Changes in Career Test?

I'm taking the Princeton Review test again. I forgot how I did all this career stuff before. (Look there is the mighty word again ... Stuff)

Anyway back in the day aka I do not remeber I got these results. If this bores you, do not read it. This just seemed like a good place to store stuff.
Interest Color - Green
People with green Interests like job responsibilities and occupations that involve persuasion, sales, promotions, and group or personal contact. People with green Interests enjoy activities that include: motivating, mediating, selling, influencing, consensus building, persuading, delegating authority, entertaining, and lobbying. These Interests often lead to work in marketing, advertising, training, therapy, consulting, teaching, law, and public relations.

Usual style - Blue
People with blue styles prefer to perform their job responsibilities in a manner that is supportive and helpful to others with a minimum of confrontation. They prefer to work where they have time to think things through before acting. People with blue style tend to be insightful, reflective, selectively sociable, creative, thoughtful, emotional, imaginative, and sensitive. Usually they thrive in a cutting edge, informally paced, future-oriented environment. You will want to choose a work environment or career path in which your style is welcomed and produces results.



The NOW!
Interest Color - Blue
People with blue Interests like job responsibilities and occupations that involve creative, humanistic, thoughtful, and quiet types of activities. Blue Interests include abstracting, theorizing, designing, writing, reflecting, and originating, which often lead to work in editing, teaching, composing, inventing, mediating, clergy, and writing.

Usual Style - Yellow
People with yellow styles perform their job responsibilities in a manner that is orderly and planned to meet a known schedule. They prefer to work where things get done with a minimum of interpretation and unexpected change. People with a yellow style tend to be orderly, cautious, structured, loyal, systematic, solitary, methodical, and organized, and usually thrive in a research-oriented, predictable, established, controlled, measurable, orderly environment. You will want to choose a work environment or career path in which your style is welcomed and produces results.

Yellow is not ME! This is probably why I got the idea of being a research scientist.

Personality Test Results

Myers Briggs = ENFP
This translates to Champion in Kersey system
Enneagram Types - The Enthusiast.

Funny enough the description is very similiar to the color quiz results.
a link to #7 The enthusiast

The color quiz said this about me.

Existing situation
Seeks to share a bond of understanding intimacy in an esthetic atmosphere of peace and tenderness.

My stress sources
Feels that life has far more to offer and that there are still important things to be achieved--that life must be experienced to the fullest. As a result, she pursues her objectives with a fierce intensity that will not let go of things. Becomes deeply involved and runs the risk of being unable to view things with sufficient objectivity, or calmly enough; is therefore in danger of becoming agitated and of exhausting her nervous energy. Cannot leave things alone and feels she can only be at peace when she has finally reached her goal.

My restrained Characteristics
Unhappy at the resistance she feels whenever she tries to assert herself. However, she believes that there is little she can do and that she must make the best of the situation.
Feels that things stand in her way, that circumstances are forcing her to compromise and forgo some pleasures for the time being.

My desired objective
In despair and needs relief of some sort. Wants physical ease, a problem free security, and the chance to recover

My actual problem
The fear that she may be prevented from achieving the things she wants leads her into a relentless search for satisfaction in the pursuit of illusory or meaningless activities


I will admit last year that I wanted a problem free security and a chance to recover but this year is different. I also do not think that I'm in pursuit of illusory or meaningless activities.

Always looking for a job

I know that this not true but I feel like it is. I feel like I have been looking for a job for the past three years even when I had one. Looking for the one that would make me more happy than not. At this point, I'm looking for a job that will pay me with money. I'm still not quite to the level of fast food or call service but I am looking at administrative positions which I just have no enthusiasm for. I'm going to call to get the subsitute forms sent to my house because I think that job would be good for me.

I do have days where I get down about the whole career search but I still have hope. I was never worried about my job hopping but now it seems to be not just a year trend. Scratch that. I had one job that I kept the whole year. I just happen to travel for a fourth of the year. I will not get too worried but I just want money.

Anyway, the new year is coming very soon. I have some goals for this new year. I want to get a job and make money. I will then save most of this money to own my own apartment/condo and for my next big trip. Remember I plan on visiting South America by way of Mexico and Central America. I would like to meet new people who like to play the games I enjoy. I hope this greatly or otherwise I might go back to TGS and I believe that would be bad. I just love board and card games, and the people who enjoy playing those games with me, do not have time.

I guess I need to get my own place to live. I so focus on the job part that I'm not looking to far ahead. Except I'm thinking two years in the future. I guess it is the in between that is so grey for me. Hehehe. It is like Warcraft (not World of) where you can see where you are at and your long term goal but the rest is all black with the fog of war.

I think about men but I have no resolutions or goals for them. I would like to date but it does not seem to important. I do NOT want a relationship. Blah, get shivers when I think about it, but I do not want to sleep with random men. I want a nice in between where we have fun but do not get too serious, and then we move on to new people. I guess that does sound like sleeping with random men but anyway, I'm vague about the future when it comes to this aspect.

I need to practice my bass more. That is always but I almost believe it might happen this year. I would like to take courses in stuff. That's right, the mighty word, Stuff. For example I would enjoy ceramics, politics, and Spanish. This is one of my biggest goals. Do not lose too much Spanish. The only TV I watch is channel 33 or the spanish channel. I also read Tres desos hoy. One cool thing is when I start thinking in Spanish, more spanish comes out. I plan on writing in my journal in espanol but it is so hard. Just reading my "it is for 8 year olds or younger" book today, tired my brain out.

There it is. I want a job, a place to live, and some new friends. And practice my bass. Sounds a whole like last year but I'm so very different than I was last year.

Still Adjusting...

I blithely came back and the first day was chill. I felt just like when I was traveling and things are the way they are. I know - deep. I did have some awkward moment with my friends. Not that you all knew, it was all in my head. But now you know! I blogged that struggling blog and thanks alot Grumpator for your comment. It did me good.

I had forgot that living somewhere can have its lonely moments as well. That just seemed to be part of traveling alone since I was dependent on the whims of fate and my own mood for companions. I knew I changed but I'm not sure how much. My sense of humor is definitely been subdued (changed forever! Gasp. No but maybe) and I'm quieter. Crazy that. I got right back in the groove of being dragged down by the job situation.

All is doing better now. I weighed 120 when I got back and I'm back to 125. Of course, I have not been exercising so it is my fault. South Mountain beckons. I got to admit that are mountains do not look like mountains to me anymore. The plan today is hike in the morning maybe and sign up for a fitness thing at the Y. Take a shower, go to every restaurant in the area, and then meet up with friends for dinner and a show. I'm not so worried about the whole job thing right now. If I end up paying massive fees to American Express, so be it. There is a new Hilton opening up at the 101 and 202 so I plan on going to the job fair next Monday.

I still have not practiced my bass at all so everything is normal in that section. I love Pandora! I listen to it all the time. I'm realizing that this blog is losing all semblance of structure but that all these English words are coming back into my vocabulary. I believe it is because my brain is not focusing on Spanish. I need to use more Spanish. I checked out some library books in spanish and I should watch the spanish channel. Just do not watch TV. Also checked out cookbooks on vegetarianism. Yep, I have decided to do the vegetarian thing. I will probably be an occasional meat eater but there that is.

