Los Momentos de Mi Vida

That moment when you realize you have three weeks left in the Dor, and only 3 more days of classes*.  #roughlife

That moment when you are walking through a downpour and realize your umbrella is no longer waterproof. #worst

*Don't worry mom and dad, I still have papers, presentations, readings, and exams to do. I promise I am studying abroad.

Cambiando los Planes

Something I've become very good at in the Dor: changing my plans.  They don't really exist.  You can try to have lunch with people, try to make reservations and plan a trip on the weekends, but in the back of your mind you always know there's a chance it won't happen--something will change.  So to all you control freaks out there: brace yourself for the Dor.

We were all set--paid for the house we were renting, packed our bags, set a meeting time...and then nothing went according to plan.  We were supposed to go to Tansupa this weekend, but through a lot of random and unforeseen events, we took a taxi on a whim to another bus station, found a bus that wasn't full, and hopped on.  We went to Canoa!!

It was even better than last time (we went there for Carnaval and I was sick the whole time).  We hung out on the beach, read books, played soccer, watch amazing sunsets, ate as many smoothies as we could get our hands on, and walked on the beach until our sunburn forced us to turn around and head for shade.  It was incredible and SO tranquilo! (I know my hair is awesome. Be jealous.)

And of course, any trip to Canoa would not be complete without a visit (or 6.....in 3 days....not kidding) to Saboreame--our favorite restaurant!!

El Dia Fantastico

Today was full chevere because...

--Found out an Ecua guy in my lit class spent last summer in the Apex/Cary area. We bonded over Southpoint, Cheesecake Factory, Crossroads, Myrtle Beach, UNC, and of course, Bojangles!!!

--Had the best lunch ever.

--One of my classes was canceled.

--Got out of my last class early and got to go home for an early start to the weekend.

--Ate llapingachos for dinner

--Hung out with Tio Alex and watched an awesome new show.

--Going to the beach tonight!!!

Awkward moment of the day:

In conversation I tried to say, "It's not that I don't like campfires, I just don't want to burn down the forest." But instead of campfires, I said faggots. Oops.

Un Mes

Only one month left in the Dor. I'm having such a hard time grasping that concept. I put so much effort into making this my home in the beginning and really investing here, and I must have done a darn good job, because I'm not ready for it to be over.

Don't get me wrong I miss home, and family, and friends...but this feels like home and family and friends too (in a different way, but still). But hey, one month is still a long time, and I've got plenty to aprovechar (take advantage of good things)!

(the following lists are in no particular order)

Things I miss from home:

-Davis library (nerd alert. don't care.)

-not eating rice at every meal

-the Pit/quad/arboretum/Franklin/UNC!!

-cheddar cheese

-basketball

-family/friends/community (obviously)

-Summit church

-days without rain

-quiet--the city is loud.

-being a "normal" height

-sarcasm

Things I'm going to have a hard time saying adios to:

-espanol...mucho espanol

-a ton of fresh fruit every day

-walking everywhere

-beautiful bus ride to school

-living on the equator--getting to skip winter

-mountains

-the cutest baby brother ever

-rooftop jam sessions

-patacones, ahi, llapingachos, chifles, te manzanilla, ...

-lunch for 2$

-traveling every weekend

-being 30 min. late and still being "on time"

-having a fairly easy workload at la universidad

-constant adventure

-being a gringa

Song of the day: U Smile--Justin Bieber

Playing on repeat. #notashamed

Futbol y Mindo

Friday night we all went to our first Ecua futbol game! It was insane. The fans put the TarPit to shame. Deportivo Quito played Barcelona (not from Spain...from the coast). A friend of ours is a big Barcelona fan, so we cheered for them. The fans never stopped chanting, there were fireworks being launched from the crowd, flares going off, balloons being waved, a couple fights being started, and the loudest whistles you've ever hear to cheer the team on. Unfortunately, Barcelona lost 2-0, but in all fairness, they did just travel 2 mi above sea level, and it takes longer than a day to get acclimated to that altitude. But all in all, it was a blast...and we learned some really vulgar vocab. Ya never know when you're going to need that!

Then Anneke and I headed back to Mindo for Saturday and Sunday. We just loved it so much the first time (3 months ago....it doesn't seem that long ago!) that we decided to regresar to do everything we missed the first time. So, we saw even more waterfalls, went to visit a butterfly farm, and ate a LOT more chocolate from the chocolateria. Richest brownies I've ever tasted. Also, finished the second book of the Hunger Games in less than a day--sooo good. It was such a great, chill weekend...so nice to get away from the city and just relax. Lovelovelove.

El Cuento de Mi Vida (especialmente en el Dor)

We had to divide up by height today in lit class. We lined up tallest to shortest. Not even kidding, all the girls were on the short half and all the boys on the tall half. It looked like a straight up middle school dance. (minus the slutty kids who formed the grind pit by the speakers. dude you're 13. chill.) Except for me. There was one guy taller than me...and only because he gelled his hair up. (Ecua guys haven't gotten the notice that gel ain't cool. No one wants to touch your crusty, pokey hair. And if I can see where your skull is or the exact path your comb took this morning, we've got problems my friend.)

