am! Anyways, I am so excited about everything...bc it was so dark we couldn't see what Quito looked like...man, did we have a beautiful surprise this morning! =0) I love my life and feel so blessed to be here!