A Taste of America

Thanksgiving in Ecuador, which I thought might make me feel a bit lonely and homesick, turned out to be one of the happiest nights I´ve spent in this country. Almost all of the volunteers got together with Byron and Monica--UBECI´s founders and leaders--at their house for an elaborate dinner prepared in part by all of us. Before digging into a feast of pumpkin soup, two types of meat, an incredible homemade stuffing, fresh mashed potatoes, bowls of cooked veggies, delicious pasta and fruit salads, the ever-popular panadería bread of Ecuador, two different kinds of pies, and even cranberry sauce, we all went around the table and talked about things we´re thankful for. Even the Ecuadorians, English and Austrian at the table took part. Although many of us said a lot of the same things, usually some modified version of "I´m so thankful to be here experiencing the Ecuadorian culture and for all of us being together," the time felt so special and it was really the closest I had ever felt to the rest of the volunteers. It is such a wonderful thing to listen to people 100% and to recieve that genuine attention in return when it´s your turn to speak. As yesterday was the first day of warm weather after what feels like weeks of rain, my Austrian friend said "I am so thankful for the sun."

This picture definitely doesn´t do our meal justice--worthy of royalty, in my opinion--but here we are before the first course :). (About an hour later, I would literally feel more full than I ever had in my entire life....)


On a somewhat bittersweet note, I offically have one work week left with UBECI--after that, it´s about a week and a half of traveling and then boarding the plane. I´m so torn right now--it´s almost impossible for me to imagine leaving the kids and the staff of UBECI and most especially my host family. I love practicing Spanish, I love traveling and I have learned and experienced so many new things in this country that I couldn´t even begin to explain how much I feel like I´ve been changed for the better. On the other hand, I truly cannot wait to be home on December 16th. Any sounds or decorations or activities that are in any way Christmas related make me long so much for my extended family get-togethers, caroling in my neighborhood, maybe seeing snow, and most definitely seeing my best friends again. I´ve been subconciously counting down the days for a while.

It hasn´t quite hit me yet how soon I won´t be here anymore, but I am trying to mentally prepare myself for some of the craziest transitions and hardest goodbyes of my life so far in the next few weeks. I do remember how jumbled and emotional I felt last summer when I came home from Paraguay...and I guess there´s no true preparation for that. But, as much as I´ll miss Ecuador, I really can´t express how excited I am to see Arlington again.

So that´s that....

PS. I will FINALLY have some pictures of the incredible kids of UBECI next week--I can take my camera to the markets my last few days! I am so excited to share with everyone the most IMPORTANT thing I´ve been doing for the last 3 1/2 months. Stay tuned ;).