Looking Back

After not writing a blog for about 189,498 years I'd like to take a moment and reminisce about the past year. It's not exactly the end of the year yet but Facebook has got me thinking about 2013 with their new option to post a summary of 2013 with your best photos and status. As I looked at my own post I smiled and a few tears came to my eyes. What a year has it been for me.

January 5th: I remember the day like it was yesterday. I got on a few planes, lost 5 pounds in tears and moved my life to a foreign country. Ecuador has been something that I've been able to talk about every day. I've annoyed the crap out of Ben and my roommates with stories with their eyes glazing over. It's been the hardest thing to overcome in my life thus-far and yet I'd do it again a thousand times. I had an amazing host family that I cannot thank enough and wish I would stay in contact with more. One day I hope to go back and remember the crazy, amazing, and most wonderful times of my young life.

Three weeks after I got back the love of my life got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. With a ring like this who could say no?! He's pretty cute too. ;)

Over the summer I worked at the Piggly Wiggly and tried to sort out my life applying for internships and failing over 5 interviews. At least I got some interview experience!

Late August came around and I moved back to SNC with my crazy, lovable roommates who I couldn't live without. The semester has been the hardest but I've learned so much about International Business, Business Law, Marketing, and Marriages and Families. I loved everyone of my professors which made class and this semester fly by. With my crazy class schedule I was cut a lot of hours at work so I picked up a second job at American Eagle for seasonal help; perks including an amazing discount which I've been very good at not taking too much advantage of. I survived working my first Black Friday with a horrible cold.

I also ran my very first 5k which I trained for all summer, because I'm not a runner at all. It was a great experience but I have no plans in the near future to do it again.

As this semester wraps up I look forward to actually starting to plan Ben and I's wedding, taking only three classes next semester, applying for "real" people jobs, and enjoying my last semester to be stupid, crazy, and wild.  

Summer

Over the past few weeks nothing too exciting has happened. I've been working crazy hours including this week I will have a grand total of 50 hours, but what else would I be doing with my time? Being engaged for over a month now more brainstorming for the wedding has begun. Still happening in 2015, probably in early May, but nothing is final.

I'll be moving back to school in a little over a month and it's even more real that I'll be going back to SNC now that I've received the bill...dread. Along with blowing my life savings on tuition I've also started order books, more "excitement". Woo. For those of you wondering I'll be living in an on campus apartment with three roommates.

Also, being that I've been back for two months now, so is all the weight that I lost in the 5 months I was in Ecuador. Oops. I often ask myself, what is different from now to then, and the answer is always, EVERYTHING. I was walking everywhere which usually also meant that I was sweating puddles. Along with the whole exercise thing not being built into my day, I've been eating way differently and cooking for myself so that means a lot of cheese here a heaping bowl of ice cream there, and NO beans and NO beans, ever. I've accepted that it has happened but to combat this unfortunate gain, I've signed up for my first run! The ever famous and fun Color Run, it'll be a 5k so about 3 miles, which I've never ever ran in my life. I wouldn't even say I'm a runner. I've always wanted to do the run and with summer here I do nothing but work so I needed something to strive for and why not get healthy and fit while doing that?

I found an online "Color Run" training guide that lasts 8 weeks and I just started week 2 and I can already feel that I am getting better, I even bought an ipod arm running band to help with enjoyment during my workout sessions.

 It's still hard to believe that Ben and I are engaged but every time I look at that ring on my finger my face looks something like this picture.  ^^^^^^^
    

I said yes!

Since my last post I've been doing about nothing and working at the fabulous Piggly Wiggly. I've visited a few friends and told them all about my adventures in Ecuador, seeing that my family and Ben are very sick of me talking about it.

This past weekend after working in the deli until 6:30 I headed up to De Pere to visit some friends and see Ben. Saturday night I spent a few hours at Shanna's apartment for the summer waiting for Ben to get done with work, he eventually got out around 1am. So we met up and he showed me the way to his new apartment. As he showered and cleaned up from work I dozed off on his bed. I was awoken by him turning the light on, then he grabbed a small box from his dresser and got down on one knee as I sat on the edge of the bed and listened to his speech knowing exactly what was in that box but asked anyway "what's that?" He asked THE question and I said YES! So at 1am, June 9th we were engaged. I couldn't believe it.

In the morning I called my mom and told her the good news, but she already knew it was going to happen because Ben being the gentleman he is, asked my parents for permission. Throughout the day I texted my friends and saw my two roommates for the first time in 5 months with this awesome news. After Ben and I felt that mostly everyone close to us knew, we posted it on Facebook and changed our relationship status. Then our notifications proceeded to blow up.

Going back to work today after my relaxing weekend many more people found out and got to see the ring. As of now we plan to get married in two years. We both need to graduate first and I didn't want to try to plan a wedding and take some of the hardest classes I'll ever have to take.

