Home Sweet Home

Our stint in Ecuador is over, we are HOME safely!!! With tears we left Ecuador on the 18th of December and with tears we entered the arms of awaiting family members in Minneapolis the next afternoon. The journey was delayed, rough and challenging. We can't wait to go back, but will enjoy the next 8 months in what turns out to be a rather snowy Minnesota.

We've spent the holidays with my family as well as AnnMarie's! Playing games is a great way to be reintroduced to the American society, not to mention going to a Redwings vs. Wild hockey game with your brother. Red Wings 4 - Wild 1. :) Personally, there have been a couple things that have provided me with great joy. Ecuadorian radio is good, but in comparison to the music coming out of my car's speakers...well, let's just say it's good to hear some great new country!

I'm grateful for your patience with those first two paragraphs because they probably aren't the reason you've decided to read this particular blog. On December 23rd, AnnMarie and I were able to embark on the start of a new journey lasting the rest of our lives. Around noon on the 23rd I met my brother, who had done me a large favor in ordering a certain kind of precious metal for me while I was away. Upon receiving this piece of metal it got me thinking, tonight is the night. That afternoon I met with Ann Celiberti to ask her a few specific questions. I believe she knew what questions were coming, since we met at the same place as when I asked if I could date her daughter. After a lovely coffee date, it was time for me to rush home to dawn the "Suit of Destiny" as it's appropriately been nicknamed. It is a plain ole pinstripe, navy blue suit, which has marked many special occasions in my life, my brother's life and the lives of many other lucky individuals. I also called on one of our good friends, Kelsey Houle.

I picked AnnMarie up at 5:00, with plenty of time for pictures even if she was running late, but to my surprise I found the most beautiful girl in the world waiting for me in a ravishing black dress. She found me to be speechless as I did my best to take in what my eyes were seeing. My mind may have already been cluttered enough for the night with other emotions, but I was taken aback with the astounding beauty that was revealed in front of me.

We went to Lord Fletchers our for dinner. The fact that they had valet parking was all I needed as a first impression to see their class. We were seated in a small window nook in the front of the restaurant overlooking the beautiful frozen Lake Minnetonka which was receiving just a little bit more snow. All night long we were serenaded, as were other guests, by a small chamber choir singing some beautiful Christmas carols. Along with the magnificent view and company, the food was spectacular! If you ever have the means or just a good reason to eat at a fancy place, I'd highly recommend it. Following our meal I again corresponded with Kelsey Houle in regards to our following destination.

Driving out from the overhang outside the front door, we realized the snow had begun to fall faster and fuller, making for a very romantic drive to Centennial Lakes park. A dazzling frozen chain of ponds awaited us when we arrived. We saw lots of smiling and laughing friends, couples and families carving their way down the river-like frozen pools. We laced up our skates and joined the others to reintroduce our skates to ice once more. It didn't take long for me to realize skating couldn't last much longer. After skating under a particular bridge that arched over the river, I pulled my date to the side. She hardly inquired as to why we were stopping, and needed no more explanation when I intentionally dropped to one knee and looked up at her, hoping that I was fulfilling her dreams of a perfect proposal. I asked "AnnMarie Celiberti, will you marry me?". The intention of this blog, is to announce to all of you that her answer was, "Yes!". We are engaged and couldn't be happier!! : )

There was also another surprise to accompany this fantastic night. Our friend, Kelsey, who we had discussed would be a good candidate for taking engagement pictures, was hiding at the park taking pictures of AnnMarie and I. After a few cherished moments of hugs and kisses, I let AnnMarie know we had a photographer with us. We were attempted to pose on skates and get some good pictures immediately following our engagement. We hope they show up well and that you're able to share our exciting moment with us.

Back and happier than ever, your newly engaged couple,

Michael and AnnMarie


This was before we left for dinner at my house (that's my purity ring.. not the engagement ring)




The proposal!





Back home after the night - celebrating with my family.




The beautiful ring... he did such a wonderful job : )



Thoughts

So today I (AnnMarie) was able to observe the teacher who is going to be taking my place at Alliance Kids. I'm sure my feelings were a slight overreaction just because their "my" kids and I am sad to be leaving them. But I couldn't stop thinking about how my kids are going to grow up pronouncing things like, "Touch your head" as t-oh-ch your gghh-ea-th. That gghh is the sound of a "j" in Spanish, which we don't have in English, and I can't for the life of me figure out how to spell. So... if you got it, great. If not, oh well.

It's hard seeing the person who's going to be taking over and teaching my kiddos.. just knowing she's not going to do things the same way I do. And I'm not saying I do everything the right way and the best way but it's still just difficult to imagine! I'm going to be sad leaving them and not hearing their cute little things they say like, Joaquin with his random, "AnaMarie? Te amo." And during circle time pointing at their friends saying, "Samuel no está apple sauce!" Referring, of course, to sitting criss-cross applesauce. Or their cute accents when they say thank you, more juice please, look at me, estoy finished, and so much more.

I know I'll be very happy to be home because I miss everyone so much but I will miss my Fantastic Fish.

Well, that's all for now! I'm not moping around being depressed about leaving, it's just something that I think about every now and then.

AnnMarie

p.s. I have officially accepted the job (for August 2011) so they're working on getting paperwork ready for me. ALSO, my friend Jess has her own little business of very cute random things (adult and child hair pieces and some home decor). Check it out : ) http://love2liebe.blogspot.com/

Answered Prayers

Hello all!

I (AnnMarie) have some very exciting news!!! :-D Colegio Americano (the school where I did my student teaching and had an interview with last week) has offered me a position in their lower elementary school in the national section. I need to confirm by this Friday, the 26th, as the director is going to begin traveling to recruiting fairs.

I am 99.9% sure that I will accept this job offer as this is exactly what Michael and I have been hoping and praying for. Thank you all for your prayers, especially over this last hectic, decision-making month.

I'm even more excited to come home now, knowing we will be back for another two years! We both love it here and are so thankful that this is what God wants for the both of us.

Thanks for hanging in there with us and for staying updated! : )

Love,
AnnMarie and Michael

The Promised Post

Dear Family and Friends,

After much prayer, thought, and deliberation, Michael and I have decided not to return to Ecuador after Christmas. Although this is an abrupt ending to our intended one year stay in Ecuador, we both feel this is what God's plan is. We feel at peace with this decision and are excited to come home.

Michael and I have truly enjoyed our experience here and hope to return. We are attempting to make preparations so this is possible and know they will pan out if this is God's will. I have an interview at Colegio Americano next Tuesday so prayers would be greatly appreciated! If nothing else, this is good interview experience for me.

I'll do everyone a favor and make this blog short to make up for the length of the last one... ; )

We are so excited to see you all!
Love, AnnMarie & Michael

A long update for a long absence...

Devoted readers, I apologize for the amount of time between blogs. Believe it or not, we've become somewhat busy and have some wonderful Ecuadorian friends now!!!

Some major things that we've done in the last few weeks...

We had a long weekend at the start of October and were able to take a trip to the beautiful Pacific coast of Ecuador. We stayed at a hostel that was run by a lovely Swiss gal. She offered us breakfast every morning and pointed us in the direction of some amazing, AMAZING seafood. I was able to get my fix of garlic shrimp, calamari, scallops and fish. We took many long walks on the beach and AnnMarie discovered the key to finding and uncovering live sand dollars. Needless to say after discovering how to find their trails she uncovered and tormented no less than 50. The sand dollar community has her on their permanent most wanted list! The road back from the coast was beautiful during the day and provided a plethora of nerve racking turns and crazy passing. The bus took approximately 8 hours to get us back to our apartments, but it was a wonderful way to spend a weekend.

