It´s been awhile.

Hello to everyone! It has been quite some time since I last wrote, so I’m sorry about that. The time since I have written has been really busy. I finished my classes and turned in my final 32-page paper (written in Spanish) and did my final presentation on May 10th.
When I was all done with my work, Kristin came and visited me for a week! She flew in on Sunday the 13th, then on Monday morning Kristin, my friend Nora and I flew to Guayaquil, which is near the coast and hopped on a bus to the beach town of Puerto Lopez. We got in there around 4 and decided to take a swim before the sun went down. Just as we decided to get out of the water, I got stung on my foot by a stingray! My foot started bleeding from the barb and I hobbled to a beachside drink stand in hopes of cleaning off my foot and letting it rest awhile while I had caipiriña. Unfortunately, at the drink stand we found an old Ecuadorian guy who seemed helpful at first, but then he ended up rubbing sand in my foot and slapping it! Thankfully, Nora jumped in and told him to please get his hands off my foot, thankyouverymuch. The drink stand guy was much more helpful. He brought me a bowl of water to wash my foot, caipiriñas for all, and even gave me a free shot of alcohol to clean out the wound. Thanks, drink guy!
The next day we headed from Puerto Lopez to Isla de la Plata, known as the “poor man’s Galapagos.” We hiked around the island with a guide and saw blue- and red-footed boobies (which have red feet but a blue beak) and frigates. After a few hours of that, we ate some lunch (Kristin had an unfortunate experience with a moldy cheese sandwich) and had the opportunity to go snorkeling in the ocean above a recovering white coral reef. It was the first time I’ve snorkeled since I went to Mexico during my senior year of high school, and was a much better experience! I felt very comfortable in the water and recognized a lot of the same species of fish as in the Yucatan Peninsula. I also saw a small bottom-feeding shark and a stingray, though that one didn’t sting me . Dad, after that snorkeling I think I could be convinced to get scuba certified. Especially if it means going on a dive trip with you!
That night we headed for Montañita, aka Ecuador beach cartoonland. It is a really chill little beach town, but everything there seems like it is out of comic book - especially our hotel, called the Tiki Limbo Lounge. I enjoyed it after my semester, and I think Kristin did too (especially after the cheese sandwich) because we got a very tasty dinner and the next day had one of the best vegetarian lunches of my life for about 5 bucks total between the two of us. Amazing. Nora had to leave that morning, so after she did Kristin and I went for a run and then to the beach to take a dip. We left after lunch for Guayaquil. We got in around 5, found a hotel, and headed to the Malecón, which is a renewal project along the riverbank that ended up forcing lots of people from their homes without compensation. It is gated and heavily policed, and while it was beautiful and incredible safe even at night, it felt even more Disney than Montañita. Another thing about Guayaquil – I think Kristin and I got catcalled more times in the space of the 30 minutes it took to reach the Malecón than in all of the rest of my semester put together. I feel like after that evening I would be happy to never return to Guayaquil again.
We flew back to Quito Thursday morning and spent the day going to the Basilica and one other very shiny baroque-style church, and poking around Old Town. That night we hit one of my favorite cheap restaurants, an Argentine place called Cha Cha’s that mainly serves $2 pizzas and $1.50 glasses of wine. Other than some unwelcome rain, I think we both left that day feeling pretty satisfied.
Friday Kristin and I took a bus to Otavalo and then headed to Cotacachi, a town known for its leather, to go purse shopping. What do you know, we each found a purse without a problem. Importantly, we also found a very tasty banana split.
Every Saturday in Otavalo is a huge market day in the Plaza de los Ponchos, so Kristin and I went shopping there, too. We found tapestries and all sorts of crafts. I finished my Christmas shopping, so I hope you’re all ready to get Ecuadorian Christmas gifts!
Saturday afternoon Kristin and I hopped on a bus and came back to Quito. It passed right by my house on the way back, so we got off there and headed to the Parque Carolina for a jog. Kristin did amazingly, even at more than 9,000 feet! That evening we went to Café Mosaico and enjoyed its great views of Quito at night.
Kristin left the next morning along with a lot of crafts, and I had to get packed because I left Quito the morning of Monday, May 21st to come to Tena for my summer internship. I am here continuing the research that Nicole and I started during my internship phase of the study abroad program. We are going to do a more in-depth look at the causes of cerebral palsy in her patients at the Tena hospital, and we’re planning on comparing our research to data about cerebral palsy’s causes in the US to see the differences. It should be really interesting research, because in the US cerebral palsy is mainly caused by premature birth, but here most of the really premature babies don’t survive. It appears that there are a lot more cases caused by asphyxia during delivery, infections of the mother during pregnancy, and seizures after birth. So, we’ll see how accurate those hypotheses turn out to be.
In my spare time I’ve been running, reading, and watching pirated DVDs. I’ve been more or less keeping up with Mom and Kristin’s training schedule for the ½ marathon. I ran 9 miles on Friday evening, which I think is further than I have ever ran before in one stretch! Maybe when the day of their ½ marathon comes along I’ll do the Tena version that evening on the airport landing strip.
Gaby was out of town this weekend, but tonight she is bringing my little host brother, Francisco, back from visiting his grandparents. I’m really excited to see him – he adds a lot of liveliness to the house! Gaby just had to deal with an unexpected work layoff, but she’s found a new job in Tena with an NGO so I don’t have to worry about them moving on me.
I’ll be coming home on July 15th, which is seven weeks from today (not that I’m counting). I’m enjoying my time here very much, but I also look forward to seeing all of you. I hope you’re doing well – you should shoot me an e-mail to keep my updated on your lives!