No Creo

What the heck. Tomorrow is my last day in this country. Unreal. Today was another full day in Ecuador. It was very cold this morning when I arose beginning the day at around 40 degrees. After another good run, I showered and enjoyed talking to Melinda while eating breakfast. The other day I asked her what she does for a living and she told me she makes and sells scarves. She showed me what they looked like and I personally think that are not very attractive, however I kindly complimented them. I told her I would have to get one as a gift for a family member. Thrilled, she asked what color I would like and we decided on the same fushia color as the sweater I was wearing. For the past 2 days I have seen her knitting this scarf and now it will likely come home and hopefully be worn at some point by someone. Her thoughtfulness and work on this scarf is so meaningful to me and definitely feel we have gotten closer in the past few days through bonding over this scarf.

I walked into town and was the first customer at Café Austria where I spent the morning studying for my Spanish exam at 12, skyping with my mom, and uploading photos to facebook. I was joyful all morning and talking to my mom was such a tease because I just wanted to crawl through the computer screen. She asked what the next couple of days looked like and I was able to give her the play by play hourly until when I see her which was crazy. I am so excited to see my family.

I went to school at 12, took my Spanish exam which was reasonably easy and only took 45 minutes. I busted a move home for lunch and ate a quick meal. For my last lunch we had a tortilla soup, fresh french fries, rice, avocado, tomatoes, and a yummy desert of french toast with maple syrup. I met Marianna’s son Carlos for the first time today because he usually works through the night at a fabric factory and sleeps through the day but he is currently injured. It was weird to meet someone on my last day. I then returned to the city for an hour of organizational work where we finalized our project and watched an episode of Lost. I walked around town with Elizabeth afterwards and looked for a few more gifts.

Returning home I took a warmish shower and began packing. I am definitely leaving with more than I arrived with. Eventually I went downstairs for a dinner of what Marianna called a “tortilla” which was like a rice and egg patty. For desert I had a sweet tamale and coffee. I talked to Marianna’s daughter-in-law who has traveled to the US and truly understood almost every word she said. It was fantastic. After getting dressed I walked into the city once more to meet friends. I walked past the hippies and ended up talking to one who made me a free ring and then I bought some neat earrings. When I arrived at the Inca Lounge I was happy to find all my friends sitting around enjoying one another’s company. We eventually changed locations and at the end of the night Wick and I walked home. Holy moly. Tomorrow is my last day in Ecuador. I have no words.

Hasta Luego,

Cate