The long weeks since then were spent in a chilly Quito. Most mornings the temperature scratches 50 degrees as I'm walking to school, around 6:15. But on my way home the air feels closer to 80, mostly because of the thin air and the fact that Quito is the closest major city on earth to the sun. The actual closest point to the sun lies less than 100 miles south of Quito. The volcano Cotopaxi is the closest place on earth to the sun at noon. In mid October the sun stood exactly straight up causing us to loose our shadows for a few minutes. Fortunately when the sun is directly overhead AnnMarie and I are both an hour from finishing our day and have slightly less heat to deal with on our grueling walks back up the hill of Granda Centeno to our apartments. By 6 in the evening the sun is already down and we are wrapping ourselves in our amazingly warm Alpaca blankets. They are very thin and very light blankets made out of woven and dyed Alpaca fur. They are, however, surprisingly warm!!! We plan to bring a few back with us so if this sounds like something that any of you would be interested in having from Ecuador, just let us know. They run about $20 dollars for most gringos here, but due to our experience and knowledge of the market we've managed to buy the ones we already have for between $12 and $13 dollars, which I must say, is a steal!!!

I've successfully taught my first two chapters of English and administered my first test. I am teaching 3 classes. From 7 to 11 I teach two Advanced 1 classes and from 11 to 13 (1 o'clock) I teach Advanced 2. The classes are a handful sometimes, but last week I began to realize how much I'm helping them and it is wonderful to see them learning. 'Pronoonseeation' is still sometimes a problem, but they're learning! :) I enjoy teaching the younger ages (18-19 years) and think that my future may someday lead into teaching children. I know this will make my grandmas proud. So far I think I'm a pretty good teacher or I just have some gifted students. There were only 4 test scores under 80% in over 40 exams!

The major reason for our lack of posting can be pinpointed to one major factor. We have FRIENDS!!! A month ago when we were at church we ran into our friend Ashley. She lives and works in Shell and was in Quito for the weekend visiting. She was visiting grandchildren of the lady she lives with in Shell, Roberto and Mika. We were introduced after the service and ended up spending the day with them. We realized shortly after meeting them that they live a stones throw away from where our apartments are. I know a stones throw away is a vague expression.  It depends on who's throwing the stone, wind speeds and the size of the stone. Under any conditions I think that I could throw a stone past where they live. We've been spending a majority of our free evenings with Roberto and Mika. Mika and AnnMarie spend much of their time together cooking or just chatting, while Roberto and I have found a common interest in playing video games. Mika is Roberto's younger sister and they've been living in Quito for a while and have been very willing to help us with our Spanish as well as becoming our second neighbor with a washer and dryer.

Two weeks ago at church, AnnMarie and I were able to showcase our musical gifts. We joined the EFC Choir when we arrived and had our first performance during the church services. Most of the songs we sang were typical worship songs, aside from the song 'Down by the River', which left the congregation shouting, "Una vez mas" (one more time). Between services we were also able to make our inaugural visit to Pan De Vida (Bread of Life). It is a house located behind the church that has their own service for the homeless and underprivileged families of Quito. Following the service, the congregation is invited to stay for a FREE lunch. We were only able to stay long enough to set up plates and make some juice before having to head back to sing for the second service. We hope to participate in the kitchen of Pan De Vida again soon and more frequently. I wish you all could've seen us in our hair-nets. It was a first for Michael... and quite the sight.

Another thing that has filled our evenings is our weekly Bible Reading on Thursday nights. Every Thursday we have an amazing potluck dinner (usually the BEST meal of the week) and do a Bible Reading after. This is different than a typical Bible Study. We start by answering two questions about ourselves... very random questions with no rhyme or reason usually. For example, last week was your favorite movie and why and what is one thing people think about you when they first meet you and then realize is wrong after getting to know you. After answering the questions we choose a book in the Bible (or one is already chosen) and take turns each reading a chapter. You read with a pen and underline things as you follow along. We generally have 2-3 Spanish readers and 3-4 English readers. It really adds something unique to the group to have people reading the word of God in another language. We don't stop and discuss things as we are reading, just read straight through. At the end of the book we take a few minutes to figure out 2-3 things out of everything we've underlined to share with the group. This usually turns into a much longer time of sharing and discussion. Then at the end of all, we pray together. Needless to say, Thursdays are definitely our favorite night of the week.

Now that we have some great new friends, not only do we have more evening activities, but we also have things to do on the weekend! Three weeks ago we were able to take a day trip to fulfill one of AnnMarie's Quito wishes. We traveled to the historic center of Quito with our friends and climbed the Basilica. It resembles closely the ancient cathedrals in Europe. It is a gigantic gothic structure that dwarfs the rest of its rivaling buildings. It features 3 major peaks. The first we experienced turned out to be somewhat of a lookout tower almost. It wasn't as high as the two clock pillars, but the trip to the top was quite the adventure. My familiarity with cathedrals is limited, but I have seen some in my traveling through Europe and studying in Humanities class my freshman year of college. However, I never knew that there was a significant gap between the roof of the interior and the exterior roof. It seemed very similar to an ancient attic with no windows, lights or security to stop you from falling aside from an one-eight inch thick rope placed on either side of a eerie wooden walkway. The walkway was similar to what I imagine "Walking the plank" would be like. There were unnerving sounds under our feet and insecurity the for the entire 200 foot journey between roofs, leading us to the base of the 'lookout' tower. Little did we know, another 30 feet up a, I guess it looked similar to a ladder, suspended with makeshift welded joints twisting its way up to the top. We encountered a British couple who we had to help muster up the courage to continue to the summit, but, being the adventurous people we are, we scampered to the top like the monkeys we are. The view was amazing, and was captured by the dozens of clicking digital cameras surveying the landscape. I hope AnnMarie can upload some of them for you to admire. We also climbed one of the clock towers, but since they were more or less enclosed, they weren't quite as impressive as our view from the minor watch tower that was completely open aside from small railing and pillars holding the roof from blowing away. It was a beautiful day trip. If any of you visit us here, it's a must for any tourist in Quito.

Another voyage south into the jungles of Ecuador again was our weekend plan a week ago. We ventured to Secua - the home of Roberto and Mika's parents. It was a long five day weekend so we were allowed to relax for a few days. There were a few other friends that joined us on our journey, who we felt much closer with after what turned out to be nearly a 20 hour round trip on the bus. Sucua was beautiful and full of new and wonderful experiences. As a group, we stayed next door to Roberto and Mika's church, in their parents house! We doubled the size of the youth group on Saturday and had a wonderful time on Sunday attending a church service purely in Spanish. After the service we went to the motocross track for the afternoon. It was amazing to see the racers flying fearlessly through the air. What was even more amazing were the little kids and their ability to compete on the same track and the larger motorcycles. It was quite the experience. We also had a wonderful barbecue down by the river after a rainy night. The food was splendid, as was the rope-swing and log suspended 20 feet up in a tree above the river. Don't worry, we were very safe and didn't do anything we didn't see anyone else do a few times first.

Now for a more serious update... We've been in contact with a few of you about AnnMarie's work visa dilemma. She is currently here on a tourist visa and was expecting to obtain a work visa from her employer. Unfortunately, this did not pan out. AnnMarie has now come to the conclusion that a work visa is out of the question. Her two options are going home at Christmas as planned and not returning to Ecuador or coming back to teach for January and February. She would need to return at the end of February as this is when her tourist visa expires. We have both been praying for God’s clear direction, guidance, and wisdom in this decision making. This decision needs to be made this week as her boss (very kindly and with much understanding) expressed that she needs to begin looking for a replacement teacher if in fact she is not returning after Christmas. Please pray for guidance for the decision making and peace after the decision has been made. We will update this weekend (I know that’s hard to believe...) once we know for sure what we are doing.

Until then, thank you for your thoughts and prayers!

