home again.

I'm back in the States. My wonderful semester is over. I'm very happy to see my friends and family, but I'm very sad that I've left Ecuador.

I find that things are strange now that I've returned. My perspective is much different now, and I often find myself overwhelmed. For example, I found myself dumbfounded when I handed my passport over the counter upon my arrival in Miami and the agent spoke to me in English. I was fully prepared to speak Spanish, and when English words fell out of his mouth, I just stood there with my mouth agape. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to respond.

But that's all just a part of dealing with coming back, right?

Thanks to everyone who read this blog. Thanks to everyone who prayed for me. I've returned home safely, and I am very grateful for the experience that I had.

things i will miss.

• Amor.
  
• breaking curfew.
• the Colombians.
  
• Cumbia/Salsa/Mapalé dancing.
  
• football.
• living in the clouds.
  
• Lucy.
  
• my mountain.
• Napo.
• Panny Pan.
• Rachel's convulsive excitement.
  
• Riobamba.
• the Seminary babies.
• "Sin drogas es mejor."
  
• speaking Spanish.
• Sunday night Papa John's with NILI.
  

things i won't miss.

• amoebas.
• chicken feet soup.
• chigger/mosquito bites.
• Cholito.
  
• daily downpours.
• "Hey, baby..."
• men peeing in public.
• moths in my bedroom.
• rice for every meal.
• "Sábado. Día santo. Guárdalo."
  
• the Sprinter horn.
• throwing toilet paper in the trashcan.
  
• way too honest comments.
• women breastfeeding in public.
  

rafting.

Yesterday we hiked along a trail through the jungle, crossing rivers, covering ourselves in mud masks and swinging on vines. We saw the world's largest fresh water fish and swam beneath a waterfall. We visited a Quechua tribe and watched another traditional dance.

Today we finally rafted down the Pastaza River. I would hardly call it white water rafting - the water was so dirty brown. It was pretty cool though. Except when I fell in. That was pretty scary.

I also have pink eye. That made the rafting experience a little blurrier. I had to throw out my infected contacts, and I can't put new ones in for a few days. And I'm glad I didn't wear my glasses today. They would have been lost forever when I got tossed out and run over by our raft.

Tomorrow we're mountain biking before we head back to Quito.

I'll be home in four days.

Photo albums:
jungle book.
i love lucy fiesta.
cumpleaños.
my future wedding locale.

a day to remember.

Today we flew out over the jungle in a tiny little plane with a missionary pilot (from Fort Wayne - holler!) and landed in a Huaorani village (part of the same people that killed the five missionaries in the 50s). They led us through the jungle to a traditional house, painted our faces with some red plant and put bands around our heads. We practiced throwing spears and using blowguns (I was unsuccessful with the spear and successful with the blowgun.). Then the women of the tribe performed a dance and sang for us. They made Jacki and me participate, and afterwards the men performed, and then everyone was dancing. Somehow Ben was forced to marry one of the indigenous girls, and I was forced to marry a little indigenous boy (For those of you who told me not to come back from Ecuador married, I'm sorry - I was forced against my will to marry a little boy half my height today.)

I was smiling and laughing all day. I couldn't believe I was experiencing what I was. It made my day when an old indigenous women put a grass headband on my head. And the dancing. And the singing. And the marrying.

The flight back was just before sunset, and the skyline was beautiful. We were just above the lowest clouds above the jungle top. Ahead of us were two volcanoes (Tungarahua and Sungay) both spewing ash. It was a breathtaking view.

Today was by far the best day of my entire semester in Ecuador.

17 days.

We only have seventeen days left in this country. We'll be spending six of those days in the jungle. I'm really excited to go there - we have a lot of really cool things planned: we're mountain biking, canoing, white water rafting, touring the Amazon in airplane, and visiting the Shwar tribe. It very well might be the best trip of the semester, but when we get back, we only have two days before we leave this beautiful country.