I also forgot about the restless worker inside me. I'm getting things done. I replaced my front tires because that had to be done, got new pants because nothing fits anymore, and compiled all my information for an application into a document. Reminds me, I was so excited to come back and have more options in clothes. I do but not that much. I already knew that pants would not fit but apparently I lost weight in my torso so very few shirts fit as well. Yeah! I love losing weight when I have no money to buy new clothes.

So obviously, I'm dong better. Thanks also to all my friends. A lot of times I would be feeling down or grumpy or weird, then I would receive an email, comment, or phone call from someone. It would make the day a bit better and put my sillness into perspective.
Ciao!

Struggling

I was really excited to come back. I wanted to clean dishes, see friends, and get a job. I'm enjoying see friends but it still feels a bit weird with most. Other than that, I'm struggling. I'm feeling mundane and some grief from the failed relationship is coming back. It is like I was hiding from it and all of normal life a bit. I'm feeling more lonely because my expectations were higher though I'm having more serious connections.

The job front always gets me down. It feels so long term and draining. Maybe this is culture shock. I do not know what it is but I'm struggling. Part of me wants to go traveling but other parts are not ready. I'm sure this will get better.

Killing Time

I want to go home. Really that is what is comes down to and I have to wait. I felt bad because I felt like I was just killing time, but I'm having fun killing time. I got a really bad romance novel yesterday adn I went into the world of books. It started out all right but the end was crap.

I went to Machupicchu and it was cool. It is big and impressive. There is only one problem. Still do not care about ruins. The Incas did have a system where water went down a hill and they had made a system where it fountained down two feet. I was impressed. I went to Waynu (bad spelling) picchu which is the mountain you see in the background in all the photos. I climbed to the top and the view was spectacular.

I had met a Colombian dude on the night train and he was rather annoying. He was cute but he kept telling me he was 16, but he could never keep his story straight. He did help me apply sunblock on my head since it was burning. I lost my blue hat. Sadness. We had walked up to Machupicchu and up the other hill. He thoguht I was ahead of him when in fact I was behind. He sped off and I did not care. I decided to go to see the Gran Cavern. It is not that Gran. I did not have a lot of water but it only took me 30ish minutes to get down. There a nice man gave me directions to do a loop that was faster. Isn't funny when someone does you a favor but really it means you get to climb the mountain again?

No. The answer is no it is not funny. I climbed the mountain again. With no water this time. It was so miserable and hot. I tried crying but had no water to cry. I have been trained to deal with this because my mother was horrible with trails when younger. I have been on several 3-4 hour hikes that were in fact 7 or more. I got up and trugde down. I paid the ridicolous price of 7 dollars (22 soles) for a bus down and 10 soles for water. Water is usually 1 or 1.5 soles. I took a shower and started to feel better.

I would recommended Machupicchu but it is expensive and I have been impressed by other things more. It all depends on what you like. I enjoyed the Galapagos more. I love the sea and animals. Ruins are old places for me. Cool, people could build big and impressive things in the past. I know this.

I took the train back at 5:30 in the morning. I have been just chilling in Cusco since. Eating food and calling my family with this free phone at the South American Explorer club. I have not chatted with too many people but that is okay. I chatted with a girl at the club adn I hope there are people at the hostel. Otherwise, it is 3 days by myself which is not too terribly. I went to two museums yesterday and will go to one today. I plan on exchanging my book for another at the club, eating out, and then catching the plane to Lima.

Lima should be fun and I have a little bit of money. I borrowed 100 dollars from my mom which I do not think I will need but just in case. I'm going to buy a Spanish book and visit downtown Lima. Then get up so early on the 15th (3am) and probably paid a crazy amount for a taxi. I assume 40 or 50 soles. Usually my budget is 90 soles a day. But I will be paying for a registered taxi early in the morning, two price raising factors. My plane leaves at 5:50am. I will get home at 8:50pm mostly because I have to wait four hours in Fort Lauderadale which I can't spell. I plan on doing research and seeing what I can do in an hour in the Fort place.

Ciao Ciao

So excited!

I'm off to see Macchu Picchu tomorrow. It should be grand. I'm really excited because I will be able to take pictures of it. I dropped my camera the first night in the Andes and it broke. So disappointing. I did not realize how much I love taking pictures until that happen.

I got to Cusco by plane (which means I will really be broke when I get back) and a guy repaired it for 100 sols or 33 dollars. Apparently it was full of sand and he recommended that I not drop it on almost every beach I visited. Ha, like I will stop being clutzy.

I need to go buy my ticket to see Macchu Picchu, get my laundry, pack my bag, grab a bus to a town, and then take a train to Aguas Caliente. Busy Busy.

Will be back in the States on Monday. Keep on counting the days.

Tired so tired

The day after that last blog I went searching for a guide at an agency. This got me back to Clara so I ran with it. She was pretty much what I expected, annoying and late. She did get me to the sites. Huarchos de Luna was cool and is known for its colors. I really liked Chan Chan because it was huge. I also got a free lecture about how girls should get an education before boys! Or they end up pregnant. From Clara of course, blah, no mention of educating the girls about sex education.

I enjoy ruins a bit but they are not that cool for me. I did feel like I was in the Mummy because it was a sandy desert and ruins.

That night I left for Huaraz on a night bus. Watched part of a oriental film about guy kicking butt. Alas, there was no sound so they switched it out for a movie about Lyrics with Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. Horrible but I watched the whole thing. Then tried to sleep. Got 4 hours! Best yet. Met an English bloke named David.

That day passed in a sleep haze but ate at some good restaurants and booked a tour to trek the Santa Cruz trail in the Andes. Went to bed earlish at 10pm and got up at 5am for the tour. David and I got to the place. The guide and everyone got in a taxi for the collectivos to go to Santa Cruz. Which could not happen. People were protesting on the road to Santa Cruz until 12pm. Going to do the tour tomorrow.

Instead David and I had free breakfast at our hostel and got a collectivo to take us to a different part. We tried to see the Laguna Churpu but the altitude affected me. I got a headache but the worst part was when my left hand started to go numb. We saw what we thought was the Laguna, tiny but a bit of water and started to head down. I was not going up anymore because the numb hand was a clear warning. We did not see it. The laguna is big, blue, and beautiful. I still have a headache but hope it goes away by tomorrow for the trek. I will be away from computers until Sunday.

Kimkipling Out

Day of Rest

I know this is a lot of blogging at one time but today was a day of rest. I did not know it at the beginning and I struggled with it, but there it is. Sundays are a day where museums and attractions are closed or close early.

I slept in till 9:30 because I got up at 6ish in the morning prior and did not get to bed until midnight. I also started my period. I had ridden a bus for three hours to Chiclayo and stubbornly refused a taxi. I walked and almost got lost, but my gut instincts prompted me to turn left instead of right. Cool because that would have been tiring with all my gear with me. I walked around Chiclayo. Got a mint ice cream cone and ate at Tia's restuarant. Good, good food but slow service. Talking about food. I weighed myself and I have gained 5 pounds. Not so bad since I use to eat ice cream or a dulce everyday. The one day I did not buy myself anything, Antonio surprised me with two chocolate bars. I denouced him for trying to fatten me up like the witch in Hansel and Gretel. He was totally confused so I thanked him and gave him a kiss.