Love,
Michael and AnnMarie

The Prospect of Peacefulness

Dear readers,

We just thought it would be a good idea to send out another update. Thursday was a pretty crazy night. One of our friends, Jessica, texted us and said it was pretty bad about five blocks away from our apartments. Needless to say, we didn't go anywhere. Michael was with me in my apartment during the evening and we just kind of hung tight. I ended up finding a TV channel that I could watch online about what was going on. It made me feel a little better that we had an idea of where things were happening. The very surreal thing about watching the TV was that they actually had a camera man outside of the hospital and you could see everything. The army had come into the city and were taking over the police. The president was still stuck in the hospital so the army was trying to get him out and bring him back to his home in Centro Historico. Because of this there was shooting going on between the police and the army - all of which I was watching online. Not only that, but I could hear the gun shots out my window as well... very scary. The hospital is about 10 minutes driving from our apartments. The hospital is in the lower left hand corner. It says "Hospital de la Policia" and our apartments are directly to the right in the upper right hand corner on "Calle Antonio Granda Centeno" next to the green park area. You just need to move the map straight east.. hope you can find it! haha

View Larger Map

So because of the way things were going we were going to take my mattress and put it in Michael's apartment for the night so that I wouldn't need to sleep on the street side of our building just in case anything happened. However, after the army rescued Correa from the hospital and brought him back to his home everything went back to normal so we didn't have to move my mattress and we both slept safely in our own apartments. The government had closed school for Friday so I didn't have to go... poor Michael did. But now it's Saturday and things are just about as normal as they get here in Quito. Thank you all for your prayers!

Love, AnnMarie & Michael

Breaking News

Family, friends and loved ones,

Today has been a day of craziness here in Quito. The military and policemen from around the country are rioting and protesting against President Correa. The president has made some cuts to the armed forces of Ecuador. They're losing benefits, potential bonuses and raises. It is in the constitution of Ecuador for the police never to have the ability to strike and protest. Their efforts have and are still being heard and we are now waiting to see what the response of the government will be. We ask for your prayers for Ecuador, for the people's businesses that are being looted, for the police who are no longer protecting the country, and the general population who no longer have that protection. We also ask for prayer that this doesn't last very long. These protests have gone on for weeks or just a few hours. As for now we will remain penned up in our apartment building, which is quite safe and out of the way for any protest scenes. We went shopping last weekend and have a large stock of groceries, good water and we are prepared to pray and enjoy each others company until this dispute is resolved. We love you all and will continue to keep you informed of the happenings here in Quito.

Here is a link to a news source providing mostly accurate information:
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/09/30/ecuador.violence/index.html?iref=allsearch

All our love,
Michael and AnnMarie

Randomness..

Haha I just wanted to share with you how random and silly our life is down here... Here I am sitting across the table from Michael. I just finished skyping with my love, Jess.. and I ask Michael, "What are you doing over there?" No response... So I ask him again, and again, and again.. Finally... "You'll hear soon enough!!"

and.... on comes Britney Spears from iTunes...

what????? hahahaha all I can do is laugh...

I never know what to expect from him.

Defining Moments

Greetings distant readers! I hope you're still finding this blog enjoyable and something to look forward to seeing every week. Let me say that it's a highlight of mine attempting to recap the memories that seem so distant. Given, there are only 7 days between each post. It blows me away to see all the things that God can fit into my 168 hours.

This week was pretty normal. Just in case you're still unfamiliar with what some 'normal' things are that take place in Quito, here are a few. Taking buses to and from the University like a lemming, squished into the mob of commuters over-occupying every bus. Doing my best to dodge three lanes of oncoming traffic to escape to the safe(r) sidewalks. Breathing the minimal amounts of oxygen available at 9,000 feet elevation - not to mention what you do breathe in is mostly car fumes. The bonus to all of these crazy daily occurrences is the remarkable view out every window to the heavenly mountains above.

AnnMarie and I joined the EFC choir this sunday! I'm not sure if I will be showcasing my talents so well. For the first time in my life I have been placed in the bass section. (There are only two basses and four guys total.) Thankfully the walk to church is mostly downhill, so we aren't out of breath when we get there. The walk back to the apartments, however, is constantly quieter the further up the hill we get. I don't think getting into shape and used to the altitude is in the near future for us Minnesotans.

Now for the exciting news from the weekend! AnnMarie and I traveled to Shell this weekend. We went with the Waskoskys, a family we connected with through our friends at FBC (Michael's home church) in Fergus Falls. The drive took us past the base of Cotopaxi, a monstrous volcano south of Quito (the one AnnMarie has a view of from her classroom). We also were able to see the highest peak in South America on our drive, Chimborazo. The rest of the drive was a bit darker, which turns out might have been a good thing since our road was on the edge of mountains. The night hid the drop offs that would've been terrifying if we had been aware of them on our voyage through the mountains. On our way back the views were much more appreciated due to the safety of daylight.

In Shell we were able to do some volunteering and touring of the children's home, Casa de Fe (House of Faith). The current building houses over 40 toddlers and elementary aged children. The 9 infants live with one of the workers in her home because there is no room at the building. The complex is much too small to properly accommodate all the children and volunteers. Soon, their new home will be completed. Once they move in they will also be able to accept more children to live at the Casa de Fe. As of now, they have to turn children away. It is located on the outskirts of Shell with plenty of room for playing and living more comfortably. The new house was amazing to see! It is a two story building with huge rooms for living, learning and playing. There are brand new beds, bathrooms and safety waiting for all the children when they arrive in the next few months. AnnMarie and I were able to help with some painting and other finishing touches on the first floor. All the volunteers and staff were wonderful and a pleasure to work with.

The experience has opened our eyes to the future and possibility of working outside of Quito. While working AnnMarie said to me, "So, why don't we just stay here?" I replied with, "I was thinking the same thing!" This just goes to show the hand that God is placing in our lives. Both of us feel that this weekend was the first of many trips that we will be making to Shell throughout the duration of our stay in Ecuador. Please join us in praying for the 54 children currently housed in Casa de Fe. Many of them come from very rough families or were simply left behind because their families were unable to take care of them. We were able to interact for a couple hours with these children and those hours tugged on our hearts.

We feel blessed to be in Ecuador experiencing the mighty power of our great God. This weekend was what Pastor Ned might call a "defining moment" in my life. I saw the beauty the Lord has created, the work that He is doing, and a call to be a part of the His future plans in Ecuador. Again, I can't say this with enough thanks, we are so thankful for your prayers and know things wouldn't be going this smoothly without all of them. You are all very precious to us.

With love,
your gringos locos,

AnnMarie and Michael

First Week Adventures

Well, our first full week here has come and gone. It has been filled with a mix of emotions. Michael started his learning to teach English class and taught his first lesson ever. He was very nervous the night before but after his observer said he did very well! I taught my first full week of preschool which was exciting, a little nerve-racking and draining all at the same time. I started with five 3 1/2 year olds in my class but was informed on the very first day that I had eight instead. Thankfully, one of my students was just trying it out and ended up going to a preschool where a family member worked. So I ended the week with seven children - all of whom were with me all day by the last two days of the week. One of my students just cried and cried the first, second, and part of the third day. He got attached to the teacher in the group above me because she was able to comfort him better speaking Spanish. But as the week went on, he transitioned to my group and we are all now a very happy group of seven 3 1/2 year olds!

We've successfully moved into our new apartments which are sooooooooo conveniently located! It takes us about 12 minutes to walk to church and it's about a 20 minute walk to my work. I definitely get a work out on the way there, as it's one down hill road and the rest are very steep uphill. We had a very interesting week. We arrived on Tuesday night very late so that evening consisted of just moving stuff in and going to bed. Upon our second night we realized we had no matches to start a fire (or our stove), and no silverware. That really limits how much one can eat. So we scrounged around for something to hold us over for two nights. Friday night was our first hot meal (with plastic utensils) of fettucini with alfredo sauce.... We could not have been happier about it. We were so giddy, it would have been a very funny sight to see.

