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!