Little Bit On the "Weird" Side

I have been back in the states for two full days. It's been an smooth but somewhat sad re-entry process for me. My students are all with family, which is great and perfect for their re-entry. I'm however in a weird limbo state. Being in Indiana, away from my family in Texas, had to force me to suck it up and reflect on my own. I purposely choose to go this route before I'm rejoined with my family. I knew, from past experiences, that I would be a little bit on the "weird" side after a trip like this.

This trip has helped me faced some hard stuff about growing up. I had to face some old skeleton's in the closet. I had to think fast on my feet. I had to get the courage to confront some things. I had to continue to learn how to be patient. There's was a lot of things...I had to learn to do.

I loved Ecuador. I had an overall amazing trip. I already miss the people, my host family, and the country. People have been asking me if I will be back...my response: "whatever God has planned".

So if I write one heck of a report to my boss, who knows what will happen.

Cuenca, I Shall Miss...

Today I arrived in the good land of the US of A, and yet, it's weird. Thank you, jet lag for contributing to the weird factor. Of course, I had to drink up a good Starbucks to fully regain my gringa-ness. Oh yes, tis so sweet.





Cuenca, I shall miss your beautiful historic buildings. Your history and hidden beauties.











Cuenca, I shall miss your Fruitilados pistachio ice cream. Not only was it for about a dollar, but it was a tast of bliss. Life became a little easier for in that short span. Yes, the Land of Up does provide a little bit of happiness with Ivanhoe's...but it's not Fruitilado's. Hands down.







Cuenca, I shall miss my familia-Cuenca and all the love they have poured into my life.

Hello the Land of Up, you are providing me a sweet welcome of pretty sunsets and health-nut sundae's from Ivanhoes.

Re-entry sucks.

My Modern Art Experience

Yesterday I got to visit the Museo de Arte Moderno which is located at the south side of the Plaza de San Sebastian. Here's a little history lesson for y'all...according to the Lonely Planet: Ecuador & the Galapagos Islands: "In 1739, when this plaza was still used for bullfights, it was a mob of cuencanos (folks from Cuenca)--not the bull--who mauled a member of La Condamine's geodesic expediction here, apparently because of an affair with a local woman." Well, that's not the first time I have heard some silly happened all because of a woman.

The museum was once a home for the insane and mentally ill. It's a pretty sweet place with many different sizes of rooms, which were perfect for different art works that required their own room. Of course, there were some art pieces that took me a while to figure out what the heck they were expressing. Then there were some others that I just completely gave up on. It was interesting to see how art is displayed in a different culture...yet I found that there was some similarities. People are displaying different emotions that are feeling inside. Others are simply on a mission to express a message. Others just want to do art. Funny, I feel like everyone does that everywhere.






To recover from my modern art experience, I decided to treat myself to one of the best chocolate covered strawberries ever. Not only was this friendly to my budget, but my taste buds jumped for joy at this event.






Coming home from a day exploring Cuenca, I found this little surprise in the middle of hallway. Primo-Cuenca was so focused on his drawing that he didn't even look up or notice anything. He made want to come to that age where you didn't have responsibilites to face.



By the way, primo-Cuenca looks cute now...but just wait when you meet him in person ;)


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

USA won today. It was an emotional day for us gringos...but we are ok. Thank you, Donovan, for scoring at the 91st minute, while we were all holding our breath and crossing our fingers. You can check out the goal we were waiting for here. (Picture taken from the Huffington Post sports website)

My Morning Walk...I shall miss you

This is how Lima spends her mornings...

After hitting the snooze button a couple of times, I finally struggle out of bed. I pop in my contacts and stumble my way to the shower. I stare at my clothes for what seems for an eternity while deciding what I should wear. Everyday I have spent in Ecuador, I have managed to wear a scarf. (It's freaking cold in the June/July months). Finally, after being clothed, I shuffle my way towards the kitchen table where a lovely cup of coffee awaits my presence. Ah yes, the sun begins to shine, the birds begin to chirp, and life begins to start at this moment. Thank you, mama-Cuenca for waking up to make me this cup of joy.


After having my pan con cafe, I run to my room grab my bag and head out the door for my daily walk to work/church where students take classes. Everyday I walk about 20 minutes and it's always an adventure. There always seem to be a couple of street dogs that like to stare at me like I'm there lunch. Some follow behind me and linger and then leave. Others like to bark at me like I was going to attack them. Either way, I usually survive the attack of the street dogs.
Not only am I greeted by the street dogs, but I usually get a honk or two and a whistle or a lovely shout from the morning traffic. Even though it could be flattering, I prefer to not let the machismo "compliments" interrupt my morning walk.