Our week was filled with a lot of grocery shopping and finding things we needed for our apartments. It's mostly fun shopping when we find things that are very cheap :) But there are a lot of things from the states that would be so cheap but here they are EXTREMELY expensive. For example, peanut butter - $8, mini can of pringles - over $1, very small box of cereal - $7, and notebooks - $6. On the other hand.. here is a picture of some things we bought that were wonderfully priced:
Flowers - $2.50
Vase - $17
2 Baskets - $11
Strawberries - $.80

One of Michael's favorite things we did last week was our walk to the CCI mall where the ice rink is located. It is approximately half the length and width of a regulation sized rink. Also, the Ecuadorians participating were about half the size of usual hockey players. Everyone looked fairly uncomfortable on the ice which was awfully entertaining to watch...

Our Saturday evening was a perfect night. We made empanadas de morrocho, pasteles de yuca and our very first fire in my fire place. We used some of the wood Michael commandeered from the pile of tree trimmings across the street. It was a little difficult to start, but my big, trusty, outdoorsy gringo pulled through for me. :) We had a wonderful evening sitting by the light and warmth of the fire, eating our second hot meal of the week, and relaxing.

Tomorrow we'll be going to the Liga vs. Catolica game at 7:30. Please pray for our safety as we're not usually out much later than that as it gets dark at 6:30. So we'll definitely be taking a taxi home!

We're looking forward to the start of our second week here in Quito and are adjusting with ease. Thank you for all your prayers and support. I'll hopefully be adding pictures tonight and can email those out tonight as well. If you're reading this and didn't get my last set of pictures but want them, comment on this post with your email address and I will add you to the list.

Miss you all!

AnnMarie and Michael

Birthday Celebration & Wayward Fireworks

Greetings loved one(s) and other curious readers,

It has been a bit crazy this week, thus I haven't been near a computer long enough to send out an update. Today is the Lord's day, a day of rest, so I've managed to find some free time.

AnnMarie and I found apartments yesterday and we will move in on the 7th (Tuesday). They are located near Quito Tenis (pronounced 10 ees), a very safe area of Quito. AnnMarie will be able to walk to work and I will have a 15 to 20 minute commute to my school in La Mariscal. We both start school tomorrow, I as a student, her as a teacher. My teaching starts in October. I am nervous about teaching but hopefully my certification course will help me out a lot! :) We have managed to get the basic transportation of Quito down pretty well. My communication is okay enough now to take a taxi to certain common locations. My school will be very close to a very popular town square and Gringo hang out, Plaza Foch or "Gringo Landia".  

For AnnMarie's birthday, yesterday, we went to Mitad del Mundo. (Middle of the World) We found out how to shrink heads and their meanings and importance. They're a symbol of victory or a way to attain knowledge from wise dead. Also, we were able to see water spin two different directions down a drain as well as straight down. AnnMarie had a video from her last visit if you'd like proof. AnnMarie was able to balance an egg on a nail, I failed. It was her second time there though, in my defense. I was called superman by our tour guide. I'm not sure if its because I am the only +6 foot person he's seen in ages or the fact that I closely resemble Clark Kent. We had a GREAT lunch, tacos with amazingly fresh toppings. In the evening we met our new landlady to establish our apartment's specifications. 

We then met up with AnnMarie's friend Ivan and a couple of his friends at Plaza Foch. We went to a great Hindu (Indian) Restaurant and watched fútbol. Ecuador beat Mexico 2-1! Great game. The grand finale of our evening was the Fiestas de Guapalo. The festival wasn't actually in honor of AnnMarie's 22nd birthday, but it fit in perfectly. Guapalo is an area of Quito at the bottom of a cliff of steep winding roads full of houses that seem to be super glued to the ground. The 25 minute hike down from were we parked proved to be a test of our endurance and acclamation to the altitude on the way back up. The festival featured a variety of large vague structures filled with an assortment of small fireworks that I imagine were made to be set off on the ground, as opposed to being suspended on bamboo poles 20 feet in the air. The intent of the crowd was to form a doughnut around the flaming structures and dance around it in a circle. We managed to make about 5 trips around the circle before feeling a bit violated and claustrophobic. The stage housed a full band in blue traditional bright blue suede suits making an extraordinarily large amount of noise. To kick off the celebration, large 4th of July type fireworks were lit in the midst of the hoards of people. Most of the fireworks, from about 20 feet away, went off well and made it into the air. Unfortunately a few were not as well manufactured and caused some large flares into the onlookers. As far as I know, everyone was alright, but I hope I’ll never have to hear AnnMarie scream like that again.

Today was the first day we've had the chance to sleep in. We went to EFC (English Fellowship Church), which is a 5 minute walk from our new apartments that we will be moving into. It is the church that AnnMarie attended when she was in Ecuador last spring, the pastor is Canadian. We stood up during the "Hello / Goodbye" time at the end of the service and introduced ourselves and said why we were in Quito. After the service a couple people came to talk with us. Paul was kind enough to inform me, after I told him how fútbol would have to take the place of hockey for me while in Quito, that there is in fact... get this... a HOCKEY RINK IN QUITO!!! I am now joking about becoming a Zamboni driver and getting a job at the one and only rink in Quito. The second member that greeted us is from Barnsville, Minnesota!!! Only about 25 minutes from Fergus Falls. "It is SUCH a small world" -AnnMarie Celiberti. 

School supplies, kitchen utensils and one more phone are the last thing on our list of things we need to start our lives in Quito. We are very excited to be here. Hopefully the surreal feeling of actually being here will wear off soon so I stop having my head on a swivel everywhere I go. Once again, your prayers and the amazing help from the Lord have been our strength and comfort in our first week in Quito.

All our love,

Your favorite 22 year olds,

Michael and AnnMarie

Back in Quito!

Buenas tardes! Michael and I arrived in Quito at 11:30pm on Monday night. Tuesday was an uneventful day. We went into town and bought a cell phone but that was about it. Today I went in to school for some planning and organizing. The school is a house with small bedrooms used as classrooms. There are only 21 students enrolled and I will have between 5-7. It will be quite the adventure because they don't really have a curriculum set up. They basically just have a theme and you plan whatever you want around that theme. I think it'll be a lot of work at the beginning but will hopefully get easier as the year goes on. I'm excited to get started with planning and meeting my 3 1/2 year olds!
amc

Hola! This has been a jaw dropping first couple days. My adrenaline hasn't slowed down enough to type until now. The scenery around every corner and out of every window is spectacular. The mountains are green and disappear into the clouds. I'm sure there are words that now escape me that captivate the beauty better than I can. One thing I can describe, however, is the fresh, never frozen, picked yesterday and squeezed today juice! I think I've been having God's leftovers, that's how good it is! I've met my administrator and some other people whom I will be working with and I am very excited. I don't exactly blend in, but I'm doing my best not to look like a worried gringo everywhere I go. Today was my first solo taxi ride, also the most nervous 15 minutes of my life, but, it was cheap entertainment. I will no longer fear roller coasters and interstates after spending two days in the vehicles of Quito. Thankfully we've already had encounters with a few good Samaritans who have made our lives a little easier. Prayers for adaptation and God's hand in our journey are being answered. Thank you for all your thoughts and precious prayers, we wouldn't be here without them.
We love you all,
Michael

chao ecuador!

Well… I’m no longer in Quito. Sad day. But also very exciting! I get to see everyone again : )

Saturday was a very nice day. Maria and I hung out in the early evening and just walked around town. Then a bunch of us got together at La Naranjilla Mecánica (inspired by the movie, A Clockwork Orange). It was Tammy, Jenny, Ivan, Me, Maria, Danny (Cathy’s son), Diego (Maria’s host brother), and his two friends Andrés, and José (who I had never met before), and AnnMarie and Xavier. It was so fun : ) We sat in this posh room with cushions in Dalmatian pattern and the walls were all furry. The food was suuuuuper good. It was just great!

