Traditions

Sometimes you don´t realize how obnoxious things are until you say them out loud to someone else.

I was explaining Black Friday to my host mom (though it´s known here. Some people I know from here flew to Miami in time to join the lines):

¨Well, the day after Thanksgiving is when we traditionally start the Christmas season, so everyone starts their Christmas shopping on that Friday. All the stores have really big sales, and open early, so people get up and 2 or 3 in the morning, or even sleep in line, so they can be there when the doors open.¨

¨Wow, it must be really crazy with all those people.¨

¨Yeah. It can be intense, especially at toy stores. People die.¨

-That´s about the point where I realized what I was saying. But the best was her response:

¨At toy stores? Oh yeah, makes sense. Crazy mothers.¨

Some things are just universal I guess.

I am Thankful

for many things.

Family.

I am thankful for eccentric parents, who brave technology for the sake of staying in touch,
for older sisters who include me in their daily lives, even long-distance,
for nieces and nephews who are more like siblings,
and for the daily progress of new additions.
I am thankful for my big, nosy family, who remembers me on days like today, even from another continent.

I am thankful for prayers for my safety and well-being, which I feel daily,
for shared coffee, stories, and laughter,
for songs that mean the same thing, even though the words may sound different,
and for the knowledge that all believers share one heart and one home, even when they settle on the far side of the sea.
I am thankful for my large, loving, and multi-lingual church family, in all corners of the world.

I am thankful for open doors, open minds, and open hearts,
(Doy gracias por puertas abiertas, mentes abiertas, y corazones abiertas,)
for a house that has come to feel like a second home,
(por una casa que ahora siente mas como un hogar)
for patience and understanding in my behalf,
(por paciencia y comprension en mi nombre)
and for the daily lessons in language, and in life,
(y por los lecciones diarios de la lengua, y de vida)
I am thankful for my host family.
(Doy gracias por mi familia Ecuatoriana)

Friends

I am thankful for deep conversations, shared laughs, and skype dates,
for the other half who skips dinner to call me every week, even though I abandoned her in a big lonely house,
for the inspiration who taught me how to bake pie and be a pen pal, and who is babysitting my guitar until my return,
for the hermanita who opens my eyes to new perspectives with every word she writes,
for the shaggy, tall, protective brother-figure who knows exactly what to say when I need a good laugh,
for the Inspector who has made spending the entire day feeding sea gulls, getting lost, and singing too loudly for strangers a cherished tradition,
for the ex-cage-fighter who makes me grilled cheese, listens to my stories, lets me invade his kitchen, and walks me home at midnight,
for my fellow travellers, scattered to the four winds, who remind me to ask the hard questions,
for my new friends here in El Sur, those born here, and those visiting with me, who have made this strange city feel more like home.
I am thankful for friendships built on common language, common interest, and common points of view, but above all, bult on common ground.

Home

I am thankful for my home in the moutains, not the place I was born, but the place I grew up,
for its open air and its freedom,
for its closeness and community,
for the way the grass smells in the summer and the way the sky feels in the winter,
and for the fact that everybody knows my business.
I am thankful for Amador County.

I am thankful for the new home I chose to leave behind,
for the creaky mansion with the big front yard perfect for lazy afternoons spent reading,
for the neighbors in the hallways until well after midnight,
for the rainy afternoons and the quiet evenings,
and for the time I spent there, and the lessons it taught me.
I am thankful for San Rafael and DU.

I am thankful for my temporary home in a new culture,
for new words and new view points,
for the city sounds and the sunshine,
for the chance to travel and know more of the world,
and for the knowledge that no matter where I go, I am never truly alone.
I am thankful for Ecuador.

Dear Diary

I´m sorry I have forsaken you.

It´s no excuse, but here´s what my typical day looks like now:

6:30am - Get up. Make myself presentable. Make breakfast.
7:00am - Eat breakfast while reading either Numbers or Matthew.
7:30am - Check email, pack up, visit with host parents.
8:15am - Leave for the bus, get to UEES, take second bus into Guayaquil.
9:30am - Arrive Niños Con Futuro, the school where I teach English.
10:00am - 12:15pm - Teach English to 4-8 year olds.
12:45pm - Catch the public bus home
1:30pm - Arrive home, eat lunch, do homework
3:40pm - Leave for the bus
4:15pm - Arrive UEES, Spanish class
6:00pm - Gym
7:30pm - Calculus
9:00pm - Finish class. Either go home with my neighbor, visit with family, make dinner, use the computer, amd watch Law and Order, or go out with friends to dinner, bowling, the movies, the mall, etc.
12:00am - Go to bed

Lather, Rinse, Repeat.

I made an executive decision

Problem:

I have too many stories about Peru to post each one here.

Solution:

Sub-Blog!

http://lomalimallama.blogspot.com/

The Peru Chronicles

Coming soon to a blog post near you.

Important things you should know until then:

1. Peru was incredible.

2. I´m home in Samborondon safe and alive.

3. The next time I decide to travel alone with a boy, we will come up with a fantastic story for why we´re traveling together, BEFORE the 100th taxi driver asks if we´re married.

4. When traveling in a group in a foreign country where no one has any way of long-distance communication, it is generally best to ensure that everyone is on the same flight/train/side of the city.

5. Classes start today. Hello, calculus night class.

6. I might be teaching English in an elementary school starting tomorrow.