I always look forward to my morning walks. It's just me, Cuecna, and my thoughts...and the occasion random surprise. I get my heart pumping with the tiny hill that I have to walk up (Thank you, altitude). I also have a chance to catch some amazing views that neither Indiana or Texas has. Sometimes I just stop for a second or two and just stare....then a local would stop and stare me.

Ah yes, my morning walk...I shall miss you. You are good for my health. You help me adjust to the altitude. You provided the street dogs some entertainment. You gave me some great sights to see. Please come back with me to the "land of Up"...the cornfields are not as good to me as you are.

Well, I shall go and get my winning prize from my bet with papa-Cuenca. Urugauy won which means that I get some good chocolate, Mexico lost which means papa-Cuenca doesn't get his banana split. Oh, the harsh life...

Thank you, little pink pill

Before I continue on I would like to say a be-lated Happy Papa's Day to my Papa Lima. (Don't worry, I actually did call him on the phone yesterday and i also had to wait till today to post.) Thank you, Papa Lima, for all that you have done for me. You taught me: how to really watch sports, that it's ok with society to dance around the house, how to play chess, to kick the Christmas tree when it doesn't cooperate with you, how to feed my sweet tooth, how to learn from your mistakes, how to change a tire, how to drive standard, that traveling to different countries is the bomb.com, to chase after my dream, that family always comes first, that singing on top of your lungs in the shower is the normal thing to do, how to love God before anything else, to serve others, how to eat with a knife and fork, how to whisle, how to work hard for your money, and how to love your family even when they are not perfect. Gracias, Papi.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, it’s official…I have gotten sick on this trip. The lovely event happened Thursday night with abdominal pain that hurt so much that I thought I was about to give birth (I base this statement on what has been told to me. I’m sure giving birth is the highest level of pain. Props to all the mama’s out there). The stomach tearing apart pain lasted into the wee hours of the morning until I finally took the magic little pink pill. I slept all day Friday with still some pain. Saturday I felt 75% better but the sad part is that I missed the Cajas trip with my students. It was wise that I would stay in bed than rather be passed out on the trial clenching my stomach.
At this time I would like to give out some acknowledgements to those who have kept me company throughout this frustrating time in bed:

• Thank you, little pink pill, for being the savior of the tearing apart stomach pains. When I thought my stomach was going to explode, you came in with your pinkness and make the pains not hurt so much.

• Thank you, ipod, for playing my chillax playlist. The melodies of Ingrid, the shins, Iron & Wine, Snow Patrol, The Fray and many more friends have had some assistance to calm me down during the stomach tearing apart moments.

• Thank you, TV, for providing three important channels: one that shows all the World Cup games and highlights; another that plays English and Spanish music videos; and lastly one that shows Spanish soap operas at night. Now I feel up to date on: my World Cup facts, who’s hot or not in the music biz, and that Maria has been sleeping with Paco’s bestfriend.

• Thank you, tea, for being the chosen drink of the weekend. Not only have I been having two cups of you every day for the past three weeks, but this weekend you have really shined through. I have lost count of the number of cups I have drank of you, but I’m pretty sure I’m developing an British accent and my pee smells like you.

• Thank you, Bible, through your Holy words you remind how small I am and how great my Savior is.

• Thank you, bed, for being my best friend this weekend. Since we have been cuddling so much, I took a shower just for you.

• Thank you, journal, for letting me vent out my frustrations but also providing a space for me just to be me and draw.

• Thank you, big window in my room, for letting the sun shine on me. I appreciate it since I haven’t seen the outside world in days.

• Thank you, Mark Buchanan, for writing The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath (Ironic, huh?). Not only is this book was perfect timing while I was forced to rest this weekend, but you are challenging me to change my mind about Sabbath.

