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.  

homestay.

Homestays.  I can't believe there's only one week left.  One week from today the homestay experience will be over.  I have such mixed feelings about that.  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't absolutely excited to live in the apartment again with the girls.  I can't wait to be comfortable, be myself, not worry about stressing over the language, come home when I want, eat what I want, and live with some really great people.  BUT that being said, I have learned so much in my homestay.  I have been challenged, stretched, and stressed, but also joyful.  It has been a complete joy getting to know my family.

My parents, Dani and Nery, are missionaries from Venezuela.  They met in Ecuador in college, moved back to Venezuela, got married, and moved back to serve on the mission field in the place they fell in love.  They are active members in their church, where Dani sings, prays, and preaches.  They so clearly love Jesus and have committed their lives to serving him.  After seven or eight years of trying, they came to terms with the reality that they could not have kids, and adopted my baby sister, Anita.  She is so incredibly sweet, having seven months, two teeth, and a killer smile.

My house is nuts.  My parents are incredibly hospitable and have people over ALL THE TIME, whether it's just a group from church or relatives from out of the country, the house is always full.  Sundays are family days in our house.  We go to church together, eat a meal, and spend the rest of the day watching movies...no joke...usually 4 movies every Sunday.  It's been a crazy experience learning how to fit into a family that functions so differently from mine.

My Ecuafamily may not speak English, eat family dinners, go out for Mexican food, play games, or do happy/crappies at the dinner table like my family in the States, but I have been so blessed to be adopted into this family.

[my baby sister, Anita...that girl eats ice cream like it's her job]

 [La Ronda with the fam for a late night adventure]

ecuador the country.

Ecuador, home of the Galapagos Islands, home of LDU Quito, home to over 15 million people, and semester home to me.  

Ecuador gained independence from Spain and was recognized as an independent country in 1830.  Some of it's major cities include it's capital city, Quito, along with its largest city, Guayaquil, and its historic center, Cuenca.  Ecuador's President, Rafael Correa, has been in office since 2007.  

Ecuador contains three main geographic regions, along with an insular region in the Pacific Ocean, known as the Galapagos Islands.  The other three regions include the coast, the mountains or highlands, and the jungle, or Amazonia.  Because of such drastic differences in region throughout Ecuador, the climate varies by geographic region.  

One of the most surprising things I found out about Ecuador is that it uses the U.S. Dollar.  After the financial banking crisis at the turn of the century, Ecuador began to use the U.S. Dollar and the use of the sucre became nonexistent shortly afterward.  

Because of its great variety in climate and culture among regions, Ecuador is a country that is exciting to learn about and explore.  

internship.

Today was my first official day at "Para Sus Ninos" (For His Children).  My first thoughts as I walked up to the gate, found out that my supervisor wasn't there and wouldn't be for a while, and proceeded to hesitantly walk toward the houses:  How awkward is this?!  What am I even supposed to be doing?  Do I just walk into the houses?  How am I supposed to communicate with people?  How do I know where I can and can't go?  Am I ever going to get a schedule or am I going to have to email Diana each night before I think I'm supposed to be here?  Is this even going to be beneficial?  

My impatient and insecure thoughts consumed me.

Alyssa (who was undoubtedly thinking the same things) and I walked into the baby house, noticed that each room was already filled with volunteers and awkwardly left.  Strike One.  Insecurities held true.

We opened the gate to the toddler house, walked in the door, and were immediately greeted by the oldest girl, Alejandra with huge hugs and a squeaky little voice saying over and over, "Como se llama?! Como se llama?!"  We were thrown right in when Anita, the tia, turned on some salsa music and the room full of dark haired, dark eyed cuties grabbed our hands and asked us to dance.

I spent the following hour and a half pushing a little girl in a wheelchair who couldn't walk to talk.  At first I found myself slipping back into my awkward and insecure mentality thinking, Is this really helping? Is this why God wanted me at For His Children?  Yes.  Yes it was.  As I walked in circles around the small yard feeling like an idiot singing to this precious little girl, she jerked her head back and I noticed a glowing twinkle in her eyes and smile on her face.  It was so worth it.  It was exactly what he wanted.  Love.  That's exactly what he wanted from me today...not selfishness, not insecurity, just love.

To be quite honest, I think most days will be similar to today.  I may feel awkward about not being told where to go and what to do.  I may feel like I'm doing small tasks that aren't worth much.  But whether I'm doing office work, feeling annoyed by the hour long commute, dancing to salsa music, pushing a wheelchair, wiping yogurt off of a little girl's face, or trying to make a child smile, it's worth it.  I can't wait to continue to love at For His Children, and I'm praying for God to continue to erase the awkward, selfish feelings in my heart and replace them with a desire to volunteer for his glory.

quito.

Besides breathing in incredibly toxic bus fumes, this city has been good to me.

Quito, a city about the size of the state of Colorado with an altitude of almost 10,000 feet, has quickly become not only my home, but also my adventure zone.  While recently classes have consumed my time, I did get a chance to learn my way around this place a little bit and figure out how to survive here.  As a group we visited Mitad del Mundo, seeing the mind blowing tricks of the guides at the Equator.  We've also explored Old Quito, getting lost and visiting the Bisilica.  We've spent time in La Ronda, the oldest street in Quito and have seen the night life of Plaza Foch [aka Gringo land].  By traveling to my internship I've also gotten to see (by bus) the north part of the city.  Besides walking up the monster sized hill, I really love our apartment.  One of my favorite things to do is climb up just one more flight of stairs and spend time on the roof.  Especially at night, when the city lights are shining bright, I am overcome with awe by the beauty of this city.

It's so much different than my city.  It's strange to look out over the city and see mountains and valleys and houses instead of the water and high rises of Chicago.  I thought Chicago drivers were crazy, but I am now thankful for the driving I'm used to in comparison to sitting in the back seat of a taxi thinking I'm going to die the entire ride. There are so many differences, but there's something incredibly appealing to me about city life, whether in Chicago or Quito.  I love walking around feeling independent and free to explore.  I love the busy-ness and city sounds (except for the obnoxious gas trucks honking here every morning).  I love people watching and seeing the diversity contained within cities.  I know as the semester goes on, my love for this place will only grow.  I can't wait to explore even more of it's nooks, crannies, and grandeur.

[the view from our roof at dusk]

[the view from a restaurant near Old Quito]