Back to Chiclayo, I walk to the bus stop and the next bus does not leave until 5:30. In Peru, there is not bus terminals, each bus has its own location so I walked to Linea. It's bus left at 5pm. It was 4:05 so I was pretty sure I had missed the bus by 5 minutes. I chilled in the bus station until 15 minutes before. I was very self congratulatory because I seemed to have got traveling done a bit easier. Using the bathroom early, having toliet paper that I already bought at a store. Go to the bathroom and my lunar cycle has started. Shit! I packed all my pads in the big backpack and that was already turned into the equipment guys. Alright, just use toliet paper. Wait, duh, buy pads. Found a store and waited forever but got my pads. Also got a plastic bag so I could put my already opened crackers into it so the crumbs do not go everywhere. Already dealt with that situation and I was very very slow about cleaning out that section of my small backpack. I was lazy and just stopped using it. The whole pad situation lead me to getting in the line for the bus late and the guy sharing the same row as me had already taken my window seat. I want my window seat! It always get stolen from me and I never speak up. Not again! He also did that annoying guy thing where he needs to spread his legs into my area. I have tried pushing back with my legs or keeping my legs where they are. Guys never care. I did speak up and he moved his legs for all of 5 minutes. Seriously guys, do not do this. I don't want to touch you and you have no right to my space.

Anyway, I was expecting the ride to take 3 hours maybe 4. It took 5 hours. I did not get in until 10pm. I then stupidly took a white taxi with no number. I'm not sure why but I was tired and grumpy so I apparently go stupid. It worked out and he was nice man. I just kept thinking "Do not kill me". I got to Casa de Clara at 10:30pm. Told the lady of the house was not in so just wait 10 minutes. 15 minutes later I go searching for a bathroom. Clara's brother comes in and talks Spanish to me very cool. Hard to talk about politics in Spanish at that hour after traveling so much, but I passed the test! I also met an Austrian guy who told me he took Linea (same bus company) from Chiclayo and it took 2 to 3 hours. Blah! An hour later, Clara comes home and I get to get a bed. Took another hour to relax to sleep.

That brings me to today. I felt like I should do more. I'm traveling. Other people see more! Oh well, I'm a bit slower and bit more relaxed. I ended up going shopping for yarn with Clara the crazy lady. She is not crazy but she is like an annoying grandma always talking and giving advice in the middle of any conversation. She would walk incredibily fast and cut off anyone. I mean I saw her cutoff a highly pregnant woman. Wow. She would then stop randomly. I went with her because she said she knew where it was. Nope. I did get some yarn but probably not enough for what I plan but no biggie.

I just talked to this girl and she highly recommended Chan Chans. I had just looked at pictures and I have to agree. I'm a bit sad because they did Huachas yesterday and Chan Chan and the beach today. I wandered abound town. Oh well, yoga lessons. No comparisions. I'm where I'm at. I think I will spend one more day in Trujillo and then onward. I plan to end my trip in Cusco with Machu Picchu. Then fly from Cusco to Lima on the 14th. Find a hostal and explore Lima for a few hours. Sleep for a few hours and get up at 3am. Get a taxi to the airport and fly back to the states arriving at 9pm in Phoenix. Woot! Shower and sleep. Glorious sleep.

Tomorrow I will go to Chan Chan with the tour here at the hostal or book one separately. I might also see the Huarchas. If I miss the beach, no biggie.

Ending with a cute story about Antonio and I. The family played the music of Amelie quite often which I love. The first time, I grabbed Antonio and we danced through the house. He does not normally dance (except techno) but he liked me and being close to me. His mom loved us dancing! She would play the music more often just to get us to dance. Well Antonio seemed to really enjoy dancing with me. He said he did not like to dance to salsa and other music but he started to ask me to dance all the time. We danced to Hey Jude and some metal song that I did not like on different days. My favorite was when he looked into my eyes and shyly asked if we could dance to a Zelda song. No problem! Later that night, he turned on the Gamecube and we danced in his room to the opening song of Zelda: Windwaker.

Super powers activate!

I had forgotten something that is a huge joke in Arizona. It just has not happened and I have not thought of it.

I was in the bus for Piura. Peru in the north is a huge dry sandy desert and the bus has been driving through it for an hour when I noticed something.

My hands were dripping sweat. Literally, liquid was collecting and if you have seen it, I'm not exxagerating. It made me realize I have not had my sweaty palm power in Ecuador. Apprarently it is only available in really dry climates.

There goes my claim to fame. I only get this super power when in certain place in the world. But still it is back!

Super power activate!

Bye Cuenca and Ecuador

I left on Thanksgiving for Loja. I left a crying boyfriend. I guess he is an ex now. It is weird to break up on such predetermined and good terms. I miss him quite a bit. I took a bus with Antonio's sister and her foundation. I got into Loja at midnight which is not what I planned.

I left Loja this morning at 7am. I crossed the border from Ecuador to Peru at 1pm almost 90day exactly. I got my entrance stamp on August 31 at 1:34pm and my exit stamp today at 1:05ish. It was not that hard and my nerves are gone. I ran into two Ho,land girls and are sharing a room with them. Would like to spend more time with them but they leave tomorrow at 6am. I cannot stand anther long bus ride. I was 6 and 1/2 hours yesterday and 9ish today. One day of break! Even if it is in the unexicting town of Piura.

Got to run because will have lots of time tomorrow.

Champions of the World!

of bowling that is. I was in a tournament with Antonio for his work and we made it in the finals! Of course there was only four teams so not that hard but today was the day. The number 1 team (Team Manager, I like to call it) versus number 2 team (Team Antonio). There had been a total of three games where all the points had been added up. We were only 20 points behind Team Manager. Found out that Ruth's team (no I do not know her either) blew the other team out of the water. They had 5 players and a combined score of 588. Wow.

The excitement was high. I started out with a strike and so did Nivel! Antonio scored 1 and Rosa scored 0. The other team did about the same. I followed up with a spare while Nivel did a double! We were so giddy and we could tell that we were kicking Team Manager's butt. The only thing that made me kinda sad (but not really) was that I ended with a great score of 121. Not highest score but good for the level we were playing at. Antonio beat me with 124! He came out of the blew at the end. I was just consistent. Grrrrr. I then beat him at air hockey 6-7. So close which put the final score of games at 3-3. Cool to end in a tie and I'm excited that Antonio got his highest score of his life today. We actually went to practice last Friday which was a beat expensive for Ecuador (8 dollars for the 2 of us). To put that price in perspective, Antonio gets 200 dollars a month plus tips. He has a pretty good job as a waiter in Cuenca as well.

I leave tomorrow. Wow. I do not want to leave at least for Peru. I almost wish I was going directly home but I paid for the tickets. I have them and I questioned the wisdom of buying tickets that I have to have in paper. I hope I do not lose them or get them stolen. If anything bad happens, I will just buy new tickets. Expensive but whatever. I plan on leaving tomorrow at 3pm for Loja. That has taken 6 and 1/2 hours twice in the past. I plan on arriving at 9:30pm and then hopefully can buy a ticket to Piura, Peru that leaves at 10:30 or 11pm (whichever is open). Another 8 hour bus ride later and I will be on the coast of Peru around 6am.