• Thank you, familia-Cuenca, for letting me wake you up in the middle of night when it felt like an alien was going to pop out of my belly. You sat at my bed side at 2am, made me 10 million cups of tea, made me eat the nasty soup even when I fought back, check on me while I slept, prayed over me, played salsa music to cheer me up, watched Spanish soap operas and laughed with me. I am beyond blessed on having your care and love during this nasty time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Since I had time this weekend to really enjoy the World Cup games, I took the liberty of jotting down a couple of my favorite things about the World Cup that makes the whole singding the shiznit:

• I love it when they replay fouls, red/yellow cards, goals, or what could have goals…they make it all slow motion. I love the looks on the players face. It’s either they are constipated or are in immense pain. Also, making everything slow motion makes the players seem that they are faking or pansies. I know that it’s all real and it hurts like a mother when you get cleated in the shins but life is funnier when there is slow motion.

• They also show the coaches reaction to whenever there is a foul, what should have been a foul, yellow/red card, goals or what could have been goals. Again, it’s all the in slow motion. These little clips cracks me up because you can make out the words coming out of their mouths, which are not really gentleman like. The majority of the coaches look like they are mad at the world.

• I love it when the “underdog” comes out on top or really gives the other team a game to play. Not only makes the games more interesting but you get to see the other team scramble around and freak out that they might lose the game. For example, the Algeria and England game. Poor Brit’s thought it was an easy win, hands down. It’s like a humbling thing.

• I think it’s funny that whenever a player gets called on a foul and/or yellow/red card they put on this innocent look on their faces and throw their hands up. Of course, refs are not perfect and call some stuff that I swear they pull out of their butts. But when the ref makes a good call and the player knows full well what they did and act all innocent…I just laugh at their silliness.

• I love the thrill feeling you get when someone shoots for a goal and you feel three things: 1) pure adrenaline rush of the excitement that your team is about to score, 2) fear because the other team is about to score and that is the worst feeling in the world…other than childbirth, or 3) if you are impartial of whoever wins, you still have this adrenaline “yes, some one is about to score”. That’s when you know you love futbol.

• I giggle every time I hear the very beginning of Shakira’s Waka Waka song. It sounds like a man burping.

• When watching a game in Spanish and someone is about to score, they get louder and about to say the famous “gooooaall”. It’s like they are warming up. When they don’t make the goal they just say the last word of their sentence when the same loud tone of the “goooaaaallll”. So if you have the game on in the other room, sometimes you are not really sure that they actually scores a goal or not.

• I’m amazed of how in shape these players. I know they have to be but if you think about it…it’s intense. It’s pure sprinting for 90 minutes and then you have to kick a ball while keeping it away from the other team by using good footwork…lot’s of multi-tasking if you asking me.

• I like seeing the different color cleats each player has. The most “out there” color I have seen is lime green so far. I’m waiting for one of them to have a fuchsia or hot pink color.

• Thursday I was walking through down town Cuenca to meet some of my students at Fruitilado’s. I was running late because I was trying to finish watching the France vs. Mexico game but when I left my house it was still 0-0. When I passed a news stand, they had a mini-tv set up and I was able to catch the end of the game with 5 old men. They all looked at me for a second and saw how engrossed I was in the game and gave me a nod of approval. Despite your citizenship, race, gender, or age, you are automatically cool in Latin America if you are avid World Cup watcher.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm sad to say that this week is my last week here in Ecuador. Sad, I know. Since I kind of lost a weekend, I'm planning of soaking in every minute I have left of Ecuador, which includes my familia-Cuenca. Like I always tell my students, your experience with your host family can either make it or break it. Yes, you can't really control your host familly's actions but you do have some influence over your experience. I can already tell that the majority of my students are building strong relationships with their host families. Well, since it's my last week here...I'm just planning on focusing on the here and now.

"Lima, imagine if this was your house?"

Pregunta: Have you ever seen tie-dyed bell peppers?...me neither. I had to take a picture. I love bell peppers and green/yellow...therefore, I was super excited. Don't worry it's not real die...it's how they really are. Ecuador is awesome.


Yesterday, after work, I met up with the rest of my students during their culture class hour. After grabbing a pitsachio (yummers) ice-cream cone at Fruitilados, we went to Eduardo Vega's ceramic art gallery. This culture class field trip is the best one so far. Yes, it may have to do that we went to an art gallery(me + art = love)...but the art pieces were amazing. The students were amazed at the beauty and uniqueness of creativity of E.Vega. Vega is orginally from Cuenca but went to Europe to study art, but eventually Vega returned to his roots in Cuenca to continue his career in art. In 1973, Vega started his ceramic art business in Cuenca and then his name Vega became popular. By incorporating what he learned during his time internationally and with Cuenca culture, Vega has become a well-known creative artist in Ecuador. You can see his works at different historical places througout the city of Cuenca.

