Arrival in Quito

The Spanish rhythms of B-tribe pulse in my ears through my ipod as I stand in the slow, snaking immigration line that makes me feel more like I am waiting to ride a roller coaster at an amusement park than enter a foreign country. Common to any airport I see the usual sights; family and friends reuniting and hungry, tired travelers ready to put their bags down and their feet up. After a long day of traveling the reality of being in a different hemisphere and a new continent begins to hit me. I close my eyes, take a deep breath and soak in my new surroundings. I hear a futbol (soccer) team chanting passionately in the distance....maybe for victory or homecoming, smell fresh pink roses that dot every corner, and admire the brown, tan and olive shades of skin all around me. I feel a proper welcome when I notice a "nina" (girl) wearing the same "Save the Planet" t-shirt I have in my bag. It is a small world when you realize that we are all sharing this earth.
As I pull off my earphones to share this "essence of place" with my traveling companions, I am not surprised to find them engrossed in their own cultural study.... the exotic female with long dark hair and even darker eyes that keeps passing us in the que. Welcome to Quito.