I thank everyone who has congratulated us and wished us well.

My Homecoming

So Thursday was our day of departure. During the day Anne, Shanna, and I went and got our last manicures for $4. We chose Ecuadorian flags on our accent fingers and blue on the rest. The rest of the day I packed and constantly weighed my bag trying to get it under 50 pounds. Around 5 Shanna and Anne came to my house because my host mom was going to take us to the airport. We talked about our goodbyes, some harder than others and waited until 6 when my host mom was supposed to come home from work. After some frantic phone calls we learned my host mom was stuck at a meeting and the company car broke down so she could not take us. My host sister took us to the old airport in Quito to take a $8 bus to the new airport. On the way I shed a few tears thinking about not being able to come back for awhile. The bus was about to leave in 10 min so we ran through the bus station with our very heavy bags, bought our tickets, and got on the bus. By this time it was 7pm and our other flight buddy, Lauren, was already waiting at the airport for us. We were unable to contact her because we all had decided to leave our Ecuadorian phones at our houses for the next student, and we were supposed to be at the airport 3 hours early and that meant 8:30 and the bus was to take 1.5 hours depending on traffic also leaving us at 8:30. A little bit of panic set in as we thought we were going to be late and Lauren would leave without us.

We eventually got there in an hour and found Lauren right away and started our journey through security. We all dropped our bags off, all under or at weight! Woo Hoo! No $100 fine! Then found our gate and got something to eat. Seeing as I had not been able to keep anything inside my body for 2 days I was a bit unsure of what to eat, seeing as the flight to Atlanta was 5 hours. I got a fruit salad and everything went smoothly. As more and more kids from USFQ showed up the excitement of finally going home come to the surface. Then my name was called up to the desk because I had to watch a policeman go through my checked bag. After moving 3 things he zipped up my bag and let me go, NOT finding the knife I hid in my hammock as a gift to Ben. Score. We eventually got on the plane and we were off. I tried to watch a movie but chose some music instead so I could try and get some sleep. At 1 hour left in the flight we got breakfast that I could barely eat and then we landed, got our bags and headed to our next gate. I forgot my beloved Amor cookies on the plane which caused a great upset in my day. The airport people in Atlanta were very friendly, even at 5am. Shanna and I said goodbye to Lauren and Anne as they headed off to their early flights  and Shanna and I had to wait there for 9 more hours. After gate hoping we ended up in the food court and I took a nap on the table. I called my mom and we both checked in with our family then bummed around for 9 hours and eventually found our gate. I took a few naps here and there adding up to about 3 hours of sleep.

We got on our last plane that went very quickly, about 1.5 hours and we touched down in Wisconsin, shedding tears once again because we were FINALLY home after 4.5 months away and 24 hours in traveling. After a very quick bathroom break Shanna and I went to find our families.

My mom, dad, and Ben were waiting there for me with balloons and candy. My mom got the first hug and a few tears again, then Ben got a hug, and then my dad. We talked a little then went and found my bags and Shanna and I said our goodbyes. On the way home we got Culvers, stopped at Costco, and headed home to find my kitties. Sugar ran away from me and Spice wanted nothing to do with me, but since then they have warmed up to me. I spent a few days with Ben and went to visit the Pig and Andy at his apartment. On Wednesday I went back to work and on Thursday I had to visit the dentist. Everywhere I got Ecuador seems to come up which is ok.

Being back seems like I never left, like the time I spend in Ecuador was a dream. Even after being back for a week there are some parts of it that I miss.

When people ask me if I'd go back I say yes, but not anytime soon. I learned a lot and this experience and the people I got to know there have changed my life.

The Bittersweet End

I've been putting off writing this blog because I didn't want to write it. I tried to promise myself that I wouldn't cry even though I know I'm terrible at goodbyes.

Here's what I've been doing.

Finals week went super quick. Two finals on Monday and two on Tuesday- which turned into one. I got out of my Econ final- SCORE! Wednesday Lauren, Anne, and I went to a Ecuadorian restaurant with some guys we've become friends and tried some Ecuadorian food we had been missing out on. Thursday night Lauren, Anne, and I headed out to the beach! We took an overnight bus and got into Canoa around 6am, so we sat around until Hostels opened. We found a super cheap hostel about 2 feet from the beach, just what we wanted. After napping for a few hours we bought some lunch, rented a tent, and sat at the beach until the sun went down. Repeat that for three days. The goal of this trip was to relax so we didn't do much, and just tanned and played around in the ocean for the last time here in Ecuador. Sunday night we headed back to Quito and took a taxi home and then I proceeded to sleep the rest of the day because the bus ride provided zero sleep. Fun fact about the trip:

• Our hostel had ants everywhere, beds, floor, you name it. We grew to care for those little ants.
• Ecuadorians love taking pictures of Americans, especially blondes...woo.
• Most hostels don't have hot water, including this one. 
• I accidently ordered two main dishes for dinner and proceeded to eat almost all of it. Oops.
• Anne basically sprained her ankle so she had to hobble around for two days. 
• No one looks up to hostel balconies, perfect people watching spot.  