I'm ready to come home and return to my life. I'm not homesick at all, but I'm ready to see my friends and family. I'm ready for my last summer before I graduate. I'm ready to stop eating rice for every meal. Though I'm ready to go, I'm completely unprepared to part from this place. I've fallen in love with Ecuador. I've made such good friends, and I can hardly bear the thought of leaving them behind. Why does parting have to be a part of this process?

I want to cry. We're leaving Ecuador way too soon.

guayaquil.

The hottest week of my life was spent last week in Guayaquil. We went to repaint the Nazarene district center. We got a lot of work done, and I think our ministry was very much needed. We toured the city a little bit too. I liked the city, but it made me love Quito even more.

Latest photo albums:
bien, ¿no?
good friday in quito.
guayaquil a.k.a. inferno.

good friday.

We went downtown to see the Good Friday parade in colonial Quito. It's a procession of cucaruchos, which are people who have paid a penance to walk in the parade. They dress themselves in what appears to us as a purple Ku Klux Klan. They walk for hours through the streets, carrying crosses and beating themselves. It really is a disturbing site to see.

unsuccessful pickpocket.

I was at an open air market today for a class project, and while in a bakery, I felt something touch my pocket. At first I thought it was Ashley because she had dug in my pocket earlier for change when my hands were full, but then I realized it was my camera sliding out. I turned around and saw a small man running off with my camera. I yelled, "He stole my camera!" and without hesitation took off running after him. As I started to run, I yelled, "Tommy!" and he took off with me. We chased the guy around a corner and up a street where he took every turn possible to get away. Tommy was far ahead of me, and I was yelling "¡Para!" after the man. What amazed me most was every person on the street stopped and asked what was going on. Even a soccer team stopped practicing and came out into the street. When I stopped running, one of them asked, "Gringa, ¿qué pasó?" I said, "Él me robó la cámara." I looked around and cars had stopped in the street. Men were getting out of their trucks. We had caused quite the scene and were drawing a lot of attention. I saw Tommy chasing the small man through the street ahead of me, and with the help of the men around, he was able to stop him. I walked up to the scene and a woman stopped me. She had my camera - the small man had pitched it when Tommy got too close. The men in the street had the small man on the ground and were beating him up! They kicked him in the head, even knocking his head up against a cement wall! He pleaded with the men, saying that he hadn't done anything. I told them that a woman had retrieved my camera and that I had it. Tommy insisted that I make the man apologize, but I didn't want to. I made him leave with me. I thanked everyone in the street as we walked back. It was amazing. There must have been fifty people that stopped what they were doing to help or ask what was going on. I don't know what happened to the small man because Tommy and I left him in the hands of the men on that street. But I got my camera back, and it was quite the experience. Apparently the people aren't too fond of thieves.

Tommy and me after the chase.

seen the news lately?

I never imagined that while I was in Ecuador such a political dispute would break out, but alas, here we are. Rafael Correa, FARC, Raul Reyes, Hugo Chavez, George Bush, Alvaro Uribe - all over the news. If you are not familiar with the situation concerning the northern countries of South America, you can read up on it here.

Here on our campus we have students from Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru and the United States. The people defy the way the politicians behave. I live with a Colombian. I dine with Ecuadorians. I play foosball with Peruvians. What the TV and newspapers say does not mock our community here. I don't like to get political, so I won't - I don't want to be that girl.

For those who worry, don't. We're safe. All that has happened is currently nothing more than a political dispute.

riobamba.

I fell in love with Riobamba this weekend.

Friday the 29th (the day I fell in love with the city): We were free to explore the quaint city for a couple hours. That's when I tasted the best ice cream I've ever had, and we encountered the best parade I've ever seen (by my own terms of course). All ages of children and young people performed traditional dances in the street. During the evening we teamed up to do street evangelism with the youth group from Pucara Church of the Nazarene. What an experience that was because not only have I never done street evangelism, but I've certainly never done it in Spanish!