After, some of us went to Augijon to dance. The music was some reggaton/a little hip hop/randomness that I don’t even know what it was. It was okay to dance to but the people I was with made it really fun. : ) I really like all the friends I made in Quito! ☺

En Domingo, fui a iglesia con Maria y mi amiga Kristen (I met her my first Sunday at church). It was nice to see her one last time before I left! Then I went to lunch at a Cuban place with Cathy and her family. They are such a nice family. I really like her daughter, Stephy. She’s 16 and a junior at Colegio Americano.

After lunch I went home and finished packing. Sunday night was just a chill evening. I met up with Maria and we went to dinner at Honey & Honey. After we bought some good desserts and walked back to Jenny’s place. We hung out with Jenny for a little bit and then returned home!

I had sooo much stuff to pack that I had to leave the following things in Ecuador:
Old addidas sweatshirt
Gray zip-up
Raincoat
Tennis shoes
And lots of other random odds and ends

Eventually I got it all packed and went to bed around 10 or so. Woke up at 3:30… taxi picked me up around 4:20 (he was late... Marga had to call and discovered he had forgotten). I ended up sitting next to this very nice lady named Antoineta. She was from Ecuador but now lives in Miami. We spoke Spanish together and after we landed in Miami got our luggage, and went through customs all together. She was soo sweet : ) It was nice not to be forced to speak English the second I landed in Miami… haha I wasn’t quite ready. Actually, still not ready as I’m sitting here in the Miami airport writing this. I keep thinking or translating things into Spanish in my head. I’m going to miss it so much!! So beware all… I’m going to sometimes say things in Spanish to you. Probably not on accident, but because I want to. That hasn’t happened yet… but almost!

Well, between now and then I also hung out with Franny and the kids. So wonderful! : ) I’m so glad I was able to see them on the way here and on the way back… The kids are growing up so fast and They are just so darn cute! I had a great time with them and on the way back to the airport Abigail kept saying, “Mommy, I don’t want AnnMarie to go on the airplane.” : ) : ) : ) que linda… And when we were walking around Pauly would try to walk behind me and hold on to my legs, it was super funny. Franny and I had a few good laughs because of those kiddos. Well, that’s all for now! Oh! I also gave them their presents and they seemed to like them : ) PJ’s soccer jersey might be a little small… I didn’t realize he was such a tank. ; ) Haha

Alrighty, that’s all for now! I had an amazing time in Quito and can’t believe it’s already over. It’s such a mixture of feelings as I’m returning. I’m super sad to leave and feel like I didn’t have enough time. I love the country and really like the people I met so much but at the same time I am sooooo excited to see everyone I left behind in Minnesota : ) All I can tell myself is I’ll probably be back. : ) Maybe even as soon as August! We shall see. God is in control.

Chao for now! We’ll see if I write anything else later to update you on job searching.
anamaria : )

coming to an end

Today was so great : ) My last day student teaching and the kids “surprised” me with a little party during the last hour of both classes. They were all very, very sweet! The first class gave me a little picture frame and a card. The second class gave me a large card from the whole group. I will definitely be saving all these things. Christian wrote me a card that said: I can’t live without you. Don’t leave please. I < 3 you. Of: Christian

Hehe they have a hard time with that because “de” means of or from but they’re not sure when to use which.

After school I went to centro historica un otra vez and visited la Basilica. It was muy hermosa. There were gorgeous stain glass windows in the whole thing and the ceilings were so high with arches everywhere. On the outside were random animal statues (kind of like how gargoyles would be). I didn’t get to visit the Compañia because it was closed by the time Danny and I left the Basilica. We had empanadas de morrocho (or moroccho… I don’t remember - mi faaaaavorita) and Canelazo – a very traditional Ecuatoriana drink. You can have it with or without alcohol. I had it without alcohol but for the first time (later this evening) I tried it with. Blech. It’s an alcohol the indigenous people made from sugar cane. SUPER strong (something ridiculous like 48% proof). So needless to say, I didn’t enjoy it.

After Centro Historica I went to Maria’s house and hung out with her host brother and Ivan came over. Then we went to Guapulo Café in Guapulo and met one of Ivan’s friends and his girlfriend. Guapulo is a higher part of the city that overlooks the main part of Quito (que hermosa la vista!). That’s where I tried some canelazo with alcohol and also this warm wine drink mixed with fruit. That’s the first time I’ve tasted something wine-y and liked it. Haha

Well, tomorrow I’m going to start packing and then have a small goodbye party in the evening.

Chao mis preciosos. : )
annmarie

Running out of time...

Where to begin... I’ll just touch on the big things that I can remember. Then you aren’t all stuck reading a very detailed, pointless recap on my previous two weeks here. After the 20 somethings group on the 2nd I made some friends who told Maria and I that we should meet up with them on that Thursday for this girl’s birthday. So we did and it was a lot of fun : ) We went to CoffeeTree and then to a discoteca called Bungalow (but just to play pool and hang out). Then Friday I hung out with Cathy’s son, Danny, and his girlfriend, Caro. We went to the teleferico (cable cars) and visited the Centro Historico of Quito. It was a LOT of fun! Then that night I ended up going back to Bungalow with my friend Fernando and we met up with some other people. It was pretty fun but mostly just North American music was played. Saturday I went to Otavalo with Xavier, Ann Marie (Annie), her sister & her sister’s friend who were in town visiting. I bought LOTS of things!! : )

Then there was a whole lot of nada, or at least just randomness that isn’t super important, until the next Thursday night (11th)… when I went out for Indian food with Jenny, Tammy, Chantal (Jenny’s friend from Canada), and Maria. It was soooooo delicious. After dinner Maria and I met up with our friend Ivan from church and we went to El Café Mosaico. It had a beautiful vista of Centro Historico. I hope to go back there before I leave! Friday night (12th) I went salsa dancing with Maria and Ivan and his friend Enrique (nicknamed QiQue – no idea on the spelling… haha). It was a lot of fun but I’m not that good (so... Michael, you need to teach me. You know how to dance, right?).

Wow, I've caught up pretty fast. Just this past weekend I went to Mindo with Jenny, Chantal, Maria, and Ivan. We visited the butterfly garden which was super cool because they just landed on you and stayed there and they were ginormous. They made you kinda scared and jumpy… haha but it was still awesome. The hummingbirds here are amazing. There’s SOOO many and they aren’t as skiddish as they are in Minnesota. They are definitely more used to people. On Sunday we went on a hike to Cascada Reina. We didn’t spend as much time at the waterfall as I would have liked to... but we kinda had to go. Bummer. Oh well, next time! : ) Then I went ziplining with Chantal and that was very, very fun as well. Then we headed back to the town, grabbed some lunch, and went home.

Sunday night was officially my worst night here. I was sicker than I’ve ever been before – in my entire life! Must have been food poisoning or something but whatever it was, I never want to experience that again. I couldn’t sleep all night. I felt so absolutely, positively, horrible. I didn’t go to school on Monday but by that evening I was all better. Thank you Lord!

So here we are, it’s my last week of school. Tuesday I went to the 20 somethings group for the last time. Today I went to the market por la ultima vez with Cathy’s daughter, Stephy, and her friend Anthenela (I think…), and bought my final gifts. : ) Then Maria and I went and got manicures/pedicures and how it is time for bed. : )

Not sure what the rest of the week is going to look like for me but we shall see! Hopefully not too crazy busy, but at the same time filled with lots of fun and amazing times for my last week here. : )

See you all very soon!
Chao,
amc

A post for the most recent pictures.

