New Things

I'm back at Malone, and it's feels really strange. Living on the second floor again is just weird without all my friends who were here last time. =\ I've decided to keep up with my blog, and as you can see, I've changed the name of it. My ''Journey to the Equator'' is now over, unfortunately. I had such a good time in Ecuador and I would have no trouble going back to visit. I realized how much I did love it there. I keep seeing things in my life that reminds me of things I saw there. For example: you may have seen the Subway commercials that start off, ''Big Sandwich! Big Taste...'' etc. Well, there was a little bodega (convenience store) right next to Nikki's host house that was called, ''Big Sandwich,'' yes, in english. =] So, when I saw that commercial, I automatically thought of the bodega.


Now I'm pretty much all moved in at Malone, except for the few little things that I forgot. I've already broken out my guitar, too. =] It's weird to be back. Everyone knows eachother, and I don't know any of the new freshman, who make up most of my dorm. But, I'm sure I'll get to know everyone eventually.

Well, this post isn't very exciting, but I thought I should write a kind of 'intro' into the next stage in my blog. I promise I'll be more interesting...maybe. =]


World Traveler

It'll be weird...

**CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: Dear John Soundtrack by Deborah Luire**

...to throw toilet paper in the toilet.
...to be able to talk to the general public in english.
...to not be able to talk about people standing right next to me and not have to worry about them overhearing.
...to not dread having to take a shower cause the water will give me hypothermia.
...to be able to drive.
...to not have to take the bus to school.
...to be able to text anyone I want, when I want.
...to not get whistled at by random men.
...to not get honked at when walking down the road.
...to not get lunch money/security money every month from Daniel and Martha.
...to get a paycheck. (!!!)
...to be home.

=]
Another rainy day in Quito. Ecuador was nice enough to make the last few days of my stay nice and dreary. =\ But I've been too excited to be bummed about the weather. Like my host mom said tonight at dinner, in reference to the past couple days being so cold, ''pero, en su pais, hay nieve'' --> ''But, in your country, there's snow''. Exactly. I'm ready to take on the snow, though. =] I've got my sweater that I haven't worn yet and brought specifically for this day and I have my hat, gloves and scarf ready for me to take home.

My bags have been packed, minus the essencials, for the past couple days. I had nothing else to do, so I packed. =] My room seems so empty now, and it'll be weird to leave and not see this family every evening, but I'm ready. The time has come and I'm ready. =]

One of my friends, Haley, had to go home early due to family troubles. She left a few weeks ago, but this afternoon when I was talking to her, she told me, ''you'll pee your pants when you get to cleveland and you'll cry when you see your family.'' Now, I was prepared to cry, but I dunno about peeing my pants. =\ I keep thinking about getting to the Cleveland airport and not being able to contain my excitement. I'll just be giddy, walking to the baggage claim.

So, let this be my last post while in Ecuador. =]
I think I might change the name of the blog and keep it going. I like blogging about things and, who knows, maybe it'll be good place to vent after a long day, or something. ;) I can't wait to see everyone and give my family all of their presents! =]
Chao until SUNDAY!


World Traveler

You can count the days on your hands...

**CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: Family Tree by Dave Barnes**

10 days. That's it. But it seems like I wont make it through this week...even though there are only two more days left in it. I have a whole lot of stuff to do before I can call this semester complete.

First of all, tomorrow is the oral exam for my Quichua class. Nikki and I are doing a ''spontaneous'' dialogue. We broke the rules, cause we pre-wrote it, but what Jaime doesn't know wont hurt him. I'm not too worried about it because I've done really well on every thing else in that class and I understand the language pretty well so the dialogue should go pretty well. Also, tomorrow night is our final dinner with all the BCA people. We are leaving from the University at 4, so Nikki and I will have a few hours of nothing inbetween our exam and leaving for the dinner. This is going to be the time where I attempt to study for the two exams I have on Friday.

I have my Art History ''final'' (more just like a regular test but still equally as difficult) at 10 am and I wont have much time time to study for it after the dinner, unless I study on the bus, because we'll be getting back to Quito pretty late. Also, on Friday, I have my Advanced Spanish Grammer final. I'm nervous about this one. I'm horrible at grammer and I fear that I haven't learned near enough to do well on the final not to mention that I will be focusing on studying for Art History tomorrow, so I wont have studied much for it, either. =\

Then it's the weekend, which would normally bring joy to a college student, but not during finals week. I, unfortunatetly, get to write a 5 page paper about Latin American history. Joy. Saturday, my host mom and a few other host moms have put together a little lunch for us (complete with turkey, because we missed out on it for Thanksgiving), so I'll have a break then, but I want to pump out this paper as soon as possible, even though it's not due until Wednesday, but also, on Wednesday, we have our final for Latin American History. =\ So I get to study for that one too. Wonderful.

