Signing Off

Well, well, well. This day HAS arrived. (Insert: “AHHHHHHHH” here.) I don’t even know how to feel right now. Talk about a clash of emotions. Clearly, I’m pumped to come home, but with being so homesick during the beginning, I wasn’t expecting to be this sad about leaving. Turns out, Quito grew on me.

This past week has had its fair share of bumps along the way, more than the previous 19 weeks. I debated about putting the following in the blog, but it had an impact on me, so I figured I’d include it. I messed up my goal; one week ago, I ended up having money and my phone stolen out of my purse. It’s a long story, so I’ll spare you. However, the person did it without me knowing, so no ‘scare’ factor, and it was a crazy set of circumstances where there is no way I could have avoided it happening. It’s not as if I let my guard down. If anything, my paranoia had hit a new high the last month after hearing more and more stories from my friends about getting robbed. But, moving on to bigger and better things.

For once, I’m going to talk about academics, seeing as this is a main component of the whole ‘study abroad’ thing and has gotten left out of nearly every blog. As far as schoolwork goes, this past week was … rough rough rough. I had a take-home exam that took 10 hours to complete. (It’s funny to look at how things have changed being in Ecuador, at IU 10 hours to study for an exam was nothing!) As far as I’m concerned, I’d rather study for a test, take it, and be done with it. Sure the idea of a ‘take-home’ exam sounds wonderful, but… it’s not. Anyway, this past week was filled with exams, the so-delightful-take-home exam, presentations and papers. I finished yesterday at 5pm. (Wow, that feels like so long ago.) I can easily say that I learned the most outside of the classroom this semester. It has been so amazing to have the opportunity to learn about another part of the world. I feel blessed to have been able to do this. God works in some crazy, crazy ways.

There is no way to try and sum up the past 4 and a half months… maybe a simple: I love Ecuador. No, it can’t be put into words. Although this has been a relatively short amount of time, there have been some defining moments, and therefore, this will always be special to me. It has been a learning experience, about myself and about the world, from start to finish.

Wow. What an adventure.

Thank y'all for reading my blog and being a part of my adventure. It really has meant a lot to me to know that, although I had an amazing group of people in Ecudaor, I had an unbelievalbly soild group to come back to. I can't thank y'all enough for that.

Much love,
Em

It’s ALMOST Over

Pic 1: All of these are from our Farewell dinner- my hostmom and me
Pic 2: Me, Hannah, Jenny and Kelley
Pic 3: Pam and I
Pic 4: My entire program

Hola! I hope that everyone is doing well. I’m excited to see everyone SOON.

I can’t believe I am writing one of my last blogs, and for that reason it has turned out to be rather lengthy. I come home one week from today; it’s hard to believe. This semester has been the experience of a lifetime. I have grown so much over the past 4 and a half months. I just spent some time reading through my journal. It’s amazing to look at the progression of everything, of this experience.

It is evident in my journal that there was a rollercoaster of emotions this semester. I started out on a high, which quickly turned into a long period of homesickness. Then I had a turning point where things just clicked. That was on March 26th. That was the day where Pam and I had our epic adventure gallivanting around Ecuador. From then on, I have been on cloud 9, loving life for all that it’s worth. This past Wednesday night we had our Farewell Dinner, and that felt like the beginning of the end. Each day since then has felt different. Yesterday I was really upset about leaving, but today I feel ready… it keeps changing.

Below are a few entries from my journal:

January 6, 2010 (I wrote this on the flight down to Ecuador.)
I feel fairly calm right now. Last night was perfect. Molly was a huge help with keeping me on track and getting packed. Vince was hanging out too. Then we went to El Vaq and met Katie and Russ. Katie ended up spending the night, which was awesome; otherwise I think I would have gotten sad. She’s just the best.
Overall, I’m feeling really great. Almost a sense of peace. It feels damn good!

