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My stay with the Rivera family
was great! I felt really at home, I got to meet many interesting
people and I had many opportunities to practice Spanish. The location
of the home is great as well, close to buses, shops, internet, everything
you need. Staying with a host family is a good choice, but staying
with the Rivera family in particular is the best choice! The family
is very welcoming, and kind, the food is delicious and you feel
at home right away. I would recommend staying with the Rivera family
to anyone. |
Neika, Vancouver, Canada |
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I spent 5 weeks at the house when
I arrived in Quito and the minute I walked in the door I was greeted
with a warm welcome. I was amazed of the view of the mountains right
outside my bedroom window. My room had a really comfertable bed
with plenty of clean blankets and a giant storage closet with more
than enough room. I was also able to enjoy a piping hot shower every
night. I really enjoyed breakfast in the morning of fresh fruit
and bread as well as the variety of home cooked meals in the evening.
I felt very safe being in the perticular neighborhood and always
knew that there were gaurds on duty throughout the entire day and
nights. I have nothing but positive things to say about the house
and I will surly be returning in the future |
Sam |
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| Cecilia Rivera is very welcoming.
When I arrived tired and disorientated from London she made me feel
at home straight away. She has a pleasant flat in a quiet part of
Quito, which is decorated with her sons paintings.
She makes very nice food for breakfast and dinner. She is very patient
when I speak to her in my bad spanish. I would definitely recomend
a home stay with Cecilia. |
Cathy |
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I have really enjoyed staying in
this lovely home. The food is good and
varied, the view from my bedroom window is just amazing. The atmosphere
is
nice with a lot of paintings on the walls and canary birds singing.
If I'm
comming back to Quito this is were I would like to stay |
| Lars, Sweden |
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I came to Quito to study Spanish,
to see the Amazon Rainforest and to find work teaching English.
I arranged a Spanish school and chose to stay with Cecilia and her
family in La Floresta. I stayed with Cecilia for 1 month and I had
a wonderful time. I would highly recommend a family stay when coming
to Ecuador and Cecilia is very welcoming and friendly. La Floresta
is a beautiful, safe neighborhood located very close to the Mariscal,
either a 20 minute walk or a 5 minute bus ride. Cecilia's casa is
attractive, homely and had everything I needed including comfortable
rooms, beds, a hot shower, a garden and home-cooked delicious food.
She also caters for vegetarians. It was very useful for me to practice
Spanish at the dinner table in a non-pressure situation and there
was a great atmosphere at dinner with other students from Europe,
the US and Canada. My stay really helped me to settle into Quito,
giving me time to aclimatise to the culture change and life here.
I've been in Quito for 5 months now and still return to visit Cecilia
and her family. I was treated like a member of the family and still
am when I visit and I think that this is a very special thing when
you are away from your home country. |
| James Trevitt, |
EMAIL: JamesTrevitt@hotmail.co.uk |
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| Thanks to the Rivera family I stayed with for eight weeks, I had a great time in Quito. The family was wonderful and I really enjoyed living with them, as they included me from the very beginning and were always making sure that I felt at home. The home of Cecilia Rivera is the perfect location for a stay in Quito, situated in a beautiful, quiet and safe neighbourhood close to amenities. Cecilia and her family not only provided me with a great accommodation, a bedroom with an outstanding view of the mountains, varied and good food, but also with hours of patient conversation, giving me plenty of opportunity to practice my Spanish and to learn about the Ecuadorian culture. They even accompanied me on weekend trips, which was great. |
Gudrun Beck, Germany |
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Dra Cecila Rivera is a wonderful hostess and friend to her guests. She has been hosting international visitors and students of Spanish for many years and has a book of names and addresses of guests that reads like a United Nations directory. The comments left by satisfied guests reveal that they all had a wonderful “homestay” with Cecila and her daughter(s.)
I spent a week in her very nice home in late February 2010 and felt very welcome and comfortable. She knows how to give her guests privacy and at the same time make them feel welcome to spend time with the family or relax in the main rooms of her home. She also was very patient with my beginning attempts at Spanish and offered encouraging help, which I’m sure she does for everyone.
She also has a pile of Spanish-language movies with Spanish subtitles that we watched each evening, which was a great way to improve ones comprehension of el español.
