"It's 61 pounds." Shoooooot.

So sorry for not posting for so long! First, I am finally back in the United States (and realizing more every day how much I LOVE America!!). This post, however, is dedicated to my final days in Ecuador.

The day that I went to the zoo, I found out that, SURPRISE!, I had strep throat. Great. I'm pretty sure that it was from climbing Cotopaxi, but whatever, I climbed a mountain. I got a prescription from the school doctor, and went on my way. Two days later, I went back. Surprise again! A sinus infection!! I was NOT happy about it, but I was also not about to let my dumb, uncooperative immune system ruin my final days in Ecuador. So, I went to the beach. Smooooooooooooooth. The weather was horrible, and I slept on some couch cushions.

My favorite part of the beach was being able to see WHALES. It's mating season right now, so the whales apparently like to put on a show, and they kept coming up to breathe and stuff. I saw a couple of tails, but oh MAN it was awesome. I was so happy riding that boat and seeing all of the whales. I stayed at the beach until Monday afternoon, and finally got back to Quito Monday night.

My last week of summer school was just as boring as the other weeks. Those poor kids didn't learn any English besides duck and goose (duck, duck, goose anyone?). Our last field trip was to what I would describe as a fish farm. There were a bunch holes dug in the ground with fish in them. Boring. The kids loved it. At the end of the "tour" the kids were able to put their feet in one of the ponds. Full of fish. And the fish nibbled at your toes. SICK. I was NOT going to do it. Until the other teachers did it. Then I had to do it too. I was NOT thrilled, obviously. It felt disgusting.



During the week, at night I went and had dinner with the new friends that I kept on making. It was wonderful and stupid at the same time, because I was not getting better. Like, REALLY not getting better. I felt bad for the people around me, because I was hacking away all the time, but I kept saying, "I will NOT let my immune system ruin my final days in Ecuador!!" What a bittersweet time though, because here I am having SUCH a wonderful time with my friends and getting to know them so much better, and oh NO I have to leave?! So bittersweet.

The last week that I was in Quito, my friend Bibi moved into my house because he was homeless. I forgot how much I love living with other people!! It was SO fun with him there, and my house felt so much more HOMEY. I LOVED IT. And then, 6 days before my departure to the US, MICHELLE WEBB (one of my good friends from Madison) came to Quito! Michelle and her friend Annie were traveling through Ecuador, so I invited them to stay in my house in between trips while in Quito.

The last weekend in Ecuador (literally, 23483297 times a day, I was thinking, "Oh my GOD I only have x many days left! X many hours left!!"), Michelle, Annie, and I went to a little place called Papallacta. A SPA. HOW AMAZING. It had natural hot springs, and we decided to stay the night. I got a SUPER cheap facial (I need to stop spoiling myself), and it was the PERFECT ending to my trip. I was more relaxed than I think I've EVER been in my life. It was kiiiiiiiiind of a downer that I was still hacking up my lungs and blowing my nose every 8 seconds, but the spa treatment DEFINITELY helped :)

When we got back from Papallacta, I had to finish packing. Oh.MY.GOOOOOOOOOOOOD. The more I emptied out my drawers/cabinets/ANYTHING, the more I started to SWEAT. HOW was I going to fit all of this in TWO suitcases????? Well. Good news. I DID IT. And it was HARD.

My last night in Quito, I went to dinner with all of my best friends. It was SO hard saying bye to everyone. YES I cried (I'm my mother's daughter and my sisters' sister). It's funny how I romanticize my entire trip when I'm leaving. There were a couple of times where I was ready to hop on the next airplane to O'Hare. But in the end, what an AMAZING experience.

I got to the airport safely (thanks to Diego and his wife), and LUGGED my suitcases to the check-in counter. I was DREADING seeing the weight on those suckers. And then, I had this conversation:

Lady: Mmmmmhmmmmmm, this one is 61 pounds.
Sara: My mom is going to kill me.
Lady: Well, weigh the other one.
*Sara weighs second suitcase* - 42 pounds
Lady: Well, you can move some stuff around...
Sara: No, I REALLY don't want to open them.
Lady: ... It's going to be 56 dollars.
Sara: I'll just pay.
Lady: You really can move things around.
Sara: No, I don't think you realize what I went through to shut these.
Lady: You're SURE?
*Sara smacks credit card on the counter*
Sara: REALLY just let me PAY. I WANT to PAY.

So I paid.

My flights went well. On the flight to Miami, I kept on getting all teared up because I was so sad about leaving my new friends behind. And then I kept getting teared up because I thought my head would EXPLODE. Congestion? Flying? BAD COMBINATION. In Miami, I had a heart attack and was sweating disgustingly because I was going to miss my flight. Here I am SO close to being home, and I'm going to miss my flight. Great. But, thanks to my main Google man, Peter (I LOVE BEING ABLE TO CALL WHOMEVER I WANT WHENEVER I WANT), SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!! My flight got changed. So I got home with not other problems, besides the popcorn that was popping IN MY EARS the entire flight. I was SO happy to see my Mom, Jenna ("I was going to make you a sign! ... But then I took a nap" Thanks, Jen!), Taylor, and Laura. I gave them my suitcases. I got in the car. And I went HOME. Mohawk Road, I missed you more than I thought I did.

Until next time,
Sara, the truly all-American girl.

"Teacher, I dropped my bag."

Since my time in Ecuador is winding down so fast, I feel a need to do EVERYTHING that this country is offering me. Beach: check (and going again this weekend!). Jungle: check (still can't believe I went to the jungle and didn't cry). Live in the mountains: check (what a nice view I have from my window). Climb a mountain? CHECK. Ecuador has changed me. In America, I am about the least adventurous person you'll meet. But not here. Here, I am going on adventures all the time. I'll be honest though - I'll PROBABLY go back to being a sissy in 13 days. I sweat less that way.

Last Saturday, my jungle friend Bibi, my Baños friend Mario, and my new friends Gabe from Canada and Audra from Ohio went to Cotopaxi, the highest active volcano in Ecuador. I was a LITTLE nervous about the whole being 5000 meters in the air (about 16,500 feet, for those of you who are like my mom and said, "Sara, meters mean nothing to me.") after being extremely short of breath on the teleférico which was 4100 meters up (about 13,500 ft). Have no fear, my friends. I survived. ... Barely.

Now, I dressed as warmly as I could, considering I live on the equator, where it DOES get cold ("chilly" in Wisco), but there is no such thing as a below zero (Fahrenheit) winter. I wore jeans, tennis shoes, long sleeves, a sweatshirt, my fleece, a scarf, and then I bought a llama hat and matching gloves. Yep, I looked Ecuadorian.

The guy sitting next to me is Cuban - Mario - so that's why I don't look like him.

On the bus we climbed, climbed, climbed. Then, we stopped. They let us out. And we were told to climb. On foot. I looked up, and then I looked down. And then I got scared. Who am I kidding? Sara Vanderstappen climb a MOUNTAIN? Ugh. Even re-typing it makes me groan.

After about 3 steps, I was already panting. Shoot. I looked at the girls next to me though, and they said that they were out of breath too, so THAT made me feel better. And we all agreed that if the altitude got to us, there would be NO SHAME in turning back. So, I kept going up. And then I got to the snow. I liked the snow for about 5 minutes. And then I remembered why I hate Wisconsin winters so much! Brrrrrrrr. But this snow was ok, because I knew that I was going to be leaving it soon :) But seriously? It was so weird being in the snow in the middle of July!


At one point, I'm going to guess about 1/4 of the way up, all of a sudden my stomach was CHURNING and I had an instant headache. I have to turn back. I can't go on. I'm going to throw up. I sat down for a minute, and drank some water, and then I ate a Snickers. A few minutes later, I felt completely better. The guide told us to buy chocolate (no problem!) in case we felt sick. Good thing I listened! I was surprised that the chocolate actually solved my problem, but SO happy, because I didn't want to turn back. I was really serious about turning back, too - I even told the GUIDE that I was going back.

Bibi and Mario waited for me to get better, and then we started again. About half way up, my stomach started churning again. My cheerleaders Mario and Bibi were wonderful though, and we waited it out so that I could keep climbing. When we finally saw the refuge, it seemed to get easier, because we could see what we were climbing towards. While were were hiking, it started snowing REALLY hard. We were all covered in WHITE and freezing to death, but we KEPT GOING.


At one point, the ground was really steep, and COVERED in snow, and I thought for SURE that I would be falling off the side of the mini-cliff, but alas, I made it without falling. Surprise! I actually do have balance!

When we FINALLY reached the top, after a little over an hour of hiking, it was SUCH a good feeling. I actually climbed a mountain! Who would have ever thought! I WAS the last one in a group of about 20, but I don't even care. I CLIMBED A MOUNTAIN. The guide said that we could go higher if we wanted to see the glacier, but I said noooooo thanks, this was good for me! So I sat and made new friends with the other people that didn't go all the way up.

