Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Adios, Quito

Ahhhhhhh....

It's coming to an end. I leave on Thursday afternoon. It's hard to say goodbye to the folks who have helped me form my life here, but I'm ready to go home. I'm ready to be with my family and friends, eat good food, enjoy the surroundings and everything I've missed about California and the US of A.

It will of course be hard to leave, but maybe not as tough as I was expecting. It helps that my social calendar is filling up as we speak. Job? uhhh, I'll think about that later.

Tomorrow (my last day) it's one last visit to the center (Centro del Muchacho Trabajador, where I worked last year). I might enjoy a good ceviche or something else Ecuadorian, but it'll be a mostly quiet day of packing and goodbyes.

So, it's time to go. Thanks for everything, Quito. ¡Chao!

love,
Marian

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Vilcabamba


I travelled to the "valley of longevity" with Mary, Tasha, and Chrissy. Vilcabamba is known for its elderly population. Something in the water, they say, gives folks the ability to live longer (we're talking 100, even 130 years old as the legend goes, though I don't know if that's true or just a little local embellishment. Do I really care? No, because everyone in town is so proud of the 130-year-old man.)

Beautiful sierra, much different from Quito. Hiking, horseback riding (galloping, really. I was scared...) pool lounging, World Cup watching. It was a great vacation.





Chrissy asked me to join her for open mic night at a bar, so I did. Our fans included 5 friends and the bartender.



That's all for know. Wish me luck in my last weeks. I return on July 29 and though I'm excited to see family and friends, it's going to be hard to leave. More thoughts on that later...

Oh yeah, ¡Feliz 4th of July!

much love, M