El principio del fin...

This is my last Sunday in Quito, which is big, although it hasn’t really hit me yet- it started to after I said goodbye to one of my best friends here last night (she changed her flight to go home a week early because she has an incredibly busy winter break– 2 family weddings, 3 out of state trips, etc!) and could take her exams early. But a quick update of the last week–

Tuesday: My friend Ricardo, whom I met on the chiva, met me in Cumbaya and we walked around and hung out for a few hours. It was really nice because we went to parts of Cumbaya I’d never seen, it was a gorgeous day and we sat in what I assume is the small town’s “Parque Central.” [Note: I go to school in Cumbaya; it is a fifteen minute bus ride from Quito.]

Wednesday: After class I went with Liz to Jorge’s office, hung out with them and studied for awhile, and had coffee with them and Jorge’s mom, where we talked about Cuba. A recent NYT article greatly helped me out in this. (Read it! It’s interesting)

Thursday: I was exhausted and came home and watched Ratatouille and went to bed early :)

Friday: We had a going-away dinner at Crepes and Waffles, a delicious Colombian chain restaurant. Fifteen gringos sitting in the middle of an Ecuadorian restaurant speaking in English... nice. Four of us came to my house after to hang out and have some cocktails, then I went out with Susie and my friend Ben. We didn’t have ID to get into the club- you RARELY need it here, but I’d brought a copy of my passport and somehow lost it (COPY, mom, Copy. Don’t worry) and the bouncer was asking me my age and I was like “mil... mil... nueve...” because years are the hardest in Spanish (who can remember mil novecientos ochenta y ocho, anyway?), and don’t get easier after a few Cuba Libres... but he let me in! Thank god. We took advantage of the half-hour left of the open bar, Susie left after awhile, and Ben and I went to a different bar where we unexpectedly ran into some of his friends from high school (he’s been here for a few years and finished high school in Ecuador). I fell into bed around 4am. It was a great night, this is a very condensed version.

Saturday: I woke up more than a little chuchaqui, went over to Ali’s and rolled around the floor groaning about how much of the previous adjective I was. I opted out of going to the Basilica with them due to money concerns and my physical state, but met up with them at the market and for dinner later. We went to this DELICIOUS and incredibly cheap Chinese restaurant, where they seem to speak neither English nor Spanish, so we always try to order in Spanish and then end up pointing at the menu... sooo good. Then we went to the supermarket one last time for Ali to buy Ecuadorian goodies to bring home, and then to her house around 9 to hang out and help her- start- packing. Yes, start! I cannot believe she started packing 8 hours before leaving! Well, Stephen and Rachel did most of the work, with me being on the computer and organizing her illegal movies and Cuban cigars with the hope that they will get through customs. We laid in her bed and talked until about 2, when she called us a cab (I always take the cab with them down the street, because it’s about a minute to walk and I am very paranoid at night) and we were all crying. I hate goodbyes. I am not a fan, and I prefer to just not do them, because to me they are pointless and depressing. Last semester my friend Marlie cornered me during the cafeteria exam treats and made me say goodbye to her (and sob in the middle of half of Beloit... THANKS MARLS!!) But I am fine with indulging other people’s needs for goodbyes.

I don’t want to start packing until Friday at the absolute earliest, not out of laziness, but because I think it will be very lonely to have to live in an empty room, and either make me want to go home immediately or being very sad to go... I am currently somewhere in the middle.

Oh, and something else. I am such a Libra, in the sense that I can never make decisions. Right after I wrote that blog about how I was determined to take my trip down south, I changed my mind- I’m taking my finals Monday & Tuesday, and only going to a little forest town for one night, Wed-Thurs. I realized I did not have the money to do the trip, or the time to fully enjoy those places in the way I wanted to. I am really sad that I won’t make it to Cuenca, but I know I will come back and I know exactly where to go when I do! It wouldn’t have been worth it to spend hundreds of dollars for two days in one town and two days in another, and have to take a 12 hour bus ride back.

Friday I will probably see people and start packing, and Friday night my Model UN class has one last hurrah– a Christmas party (and these kids do know how to party) at one of the student’s houses outside of Quito. I am sure it will be fantastic, and then I will come back and pack and cry and pack be overwhelmed and sleep and leave...

Whew. So how do all of you feel about leaving?