The Fam was here!!!

As though I didn´t already consider myself to be super lucky to have such an amazing opportunity abroad, this fact was once again validated as I was blessed enough to have my sister and my parents come visit me a couple weeks ago.

Julie arrived on a Monday night (after a lot of hassles at the airport) and I was SOOOO excited to see her. Unfortunately she came during a busy time at school for me (I had three exams and a presentation) but she was able to keep herself busy by reading and enjoying the weather (when it was enjoyable) She got to see my campus, meet most of my teachers, and even sit in on my presentation...hahaha...I´m sure she loved that. But it was fun to show her off to all my friends.

When I was finally done with school and my Spring Break started, Julie and I headed to the beach. It was a long, difficult bus ride, especially for someone who isn´t used to traveling by bus, but we finally reached our destination of Puerto Lopez and were greeted by sunshine and beautiful beaches. We took a taxi to Los Frailes (and by taxi I mean little man with little motorcycle with little bench in back) and it was truly the most beautiful beach I´ve ever seen. And there was hardly anyone there, which just added to the already tranquil atmosphere. We spent the day there, but then had to head back to Quito so that we could pick up our parents at the airport.

We got back to Quito early on Friday morning, took a little nappy, and then visited el centro historico for some Good Friday festivities. It was VERY rainy, so we mostly just saw umbrellas, but every once and awhile we were able to catch a glimpse of the Jesus dolls that were marching through the streets. Overall, a nice little cultural experience.

Then we went to airport to get the rents, though I may or may not have confused the flight times and we may or may not have been two hours early to pick them up....oops. But they arrived, and it was also really amazing to see them. It was so nice to have my family all together again!

Friday night we laid pretty low, had some dinner, and then hung out at the hotel. But we were up and at ´em early on Saturday morning to go the market in Otavalo. It was fun to take my parents on the bus and allow them to see all the scenery that I see everyday. They seemed pretty impressed, which made me a happy camper.

The market was a great time. I really think everyone enjoyed themselves, as well as the VERY reasonably priced merchandise that was available. At times it was a bit overwhelming having to barter for everyone, but I had a great time, and it made me happy that my family was, as well. We had a nice little lunch at a cafe (where my father actually ate something he enjoyed!) and wrapped up the day with a few more purchases. Very lovely!

When we got back to Quito, our family, my friend and his mom who was visiting, and a bunch of my friends all went out to the bars in the Mariscal. We started ordering beer towers (the pride of Ecuador) and once the flow started....it was tough to stop it. We engaged in our own little game of flip cup (by the way, my parents are champs due to the lovely preparation they had from Badger games) and everyone got a little silly....which led to karaoke....which led to getting asked to leave the karaoke bar.....ahhhhh such is life. It was a great night though-lots of fun.

Sunday was Easter and we went back to the downtown-historical area to see Pascua parades and view more churches. Later that night, my host family invited us all over for dinner. I was really worried about this, though I´m not really sure why. I was afraid it was going to be awkward, but it wasn´t at all. Luckily Julie can understand a lot of what is being said, so she was very helpful. Also, turns out my host brother speaks English pretty well (I had no idea) so he talked to my parents quite a bit too. It ended up being a very cool experience for me because clearly my parents and sisters are the most important people in my life, and my Ecua fam has just been SOOOOOO amazing to me and have been vital to why I´ve had such an amazing experience here, so it was great having them all together. Very emotional.

Sadly, on Monday morning, we had to say goodbye to Julie, but I was so happy she came. Hopefully she enjoyed being here as much as I enjoyed having her. I took my parents to my campus, and I think it´s safe to say that they were very impressed. I really do go to school on a beautiful campus, and even though it was Semana Santa, I was really happy that the buildings were open and I could show them around.

Later that afternoon, we rode the teleferico, which is the cable car thingy that takes you up the volcano, Pichincha. It was a little bit cloudy, but you still felt the impact of how HUGE the city is and how beautiful the view is, as well.

I also got to take my parents, along with two of my friends, to Papallacta, which is a little place high up in the mountains that has natural hotsprings. I think this was right up my parent´s alley. It´s basically like 15 different hot tubs filled with lava-heated, natural water of varying temperatures. It was a very relaxing way to spend the afternoon, and enjoy more of the scenery that Ecuador has to offer.

On their last day, my friends and I took them to the Kingman museum. I don´t know how many of you are art aficionados, but Kingman was the teacher of the famous Ecuadorian artist, Guaysamín. I was a little worried about this too, because Rex and Nanc aren´t too into the museum scene (self-admittedly...I´m not criticizing) so I wasn´t sure if they would like it. But they ended up really enjoying themselves, I think, haha. We had to translate all of what was said, which was a little exhausting for both parties, but all in all, it was a really cool experience.

Since they had to leave early in the morning on Friday, I ended up leaving them:( on Thursday night to go to the beach for the rest of my break. We had a nice little dinner, and then I headed out. They had a shuttle take them to the airport in the morning, and as far as I know, everything went according to plan.

It was truly incredible to have my family here. I miss them so much ( and everyone else too, of course) I was so happy to have the chance to share with them what it is about this country that I´m just so enamored by. Though they only had time to see a little fraction of what I´ve seen and done, I´m delighted to know that they have a grasp on the concept and are really clued in on what I´ve been up to.

My last few days on the beach were wonderful. I have a friend who is currently doing his internship in Puerto Lopez, so it was fun for us to spend time with him and just relax for our last days of Spring break.

I can´t believe it´s the end of April.....where did the time go? Hopefully, everyone is doing well. I miss you all...we´re getting close. Much love. Cuídense. Love, Laura Lynn