Big news for this blog! I finished up my grammar course on Friday and I’m ready for a change!  I decided to take some extra one on one tutoring to continue with some of the grammatical concepts (I guess that means I’m not officially done with grammar...).  The extra lessons started last week for 2 hours a day in the afternoons.  This next week I’ll start my literature/writing class.

As for other life news, I am officially going to Tucson, AZ with MVS!  I got the position with Borderlinks, the organization that interviewed me.  I couldn’t be more excited about the position, but I’m even more aware now of how important it is for me to learn all the Spanish I can here.  The position requires a lot of consecutive translating for groups. 

Another life event is that my parents have officially moved out of our house in Grandview Heights, Ohio.  They purchased a home in Ft. Collins, CO and will move in sometime in early July.  It feels strange to not be there as they say goodbye.

Now for Quito…I continue to experience all sorts of interesting things here.  I visited the Botanical Gardens which were gorgeous.  Ecuador has a lot of different climates so there is a lot of plant variety.  Last Saturday I went to Quilotoa (elevation 3914m), a volcanic-crater lake 14m north of Zumbahua.  We were really lucky and had a clear day.  We hiked down to the lake, ate a picnic and climbed back up just before a thunderstorm rolled in. 

On Sunday, I went to La Mitad del Mundo.  The French built a big museum at the equator except they were off by about 200m.  So there are actually 2 sites that you can visit.  Both were very different from each other but definitely worth it.

On Tuesday, I went with my tutor to the Basilica.  It is a really large church with gothic style architecture in Quito.  It’s still under construction and probably will be forever because the priests believe that the day the construction ends, Ecuador will no longer exist.  I got some really awesome views of Quito from the towers of the church.

Today (Sunday), I went to Cotopaxi a volcano surrounded by a national park.  We were really hoping for a clear day where we could hike a little.  Unfortunately, we got to the base to start out climb and it was sleeting/raining/freezing and really cloudy.  As we drove to the base, we looked out our windows, and saw people all decked out in super outdoor gear with ice picks and goggles.  We felt pretty outmatched and unprepared in our mismatched sweatshirts and thin socks.  So, we quickly took some pictures and jumped back into the van soaked.  We drove back down and walked around a lagoon.  Overall, the experience was a little disappointing, but at least I can say that I’ve been pretty close to the top! 

I’ve had some great adventures since my last blog!  A week ago Saturday, I went to a market in Otavalo.  There are many indigenous people who live there and who make/sell goods.  It’s really quite amazing how large this market is.  We left at about 8:30am and got there at around 10:30 in the morning.  The bus tickets cost about $2!  We browsed the whole area for about 5 hours, and we still didn’t see everything.  I think I made wise purchases although, I probably couldn’t be worse at bargaining, and I find it quite exhausting!

This past week, I also visited the Panecillo.  It lies to the South of the Old Town on a big hill.  It has a huge statue of La Virgen de Quito and a wonderful view of the whole city.  I didn’t realize how much of the city I didn’t know until I saw the view.  The Panecillo pretty much divides the North from the South.  I’ve never even been in the South and probably won’t ever go there because it’s mostly just houses.  It was quite amazing to stand there looking out at the massive city.  It spreads out farther than what I can see.  We watched the clouds roll in with sheets of rain.  Before we knew it, the wind was cool, the sun disappeared and the rain came! 

The next day we went to a part of town called Mariscal.  It’s in the newer part of town and it’s more dangerous.  It’s also called Gringolandia J because that’s where most of the foreigners stay.  We went there to look at the craft market.  It was a good place to start looking for gifts for everyone back home! 

Sunday was also a big day here in Ecuador.  Ecuador’s soccer team played Colombia here in Quito in a playoff game for the World Cup.  A week ago, we got smashed by Argentina 4-0, but people were hoping for a better result this week.  We went to Mariscal to watch the game.  I’m a little upset that I didn’t get tickets to the game since the stadium is so close, but it was still fun to watch the game, and we came away a 1-0 victory!  Mariscal was packed and we had a hard time finding a spot to watch the game, but we finally snatched a few seats in the main plaza foch at a café.  People were sitting and standing all around the plaza at all of the bars and restaurants.  The TVs were all a little off though so whenever there was an exciting play, one restaurant erupted in cheers and 10 seconds later, another section did the same and so on until all four corners of the plaza had added their part to the harmony.  From a fan standpoint, this was an interesting game because Ecuador has a large Colombian population; many are refugees.

While I thoroughly enjoyed watching the game, I once again became aware of my continued grief related to my inability to play soccer.  To some degree, I have completely shut soccer out of my life.  I am reminded every time that I watch people playing how much I miss it and how much of my life was defined by my ability to play.  It feels wrong to leave out such a big part of my life, but it also hurts to let it back in.  It was a big loss for me.

I’m looking forward to some of the activities I’m thinking about doing this next week.  Another exciting event coming up is an interview I have on Wednesday with an organization in AZ for my MVS placement this next fall.  I’m hoping things will work out, and I’m looking forward to starting my MVS term when I get back in late August.

I continue to think about all of you and look forward to your notes.  Until next time!!