Monday I started packing and did about nothing else. Tuesday Shanna, Lauren, Anne, and I headed out to the Art Market in Quito for a last gift getting trip, I spent $1 due to the fact that I've been shopping all semester and I think my bags will be overweight. Great. Then we had planned a "Goodbye Dinner" with the guys we've gotten to know so we said we'd bring a desert. First option- puppychow- too bad the chex cereal doesn't exist here, then we tried rice crispies, only to realize we didn't have enough time or the right dish, so last option- s'mores. YUM. Zero prep and everyone loved them. It was sad saying goodbye to them but I know it's only "so long for now".

Today I'm planning on packing the rest of my things, tomorrow a day of manis and pedis then around 6pm I'm heading off to the airport with my flight buddies-Lauren, Anne, and Shanna.

I've made this country my home for 4.5 months and it's been the best, craziest, most stressful, happiest, worst, most educational experience I've had, and many more describing words. I came here with 6 complete strangers and Shanna. I can't believe that in the end I've made 7 best friends that I can go home and still see. Us 8 girls have made this life long experience that only us share, that gives us a connection no one else has. Ecuador has taught me so many things about my country, culture, and more importantly about myself. I could not have done this trip without my family and especially my parents. They have helped me more than they know, raising me to be a well rounded person and helping me get here, get thought this, and on Friday taking me home.

Besides the obvious, I've missed the craziest things. Food, throwing the toilet paper away, snow (ok maybe like once), and many other things. I can't wait to see Ben, my family, friends, and my cats! But it is going to be terribly hard to say goodbye to Ecuador, but only for a little while. I plan to come back with friends and family to show them all the amazing things I've been experiencing for 4.5 months.

I love all you who have read my blog these past couple of months. And I can't wait to see everyone on Friday!

Cotopaxi

Well on Wednesday we didn't have class because of Labor day... SO what better to do than go shopping?! We headed out to the Quito market, basically a mini Otavalo, for the first time and got to see all the wonders that were "hand" made. There were a handful of booths doing tattoos and piercings... seems legit. And lot's of booths selling anything you could imagine. Since I had already been to Otavalo for gifts 3 times I didn't buy much. For lunch we went to the famous Foche, but on the way I found a $10 bill on the ground! Score! So lunch for me was free. After lunch it started raining, naturally, and we went back to the market for cover and more shopping. At the time to go home it was still raining and only Willow was smart and brought an umbrella so walking to the the bus station a few blocks away was especially...wet. She let me share with her so by the time we got to the station I was half drenched and half wet, sharing an umbrella is not as cute as they make it seem in the movies. We took the bus back to the closest stop to our house and by that time the rain had let up, until I starting walking home. As time went on it got heavier and heavier, being from the Dutch community, Cedar Grove, I was too cheap to pay the $1 taxi ride home so I walked, in the pouring rain. By the time I got home I was so wet that I had to change all my clothes, yes even my underwear, and dry off with towels. Not a single part of me was dry.

This Saturday we went to the active volcano Cotopaxi. Willow and I go to DJ the car ride there and back, singing at the top of our lungs for about 2 hours there and 2 hours back. The closer we got the higher we were, colder, and less oxygen there was. Even a few steps up-hill made you breath heavy. We drank some tea that was supposed to give us energy and help us from getting altitude sickness and it seemed to work. Lydia, Willow, Lauren, and I decided not to climb up to the check in point so as the others climbed we kept busy by taking pictures and seeing what we could find/get into trouble with. We danced down the mountain, found snow and had a mini snowball fight, Willow practiced using her mountain goat hooves (aka her feet), and we even scoped out a bathroom if needed. Eventually it got really foggy, then it rained, then hailed, we saw a fox, and then the blue skies came back with burning sun. While the weather was against us we sat in the car, ate everything in sight, and laughed about everything. We weren't sure why everything was so funny that day, either the tea, lack of oxygen, or maybe that hat Lauren got from a strange guy was drugged. Still not sure. Once the group made it back we had a picnic out of the back of the car and then headed to the lagoon on the way out. Driving home we stopped at a farm, saw cows...woo, alpacas, sheep, a goat, bunnies, some guinea pigs that would later be eaten (yeah they really do eat them here) and even some ducks and other bird-like animals. Whitney decided it would be a good idea to fall into the poop stream running through the farm and got poop-water on her shoe/pant leg, so then it was time to go home.

Considering finals are coming up this week I've spent all Sunday writing up notes. I wrote 20 pages of econ notes in about 8 hours and now it's time to study for my 2 finals tomorrow. I have 4 tests and a presentation left this semester and hopefully a trip to the beach, something things around Quito, and then I'm home!

