American Teacher in Ecuador

I'm not sure if it was the buildup, then the letdown, or if I'm comparing this to living in Mexico 15 years ago, but I can't seem to get into the groove here.  I'm not particularly having fun and I can't put my finger on why. A big reason for this is that I got either altitude sickness or food poisoning on my only day in Quito, and lastnight I was up sick most of the night.  This surprised me because when I went to Cusco, Peru, where the elevation is 11,000 feet, I didn't get sick.  Quito is 9,300.  I took Diamox both times.  So what the... Anyway, so my hotel in Quito was called the Hotel Villa Nancy.  It was about $27.  Here is a pic: The Nancy was in the Guapolo district of Quito, high on a hill above downtown, far away from anything.  Except the coffee shop next door, called Miele.  They served a nice breakfast but I was surprised that the price was almost the same as the U.S. But the funny thing was the mini-bar, which cracked...