January 29, 2010 (The night at the beach in Same, Ecuador.)
God, why are You the coolest in the universe? … Oh yeah, cause You made it! Ha!

March 14, 2010
I really was wanting a breath of fresh air and to get out of Columbus. B-town was not the break that I needed at all. It was a VERY stressful semester. I looked forward to being able to have a full day at the library- that’s sick and messed up! Plus- I was near home, but could rarely go home, so it was a tease.

March 26, 2010
-Top days of my life- this ranks as one of them. Lord, Your goodness shines through… and through and through.
-Pam is awesome. We just laughed, lived and appreciated every ounce of today.
-During our crazy, mountainous, treacherous, slippery, gooorgeous drive, we had so many amazing moments that I will remember for the rest of my life- no doubt. Ecuador, once again, proves to be one of the most diverse, unique and surprising countries. It is simply irresistible. Gosh darn, God. You are brilliant.
-It was A PERFECT DAY.

April 11, 2010
-I have finally let go.

May 15, 2010
-The night when we (Justin and I) were at Surf Shak- Simply Amazing. 80’s music was on; playing games, drinking Pilsner- life couldn’t have gotten any better.

Okay, enough of past journal entries. It’s been nice looking through past blogs and journal entries to reflect and try and sum up this crazy adventure.

On Thursday night, 7 of us girls went out to celebrate Amber’s birthday and it was also her last night in Ecuador. We went to a restaurant in the Old Town called, Vista Hermosa (Beautiful View), and it was rightly named. We sat up on the roof and were in the center of it all- the beautiful churches and monuments. It was a bittersweet time, being Amber’s last night and near the end for the rest of us. It was such a special dinner. They had live music, 3 guys playing- 2 guitars and 1 violin. The first song they played was “With or Without You” by U2, just the instruments without singing. Pam started tearing up, then that got me going. I really can’t describe this moment, but I think this was the first time that I really thought about leaving these incredible people. Pam has become one of my best friends and I don’t even want to think about not having her in my daily life. Then, to top it off, fireworks started to go off every 5 minutes or so. Such a sweet, sweet moment.

Since January, I have become more confident in the person that I am. I have grown in ways I didn’t realize I would. I think I’ve always been an independent person, but now I feel more comfortable with it. It’s hard to verbalize exactly. About a month ago, Pam said something to the effect of “THIS is the best Pam that has ever existed.” There were some funny hand motions that went with it as well. While we laughed at this comment, there is some serious truth to it. I actually feel the same way. Plain and simple: I feel great.

I have so many precious memories that I will be taking with me when I leave Ecuador. I am going to leave here with a smile on my face knowing I lived it up!

Shania Twain’s “Man, I feel like a Woman” just came on at Coffee & Toffee. There are 5 of us ‘studying’ here, and we all just JAMMED out. So appropriate for right now.

Here are a few lyrics that are hitting home for me right now (pun intended).
“Mama said ‘home is where the heart is’ when I left that town” –Lady Antebellum
“Hello World. How ya been? Good to see you my old friend… Say a prayer; maybe talk to God, like He is there. Oh, I know He’s there. Yeah, I know He’s there.” –Lady Antebellum
“I’m taking my time. Holdin’ and hopin’ and drivin’ and dreamin’ and lovin’ every minute of it, just enjoyin’ the ride. Slowly and soulfully feeling the wheels unwind. Finding my way back home.” -Lee Ann Womack

The One Where the Gringo Visits

Pic 1: In Canoa at Surf Shak
Pic 2: At the top of Volcán Pichincha
Pic 3: At the top of Volcán Pichincha
Pic 4: Quilotoa
Pic 5: Kayaking in the lake

I have come up with my own tagline for Ecuador: The Most Beautiful Country that No One Visits. I am continually in awe of how gorgeous this place is. However, I know that my tagline already somewhat inaccurate, as I have been lucky enough to have two rounds of visitors.