Another thing I get to worry about, is retaking the Spanish exam that we took even before we came to Ecuador to measure our level of spanish. We have to take it again to see how much our spanish has improved while here. Unfortunately, I don't think I have improved as much as I would have liked. So, even though I doubt the exam has anything to do with grades or anything, I'm stressing about doing well on that as well. =\

Once I reach Wednesday afternoon, I'll be happy. I can relax and pack and get ready to go home. =] I'm ready to see everyone, but I for sure am not ready for all the snow. The weather here has been so nice and I've become acustomed to having nice weather in December. =]

The other day, I was reading through all my previous blog entries, and it makes me realized how much of a wonderful experience I have had here, in Eucador. I have experienced so many new things and have crossed so many things off the proverbial ''Bucket List'' in the back of my mind. Just looking at the length of my ''Firsts'' list makes me smile.

One of my first posts was about being stressed about what clothes to bring. I remember how I felt then and thinking back on it now makes me realize how rediculous I was being. I was stressing about what clothes to bring and not having the right sized luggage, and losing my razor...all things that could be fixed fairly easily. It makes me smile.

I know I have changed while I've been here, and I think it's for the better. I've grown in so many ways and I know that I will never forget the things I've experienced or the friends that I've made here.


World Traveler

Final Project

It seems wierd that those two words are even crossing my mind right now. We're just about 18 full days away from the flight home. CRAZY!! Like, that doesn't even seem plausible to me...

Well it's true, and I do, in fact have to do my final project...except that I already did. That's right. I'm so on top of things, that I finished my final project like three weeks early. SCORE! If you're wondering what my project is, let me tell you.

For my pre-semester class we have to do a reflective final project about our time here in Ecucador. But, seeing as it is reflective, we have to complete it after we have spent our semester here and we will present them to our director and fellow BCAers during finals week. For my project, I decided to focus on the presence of God in Ecuador, or what I've felt or seen of Him while I was here. I made a video (below) filled with pictures that I or my friends have taken of the beautiful country of Ecuador. I also used my friend Haley's Mac to record myself singing and playing the guitar to the song ''Indescribable'' by Chris Tomlin. I also wrote a paper sort of explaining myself. =] So, I hope you all enjoy and tell me what you think!

Indescribable

When I first chose to come to Ecuador, I didn't think I was going to miss home as much as I do. I remember finalizing my trip and thinking that it would be a long time before I even left for Ecuador. I would tell people where I was going and that I would be there for five months. They would gasp and tell me just ''how long'' that really was. I shook it off and laughed and said I would be fine. What is five months anyway? A semester of school. A decent relationship. A pretty long time to be away from family and friends.

For about the first 3 and half months I was fine with being away from home. I skyped with my parents every few weeks and I missed them, but it wasn't unbearable. I went to school and hung out with friends and just enjoyed experiencing and being in another country. I think once the end of the semester started getting closer and closer, I realized how much I really did miss home.

I broke down a few times, but only one thing got me through it all, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If at home, I would have reached for my guitar and sat in my room for a few hours and just played. But, I wasn't. So, I would just put on a play-list full of worship music and listen. I would let the words sink in and I would blog. I'd blog about how I felt, how I've changed, and how much of a blessing it is to have a God who loves me so, incredibly much.

I wanted my final project to be meaningful and not just something that I had to do because it was assigned to me. I started thinking about things that I could do. I could write something, like, a poem, or a story, but that didn't seem good enough. I'd already made one video/slide-show of my experiences here, I could make another one. I thought about making a video reflecting on the things I did while I was here, and I decided on that, but it still didn't seem like the right thing. Then, when I went to talk to Daniel about my final project, I laid out my ideas, still feeling a little unsure about the whole thing. Then he said it, ''how you see God [in Ecuador].'' and that was it. That was my final project. I could not have made it here without Him and I could not have made it all the way through without Him. He was there every step of the way and He was the one who helped me the most when I was at my worst.