Now I feel as if I could show up at Cecila’s door anytime and she would welcome me. This is a great feeling! Thank you, Cecila. I miss you and hope very much to spend time with you again. |
Corliss Jacobs /
Olathe, Kansas, USA |
EMAIL: cjjackc@sbcglobal.net |
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| My wife and I stayed with Dra. Rivera and her family when we attended Yanapuma Spanish School in late 2009. We both thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Cecilia and her family. Cecilia is a wonderful cook, and we had great food. Equally as important was the patience and help they gave us as we practiced our new-found Spanish skills at the dinner table. With an east-facing room we never had need of an alarm clock as the rising sun woke us in the morning, giving us a spectacular view across a valley. And, a totally unexpected bonus, when I came down with a bad cold, Dra. Rivera turned us on to “propolio” (Bee Propolis in the USA), which must rank as one of nature's wonder drugs curing my cold in a third of the time it normally takes! In short, it would have been hard to find better hosts, and I like to think friends, than Cecilia and her family. |
Penny and Gordon,Wichita |
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| Doctora Rivera´s home is very pleasant, quiet, with great views of Quito. The neighborhood (La Floresta) is an easy walk from the Mariscal, but away from traffic noise and congestion. Dra Rivera is a very warm person who enjoys spending time with her guests and talking with them. During the three weeks I spent in her home we discussed politics, the environment, the history of Latin America, and many other topics. Even though I am only an intermediate Spanish speaker I could clearly understand what she said, and she always took the time to listen to me, too. I greatly enjoyed my stay in Dra Rivera´s home and would gladly stay there again on my next trip to Ecuador. |
Mary Menconi /
Sacramento, California |
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I believe that what stands out to me the most, among all the wonderful attributes of this home stay, is the great food. But perhaps that is because dinnertime is approaching as I write this review and I wish I could beam myself over to Cecilia’s for a delicious home cooked meal. Breakfast always began with fresh made fruit juice, a different kind each morning, plus fresh bread (butter, jam, honey) and eggs in whatever style I wanted. As for the evening meal, I’ve heard Ecuador described as the country of soups, and indeed every dinner began with a warm bowl of homemade soup, followed by a main dish that would include some sort of protein, carbohydrates and vegetables…all delicious. A hot tea ended the meal. Each evening meal was varied. I could have stayed forever, and been very healthy because of it!
But there is also an atmosphere of tranquility in the Rivera home that strongly attracted me. I felt very comfortable, safe and secure there, a respite from the bustling capital city of Quito; a city I love because it has a bit of everything for everyone (parks, culture, night life, history, etc.) But it is important to have a refuge, and for this a good home stay is so much better than an impersonal hotel. The Rivera home stay really is your home away from home for the time you are in Quito. All the amenities are there, including access to a computer with internet. The neighborhood is peaceful and safe, and within walking distance of the major tourist area of the Mariscal, where you will find an energetic nightlife, Spanish classes, salsa lessons, bookstores, cafes and restaurants, etc. But I would recommend against lodging in the Mariscal, as the area is loud at night and considered a bit unsafe. So to be located outside the Mariscal but within walking distance, as is the Rivera residence, is perfect.
In summary, I stayed with Cecilia several times on my visits to Quito (before deciding to relocate to Quito) and I highly recommend the Rivera home stay for the perfect location, relaxing atmosphere, great food, and general overall warmth of the experience. |
Janet Roccanova, Ph.D. / Lexington, KY (USA) and Quito, Ecuador |
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| I stayed at Cecilias' place for one week and had a great time there. There is only spanish spoken in the family, so it's definatly an excellent accomodation if it's the purpose of your stay to study spanish. The flat is situated in a very quite district of Quito, but lies still within walking distance of La Mariscal. And by the way: The food Cecilia prepares is awesome! |
| Stephan, 26 years, Hamburg, Germany |
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| Dear Cecilia We are living at your place at the very moment. We are happy being here. Since we arrived here, we are feeling pretty well. Every day we are looking forward to the awesome breakfast you prepare for us.We are thankful for everything! - and we are also looking forward to talk a little bit more with you in spanish :-) lovely greeting |
| Sabrina und Simona |
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Die drei schönsten Wochen meines Studienaufenthaltes in Quito habe ich in der Familie Rivera
gemeinsam mit einer Freundin verbracht. Dank ihrer unglaublichen Geduld habe ich innert sehr kurzer Zeit meine
Spanischkenntnisse verbessert und wir wurden wie Familienmitgieder aufgenommen! Nun habe ich zwei Familien, eine in der
Schweiz und die andere in Ecuador. Sie haben uns mit viel Liebe aufgenommen und daneben ist Cecilia auch noch die beste
Köchin der Welt! Alle equatorialen Spezialitäten hat sie uns während unseres Aufenthalts aufgetischt. Wenn auch Ihr
eine unvergessliche Zeit in Ecuador erleben möchtet, in der besten Gastfamilie der Welt, die euch die Geheimnisse und
Besonderheiten des Landes näherbringen kann, so kann ich Euch versichern, dass Ihr nicht enttäuscht sein werdet! Und
vergesst den Knochen für die liebe Labradorhündin Camila nicht! |
| Aline |
EMAIL: aline.meili@bluewin.ch |
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