I do not know past that at this moment. I will spend probably a day or two in Piura to recover and see the sights. Then another 7 hour bus ride to Trujillo. Same system and arrive in Huraz a couple days later. No one has told me great stories about northern Peru. Scratch that, one did, but he was excited because a girl and him did not know Spanish but yet found their way by catching random buses. Woot. That seems fun. Probably was but I know Spanish and will use it. Antonio has visited Peru twice and highly recommends southern Peru like everyone else. I looked into flights from Cuenca to Cusco and other options. All are to expensive. If I make it to Cusco, I will probably fly from there to Lima. It is only 250 dollars and I can afford that. Oh well it is traveling which for me means I have no clue what will happen. I know I did not plan on spending three months in Ecuador especially one of them in Cuenca.

No regrets. I was a bit lonely in Cuenca and I did fight with Antonio but it was great. Still is. After this blog, I will head back to Antonio's and pack my things. I have not had to pack in like two weeks. That was really nice. Part of me does not want to deal with the dangers of Peru (actually having a bit of travel nerves similiar before my trip to Ecuador) but the other part is pumped. Running into random people and seeing beautiful or just new sites.

I get back Dec 15. That night is planned with family and I get back around 9pm so will be tired. The next night I hope is a small get together with close friends (still in the works) and the night after that is a different party not associated with me coming back at all. Crazy. I will get social overload. My days will be playing bass and looking for a job. My life in the States is more planned than my life at this moment.

I have been celebrating Thansgiving everyday this week by eating at a nice restaurant for lunch with Antonio. Tomorrow I will be traveling a lot.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

UPDATE! What is my life like in Cuenca?

UPDATE! I was so nervous about the flea situation. I think I found one in my long underwear and I shoved them into a plastic bag. I was itching all night, and I kept waking Antonio all night long. In the morning around 7am, I examined every inch of my body for bites. None new ones! One or two must have jumped on my long underwear on the one day I wore them out (it was cold) and bite me in the night. I was so happy. No fleas! and I did not have to clean so much. Whew.

I called my brother. I wanted to talk to him because our last conversation involved me being very angry because it was about Whiskers. It was actually a miscommunication on my mom's part that made me thought that Whiskers had been sick or dead longer than she had been. I had not talked to my brother for about 4 days and I wanted him to know I was not angry. He then asked me an interesting question.

What is life in Cuenca?

Hmmm... I have a feeling that I have been away to long to see the differences. I do not even think about differences that much anymore. Okay, sometimes. I get up in the morning next to a guy. That is different. I usually get up first unless he has to work that morning. He is nice and sweet, but not the guy for me later in life. I usually chat with him. I then wander downstairs. I have to run the gauntlet. Greeting everyone that I see and saying "No I do not want whatever (eggs, wierd beans, coffee, etc). I like hot chocolate and bread. No, no I do not need more bread. Gracias, no tengo hambre." The day then depends on whether I have school and what Antonio has to do.

Life is really not that different here for me. I do not work nor do I feel like I have to get a job but that is the vacation life for you. It is a bit different because I have never lived with another family other than my own. I love it. I enjoy randomly have encounters with the 5 year old girl or 3 year old boy (or sometimes both together). They are a bit spoiled in the house but they are learning poco a poco that I can be fun but if you do not listen then I do not play. The dad is really nice if a bit preoccupied for my safety. He and Marta (the mom) treat me similiarly to a daughter but one they cannot understand that well. The grandmom is really cute. She could not remember my name so asked everyone (which I could hear) and finally reintroduced herself so she could ask my name. The family has really gotten used to me being there and I think they will be sad to see me go. So family are still the same. There is family politics that they mostly try to ignore or hide from me, but it is still there. There is pressure to eat and people worry for your well being.

Otherwise, outside of the house, it is on the normal side for traveling. It is a bit hard to gauge because I do not work or have volunteer projects. I have school which is teaching me quite a bit of spanish. I get frustrated and angry more easy like I do at home (and unlike how I have been since travel so maybe a byproduct of living somewhere). I use the internet quite a bit and listen to music. I read. This morning I stayed snug in bed, warm and cozy, for two hours reading. Felt just like home. I still clean. Antonio is so neat. Blah! I only make beds so that no dirt gets on the sheets and to make it easy to get in. It does not need to be pretty! I hang out with mostly Antonio and his friends. I would make more of my own if I was actually living here.

Differences - the bathroom. I may have never told you this, but I judge you by your bathroom. I want it clean (does not have to sparkle but no growing or moving things). I want running water, soap, and a towel for my hand. I hate not have soap or a towel! If you do not have soap or a towel, part of me dislikes you. If you are a close friend, I will give you a hard time. Oh yeah, toliet paper! These things are luxuries in Ecuador. Running water usually happens but no guarantees. It is similiar in Antonio's house. We buy our own toliet paper and I hoard it. No sharing. I will share my cheese and other food, but sharing toliet paper with a household of 10 means I get none. I usually remember to bring my own soap and towel with me. I look forward to having my own bathroom.

They love starch (Ecuador in general). A meal is meat and rice, bread, and sometime of corn thing, and/or potatoes. Seriously, I like starch but vegetables are so yummy.

In general, I feel the same. I get bored and restless. I still clean and interact with other people. I still do my favorite hobbies. The only biggest difference is no pets and no bass. I miss music. Hopefully this gives you a small glimpse of how I live.
Ciao.

Pulgas!

Yay! I get to experience new things all the time in Ecuador like... flea bites! woohoo. I have been bite a few times the past couple days like 3 times but Antonio said it was a spider bite. Heck it might have because they look different than the other ones I got. That is right - others. I got the two bites that were "spider" bites this morning but they are gone now. I have a bunch more that my teacher said was pulgas.

I though flea but the nifty internet informed me I was correct. Antonio does not know yet but all the bedding is being washed tomorrow. It is too late now. Also going to wash the floor with hot soapy water. Tomorrow is a day for cleaning. More good news, Antonio has no bites so apparently I attact them. Well, I do not get bite by mosquitos so all is fair.

Other news, I might go out salsa dancing tonight. Who knows? A girl on couchsurfing responded to my message and I will have dinner or drinks with an English speaking person. Cool. Antonio made an alright chili carne this morning. I have had better but seriously I have attended chili cook offs so it is to be expected. I made LuAnne's guacomole and it is good! Not to LuAnne's ability but better than what I expected for my first time. Spanish is coming along. When I was sick and learning subjuntive, not good. I broke through a plateau. I took the ASU placement test and recieved a pretty high score. Very cool! Living in Cuenca is good even with pulgas.

Mundane Life

I stopped in Cuenca to have some since of normality and stability. Lately I was getting restless. Anyone that knows me that this seems to be standard for me. I have not experienced it on the trip nor had I experienced much boredom. Periods of boredom - yes. For some reason, the one hour bus rides are the worst but the 5 to 8 hours are not that bad. Well, I got some feeling of normal but it was not quite what I wanted. What reared its ugly head was my Restlessness. The idea of traveling on did not cure it.