I've always loved photography because it enables me to capture a fraction of the beauty that is creation. I love pictures of nature because it enables me to capture a fraction of the beauty that is God. This is why I decided to make my final project video solely with pictures of the beautiful sights of Ecuador. I have so many other pictures that equally depict how great of a time I have had while I've been here, but that's not really what I want to show. I want to show how wonderful my God is, and how faithful He is even when you're halfway across the world.

“From the highest of heights, to the depths of the seas. Indescribable, uncontainable, you placed the stars in the sky and you know them by name. You are amazing, God. All powerful, untamable, awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim, you are amazing, God. You are amazing, God.''

World Traveler

Firsts

**Currently Listening to: old Atwood CDs. =]**



When I went to type the title of this post, I wrote ''Fists'' about 4 times, and I wanted to assure everyone that this post was, in fact, about ''Firsts'', not ''Fists''.



Now that we're clear on that...

I just got back from the lovely Galápagos islands. They were WONDERFUl and I didn't want to leave. Obviously. Before I left, lots of people were telling me that I was not going to want to leave. I disreguarded this because I was like, ''I've been to the beach loads of times. I'm sure I'll love it, but I'm sure I'll be able to leave.'' False. As soon as we got to our hostal on Isla Isabella, I was hooked. Nikki, Meghan and I were walking on the beach and I was already in love. I wasn't expecting it, but it hit me like a ton of bricks. It was just so nice. The town is not real touristy at all and I think that's what I loved about it. There were little shops, restaurants, and panaderias lining the main road and lots of beautiful views.



BUT

I don't think i'm going to write about all that we did right now because it would probably take me the entire day to write.



My purpose of this post is to make a list of ''Firsts'' that I've had since I arrived in Ecuador and to reflect on how thankful I am that I've experienced these things. It seems appropriate it being November and all.... =]

So, here it goes:



-first time being in South America

-first time being in Ecuador

-first time having to take a bus to and from school every day (25 cents each way)

-first time feeding a llama

-first time seeing pyramids (even if they were covered in grass)

-first time bartering in an artisan market

-first time swimming in a waterfall

-first time taking classes in a foreign country

-first time taking ALL my classes in Spanish

-first time learning a 3rd language in my 2nd language

-first time living with a family that is not my own

-first time taking a 12 hour bus ride to the beach for just about $12

-first time being a vegetarian for a week

-first time riding a horse

-first time seeing monkeys in the wild

-first time being in the Amazon

-first time using an tampon without an applicator

-first time jumping off a bridge for fun

-first time witnessing a ''milk soccer'' game

-first time getting a 95% on a paper written entirely in Spanish

-first time experiencing a "Pirate" themed week at a University complete with treasure hunt, a pirate ship and a zip line across the lagoon

-first time being in the Galápagos

-first time in the southern hemisphere

-first time walking through lava-made tunnels

-first time witnessing a crab eat an iguana

-first time snorkling

-first time seeing adult sea turtles and sea lions in the wild

-first time swimming with sea turtles and sea lions

-first time climbing a volcano

-first time seeing blue footed boobies (yes, you read that right) and ''magnificent'' friggets

-first time seeing ''Solitario Jorge''. George, the last turtle of his kind.

-first time trying shrimp...and it wasn't half bad. =]

-first time getting (slightly) burnt on the equator



and I still have a whole month and a half to experience more things!

.....that's crazy. I only have a month and a half left in Ecuador. I've already been here for almost 4 months. The time has gone soo fast.


I will have to add on more to this list as my time here comes to an end. I already know of some things that I will be doing for the first time, so be prepared! =]



**See pictures on Facebook for more of my experiences in the Galápagos. It would take up WAY too much room on here to try and describe all that we did. Here's a little taste of the beauty that is Galápagos....

Baños: More than just bathrooms

**Currently listening to: my Christmas music playlist ** =]

We actually made it to Baños! It was a REALLY last minute decision, but Nikki, Meghan and I ended up going. Sasha was signed up to run in a 10k saturday night, so she didn't join us. Here's what happened Friday:

During our history class, Meghan was talking about how her and Sasha wanted to go to Baños this weekend...already a very last minute decision. Well, after class I went to Nikki's house and we ate some Kraft Mac & Cheese (YUM!!!) and waited to hear back from Meghan and Sasha who were looking up all the stuff in Baños. I walked home around 530 or so and we still had not heard from them. It got later and later and I still hadn't heard anything, so I assumed that we weren't going. Then Sasha told me that she didn't know if she could go because she had a 10k to run Saturday night, but she might skip it. This was at, like, 9 pm and I was getting a little annoyed cuz decisions weren't being made so I told myself that I wasn't going. I could save my money and do something else this weekend. So, I told my host mom that we weren't going anymore and that was that. Around 12 I went to bed. I was almost asleep and my phone goes off...a text message, from Meghan. ''Hey Sasha is not going to Baños but Nikki and I still want to go. you in?'' I don't have money to send texts, so I got back online and agreed to go with Nikki and Meghan to Baños.