The walk down was... FAST. It was steep and the ground was sandy and not solid (the same as the way up, I suppose...), and my legs were in a HURRY. Bibi kept making fun of the way I was walking/running/looking like an idiot. I kept telling him, "My legs are going faster than I want them too!" And he just laughed and said, "I can see that!" Shoot.


When we got to the bus, we had the option of riding in the bus down, or biking. I was so warm and cozy in that bus! And I made new friends. And I do not regret even the tiniest bit being on a bike. On a mountain. Let's face it - I'd PROBABLY be dead on the side of the mountain somewhere... Now though, every time I can see the top of Cotopaxi (which has been a lot these days, because it's been SO nice outside!) I think, "Hey, I climbed that!" What a great feeling. But seriously, the end of my mountain climbing days...

In other news, summer camp is a BLAST. Not really. The poor kids are supposed to be learning English, but I'm selfishly just practicing my Spanish all the time. We just play tons of games. At least they have fun? I hope no parents complain though... Oh well! I'm leaving the country!

Today we took a field trip to the zoo. How interesting it was! The kids LOVED it, and I enjoyed it too. Although instead of having elephants and giraffes, they had raccoons, and white-tailed deer. Really? I literally bust out laughing when I saw it. I also got to walk INSIDE a cage with owls. And a sloth. I saw a few sloths in the jungle, and as in saw, I mean I think that what I was looking at was a sloth, but it could very well have been a bird's nest... They were BORING in the jungle (which I told our guide and it broke his heart), and let me tell you, it was JUST as boring two feet from my face. I wasn't even SCARED that it would JUMP on me, because they DON'T MOVE. BOOOOOOOOORINGGGGGGGGGGG.

The most exciting thing that happened at the zoo was when Mateo - slow, absent-minded Mateo - dropped his bag. I was standing with the kids, and I hear (in Spanish), "Teacher, I dropped my bag." I was thinking, "Well, pick it up, you dumb kid!" (I love my job), but instead of saying that, I said, "OK... What do you want me to do about it?" Then, I looked at Mateo. He was looking down. In the pen. Where the kangaroo was. And there was his bag. Are you kidding me?

Being the good person I am, I said, "Violeta! Grab that stick and try and get his bag!" So, she grabbed a stick, laid down on her stomach, and went for his bag. I was REALLY nervous about that dang kangaroo. She couldn't reach. Someone with longer arms had to do it. GREAT. So, I laid down on my stomach and reached for the bag. I couldn't SEE anything because of the way the fence was, but the other teachers were yelling at me, "LEFT! RIGHT! ALMOST THERE!!!!!" Until I grabbed it. I was SWEATING the whole time, because of the DANG kangaroo! Jesus, it could have attacked me or something! So, needless to say, I can't WAIT until next week's field trip....

Until next time,
Sara the MOUNTAINEER!

"You are SO American!" Thanks.

Life is starting to go by extraordinarily fast. In 18 days I will be making my return to the United States, and I can hardly believe it. Two months ago, I could not WAIT for August 3 to come. Now, I'm starting to get more attached to Ecuador. Probably because I'm leaving. Oh well, at least I'll remember all of the good times and not the bad - I'm a romantic, you know.

Last Saturday I FINALLY did one of the BIG tourist attractions in Quito - the teleférico! I went with my new jungle friend Nick. It was his last day in Quito, so we decided to spend the day finishing being tourists (for him). The teleférico is a cable car that goes up the mountain Pichincha. When we got to the top, we were 4300 meters up. 4300 meters up = lack of OXYGEN. I walked five steps and was panting like I had been chased by a rabid dog (let's not re-live THAT experience, please). I quickly realized that my dreams of being a mountain climber were not going to come true (Let's take a moment and picture me being a mountain climber. HAAAAAAA Good one!!).

Later in the day, we went down to the Mariscal - the "downtown" of Quito where a bunch of restaurants and bars are - to watch the World Cup semi-finals. Look at me being intense! Nick was cheering for Germany, so that meant that I was cheering for Germany too. The men next to us (and pretty much EVERYONE else) were cheering for Uruguay. At one point during the game, when Germany was down, the man next to me looked at me and yelled, "ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS!!!! ONE HUNDRED DOLLARSSSSS THAT URUGUAY WINNNNNNNN!!!!!!!" At first I stared at him like he was a maniac, and then I said, "Ha?! Ha!? No??! Thanks! Woooooo Germany?" He shrugged his shoulders and went back to his beer. In the end, when Germany won, I looked at him and said, "One hundred dollars?" He didn't like that very much.

We spent the rest of the day shopping for souvenirs for Nick's family (nothing like living here for 3 months and doing a little last minute shopping), saw a movie, and then met up with our other jungle friends Bibi and Kyle for a drink. They were REALLLYYYYYYY tired because they spent the day in Baños (remember when I was terrified to tears? Their trip wasn't that intense...). I then had to say bye to Nick, whom I had known for a total of TEN days, but I felt like I knew him forever! Maybe it's the jungle? Anyways, it was so sad to have to say bye to one of my new friends. I think that that's when it hit me that soon I would be the one leaving and I would have to say bye to EVERYONE. Dang. What a wonderful day I had though, with my new friend Nick. He kept making me laugh, because every other thing that I said, he would say, "You are SO American!" and then I would just say, "Yeah, I know!" Yay America!!

And then Sunday. The World Cup Finals. A holiday bigger than Christmas in Latin America. I embraced my Dutch heritage and put on an orange shirt (I look horrible in orange), painted my face (not PAINTED painted, just the Dutch flag on my cheeks), and met up with Bibi and several people I didn't know to cheer for Holland in the finals. We started at a Dutch cafe/bar thing that was SO packed that we couldn't see the TV. And it was packed with Dutch people, who are TALL. I've never seen so much screaming and shouting and ORANGE in my life. It was fun to watch. I couldn't understand anything, either, because everyone was screaming songs in Dutch, so I pretended.


When we got sick of not seeing the TV, we moved to where Nick and I watched the Germany/Uruguay match the day before. Still JUST as packed, but there was at least sitting room. Instead of watching the game, I made new friends - go figure, me not being interested in sports. The one guy was Turkish, but lived in Germany for a long time, so when he got mad, he would yell in German, and if he got REALLY mad, he would SCREAM in Turkish. I just laughed and laughed. And then it started pouring rain, and I got wet, and then I was mad. What a day. Holland lost the match, and people were seriously DEPRESSED. I was sad for them, and I gave condolence hugs as if they'd just lost a loved one. A LITTLE too intense for me, but whatever. At least I tried.

On Monday, I started SUMMER CAMP. Oh my GOD what a joke. I'm "in charge" of the English portion. There are 9 kids. Three of them know English REALLY well. Three of them are pretty good. Three of them aren't even old enough to read. Great. And they're all in the same group, so that makes it extra difficult, because one topic is both WAY too simple and WAY too hard at the same time. I've resorted to playing games like duck, duck, goose. They like that.

On Wednesday, we took a field trip. I had no idea where we were going, but we went to a "farm". It was more like a petting zoo, but the kids LOVED it. It was ok. I mean, it's only SO exciting to look at a goat. And a llama. And a donkey. And nasty guinea pigs. When the kids got done with all of that - YAY! There was a horse that they could ride! So, they all took their turns. And then, I KNEW this would happen, but I was DESPERATELY hoping that it wouldn't: "Teacher! YOU DO IT!!!" I said that I don't like horses. DO IT!!!!!! DOOOOOOOOOOO IIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! After about 8 minutes of saying no, I finally gave in. And then they all laughed at me. This is why.

I couldn't get on the STUPID horse. The kids never speak English to me, either, so this summer camp where I'm supposed to be teaching them English is actually a great opportunity for me to practice my Spanish. At least I'm getting something out of it. That and horse-riding skillz. GOD. I wanted to die. And they have swimming every day and BEG me to swim with them. I conveniently have forgotten my suit every time.

My favorite thing about this "camp" is the ages of the kids - Sebastian: 5, Zulay: 6, Angie: 7, Camila: 8, Violeta: 8, Carlita: 9, Jennifer: 10, and Nico: 11. The little kids are SO affectionate and always want to sit by me and hold my hand and be hugged. I LOVE IT. I have NOT been around kids enough in Ecuador, so now I am SO happy :)

Tomorrow I'm going with Bibi and two new friends - Audra from Ohio and Gabe from Canada - to climb Cotopaxi. Some huge mountain. I want to say it's something along the lines of the highest active volcano in Ecuador? I don't know, Google it :) Hopefully I survive - I could hardly handle going up a mountain in a cable car...

Until next time,
Sara the summer camp counselor

"Oh my gosh. That is awesome."

