Written by our resident hospital inspector Joe.

I knew I´d end up getting a mammoth entry to write! Anyway, Monday 15th was a teacher swap. Lucky for some, not so for others. In the afternoon, we went on an unforgettable trip to a fake equator and then the real one. At the fake equator, most of the group had a quick glance at the equator monument and then stocked up on ´Carioca´. Otherwise known as spray foam. What ensued was a battle, nay, war, of global proportions. Quest vs Ecuador sounds unfair, but we had good supplies. The foam got everywhere. Hair, eyes, ears, you name it, it was foamed! The riot culminated with a guerilla style assault on an unsuspecting Aaron who was pursued for a long while but eventually taken down.

Next, we headed for the real equator. The novelty of stepping between the northern and southern hemisphere wore off fairly swiftly. But the apparent excitement that Tom got from trying to balance an egg on a nail never subsided. Tuesday consisted of lessons in the morning as usual followed by a free afternoon of filling in diaries and watching movies. That night we went bowling! Great fun was had by all.

The next day, half of the group went to the mens prison in Quito. By the sound of things, it was fairly intimidating but a very interesting experience as well. Ladies night that night was enjoyed by all! Although perhaps too much, judging by the number of hangovers the following day. However, the hangovers had to be forgotten as it was the annual Quest vs Language School football match. No one really felt like playing, but Emily rallied the troops and off we went. After a cheeky one two with Tom, I managed to get the first goal! We held our lead til half time, but conceded early on in the second and it didnt take long for another to come. We ended up losing 2=1 but only after some pretty suspicious refereeing decisions.

That night I was unfortunately admitted to hospital with various ailments. This meant I would miss the trip to the beach! The group set off early Friday morning. A long 7 hour coach ride followed. They arrived in Atacames and headed straight for the beach to get the rest of the afternoon sun. By all accounts, the beach sounded like a good weekend! However, all I had to go by was lots of sunburn, lots of hairbraids and lots of stories. Story of the weekend though has to be how the brand spanking new medical kit was lost! Actually, lets not talk about that! It was great to see the group again on Monday morning..

My weekend had consisted of staring at the same four walls, MTV Ecuador and eating boiled chicken, over and over again.

On Monday, the group took the teleferico to see views of Quito. The afternoon was spent rehearsing plays to perform on our last night in Ecuador. That night we went to a restaurant in the aptly named ´Gringolandia´part of Quito. The restaurant was rather kitsch but served delicious food. Some of the group went out afterwards for a bit but returned to the hostel shortly after. Tuesday morning was more rehearsals followed by a free afternoon. That night we had a party in the hostel and performed our plays. They were all hysterical and got a great reception from our teachers. The group then all went out to a club in Gringolandia. It was good fun and by the end of the night we were all dancing on the bar. After a few ´encounters´ with local Ecuadorians we headed back to the hostel for some much needed sleep. Our last morning was packing time. Questies had strewn their possessions all over the hostel., so that took some time to gather together.

Afterwards, we all went out to lunch to different restaurants and came back to our beautifully packed bags and sat patiently, excited about our next phase in Peru…