El Hogar

SURPRISE!!! I came home for Mother's Day.  (I said I was going to the [east] coast didn't I?!)  My mom nearly died when I rang the doorbell at midnight last night--surprise accomplished!!

Leaving the Dor and the wonderful memories I made there was so hard.  There were multiple airport/airplane breakdowns involved. Don't judge.  I'm so happy to be home, but I am just having a really hard time grasping that this semester is behind me and that summer has begun. I study-ed abroad.  I liv-ed in the Dor. Past tense. So strange.

I am so thankful for the people I met, the places I went, and the lessons I learned along the way.  Thanks to everyone for the letters, emails, random videos, and skype dates along the way.  Thank you for keeping me in your prayers, and I ask that you keep praying for me as I transition back to life in the States and move on to my next adventure--Asia!!!

Adios mis queridos amigos y gracias a uds. por todo!

Acabe las Clases

I'M DONE!!! Hallelujah.
After 3 finals and a presentation sandwiched in between 2 dance shows and an 8 page paper, I'm finally done.  3 days.  Finished.  And. it. feels. so. good.

This morning I spent 6 hours waiting in line for a document saying that the Ecua government is going to let me leave the country.  How kind. (or dumb...ya know, pick your fave).

I'd have to say the saddest part of the last three days has been ending my dance class.  It has been one of the best experiences here in the Dor.  The teacher, Marcela, was amazing and so kind and encouraging, and the students were so patient and willing to laugh and play along with me.  Our dance show was a blast too--we did a group dance to Eminem ("Not Afraid"), individual dances in smaller groups that we had created ourselves, and then improv.  The improv was hilarious tonight.  AD/DC came booming through the speakers, and we all just went for it!!  I had SO MUCH FUN in that class, and I am so sorry to say goodbye to it and to the friends I've made in it.  It's so weird to start saying goodbyes already.  But, I'm officially done at the university.  One day to relax, and then off to the coast! SO EXCITED!!

Cocine

I cooked!!!

Tonight I made my family chili and cornbread like the good southern girl I am.  And I didn't fail.  They both turned out really well and my family enjoyed them.  Later this week I tackle: cobbler.
Look at me being so domestic. #wontlastlong

La Casa de Juliana

For a while now, Juliana has been asking us if we'd like to go to her house to meet her family and try her favorite Ecua dish.  Of course we did!!! It took us all semester, but yesterday we finally got to go.  She invited her aunts and uncles and her grandmother, and we got to meet all of her siblings.  They were all so kind to us.  We enjoyed a delicious meal of encebollado (soup with fish and a bunch of other things!!) that her mom prepared, and then we all sat in the living room and talked for a couple hours.  It was the most encouraged I have felt in a long time.  I was able to share stories, understand everything they were saying, make jokes, and even laugh at theirs.  I felt so accomplished, like I really have been learning Spanish while I've been here.  I know that sounds dumb, but some days its hard to know how much you've learned or improved.  Jenny even managed to explain the electoral college in Spanish!! Not sure I could do that in English!

After a wonderful time with her family, Jenny, Anneke, and I went back to Anneke's house (because her parents were out of town...we were keeping her company!) and had a good old-fashioned sleepover, complete with banana splits and chick flicks.

Amazing day, now a sick day.  Cool. Actually it's a good excuse to study for exams.  But I thought I was over this whole getting sick thing.  Less than 2 weeks left in the Dor...unbelievable.

La Ronda

Tonight, Anneke, Jenny, and I went out with a girl named Veronica (who is coming to UNC next year YAY!!) and a few of her friends.  We went to la Ronda in centro historico to drink canelaza and hang out.  We had so much fun.  We laughed and told bad jokes and talked about next year (they're all studying abroad).  After canelaza we went to a tiny karaoke place.  We were virtually the only ones there, so we sang whatever we wanted.  We sang for 2 solid hours--Jonas Bros, Brittany Spears, Backstreet Boys, N'Sync, Destiny's Child, Shakira, Enrique--we sang them all!!! It was one of my favorite nights in the Dor and I am just so excited that Veronica is coming to the Thrill next year!!

Johnny, La Gente Esta Muy Loca

If you don't get the title, you haven't heard the song, and should therefore consider yourself blessed.

I've met a lot of really interesting people traveling around Ecuador.  It's really incredible to see how similar we all are--we love adventure, travel, hammocks, coffee, sweatpants, the unexpected, and small tastes of home.

So many people I have met are about 10 years out of college, have realized that their job has started to consume their lives and that they've lost all their passion and adventure, so they decided to quit, leave their old life behind, and spend 6 months to a year traveling the world.  How cool is that?  How brave is that?!  Most of them started in Argentina, then headed to Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and will end in Colombia.  Others are a little more scatter-brained.  Last weekend I met a guy who traveled all around Southeast Asia, then headed to India, South Africa, and is now exploring South America. So through meeting all these people at various hostels, on group trips, and random bus rides, I've gotten to hear about their adventures through South America and also about where they're from.  And basically, my list of places I want to go has grown exponentially!