   

Mindo Weekend

Well this weekend was one different from the past month. After eating lunch on Friday at Rusty's (a hamburger place outside of campus, opened by an American) 7 of us girls headed to an amazing ice cream place by my house. It was my second time and the rest of the girls first time, we will be back. After that it was just a hop, skip and a hike to my house. It was still sunny so Lauren, Willow, and I got some tanning done in the park. After heading inside and discovering my dinner looked less than appetizing we all headed to a cute coffee shop for sandwiches and coffee drinks (even though I don't like coffee it was great!). Willow then walked home and Lauren and I waited and packed up for the weekend until 7:30 when Anne, Cris, and Richard picked us up to drive to Mindo for the weekend.

It was about an hour drive to Mindo and as we rolled into town on the main street there were NO lights and just a few places still open with candle light. Uh o... did this town not believe in electric? get me out now. Turns out that a tree had fallen in the forest (did it make a noise?) and knocked out a power line, power would be back on tomorrow. So now we had to find a hostel to stay at, we checked a few places before we found this SUPER cute hostel, or it looked pretty cute in the dark, for only $12 a night per person- including breakfast and a pool. After we settled our sleeping and living conditions we headed out for dinner and found one place with electricity. Here we got simple sandwiches that look about 30 min to serve us. By this time it was about 11, and being Richard's birthday the next day, we surprised him with a cake and midnight then we all went to bed.

Saturday we got up early, ate, and headed out to view some waterfalls. We took a basket zip-line over to where we would start our hike. Yup, even after I swore off hiking I was at it again. Although it was WELL worth it. We chose the path with 5 waterfalls. It took awhile to get to the first one but the rest came soon after that. Out of the 5, we could swim in 2. The first swim-able waterfall was amazing. We got to walk/climb/crawl up the strong river current to the waterfall and fight the water as we tried to touch it. After some falling and swimsuit mishaps we headed off to the next. The second swim-able waterfall was much smaller but just as strong as the other, or so we would find out. Since it was smaller we though maybe we could stand under it. Being that water is my thing I took the lead, walking closer and closer then BAM I lost my footing because the ground dropped off and I was suddenly under the waterfall not being able to touch. So basically I started drowning and all I could do was hit the bottom, push off, and get pushed back down again by the force of the waterfall. Some how I got out coughing and spitting up water but still in once piece. Anne then decided it was a good idea to test out what I just did too, only twice. She too experienced the same results. Lauren then got very mad, 1. because we told her to "just try it" and 2. she didn't want to be left behind to explain what happened to us to our parents. After just seeing our lives flash before our eyes and the water being freezing we headed back up the trail, across the way in the zip-line basket, and to the car. After the waterfalls we went to a chocolate factory, met up with the other SNC girls, and learned about the chocolate process, and even got to sample some! We were all pretty tired so we napped, showered, and got ready to celebrate Richards birthday. We headed out to dinner then to a quiet bar for about 2 hours. Us 3 girls headed home after that and Cris and Richard went dancing. Walking home I found a dollar on the ground, SCORE, and we also thought this man was following us but turns out he lived on the same road our hostel was on. Anne, Lauren, and I sat up and talked for awhile until we discovered a live cockroach in the room. Lauren is apparently deadly afraid of bugs, which I did not know, so I laughed a little as she freaked out and said she was "just going to pack my things and go". After Anne spent awhile watching the thing and trying to get it in a good position to kill it I started to help out. After a good 15 min we killed it and the peace was restored.

On Sunday morning we went tubing down a freezing river filled with rapids. Being so scared and so cold, it was a great time. After the tubing, drying off, and changing we headed back to Quito. I finished some homework I had been putting off then went to bed.

Today class was boring as usual but now that there is only 17 days until we head back to the U S of A everything is coming to an end. We have about 2 big trips planned and then some smaller ones. I have 5 finals and a paper left and that's about it. I've been thinking about packing up my things and I get more and more excited for home everyday, but also each day I feel a little sad to leave all these things I've become used to.

Climbed up and to the left to get to the waterfall

This was the "deadly" one. 

The cockroach

     

Third times a charm

This weekend we stayed in Quito again, which I don't mind at all. Gives me time to catch up on homework, cleaning, and things. Friday after class Lauren, Anne, and I headed off to our favorite nail place for our weekly manicure (after all they are only $3). During our pampering sessions we heard some guy yelling at the top of his lungs at some officers. Everyone within hearing distance stopped and stared. From what we would gather he was driving during his Pica y Placa time, which is when certain people can't drive depending on their license plate number to keep traffic down. The fines for driving at this time are huge, hence his yelling. Us girls all agreed that if he was talking like that to an officer in the USA he would be arrested. Things eventually calmed down and my nails were then finished. Afterwards Anne headed home and Lauren and I headed to the mall to meet Willow. We walked around, window shopped, ate some noodles, and got cinnabuns. Yum! Then it was time to head home for an early morning.

