Vacation!

Evan and I are so excited to leave for Arizona on Monday for a week! We will fly into Phoenix and then drive to Sedona to hang out with my parents and my grandparents. Then we are off to the Grand Canyon for a few days with the family, with one night in Scottsdale! So excited to finally get a vacation!

Yes I know I went to Ecuador but it was mostly all planned, I had to teach, study and sit in class, so I don't really consider that a vacation ;)

Blessed

I woke up today, ate banana bread and drank coffee with my husband for 30 minutes. This was the most time we have had just the two of us all week. I went to work for 6 hours, came home and watched last night's episode of "The Bachelorette" that I missed.

Between Evan and I we probably have close to $80,000 in school debt...first time I ever really thought about that amount. Wow that's a lot.

We have some credit debt.

Right now I am folding clean boxers, towels and t-shirts.

We are going to have breakfast for dinner because that means that we don't have to go out to the store and buy anything to make dinner.

I have 2 bachelors degrees and a Masters, yet I don't have even close to a full time job.

My family and some of my closest friends in the world live either an entire state or entire continent away from me.

We still live paycheck to paycheck.

None of the furniture in our house matches. All of it was gratefully donated from family. The one and only piece we actually bought is our amazing king size bed.

We, who love to cook more than almost anything, do not have a dishwasher (only Evan) and do not have a garbage disposal.

We still have to fill our own ice trays.

I AM BLESSED.

I am full of joy. I have the most amazing husband in this world, who somehow I convinced to marry me, an ordinary California girl. He treats me better than I could have ever dreamed of, he loves me with a love that comes from an amazing God.

I love an amazing God who somehow, for some reason, loves a mistake-prone, imperfect person like me and sacrificed all...for me...

I have a roof over my head, even if GIANT ants and beetles make there way through the walls to torment me.

I have warmth when it's cold, cool when it's hot, food always in my kitchen, clean water from my sink and the most comfortable bed in the world to live in.

I AM BLESSED. We are blessed. I, we are so incredibly blessed.

Just a Glimpse

This is just a giant collage of all my Ecuador pictures! I will post them individually soon!

I`m coming home!

Today is my last day in Quito! I`m going shopping for last minute have to have goodies at the artesenal market, then packing and then headed home on the 11pm red eye to Atlanta, then Portland! It has been such an amazing experience here, and God has worked in me so much during this trip. I can`t wait to get home, see my husband, and share all my amazing pictures with everyone (I will post them throughout next week, I promise!)

Yesterday itselft was one of the most wonderful days of the trip. We went to Mindo, a cloud rainforest in Ecuador and ziplined through the rainforest. All I can say is AMAZING! We also found this couple who live in the cutest little hut in town and sell jewelrey and amazing home made chocolate items that they roast the chocolate themselves, from the trees in their own back yard!

I am so ready to come home though...Husband and Starbucks! Can`t wait!

Pictures to come I Promise!

As thankful and grateful as I am that there is internet here, it is quite possibly the slowest and absolutely impossible to upload pictures! So, when I get home there will be a ridiculously large amount of pictures that I will upload, seeing as how I have almost 1000 pictures and the week isn't over yet :)

Baños and guinea pigs

This last weekend was such a blast! We spent almost 2 days in a cute little town 3 hours south of Quito called Baños. It gets its name from the multitude of waterfalls and natural hotsprings that flow throughout the city. A few of us took a little cable car across a gorge (hundreds of feet in the air) to visit a waterfall on the other side. Then we hiked down to another waterfall called el pailon del diablo, where supposedly you can see the devil´s face in the rocks (we didn't see it). Some of us (not me) crawled into a tunnel in order to hike behind the face of the waterfall, which seemed like a neat experience, I just didn't want to get that wet.

Our hotel was absolutely beautiful, most comfortable beds and the most beautiful views. The colors of the flowers and trees around us were indescribable. Then on Saturday morning, 10 of us went horseback riding part way up the volcano that completely destroyed a nearby town 10 years ago and is still very active. It was such a fun, beautiful and peaceful time and the first time that I've ridden a horse in decades! You could see the river the volcano created and it was completely sulfer laden. Also, bubbles continue to erupt from the water as well.

My friend Denise from my cohort has been dying to eat guinea pig, or cuy as it's called, since she found it out that it is a delicacy here. So, we walked down with 45 minutes before we had to leave and found the huge guinea pigs (more like the size of a cat) roasting away, claws, limbs, teeth, eyes and all. We ordered a small plate which included the ribs, breast and 1 leg of the guinea pig with some rice and a salad on the side. Now, I swore the entire time leading up to this event that I would only go along to document Denise eating the guinea pig, but.........I thought when in Ecuador....

So yes, I did end up trying the guinea pig and to be honest, the worst part was the little hand and claws that were staring at me the whole time. I know it's cliche, but it did taste like chicken, like the dark meat of a chicken. The texture however was very thin and somewhat slimy. Overall, not too bad, but I don't know if I would order it again.

The one thing I have refused to try since staying here, is the lunch my family made last week. Cow stomach soup....just couldn't make myself try it.

That's all for now. Only 2 more days of school, Friday is a free day, so a bunch of us are going to a mini rainforest called Mindo to see hummingbirds, wild orchids, go zip lining and be as close to the jungle as we have time for.

Then Saturday night I'm on the plane back home. Red eye to Portland at 10:55am. I'm definitly ready to be home, with Evan, and Starbucks, and my bed, and to throwing my toilet paper in the toilet, not in a garbage can, not necessarily in that order, or a complete list of what I miss!

Ken`s Blog on Fear

The last couple days here have been really stressful for many people in our group. 2 nights ago, a couple from our group were walking down the street at 6 o`clock in the evening, still very much daylight and were confronted by 3 men who demanded that they give them everything they had. The men even had the audacity to reach into the girls pockets, take her money, and rip of her necklaces from her neck. They stole the guy`s iPhone and money. A day earlier, a friend of mine almost had her camera stolen in the middle of the day and I heard from the same friend that she met a young Canadian woman who had been mugged in Quito twice in the last 4 days, once at gun point.

Because of all these stories, there is great sense of unease and fear. I´ve been thinking about it a lot, and trying to remember how big God is that whatever happens, He is my rock, my strength, I should be careful but not fearful. Then this morning, I read my pastors blog and he posted a very appropriate post on fear. Thanks Ken!