Mom's Visit

Monday night around midnight, Maria Paz and I went to pick up Mom from the airport....it was incredibly exciting and we stayed up late like little kids at a sleep-over talking. Mom met the host family the next morning before we went out with Aviva to Teleferiqo and Quito Antigua. Abuelita served Locro soup for lunch and then Aviva, mom and I prepared pizza for the family and Nora's host family. The next day mom and I headed to Tena where we had an awkward encounter with my other host family, but a great time visiting the hospital and seeing the town. Then we spent a few nights in Banos where we went hiking, walking and just exploring, playing cards and working on sketchbooks. On mom's birthday we took a bus to Cayambe and stayed at the oldest hacienda in Ecuador, Hacienda Guachala. It was beautiful and we were the only people there! At dinner they made a fire and the whole meal was great - quinua salad, soup and trout. When I had made the reservation, they asked if I wanted cake served for her birthday...well, I thought they had meant maybe a slice, but instead they brought out a huge birthday torta, so we gave most of it to a really nice woman we met who works there. We took a horse ride in the morning and the guide asked me to marry him and live on his hacienda....awkward moment. We spent one night in Otavalo at the indigenous market and wandering around town looking at all the small stores and incredible outfits people wear. Going back to Quito was wonderful, but I am so sad to leave my family. We played cards for the last time with Pedro and Maria Gracia before packing everything. Maria Paz brought humitas for a good-bye merienda and I realized how much I will miss this family. At 4:15 am, Francisco and Maria Paz brought us to the airport and we had plenty of time before our flight to Dallas. Back home in LA it was exciting to see Chloe, JH and dad and so strange to be here. Also, getting everything ready for Jamie's wedding has kept me very busy and at times it is so confusing / frustrating / wonderful to be back. The strangest moment was sitting in a Beverly Hills dress shop for the bridesmaid's fitting and seeing all the crazy rich people come in and complain or throw a fit about something small - like a veil. Anyway, the wedding is today and it will be beautiful and I feel honored to be a part of it. Everything reminds me of Ecuador and prices seem so exspensive. This morning i ate a chirimoya, my favorite Ecuadorian fruit, which mom managed to find at the open market here.

Atacames

Aviva and I spent a few days after the program at the beach in Atacames. Adrianna and Francisco, Nora's host parents, let us use a hotel room that they own, so the trip was really reasonable and a great way to de-stress after the final papers and presentations. We left Quito around Midnight and arrived around 6:30 in the pouring rain and took a motorcycle taxi to the hotel. We got our hair braided, sat on the beach and had to say "no" about a million times a day to people selling everthing from coco water to sunglasses. Aviva also runs cross country, so we went on a couple of early morning runs on the beach before it got too hot outside. At night the beach town turns into a huge party on the weekend and the beach cabanas turn into bars with swings and tropical drinks.

first communion

back to quito

so, tomorrow is the last day of classes and I had my final presentation / turned in my final paper yesterday. The presentation was about 1/2 hour long and went pretty well considering I get nervous speaking in front of people, especially in Spanish. I cannot believe how quickly this semester has gone...and classes are almost over. This coming weekend I will say good-bye to Nora (she is heading back to MN) then take an over-night bus with a friend, Aviva, to a coastal town called Puerto Lopez. I am looking forward to laying and running on the beach, reading for fun (perhaps in a a hammock) and seeing another part of the country for a few days.

My first weekend back in Quito included: cooking our own dinner with Nora & Aviva, watching "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and playing cards with the host siblings. Saturday was the first communion of Isabel, Nora's host sister, and it is a huge deal here. The lunch looked like a wedding and we dressed up....I bought some black heels for the occasion. After, the extended family and my family went back to Nora's house for a huge dance party. The host grandmother was wearing heels higher than mine and is an incredible dancer....she wore her shoes longer than I could. Our families went through a ton of whiskey as they blasted the salsa, reggaton and meringue. Nora and I went with rum and apparently her host father told Maria Paz that we looked incredibly happy....and apparently i dance better as the night goes on....around midnight I went downstairs to our apartment with my host mom (an early night for her). Sunday was a recuperation day filled with reading, working on the paper, watching "The Devil Wears Prada" and napping with my host family.