I spent a weekend in the jungle. If I was cruel, I would write an EXTREMELY long blog post about EVERYTHING that happened. Instead, I've decided to break it up into sections. Here goes :)

THE GROUP
When I decided to go to the jungle, it was on a whim. I met Maike's roommate last Tuesday night, found out she was going to the jungle, and decided to tag along. Three hours before our bus ride, I got an email from Melissa saying that she couldn't go, but there were three other guys going that are really nice, so I should still go. Despite my queezy stomach, I headed to the bus station. There, I met the boys.

Birger - aka Bibi - a 35 year old Dutchman (to my friends who know Daniel Walker: Bibi is the 35 year old Daniel. Obviously it was love at first sight).

Nick - an 18 year old Dutchman who spent time in China and Australia in the last year.

Kyle - a 14 year old boy from Pennsylvania spending a month in Ecuador. Brave!!

When we got off of our 8 hour bus ride, 3 hour wait, and then 2.5 hour bus ride to the reserve, we me the two other members of the group.

Nessa - a 24 year old from San Diego who had just graduated from her Master's Degree at Berkley.

Farrah - Nessa's mom who was treating her to a graduation trip. What a brave mother! My mom wouldn't have been caught dead voluntarily taking a jungle trip (love you, Mom!!).


Front L to R: Bibi, Nick
Back L to R: Juan, ME!!, Nessa, Nick, Farrah

So, we had our group, and we clicked right away. Especially because of our guide.

THE GUIDE: JUAN
Right when we got to the reserve, Juan started barking orders at us: Eat your lunch! Pay your money! Get your sunscreen! No bug spray! Get your water! Get into the boat! WHOA. WHAT were we getting ourselves into? As we journeyed down the Cuyabeno River to our lodge with Juan at the bow of the boat we quickly realized that MAN. Juan likes nature a LOT more than he likes people. Nessa and I were immediately determined to change this jungle man's attitude.

While we were cruising down the river, Juan would spot animals - mostly monkeys and anacondas on the first day.

Every time, he would signal Freddy, our driver, to stop the boat, take out his video camera and/or binoculars, and stare at the animal, all the while saying, "Oh my gosh. That is awesome." After realizing that these were his favorite phrases, Nessa and I started saying it too. By the end of the second day, EVERYONE was making fun of him. That helped loosen him up.

Juan had two personalities: his robotic-explaining-nature personality, and then his I'm-trying-to-look-like-I'm-having-fun personality. We realized that him speaking Spanish added a few more dimensions to his personality... but not much. Whenever Juan had something to say about nature, he would look at us all and say, "Super atención!", but that would just make us laugh and roll our eyes. What a guy. When we were there, he had been living at the lodge for 19 days. I couldn't even IMAGINE.

Towards the end of the trip, we started doing things because JUAN wanted to do them. Like hunt for boas. Or hunt for caimans (mini alligators). We drew the line, however, when he wanted to look at ANOTHER sloth - just about one of the most boring animals in nature. It doesn't MOVE, so it's hard to SEE, and when you DO see it, you feel like you're looking at a bird's nest. Even with the binoculars. So, on the last day, I opened my big mouth and told Juan that we don't like the sloths. I've never seen a man more hurt. Then we felt bad, but at least we didn't have to see the boring sloth?

THE LODGE:
We stayed at the Samona Lodge. I didn't step foot on the ground there; we had to walk on piers from hut to hut, and the individual huts were on posts. I know, I know, it sounds like JUST the place that you all assumed that I would stay :) Our whole group had one hut that was divided into three rooms, each with an individual bathroom. The walls didn't hit the ceiling though, so we might as well have been in one room. I bunked with Nessa and her mom, Bibi had his own room (because he wanted it), and then Kyle and Nick had their room. The first night though, Bibi found cockroaches in his room, and he decided to bunk with us.

Did I mention that there was no electricity and only cold showers? And that I didn't have a flashlight? We had to sleep under mosquito nets as well, which made sleeping HOT and HUMID, and it kind of gave me the creeps, because I was thinking about what kind of creepy crawlies could get under the net...

The doors had locks, but no one had keys, so we left all of our things out in the open for anyone to grab. Juan kept assuring us that it was safe, and it was. Except for ONE little incident, that of COURSE would happen to me.

When we got back from our first activity, Nessa, Farrah, and I went to our room and found that the door was locked. So we immediately all begin saying "I didn't lock it!!" and thinking how odd it is that it's locked. We tried using a credit card to get it open, but the door was being difficult. Nessa went to the kitchen to get someone to help us, and all of a sudden someone opens the door from the INSIDE. Turns out one of the staff members wanted to take a little siesta, and of COURSE he would not only choose my room, but my BED. At dinner later that night, I told Juan about it, and he was in denial, but then he went and talked to the staff, and it turns out this guy was super drunk or something. The good news is it didn't happen again.

THE HIKES
The first night that we were at the lodge, we went on a night hike in the jungle. It was scary. And it didn't help that Nessa, Farrah, and I were at the BACK of the line. It also didn't help that Nessa and I kept turning around and turning OFF her flashlight to see just how dark it was. Yeah, it was so dark we couldn't see our hands in front of our faces. Juan kept finding tarantulas and big spiders and bugs, and while his flashlight was on them, the ONLY thing that I could think about was how DARK it was AROUND the little circle of light, so what kind of creepy crawlies were hiding there?? Nessa and I really bonded on the night hike, because we were holding onto each other for dear LIFE as we walked through the jungle. And we kept laughing and talking and the boys got mad because we were scaring away the wildlife. Oopsie!

The second day, we did a three hour day hike through the jungle. Nessa and I made sure to fight our way to the front of the line for this one. Juan was walking really fast during the whole hike - he didn't have to navigate his every step like we did - and so half the time I was yelling at him to slow down. I was sweating like a maniac because it was so HUMID out in that jungle.

At one point during the hike, we came up to this huge disgusting SWAMP. I was right behind Juan, and he turned around and said, "Sarita, be sure to step right where I step." Yeah right. THAT didn't work out, and while the mud stayed on his BOOTS, for the rest of us the mud was ABOVE our boots and up to our knees. I almost lost by balance about a million times, but I never actually FELL. Although it LOOKED like I fell because Nick was behind me and his boot got stuck, so when he pulled it out, I got splattered in mud... At least I got the real jungle experience?


THE LAGOON
Every night, we went to Laguna Grande to look for wildlife and to watch the sunset. The sunset was really nice... But it was LONG. We were all getting pretty restless in the boat, but then there would be Juan, happy as a clam sitting in the front with his video camera. People also swam in the lagoon, but I didn't because (1) I didn't want to be all wet and cold when I got out, and (2) I didn't think I'd be able to get back in the boat...

On our trips to and from the lagoon, we saw plenty of wildlife. We took what we liked to call a "sunrise cruise" on the last morning, and we saw a TON of dolphins. They weren't like flipper dolphins though. They were UGLY. We could only see their backs, but we saw some pictures and they looked pre-historic. The first five times we saw them emerge for air was kind of cool. But then, I got BORED. The only thing keeping me from telling Juan to take us back (which I eventually did...) was Bibi's reaction to the dolphins. Every time he would see one, his hands would fly up to his face, and he would gasp, "ohmygooooood" in his Dutch accent. I seriously had a better time watching him than the dolphins. This is how enthused I was about them:


RANDOM ACTIVITIES
One day, we went to a local river community and to a local Shaman as well. A Shaman communicates with spiritual beings on behalf of the community, and he is a healer as well. It was REALLY interesting seeing how he dressed and the rituals he performed. This is my favorite picture my friend Bibi took of him:


After the Shaman, we went to the community, and it was so wonderfully amazing to see how they live. They have a school, but sometimes they don't have teachers, so the kids go without. It's kind of sad, but they make due just fine. While we were in the village, they had this weird shooter thing. It was REALLY long, and you put a sharp stick in the hole, and BLOW, and out shoots the stick from the other end. We were aiming at a lemon, and guess what! I hit it on the SECOND try! I didn't do it again after that...



All in all, the selva (jungle) was an amazing experience. MUCH to my surprise, I LOVED it there, but I think a big part had to do with the amazing group that I was with. We all got along so well, and I'm so happy that it turned out like that! Juan videotaped all the time, so I bought one of the DVDs he made. It's LONG, and shows a lot more nature than I would like (what can I say, I'm a people person), but I'm glad I have it. There are a couple of shots where you can see how RIDICULOUS and DISGUSTED I look, but hey, that's the real Sara shining through, not the jungle Sara that I seem to have found. I've been hanging out with my new friends all week, and I'm sad to see them leaving Quito (Nessa and Farrah left on Thursday morning, and Nick is leaving on Sunday). Here's to being brave and making new friends! And straight from the homeland, too!! :)



Until next time,
Sara de la selva

"No, dumb is the right word."

