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.