Justin came to visit me in Ecuador. He flew in last Sunday night, and stayed for 8 days. It was a BLAST. We covered a good amount of the country in a short amount of time…. some of it on accident (more on that in a sec). We went to the lazy beach town, Canoa, and were beach bums for two days. Since it was during the week, it was fairly deserted. At one point, we were the only people in the ocean. I think one of my favorite moments of the week was Wednesday night in Canoa, when we went to the Surf Shak (yes, it’s ‘shak’) and played Checkers, Connect 4, Speed, and Poker. Definitely one of my top moments of the semester.

Our trip TO Canoa, took 5.5 hours. Our trip FROM Canoa, back to Quito took 8 or 9 hours; this is where seeing a lot of the country ‘on accident’ occurred. We showed up at the bus stop at 6am, ready for our direct bus back to Quito. No, no, no. That did not happen. We have a little Ecuadorian man come up to us when we arrive at the bus stop and explain that that bus was cancelled (despite having already bought our bus tickets). Really? Are you serious? Yes, he’s serious. (I’ve learned to expect anything in Ecuador, but even this was a new one for me.) Not to worry, the little Ecuadorian man says, there’s a “car” that is coming soon and can take us to Pedernales, which is about 2 hours away. Great, sooo, where the heck is Pedernales and what do we do when we get there? Well, we don’t have a second option, so we wait for this “car” to show up. Right around 6:50am, a Chiva shows up. Let’s just say, this is the farthest thing from a “car”, they are typically more of a party bus type of thing. It’s an open-air truck with about 6 benches that holds 40 people or so. Well, this Chiva pulls up, with music blaring like it is a discotech at 2 in the morning. (Throughout the semester, my friend, Pam, and I have learned to get excited about anything that goes wrong, because it typically turns out pretty funny.) So, it is 6:50am, and we are about to get on this bumpin’ party bus… I am pretty jazzed up about this adventure that is about to come our way, plus I love seeing more of the country, while Justin is looking at me like “Really? So this is how you roll in Ecuador?” To make a very long story short, it was quite the journey involving hot, smelly buses (one overheated and we were momentarily stopped/broken down) where we ended up taking 4 different vehicles on our way back to Quito. All in all, we made it back in plenty of time….. to go on another Chiva.

My program organized for the whole crew to have a Chiva the same night that we got back from Canoa… now this is an appropriate time to ride on a Chiva (at night) and drink some beers with the music jammin’. After Justin’s first experience on a Chiva, he wasn’t super thrilled about the idea, but at the end of the night I think he was yelling VIVA LA CHIVA! Okay, that might be an exaggeration (or that might have been me), but I was glad he was able to experience the Chiva, the way it is meant to be experienced.

At the end of the week, we went to Quilotoa with my anthropology class. There were 12 of us that went, plus my professor. It is a tiny pueblo with a population of 150, and the elevation is 12,841 feet. My trusty guidebook says, “The famous volcanic-crater lake of Laguna Quilotoa is a gasp-inducing sight. A lookout on the precipitous crater rim offers stunning views of the mirror-green lake. When you ask the locals how deep it is, they inevitably say it has no bottom, which seems entirely plausible given its awesomeness.” Then it has to ruin the legend and say, “the geologists say 250m deep (820 feet).” It is easily one of the most beautiful things I have seen in my life.

Then, that night in Quilotoa, we got another treat. The stars… they were unbelievable. I thought after the Galápagos, I wouldn’t see stars like that for a veeeery long time, but I was wrong. They were incredible! Again, there is something about nature that is so grand where I can’t help but be in awe of God.

It’s hard to sum up a jam-packed week, but basically it was fabulous from start to finish.

I really cannot believe how quickly this semester is wrapping up. I will be home NEXT Saturday. That is so crazy to me. These past 4 months have been the most adventurous 4 months of my life. It’s kind of sad, knowing that it is coming to an end, but at the same time I am super pumped to get back HOME and everything that comes with that.

Chao!