This has nothing to do with Ecuador or any of my time here, but it has re-kindled my love for a certain vocal artist. The other day I was talking with my friend Stephanie, and we were talking about concerts because my parents had just gone to the Tim McGraw/Lady Antebellum concert (THEY TOUCHED THEIR HANDS!!!!!! When I was talking to my dad about it on the phone, I said, "Dad, did you about pee your pants?" His reply? "Sara, I screamed like a girl." Oh, Dad, how I miss you!! And my mom just about passed out.).

Anyways, we started talking about the first concert that we had ever been to. I am not much of a concert-goer myself, to be honest. I don't understand why everyone has to stand when there are perfectly good seats waiting to be sat in. I also don't understand why vocal artists insist on pointing the microphone towards the crowd, indicating that we should sing along. I don't want to hear the girl next to me screaming the wrong words to the song. I paid money to hear YOU sing LIVE. Please.

My first concert was the summer after second grade, I believe. My parents took Jenna and I to Summerfest. To see.... MICHAEL BOLTON. I don't remember very much of the concert, mostly the song "Steel Bars" when some girls got lowered from the ceiling in steel cages. And I also remember my dad sitting during it. Upon these recollections, I decided to download Michael Bolton's Greatest Hits (1985-1995) CD. And I love it. I have no idea what possessed my parents to bring us to Summerfest, but I also remember us having a good time and getting sweet sweatshirts that I'm sure we wore constantly. Mine had several of the Summerfest smiley face logos on it. I don't remember Jenna's, but I remember not liking it. Oh well, I didn't have to wear it!

So, Michael Bolton has been the soundtrack of my life the last week. And let me tell you, I can't WAIT to listen to this CD when I'm in my car driving in the US with the windows down and just BELT the words out. I feel that I'm not getting the full effect of this CD until I'm able to have it in my car.

Since I've been doing NOTHING this week, I've started reflecting about Ecuador. Let me tell you - I am living in a backwards world down here. Maybe it's because I'm south of the equator? I'm not sure...

I haven't talked very much about the food down here, but I can sum it up in 3 words: meat, potatoes, rice. The typical Ecuadorian food is potato and rice based, accompanied with a piece of meat, which can range from chicken to beef, to guinea pig or dog. Everyone asks me what I think of the food, and I always say, "Well, it's alright..." I like the fruit. And vegetables. But blegh, give me a hot dog, please. One of the delicacies here is (I wasn't joking when I said this) cuy. GUINEA PIG. It is SO gross looking, because when they roast it up, it seriously looks like a rat on a spit. I have NOT tried it, and will not try it. Everyone asks why. So I explain that I had a PET guinea pig when I was younger (which really grosses me out now, but I do have a heart - I cried when she died in labor with her little guinea piglets), and how could I POSSIBLY eat an animal that used to be my pet?

Another thing I always think of when I see these guinea pigs is the guinea pig that my grade school friend Amy Stanfield used to have growing up. Her name was Molly, and we loved that thing. The only thing I didn't like about it was it usually pooped when I was holding it, and when I spent the night it squeaked a lot (she kept it in her room).

I discovered a little while ago when I decided to bake banana bread (it didn't work) that baking soda is prohibited in this country. I asked a million people why, and I finally found the answer. Baking soda is, apparently, one of the ingredients in cocaine, so in a valiant effort to reduce the drug trade here (it's not as bad as Mexico or Colombia - not even CLOSE), the government has decided to ban baking soda. The part that I don't understand is how they bake things. There are bread/pastry shops on EVERY corner - it doesn't make sense to me. So, I smuggled two boxes of baking soda into the country when I came back in April, and I gave one to my host mom who caters, so she is making cakes all the time (oh, how I miss the days of having cake for dessert EVERY DAY).

The school that I work for has a bus the runs specifically for teachers. It picks me up every morning at the bus stop between 6:20 and 6:30, and drops me off after school at 3:15. We are required to be at the school until July 9. On Monday, I saw a sign above the clock-in/out finger-scanner thing (it always takes about 5 tries to get my finger scanned, and it's embarrassing EVERY DAY because there is always a line) that said that after June 30, the teacher bus would not be running. Excuse me? I have no idea how I'm supposed to get to school without this bus! I don't have a car; it would cost over $10 in a taxi; I have no idea which city bus to take. When I was telling Peter about how they aren't having the bus he said, "That's dumb.... no, logically unsound is a better phrase." To which I responded, "No, Peter. Dumb is the right word."

Yesterday morning I arranged with the secretary, who gets on at the same stop as me, to meet me at the stop at 6:30 this morning so we can go TOGETHER to school, because she knows which bus to take. So I get there American-ly early, and wait.

6:25 - Sara, it's only 6:25. Don't start hyperventilating yet.
6:28 - Huh. I wonder where she is. Trigger sweat.
6:31 - SHE. IS. LATE. Trigger pacing.
6:34 - OHMYGOOOOOOOOOOOOOD HOW AM I GOING TO GET TO SCHOOL? Trigger knotted stomach.
6:35 - Should I call Diego? I know he doesn't leave his house until 6:45... Trigger nausea.
6:37 - I'm going to have to take a taxi. Trigger panic attack when I check my wallet and find FIVE dollars. Definitely not enough to pay for a cab all the way to school.
6:38 - Trigger hyperventilation.
6:41 - A pre-school teacher gets off a bus at the stop I'm at. "Sarita! Now I will have company on the long bus ride!" Trigger NEAR COLLAPSE because I am so relieved. Don't even worry about it - I acted like I knew exactly what bus I was supposed to get on.

When I got to school, I was in the administration office, and I saw the secretary: "SARITA!!!! I am so sorry! I slept late. I'm so happy to see you here safely!!!!" And then she promised that she would be that at 6:30 on the DOT tomorrow morning.

Since I live in a house by myself, I obviously have to feed myself. So I go grocery shopping. The Sentry of Quito is called Supermaxi. I get a cart, go around the grocery store and generally buy: American cereal, Kraft macaroni and cheese, and American Kraft singles. Then I have to spend 20 minutes picking out EACH INDIVIDUAL item that I want, since I don't know what's good and what's bad. It's generally a shot in the dark, and I've been really disgusted a few times (I found Heinz ketchup, but MAN did I make the wrong choice for mustard. And ranch dressing.).

Going through the aisles, everything is mixed up kind of oddly, like baking supplies are right next to the noodles, not like, vegetable oil. And there is an entire aisle dedicated to MILK. Not refrigerated milk. Milk that is sold in cartons and BAGS. It's so bizarre, and I'm always a little hesitant to drink milk here, because how can it stay good in the store if it's not refrigerated?

When I get to the check-out line, the first time I was perplexed. After realizing that HUH, my cart is NOT going to fit through to the other side, I discovered one of the MOST backwards things here. You have to take all of your things out of the cart and put them on the check-out (which aren't the conveyor belts that we have, but just a table), and then you leave your cart there. Naturally, the carts pile up like crazy, and it's horrible, especially since the lines are ALWAYS long. Your bags (after being tied shut by the bagger) get put into a DIFFERENT cart on the other side of the check-out lane. What's the point? EVERY grocery store is like this, and it just blows my mind. If I introduce wider check-out lanes to Ecuador, could I get rich?

Those are just a few things that come to mind right away about the workings of Ecuador. There are more, believe me, but those are the main ones.

I took tomorrow and Monday off because I'm going to the JUNGLE!!!! It was a very last minute thing (I just decided yesterday), but I met a girl who studies at the same institute as my friend Maike, and the institute is having a trip to the Amazon, so I'm tagging along. I'm very excited. And terrified. When I come back, you can just call me Xena, warrior Princess. Or maybe I'll find the crystal skull like Indiana Jones - but that's not likely because I'll be in Ecuador and not Peru.

Until next time (hopefully I'll survive the jungle!),
Sara/Xena (and Michael Bolton's biggest fan!!)

"You look like a stupid American." I know.

Over the weekend, I went to a town called Cuenca with my friends Kristin and Maike. I took Friday off of school (it's not like I'm doing anything anyways), and we took a bus on Thursday night. EIGHT AND A HALF FREEZING HOURS LATER (at least the nice man next to me let me share his blanket with him) we arrived in Cuenca. It was 6:30 in the morning, and we didn't know what to do. What if our hostel turns us away? We had nothing to worry about. They made us breakfast and had our room cleaned first, so we just waited around for about an hour freezing to death.

After showering and warming up, we decided to go on a double decker bus tour around Cuenca. It lasted about an hour and 45 minutes. This is why:



The traffic was bumper to bumper, because apparently they are re-constructing one of the main roads in the town. And by re-constructing, I mean ZERO TRAFFIC on this road where the bricks were all torn up and it is just MUD. Our hostel was on the corner of this road and to get in we had to walk through mud and walk over planks of wood. It was a little ridiculous.