So, at 630 am, I woke up, took a shower, and packed to leave at 8. We took a taxi to the bus station in South Quito and then took a bus 3 hours to Baños. First, we needed to find a hostal. We found a little doorway on one of the main streets and so we went in and the place was pretty much empty, so we got a room. It was $8 a person for the night. We each had our own bed, plus an extra one we didn't need, a private bathroom with hot water, and a pretty sweet view. We got there around lunch time, so we we to a ''Restaruant'' (literally what it was called) for lunch. I had arroz con pollo (chicken and rice) and we were entertained by fake wrestling on tv. It was wonderful. haha and VERY fake. =]

After we were full, we knew that we wanted to do puenting, so we went to look for a place and check out the prices. We found one and looked at the prices, which were what we had heard, $10-$15-or $25 depending on the height of the jump, but we wanted to see what other places offered. Right across the street was another place that had the same prices, so we ended up just going with that place. Here's how it went down: (disclaimer: this is a very ROUGH translation from how the actual spanish conversation happened)

We were like, "Hey, we wanna jump off a bridge. How much is it?"
"$10 for the lower jump and $15 for the higher one."
Meghan and I look at each other... "$15?" "ok""
We wanna do the $15 one."...
"Alright, let's go''and we legitimately walked to the bridge right then. like, it was 3 minutes away. We walked there, put on the stuff and they're like, alright let's jump! It was so accessable; I was expecting it to take longer to do. AND we didn't have to pay until AFTER we jumped. But, it was super windy (as you can see and hear in the video that I posted on facebook) so once Meghan and I got onto the platforms we were sitting on the edge of the bridge looking at eachother like, ''Why are we doing this?!'' The guys behind kept telling us to ''Stand up!'' and they probably had to tell us more than 10 times until we actually did. Then my guy told me, in spanish, to put my arms out (like an airplane) but it was so windy and I wasn't really thinking in spanish cuz I was so scared that I didn't understand him and automatically assumed that he was telling me something really important and I MISSIED it!! So, I screamed ''WHAT?'' and, in english, he goes, ''Like this!'' and puts his arms out. And then the started counting....there was no backing out after they started counting. I looked down and immediately had to look up and focus on the horizon cuz if I didn't, I wouldn't have done it. When the guy said ''TRES!!'', I screamed and dove off of the platform. I think I closed my eyes until I felt the rope catch cuz I don't really remember seeing anything, haha. But, as Meghan and I were swinging back and forth for about two minutes, every time we made eye contact our eyes were wide and our mouths were open in that HOW-AWESOME-WAS-THAT?! kind of way. Then we were lowered down to the ground and walked back up the bridge. It was so awesome and I'm sooo glad I did it. I'd have to pay like $100 and watch a stupid video if I did this in the states. I like the Ecuadorian way better. =]

After all that adrenaline, we found another little touristy place and went on a ''tour'' to El Paillon del Diablo, a really sweet waterfall (pictures on facebook). It was quite a hike on the way back and I got really light headed and I took extra long to get back up that hill...but I made it. =]

Once we got back, we pretty much just walked around the town. There were a lot of interesting sights. Besides all of the little shops and restaurants, we saw probably 4 different parades of people complete with a band leading the way and little cheerleader-type girls dancing to JLo and Enrique Iglesias. <--This part kind of reminded me of the constitution day parade with the little twirlers and their tiny batons. =] There were also a very large crowd of people carrying flowers and a couple of men carrying a shrine-type thing with a woman in it on their shoulders. In one of the parades, the shrine was a legit float and had little girls dressed up as angels sitting on it. It was quite an interesting thing to witness.