Whether it was lining up for picture day in first grade or picking teams in gym class in middle school or taking my shoes off to take pictures at prom or dividing up into groups in lit class...

this is the story of my life.

And I wouldn't change it for a million bucks. It would suck to be short. (no offense shorties.)

La Pascua

Friday I went to the procession in downtown Quito. Good Friday is a really big deal here, bigger than Easter (which I think perfectly describes the religious attitude here), and they have an enormous parade downtown that lasts 3 to 4 hours.

Thousands gather to watch and participate. There are bands, floats (carried on people's shoulders of the saints and of Mary), people dressed in purple KKK-like costumes (the significance of which I never did figure out), and many walked the streets flagellating themselves with ropes and whips.

I think that was the saddest part for me--these people that think that beating themselves to feel the pain of Christ's torture will elevate them spiritually, make them feel closer to God, be closer to God. And that is not Christianity, it's not the Gospel, it's not Truth.

My Jesus died on Good Friday. He was beaten and abused, forced to carry his cross of shame up the mountain wearing a crown of thorns. My Jesus had his hands and feet pounded into that cross with nails, had people taunting him, teasing him, laughing at him, spitting on him. And My Jesus looked to his Father and said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

My Jesus knew my sins, He knew my faults and my imperfections, and He knew that I was the one doing the taunting, teasing, laughing, and spitting. And He died for me. He gave his life and experienced complete separation from God (Hell itself) so that I would never have to be separated from Him.

He spent three days in the tomb. And on the third day, He was resurrected. Jesus came back to life--He wasn't resuscitated or given some smelling salts...He was dead, and then He was alive. He is alive. And because of that, He has reconciled me to the Father to the highest degree. There is nothing I can do to bring me closer to God, to elevate myself spiritually, to earn or deserve the love of my God. It's done. It is finished. Jesus on the cross in my place. The wrath of the Father on Him, so that His grace may be on me. Mercy is not getting what I deserve (death) and grace is getting what I don't deserve (God), and my Jesus gave me both on the cross.

So I will not be self-flagellating. I won't be a captive to my sin, chained down by shame and guilt. I will not try to earn God's love and approval. I will not seek to experience some spiritual high. I will look at the cross and thank my Jesus that He loved me so much. Thank Him that He died for me, and even more, that He was resurrected. Thank Him that He paid the cost so that I might receive the reward. That is the Truth, the Gospel. That is My Jesus.

GALAPAGAMOS!!!

For Semana Santa, I went to the Galapagos with Jenny, Tio Alex, his brother Nate, and a couple other girls from USFQ and one of their families. We had so much fun exploring the islands and learning about all the biodiversity and the extreme conservation going on to help preserve the islands. It's so cool to think that I've been to the place where Charles Darwin first came up with the idea of adaptation and natural selection!

5 reasons why the Galapagos Islands are one of the coolest places on Earth:

1. We hung out with sea lions on the reg. We became besties. We swam together, barked together, waddled together...basically experienced the deepest bond possible between human and creature. They were hilarious! Fighting for food, showing off when they knew we were watching, cuddling up when it started to rain. There's a really good chance that I'll have a pet sea lion when I grow up!

2. We were on the equator, on a tropical island, with gorgeous white sand beaches pale blue waters. It's like the most perfect tropical paradise, but you're still in the Dor--no 5 star hotels or resorts, no fancy restaurants, no special transportation. We staying in a "hotel" (basically a hostel), rode around in the back of a truck, and ate typical Ecua food. So chill!

3. We snorkeled every day. My favorite two places were a grieta (no idea in english) formed from a fissure--the cliffs were 15 meters up on either side (perfect for climbing and jumping) and you could see almost all the way to the bottom of the water--and the love canal--the running joke on the island "entran dos y salen tres" (2 go in and 3 come out!). The love canal is where we got to snorkel with the sea lions and see giant schools of fish like the ones from Finding Nemo...I kept waiting for them to start making shapes and give me directions to P. Sherman 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney.

4. The wildlife is incredible! We saw giant turtles (including Lonesome George...he's kind of a big deal), and got to try on a 150 year old turtle shell. We saw blue-footed boobies, and made the obvious inappropriate jokes because though we may be college students, we're still too immature to let that opportunity pass. We danced with iguanas, swam with sharks (no cages, no fiber glass, no life vest....just us and Jaws), spotted penguins, and hung out with pelicans. There's nothing like it!

Hate it when you misspell something like that. Whoops.

"I Love Bobbies"

5. In so small a space, there is so much diversity in landscape. We went into a cave that had been hollowed out by lava and water. We hiked up a small mountain and got an incredible panoramic of the island. We got to hear ghost stories of the first pirates to land on the islands, see their houses carved out of the mountains, and see the figure heads they'd carved as well! And of course we spent a ton of time in the ocean at the gorgeous beaches!

Bonus: Since Jenny's birthday is in the summer (and we really wanted free dessert) we celebrated her fake Ecua cumpleanos!