The power lines in Ecuador are REALLY low, so every once in a while on this double decker bus, a siren would go off, and that's the signal for DUCK (otherwise you're going to get decapitated by a power line). So for the rest of the tour, I was afraid to look at what was around me because I didn't want to get offed by a power line, so I missed a lot of the town, I think. That's ok, I'm over it.

There is a hat store in Cuenca that is famous for their "Panama hats". The hats are all hand-made, and it was pretty neat, especially because Maike LOVED it. She's going to the Galapagos next week, so she needed a hat for the Galapagos. We were trying on hats like crazy, and Maike ended up getting two. We went back again on Saturday because she decided that she was going to get one for her grandpa and one for her best friend. Because I have such a fat head, I only put (a select few that actually FIT) the hats on my head and laughed at myself. Man, did I look ridiculous!

On Friday night, we discovered that there is NO night life in Cuenca, at least not anywhere near where we were staying. So we decided to go to the movies, which was pointed out during the bus tour. We took a taxi to the movie theater. They only had THREE movies playing, none of which we were wild about seeing. So we go to another movie theater. We got there at 6:25. We saw that Sex and the City 2 started at 6, so we decided to see it anyways. When we got to the ticket counter, there were three ANNOYING girls working. We asked them a question, and they were talking behind the glass, and I said, "We can't hear you." So they all start giggling, and tell us that no, we can't see that movie anymore because we're too late, and then they turned off the microphone and were talking and giggling behind the stupid glass. We were SO annoyed. So we left.

Saturday we went to Incan ruins - a 2.5 hour bus ride from Cuenca. It was COLD again on Saturday, but this wasn't going to stop us. On the way, our bus hit a truck. Really? It was ridiculous. Apparently the truck didn't yield to the bus, so the bus hit it. We were able to drive away, and no one was hurt, but REALLY Ecuador? We ended up just laughing about it, and me, being the tourist that I am, took a picture of the damage.



See? No harm done. But the bus driver was PISSED, and so were we, because we had no idea how much further we were going to be able to go. When we FINALLY arrived at the ruins, it was MUDDY. It had rained there all the previous day, so it was disgusting. We joined a group with two tour guides. Who were ten years old. They were freezing too, and despite their age, they were good at their jobs. I asked to take a picture with them, and they looked at me like I was crazy, but I'm beyond caring.

After the tour, the little girls said, "If you want to see the face of Inca in a mountain, follow us!" Maike and Kristin decided not to, but I went along. And it was a mistake. The group of 4 of us that went had to hike down a mountain, and it was MUDDY. I was slipping and sliding ALL OVER the place. And of course there is NOTHING to hold on to. About halfway down, guess what! It started POURING rain. That made climbing down this mountain WORSE. When we FINALLY got to the face (which wasn't that impressive, especially since the picture I took looks exactly like the postcard that Maike bought), I took ONE picture, and then I said, "Alright, I'm going to climb back up!" and left the group.

When I FINALLY got back to the top (after falling once - good thing that I was by myself!!!), I was SOAKING wet. I squeezed out my hair, and it was like I just got out of the shower.



I was freezing. I couldn't take a 2.5 hour bus ride back to Cuenca like this. So, I decided to buy a new coat. And a scarf. And I looked like an idiot. As Maike said, "Sara, I can't tell you apart from the Ecuadorians!!" HA Good one, Maike.



I wore that coat for the rest of the day, because my fleece just wouldn't dry. So we walked around town, we went back to the Panama hat store, and we ate dinner. Every time I saw my reflection, I started laughing. At one point, Kristin was walking behind me and she said, "Sara, I just can't take you seriously in that jacket." Wherever we went, I got stared at. And then Maike said, "You look like a stupid American." I know, Maike, I know. We even went back to the movie theater in time to see the 6:00 show of Sex and they City. And I looked like an idiot there too. At least I was warm. Thank GOD my American fleece, which ironically made me look LESS American, was dry on Sunday.

On Sunday, I woke up to a surprise phone call from my good friend Diego. Happy Birthday!!!!! And what a wonderful birthday it was. We took a bus to a town called Chordeleg. This is a cute little town where they sell all sorts of JEWELRY. We. went. nuts. The necklaces, rings, and earrings were all soooo pretty. I FINALLY found a gift for my wonderful mother (You're welcome!! And I didn't use your credit card to buy it!!). While I was on the bus there, my grandma Ann called me, and I got to talk to Aunt Jane and Aunt Jeanette as well, until I was too far into the stupid mountains and lost service. Then, when I was shopping, home called, and I got to talk to Mom, Dad, Jenna, and Tay. When I told Jenna where I was, her first question? "Did you buy me something?" Happy Birthday, Sar. And no, I didn't. But I still love you.

After a few hours, we took a bus back to Cuenca, and hung around town for awhile. And by hung around I mean sat on a bench trying to think of something to do. In Ecuador, EVERYTHING is closed on Sundays. So we sat. And then we decided to eat, even though we weren't hungry. We found a SKETCHY pizza place. It was SO weird. The tables were paintings, and on one was a painting of a naked woman (buen provecho!!), and then on a painting behind us was a naked woman being snarled at by a dog. I'm pretty sure that some major drug deals go on there. Oh, and, I ordered a Fanta to drink, and a guy left the restaurant, and then came back with a Fanta. If you didn't have Fanta, you could have just told me! I would have gotten something else. The pizza was ok... We ate really fast and then got the heck out of there.

I flew back to Quito last night instead of taking the bus with Maike and Kristin because I had to teach this morning. But surprise! My students didn't show up! So I've been sitting doing nothing, again, and it looks like that's how it's going to be for the rest of the week. Greeeeeeeeat.

Until next time,
Sara the American tourist.

"In case of an emergency, you will be the last ones off the plane."

All of June has been absolutely freezing. I realize that I live in the mountains, but my GOD I should not be freezing on the equator!! I don't mean freezing in the sense that it's usually 90 degrees, and now it's dropped down to 80. I mean freezing as in I see my breath ALL DAY LONG (not just in the mornings), and I wear a hat and scarf. Seriously? This is ridiculous. And of course, heating doesn't exist in this country, so I've started sleeping with a hooded sweatshirt on.

The school is all outdoors (the hallways and things), so the school is NEVER warm either. It's horrible. What makes it even worse is the other teachers. They're always telling me, "Sara, the weather isn't usually like this! It's usually very sunny at this time of year." Great. I've come at the most inconvenient time. I'm considering purchasing a space heater and putting it under my desk - either that, or a snuggie (Peter was telling me that the women at his office do this - thank you Breakthrough Fuel).

To warm up, Kristin, Marty, and I decided to go to the beach for the weekend. It was warm there. Very MUGGY and very BUGGY. But guess what - there was not a shred of sunlight the entire weekend. What is WRONG with this country?! I flew both ways (I would rather pay a little more to take a 30 minute flight than pay a little less and sit on a bus for nearly TEN hours), so that was really great. I couldn't take the bus with Marty and Kristin because they left on Thursday, and I still had to teach on Friday.

When I got on my plane to go to Manta (the beach), I found that I was seated in an Emergency Exit row. I've sat in an Emergency Exit row only once before, but I told the flight attendant that I could handle it. I only really told her because (A) it was only a half hour flight, so what could REALLY go wrong, and (B) there was a strapping lad sitting next to me that I figured would take charge.

As the flight attendant was giving us a mini-rundown in English (the strapping lad spoke English very eloquently), she was explaining how to lift the latch and push the door, blah blah blah, and her final statement was: "In case of an emergency, you will be the last ones out of the plane." Excuse me? I just kind of stared at her waiting for her to say, "HA! JUST KIDDING!!", but she walked away. So here I am, sitting by the window thinking several things.

- I'm by the window, and I have to be the LAST one out?
- Isn't it in the flight attendants' job description to make sure everyone is safely out of the flaming, plummeting aircraft?
- I should have watched Lost before I got onto this plane to review the protocol on how to survive a plane crash.
- Shoot. Are we flying over water or land?
- HOW am I supposed to be the last one out of this plane when I'm SURE that there will be a STAMPEDE towards the Emergency Exit row when smoke starts coming out of the engines.

The man next to me seemed to sense my confusion. He put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Don't worry. If this plane is going down, you and I will be the FIRST ones out of this window." Well thank GOD. Do you know what the irony of the situation is? The SAME THING happened to me the last time I was in an Emergency Exit row. I've made the executive decision that the next time I'm in this blasted row, I will say that I'm not comfortable being a hero and having to leave the plane last. Please move me.

When I landed safely in Manta, I met Kristin and Marty at the hotel. We went out for dinner and then went out to a few bars (it wasn't really a happening place), and headed to bed around midnight. Fine with me! I was REALLY drowsy and groggy from the Dramamine that I had to take for my plane ride. I fell asleep before the lights were off.