We also saw a very interesting game of soccer. We found the game because we heard a band playing and we saw a crowd of people and a bunch of streamers, so we decided to crash the party. Everyone was watching this game of soccer that a bunch of men were playing in the streets. They were all wearing rain boots and they were playing with a really small ball, more like a kids play soccer ball than an actual soccer ball. But then we saw the interesting part...all of their boots were filled with something. It was white liquid so we called it milk. I doubt that it actually was, cuz that would be a waste of milk, but every single one of them had this liquid in their boots, and when they would fall or splash too much of it out, some guy would come rushing over with a little bucket, and refill their boots! It was hilarious. The weight of the liquid made it harder to run and harder to kick the ball. I decided that I'm bringing this version of the sport back to the states with me. =]

For the rest of the night we walked around and looked in the shops. We found an artisan's market place and it made me really want to get my souveniers but I'm saving my money for when we go back to Otovalo. Just walking through it made me excited. =] Then we got some dinner, Meghan had Choclo (a potato soup) and Nikki and I shared Llapingachos (a fried potato cake with cheese in it...i.e. my FAVORITE ecuadorian dish ever! ). Then we headed back to our hostal and pretty much just chilled in the room for a while. We channel surfed for a while and we kept hearing this really loud banging outside. We'd been hearing it all day but didn't know what it was until we looked out our windows...they were setting off fireworks! And they were going off right by this church that had really tall towers like a castle and was lit up by blue lights, so we were pretty much a disney world, watching fireworks behind Cinderella's castle. =] It was sweet.

We were bums and went to bed kind of early, but jumping off a bridge takes a lot out of you, and we were all exhausted. Sunday morning, we got up around 10 and packed our stuff up, payed and found a little bread shop and got some breakfast. Pinnapple juice and a cheese sandwich. =] We walked around a little more, but I had pretty much run out of money so we bought our tickets for the bus home and then left around 12.

Even though the trip wasn't long and we didn't do a WHOLE lot, it was still really fun. =] I'm glad we went and I'm SUPER glad I jumped off that bridge. =] It was really neat to see all the festivities of what seemed to be a local celebration. I'm glad we experienced what we did and I'm glad I didn't blow off the trip like I had planned. =] haha

My life is pretty boring for the next few days...until Friday that is. =] Friday morning we leave for the Galapagos!!! I'm so freaking excited!
I'll for sure have some things to write about when I get back.
Until then!


World Traveler

Viaje a Yanamaru

**Currently listening to: When I'm With You by JJ Heller**

Trip to Yanamaru (the Amazon)

So it's been a long while since I last blogged...so I think it's about time I do so.
It's been over three months now and we're on the home stretch! =] Just under two months til I'm on a plane home and just under a week til I'm on a plane to the Galapagos! Be jealous. =]

So, last weekend I went a trip to the Amazon with an Amazonian Culture class that I'm not even in. I know a guy in the class, Hempe, and he invited a friend, Nanki, and Nanki invited Haley and I to come.

We left from the University around 9am Friday morning and had about a 4 hour drive or so to our first stop, a zoo. Well, it wasn't exaclty a zoo, it was more like a rescue place for animals, but it was still pretty cool. It was raining when we got there, but we walked around anyway. They had a lot of monkeys, birds, long-haired pigs, leopard-like cats and dogs. =] We pretty much just walked around the place with a guide for a while and then left. We weren't there very long.

Then we left and headed to our next stop, Spa en las Cavernas de la Casa del Arbol (roughly: Spa in the caves and the tree house). First, we got to see the tree house. It's built in a 300 year old tree and is probably 10, or so, stories high. We had to climb up all the flights of stairs and then we could look out at the surrounding land. Considering it was still raining, there wasn't much to see, but it was still really cool. Then we walked around the grounds and saw their snakes and fish and then we got to go eat some fish of our own. Well, everyone else did. I gave my fish up and just ate my rice and beans. =] I mean, I'm already not a fish person and then they give me a plate with a fish on it...looking like a fish with a little batter on it...not very appetizing. Once we were all finished, I borrowed rubber boots from the owner and then we went on a hike. Mind you, it's around 5 pm by now and the sun is getting ready to set.