I immediately fell in love with Vega's work when we walked into the gallery. Vega uses a lot of earth colors with splashes of bright color. Vega also has a unique way to use shapes and texture to his work. I took advantage of the place and bought my loved ones some gifts. I wish fly to Houston right now just to give my mom her gift and then come right back...yes, that's how awesome it is. Let's just say I was walking around the gallery with my eyes drooling over the ceramic pieces. I was so engrossed in Vega's work that the Spanish professor had to literally drag me out of the gallery.

Also the view from the gallery was breath taking. One of my student's asked me: "Lima, imagine if this was your house?" I couldn't answer...that's how much I was in love with the place.


And yes, I splurged and got this beautiful tree tile for myself. (Mel, you should be jumping up and down for joy since this is going in our apartment) I had two main reasons why I couldn't leave without this piece: 1) I love trees...they are my favorite and 2) I love the color green...and 3) Art makes me drool with bliss...can't you see the twinkle in my eye. (I know I said I had two main reason but I figured the third was a given)

Ecuador + Art + Students = a very happy Lima.

ps~I was really...really....really bummed and a little shocked at Spain's loss yesterday. What was that all about? Also, Nigeria is killing me...I had hopes for them. Lastly, I'm torn who to cheer for in the France vs. Mexico....France, maybe?

Today is Flag Day

While the rest of the world was watching the France vs. Uruguay game, I was watching an live intense soccer game. At Yes, those are children. And yes, it was that intense. They had a ref and called yellow cards...there was even a red card. I loved it. I found myself shouting and yelling. Mama-Cuenca made fun of me.







I'm pretty sure these children could out play me any day. Besides from being out of shape and the high altitude, they had skills. In Latin America, the love for futbol starts when the child starts walking. It was interesting that the boys who didn't play were the ones hanging out with girls, you can see the seperation. I was ok with missing the France game...this was more entertaining.

I think in these past two weeks or so, I have eatten more hot dogs that I normally do in a year. They taste so amazing. It's funny what kinds of foods you miss while you are outside the states. In Costa Rica it was Cracker Jacks and I never eat them in the states. Normally, I would boycott a hot dog. Now when I'm offered a hot dog here....boom, I'm all over that sucker. Maybe being in Latin American makes me crave baseball food...who knows???

Another thing I miss about being in Latin America is how awesome birthday parties are. With futbol, food, loud music, and contests of who can shake their hips the best, birthday parties are a reason to celebrate life. Hermana-Cuenca and I had a blast shaking our hips and blowing our whistles.

It's World Cup fever here among my students and the Ecuadorians. (Note: my posts for the next couple of weeks will have a shout out to the World Cup) On Saturday, we all got together at a student's house to watch the USA vs. England game. We went gringo and order some good Pizza Hut and drank some Coke. During the national athem, I stood proudly for my country with my right hand over my heart. And yes, my students made fun of me. It was great to get together, talk in English, eat food covered in cheese, and make sarcastic jokes at the silly goals England and USA made.

My familia-Cuenca like calls me "La Waka Waka" now...since I would practice my Shakira moves around the house every now and then.

Today is Flag Day...and this morning I woke up with this song with my head, Wave Your Flag. Weird, I know. This song is a good picture of the patriotic pride and passion that we have in our countries. If you listen to the lyrics, they are a little political. Despite the hardships that the majority of the countries in the World Cup have, the World Cup is what provides hope and chance to work towards a goal (no pun intended). Yes, it's just a game...but it's more than that.

Now....wave your flag.

This time for [South] Africa

There has been talk about how there may be a tendency to assume that the World Cup of South Africa is the realistic picture of the continent of Africa. Maybe the Shakira's lyrics should be changed to "this time for [South] Africa". Africa is a continent with several different countries with their own culture and traditions. One day I will make my way to that continent...*squeezes eyes shut and clicks heels*...one day.

For those who more of an indepth picture of South Africa check out The Bicycle Portraits.

"The Bicycle Portraits project was initiated by Stan Engelbrecht (Cape Town, South Africa) and Nic Grobler (Johannesburg, South Africa) early in 2010. Whenever they can, together or separately, they’re on the lookout for fellow commuters, and people who use bicycles as part of their everyday work, to meet and photograph. They’re finding out who rides bicycles, why they ride bicycles, if and why they love their bicycles, and of course why so few South Africans choose bicycles as a transport option. There is no specific range of questions asked, they'd rather just establish a conversation around the rider’s life and where his or her bicycle fits into it." ~Quote & picture taken from The Bicycle Portraits website

"Why we are doing this...