Saturday morning Willow and I headed off to Otavalo (shopping!). It was my 3rd time and her 2nd, she was looking for more gifts and I was looking for anything that caught my eye. The other SNC girls were off to climb a volcano and hiking and I are just not best friends, shopping sounded better. So after spending my life savings, sorry mom, we headed home. That night I was fortunate enough to snag the TV and couch/bed upstairs and I enjoyed myself some Princess and the Frog and fell asleep to The Avengers (wonder who I get it from, mom).

Sunday I skyped everyone on the face of the earth. Ben about three times, mom, mom with many other family members, and even a Piggly Wiggly friend Shayna. It was nice to see some familiar faces and kept me busy on the very rainy and hailing day. After all it is the rainy season now and it has rained everyday for about a week now, no we aren't floating away...yet.

Today was just another Monday, presentations, talking about confusing stories, eating at American restaurants, the usual. I've got another 25 days here and it's going crazy fast. I've got one for sure trip planned and hopefully I'll get to go to the beach one more time too. Finals are coming up soon too!    

A weekend of slumber

Well this weekend was one spent in Quito again. I am quit sick of packing overnight bags, over stuffing my backpack, having to lug it around, and then unpacking usually wet, dirty clothes. So, because of this, I've been staying home.

Friday after school I went to lunch at this amazing pizza place with Willow, Anne, and Lauren, and proceeded to spend the rest of the weekend with them. After pizza we of course went and got some ice cream, nothing better than chocolate and peanut butter. Then we got our toes done, mine are now hunter safety orange, I love it! We went and bought some more movies, I got the Avengers, Lincoln, and The Princess and the Frog. Ready to watch them with me Ben? I hope so. We also registered for classes for the fall at SNC and we all got what we wanted! As we should, being seniors and all. The night was spent eating the 2 packages of oreos and popcorn we bought on our daily stop at Supermaxi earlier and watching the ever great movies Bridesmaids and Crazy Stupid Love. Then it was bedtime.

In the morning we ate a delicious simple breakfast left out by my host mom, stopped at our favorite store to replace my broken sunglasses and a "lost" belt ($10 total), then headed off to meet some friends and drive to Papallacta hot springs. On the way there DJ Willster filled the car with American music and voices belting, something I miss a lot here since I have to ride the bus all the time. Once we arrived we found a hot springs and soaked in the naturally heated water b

y the volcano and hid from the cold mountain air. After playing some games with the super cold bath and super cold bath we took some time to talk and realize that the water we were sitting in was filled with floating hair and dead skin from other people. So the best bet was not to look or think about this "clean" water. After soaking for a few hours we headed back to Quito and stopped at a pizza place to eat. The girls (7 of us) must have been super hungry because the room was filled with constant laughter because everything seemed funny. We ordered 2 huge pizzas and 2 huge containers of Sprite and went at it. Then since the girls had to leave a bunch of stuff at my house to have lighter bags for the day trip we all went back to my house, decided that it was already late and that we still had movies to watch so everyone again spent the night in my mansion. Or so I've been told. Since my host sister decided to hog the TV all night we just ate the rest of our snacks and talked. In the morning we ate another great breakfast and then finally got to watch the movie we wanted and then it was time to go home and get some homework done.

As this week closes and the next begins we realized that we have 3 weeks of classes left and one week of finals and then we are out of here. I'm extremely excited and extremely scared and I anticipate these emotions both to rise to the extreme but every day I've reminded myself to take it one day at a time. Tomorrow marks the 100th day of living here, hard to believe that. And it also marks the one month count down. As the days drag and speed on I realize that sometime in the future I'll have to come back.      

A Quito a Quito!

Well this weekend we all chilled around the fabulous Quito. Thursday I had 2 tests and a quiz so naturally Friday after class was spent rewarding myself for getting through the week. I went to a salon near Anne's house and we each got our nails and for only $3, so we might (most def.) will be back. After that we trecked over to my house and on the way stopped at a store kinda like Macy's only smaller and cheaper. I bought a purse that I've been eyeing since the first month and also a coin purse to match so that my camera could have its' case back that I had been using as a wristlet. Friday night Anne, Willow, Lauren, and I went to a Western restaurant for pizza in celebration of one of our Ecuadorean friends birthday. Naturally we were late and felt really bad for being late on her birthday, only to realize that she too, and the rest of the gang, were running behind. We like to call it the "Ecuadorean hour", where all Ecuadorians are late, basically no matter what and it's ok... according to them. The pizza was great and so was the company but we all headed home around 9 because of the draining week at school.

