Monday, October 17
So, I’m sick again- gotta love it. When I’m sick I have a lot of time to think. I’ve been in bed since ten o’clock this morning; my sister suggested I try to sleep it off. It’s one o’clock now. I slept for about two hours but just couldn’t sum up enough energy to get out of bed (but I do feel better!). So, I’ve made lists in my head that I am now writing down just because I ran out of lists to make. Whether you care or not, here are my sick lists:
Things I love about Ecuador (have to start out on a good note, of course):
1. My families- both in Quito and here in Yambiro
2. Quito- which is weird, I’m generally not a big-city person, but Quito is da bomb-diggity (ha)
3. My kindergarten class
4. Living on a farm
5. Having a lot of younger siblings (having a lot of siblings in general)
6. Lots of places to explore
7. Really nice, caring people (from what I’ve experienced)
8. Having a view literally everywhere you look
9. Cuy (guinea pig), bread, rice, fruit, potatoes, crackers, and Trix cereal (it is my comfort food)
10. Not being constantly connected to the rest of the world
Things I’m not loving so much:
1. Not understanding a lot of what’s going on most of the time
2. Being sick a lot
3. Being cold (pretty much all the time. The other morning I could see my breath before I even got out of bed)
4. Missing home (happens when you have time to think)
5.Waking up early (or, earlier than I would like)
6. Always going uphill (not really, but it seems like it)
7. I’m not too big on the colada (common soup-like food in indigenous communities made of corn)
8. Not being able to express myself easily
9. Not being constantly connected to the rest of the world (ha)
10 … can’t think of one right now…
Things I want to accomplish while I’m here:
1. Spanish! (I already know I won’t be fluent {or anything close to it} by April, but I would like to be able to have conversations with my family, students, and co-workers without too much trouble)
2. Make a difference in my kid’s education (meaning my kindergarten class)
3. Get used to the food, maybe learn some yummy recipes
4. Start an English class (and be able to talk with my students in English)
5. Start a computer class (possibly)
6. Clean up the school
7. Make lasting relationships in my community (it’d be nice to come back and visit sometime ☺)
8. Get to know Otavalo as well as (or better than) I’ve gotten to know Quito
9. Make other kids from New Smyrna interested in taking gap years (Global Citizen Year, anyone?!)
10 … 10 just isn’t a good number for me, it would seem…
Things I want when I go back home:
1. To come back to Ecuador
2. Grandma’s waffles
3. Denny’s (I’ve already told my aunt I want to stop at Denny’s on the way home from the airport, even though it’s going to be like… midnight I think)
4. To go to the beach!
5. A whopper (they have BK here, but it’s really expensive :{ )
6. To see all of my friends
7. To not be sick for a VERY long time
8. Road trip to visit all my Global Citizen Year friends
9. I don’t know why Winn-Dixie just popped into my head, but yeahh I want to go back to work (shh!)
10. DAIRY QUEEN!
11. Easy breathing (this altitude is no joke)
12. My aunt’s desserts (esp cheesecake mm-mm)
13. My clothes (the rest of them)
14. Tacos
15. Internet (guess 10 wasn’t such a hard number after all)
I feel like there was another one, but I can’t think of it now, so it must not have been that exciting to me.