As you'll see we are not photographing people who ride purely for exercise or recreation, but instead we are focussing on those who use bicycles as an integral tool in their day-to-day existence. We've noticed that in South Africa, especially in the major centers, very few people use bicycles as mode of transport. This is very strange since we have no proper public transport infrastructure, and that which does exist is expensive and unsafe. Given all the benefits of cycling - independence, fitness, cost-effectiveness, environmentally friendly - we would love to encourage the use of bicycles in South Africa amongst all social classes.

We've noticed that as our major centers develop there still seems to be a trend to make cities more friendly for cars, not people. While this might be happening in many places around the world the effect on individuals seems to be very dramatic in a country like South Africa, where there is a growing divide between those who can afford motorised transport and those who struggle to. Owning a bicycle in this social climate can be very empowering, if the correct infrastructure exists.

As you might know, South Africa is a world within one country, home to various cultures, with a tragic history of segregation and racism. Through this project we hope to give people a glimpse into each other lives through a well known object of movement, practicality and joy - the bicycle. Looking at individuals through their, sometimes unconscious, involvement in bicycle culture, we will inadvertently touch on many charged issues like the implementation of public space, lack of infrastructure development and also social problems like class division and unequal wealth distribution, but also perhaps bring those unfamiliar to each other together in their love for a simple thing...

Our long term goal...

Through publishing this book, we want to be able to assist the underprivileged cycling community through our project - be it teaching bicycle maintenance skills, providing necessities like helmets, tires, tubes, locks… It would be great to create a support structure for the people who appear in the book - this could be a trust funded by a percentage from sales of the cover price, or a charity set up in the name of the people who appear in the book etc. Ultimately we want to promote cycling as a means of independent transport to empower the underprivileged, and in fact, to encourage everyone capable to ride a bike as an alternative to driving a car, or even using public transport. We hope that this will lead to the kind of infrastructure development that is designed with all people in mind, not just cars." ~ Picture taken from The Bicycle Portraits website; Quote taken from The Bicycle Portraits Kickstarter page

If you pledge to help fund this project, you are essentially pre-ordering a book. To pledge or to get more information check out their Kickstarter page.

Maybe I Should Get Papa Lima on Twitter

It's crazy how different it feels to actually have leisure time in the evenings. It feels amazing that I can flip through a magazine while rocking out on my ipod without the pressure of homework waiting for me. Wow...is this how it feels to actually have a life outside papers, thesis and group projects. Shoooooot, I should do this more often. Ah, the bliss of flipping through a magazine, listening to Pitbull and let my barefeet be exposed to the world.







The World Cup is in 2 days and I'm getting pumped. I'm currently leg kicking and fist pumping in the air...that's how excited I am. I would have to give credit to the World Cup for the quality time I spend with my dad, Aka: Papa Lima. I can remember when Papa Lima first introduced me to the awesomeness of the World Cup.

Boom. My life was never the same.

I would run around the house singing "ole, ole, ole" and "gooooooooooooooooooaaaaalllll" at the top of my lungs. My mom, aka: Mama Lima, was always puzzled that I would prefer to watch men running around after a ball rather than play house with my Barbies. Papa Lima loved it. I also started a dislike for the Brazilian team at a young age. (Don't worry, I don't hate them anymore. I'm still deciding who I'm actually cheering for. Of course, I'll cheer for USA but let's be honest...I need a backup team. I can be like the Ecuadorian's here and go for Argentina....or not. I can't go for Italy because everyone and their mom is going for them now. Lame. Well, let's see how it goes...I'll keep y'all posted...as if you cared). Since I'm here in Ecuador for the first few weeks of the World Cup, Papa Lima and I will have to rely on Skype and emails to discuss/argue about who fouled who and why. Maybe I should get Papa Lima on Twitter...hmmmm. I'm beyond excited to get to Houston to sit by Papa Lima, eatting Mama Lima's burritos and yelling Spanglish at the tv.

Thank you World Cup, for being one of our common interests and creating a father-daughter bond that I cherished so deeply now.

I think it's time to sing "WAKA, WAKA...this time for Africa..." (Please note the beautiful picture of diversity at the end of the video. Awesome.)



Go Shakira...by the way, you are on my list of people I want to be when I grow up....because you can move those hips like ya...