In the first batch sent out, you'll see some shots from a bus of the city. Almost every store and house is surrounded by large walls. So when driving down the street it looks very different than in the states. Most walls have broken glass, spikes, or electric fences on top of them to keep robbers out. The random street sign is cause I thought maybe it would be cool to take pictures of all the different kind of street signs I take while traveling. There is also a lovely picture of my peeling shoulder.. this is just because I rarely burn, and when I do, I even more rarely peel. So.... I thought I needed to capture this. haha Sorry for that one.. There's also a picture of a notebook. The kids had to write sentences using some spelling words for homework. Look at the top sentence (they know I'm going to school to be a teacher and that's why I'm in their class). Oh, and that's me on the bottom. After Ariana showed it to me she gasped and said, "I forgot freckles!" And the note is from Sebastian. It's not an uncommon occurrence if mine and Cathy's name are written on the board with a big heart around them. It's awfully cute :)

The next pictures are jardín botanico, mitad del mundo, and the liga soccer game. I think I wrote about these things in the last post. There are pictures of Cathy's absolutely adorable house. It looks very puebla and authentic! The soccer picture of the goal with all the toilet paper is because fans throw toilet paper onto the field at the start of the game or at the beginning of the second half (in this case) right before the goalie gets there. They hope it will distract him and even though workers clean it up there's usually some blowing around for a while after.

That's all for now! I'm going to a 20 somethings group with Maria tonight. It should be fun! :)

Chao,
annmarie

fotografias

have no fear. pictures are near. i've uploaded bunches and bunches tonight and will share them with you all tomorrow.

con amor,
amc

quick update!

Yesterday was so great :) I went to church, met a nice girl named Maria. Went to the Liga soccer game, which was very fun. They won 5-0. After that I went to a cajun restaurant, named C'est La Vie, with a bunch of teachers to watch the very intense Canada vs. USA olympic hockey game. That was also a lot of fun :) Then I walked home, graded some math tests, and watched the closing ceremony.

Today I stopped by the director's office and asked if there were any openings for the 2010-2011 school year. She said there aren't but I should leave my resume and she'll let me know if anything opens up... So..... my goal is to apply to 2-3 schools per week. I'm not super worried. God's in control and if he doesn't want me at this school then there's going to be something better for me. I'm going to start applying to some in Quito, so if they wanted to talk to me while I'm here, they can. Then I think I'll try some in Central America, and then South America again. I met a couple who taught in Honduras so I'm going to talk to them about that.

That's all for now. Chao :)
annmarie

a very fun week :)

Goodness, it’s been a while since I last posted… I’m running out of steam here! Haha but I will try to keep you all updated as best as I can. Let’s see! This week…

Last time I posted I didn’t mention that on Sunday I was walking home from church and came up behind a lady who was signing the last song we had sang in church. So I said something and we walked to her house together. She was a very sweet lady. Divorced, lives with her son who’s not a Christian. She told me she’s praying for him and talked about how good God is. ☺ Jenny came over on Sunday night and we watched the Canada vs. USA hockey game ☺

On Monday, I did pilates after school. I really like all the ladies that go to yoga and pilates! On Wednesday, I decided I should go exploring so I went to the Jardîn Botanico. It was very pretty and it was nice to smell some delicious flowers and garden smells instead of car fumes. ;) I took a cab there, walked to the mall across the street, and then walked part of the way home. It was getting sort of dark so I hopped in a cab but regretted it immediately after because the traffic was so bad. Haha I definitely could have walked home faster – or close to it.

On Thursday I hung out with Kristen (a girl I had met at church on the first Sunday). We went to El Cafecito in the Mariscol (gringo landia). She’s from Virginia and has been here since September. It was fun getting to know her and just being out of the house.

Friday was a very nice day. After school I decided to get a manicure and a pedicure. So I walked to Jenny’s house but soon realized the lady who does them across the street was not open. So Jenny drew me a little map of another place that she’s gone to and I walked there. The ladies working there were all super friendly and it was very fun! It was around 7:00 when I left so it was kinda dark and I thought I should take a cab but I wasn’t sure if I was heading back to Jenny’s or going home. So I decided to start walking until I got a hold of her. I ended up walking all the way back to her house… haha and she called me just as I was walking up to her gate. We had dinner together and watched Blind Side. It was so fun ☺ And she was super cute. When we were getting dinner ready she goes, “It’s going to be sad when you leave.” It caught me a little off guard so I sort of chuckled and asked why and she said, “Cause I like having you here!” Here I was being worried that I was intruding on her life… haha just showing back up at her house without actually having talked to her about whether or not that was the plan. So that was nice to hear ☺ She is a very sweet girl. Oh, and Blind Side…. SUCH a good movie!

Today I went to La Mitad Del Mundo (the middle of the world) with Cathy (my teacher) and her son, Daniel. I was officially in two different hemispheres at one time! The “museum” was very cool. We were able to see lots of old houses and learn about indigenous cultures and then do some experiments with being on the equator. Very cool. We got to see water spin different directions (and straight down), we experienced less forces (or something like that) because the opposite forces partially neutralize each other. You actually weigh almost 5 pounds less on the equator! We balanced an egg on a nail (easier to do on the equator) and tried walking in a straight line, one foot after another, with your eyes closed. Most people had an extremely difficult time with it. After that we went to Puluhua. This is a ginormous volcano, which apparently erupted millions of years ago, and it was such a huge eruption it blew the side of the mountain out. So there is a large, flat, crater area where people live at the bottom. You can see the mouth of the volcano and it was pretty cool. It is currently inactive (has been since the last eruption) but some geologists say it is reactivating. Apparently, you can see smoke come out of the ground sometimes and they say if it erupts again, it will wipe out almost half of Ecuador… crazy. After that, we went to a little restaurant on the way back home and believe it or not… I tried “cuy” (pronounced coo-wee)… guinea pig. It didn’t taste much different than chicken… a little salty. But just knowing what I was eating, I didn’t eat very much. To make matters worse, they just deliver the thing whole. Everything is inside of it. Ewwy… and you’re supposed to eat everything – intestines and all. Blech. So that was the extent of my day!

Tomorrow I’m going to church and then to a Liga soccer game. Then watching the closing ceremony! How sad… I’ve really enjoyed watching the Olympics every night before bed. Next weekend I’m going to Otavalo (a big, big market place)! So if you have any requests of something you’d like from Ecuador… let me know! ☺

Chao one and all! I’ll be home before you know it! Only 23 days left… crazy!
con amor,
annmarie

Carnival tradition

I forgot to write about this. And it's been almost a week since I last updated... just a glimpse at me already getting a little tired of blogging... haha I will try really hard to keep posting!

The school has a competition between the 10th, 11th, and 12th graders. It's basically just a beauty/popularity contest but it's supposed to be more. Each grade chooses a girl based on academics, extra curricular stuff, personality, etc. Then one night there's this massive show where each grade "presents" their girl. They put on this really big presentation. Basically the entire grade participates by telling a story and people are split into groups and dance. It is a HUGE ordeal. Some $14,000 was donated by parents for it to happen. The set up of the stage and costumes is pretty extravagant. Here are some photos, enjoy.





That was the first group. Here is the second.



And the third...



Veeeery interesting... haha I have some videos too. But I don't think I'll post those on here. Takes too long. Well, hopefully you'll hear from me again sometime soon!

Chao!
amc

Big day tomorrow!

Cathy's husband's grandma just died today so tomorrow she will not be at school. Therefore, I will be flying solo with the kids! We have a TA that comes in for one of the hours in the afternoon but that's it. Please pray that everything goes well :)

Thank you!
annmarie

Carnival fun!

Note: This post should be read while going through my Kodak album. Although, my internet is being so dumb I can’t seem to upload the pictures right now. So beware, if you read this post now… you will have to read parts of it again later and look at the pictures when they’re up to get the full effect.

Also, I apologize for typos and sentences that don't make sense. Once I was done, it was too long for me to feel like going back to reread, so I just posted it as is. Enjoy!