Saturday the 1st (the day I fell in love with the people): We explored Ecuador's tallest mountain/volcano, Chimborazo. Unfortunately I was still suffering the aftereffect of something flu-like and was unable go the full length of the hike with the group. You would never dream that with so much snow it would ever be warm enough to take off your jacket and lie in the snow in a tank top! In the evening we attended a special youth service that tickled me pink. What a beautiful church and a beautiful people!

Sunday the 2nd (the day I fell in love with the church): This morning we attended the church service at Pucara. How we packed 160 people into that tiny church, I'll never know. The building is without one of its walls too. It is undergoing construction as it bursts at the seams each week. The young church really does have a beautiful vision for the future. Pictured below is one of the young men from the church, Cristian, a civil engineer with a big heart who shares in the vision of his church. In the evening we attended an indigenous church near Riobamba. There the women sang and the children and youth danced.

Monday the 3rd (the day I fell in love with the school): Today, before leaving, we visited the Nazarene school. It includes levels from preschool to the 12th grade. The children are beautiful, and the school is expanding. There is nothing I would love more than to teach ESL at a school like that!

And that's how I fell in love with Riobamba. It was definitely the highlight of my semester thus far. I was sad to leave, and I may have even shed a small tear or two when we drove out of the city. I can only pray that God would be gracious enough to allow me to return.

If you want to see more pictures of my new favorite place in the world, click here.

a day out.

This afternoon Ashley and I walked down to Carcelén to do a little street shopping. As we walked back, we got caught in a cold rain. I was wearing flip-flops that wouldn't stay on my feet once they got wet, so I finally decided to kick them off and walk barefoot (I know you told me not to, Dr. Jones.). When I took them off and picked them up, a group of guys starting hollering and applauding me. I guess I removed my shoes well.

8 days at sea.

What did I do while I was in the Galapagos Islands?

I cut my right leg more times than I can count (I'm a walking disaster.).
I danced salsa.
I got seasick (and threw up).
I got sunburned.
I jumped from a three story yacht into the ocean.
I let sting rays tickle my feet.
I saw more boobies than I bargained for.
I swallowed way too much saltwater.
I swam alongside a sea lion.
I was baptized for the first time at Pinnacle Rock.
I wore a turtle shell.

Check out the pictures.

the galap.

We leave for the Galapagos bright and early on Sunday morning. We will fly from Quito to Guayaquil, from Guayaquil to Galapagos. There we will begin a seven-day cruise around the Galapagos Islands via a first-class yacht called Eden. Wanna know more? Check it out here. I can hardly wrap my head around the idea that I'm actually going to the Galapagos Islands.

It's just the dream vacation of a lifetime. No big.

tungurahua.

Tungurahua erupted, and it's been placed on the highest alert level. It's a good 80 miles or so from us, so we are unaffected, but it's no small eruption. It spewed ash six miles into the air - isn't that crazy?

fotos.

For those of you without access to Facebook, here are some photos I've taken:
♥ ecuador.
yo necesito más cuye.
quito is neato.

more of quito.

Yesterday we took a car lift to some 13,000 feet at Cruz Loma. It was cold but beautiful. Jacki and I frolicked in a field together on the edge of the mountain.

Today we visited colonial Quito. And the sun finally came out of hiding after a week and a half. While we ate lunch outside in one of the plazas, a strange man stood about a foot in front of me asking us questions in broken English like, "Where you from?"
"Do you know where is the White House?"
"Where is the Golden Gate Bridge?"
"How many floors has the Empire State Building?"
"How many floors had the World Trade Center?"
He had such a dark, worn face, and he looked straight into my eyes. He told me that he wanted to take a picture with me, but I refused with the excuse that I was eating my lunch, and eventually he went away. That was the most uncomfortable I've been since I got here.

otavalo.

We went north of Quito to Otavalo this weekend to minister to an indigenous people. I felt like I was walking through a National Geographic magazine. It was so surreal to see such a different lifestyle. We had a wonderful presentation through a movie and a speaker for the people, and many were won for the Lord.

