¡Hasta Luego, Quito!

Not the best picture, but the only one I have with my Vida Verde certificate

Eamon makes the first move

Cisco quickly counters

The view from the top of the basilica

I’m writing from the Lima airport, with one hour left until my flight to Santiago! I am so excited. I feel like the anticipation of this moment has been going on for months. I have to admit, though, that it was un poco triste to leave Quito this morning. I had a wonderful last week in Quito. Some highlights include scaling the stairs of the main basilica in the town to get some sweet views, going out to a nice dinner at a restaurant that also offered some beautiful views, and giving a ten minute long presentation in Spanish on the economic and political situation of Chile! That presentation was considered my “capstone” at Vida Verde, and I have to admit, was quite nerve-wracking! Don’t you worry though, 2 years of ACE taught me a great trick—have prizes and candy. At the end of my presentation, I asked the questions and gave those who answered correctly candy in order to avoid having THEM ask me questions.

Probably the best part of our last week in Quito was the farewell fiesta that the language school, Vida Verde, had for us. After our last class on Friday, the beers came out, some DELICIOUS traditional Ecuadorian food rolled in, and the fun started. Most of our teachers stuck around for the party, which was really nice of them, and we played some Ecuadorian quarenta and none other than musical chairs (only to salsa music)! To finish off the celebration, the school engaged us in a “competencia.” We divided into two teams, which were mixed with teachers and students. After coming up with a team name and cheer, the “Estrellas” (Stars) matched off against the “Duros del Destino” or (“Tough guys of Destiny”). This competition required us to do several things, including finding black and brown shoes, writing down 10 irregular Spanish verbs, and writing a Spanish poem, among others. However, the most exciting requirement of the game was to put make up on one of our male team members. Eamon and Cisco were gentlemanly enough to rise to the occasion. When our judges declared that they couldn’t decide who won and that Eamon and Cisco would have to settle the competition, they both brought some serious heat. Eamon ended up with his shirt off, Backer style, and Cisco quickly followed. It was a completely random and hilarious way to end our time at Vida Verde. Before we left the school, we were each awarded a certificate stating the level of Spanish we had reached. I felt pretty proud of my “C1” level, considering I started at level A1, and could only have advanced one level more. I feel extremely grateful for the time I had at Vida Verde. Learning languages has always been something I really enjoy, and I do not know if I will ever have an opportunity like this again.

Saying bye to my host family was also difficult. They told me such nice things as, “You have a family here in Ecuador now,” and “Please come back and visit.” My host mom woke up at 5 A.M. this morning to make me a fresh fruit juice and fruit salad before I took off and sent me with a package of her homemade granola, which is my favorite. I thought both of those things were really sweet. I grew pretty attached to my host family; they were so sweet and made me feel so at home here in Quito. To remember my time in Quito, here is a list of random Quiteña things:

1. Parque Carolina—A very popular park not too far from my house where I ran on occasion. It offered some beautiful views of the surrounding mountains and there were always Ecuadorians just hanging out and enjoying themselves. On occasion, we also dabbled in some pick-up basketball there.

2. Gigantes—We were all giants in Ecuador. The average height there must be significantly shorter than in the US. Greg was haply nicknamed El Monton.

3. Coconutsicles—Not sure if they’re really called this, but these coconut flavored ice cream pops with real coconut shavings were incredible.

4. Sushi—Considering Quito is in South America, it’s interesting that I ate more sushi in my two months there than ever before in my life. This is because my host sister, Sofi, is a chef and hand made sushi. No big deal.

5. Buses—Riding buses in Ecuador was always an experience. They were ridiculously cheap, ridiculously overcrowded, and usually at least one vendor would hop on the bus to try to sell something during the course of a ride. One time, a man came on with a boom box and started rapping.

6. My Ecuadorian Gym—Yes, I did have a short membership in an Ecuadorian gym, where the incline on all of the treadmills didn’t work and sometimes the speed of the treadmill would never work past a certain pace.

7. Finn McCools—The local gringo bar where we enjoyed such novelties as trivia night (second place, thank you very much), a pirate party to celebrate Cisco’s birthday, and ND game watches.

8. I’m sure there are a ton of random memories I am missing. I realize this list is completely random. I’ll be honest, it’s more for me to remember these things than for you to get any entertainment reading about them.

Now about going to Chile. HOW FREAKING EXCITING! I will finally get to figure out what my life is going to be like for the next year and a half. When we get into Santiago today, we will be picked up by two current ChACErs and Esteban, who is a long-time friend of ChACE and Father Scully. We’ll spend the night in a hotel tonight, eat dinner at the ChACE apartment with the current ChACErs, and hopefully get acquainted with some Chilean wine. Tomorrow, we’ll get to see our schools, meet our host family, and so the good life begins. For now, I miss all of you and am excited to update you soon!

Ais and I on the plane from Lima to Chile. YAYY!