First of all, we got our Spanish midterms back today and I GOT AN A!!!!! I really have no idea how that happened. None. But I'm soooooooo happy.

So. After the Galapagos.... We got back on a Wednesday and I had a test the next day so I slept/studied that afternoon. The next day Lily, Liz, Milton and I went out for Thai food and margaritas. I have been eating so much ethnic food here. I guess it's just because Etown is in the middle of nowhere but I'm mad I don't eat it more. Friday Liz, Lily, and I went to Mr. Bagel to do homework. I think I watched youtube links for a few hours. But, they have THE best tomate de arbol juice in all of Quito. I love it there. Oh wait also one of these days I tried a frozen coffee drink from El Espanol and really liked it. I feel a change in the air. Anyways that night we went to CoffeeTree in La Plaza Foch but I only had one margarita because I don't know I guess they actually put alcohol in theirs or something because it was disgusting. So basically we just sat and talked until 2am.

Saturday night Liz, Lily, Milton, Andres, and I went to a Liga game in Andres' suite. It was a lot of fun and they won! Afterwards we went to Milton's house to watch the Hangover because Milton has never seen it but the disc skipped like a full hour in the middle so it sucked. Sunday the BCA group went to Bomboli, an eco-friendly farm in the cloud forest. This adorable old man took us on this hike and just talked about nature and his life and everything. He was awesome. Also he taught me how to take this moss and put an orchid on it in the Y of a tree and then the orchid will grow and wrap all around the tree. But I had to kiss it first because it only grows with amor. Ahhh. They also make their own cheese and manjar de leche so we watched that- I bought some for my parents and supervisor at my internship, had an amazing dinner, and came home.

Monday! I left my internship with 5 other people to go on Manuela Espejo visits. Manuela Espejo was the first female nurse in Ecuador. The vice-president (who is a paraplegic) started this project under her name, after Cuba and Bolivia performed similar ones, where over a year ago people went door-to-door finding where every person with physical and/or mental disabilities live in Ecuador. Then they started this part where teams of social workers, therapists, nurses, etc. go to these homes with a pretty extensive questionnaire to figure out all the services they may need- therapy, wheelchairs, special beds, etc. It's actually been super successful and in 2 of the 6 homes I went to they had already received special beds and chairs.

The director, social worker, language therapist, occupational therapist, gym teacher, and me were chosen to separate into 3 teams of 2. The gym teacher, Santiago, is in his late 20s I think and obsessed with me because I'm a gringa and the only person under 50 at the school. So when we were separating he kept trying to say we should go together but finally I was just like I think a gym teacher and a girl who can't speak Spanish would be a pretty shitty team. I think he's still mad at me. I ended up going with Ruth, the occupational therapist. We went to 6 homes- 4 were kids 3 and under, a 19 year old boy, and a 69 year old man. It was so sad/interesting. The stories were amazing. I'm going to pretend like I'm just following confidentiality protocol but really I'm too lazy to elaborate right now. It was a really awesome experience for me though, in a social work aspect. Really awesome.

Tuesday Milton and I went to Clancy's this Irish Sports bar place. Oh and I had my midterm this day. And a leadership paper due. Stressful. Wednesday night I went to another Liga game with friends from my leadership class. This one was so amazing! The vibe was crazy. It was a win or die situation for the South American Cup. They won thank god but it was so intense. No one scored until like 70 minutes or something and there were a couple fights. FIGHTS! in soccer... It was a really fun night. Oh before the game I went to Nikki's place for a couple hours because her mom was throwing a surprise party for her birthday. It was nice. Almost everyone was there and we played typical Ecuadorian birthday games.

Thursday during my break, Anggelo and I bought over 100 popsicles and went to his mom's work. She runs a daycare for low-income families. Then we just hung out with about 90 kids 5 and under for a couple of hours. It was such a cool idea. He wouldn't tell me where we were going, but he knows about my social work, etc.... I was really confused when we were buying the popsicles. That night Liz, Lily, Milton, and I went for sushi but they had a buy 3 get 1 drink free deal going on so we stayed there all night. (I got a roll call Fuji, it's flambé... delicious.) I can't remember what I did all day Friday... there was something. Oh well. That night Lily, Milton, and I saw Due Date. There were some pretty funny parts I guess. Also- I have a tendency of reading the Spanish subtitles while I watch it and I learned that hijodeputa is one word. Interesting.

Saturday Liz, Lily, and I went to this convention in an arena in Parque Carolina where there were over 100 agencies serving people with disabilities. All the agencies set-up stands selling handmade crafts, foods, information, etc. I was so impressed by the organization and dedication. We also signed up for a sign language course. I really hope it happens before we leave. We were there for a few hours and then I went to Milton's and made him watch Amelie. He said he loved it, but maybe he's just saying that because I would punch him if he didn't. Afterwards Lily, Milton, and I saw Eat, Pray, Love... I don't really have any reaction to it. Sunday morning Liz and I went out for breakfast with Milton and his little brother. TGIFridays has breakfast here.... does it in the states? It was really good either way. Later Liz and I watched Agent Salt on my laptop and I pretended to do work. Per usual

Oh I just remembered last Wednesday at my internship one of the teachers didn't show up so I had to take over a class all over myself and there is SUCH a big difference in the behaviors of the "lower-functioning" vs "higher-functioning" groups. They were TERRORS. And by the end of the day I was just turning into one of those evil substitute teachers no one likes and making some of them do ridiculous busy-work because they were being so rude. However, 2 of the boys who sort of listened to me were rewarded by me teaching (or trying to) them to cross their eyes. Really productive day. Now whenever they see me they run up and hug and kiss me and alkdfjlds I love kids.

Monday after my internship Liz, Lily, and I went out to a Mongolian restaurant to celebrate Lily and Chris's (in absentia) 1 year anniversary. It was pretty good but it was a $10 buffet which is a lot here so I forced myself to eat soooo much to get my money's worth. But I STILL feel fat from it. Tuesday I don't think anything really happened at school but the night before, after we were out to eat, Lily dropped and shattered the screen of her mac. So she came over from like 6-11 to use my computer and stayed for dinner. I also informed my parents of all the plans I'm forcing them into next week when Johnnie and my mom are here... ahhh I'm so nervous. I'm making Liz and Lily come to everything to help bridge the enormous communication gap. Oh well... a smile is a smile the world around. That was really corny. But hopefully true.

Yesterday (Johnnie's birthday!) Liz, Lily, Milton and I went to the mall. Hmmm that's it. The rainy season has officially begun.. it's wet and freezing :( I'm sort of bummed because I can only assume it'll be like this next week too for mom and Johnnie but oh well. THEY GET HERE IN 2 DAYS!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited. Ok I have a meeting in a couple minutes and I'm not proofreading, so my apologies.