On Saturday Shanna, Lydia, Anne, and I spent the day being tourists, jokes on you, we've been here 3 months! We took a double-decker bus tour (like those in London) and toured the city like we had no clue what anything was. There were 12 stops on the bus and we had the chance to get off at any of the stops we'd like, but we'd have to wait another hour for the next bus to pick us up. So the first stop we got off at was the basilica. This was an amazing sight to see with all the Gothic-Roman architecture spread across the building. After taking in the view of the second floor, and lots of pictures, the hike to the top was on. We got to the gift shop about 3/4 of the way up just fine but when we exited the shop we saw a long wooden bridge to a flight of stairs that was basically a ladder going straight up. The stairs were tiny and the only thing you could do was look where you were grabbing. After this we had 2 more of these stairs/ladder type things to climb only outside the building with wind and sun to knock you right off onto the cement below, very far below. I never have been too fond of heights but this made me realize how much I don't like them. After being coached with some encouraging words from my friend Lydia below I made it to the top, even if I wanted to give up about 100 times. The view from the top was amazing, we could see Quito as far as the eye could see, we never really realized how big the city was. After this we hurried down in fear of missing our bus, and for me just in fear. We rode the bus to the Virgin watching over the city and look lots of pictures again and then headed back to where we got picked up. This was a well worth it trip and a great way to spend out Saturday.

Sunday was my first futbol (soccer) game in Ecuador! We went to La Liga (our team) VS. Barcelona, a team from the South of Ecuador. This rivalry was huge, so huge that the two teams had to buy tickets at completely separate locations, sit in sections where we couldn't even see each other, enter at opposite sides of the stadium, and police officers were EVERYWHERE. On the way in Lauren and I had to basically throw our belts away because they could be used as weapons. We were told that we could get them back later, but we threw them into a huge bag with 60 million other belts got a sticker that matched one on our belt and walked away never to see them again. After the game we asked about them and the people we were with said it's very hard to find them again, so without looking we walked to our car. To say the least I was not happy and now my pants will be falling down for the next month. The excitement for the game was constant and people were always cheering and singing. La Liga finally did make a goal, the stadium went crazy and Lauren, Anne, and I got knocked over by crazy fans. In the end it was a super cool experience and La Liga did win, thank heavens in favor of our safety. Exiting the stadium was chaos, being pushed and squeezed, and watching the Barcelona fans be caged off until we all left, we couldn't even leave at the same time. We were told that before all these precautions were put into place for these 2 crazy sides lots of people got hurt and there were lots of problems.

The rest of today will be spent doing some homework and getting ready for another week.

          

Spring Break 2013

Well it's safe to say that so far this has been the best Spring Break of my many years of schooling. This is mostly because I spent the week at the beach. Going into the week Shanna and I had really no clue where we were staying or what we were going to be doing for 5 days. So Monday we headed out at about 8am and traveled for about 8 hours only stopping about 3 times. Upon arrival  I noticed that we would not only be visiting the beach, we would be staying at it. One of the Ecuadorean guys that drove us, his uncle has a beach house on the Ocean and was allowing us to use it for the week. Included was a maid who cleaned up after us and made delicious meals, for a very fair price.

Tuesday we got to see the place in the daylight and it was even more beautiful than at night, this place was a mix of antique items that had been collected over the years, the house was straight out of the pages of a Martha Stewart magazine, flowers everywhere, animals, and mostly importantly hammocks at every turn. Mid-day we headed off to Los Friles, a national park/beach that has been rated the most beautiful in Ecuador. It truly was amazing and not crowded at all. The waves were more tame than the last beach I was at, which was a relief because I couldn't handle anymore swimsuit malfunctions.As I was minding my own business on the shallow part of the beach, I noticed a large fish swim past my legs, then it was time for me to get out. No fishy business today for me. The rest of the day we relaxed at the house.

Wednesday we spent about 8 hours at Isla de la Plata, a small island off of Ecuador that we like to call the "Poor Man's Galapagos". First it was an hour boat ride to the island then we took a hike around the island to an amazing view off of a cliff and then hiked back. I am not a big hiker and it being 100 degrees and humid, I complained a bit (a lot) and never have I ever sweat so much in my life. Here I received most of my sunburn due to lots of sweating and lots of sun and not being able to re-apply sunscreen until we got back to the boat. After our hike we got back onto the boat to eat some lunch and drive over to our snorkeling spot. This was the part I was super excited for. Throughout being here in Ecuador I have realized something about myself, I am not a hiker, I am a swimmer and I love being in the water. Before we got off the boat, right around us were about 5 huge turtles swimming around and also some very colorful fish. Next we got our goggles and breathing tube things and headed out. We got to see some cool fish and just be in an amazing spot with an amazing view of the cliffs. I honestly could have stayed in the water all day watching and searching for the fish. I loved this experience and I hope to get to do it again soon! After everyone had their time swimming with the fishies we headed back to the main land, only to stop half way because someone spotted dolphins! This was also amazing and super cool, dolphins in the wild, about 20 of them here and there, I took about 60 pictures just trying to capture them, our guide continued to say that this was a very rare occurrence. Hiking in the burning sun defiantly was worth it to see turtles, colorful fish, and dolphins the way they were intended to be. We headed back, drove home, showered and relaxed again, after all it was our vacation.

