You Know You’re in Ecuador When…

You Know You’re in Ecuador when…

1. All your roommates have terrible flea bites (except for you) and there is nothing they can do about it
2. You literally have rice and potatoes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner
3. As a special guest, you are generously given the head of a guinea pig for lunch which still had its eyes, ears, teeth, and some fur (tasted like chicken)
4. Your group works with a local ngo that has us planting 300 trees a day (on average) in the Andes Highlands
5. You make guacamole in your spare time and since there’s no tortilla chips you use Lays chips instead (it honestly tasted amazing!)
6. You get a huge bowl of potato soup one night with a side of 15 potatoes
7. Your leaders get served a cup of warm, uncongealed jello each night
8. Getting food that’s not rice and potatoes feels like an early birthday present
9. You watch Lord of the Rings after seminar and make a count for the amount of times Frodo falls down (we love you Samwise Gamgee)
10. You learn how to play guitar (sort of). Thanks Sophie and Becca!
11. Getting drinkable water is a process and you realize how grateful you are to drink it straight from the tap at home
12. Due to a knee injury, your roommate Becca and you no longer have to hike up a huge hill twice a day
13. You now live 1 minute away from seminar space with 3 roommates and a warm shower
14. For just .30c you can hop on a bus and go to the closest “city”
15. You are 10 minutes away from the Ingapirca Ruins (The biggest Inca/Cañari city built in Ecuador). We are surrounded by a beautiful and extensive history! 
16. You know way less Spanish than you thought you did but it’s enough to get by
17. The first thing your host-dad gives you is a spanish/english version of the New Testment (Dios es Amor)
18. The altitude difference makes going up the stairs our daily workout
19. You see a supermarket and buy 2 full bags of granola, granola bars, chia seeds, nuts, and fruit
20. It’s surprisingly very cold here and instead of wearing a t-shirt and shorts like you thought, you’re wearing all the layers you own
21. When the fog comes in at night it gives the street/village an eerie but alluring vibe
22. When you see who can say the name of our village (Caguanapamba) five times in a row the quickest
23. You realize how much you love avocados and take every opportunity to have more (You can take the girl out of California, but you can’t take California out of the girl)
24. You buy animal crackers for the first time since you were 5
25. You have the loudest/squeakiest door possible and you can’t go to bathroom at night without waking everybody up
26. Walking past pigs and sheep on the road is typical. Love this! 
27. Your family takes you trout fishing the last day and you accidentally slap your friend with a fish while reeling it in
28. You go to a club soccer game in Quito!!!
29. You discover how amazing and cozy alpaca sweaters are
30. Going to the coast for independent student travel was one of the best decisions you’ve made (I missed the ocean)
31. You visit La Isla del Plata (AKA Poor Mans Galapagos) and see enough Blue-Footed Boobies to last a lifetime
32. You go surfing!!!

Ecuador has been an awesome last core country. It definitely had it’s struggles but overall I wouldn’t want it any other way. My knee injury caused me to spend most of my time in the host village laying in bed and sadly missing the work project. I’m happy to announce that I will still be able to hike Machu Picchu next week! 

Today, we leave for Cuzco and we begin the 4 day trail in just a few days. After that, we return to the USA. Crazy to think that in just one week I’ll be seeing my family! 

Sorry that my blog was so late, I hope everyone is doing well! 

Patty Dougherty