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 : )