the way back

Ecuador was splendid. I only spent a few short days there but I certainly loved it. I think the transition from states right to my site in Peru would have been seriously more difficult if I had not gone to Ecuador. It was still Latin America, so of course we encountered hiccups with our plans but it was a vacation so I was not overwhelmed by it; while I have admittedly spent a lot of time isolated in my room since I have been home in Pimentel, I believe that is more for a need for alone time, lack of anything to do, and processing/reflection from my trip home and haven't felt too sad about my return here.

Four other PCVs and I met up in Montañita, Ecuador which is a beautiful beach town, I had heard from others, (volunteers and Peruvian)s that Montañita was even more crazy than Mancora (a town on the Northern coast of Peru with an intense party atmosphere-to give you some insight on how insane it is there, 3 volunteers were injured there last year on New Year's Eve night). Honestly, a part of me was nervous about the excursion because I'm not the type to enjoy that kind of scene but it turned out to be a fantastic vacation, in large part due to the awesome ladies I got to share it with.

Leland, Betty, and I

Betty, Heidi, me, Andrea, and Leland

 The beach was magnificent; I have NEVER felt sand that soft in my life, I'm not a huge fan of sand because I really dislike the gritty feeling of it but I  happily napped on that sand, like laying in powdered sugar. The atmosphere was energetic but I don't feel overwhelmed by it as I did in Mancora. It just felt SO chill. There were only two instances in which I was like, whoa intense. One was the night before NYE, my friend and I were sitting on the beach and some guy comes up to us and offers us acid.  My friend was not surprised but that was the first time I had been offered anything like that so I was a little dumbfounded (don't worry I did not partake). The other instance was on NYE night, we were walking down the street (crowded with probably hundreds of people) and this guy stops me, says, "You're so pretty" and proceeds to stick his tongue in my mouth! What the hell?!?! Who does that? Gross, at least start a conversation with me or have the decency to ask, "May I kiss you?" I know I looked smokin' that night, but damn, have some respect boy.
Moving on, one of my favorite parts of Montañita were the mixed drink stands- a few of the major streets towards the beach were lined with these stands. Daquiris, mojitos, margaritas, rum, vodka drinks all served to you in a plastic cup to allow leisurely walking while drinking-definitely something the US is missing.

To Go? Yes, please!

Dream Team

NYE night

leaving at 7am on New Year's Day, to give you an estimate on how I felt, I went to sleep at 6am

Border of Ecuador and Peru

Our 5th and last mode of transportation from Montañita to Peru....long day of travel

I am so happy to have gone on this trip and would love to return when it is not NYE to see how the atmosphere is...I could seriously see myself living there for a short time, maybe whoever I end up with and I can open up a restaurant and run a hostel when we are older...I mean...I didn't think about that at all when I was there...

Being back home in Pimentel has been bittersweet. Spending time with my host family has been great, I once again acted as the Virgin Mary for Three Kings Day and my host family one 1st place in the competition! (Another blog post in the future for that.)

 I will be getting started with teaching a couple summer classes this week. I am going to be teaching one class of silly American party dances like the Cupid Shuffle, Cha Cha Slide, Wobble, etc. The other one will be similar to one class I taught last summer about different cultures of the world; my students and I will "travel" to a different country every week and learn about the culture and geography of that place, with this activity I also hope to start and finish the World Map project I have failed to do. Look for updates on all that.  Hopefully I can have a summer busy enough to pass the time but slow enough to not feel overwhelmed. 

Still trying to process my trip home (Des Moines/Cedar Falls) but I will hopefully be writing that one soon. 

If you are an Iowan friend reading this, bundle up  and remember  that you could come hither to be warm :p If you are a fellow volunteer reading this, "just keep swimming" it's hard to be here sometimes but you are a rock star, and you inspire me to be a better volunteer. If you are anyone else, I love you, thanks for reading, abrazo fuerte!!!!