It was really bad when I was young. I drove my family crazy. I would wander around the house just looking around and maybe grumbling. I would complain to my family that I was bored. Mom, "Why don't you clean your room or do the dishes or etc?" "Why don't I poke a sharp object in my eye?" This was during the angry stage of my life or from about 10 to 20. I did get more tactful in the later stages. People would offer suggestions. My brain would offer suggestions. Video games, books, clean, dance, play with the pets, garden, something completely new? lie what? I do not know. (This is a conversation with myself). All ideas were not good enough. I slowly learned how to calm that beast.

The answer revolves around music, the outdoors, and/or physical exertion. I discovered that for some reason I absloutely adore Dvorak. Dancing seems to relax that part of my brain that is crazy. Or hiking outdoors. Yoga also does it, but not quite as well as hiking or dancing. The crazy part of my brain thinks "I SHOULD be doing something." That is what has been happening the past week.

Does it matter that I'm taking Spanish courses? Nope not enough. This is why I have so much going on and how I get so much done at home. I think about volunteering, learning to dance, or trying to make more friends. I am doing that last one but I tried harder. It is harder here since I'm temporary and have less options than Phoenix. I wanted to go home pretty bad as well for the past week, but that part has released for now. I'm not sure why. Maybe because I'm on vacation and I'm enjoying myself. I will be more friendly with people. But if I do not hang out with anyone else, no problem. I'm getting a tiny bit excited for Peru.

Restless uncleached for a bit but it will always be there. I leave Cuenca in a week. I feel like I'm playing house with Antonio and I love it. I'm getting to attached but I knew that would happen coming in. We had a serious conversation about me living. He called it my "rules" so I discussed it with him. I have to leave because it is the law. Technically I guess I could marry him to stay but NO. Did he want a long distance relationship? Nope. Me neither. All right, not just my rules but reality. Now back to playing house for a week. Today we went shopping for food and tonight he is going to make chili while I try to make guacomole for the first time.

I also am going through my photos. They will soon be in order and in the right direction. Seeing the pictures reminds me of all the things I have done and how beautiful Ecuador is. I hope I'm taking enough photos of Cuenca. Never mind, I'm taking pictures when something catches my eye. I will take pictures of the house I'm staying at and maybe the family.

I look forward to seeing everyone in the future. I honestly look forward to looking for a job and working. So weird.

Things change

I knew that when I left that things would change back in the States. I was and still am quite excited to see what has and has not changed when I get back. I changed my ticket so that I got a refund from the Buenos Aires ticket. I bought a ticket to leave from Lima, Peru on December 15th to arrive in Phoenix on the same day. I'm doing great. I do not mind living with Antonio and my Spanish is really improving. My teacher is amazing. I'm have the flu right now but am getting better. It was only a two day event.

It is not hard to live with Antonio because it is not like living with someone really long term. I do not have all my things to fit into his life. I'm not changing his set up and I do not worry about bills. It is a short term thing and once I stopped freaking out about it, easy to do. I'm getting restless and will move on in a week or so, but I'm not so excited about traveling on. In the future, if I travel again, I will make plans to stop and actually live somewhere. Have my own place that I need to clean and make decisions about.

That is all normal. Back in the States, there is a new president. There is still people caring way too much about social issues that do not effect their lives. I have a friend going to Russia for a month. And I lost Whiskers. She was put down yesterday because she was old and turned anemic. I do not let myself think about it because that is what I do when I grieve. I have no pets now. She was very important to me. I have made very few plans for my return. Get a job and live with mom. But I had already started to plan on when I would get her back and trying to figure out the kitty litter situation. So that is the main purpose of my blog.

My cat is dead.

Riding in the Front of the Bus

Remember when riding in the front of the bus meant you were a loser or good-to-shoes or just go on to late. Not yesterday! As you might have been able to tell, I was feeling trapped in Cuenca. So what did I do? I left!

Not for long, just a day trip. I want to learn more Spanish and I can feel that I'm ready to learn more. I decided to go to Ignapirca, an insteresting antropological site. Antonio walked with me to the bus station. (Bus stations here by the way can be amazing. They are well organized. Busses are really important here so the terminals can feel like minature airports except for the on in Guayaquil which is bigger than their airport.) Ciao. I'm off.

I just chilled in the bus for two hours as I'm on my way to Canar. The view is beautiful. Ecuador is poor and maybe they do not know or notice but the views are gorgeous. Everything was really green and hilly. I get to Canar feeling confident. Then I wandering around for a place to eat. I'm the only white person that I see in all of Canar. I forgot how lonely traveling can be. I love it. And I'm totally comfortable by myself which is a good thing because really I do not talk to that many people in a day. It depends but usually around 1 or 2 for a good conversation. The same old conversation of where are you from, where have you been, where are you going, how long are you traveling and etc can happen quite a bit but still only about 1 to 4 times a day depending on the hostal and surroundings. This trip reminds me why I wanted to stop somewhere and just rest. I was getting restless not making friends but have to remember that it is pretty normal for traveling.

I eat at a cheap joint in Canar, which might have been a mistake. I also got reminded what traveler's diarreaa is last night. Fun! I also got to use a restroom that was at the bottom of a narrow stairway in the basement that did not have a light, toliet paper, water for washing hands, or soap. Actually pretty typical except for the light situation. I love my hand sanitizer. I get done with the lunch and get to wander around the area asking for the right bus. Most people are friendly but have no clue. Kinda like asking for directions in the States. I was directed to a bus that said Tambo express, not going to Ingapirca, off to Tambo. Makes sense. The bus driver says I can go with him and it is on the way, but nah. I wandered around that intersection because it is the place to be. The driver I talked to honks and directs me to the bus next to him that just showed up. Run across traffic ( a bit dangerous since pedestrains do not have the right away) and jump on a crowded bus. Directed up front by the driver! Very exciting because it is new. (Kinda reminds me when I rode a motorcycle for the first time in Vilcabamba. Motorcycle was more fun but both thrilling). I end up making change for the driver and just enjoying myself throughly.

I get to Ingapirca. Hmmm, old stuff. I do not care. Lovely and I'm glad I came but really I do not care. I take a hike to look at old rocks and the view is just sublime. There is a creek but in the distance a river in a valley and everything is green. Everything is green because it rains a lot which is shown by all the mud around. And on my shoes. I look at the rocks. There are just rocks with moss. I will take a picture of a rock to show everyone how it looks like a rock. Alright, look a the photo. Dangit! I can see the face. Well that proves nothing.

I took the bus back to Cuenca and I feel recharged. I'm going to change my flight today and it is only costing me 480. 100 dollars cheaper than last time. It was 432 on the weekend and I was hoping it would decrease more but does not appear to be.
Ciao

Push AND Pull

I'm a bit more condervative than I thought. I was staying at this cool hostal called Hostal Cuencana. The owners were nice and it was very tranquil. The only problem was that I was paying 8 dollars a night to stay there and I was not sleeping there. I was sleeping at Antonio's house and one day Antonio's dad talked to Antonio. I thought it was an arguement and got all upset. I knew that I should not be sleeping over at his house when it is a primarily Catholic country. I got all upset and distant.

