Chulla Vida

Torrey, me, Allyson- Quito, Ecuador 2009

After three and a half months of waking up to the beautiful Andes mountains towering over the city, tomorrow I will be flying over them.

After 15 weeks of classes, 3 salidas de campo, 10+ guest speakers, two exams, and 25 pages on the theme of fair trade, I've finally handed it all in.

After 220 hours, varying from busy and harried, to sitting along in a shop, with tourists visiting, and Ecuadorian events passing through, my time with the Fundación Sinchi Sacha, Museo Mindalae, and Tiendas Tianguez is over for now.

After meeting 16 incredible students from eight different U.S. universities, my classmates and aquaintences have become my friends and the only ones who I will forever be able to share this experience.

After a final Despedida dinner, it's actually time to pack it all. A life out of a suitcase accumulates some interesting artifacts along the way. It is an interesting feeling saying good-bye.

Chulla vida means "one life" in Quichua and Spanish. The sentiment is often compared to "seize the day", and for those of us of HECUA Fall 2009 it has become more of a sentiment to remind us to live and hold on to absolutely every moment and new experience that has come our way.

As roller-coaster-ish as these past few months have been, I think it will be harder than I had thought to get on that plane. However, I can knowing that I have given this country my all and that I'm not walking away from something, but only towards whatever the next adventure has in store.

Restaurant, Vista Hermosa- Despedida dinner in Quito

One last pic of the whole clan, after three & a half months, we still didn't get the whole concept of sharing photos down. My camera was like the 5th in line.

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Eliza's schedule for the next 10 days!

Saturday & Sunday December 12 & 13: Cuenca, Ecuador
Monday & Tuesday December 14 & 15: Busses and busses, finally ending in Lima, Peru
Wednesday December 16: Flight to Cuzco, Peru
Friday December 18: Train to Aguas Calientes, the Machu Picchu Pueblo
Saturday December 19: Early morning bus to Machu Picchu to see the sunrise.
Sunday December 20: Return to Lima
Monday December 21: Midnight, begin the trek back to the states.

CrunchTime

This is what I'm deciding to call a study break.

Since last week, we've all been busily working on our Independent Study Projects... some have finished, some haven't even started. I'm just going to say that I'm somewhere in-between. :-) It is definitely crunch time since this coming weekend is my last weekend in Quito! I cannot believe it.

Last weekend I went out to visit my chicas at the Tianguez (my former work-place) and do some interviews for my project. Fiestas de Quito had started the night before and the parks and streets were all decked out and filled with people. It was an awesome way to remember the life within this city. I think sometimes I get so weighed down with the day-to-day hum drumming-ness that I forget what a beautiful place this is.

Tonight I'm heading to the Ecuadorian Folklore Ballet. A friend of mine from my internship is in it each Wednesday and she got me a complimentary ticket. I'm very excited and appreciate the change in schedule, even if it does take me away from my paper writing... darn (catch the sarcasm?)

That's all for now: finishing the paper this week, Fiestas de Quito this weekend, correcting paper and finishing internship hours next week, Despedida dinner Thursday, leaving Quito Saturday, Peru by the following Tuesday... and then MACHU PICCHU! It's gonna fly.