Love/Hate Relationship.

This is a Love/Hate list of Ecuador so far. But I'm too much of an upbeat optimist person too actually hate anything. So this is an Enthusiastic For/Not Enthusiastic For list. Hahaha.

Enthusiastic For!
-the emphasis on soups
-ice cream everywhere and at any time!
-walking everywhere
-the mountains/countryside
-multiple ecosystems within small distances
-learning Spanish
-"eternal spring"
-fruit salads at the park
-mists in the mountains
-avocados with meals
-my host family
-scarves
-camilla, the new adorable puppy
-walking through gorgeous cemeteries
-dancing

Not Enthusiastic For
-the stares I get when dancing gringo style
-getting coffee "to go" in a take out bowl
-instant coffee
-having rice, potatoes, bread, and pasta all in one meal
-having to plead to get my package at the post office
-bureaucracy
-hard afternoon rains when I'm walking to school
-appearing to have no personality because I cannot express myself
-stray dog poop
-being a less independent woman

Ok. I do have one hate.

Hate!
-Oregano Tea

As you can see, the Enthusiastic For list is larger than the Not Enthusiastic For list. =)

I'm Baaaaack!

My visit to the U.S. is officially over and I'm now back in the land of "ya es de todos" until August.

I had a really good visit, though it was hectic and shorter than I would have liked. I loved being able to eat Korean food, effortlessly eavesdrop, throw toilet paper in the toilet, and oh yeah, seeing family and friends! There wasn't enough of that (seeing fam and friends, not throwing tp in the toilet. I got enough of that) as far as I was concerned.

My time cruncher was interviews. Fie on you interviews! It was super hectic. As soon as I landed I was off on my first interview. I ended up completing 6 interviews in about 10 days. But they were all really good. Very conversational and surprisingly not stressful. Some of them didn't even ask me the usual expected questions, but were rather a whole conversation on some tangent. However, a couple were a little weird. At one, the interviewer went on about how he hated med students and medical education. Uhhhh.... ok. What do you want me to say to that buddy? That I agree with you and thus am self-loathing? And another one was panel style with more rapid-fire questions (but not in a weird or mean way). But it paid off. Cuz this girl is GOING TO MEDICAL SCHOOL! Got accepted to UVA. WAHOOWA! Not yet sure I'm going to go there, but there's a good chance. So, I can chillllll and do my spanish lessons here, horseback riding, maybe some salsa. Oh, and traveling on weekends!

But after interviews, I prob slept for two days straight and then got some good fam and friend time in. Nice dinners, vino, and talking. Perfecto! Christmas was really chill and it was nice to just mope around the house and eat MOUNTAINS of turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. I knew I would miss some good food, so I brought choc chips, brownie mix, and a can of pumpkin back to Ibarra with me. I expect I'll get some baking in. And I expect I'll probably get some tubbiness with that too. =)

Some happy photos of my visit below.

Gathering at the Jeffer's.

P.F. Chang's Get Together.



Alfie on Christmas.


Seriously playing Jenga with my family. I don't mess around.

Reverse culture shock.

$5 coffee. Dropping money on the ground and someone handing it back to the rightful owner, not taking it. Following traffic laws. 30 degree weather. Chipotle. Ethnic food. No Cumbia on the radio. Driving. Standing in lines and not cutting. Not riding in the back of pickup trucks. No aji. No afternoon rain. No stray dogs. Giant malls. Real coffee. Massive traffic. Eating fruit without washing it.

Yeah. It's a shock.

Got back to the States on the 7th. And on the interview circuit. Wish me luck! Back to Ecuador on the 27th.