Totally wrong. Antonio's dad was just inviting me to live with them. Wow. Ummm... hmmm. I do not know. I mean the cheap bastard inside of me says "Score!" I offered 50 dollars because they keep on feeding me and they never ask me to clean. I do a bit but they have a cleaning lady. I did not want to be a leech in their life. The rational part of me thinks, "Antonio is already more attached than you like and there would be no privacy. Do his parents really approve? Will Antonio drive me crazy and I will start wishing I could hit him with a piece of wood?" Okay no violence but I will probably fill caged and stuck. Another part of me is like "Freaking live in the moment. You will not know until you try and you are not responsible for Antonio's feelings. You have made it clear that you are leaving, that this is temporary, and he is an adult. He can make his own choices". All in all, I felt like it was a dumb idea. But what a story! but dumb.

I thought about it. Okay, I will do it. The cheap bastard and traveling girl parts prevailed. I told Antonio. Later that night, after he was driving me crazy, the rational part reared up. I told Antonio, "Umm, I can't do it". A small roller coaster for Antonio. Then I got space and was geniunely happy to be there. Okay only one thing to do. Ask Mom. I called her up and she had no clue. Thanks Mom. But the main thing for me was that she did not think it was completely stupid or crazy. I guess I needed my mother's approval. So I did the deed.

I moved into an Ecuadorian's man house after knowing him for about a week and a half. I did not think I would posted it on the web because it is hard for me to admit. Not that I'm ashamed. I planned on telling everyone when I got back but there is just to many stories. I just need to not overthink things.

Even though his parents invited me and seemed nice, I could not accept that the whole family approved. I still believe that my underlying instinct is correct on this. They do not have a big problem but do not really approve. But as long as they are nice, I can ignore that feeling for a few days.

I got home two days ago at night. Antonio was working so it wsa just me. I had already dealt with this being hard for me the night before. I said hey to the dad and went to the room. It was a pretty good night. I saw a free concert which had some really good singers but had some sound problems and music problems as well. Later my teacher told me it was more like a school performance even though the performers are middle aged or older. It reminded me so much of my symphony. That made me realize that I truly love music. I personally thought that I kept on doing it partly out of duty and some enjoyment. Nope, my soul loves music and I love to perform. I love the people I play. So when I'm in Antonio's room, I'm in a good mood. There is two doors in his room, the main one and a cool little closet area that goes to another room. I decide to grab the big blankets to make the bed warm. I tried to go through the cool closet area. The door is locked. Dangit, Antonio must have locked it. Go for the main door, start to push. It will not budge. Wow, is the door locked? It is! I'm completely stucked in this room. Antonio's parents do not trust me and have locked me in!

The rational part of me is like "That does not make sense". Try again. I try pushing the door again. Won't open. I start crying and freaking out. I try the other door. I try the main door. I think about trying to go out the window but the rational part reins me in. I truly believe they have locked me in. It does not makes sense but I believe it. I start to knock on the door. I did not want to wake the house but screw it, if they lock me in, they can deal with my noise. The dad finally notices the noise a few moments later and figures out where it is coming from. He comes up and pushes the door. It opens. My brain clicks. He pushed. I pushed to get in. I needed to pull. I'm so dumb and feel so embarassed. I then have to try to explain in poor Spanish. The dad is a dear and tells me his room is just down there. Yes, yes, it is my fault. I start feeling really bad but push it away. I made a mistake. This is a learning situation. I usually do this but next time take a big breahe and think.

I told this story to Antonio when he got home. He then told me that there is like 5 ways to get out of his room. Two involve climbing but the other is just going to the restroom and unlocking the side door. His room is kinda makeshift. I feel more dumb but still realize that I just freaked out. It happens. I also believe it happened because I was alreay feeling trapped. My brain was already there so it just went down that path. The next day Antonio brought it up during lunch. His parents thought it was a funny story. I'm sure one day I will to, but not yet. i said I was embarrased and the parents were like "Why?" Really. Really it is not obvious but they were very nice.

I do not regret making the decision of moving in. It has been a learning situation. The main thing I have learned is that I'm no where near ready for a relationship even one that is temporary. Ye gods, having to communicate and comprimise. I do not want to. I enjoy being single and do what I want. When I get back, dating will be fun, but where I can see the person once a week or once every two weeks. Something completely not serious. This has been a good experience. I was scared that I would stay in a bad relationship again in the future just because I like companionship. Not a fear now. Antonio is a good guy and sweet. We are not right for each other in the long term. To be frank I'm not sure about the short term, but we do have fun together. Just the language barrier can be hard and I'm not great at living in the moment. But if this was not temporary, if it did not already have an end date, I would end it. If I was dating Antonio in the states, I would say "Fun but it has run its course". Of course, in the States I would have more of my own life (family and friends), we would not have seen each other almost everyday, and I would not be living with him.

I will try living in the moment and I do want to take one more week of Spanish. I'm not sure past that. If it is fun, I will stay. If not, I leave for Peru next weekend. I got really frustrated last night and almost decided to leave sooner. Part of the problem is I did not want to have serious conversations about emotions and crap, but since we are spending so much time together, it had to happen. Whatever happens in the future, it has been really interesting if not always fun. I definitely taught me quite a bit about myself which has been a great side effect of this trip. Not something I expected but great.

I'm keep on being surprised by my money situation. I know I'm good with money but even when I think I overspend, my budget is stilling doing great. Always better than I expect. I have money for school, around 20 dollars a day right now, and 30 dollars for when I'm not living with Antonio. I calculated it for me leaving next ween and in twenty days. Just so cool. This is with me being conservative and leaving 200 dollars for any unexpected airport taxes or fees. If it all works out, I will come back being able to affor eating out. Which I have to do. Elmer's, yummmm. I'm also getting better at asking what I need. I did not do so well with the last teacher but that will change next week. I changed schools.

Pictures are up of Galapagos and some of Cuenca.

Princess Angel Fairy Kitty Cookie

My last blog was so tired and grumpy. Things have changed quite a bit. I met an English bloke named Gaz, and he and I ran around Cuenca. He was like a little brother and he told me his problems with his girlfriend. I also got invited to a local's house named Antonio to play video games which Gaz and I did. We played Mario Kart, Mortal Kombat, a Mortal Kombat puzzle game, and Resident Evil 4 on the Gamecube. It was amazing and I also got bored. Just like home.

I stayed in Cuenca for four days because I was tired of traveling and the idea of trying to get to Buenos Aires by December 17th was draining. I called to change my flight to Santiago but too expensive. Dammit. Gaz left late at night and I planned on leaving the next day but I had been flirting with the local named Antonio. The next day I called him up and we had an awesome day. The next day I left for Loja and Vilcabamba. I needed to move on. I started to plan my trip through Peru, Chile, and Argentina so I could get there in time. My heart was not in it. 6 weeks of traveling everyday or two days by bus. It did not feel right.