Something we have come to discover about European travelers: they are beast at languages.  Sure, we're trying to learn Spanish--our second language.  And so are they, only it's their fifth language. Casual.
Last weekend we stayed in a room with four German travelers who spoke fluent German (obviously), Spanish, and English (if not more languages).  It wasn't fair...they could understand us no matter what language we spoke in, but they could talk to each other in German and we had no idea what was going on.  So, Anneke and I decided it was only fair to speak with reeeeaaaaal southern accents!!  That way we could understand each other, but they had no chance of understanding us!  It was hilarious, and it leveled the playing field.  Take that!  In all honesty, we spoke to them in Spanish most of the time and we all got along great...but we had a blast with ours southern drawls an' redneck talk. Yeehaw.

Cuenca y Vilcabamba

The past 4 days have been a whirlwind of buses and adventures!  /Brace yourself for a long post--

Anneke and I began with a 10 hour bus ride south from Quito to Cuenca.  We spent a day just exploring and seeing all Cuenca had to offer--some really cool Inca ruins, impressive churches, and a big-city/small-town feel (it makes sense if you've experienced it).  On the main square we found some real ice cream which we ate several times a day!  The first time we were eating in the park and we noticed that all the little kids were staring at us.  I still have no idea why, but we thought maybe we could make it into a show--blond gringas eating ice cream in the park.  Ok it doesn't sound like much, but it'd be a HUGE hit with the kiddos in Cuenca!  One of the kids befriended us.  Her name was Brenda and she was trying to sell us some garbage bags.  When we proposed the idea of buying her an ice cream instead, she didn't complain!  From then on, we were ice cream buds and got to hang out with her several times before we left!

Cuenca

The ruins!

Chasing a llama...I'm so good with animals.

We stayed in an awesome hostel called El Cafecito where we were put in a dorm room off of the cafe.  It had great music playing (almost) all the time, a garden area out back with hammocks, and plenty of coffee!

Also, we ate Cuy (guinea pig)--an Ecua specialty!!!

We ate the WHOLE thing!!!

Our second day there, we met up with Alex and Ben and went to Cajas National Park.  We spent about 4 hours hiking around and seeing some really incredible views.  Cajas is known for its more than 200 lagunas, and the purpose of the park is conservation, not tourism, which made for a really different experience--it was a little like trekking through the wild!  Also in Cajas are pockets of forest filled with paper trees--which personally I think are where JR Tolkien got the idea for LOTR cause those things were creeeeeeepy (and also super cool)!!

Check out our awesome rain boots. You jealous.

Yo soy Frodo.

 The next day we ditched Ben and Alex (just kidding...kinda) and headed to Vilcabamba via Loja.  In Loja we made another mini-friend named Pierce.  He was four years old and found us waiting for a taxi to Vilcabamba.  His dad seemed so tired--this kid was SUPER high energy.  Pierce walked right up to us and said, "Hey kids, can you help me dig for worm eggs?"  So of course, I had (ok, wanted) to dig for worm eggs (in a parking lot of rock and asphalt), and now I've got a best friend fo lyfe!

Anyway, the first night there, we went looking for our hostel in the Rumi Wilco Reserve on the mountain.  We got real confused, but about an hour later, starving and sick of carrying all our stuff, we found it!  On the way we discovered a cool looking restaurant, so we retraced our steps as soon as we got settled in our room.  The food was good, but the ambiance was even better---let's just say the owner/waiter wore a cowboy hat and had a handlebar mustache.  I know.  I found a cowboy in the Dor. What up?

Sunday we got up and walked around the reserve a little, found a great breakfast place with homemade granola, and then headed to our real hostel (we were only at the reserve because there wasn't room for us at our actual hostel the first night).  We spent the day hammocking and reading and just relaxing.  The greatest part of our hostel was that it was nestled up in the mountains, secluded from everything else, with incredible views of the Vilcabamba mountains.  You just have to see these mountains before you die. I love the Apps, but these were the most beautiful mountains I've ever seen!!

View from the dining room of the hostel.

Monday we just had to explore the mountains a bit, so we went for a hike.  We made it to the top of the mountain and had the most spectacular views on the way up.  At the top, we had a little picnic and just took in the splendor of it all.  Got to be in my top 5 favorite moments in the Dor!

About half way up the mountain.

Logramos!!  On the other side of the really green mountain in the
 bottom left corner is where the  other picture was taken.

Eventually, it was time for dinner and a bus home.  We found great Mexican food and then headed back to Loja where we began our 15 hr ride home (it only took 11!!!).  The bus was like an airplane...only better! We got refreshments, the seats reclined, we had leg rests....For the first time I didn't feel like a giant trying to twist into the smallest possible position to sleep!!! We got back at 6 this morning, tired, and ready to start another week.  Vivo la vida!