Wow… what a weekend! We left on Saturday morning around 8:00. Jenny, Tammy, and I took a taxi to the bus terminal in southern Quito. From there we took a bus to Latacunga and then on to Chugchilán. We arrived at La Posada Oveja Negra around 3:30. The first bus ride we were sitting on a bench directly behind the driver. It was maybe about a foot and a half wide with not nearly enough legroom! The picture of the driver and the lady sitting next to him was just me trying to show how close we were. My knee was right below where the picture cuts off at the driver’s chair. The second bus ride was very interesting… two very drunk men (one more so than the other) got on the bus. The one guy couldn’t even sit upright! He would pass out every now and then and then wake up and start yelling and being annoying. But anyway, the bus ride was absolutely beautiful! We were weaving around the mountains on very narrow dirt roads. Some parts it felt like we were going to fall off the edge of the cliff – so all in all it was very exciting.

The first evening there we got our stuff settled and then went on our first hike. This was the “Ridge Hike”. We hiked up, up, up behind the inn and then followed a ridge along the side of the inn. We then walked down through a field which led us to the road and from there we hiked back up to our inn. This was a short hike (maybe an hour and a half). The first picture of scenery and me is the view from the ridge looking the opposite direction of our inn. The next picture is our inn. The main building with the deck was the yoga, sitting room. Behind that was the main lodge where we ate breakfast and dinner. The next pictures are of a humming bird that had flown into the yoga room. Andrés (one of the inns owners) caught it and let it go. It was a little shocked which is why I was able to catch a picture of it before it flew away. Dinner was family style. Everyone staying at the inn ate together in the main lodge. We met two ladies from Chicago named Barbara and Peg. They were volunteering in the local school in Chugchilán and would be staying for a month. We also met four medical students (Meredith, Laura, Joanna, and Diana) who were working in Riobamba for a short amount of time. Lastly, we met Javier and AnnMarie. A couple that lives less than a mile from my place in Quito. AnnMarie has been living in Quito for two years and is a professor at a local university. She teaches English. Small world… and believe it or not, it gets even smaller. Haha

The second day was our long hike. We took a bus from Chugchilán (which was about a 1 km walk from our inn) to Quilotoa. This bus ride was about one hour. We had two guides as we were traveling with our group, and three of the medical students. I bought a hat made from alpaca fur for $4 and off we went! This used to be a massive volcano. I’m not totally sure what happened but now it is a big crater with a lake in the middle. It’s about the same temperature as Lake Superior. It was super windy at the top so I was very, very happy I had bought a hat! The hike took us about 5 hours and 15 minutes so we made perfect time. It was very, very, very tiring!

Ok, stick with me here. Image 5954 is a shot of where we were standing to where we had to walk to. About 1/3 of the way down from the top of the picture and about 1/3 of the way from the right hand side is a very small white cluster/line thing. This is Chugchilán. In the next picture where I’m posing the same small village is at about he same height but on the very edge of the right hand side. I hope you find it! In the picture after the little boy you can see the village again. This was a very weird part of the hike where this was just a massive sandy spot… very odd.

There were plenty of extremely steep hills we needed to walk down so your toes hurt from sliding in your shoes. It hadn’t rained as much as it should have in a while, so many of the paths were just slippery gravel/sand. No fun to walk on. Jenny (with the white bandana (actually was trying to catch her balance as she turned around for the picture. After the cow picture is a view of what we had just walked down (I’m pretty sure).

The hike was very hot and very strenuous. I slipped on the sand and fell on my butt, only once though! All of the views and small villages and little huts were so beautiful. The entire hike was just incredible. And even though I almost died because of how small some of the paths were, and how close they were to the cliff, and how tired I was, and how much pain I’m in even still today… I wouldn’t have not done it for anything! It was a wonderful experience and quite the adventure!

Image 5983 is the view of our village… getting closer! Although that’s a little deceiving because it’s zoomed in… Image 5989 is a more realistic view of how much farther we needed to go. And it’s in the background of the picture of Jenny, Tammy, and I. I hope you all realize which part of the picture I’m talking about by now! The next picture is an example of the very scary path we needed to walk on. The picture of me being woman – hear me roar – is because up where those pine trees are… we had just climbed down from there.

Because we needed to descend down into the canyon, the last hour or so of the hike was all uphill. The picture after me being woman – hear me roar – is the beginning of this climb. Below the very bottom of this picture is the river… the lowest we went. The next picture is the view of what we had just hiked up. You can see the river in this one. It was extremely steep. I didn’t take many pictures after that because I was practically dying… haha sadly, yes. Even the most gradual incline was difficult after hiking extreme downhills and the random steep climb for the four previous hours. The picture of the band was the first picture I took once we arrived in Chugchilán. It was a VERY exhausting day!

Upon arrival at the inn I met some new people. Maggie, Megan (don’t remember which one) and her husband Bryan, who are from…. get this…. Bemidji, Minnesota! What are the chances of that… Not only did they have a connection with me, but they had a connection with Jenny too. Earlier on the trip she had been telling me about this sweet, four-day folk fest in Winnipeg that she absolutely loves! As soon as they found out she was from Winnipeg they told her they have been going to the folk fest ever since it started! Another couple arrived while we were gone and we met at dinner that night. Carson (from Kentucky) and Jen (from South Dakota). After they had been talking with the husband and wife from Bemidji they discovered their son’s best friend was one of Carson’s best friends! Can the world get any smaller?!?!? I don’t think so… Those are all the crazy connections I can think of.

There’s a picture of me next to a small door, which leads into the sauna. I took a sauna after my massage :) It was really needed after such a strenuous day. The rest of the pictures are the main lodge area where we ate dinner, the directions for the compost toilet (a very cool idea… and it doesn’t smell. It smells like lovely cedar wood.), some early morning sunrise shots, the view of our room/bathroom area, and Mount Iliniza Sur.

I didn’t sleep very well on Sunday night (after our long hike) because I was extremely stuffy and couldn’t breathe very well. But the next day we did a two hour hike (approximately 99% uphill) to the Cheese Factory that some Swiss missionaries started. It was crazy. I was so exhausted. I have never felt like I literally could not walk any farther. My leg muscles were completely dead. In Image 6038 our inn was on the other side of the farthest fairly clear ridge/edge/mountain thing. I’m standing with Miguel, our guide, in the picture of me with cheese in my hand. It was very fresh and delicious!

God really stepped in on Monday. While visiting the cheese factory, who pulls up in a car but the first and second grade counselor from our school (her and her family had arrived at the inn the night before)! Jenny knows this wonderful lady from being a second grade teacher the year before. We had a truck scheduled to bring us to Zumbahua so we could take a bus to Latacunga, another one to Quito, and then a taxi back to our place (another very long day ahead of us). However, we realized we were never going to make it back in time for our hired truck driver and we were all exhausted. So we decided to hitch a ride part way home because this family was going to visit the cloud forest before heading back. However, on our way back down the mountain this immense fog/mist rolled in (this happens often). Within 5 minutes you couldn’t see anything. They decided it wasn’t worth it to go to the cloud forest as they wouldn’t be able to see much and we drove all the way back to the inn with them. The blessing doesn’t stop there! Upon arrival we realized AnnMarie and Javier hadn’t left yet. They were planning on leaving around noon (in their very own car) and we knew we were going to miss them with our original plan of hiking back and driving with a truck driver. So Jenny talked to them about us three driving back to Quito with them. AnnMarie said she was going to ask us but knew we weren’t planning on being back until later and didn’t want to ask Javier to wait that long. But since we arrived over 2 hours before schedule they were more than happy to take us home! So not only were we able to skip a long, dreadful 2+ hour hike back to the inn, we skipped a 7+ hour trek home. On our way back we stopped at the Italian furniture store (yes mom, I got to!). The things there were absolutely beautiful! All hand carved wood – simply amazing.