Thursday nothing big was planned so we headed out to a museum, went to a church for a spectacular view, and got some awesome pie. Yum. On Friday it was raining so we didn't do much except play games with some other Ecuadorans who came Thursday night and later we took the kayaks out onto the Ocean, super fun but a lot of work and very cold in the rain. Friday night Shanna and I left for home on a 10 hour bus. The plan was to sleep the entire time and arrive at 6am in Quito. Sleeping was basically a success besides lots of head bobbing and we arrived 2 hours early at 4am. I was not convinced that we were in Quito due to the fact that we were 2 hours early. So I spent about 15 min unpacking once I got home then quit and went to bed. Today has been spent sleeping and cleaning my room and also planning some classes for next semester.

It's also been interesting cooking for myself today, because my host mom is gone. I have cooked about nothing since I've been here except toast, so I know where nothing is. I have not gone hungry yet making simple meals but she's supposed to be gone until Monday so there is still time.                

Free Samples.

Well this week was my last week before spring break. Monday was a normal day.

Tuesday is usually my hard day with class from 8:30 until 1. So after my Jazz class Lauren and I headed to our dreaded accounting class only to see that no one was in the classroom. We looked around confused only to be told that there was no class! This made our day especially because we didn't have accounting at all last week because our teacher was in the States. So what would we do with our 1.5 hours of free time? Go shopping at the new mall across the street of course! We hit up every store looking for a 21st birthday dress for Lauren and found the perfect one at the first store we entered similar to a Forever 21 only way smaller and way more expensive. Since Lauren didn't have enough money we couldn't but it right away but brought all our friends back to the store during lunch for their approval and then put the dress on hold until Wednesday. Even though it was a bit more on the expensive side we all decided on a million occasions in which she could wear the dress so in the long run it would be more than worth it. During this shopping trip I also found the most perfect dress. A sleeveless high-low dress where the top was all gold sequins and the bottom was a sheer dark purple, not to mention my favorite shade of purple. This dress was way too dressy for anything I would ever be attending but maybe if the price was right... HA it was $81. No way was i getting this dress... ever. So it is now saved forever in my mind. Also, after our shopping trip when we were heading back to our next class we got free crackers, a new promotion/kind, and who doesn't like free food? The only thing was we had to pose for a picture which wasn't bad and we were on our way.

Wednesday we went to class, ate lunch, and then Lauren decided to get her hair cut so we went to this cute little hair cutting place right by school to check out the prices. A hair cut and wash was only $10 so we did it, Lauren got her hair cut short with some cute bangs and Willow got a trim, and I scheduled a cut for myself and Anne for Friday at 12 after class.

Thursday I actually had accounting and got my test back that I thought I failed but really got a "B", what a great surprise! and we got out super early. So to reward myself for doing well on my test I bought a cookie and sat on the steps of the main building. Here there were 2 free promotions/options for free food. One lady was giving out individually packaged slices of bread and the other ladies were giving away small packages of noodles. Naturally I wanted both, but the noodles looked harder to get because you had to play a game or something but bread lady was just giving out bread to anyone. So after sitting there for 20 min trying to get her to come to us using eye and mind signals we eventually had to walk past her and get it ourselves.

So tomorrow I just have one test and then I'm free for spring break! And to start off the week of relaxation I'm getting a new hair doo.

The Ocean!

Well this past weekend all 8 of the SNC girls and my Ecuabuddy headed out to Esmeraldas Providence. Here we would spend an entire day at Tonsupa beach.

We were planned on leaving at 12 on Friday to catch our bus at 1:30, but because my Ecuabuddy stressed the importance of arriving early we sat in class for 30 min and left early. To get to our bus we had to first take a series of other buses. First we took our usual bus to then literally ran to another bus, stood on there for about 20 min and ran even faster through traffic and horns beeping to jump on a moving bus. All this with pursed flying and bouncing and being weighed down by a 20+ pound backpack. We eventually got to the station laughing about what we just did and then ventured off for snacks and bathrooms before we left. Snacks were very cheap but we had to pay 10 cents just to get toilet paper which is a common in Ecuador. The bus ride was 7 hours but we did get to stop once at a sketchy/gross rest stop to use the bathroom and we were able to watch a movie in English on the bus, even though the movie started over 4 times, but we only saw it all the way through once, it was pretty good for a bus movie. Once we got to our final stop we had to flag down a taxi to take us to our hotel. These taxis were not yellow cars but motorcycles with carts built on/around them. We got to our hotel, figured out that we had to put the mattresses on the floor to have a spot for everyone to sleep and headed out for some real dinner. Much to our disappointment the only place open was a burger place, that only had french fries, and they would take 30 min to make. So we killed time, ate, and headed home to sleep.

