It’s hard to believe that this will be my last post.  My flight leaves tomorrow early, and I’ll get into Denver late tomorrow night.  I’ve been to several new places since my last post so prepare for a long, hopefully not too boring account of the past 3 or so weeks!

Two weekends ago I went to Baños.  It’s a fun, but very touristy little town.  We got in late on Friday night and had some trouble finding a hostel, but eventually we found a good one with hot water.  On Saturday we got up early, rented bikes and started the 65km trek in search of some waterfalls.  Unfortunately the weather was against us, and it started raining.  The combination of the rain and the fact that we were biking on the side of a highway didn’t mix too well so after 4 or 5 waterfalls, we decided to stop.  We spent a good part of the rest of the day walking around looking at the artensania.  We also got a 65 min full body massage, facial and pedicure for $30!  I don’t usually choose to spend my money on facials and pedicures, but this was hard to pass up; it was quite the treat.  Another highlight of the weekend was finding out baby news from my sister.  I’m thrilled to announce that I’m going to be Auntie Katie to a little boy in December!!  So excited for Christie and Ryan!

This past weekend I went to Puerto Lopez which is a beach town on the Ecuadorian coast; it is also known as the “Poor Man’s Galapagos.”  It was a great experience aside from a nasty sunburn that I got.  We had a lot of issues with the airline company Aerogal, but finally made it to Manta and took a taxi to Puerto Lopez.  Puerto Lopez is a fishing town; the fisherman get up early, fish and clean their fish on the beach before the town wakes up.  This time of year, the humpback whales are right off the coast.  They come here every year to mate.  So, on Saturday, we went on a boat ride to Isla de Plata, went on a hike and saw blue footed boobies.  We got back in the boat, went snorkeling and saw some enormous turtles in the water.  Finally, we saw the humpback whales.  It was a little frightened at a few points because they were swimming under our boat; I’m pretty sure I could have stuck out my hand and touched them if I had wanted to.  If you haven’t seen them before, they are absolutely massive!  We spent some time just relaxing on Sunday, and then at 8pm we caught a bus back to Quito.  We got back at 4am, slept a little and went to class that Monday morning.  It was a great trip!

I’ve been lucky enough to take an indigenous culture class the past two weeks.  We visited several museums, a church and an indigenous market.  Ecuador’s indigenous cultures are so unique; it’s been so great learning about them!  It’s a great reminder that life can be very different depending on where you are in the world. 

That about sums up the past two/three weeks.  It’s hard to believe that I won’t be in Ecuador at this time tomorrow.  I have mixed feelings about heading back to the U.S.  I am so excited to see my family, eat what I want and when I want to, spend time with my niece and nephew, CJ and Miles, see Aaron, Britt and Wilder, and to go to my sister’s baby shower.  I am also really looking forward to spending time with one of my best friends, Miss Valerie, who is coming to visit in a few weeks!!

But there are many things I will miss too.  I will miss speaking Spanish, las frutas, and learning about the diverse culture and clima here.  I will miss the professors at the school and other friends I have made during my time here.

I am nervous about going back to a “new home.”  I’m also a little bit nervous about my MVS position that will start in September, but I’m looking forward to living in AZ and attending Shalom. 

I want to thank everyone for your kind notes, e-mails packages, and prayers.  They usually came just at the right time! 

Perhaps what I am looking forward to most of all, is being able to call and have uninterrupted conversations with all of you when I want!  I am looking forward to catching up with the people I care about.  Talk to you soon!

Peace & Love,

~k