By the time I got home last night I was feeling so sick (from being tired, sunburned, and aching all over) I went to bed around 8:30. I took 3 ibuprofen and 1 dramamine and I slept wonderfully. I’m feeling much better today and couldn’t be happier with how I spent my weekend

I hope you made it through my very, very, very, very, very long post. I’ll end quickly. I still miss you all and hope everyone had a fantastic Valentine’s day! Chao

con amor,
annmarie

Uff da.

After an extremely fun weekend I am...
very sun burned
sore beyond belief
exhausted and...

sick : (

So, I'm going to bed and will talk with you all tomorrow! Although those things don't sound that great I really did have so, so, so, so, so much fun! I just came down with a nasty cold last night and my sun burn doesn't help me feel any better. So, ciao!

amc

FYI :)

Just so everyone knows I will be leaving tomorrow morning around 7:30, heading to Quilotoa Loop with Jenny and Tammy :) We're planning on doing a short two hour hike when we get there and then the long hike (5 hours or so) on Sunday. We'll be back Monday night and I have Tuesday off so I will have no excuse not to have a lengthy post describing my hopefully very wonderful excursion! :) And pictures to go with it!

Here is the place we are staying. It will give you an idea of the area.
http://blacksheepinn.com/index.php

Later! Miss you all :)

con amor,
annmarie

My address

Just in case you would like to know... here is my address:

Urbanizacion Jardines Del Batan
Calle Manrique Lara N40-120
Edificio Alejandria 3 Sur.
Quito, Ecuador
South America

Also, I'm going to the Quilotoa Loop for Carnival. :) I'll post when I return! And put pictures up then too :)

amc

Carnival plans?

I need your input!!

So today I went and talked to a 2^nd grade teacher (Amanda) and asked her if she knew of any teachers who were doing something fun for carnival. She said her group had just made reservations for the jungle and didn’t know if there was room for one more but that I could contact her any time to hang out. Then she made me a list of some teachers she knew who were doing something over the long weekend. So after school I visited their classrooms and talked about their plans. Tamara, in 4^th grade, is going to Baños with an older man from Canada. There are hot springs and hiking and biking and waterfalls. They would be leaving Saturday morning and return Tuesday afternoon. Jenny, in 5^th grade, is going to the Quilotoa Loop with her friend Tammy. The Quilotoa Loop is a large crater with a lake in the middle. Everyone I’ve talked to has said it’s very beautiful. There is hiking and… I’m not sure what else. Beautiful views and fresh air, even though the oxygen will still be scarce… The girls also said they read that this is a less touristy place and there are more native Ecuadorians in the area. They would be leaving Saturday afternoon and return Monday evening.

So now I’m faced with a decision to make! I think I’m leaning towards the Quilotoa Loop because I met both girls and they seem very nice. Plus, you stay in a hostel, which would probably be less expensive than Baños. At some point I would definitely want to go to Baños but I think I would have better luck finding someone to do that with me. Steve Nelson said he would give me the pastor of the church’s email address so I could get in touch with their “20 somethings” group. Also, there is that girl I met on Sunday who I could possibly travel with and I can always ask around at school. So yes. That is the deal for now.

Here are some things I want to do while in Ecuador:

• Take a trip to Baños
• Visit the beach (lower on the list)
• Go to the jungle
• Buy things at the market in Otavalo
• Visit the Mitad del Mundo museum
• Go to a discoteca
• Take a ride on the teleférico (cable car)
  

That’s all I can think of for now! Aren’t you all happy this was a somewhat shorter post? ;)

con amor,
annmarie

whoops!

apparently being on the equator and 10,000 feet closer to the sun you burn a lot faster... ;) my cheeks (and my arms a little) are all pink from 30 minutes in the sun reading with a small group.

i should start keeping track of funny things i hear from the kids as they are trying to speak in english. here's one thing.
a little girl was talking about her mom doing her hair and she said it didn't usually take long, but this morning her mom was disenconcentrated so it took longer...

okay, ciao!
amc

An overall, wonderful first weekend.

A few more random things:

• I can count the number of strollers I have seen on one hand… yet there are sooo many babies. Everyone just carries them around.
• Parking spaces are very, very tiny.

A story that I can’t believe I forgot to write about till now:

The first night I was here, I woke up in the middle of the night around 2 or 3 am. I breathe pretty slowly when I sleep. One of my nostrils just so happened to be stuffy, so I could only breathe out of the other. Well, every time I was starting to actually fall asleep I would wake up (very startled like) totally out of breath – like I had been holding my breath! It was horrible because I wasn’t getting enough oxygen because my nose was stuffed and because there’s not nearly enough up here! So that was comical/very frustrating.

Okay, so Friday morning my teacher came about 25 minutes late to school. One of the workers had to unlock the door so the kids and me could get into the classroom (we were just stuck waiting out in the courtyard). Luckily, I knew what the plan was for today. Friday was a “read in” day where we were scheduled to basically read the entire day. So, Miss Celiberti (actually they just call me AnnMarie) had everyone put their things away, sit down in their desk, and start reading. Within 5 minutes of being let into the classroom everyone was quietly reading in his or her desk while we waited for Cathy to arrive. I felt like such a teacher! I could actually be responsible for 22 eight year olds! A TA or two walked by a couple of times and gave me a look like, “Wow! They’re all quietly reading in their desk!”

Cathy is just fantastic. I found out this is her first year teaching 3^rd grade. She was in 6^th grade before. She said the other 3^rd grade teachers aren’t very good about sharing their materials with her and plans for what they are teaching, etc. Which is odd because they are all very nice people and you would think they would want to be helpful since it is her first year! So we have decided we should try some new things and do some planning together. This week we’re going to try to implement some math centers for the classroom, which should be fun J I really like working with her! After class we looked for some books for guided reading and then went to a movie with another teacher. We saw the movie “Nine”. It came out in December but after seeing it I realize why I had never heard of it before. It was not a very good movie…

Today was just wonderful. This morning I woke up around 8:30 and spent some much needed time with God J It was a fantastic way to start my day! I met Steve Nelson at church at the English Fellowship Church about 10 minutes from our apartment. While waiting outside a girl named Kristen started talking to me. She’s from Virginia but is studying abroad in Quito for the year. We talked for a little bit and then sat together at church. She’s seems like a very nice girl and we exchanged numbers and she told me to get in touch with her if I wanted to hang out sometime. J Steve Nelson and two other men talked about their time in Haiti serving at a hospital just outside of Port-au-Prince. Their stories were incredible. I think it is so amazing the servant hearts God has given them, to help the people of Haiti. They were working at a hospital that had only 86 beds and by the time they arrived on the Friday after the earthquake, there were over 300 people there. It was an emotional service with pictures, a few video clips (one of which had Psalm 121:1-2… my favorite Psalm!), and many stories. One video clip was of two Samaritan’s Purse people talking to this boy named Watson. His leg had been broken and he had been waiting for many days for surgery at the hospital. They talked about how he had known what the Bible had said but had just accepted God as his personal Lord and Savior. Then he started singing this song:

This is the day
This is the day
That the Lord has made
That the Lord has made
We will rejoice
We will rejoice
And be glad in it
And be glad in it
This is the day that the Lord has made
We will rejoice and be glad in it
This is the day
This is the day
That the Lord has made.

This was so incredible to see. Here was this young man, in so much pain from a broken leg, waiting for days and days to get the care he needed, singing a song of praise through it all. What an example of real, living, breathing, faith.

After church I had lunch with Steve and Dorothy Nelson. I was able to hear more about Steve’s time in Haiti and learn about some amazing things they’ve done in their lives. (And just for the record I thoroughly believe in the “6 degrees of separation” theory, as you are all now only 3 degrees away from many, many people in Haiti and Africa and many other places they have traveled). After lunch we went to a park and walked around where we met some llamas J

Well, that’s about all for now! It’s time for another full week at Colegio Americano de Quito! I hope you all had fantastic weekend. xoxo

annmarie