If there is one thing I have learned by traveling, it is to do what makes you happy. I make all my own plans so if I do not want to travel that way I just have to think of a different solution. What do I want? I never really wanted to leave Cuenca. It is a normal city but I usually move on when I'm done with a place. This time I left because I felt I should. I looked online. Only 590 for a flight from Lima, Peru on Dec 16th through Expedia. My other flight is completely refundable so I would actually be saving around 200 dollars. I will stay in Cuenca. I will stay until I get bored or Nov 26 because I have to be out of Ecuador by Nov 28.

I got all excited and I finally admitted something to myself. I wanted to return also because I really like Antonio. He is an English student who is a waiter at El Cafecito (how I met him because it was my hostal) and also volunteers as a tutor for a local school. He is also an artist and I was infatuated with him. I was a bit scared that he did not really want me to return but it would be okay because I was also returning so I could find a sense of stability and something mundane.

I had a really long day of riding buses becaue I missed a connection by 5 minutes and there was a construction delay but like 9 hours later I was in Cuenca. Vilcabamba was beautiful by the way and I highly recomend it. I called Antonio and left a message. He calls me back like 10 minutes later but just because he wanted to and not because he got my message. So... for this next month I have an Ecuadorian boyfriend. I have agreed to not date others and vice versa. Not the biggest scarifice on my part since I have not dated anyone since February. So that is why my facebook status changed. I just made it blank because I have a boyfriend but it is temporary.

I'm really happy and it is really really nice to dating someone who actually likes me quite a bit. I'm also excited about the election tomorrow. I did not vote because I had no clue where I would be to send a ballot. No matter what happens I will not complain and in the future I will plan better. I'm also rather excited to be coming home. I miss you all. Even if at the same time I plan on leaving again in the future.

I will write more in the future because I should have plenty of time
Shilo the Romantic Fool for a Moment

Galapagos = Amazing

Truly beautiful. I highly recomended Galapagos to everyone and I will write about it, but not in this blog.

This blog is about catch up! I do not feel like I'm wasting my travel time by blogging anymore. I sometimes just need a day or two of rest. Also, a guy named Andre from Canadia said, "The thing I miss most is creating things. You don't create anything when you travel". I disagreed because you create conversations and experiences. Of course someone who has been traveling three years knows nothing. Ye gods is he right. I want to create something and just do somethign mundane. That is why I enjoy this blog so much. I create memories for myself and hopefully images for everyone else. Side note - I miss video games so much. I will never travel without a portable video game system again.

Oh right, for some reason I really did want to get away from it all. I felt like I could not call my family or anyone. The only way to keep in contact was by internet and I did not need normal things. I was in a new place experiencing new sights, people, food, and etc. I did have twings of missing home but recently I have been pining a bit more. I still want to travel now and in the future but I got to change some things. First of all, I'm going to find an arcade and use my money for some mindless fun. For goodness sake I found myself missing Spyro. Spyro! It is not even a game I have played that often. I will start listening to more "American" music and I will be calling people more. If you want to be one of those people, give me your number and time to call you. Even better, join Skype so that our calls would be free. My name on Skype is ... kimkipling! A surprise out of left field.

I was wrong. There will be no new information about my travels except for this. I'm in Cuenca and I believe I will be in Peru by November. I'm sad to miss Halloween and the Election Day. I will not be voting this year. I almost signed up to get a ballot but forgot the address at the hostal. I did not sign up in time but also I have no place to send it to. My address is for Lima and I will most likely not be there until Nov 10th or so. If I'm out and about during another big election, I will plan way ahead.

Here is a picture of Cuenca. (When I figure out why Blogger is a butt. and yes! I did push the add image button once and the second time it had troubles loading)

Miscommunication

I thought I understood numbers in Spanish but I need to double check. I thought my Galapagos tour would start today at doce (noon) but it starts at dos (2) which is a two hour difference. This makes me sad because I rented a bike and tried to make it to a beach on a different part of Santa Cruz. I turned around to make it back by noon and in fact made it back by 11, which is why I'm on the computer in Galapagos at all. I have an hour to kill and I have visited the local stuff. But Grrr! Learning lesson. Just got to keep on telling myself that.

So I called my mom and brother yesterday because I do touristy stuff during the day but the nights so far in Galapagos have been a bit slow. When I talked to my mother, I asked if she read my blogs because she never leaves comments and stopped email me comments. She said, "Yes, but you mostly write it for your friends". What?! One, I consider my mother my friend but I'm writing this for everyone in my life. (The idea of strangers reading it is a bit wierd because my online security is lacking). My mother said she was more interested in the scenery (than my life thanks mom) but really I realized that I'm in another country but I'm not painting a picture of it all for everyone. If I was going to critique my blog: plenty of action, little character development, and no description of the world. Also wow, I started to reread my blogs and the grammar and spelling errors are harsh. I would love to have time to go back and add description to my previous blogs but I just do not have time. From now on, I will try to describe my surroundings more and maybe even add images. Woohoo! How fun is that. Really fun! But if anyone has more constructive criticism that would be great. That was really the point of my Q&A blog but I did not realize it at the time. If there is more of something that you would like to read about, tell me and I will try to change. I mean you all asked for photos and I delivered.

Oh yeah, funny story (sorry mom), my mom complained that she could only see 12 photos so I sent her the link. Same problem. I'm talking with her on the phone going step by step. It clicks! Mom, you got to click on the pictures that you see because they are the album covers. That was a frustrating and funny conversation.

The problem with writing more detailed blogs is time and money. The usual suspects. I want to do things and be involved while I travel (and my whole life). I sometimes feel like I'm stopping my travels to blog. If I have no one to hang out with at night or downtime, and a computer available than all good. The other concern being that usually I'm paying for internet. The average is a dollar per hour which is not bad but it adds up. Also I can get awesome street food or entry into a museum for a dollar or dollar fifty. I do want to make this blog better for everyone so I will try to find the time to post entries that really rock. I will probably cut out some details about what I actually do at an event because I'm already two weeks behind and I will sonn be departing on a cruise so I will be like 3 weeks behind.

My brother had his own story to tell me about when on the phone. My cat is pissed about where she is. She has started to use his bed as the kitty litter. She has never done this in her 15 years of life. She poohed on his bed once and while he was cleaning his sheets, did it again. She later peed on his clean sheets. I recommended that he let (kick) her outside. He was worry she would not come back but I'm mostly confident. I feel really bad about this but can do nothing. Enough seriousness and story time!

This morning I awoke at 7:30am. My body refuses to sleep anymore which makes sense since I went to bed at 9pm. I fought to go to bed at that time. I had hiked at least 5 km yesterday and more like 7 to 8 kms. I also swam twice so I was tired. I spread out on my bed. It is huge! (for me) It is like a double. I look around the room and it is like most private bathroom hostels. There is the big bed, a tv, a nightstand (which is kinda unusual), and a place to hang clothes. The floor is white tile and the walls are a boring beige. There is a sliding door that leads to the bathroom which is a typical bathroom except there is a cloth curtain inside the bathroom to block the public from looking in and another plastic curtain to protect that curtain. There is also another shower curtain on the other side which it the norm. I climb out of my bed and start packing. I'm actually starting to get a bit sick of constantly packing and repacking, but I'm not sick of traveling yet so it is just a necessary part of this life. I had my clothes cleaned at a lavanderia the otehr day so my clothes are already folded. I love have my clothes cleaned and folded by another person for only 3 dollars. I only have to kilograms of clothes but still a great deal. I try not to think about why this is such a great deal and the fact that this country is so poor. I get everything packed and I'm ready to roll.