Try Climbing Those Suckers

Well, friends and family, the moment has come for the proof of Lima eatting cuy. Yes, that's right. I finally have the pictures and internet to post these lovely documentations of me eatting guinea pig. Boom.

You remember the before shot of a furry little cute looking thing?...

...afterwards, there he is and there I am...freaking out. Apparently in my head, I thought that at any moment, he would have come back to life.

Then I took the plunge and took a bite of the cuy. Yes, I ate it. It was chewy and salty. I did not like it at all. It was probably the most terrifiying food experience I have ever had. I was shaking...that's how much I was freaking out. My students got a kick out of watching me freaking out touching the cuy. For the rest of the night I filled myself with potatoes and mote (a corn type food).

Well, now I can check that off the bucket list...check.
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~

Saturday morning my host family and I took an adventure to Paute. My family is buying property to continue to build their business. This has been our lives for the past week of business talks and meetings at the banks. Finally, I was able to see the land that the family has been buzzing about. The property is huge. The scenery is breathtaking. The house is beautiful with all of these hidden antique features. I will retell my lovely Saturday through picture form...(These pictures don’t do justice of providing a glimpse of the place but it will have to do).

The property is located on a mountain, so numerous set of stairs were found all over the place. Here’s one set that I thought looked pretty cool. Try climbing those suckers…thank you, altitude....I can never breath again.

Mama-Cuenca, Abuelita-Cuenca, Megan (one of my students and my "second cousin") and I took a mini hike through the property.

We stopped to take in the scenery for a bit. Abuelita-Cuenca was in her element at this point. She grew up in the country.

We found berries on our mini hike.

I was skeptic of trying the berry even after mama-Cuenca reassured me a billion times that it was ok.

I ate the berry. Then I made the executive decision that it was probably one of the best berries I have ever eaten.

During our mini hike, we had a mama-Cuenca moment. We lurve each other.

Then abuelita-Cuenca decided to continue on her exploration. I followed. I thought Surely if she can do it, then I can too. Little did I know...

By the time I caught up to abuelita-Cuenca, I was huffing and puffing. Again, thank you altitude. Abuelita-Cuenca then decided to go back the stairs and I just stared after her.

Lesson of the day: Don't mess with abuelita-Cuenca.

Even primito-Cuenca was so happy because of the awesomeness surrounding him.

This was one of my favorite moments of the day: abuelitos-Cuenca sharing a moment by the poolside and I was able to capture it.

While exploring the property and the sweet house, I kept finding hidden antique treasures. They made me drool with delight.

Of course, I have to give out a shout out to the flowers. They made up about 50% of the awesomeness of the place…and pretty much all of Ecuador.

As you can see, it was a pretty awesome day. It was much needed. At one point, I just sat on the steps and gazed at the scenery before me. All I could do was to sit still. I needed to stop and recollect myself. That place made me be still and soak in what the Lord had created. I prayed some prayers of worship. I could not help but praise the Lord for how mighty and powerful He is.

When was the last time you sat still?....that you stopped and sat?...with no ipods or cell phones?...where it was you, beauty and Jesus?

Are we too afraid to stop and face what’s actually there? Or are we too consumed in our constant go of our lives that we don’t have time to stop? Why can’t we stop? What will it take for us to stop? What will happen when we don’t stop?

...what are we going to lose?

I came back from that mini adventure and took a nap. Boom. That’s how much it relaxed me.
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sunday I was reunited with my students at church and spent the whole day with them. Monday we went to the Banco Central of Cuenca and was immersed in Ecuador’s history. We saw different exhibits of Ecuador’s tribes and some old school ruins, which we became a little creative to interact with. I just would like to give a little shout out to my students. There’s never a dull moment with them. Somehow they can make the boring museum’s fun. There’s always a story to tell or a joke to laugh about. From double espresso’s and ice cream at the Fruitilado or random dance moves in Spanish class, my students make the trip worth it. Funny thing is that I’m probably learning just as much from them. They keep me on my toes. They find the most random questions to ask about Ecuadorian culture that most of the time I say “I don’t know”. My favorite part about my students is the ability for them to laugh at different situations. They laugh at themselves when thinking gringo meant handsome in Spanish to throwing away half of their breakfast when their host mom is not looking because they are too full too eat. They never stop to amaze me to find creative ways to make culture learning fun…even it meant laughing at silly things like butts.