On Sunday morning we attended the indigenous Nazarene church, and the adorable children performed dances for us.

We also visited Cotacachi, a volcano near Otavalo. There we took a boat out on a lake that's in the crater of the volcano. So I was in a boat on a lake in the crater of a massive volcano - pretty sweet, I'd say.

laundry.

We're heading out for Otavalo this weekend, and most of us got our laundry done in time, but Jacki wasn't so fortunate. She ran out of underwear yesterday and resorted to washing her undies in the sink in her room. We found her blow drying and ironing her underwear so that it would be dry in time for the trip.

baños.

Last weekend on our way to Baños, we drove right by Tungurahua, an active volcano that is still sending up smoke and ash. At night as we drove back, we could see fire in the crater.

We also hiked to see Bailón del Diablo, a beautiful waterfall, and we took a cable car across a valley - the best part of the day.

samuel.

Again today a little boy named Samuel pointed to my nose and said, "¿Porque tienes cosa acá?"
"Porque me gusta. ¿No te gusta?"
"No, porque es diabólico."

fútbol.

Last night I went to my first professional soccer game. We saw Liga Deportiva Universitaria play against Nacional de Medellín (Ecuador vs. Colombia) for the Copa de Campeones. Apparently it was a huge game. There were performers, and the presentation of the team included a fireworks display accompanied by a roaring, boisterous audience and tons of confetti falling from the rafters. Unfortunately Liga lost 0-1, but I must say - that's the most fun I've had so far in Ecuador.

supermaxi.

We went to a store today similar to Marsh/Kroger/Jewell-Osco. It's called Supermaxi. We call it Supermaxipad.

mitad del mundo.

When you stand on the equator, the force of the gravitational pull makes you weaker.

differences.

So far I've noticed that a few things are different down here on the equator:

• There are no enforced traffic laws (Quito may be the epitome of reckless driving.).
• The water in the toilet flushes clockwise (something to do with the rotation of the earth).
• Toilet paper must be throw in the trashcan (I can't get the hang of this.).
• Gas is $1.58.
• Everyone stares at us everywhere we go.
• Rottissery chicken is eaten with plastic gloves.
• There is a long wall that men use to relieve themselves, and it smells when it gets hot.
  

laurita.

Today I met some of the missionary kids. Little Laura pointed to my nose ring and said, "¿Porque tienes?"
"Porque me gusta," I said, "¿No te gusta?"
"No."

hello from ecuador.

I made it. After a long day of delays, missed flights, and rescheduling (which landed me in first class!), I made it to Miami to meet up with the NILI crew.

Ecuador has been nothing but amazing thus far. Quito is absolutely gorgeous. This is what I saw when I sat up in my bed this morning and looked out the window.Amazing. Who gets to have a mountain in their backyard? I do.

We've been on a busy itinerary since we arrived. Last night there was a welcoming party - they even set up a game room for us with ping-pong, foosball and a flat screen (We're not exactly roughin' it.). We had language placement testing this morning along with class scheduling followed by a trip to a humongous mall that had everything from grocery stores to clothing shops to a live band on a moving stage that traveled up and down from floor to floor. And the people are amazing. They're so sweet and so patient with the language barrier. And the weather is perfect - sunny and cool.

My assessment - so far, so good. I already feel like I belong.

leaving on a jet plane.

Indy to Atlanta to Miami to Quito. On Friday the 18th I'll be traveling from 8:30 in the morning until 10:00 in the evening. My grandfather has informed me that this is a day of bad luck - the Battle of the Bulge, in which he fought, ended unofficially on January 18, 1945. Thanks, Grandpa.

This semester I'm studying Spanish at the Nazarene International Language Institute (NILI) on the campus of the Nazarene Theological Seminary of South America in Quito, Ecuador.

God's hand has been prevalent in the preparations of this endeavor, and I've never been more excited for anything than I am now. I'm expecting great things from a great God.