So, we take our hike and the sun is going down and we finally reach our destination. We hiking all the way here, through mud and rain, so we could swing on a rope swing. Joy. I didn't even end up doing it because all the girls had to use a harness to swing across while the boys could just run and jump, but almost everyone who tried using the harness hurt themselves in some way, so I decided not to intentionally hurt myself. By this time, everyone is applying loads of bug spray because the sun has now set and the bugs are hungry...and we still have to walk all the way back. =\ So, we start walking...in the pitch black...with only a few flash lights to even see where we are going. The ground is completely mud from all of the day's rain and probably about 75% of the time I didn't have a flashlight shinning at my feet so I was just taking a chance by even taking a step. I just followed the light shirt in front of me all the way back to the Spa en las Cavernas. We had to climb over and under fallen trees and my only pair of jeans were significanly dirty and wet by the time we got back. AND I'm pretty sure my boots had a hole in them.

When we got back to where we started the hike, Las Cavernas, our guide lined us up in a single file line in front of one of the entrances to the caves. He told us to put our hands on the shoulders of the person in front of us because it was going to be dark inside the caves. Uh-oh. =\ Well when we were all inside and blind he told us "Cerrar sus ojos, sus bocas y sus piernas''--> Close your eyes, your mouths and your legs, and then continued to tell multiple other sex jokes throughout our journey... haha. We walked around these caves for seriously about a half hour and, after that night trek through the woods, I was soo tired. We pretty much just found 3 or 4 different spas and took group pictures and then got out of there.

Right outside of the caves, is a decent sized, inground swimming pool and our guide says, ''So, do you guys want to go swimming?'' So, we did, and it felt AMAZING. Getting all that sweat and dirt off of me felt great.

After swimming for about an hour we finally left and headed to the place where we would actually be staying for the weekend. We all moved in our gear to our rooms and then gathered around the fire for dinner, chicken soup and Yuka (a root). And by that, I mean CHICKEN soup; heavy on the chicken. I legit had the entire rib cage of a chicken just chillin' in my bowl. Needless to say, I and the broth and gave my ribs to one of the guys to eat. Gross. Then we got the lowdown on what we would do the next day. Our ''leader'', Jesús, tells us that we're going to wake up at 5am so we can tell each other our dreams and then we're going to drink this hallucinaginic tea to make us throw up and ''clense our bodies''. Wide eyed Haley and I went strait to bed (around 1030) so we could be able to get some sleep and actually have a dream to tell the group the next morning.

Well we didn't sleep much, cuz Nanki was snoring the whole night and Hempe turned his music on around 5 am reeeally loud and was talking with no consideration of those of us who were still sleeping. Yes, we were supposed to be getting up, but they let us sleep in cuz we were tired, and we didn't have to drink the tea and throw up, thank God. We had a corn and veggie mush for breakfast and then I borrowed some more boots so we could go on another hike. After the last one, I was a little skeptical, but I went.

We hiked to a little indigenous community, and the only reason we went was so that the boys from our group could play the boys from the community in soccer. Joy, another useless hike in rubber boots. BUT on the way there we had to cross 4 rivers. We got to cross two of those in a little canoe, but the other two we had to walk across and the height of the water in the river was taller than the height of my boots. So, needless to say, my boots filled with water. Luckly, on the way there, the rivers we walked through were last so we didnt have to walk far in nasty, water-logged boots and we could take them off and let them dry out while the boys were playing soccer. BUT on the way back, we had to walk through those rivers first. So, the rest of the walk back to the villiage was in the nasty, water-logged boots. Yum. My feet were so sore after that hike.

On our way back we took a side trip through some woods to find some ''heart of palm'' so we could make that hallucinaginic tea. We got back to the ''house'' and Haley, Nicole (one of the gringa students) and I all took a shower in our bathing suits together to get the river water and sweat off of ourselves. We had fish again for lunch. Fish that looked like fish, but without the batter this time, but luckly there was an extra chicken just for me. =] Jesús showed us how to make the tea and some people tried it, not including me, but nothing happened to them. Then we had some kind of beef and rice for dinner.To finish off the night, the residents did a few traditional dances for us and then I went to bed and slept much better because I couldn't hear Nanki snoring at all. =]

The next morning we were supposed to get up real early again and tell our dreams and drink that tea, but, yet again, we slept in. =] We had Spaghetti and rice for breakfast and then packed up our stuff and headed home.

All in all it was a good trip and I'm glad I went. It was neat to see an indigenous community and how the live and eat. =]

Tomorrow morning Nikki, Meghan, Sasha and I are hoping to make it to Baños, and no, that's not the bathroom. ;) It's a really touristy town with lots of little fun stuff to do. We're still getting the little details finalized, but we should be going. haha. =]
Hopefully I wont wait a week to write about it. =]

Buenas Noches


World Traveler