On Saturday, we woke up to a muggy, humid day that was overcast. We went to the beach anyways. One thing that KILLS me down here is the street vendors. I was wearing sunglasses. Despite this fact, the street vendors that had sunglasses kept coming up to me and shoving their sunglasses in my face. No, thanks, I'm WEARING some. And then, if you want to look at something, the street vendors come right up next to you and say, "Beautiful bracelets and necklaces" or whatever you're looking at, and then try to put the stuff on you. You know what? DON'T TOUCH ME.

And then, there was the hat man. We were eating at a restaurant on the beach, and this man comes up with sun hats. I don't usually wear sun hats because I have a fat head, but also because I look like an idiot in them. But these were pretty, and I could feel the part of my hair already getting burned. So I asked him how much it cost. Fifteen dollars? I don't think so. How about three? The guys says NO WAY and walks away.

ALL DAY LONG I kept seeing this hat man, and every time I saw him, I would hold up three fingers, and he would shake his head and keep walking. Kristin and I were sitting on the beach, and I saw him again, and he had reduced his price to ten. So, I waved him over. I told him five. He said ten. I told him six. He said ten. I told him seven. He said ten. I told him eight, and finally he said something else: "I buy these hand-made hats for eight dollars. If I sell it to you for eight dollars, then how am I going to buy my clothes? Buy my food? Feed my children?" And this man looked SO sad, that I put my head down and said, "NINE dollars". And I bought that damn hat. And I wore it ALL weekend. My nine dollar hat.

On Sunday, it was misting, so we decided to go to a different beach to eat lunch. The food was good, and the place was cute. Until. I. saw. a. RAT. It was about ten feet from where I was sitting, and I was FLIPPING out. REALLY ECUADOR??? RATS at a restaurant. This whole country should be shut down. It was disgusting.

During our time at the beach, another street vendor that kept on coming back was selling DVDs for a dollar. We asked if they were in English. He assured us they were. We bought: The Prince of Persia, Sex and the City 2, Toy Story 3, and Public Enemies. Public Enemies was the only one in English. GREAT. We discovered this on Sunday afternoon when it was raining, and our flight back wasn't until 8:15PM. So we watched HBO in English. What a let-down.

The flight back didn't leave until 45 minutes after the designated departure time. So we waited 45 minutes for a 30 minute flight. Cool. All in all, it was a relaxing weekend (besides the heart attack I had after seeing the rat), and at least I didn't get sunburned!!

This week school has been SLOW and BORING. I don't understand why the administration makes us come in on these nothing days. The students who didn't pass the year have supplementary review and then exams. I have three 1.5 hour classes with TWO kids. I feel bad for them, because they really do know their stuff, but they were just LAZY during the school year. So I've been spending my days reading, sending massive amounts of emails, on Facebook, on cnn.com, on perezhilton.com, and on people.com. If you need to know any trash on celebrities, please, email me.

This weekend I'm taking another trip with Kristin and Maike (the girl who cried with me in Baños). We're going to a city called Cuenca, and I'm excited about it! We're taking a bus there on Thursday night (I'm taking Friday off, because I'm soooooo busy) that will take TEN to TWELVE hours - please kill me. And then I'm flying back on Sunday night instead of taking a bus because I need to teach on Monday morning. It should be a good time!

Until next time,
Sara the Sucker - but looking oh, so stylish in my nine dollar hat.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Sara, do you like fútbol?"
- I'm indifferent.
"Why are you in South America if you don't like fútbol?"
- ... I didn't say that I don't like it. I said that I'm indifferent. It's fine.
"If you are in South America, you need to learn to like fútbol.

The World Cup. The big kahuna of soccer. A four week long extravaganza. Hot. Dog. I am living in a South American country. I think that the kids here are born with soccer cleats on. Great.

June 11 the World Cup started (an event that occurs every 2 years, but the men and women switch off, so the Men's World Cup is every 4 years - thank you Wikipedia), and that was the last day of exams for the kids. I thought that some of the students and teachers might go into cardiac arrest because they had to miss a couple of the soccer games because of the HORRID school that would not CANCEL classes for such an IMPORTANT sporting event (that I embarrassingly know NOTHING about).

The school set up a projector in the auditorium so that no one has to miss anything. Teachers go down and watch while they have free periods. Students watch during their breaks. On Monday, the students were supposed to come to school to be able to review their exams. I found out on Monday morning that surprise! I have to teach!! What? So, after a 20 minute exam review, I let the kids go outside and play soccer, or if a game was on, we went down to the auditorium to watch. Monday marked three days in a row of me watching soccer games. You might as well call me a fanatic.

Two songs that I now have memorized are (1) the South African National Anthem and (2) Shakira's "Waka Waka". Both are on TV or the radio ALL THE TIME down here. If you haven't seen the music video to "Waka Waka" click here to view it. You'll appreciate the following conversation a LOT more if you watch the video... This conversation took place with one of my students yesterday:

Anita: Teacher, don't you love "Waka Waka"?
Teacher: Yeah, it's pretty good.
Anita: Teacher, do you know the dance???!!!
Teacher: Teacher doesn't know how to dance.
Anita: I'll show you!
Teacher: Don't bother.

They laugh at me enough. I will NOT put myself in the position of dancing (or trying to dance) in front of them. They're born with soccer cleats on their feet AND hips that don't lie.

On Saturday, my friend Diego invited me to watch the USA vs. England game with him, his wife, and his niece. I thought that MAYBE since I was in South America, I should probably TRY (or at least pretend) to get a little bit into this sport. So we shoveled lunch into our mouths (Literally. Everyone kept looking at their phones and weas like "GET THE DESSERT! IT'S 1:25!!!"), and at 1:30 we were sitting on the couch tuned in. I've got an alright grasp of this game - I know what a yellow card means, I know what a red card means, and I know when to gasp, scream, or throw my hands into the air. When the game ended with a tie, I had to wait until Monday to consult a teacher who knows I know nothing to find out what a tie means.


Me, Maria Cristina, and Maria Inez - Diego was taking the picture. Don't I look SO excited to be watching the World Cup?! ...

Later on Saturday night, I went with Diego, his wife, and niece to the movies. We saw the Prince of Persia (subtitled - thank God). At the movie theater, I saw three of my students. They didn't know what to do with themselves.

Students: Teacher!!! What are YOU doing here??
Sara: ... I'm going to a movie. What are you doing?

I'm convinced that they think I have no life outside of school, which is kind of true, but hey, I can pretend :)

Sunday I spent the day with my host family. Always a good time with them. When I talked to them to plan when I would go over to their house, we arranged for 8:30 on Sunday morning. I repeated it about 5 times just to be sure, because I'm still not great on the phone. So, I wake up, drag myself out of my bed and get ready, and flag down a taxi. I arrived at 8:30 on the dot. I called. The phone rang. And rang. And RANG.

When Pame (my host sister) FINALLY picked up, she said, "Sara, we're still in bed!" Ummmmmm, what? I was immediately thinking that I messed up. Ocho y media (8:30) COULD sound like once y media (11:30) right? Shoot. Lupe (my host mom) finally let me in, wearing her robe and slippers, and said, "Sara, what time is it?!" I told her that it was now 8:40. She gasps. "WE SLEPT TOO LATE! WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE!!!!!" And she hustled back into the apartment building.

Getting back into the house, Lupe immediately got on the phone with Aunt Maria Elena, followed by Aunt Rosita, followed by Grandma telling them all that her and Pame had overslept, that I came and woke them up, and that they were going to hurry up and get ready to go. I sat on the couch this entire time wondering one thing: WHERE were we in such a rush to go?

We left the house at 9:50 and got into the car. So much for rushing. Right when I opened the car door, I almost choked because it smelled so badly of the gas that is used in the house. They had a tank of this gas in the backseat of their car. They took it out, but every time we were in the car (which was a lot) I thought that we MIGHT blow up at any second. It was a very stressful car ride. Thank GOD no one smokes.

After driving around for about 10 minutes with Lupe getting ever more frustrated saying, "UGH THIS street is closed too!" I figured out where we were in such a rush to go: cousin Alberto and cousin Santiago Jose were running in a race, and we had to see them to cheer them on. We ended up parking the car back in the garage, and walked 1 block to where the race was. Why we didn't do this right away, I have NO idea, but we made it there before Santiago Jose and Alberto did, so at least we got to cheer for them!

We then went to the Olympic Stadium to see the cousins after the race. This was just a dumb idea. We parked, walked for 6 blocks, waited, waited, waited, spotted ONE of the cousins, congratulated him, and left. DUMB. We then went to church and spent the rest of the day at Aunt Maria Elena's house so that we could watch the Germany vs. Australia match (Germany won EASILY - even I could see this - and I felt bad for those poor Australians).

After the match, we sat at the kitchen table and TALKED about the match for an hour and sixteen minutes - almost as long as the game itself!! Grandma FINALLY stood up (VERY slowly, I might add) and was ready to go to the grocery store. It's not like she gets up and goes in - she sits in the car the whole time. I was wondering what she thinks about when she's in the car by herself ALL THE TIME. Maybe she just sleeps? I'm not sure.

