- Enjoying the hail/rainstorm/flooding from the comfort of the car. Some cars were flooded in feet of water and the hail floated on top of the streams.
- Plantains – in all forms (fried, baked, in balls, sliced, with cheese)
- My new best friend Ariana (sheÛªs 10). I was waiting for my order of plantains (where her aunt works) and we started chatting. Her little brother ran back and forth between us, playing with a pair of dishwashing gloves. He had them on his hands briefly before he would fling his hands wildly, throwing the gloves outside or across the room. (All the while laughing hysterically.) Ariana was very intent on giving me her phone number – a little piece of paper with her cell number, home number, and name. As I was walking out with my plantains, back to Spanish class, she ran out to the street, saying ÛÏDonÛªt lose my number!Û That evening, I texted Ariana hello and she texted back three times then called to ask what I was doing, when I was going to see her again, when I would be back at the restaurant, that she would bring me some plantains. I havenÛªt seen her again and as IÛªm currently on a bus to Otavalo, I donÛªt think I will be seeing Ariana soon. Chao, amiga. Ha sido un placer conocerte.
- The bus being so overpacked in the rain that I rode a little ways standing at the door, holding onto a bar, leaning out into the cool wind rain (the bus drove with the doors open). So refreshing – the busses are always way too hot – but also, I just always seem to be overheating no matter what.
- My family, so kind and loving
- A two hour conversation with my brother about everything
- Listening to my own music on the bus
- Clean clothing
- Waking up at 4:40am to go running with my brother and sister in the park before work/school. (Everyone was wearing pants and jackets and of course, I was too hot and ended up running in a tank top and shorts – people must have thought I was crazy. IÛªd rather be too cold than too hot. I could feel the cold on my legs and arms, but only if I concentrated on it – the cold there is fine, nice even, whereas being a little too hot makes me not able to concentrate on anything else, and makes me extremely uncomfortable. IÛªve thought maybe I should just wear shorts everywhere. The weather in Quito (and apparently similar in Otavalo) is generally really warm for a part of the day but by 5 or 6 pm, it gets super cold. So most people wear pants all the time.
- Rain
- My bed
- Lunch for $2.00 (complete with a juice, entree, soup, and fruit)
- Crepes and Waffles (a Colombian restaurant in the mall with the best ice cream, waffles, and crepes)
- Friends
- New fruits – an endless supply (guanabana, granadilla, ovillo, orillo, so many moreÛ_)
- Eating and watching TV in the kitchen with the whole family
- Endless plantains
Reference: I wrote this blog post while I was still in Quito – just posting it now.
