Hello! and Top Fives

Hi, everyone!

So...I will do everything I can to make this the most exciting page on the world wide web for the next four months (and maybe beyond!) as I live, volunteer, and party it up in Quito, Ecuador and other fun places nearby. I'll update as frequently as I have internet access-- since I'm pretty sure I'll rarely run out of things to say. Comment (please!) and let me know you're reading :).

As my departure date gets closer, I have more and more people ask me if I'm scared or nervous-- or they just assume as much and say "I'm sure you're freaking out by now!" Inspired by this, I've decided to create a Top 5 list of things that are really making me want to purposefully miss my flight. And, inspired by all the things that made me want to go to Ecuador in the first place, I will complement this list with my Top 5 reasons for busting at the seams with excitement.


I'll do the icky list first. My Top 5 reasons to freak out!!

#5-- Packing.
It's not like I'm too lazy to do it or anything (not that I've started...heh). I am totally worried that I won't bring the right kind of clothes/suitcase, etc., too much or too little of something really important, too much in general, or that I'll forget really important items. I don't even know how to begin getting everything I need together!

#4-- Customs.
A very immediate/short-term concern. But I feel like sneezing as I enter Ecuador is enough to make them believe I have H1N1 or something. I had kind of a scarring experience with customs/airport security re: peanut allergy/Epi-pens a few years ago and it totally freaked me out...and I'm just nervous that it might be hard in general.

#3-- The longevity of my trip...
Not that I'll get homesick! Not too worried about that. I just know that many people that volunteer with this organization are there for much less time than I'll be there...so, my concern is that I'll be watching people come and go the entire time I'm there and won't have any (non-Ecuadorian) buddies that stay as long as I do. I guess I'm worried that the friends I make might not be very long-term because chances are we'll be together for such a short time? And I'll never see them again? But I could be wrong.

#2-- Clogging someone's toilet.
This sounds irrational, especially as my number 2 fear. But it's totally not! Honestly, this might be my number 1 fear, but it seems too petty to document officially as such. I HATE the idea of using other people's bathrooms because it would be SO EMBARRASSING to have to be like "hey, soooo...I just met you but my excrements have already broken one of your household appliances." What a horrible situation. And there's nothing to be done because it's not like I can control my bodily functions or the power of a flusher. :(

#1-- The actual "work."
I was explaining to someone my volunteer position in Quito, and their reaction was, "Oh, so you're basically babysitting for four months." That really made me uncomfortable. And the more I've thought about it, the more I feel like that person was right. I have to keep talking myself out of it because I know it isn't true. I'm working with kids. Giving them a chance to learn. But it's still something that's really bothering me because I always wonder if what I'm doing is a waste or if it's really helping someone.


And now onto the awesome stuff! My Top 5 (very general) reasons to be excited.

#5-- Crazy new cuisine?!
Okay, so really I'm just pretty excited to try this thing called cuy, aka roasted guinea pig-- apparently very popular in Ecuador/the Andes. Other than that, I think it will be a lot of beans, rice, potatoes (?)...and yeah. Basically, my #5 really encompasses all the new and crazy things I'll be able to do living on my own in a foreign country (whoa, this sounds much scarier when I actually verbalize it). Which is a lot. So it's just the cuy that's crazy in terms of food, I guess. Uh...I would really like to be Andrew Zimmern.

#4-- Perfecting my Spanish!
Self-explanatory...I feel like I'm so close to being (kind of) fluent and this just might do it! At least, that's what I'm realllllly hoping. And I'll be working with kids a lot-- they won't judge me.

#3-- Self-discovery, a unique experience, blahblahblaaahhh.
It's totally cheesy, but I'm pretty sure I can't wait for that cliche stuff. I'll have some very interesting experience to carry with me to college and through life in general. I'm doing something really different from a lot of people my age and I know I'm lucky. I could definitely write paragraphs about this.

#2-- Meeting people from everywhere :).
Volunteers come from all over the U.S., Canada, Australia, Germany, the UK, New Zealand, etc., etc. Not to mention the fact that I'll (obviously) be meeting tons of Ecuadorians. Despite #3 on my freak-out list, I am SO PUMPED to know people from all over the world.

#1-- Making some people smile and whatnot.
At least trying to. Yep.