Until next time,
Sara the Soccer Fanatic.

School's out for the summaaaaaah!

... Almost. But I AM done teaching regular classes.

Two weeks ago today, my mom's mom passed away, so I booked a ticket and flew back to the US to be with my family. Before continuing, I'd like to thank everyone for their support and condolences. My entire family really appreciates it. Despite the circumstances, it was good to be back home with my family. I realized that it was the first time that all 7 of us had been home since Christmas. I guess that's what happens when everyone grows up.

I flew out of Quito on a Saturday, but on Friday I prepared everything for the upcoming week of school that I would be missing. My boss was (and still is!) AMAZING, and he covered all of my classes for me. It was an easy week to miss, because it was the last of three review weeks before the kids had exams.

During my time as a teacher, I've really questioned how much the kids actually like me. I mean, I'm mean to them. While I was gone, however, I got an email from a student named Diego telling me (in pretty good English, I might add) that he hoped I would return soon and that I was the best teacher that he had ever had. Maybe it's because I give them candy. But whatever, it still made me feel good.

Upon my return, I found out that I had missed the last week of regular classes. This made me kind of sad, just because I realized that I would never see the kids together as their classes again. I even brought them candy (Smarties) back from the US! But I see them around in the halls all the time, so I just keep a pocket full of Smarties.

The way finals week works at this school is messed up. The students have two periods of exams: 7:40-8:40, and then again from 9-10. After that, if they have permission, they get to leave. The poor kids who didn't get a note from their parents have to just bum around the school all day. All of the novenos had their English exam Wednesday morning at 7:40, so now I'm done. On Tuesday I didn't do ANYTHING - well, actually I played Line-Up on my iPod Touch, and beat my high score 3 times. Wednesday, I gave the test to my kids, and then I graded them. I was done by 10. So now I've been sending random one-line emails, playing Line-Up (beat my high score again!), and surfing the internet, which consists of surfing between about 5 sites, since I don't actually know how to surf the internet.

When I was grading one of my kids' tests, a boy's who has given me trouble since day 1, I found a nice note at the bottom: an apology for being so bad in my class, and then he thanked me for being a good teacher. Well. I'm better than I thought I was. While I was home, I went to the BFHS graduation and talked to my high school English teacher, Mr. Lawton.

Lawton: What have you been up to?
Sara: I'm an English teacher! In Ecuador!
Lawton: How did THAT happen?

My thoughts exactly. My students, however, are doing a good job of boosting my confidence.

Today is the last day that the kids are in school. I've been breaking the news to them that I won't be returning next year. The school offered me a position for the entire school year, but I decided that I don't want to stay here for another full year. My original flight home from when I booked my flight to come here in January is August 3, so I'm going to work at the school's summer camp in July, and then I'll be flying home and STAYING home in August. I'm feeling very bittersweet about the whole thing, especially after seeing how my students are reacting to it today.

As we were taking pictures and I was giving them all hugs, the students kept telling me how much they are going to miss me, and that I'm the best teacher that they've ever had. THIS I doubt, but again, they're making me feel good. And sad. In all honesty, I've had some REALLY horrible days here (but I've had a lot of good ones to make up for it), and I didn't think that I'd have a hard time saying bye to these kids. The reality of the situation is really different. I even found myself getting attached to the kids that were HORRIBLE for me during the year. We all know that I'm emotional, but I really thought I wouldn't be in this situation. Looks like I was only trying to kid myself!


My 9A students. 12 boys and only 7 girls! Mateo, who looks like Chewbacca :) is in this class.


My 9B students. There are 19 of them, and they are WILD. My wildest class hands-down.


My 9C students. This class is convinced they were my best class. I always told them, "It depends on the day." David is in this class... Can you pick him out?

Now that the World Cup is going on, everyone's been OBSESSED with soccer. I keep telling everyone I'm indifferent about the sport, but I AM going to go to Diego's house to watch the game with his family. Tomorrow I'm FINALLY going to unpack my suitcase from my return trip, and then on Sunday I'm going to a marathon with my host family to cheer on a few of my host cousins. I hope it's warm out, because it's been COLD here the last week!

Until next time,
Sara the Sap.

"I'm sorry, but a slide made of ROCKS is NOT fun."

Before telling about my intense weekend a couple of weekends ago, I'd like to apologize for not posting in SO long! Life has been abnormally busy for me lately, but I thought I'd take a minute (it actually takes longer than a minute...) to write about the intense weekend that I've told so many people about in person.

The weekend before USA Memorial Day weekend, I found myself face to face with an Ecuadorian three day weekend that is actually very similar to Memorial Day. I emailed my friend Kristin - the only other person in my TESOL course that stayed in Quito - and we decided to take a trip. We originally wanted to go to the coast so that we could have three VERY relaxing days at the beach, but that didn't work out. The school that Kristin works at was having a trip to a town called Baños, so we decided to hop on that 3.5 hour bus ride. A lot of my co-workers had been telling me to visit Baños, so I figured that I should when I had the opportunity.

The bus ride from Quito to Baños was HORRIBLE. The leader of the trip brought along her little dog named Bob. This name was enough to annoy me. I know I'm horrible. I have NO idea what kind of dog it is, but it's one of those dogs that looks like a puppy forever. Somehow, though I tried to avoid it, I ended up in the back row of the bus with Kristin on one side, and the DOG two seats away from my other side. Three and a half hours and THREE DOG VOMITS later (yes, I gagged), we FINALLY arrived in Baños.

One thing about Ecuador that kills me is the disorganization of the ENTIRE country. I mean, in all honesty, I don't know how the country hasn't burned down yet. When we got off of the bus, no one (there was a group of 17 of us) had any idea what we were doing, so we just stood at the bus terminal like a bunch of idiots - something that I find myself doing too often in Ecuador.

When we FINALLY got organized, we ate lunch and got a tour of the small, very touristy town of Baños from a girl about my age named Natalia. She is what I would describe as a firecracker: you NEVER know what she is going to say next, and item numero uno on her agenda is to have a good time. Actually, that's the ONLY item on her agenda.

We made our way to a huge bridge over a raging river (Ok, not RAGING, but there were a LOT of rocks at the bottom) and encounter activity #1: bridge swinging. It's not bungee jumping, but you are harnessed onto a rope that doesn't look like it's tied safely, and you literally jump off the side of the bridge and swing back and forth over the river. VERY scary. I didn't do it, but Kristin and my new friend Marty (a 48 year old man who moved to Quito after losing his job in the USA) did. I was almost in tears just watching them. I DID hike down the side of the valley that the river went through and walked over yet ANOTHER Indiana Jones bridge. Kristin commented on it too, so I'm not the only one! This one was actually over a river, but dang, no alligators, so still the scene was not QUITE right.

Later that night, we went to the natural hot springs that Baños is really famous for. The Ecuadorians transformed these hot springs into a tourist trap. It was not at ALL what I was imagining (hot springs in the middle of nowhere), but it was actually pools that were filled with the natural water. It was PACKED, being a holiday weekend and all, and people were body-to-body in the water. I was disgusted, so I just sat and watched, along with Kristin and Marty. The people who were in the pools didn't look the least bit relaxed anyways...

We went to a club on Saturday night, and this time I was pleasantly surprised at how wonderful it was (please refer to my post from a while ago "White Girl Can't Dance" to read about my previous club experience). The group of people that I was with was great, and we just danced and danced and danced. Well. I tried.

The next morning, we all woke up early because our first actual activity was supposed to leave at 8AM. 2.5 hours later, we were on our way. Rafting. I. Was. Terrified. The previous night I had made my new friend Mario (a 50-ish year old Cuban man who is teaching in Quito to support his family in Cuba) promise that he would sit by me in the raft, along with my new German friend Maike (pronounced Micah). They both held true to their promises, which made me a very happy, although not less scared, girl.

After putting on a damp wetsuit, and shoes that reminded me of the classy Keds that Jenna and I used to LOVE, we got out of the bus and were at the river. After a brief safety/this-is-what-you're-supposed-to-do session (which included: "THIS PADDLE IS FORTY DOLLARS. IF YOU LOSE IT, YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR IT!!), we were in the boats being pushed off.

For the hour and a half that we were in the water, I was screaming almost non-stop, but I DID enjoy myself. Until. There are safety kayakers going around the boats making sure that everyone is safe, and I'm sitting on the edge of my raft, minding my own business, when all of a sudden, one of the kayakers comes up, grabs my life jacket, and pulls me into the river. Excuse me? So here I am, floating in the river, holding on to his kayak, and we go to a different raft. Do you know how hard it is to get back into a raft? REALLY hard. I was basically worthless. The other rafters pulled me into their boat, and I literally couldn't move during the process, so I was like a dead fish. Embarrassing.

