Que Vacan!

I just returned from my most epic Ecuadorian adventure yet (I realize I've only been here 2 weeks, but it was just so much awesome packed into one 5 day weekend). My friends Francesca and Maite from Yellowstone invited me to their home in Santo Domingo for the weekend, and I jumped at the chance to explore and see things with nice friends. They live on their uncle's farm (chickens and produce) outside of Santo Domingo, so it was very peaceful and beautiful. Their family welcomed me with warm hospitality, and I am very blessed to have been able to spend time with and learn from such a beautiful family. I felt like I was a part of their family, even though I barely knew them. Remember that special drink "colada morada" that I blogged about last time? Well they taught me how to make it AND I helped decorate for Christmas.

Now, I did a lot of awesome things this weekend, and so let me get to the juicy stuf (in order of occurrence, not in order of awesomeness). Interesting and fun things I did include: going out with more Yellowstone friends for emapanadas in Santo Domingo, Colada Morada making/learning, lots of sleeping (10 hours a night on average) and waking up to birds singing outside my window, swimming in an outdoor pool (I love the weather here!), eating lots of delicious home-made food, going out to my friend Felipe's family's discoteca - "clubbling", if you will. tehe. I was kind of nervous to go out, because, quite frankly, I have no rhythm and I cannot dance. BUT I explained this to my friends ahead of time, and they were super nice about it. They taught me a few things and encouraged me and it was actually really fun. We also went to a farm one day where we saw cute little piggies, ugly ducks, rode a horse, and ate sugar cane. I could feel my teeth rotting with every bite, but it was just so nommy. Yesterday I went with Maite, Felipe, and his family to a magical place called Mindo. We rode in a cable cart across a canyon forest thingy to arrive at some trail-heads that lead to waterfalls galore. We hiked and swam, and played in the waterfalls. And for those of you who know me well, and/or read my Yelllowstone blog - rest assured that I kept the tradition alive - I did in fact pee in these water falls. The one in particular was called "Cascada Madre" hehe... how fiitting. I also met some Argentinian gypsy people at Mindo that are driving in a van from Argentina to Alaska, which was pretty cool. At Mindo we also rode on Zip lines and I met a precious 9 year-old who spotted me as a foreigner and was quick to befriend me - a little burst of sunshine. And today, before we left to return to Quito, Wandember (another Yellowstone friend) took Francesca, Maite, and me to see some indigenous people "Tsachila Tolon Pele" that wear colorful skirts and paint their skins. It was pretty sick.

The whole trip was just loaded with awesome, and I learned a lot and rested a lot. Tomorrow classes start up again, and I will begin teaching! forward ho, I spose :)