I can now count on 1 hand the number of days I have left here. I finished my classes and have a few days to enjoy the city before heading back to the states. I’m really excited to go home, but leaving is still bittersweet. I’m terrible at good byes and tend to ignore them until the last possible minute (or for go them altogether), which probably isn’t the best trait. But rather than dwell on the fact that I’m leaving, I’d rather share a few snippets from my final few weeks.
A surprise visitor at the Mindo Mariposa Museum
Today I explained to my host parents I could not eat almuerzo with them because I had an event that would cause me to be gone from the house 12:30-3:30 (lunch varies in time, but usually around 2pm). I would eat on my own. No, no, no, my host Mom insisted she would cook for me when I got home at 3:30. When I suggested I wouldn’t be able to wait until 3:30 to eat lunch and really could just pick up some food on my own, she prepared my lunch early before leaving for work and left it on the stove for me to heat up at noon. One more example of how I have the most incredible host parents!
IES directors hosted a farewell empanada cooking class!
In my Spanish class, we gave final presentations about our cultural experiences in Ecuador. I wrote a recipe book about all of the wonderful food I hope to bring back to the United States. As I shared, I broke out laughing as I thought about the sheer ridiculous-ness of one of my stories. My classmates and professor laughed right alongside me. Its amazing how much fun I’ve had with everyone here, who were strangers just 4 months ago! Our professor asked if we could end class by taking a selfie, a experience she’d never had before – que chévere!
I’m afraid to admit that’s only a small portion of the chocolate I’ve eaten this semester.
I just made my last supermarket chocolate run! You don’t have to know me very well to know I’m addicted to chocolate, and having access to such good Ecuadorian chocolate has been such a treat this semester! Now its off to packing and farewell events. Ecuador, its chao for now! Muchas gracias por las experiencias!
Pretty much says it all.
More Blogs From This Author
View All Blogs
Kate Paladin
<p><span style="color: rgb(29, 29, 29); font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; background-color: rgb(237, 237, 237);">My name is Kate Paladin and I'm an Environmental Studies major, Math minor at Bates College. I am a research assistant studying lake ecosystems, volunteer in an elementary school classroom and perform Bollywood dance. Most people study Spanish and then decide to visit South America, but I did the reverse - after choosing Quito for study abroad, I took my first Spanish class! Although I have just 2 years of Spanish under my belt, I couldn't be more excited to study in Ecuador.</span></p>
