this is where i live.

kinda boring, but haven't taken many photos yet... this is something that will change soon. 

mi dormitorio.

view from my bedroom window.

this is the view from my host family's living room... not too shabby.

 

goals.

one of our assignments for today was to journal about our goals for this year. why not make it a blog post, thought she. 

the decision to move abroad, for me, has been a long time coming. from the moment i set foot outside of my native country when i was 19, i could appreciate the value and see the importance of understanding and embracing other cultures. after two years of working in corporate america - a place that i am thankful to have lived in, but happy to be out of - i knew it was time for me to move on to something different completely. 

my reasons for coming here are endless: for an adventure, to learn spanish, to get out of my bubble, to just experience something new, to name a few.  but when i sit down to think about what i really want to get out of living here, in quito, ecuador, for eleven months, the list becomes quite different. yes, i want to learn spanish. yes, i am excited for the adventure. but there is much more i hope to accomplish while i am here, and while the list is shorter, the weight is much, much greater. my goals, if you will, are: 

1. to gain a true and deep understanding of the culture: to live among the people and live like them; to embrace all aspects of their culture while i am here, including the ones that i adore (a lackadaisical concept of time and a completely flexible schedule), as well as the ones i may never get used to (adults living with their parents until they get married, even if that means age 42). 

2. to stretch myself: if anything, living in a foreign place and speaking a foreign language will be challenging. it's one of those things that you can only prepare so much for, and eventually just have to go for it. kinda like diving into a river you've never swam in before... there's no telling what's below the surface, but your instinct tells you it is marvelous so you jump in anyway. 

3. to find more direction: my hope is that this year will help me to more clearly define what it is that i want to do with the rest of my life. part of the reason i came here was because i am interested in international affairs, relations and development and possibly want to pursue a graduate degree in one of those fields. i think spending some time internationally will push me in one way or the other, either feeding the passion or starving it. 

4. lastly, to make a difference: if i could help better just one person's life while i am here, i will be happy. 

"sometimes life just leads to the next thing and the next thing, and each one of those things brings us a little more to life, taps into a few more parts of us that were previously untapped. but every once in a while life opens up wide and drenches us, like getting hit by a wave and tumbled, and when we come up for are we see that it is offering to us something extraordinary."  -- shauna niequist

day one.

i just picked up a wireless network, so i am taking advantage! i wrote this on my first night.

6/28/08

i have arrived! my host family - Rocio and Ernesto - have been so great so far. Rocio, the mom, is a little bubble of joy and Ernesto is just as nice as can be. I got to their house about 8:00 pm tonight. About an hour later, two more American girls arrived. In hindsight, I'm positive that both Rocio and Ernesto explained this to meat the airport on the way home... one of the many statements i smiled and nodded to, simply responding with, "ah. si. ok." while having no idea what they were saying. 

i'm relieved to know that the two girls speak english, but also happy to see that they are speaking almost exclusively spanish to each other and even to me. their names are lauren and amanda, and they have both just finished their freshman year at Yale, both pre-med. I do not feel unintelligent. 

after making some conversation with them, fluttering in and out of spanish, i slide back into my room to rest for a few minutes. i feel slightly awkward, not knowing whether to continue chatting to leave them alone. one thing is certain: i have to get over looking or feeling stupid in my novice attempts to speak a language i do not know and just do my best. talk about swallowing your pride. 

later, Rocio popped into my room to ask if i would like a sandwich, but was immediately onto more important matters - what kind of perfume was i wearing?! she said she liked it and asked what it was called. i told her "gucci" and showed her the bottle for good measure. she even asked me how much it cost and i think where i got it... i did my best to explain: appriximo cincuenta dolares y tienda de departamenta tienen. i realize that i am totally giving away my ignorance here,  but i think it will be funny to look back on. pride has been swallowed. 

besides, i have already memorized a few key statements NOT to say. so far, estoy embarazada, which sounds strikingly like i'm embarassed but means i'm pregnant. 

anyway, she asked me what i like, offering "jamon" as an option. figuring i probably wouldn't recognize any other sandwich fillings and not wanting to be high-maintenance, i immediately said, "si, jamon. gracias." who am i to be picky?

as we eat our sandwiches and sip on hot tea, Rocio and Ernesto are the perfect hosts. the five of us have a lovely conversation, even if i only understood every fifth word and contribute even less. before the evening is over two more girls are introduced: Linda, a senior at some college in Idaho who has been studying here since february and leaves this week, and Ana Maria, Rocio and Ernesto's youngest hija, around 19. both greet us with the half-euro kiss - one cheek only. 

i like it here. i like the ivy-outta-my-leagues, Linda and Ana Maria are very sweet and Rocio and Ernesto could not be more hospitable. i can already see that Quito has a lot to offer and i cannot wait to explore it.

"the purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience." -- Eleanor Roosevelt

gratitude.

tomorrow at 8:20 a.m. my flight will take off for quito. i cannot believe its here! the past week has been a whirlwind of packing, moving, organizing, and preparing, and I have had little time to actually process what is happening tomorrow: i am moving to another country. i am super excited and could not be more assured in my decision to move... an assurance that i owe in part to my friends and family who have been incredibly supportive. 

i'm not sure that i can think of another time in my life when i have felt more loved and valued by the people around me. i have received scrapbooks, dvds, and letters from friends commemorating some really great times we've had together so far. thank you, friends, for making me feel so icnredibly loved. i love you too. 

the sched.

I work on 8-week cycles, with time off in between. These are the weeks I'll be working:

August 11—October 3, 2008
October 13—December 10, 2008
January 12—March 10
2009March 23—May 19, 2009

Meaning, I want to travel in the off weeks. Here's what I'm thinking:

October 3-13... LC is coming! Peru?
December 10-January 12... going home for Christmas. Come back early for Argentina?
March 10-March 23... spring break in the Galapagos? yes please.
May 19 on... going somewhere before I come home. Chile? Brazil? hmmmm.

Clearly, I will need some travel companions. Interested?

relatively speaking...

the inaugural post.

the obligatory explanation of this blog: to share with anyone who is interested about my life in ecuador. i'm moving to quito on june 28th, where i will teach english, travel the continent, and attempt to learn to speak spanish with some sort of fluency. could get interesting.

why relatively speaking?

well, i'm pretty sure there is going to be a lot of relativity in the next year of my life. i'll have a relative idea of where i am, relatively know how to ask for something, have some sort of relative plan for my future, and have reasons for moving abroad that are relatively applicable to that plan.

the decision to move abroad, for me, did not make complete sense. but i never really was one for logic (i'm a feeler rather than a thinker - thank you, briggs-meyers). over the years, i've noticed a pattern in the way God works in my life: he shows me the next step, maybe the next few steps, if i'm lucky. i just can't see the whole road. and i like the adventure of not knowing what's next. it keeps life interesting and faith active. a familiar phrase comes to mind:

the heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.

so, i'll happily let my plans be relative, and pray that the Lord will establish each and every one of my steps.


“It's like driving a car at night. You never see further than your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” -E.L. Doctorow