Saturday we got up and found one of the 3 places open for the weekend to eat and headed to the beach. I was especially excited because it was going to be my first time in the ocean. Naturally we all made a big deal about it and took lots of pictures of me running to the water. After experiencing the water we rented a shade tent for the day and went out to tackle the waves. Later we payed for a ride on an inflatable banana. This was not a ride, more of a game. The drivers of the boat basically tried to fling us off the banana as much as possible but we still had a great time being catapulted into the water on top of each other. Throughout the day we swam, walked on the beach, tanned/burned, and shopped at the walking stores that came past the tent. I bought a pair of earrings for $2 that are supposedly all natural. For dinner I had some amazing pasta and ham and took some great pictures. Overall it was a great day and I only burned a little.

Sunday we had to head home for Monday classes and again we took the 7 hour bus ride to Quito and then a taxi the rest of the way to our houses.

Today it rained all day which reminds me that we are getting closer and closer to the rainy season (April) and that means it'll rain every day for a few hours. Also today I received my first package from my wonderful mother with some much needed supplies. Just four short days of class until Spring Break and another trip to a different beach.      

And as of yesterday March 17th, I have exactly 2 more months left here. It is really becoming a bitter sweet moment.

Amazon Woman: Take Two

Last weekend I headed off to my most expensive planned trip thus far; the Amazon rain-forest. The college here has a biodiversity research station there called Tiputini, only students and researches can visit so this was a chance of a life time. The total was $450 for everything, transportation, food, and guided hikes for 4 days and 3 nights. We started off our trip by waking up at 4am to catch a taxi to the bus station for our 30 min flight at 7. After the flight we took a 5 min bus to a canoe in the city of Coca. The canoe was about 2 hours to another bus for 2 more hours and finally one last 3 hour canoe ride to the station. After taking our 3 modes of transportation we arrived around 4pm and listened to out orientation talk and found our rooms. After sitting all day Shanna, Whitney, and I walked around camp. Dinner was at 7 and after the amazing food was devoured we went to bed.

The special things about Tiputini:

• It is in the middle of no-where
• There is only electricity from 10-1am and 6-9:30 pm, all other times we had to use candles
• Breakfast is at 6:30am, Lunch is at 12, and Dinner is at 7, every day
• There is only cold water, that they take from the Tiputini river, treat it to make it safe for drinking and usage and then return it back to the river after treatment again, because of this we had to use special soap for showers
• It is very hot and very humid
• It rains a minimum of 2 times a day
• The bugs are huge, and my bugs I mean spiders 
• With camera traps they have captured images of Pumas, Ocelots, and other cat species
• When we could, we kept our cameras, ipods, phones, and other sensitive equipment in "dry boxes". This was because the humidity would eventually ruin and break the electronics. 

Saturday we woke up nice and early with our candle light and headed to breakfast and a hike to follow at 7:30. It was pouring rain in the morning and we tried to wait it out but we just ended up hiking in the rain. We walked to a lagoon, took a small canoe around the lagoon and then hiked back to camp stopping to chase monkeys off the path and look at interesting ants and plants. The hike lasted until 12 when we ate lunch and headed back to our cabins for a nap until our next hike at 2:30. This hike we climbed up to a platform high above the trees to see what we could find. Our group stayed there for about an hour searching. We saw some cool butterflies and mostly just took in the view. Dinner was served at 7 followed by a presentation of their research with the camera traps and what they've learned about the animals there. After this the electricity was out and we decided it would just be better to go to bed.

On Sunday we took a hike to some rope bridges high above the canopy. Even though we didn't see much it was still amazing just to be so high and to be able to see everything. There were 3 platform and also a ladder that went even higher to another platform. The view was amazing and the bugs were terrible. For our second hike that day we did not go on a hike, we went on a boat ride and got to go into the Tiputini River and float on our own. We let the current take us as the boat followed. After about an hour we all got back in and headed back to camp to dinner and another presentation on the monkeys living in the area. The river we floated in also holds piranhas and caiman (a type of alligator), but because of the high river level and the fact that no one was bleeding to attract their attention, nothing happened and we all got back in one piece. That night around 8 we took an hour night hike and got to see all the creatures that came out at night. We saw lots of huge spiders and I even found a scorpion. Half way through we stopped, turned off all our lights, and stood there for one min. During this time we could hear all the animals stirring about and see nothing, not even your own hand in front of your face, it was that dark.

Monday was spend traveling again and we stopped at an indigenous village for about 20 min to hear the sing and do a little dance. After taking our three modes of transportation again we got home around 9 and then I had to do homework, check in with some Facebook time, and clean up my rotting pineapple.