I'm sitting in this other raft, and the guide starts yelling at me to paddle. Paddle? My paddle is in my home raft. So what does he do? Takes his foot, and pushes me BACK out of the raft. I flopped my arms enough to get myself to my home raft where they pulled me in, and I began paddling.

A few minutes after this episode, we hit a rocky patch, and I legit fell out of the raft. I was really scared (and trying not to swallow the really bad, dirty, unsafe water!!!), but I hung on to the edge of the raft, and I HELD ON TO THE DAMN PADDLE. Instead of thinking about how I might die, I was thinking, "I don't have $40 extra on this trip to spend on this paddle. I am NOT letting go." After being dragged across the bottom of the river (of course I would fall out at a shallow spot), I got pulled back into the raft. Needless to say, I didn't paddle as much after that.

After getting out of the river, we took off our wet wetsuits and changed into dry clothes (on the bus, which was awkward), and had lunch. Then, we split up into two groups: people going canyoning and people not going canyoning. I didn't even know what canyoning WAS at this point, so I got into the line of people going. MISTAKE.

We get into a van and drive to basically the middle of nowhere at the base of a REALLY steep mountain, put on our wet wetsuits (DIFFICULT), grab a helmet, get harnessed, and are told to climb UP this mountain. OHMYGOD I almost died. It was so steep that at some parts I was using my hands to climb up, I was sweating like there's no tomorrow because it was about 3 in the afternoon and I'm wearing a wetsuit, and I was thinking, "Wow, if it's this hard going up, it's going to be HELL going down." I was right.

When we FINALLY got to the top, we were at the top of a waterfall. I quickly found of what canyoning is: rock climbing down waterfalls. After seeing the first few people go, I was about ready to cry. A. I've never been rock climbing before. B. I've never been rock climbing down a waterfall before. C. They said that you need to be strong to do this. I'm almost as weak as my sister Laura.

After slipping and sliding down the first waterfall, stopping in the middle and yelling down to the guide that I CAN'T DO THIS, I finally reached the bottom. Soaking wet, shaking, and with rope-burned hands because I was holding on so tight, I noticed that we weren't REALLY at the bottom. We were in a small pool. I look at the guide and find out why we aren't at the bottom. Surprise! Three more waterfalls to go!

You know how usually when you do something once, it's easier to do the second and third times? NOT WITH THIS. In the middle of the second waterfall, I was thinking, "No one who knows me is going to believe that I did this." Of course no one had a camera because we were soaking wet and they would have been ruined. I'm telling you now that if I would have known what I was going to be doing, (1) I would NOT have signed up, and (2) I would have spent $200 on a waterproof camera.

In the middle of the third waterfall, I was literally crying. Tears were streaming down my cheeks, and all I wanted to do was crawl into a warm bed that was DRY and get OUT of this mess. I would like to add that there were two other girls, Rosalie from Holland and Maike from Germany, that were ALSO terrified to tears.

At the bottom of the third waterfall, a girl who had done this before was saying how much fun the last one is: it's a slide! I looked at her and said, "I'm sorry, but a slide made of ROCKS is NOT fun." She judged me, but oh, I was SO over caring. When I got down the slide, I was SO happy that my feet were on dry land that I was almost crying. When Rosalie, Maike, and I got to the bottom, we decided that we were happy that we had this experience, because now we know to NEVER do it again. And, to give you an idea, I asked the guide the height of the waterfalls: #1 - thirty feet. #2 - fifty feet. And #3. NINETY FEET. MY GOD.

The next morning when we woke up, Rosalie, Maike, and I couldn't MOVE (and I STILL have bruises on my body from falling out of that raft), but we hiked down a mountain to see ANOTHER waterfall anyways. Hiking down is fine, but MAN that hike up was KILLER. For the bus ride back to Quito, Kristin and I made sure to get a seat AWAY from the dog. We finally got home around 10:30PM, after the taxi driver got LOST on the way to my house. I was yelling at him in Spanish, almost crying, and really scared because I was thinking that I may be getting abducted.

On Tuesday morning at school, I still couldn't move, and my students kept asking me if I had a relaxing weekend. Relaxing? HA. I don't think I relaxed until I was in my BED in Quito. The good news is that I can now say that I've done, though not enjoyed, extreme sports. Looking back though, I think I would do rafting again...

Until next time (which will be sooner than last time!),
Sara the EXTREME.

And then I thought, "OHMYGOD. I'm going to die. I didn't get a rabies shot."

The last couple of weeks have provided WONDERFUL weather, so I often find myself slathering on sunscreen (SPF 30 - for my mother) and spending the days or afternoons outside. My cheeks and nose have adopted a permanent hue of pink. My students make fun of me. One of them asked me today if I wished I was black. Excuse me? I had no idea how to respond, so, I turned it back on her: "Well, do you wish YOU were black?" She said no, she likes the color of her skin (I would describe it as a light mocha), so I said that I liked the color of my skin too. THAT was awkward.

On Friday, inspired by the beautiful weather and the excess amount of stress that my job has dealt me, I decided to run. I know, I know. I've never done anything of the sort in my life, but I thought that I should have a positive outlet for all of the negative emotions that I have after school (mostly FRUSTRATION). So, I put on some running capri pant-things (that I've previously used as pajamas), found a tank top, dug my Nikes out of my closet, made a "running" playlist on my iPod, rubbed some sunscreen on my face and shoulders, and set off.

As soon as I stepped outside, I started sweating (direct equatorial sun-rays? HOT), and my "look at me becoming a runner" attitude wilted just the tiniest bit. I gave the security guard a little wave, and pushed play. Not even kidding, half a block from my house, a stray dog (there are a million) starts barking. Now, usually the dogs will just bark at you, but remain in their place, as you walk/run (in my case "light jog") by. Not this one. Before I knew it, I was legit being chased by this dog. The whole episode lasted probably a total of 15 seconds, but in that time I: turned around and started RUNNING (REALLY running) the other way, screaming loud enough that I could hear myself over my iPod (which was loud), and then I thought, "OHMYGOD. I'm going to die. I didn't get a rabies shot."

To make the situation even more embarrassing (God forbid I be alone), the security guard came out of his port-a-potty sized hut and asked me if I was ok. NO I am NOT ok. DO you see that BEAR-sized dog (it was probably actually the size of... who am I kidding, I don't know anything about dogs. But it was between a Jack Russel Terrior [miss you Pixie and Perdy!] and a yellow lab) barking, baring it's teeth, and RUNNING AFTER ME?!?! I smiled and kept running. The dog stopped chasing me when I got out of it's turf.

I slowed down to a walk and was DYING (but so happy to be alive). After I stopped sprinting for my LIFE, I realized that I was running faster for that fifteen seconds than I thought I was. WHEW I was out of BREATH, and I could feel my face THROBBING in the heat. And OBVIOUSLY I was sweating. Nevertheless, I have become a dedicated runner - as in the I don't run up that street anymore, and I've left my house in my running gear 4 of the last 5 days, come back sweating disgustingly with my face redder than I've ever seen it, and woken up sore the next day. Yippee.

On Saturday, I was out of my house most of the day (running for a small portion) helping students with their Open House projects. When I came back, Olga, the maid, met me at the door: "Teacher Sarita! I have a surprise for you in your bathroom. I know you will love it." Nervous? I was too.

THIS is what I found:

Thanks, Olga. Now every time I walk into my bathroom, I start laughing.

At school this week, it's been quite hectic. We've started the entire year review, which is horrible, especially since their trimester exam is only on the last two units. It doesn't make sense, but then a lot of things in this country still boggle my mind. So anyways, I don't even know what I was doing, but my head snapped up from my desk to a shriek that I know all too well: David. I don't know HOW this happened, but David, somehow, got white-out EVERYWHERE. All over his hands, the floor, his FACE, his pencil case, the girl next to him - EVERYWHERE. After I yell his name, he looks up at me with that dopey grin. What a kid.

Speaking of David, last Friday, the kids had to take a unit test. Part of the grammar they learned was the correct form for sentences using "wish" and then regrets. So, on the test (I have to make them, and it's awful), the kids had to write five of their own wishes, and 4 of their own regrets. Here are some, for your reading pleasure. Notice a common theme? Me too.

WISHES
- I wish that I hit David and his stupid bubble gum. (I commented "Me too!" on that one)
- I wish I ate a big hot dog.
- I wish I caught that wild cat.
- I wish David popped his bubble gum in his eye.

REGRETS
- I should have crushed David's project.
- I shouldn't have gone to Australia. I got hit by a kangaroo! Ouch!
- I shouldn't have eaten that fried chicken. I feel really sick.
- I should have popped David's bubble gum in his face.

We love David! At least they did alright on the grammar?

Until next time,
Sara the dedicated (ask me in a week if I'm still "running") runner.