leaving and re-entry.

As I sat in the airport in Ecuador I couldn't help but cry.  I can't believe the semester is over already.  I sat there reflecting on the semester and wondering how it went so fast.  I wondered how it would feel to go back to Trinity and see my friends and family.  I wondered how it would feel to step on American soil and flush my toilet paper.

As I drove up to Trinity on Friday, I was greeted my my best friend and crazy roommate, Melissa, jumping up and down on the side of the road.  I JUMPED out of the car and gave her a huge hug and the two of us immediately started balling.  I couldn't believe I was actually here.  As we drove into the parking lot in front of our building, the rest of my friends and roommates came running to the car.  It felt SO GOOD to hug all my friends and see their beautiful faces.

It's been rough to transition straight into the busy life of visiting people and attending activities at Trin.  It's hard to have half conversations with so many people, but the ones I have had about my heart have been wonderful.  I've been able to share that God taught me so much this semester.  He taught me to trust Him.  He taught me that I can't do it on my own.  He taught me how important it is to talk to Him. He taught me how to support and love my friends in a better way.  He taught me to listen to His voice.  I can't wait for Him to keep teaching me and to keep learning how to take those new lessons from my semester abroad into the summer.

canoa.

My heart is so filled with anticipation.  In 24 hours I'll be sitting in the new airport in Quito waiting to board a plane.  Spending the last couple days at the beach has done wonders for my heart.  While it's still saturated with a jumble of crazy emotions and feelings about reaching the end of my semester, my heart is filled with so much more peace than it was before the beach.  

Spending two solid days soaking up the sun and being crazy with my Semester Abroad family was perfect.  Talking about how to deal with going back home in a healthy way was so needed.  I realized during out discussions that in the past I have not dealt with reverse culture shock well.  After talking about the different responses, I feel like my heart is so much more prepared to handle the transition back into life in the States.  Not only did I have a lot of time to think and reflect on the things God did in my life this semester, I also got to share a room with Kimmie [bug shenanigans and all in the middle of the night], walk the beach over and over with Alyssa and Ben, hug Bonnie Black every time she came near me, creep around with Scott and Alyssa, and enjoy the presence of this incredible family God has blessed me with this semester.  

 [beach yoga with my girls.  kimmie, me, & diana.]

 [sunset.  our last night on the beach.]

 [creepin as usual.  lys, scott, and me.]

 [going to miss this boss momma.]

 [awkward moments with sarah malatt.]

jungle take two.

Besides the insane amount of sweat and bugs, the jungle is one of my favorite parts of Ecuador.  We spent six days hanging out in that wonderful place, stopping at the hot springs of Papallacta on the way there, taking Roberto, Charmai, and their family out for pizza and ice cream in Tena, running a three day sports camp, moving a crapload of rocks for a new basketball court at Antioch school and having a blast and a half playing Les Mis "the rockpile edition"while doing it, hiking to and swimming in a waterfall, making chocolate with Hernon at the Hostal, adventuring through the jungle to visit what we like to call "the tree of life," stopping to see the Nate Saint house on the way back as well as fearing for our lives on a cable car across a beautiful canyon, exploring Baños and inhaling it's incredible empanadas.  

Time in the jungle has a way of making me re-evaluate my life and my heart, and this trip was no different.  Spending time in prayer for my friends back home, my last couple weeks in Ecuador, the transition back into American life, and what God has for my future was truly wonderful.  Serving the precious kiddos of Mishahualli and being able to support the ministry Roberto and Charmai have established there will forever be part of my heart and love for this place.  I couldn't have asked for more brokenness, more laughs, more sweat, more adventure, and more joy than I experienced with my friends these past six days.  Praise Him.

 [ra-ra, me, lys, zach, michaella, and scott at the hot springs.]

 [bonnie, alyssa, and me.  love them forever.]

[out for pizza with our missionary friends.]

 [benny boo, me, and nene.]

 [ben, me, and lys.  reporting live from the rockpile.]

 [our girls.  me, marisol, yadira, & bon.]

 [hanging out at sports camp with my girls. me, marisol, & yadira.]

 [michaella, janie, me, & lys.]

 [zach, me, alyssa, ben, & rene.]

 [love these girls.  sida, me, & marisol.]

 [pretty much sums up our week.  me & bon.]

 [christy stumbo everyone.  love her.]

 [so encouraged by the way this girl seeks God.  me and kerry.]

 [yadira.  going to miss this girl.]

 [getting blisters while making chocolate.]

 [it was so worth it.  fruit and fondue.  scott, me, sarah, & bon.]

 [visiting the nate saint house.  so cool to stand in this piece of missionary history.]

 [LOVE.]

 [not looking down.  me, jenna, sarah, & diana.]

 [sampling the taffy in baños.  michaella, bon, lys, sarah, and me.]

español.

Ahora, mi clase de español ha terminando.  Me gustó mucho mi clase de español.  Creo que es divertido aprender español, pero es dificíl aprender si no se estudia mucho.  Es necesario estudiar y hacer tarea y practicar español para aprender mucho. 

Mi parte favorito de mi clase de español es hablando con otros estudiantes en mi clase.  Aprendía mucho cuando nosotros hablamos en español.  Hablamos sobre muchos temas como el machismo y el marianismo, el divorcio, los relaciones, los mineros, el Photoshop, y más. 

Otro parte que me gustó mucho era mi profesora.  Rocio es muy bondadosa y chistosa.  Ella hablaba sobre el Dios en todos nuestros clases y preguntaba preguntas difíciles.  Ella es muy inteligente y me gustó su clase mucho.  

interview #2.

