Rain and Packing

The last few days in DC have been stormy and very, very wet. On Thursday, a good family friend (read: saint) is coming by to take boxes of all the stuff I won't need until January. The rest is coming with me. It's quite a struggle, trying to sort out the things important enough to drag with you to another continent and those that you won't need for five months. Not a lot of compromise area. From what I understand, the weather in Quito is pretty much the same year-round: cool in the evenings and mornings, but warmer during the day, especially in the valley of Cumbayá. And, since the USFQ student body is typically wealthier than average, students dress nicely going to class. It sounds like I can wear pretty much anything I would wear at Georgetown, but with lots of layers to account for the frequent changes in temperature.

In between packing, I've been playing around on google maps with the address given for my host family - Cochapata y Abascal, Quito, Ecuador. Quito is a very long and narrow city that runs through a valley; according to the map, my home is maybe two-thirds of the way up on the eastern half. USFQ is located almost directly to the east. Hopefully that means a shorter commute - apparently they can be up to an hour and a quarter in length. Orientation starts on the 23rd, two days after arriving.