My interview subject:  my favorite Ecuadorian, the one and only Diana Yepez.

Hearing about Youth World from a friend who worked for Quito Quest during the summer, she knew she couldn't pass up the opportunity to be a part of the Youth World Team, so she quit her job at the airport and spent a summer working for Quito Quest.  At the end of the summer, she was worried about what would come next.  After quitting her airport job, she had no job to go back to after her summer at Quito Quest.  On the last day of that summer, Christy Stumbo offered her a job on the Semester Abroad staff.  She excitedly accepted the offer and has been working with Semester Abroad ever since.  Diana described to me that becoming a part of the Semester Abroad and Youth World Staff was something that took a lot of prayer and was a decision that contained clear guidance by the Lord.

When I asked her about her favorite part of her job, she described to me that she loves the way Youth World and Semester Abroad bring people to Ecuador to serve and enjoy her country.  She also told me how each time she experiences things that are new for students, she is reminded of the beauty of her country.

Getting to know Diana this semester and learning about the things God has done in her life has been a blessing and a half.

interview #1.

Zach Brown:  a crazy, smarty pants, adventure loving semester abroad staff member who makes people feel incredibly comfortable in his presence.  I hung out with him at one of my favorite local coffee shops to get the scoop on his journey to Ecuador.  What started as a casual conversation about video and photo editing turned into a three hour conversation about how God leads us exactly where He wants us.  I found out that Zach had been to Ecuador in high school before leading a team from Azusa for a five week trip in college.  He described how God started giving him a longing to go somewhere international after college during his Junior year.  It was so cool to hear how God prodded his heart to come here.  He talked about having a really difficult time deciding whether or not to leave behind the familiar home with his friends in So. Cal., and how he ultimately decided that God's calling was greater.

So now he's almost done with his second semester as a Resident Coordinator in Ecuador, spending time not only developing relationships with semester abroad students, but also working to develop the program during his time here.  I appreciated his perspective and his openness to share his heart and his life with me. That's definitely one thing I've appreciated about him all semester--the way he so easily relates to people and makes them feel comfortable.  While he's not sure where he's going next, he's sure God will take him where he needs to be.  What a great encouragement and example.  So thankful for Zach Brown.

food.

One of the biggest fears I have about traveling and visiting new places:  the food.  I've always been open to trying new things, but I have also always been a picky eater.  

Since being in Ecuador I've tried a bunch of new foods, from ceviche (the cold sea food soup that almost caused me to puke) to empanadas at La Rhonda (which I could eat for days and days).  I have yet to try Cui, and am not particularly excited to do so.  Something about the idea of a household pet from the States being cooked and set on a plate in front of me just freaks me out...and I'm not even an animal lover!  Being in my homestay I also got the opportunity to try some Venezuelan food, mainly arepas.  We often had arepas, dense bread like food that is most often filled with meat and cheese.  After about the fifth time we had them for breakfast, I decided I liked mine best with jelly...which wasn't exactly Venezuelan, but made my parents laugh.  

And also on the food front...I think I've eaten enough rice to last me a lifetime.  

the galapagos.

People say a picture is worth a thousand words.  I like pictures.  Aaaaand since I can't even begin to describe how wonderful our trip to the Galaps was...I'll tell you in 35,000 words worth...

[Day 1:  hiking through Las Grietas, swimming in a cove, and my personal favorite...cliff jumping.]

[Day 2:  a couple mile hike to Tortuga Bay through a forest of cacti.]

[kimmie, me, lys, & sarah at Tortuga Bay]

[making fun of high messy buns in certain situations AND loving the fake wildlife.]

[janie, alyssa, me, christy, ben, sarah, & rene.  walking the town.]

[janie, lys, kim, me, ben, sarah, rene.  seriously loving the Galaps.]

[me, kim, & lys.  stopping to play with animals on the way to the Darwin Center.]

[lys, sarah, me, & kimmie.  modeling.]

[lys, me, sarah, & kimmie. had a blast with these lovelies all weekend.]

[tried coconut milk for the first time!]

[out for dinner with christy, ben, alyssa, sarah, diana, & bonster.]

[Day 3:  2 hour boat ride to another island, Isabela.  the boat ride was BREATHTAKING.]

[everywhere we went we had to take tiny boat taxis.  alyssa, me, & hannah.]

[sightseeing boat tour on Isabela.]

[the Galapagos famous blue foot boobies!]

[could look at this for the rest of my life.]

[hannah, kayla, kim, me, lys, bon, aaron, michaella, scott, christy

sarah, janie, rene, bridgette, diana, & ben]

[LOVE THESE BABES.  bon, lys, me & kimmie.]

[we saw sharks on the walking island tour.]

[don't worry folks, it's not alive BUT we saw tons of little critters like this one.]

[one of my favorite parts of the weekend:  snorkeling.  always a good time with these two.  

alyssa, me, & bonnie.]

[our last activity on Isabela (after the beach of course) was stopping to see flamingos in the wild!]

[and of course i made everyone stand like one.]

[boat ride back from Isabela.  alyssa, me, & scott.]

[lys, me, scott, & ben.  cheesin.]

[sunset on the boat back from Isabela.]

[out for dinner and dessert.  me & diana.]

[Day 4:  on the way to the airport we stopped to see giant craters.  our last funtivity in the Galaps.]

[probably the best airport i've ever been to. waiting for the plane, looking at the ocean.]

[wanted to stay for the rest of the semester.]

[take. me. back.]

We got to see some pretty amazing sights and do some really incredible things.  It was such a blessing to have a break from normal life in Quito and get away for a weekend.  I loved every second of it.