I head off to the reception to find out what time is check out. It is eleven but can be pushed back to noon. Awesome! because my tour starts at noon or doce in spanish. I decide to eat breakfast in a place instead of just grabbing some bread and fruit from a store. The hotel I'm leaving from is called Los Flamingos and is pretty typical. There is construction on part of it, I believe for the high season that is coming up. There are two buildings that are white and boring. The street and the town is all pretty typical of Ecuador. Run down. That is not true for all parts but stores and homes are small, and usually not painted well. The houses are made out of cinder blocks and cement? or paste between those blocks or they are made out of wood. It is also typical for buildings to look not done. The last floor might have metal rods sticking out or just be frame though to be fair that is not the norm in Galapagos. There are tons of tiendas (stores) and farmacias which all basically sell the same things as the other. The tiendas have water and cookies (and other stuff but really what I care about is the water and cookies) while the farmacias have drugs, water, and cookies. There are many of these little stores so you are always guaranteed easy access to water, cookies, or ice cream.

For breakfast, I went to a panderia and cafeteria. I got a small fruit salad and some pineapple juice. I later grabbed one piece of bread so in fact still got the usual of fruit and bread. I walked up the hill to Hotel Darwin to rent a bike for 2 dollars an hour. I bike around and down the hill to see if the travel agency is open. Nope. Oh well, I will just start off. I head to the main road, Charles Darwin, and start biking up the cobblestone road. It is tough but not too hard. I get to the main road and I'm surrounded by green vegetation. There are some cactus trees but not too many. Cactus trees are exactly what they sound like. They have a bark trunk but have no leaves but are cactus on top. I see a sign for La Mirador. Stop and lock the bike. I hiked a dirt path to see some a lava tunnel. There has been a hole made in the top about 50 meters in so there is plenty of light. There are lots of spider webs and brown rock. The tunnel is pretty mundane but I walk all the way to the back which is not that far. I will admit that I wish I could describe the tunnel better. The sides are smooth and I can see layers, but I'm concentrating on not spraining my ankle on all the big parts of rock. Back to the road.

I swear this bike is a piece of crap because I'm struggling. There are parts that are downhill and my bike just slowly stops. Oh well, I hope I can make it to the beach in the time I got but have to turn around at around 10:45. I bike up this two lane high way. There are talls green grasses and white trunk trees with huge green leaves. I make it to Bellavista. Woot! I find a sign and it says the distance is 6.9km. I stop for a break and two people stop to help me. I do not need help but tell them were I'm trying to go. The road gets smaller and is more hilly. I keep on telling myself, I need to write more description in my blogs. I realize that maybe that tells something about myself because I do not think I always notice my surroundings. There is still lots of lush greenery. I bike some more and turn my head right. Wow. I can see down the green green hill and way off in the distance past some smaller hills is the ocean. What a view. I think about my cat Whiskers. Roy said if I travel again, he cannot take Whiskers. One, she is crapping on his stuff but two, he does not want the responsibility. I was thinking of traveling a lot. What to do? I do not know but have to find her a home or wait for her to die. How depressing is that thought. But I need to travel the rest of South America and I was think living in Australia for a year. That could be a blast. Don't think about it now, but have some major planning when I get home. I bike some more and hope I can make it in time to the beach.

Nope have to turn around. Notice that I can see Puerto Ayora in the distance. Try to capture the moment in film but just can't do it justice. I get back to Bellavista at about 11:05am. I start to fly down the hill. The sensation of have the wind go into your face and going really fast down a hill is impossible for me to describe. Wait! My bike is not crappy, my sense of direction is. I was going up hill the whole time and now is all down hill. I make it back to Puerto Ayora at 11:30am. Dammit! I could have biked more. Oh well. Pay for the hostal and drop my stuff at the agency. I ask her if I have time to get lunch. Yep. Alright. Scraf it down and back to the agency at 12:20pm. Chat with the lady. Ohhhh. The tour starts at dos not doce. Right. What to do. Alright! Go to Galapagos so I can use the internet, which I did. Now I'm off to tour some of the islands in a 10 passagener catamaran (sail) ship that probably also has a motor. It will be loads of fun.

Dreamkapture Hostal

Is my haven. I'm rather tired and a bit dirty. I still need to finish the Guayaquil story and update everyone on the coast trip. I met a cool chick named Nikki but in her reference of me she put that I had good intentions which to me means she thought I was okay and meant well, but was a bit off or something. I'm not too worried about it but she did seem to bring the stories out of me.

I will do that. Maybe tomorrow. Right now is update what I am doing right this moment time. I had a nine hour bus ride from Atacames to Guayaquil. Long buses rides are hard because I never feel like reading, puzzle solving, writing, or anything. I did sleep a bit so that was nice. I got to Guayaquil as the sun was setting. I was unsure where this hostal was and got a taxi. Three dollars and fifty cents which is a lot but I did negotiate 50 cents down from four so go me. He was a nice taxi driver and drove around until we found the place. It did not take that long but he asked like two people.

I got to this green door and rang the bell. This gentleman opens up and they have room. It looks nice and I sign the logbook. I finally ask the price. 10 dollars. Higher than I have paid but lower than I expect. It is beautiful and restful. Funny enough I recognize the voice of someone I went to school with. Off to chat. And take a shower. Oh, I might see the guide guy tomorrow or maybe not.

Guayaquil and the coast!

Alright, I'm so not tech savy it is not funny. I keep on forgeting on how to do things so I keep on relearning. It took me an hour to download picasa, load my photos, and figure out how to upload. Mainly the trouble was with the user but I'm working on that. There was trouble with downloading picasa. But this cafe is super cool because the upload speeds are pretty fast. I'm soon going to be uploading a photo of my butt. It is not the best photo but it shows off the bruise I got when I fell down the stairs. If you do not want to see my butt, do not look at the bruise folder. I'm also not taking as many pictures of the coast. I think it is because I'm traveling with Nikki.

Right, so if anyone has questions, post them in the comment field and I will answer them in my next blog. I have decided it will be Q&A time for Shilo. Some questions I have recieved are "Are you cold, what does the coast look like, and stalking implications?" All of these and maybe more will be answered next time.

Last I left off, I'm waiting at the bus terminal for the woman Vany who I'm suppose to couchsurf with Nikki. I waited for around an hour and half to two hours. I felt really bad because my stomach was still upset from throwing up earlier that morning. I bought a personal pizza and 7-up to try to calm the stomach down. It did not work. When I met Vany I was exhausted and feeling unwell. Vany and I took an unmarked taxi to Andrea's place to drop my stuff. I complimented Vany's earnings which she promptly gave to me. I tried to decline but it was not happening. Vany then wanted me to go with her to the airport so I could point out Nikki. I tiredly rode the bus to the air terminal where Vany started to freak out because we thought the flight arrived at 4:30 but it arrived at 3:30. It was 4:30. We walked around then went back to the original point where Vany then saw Nikki. Vany did not need me at all. I spoke a bit of English to Nikki but tried to keep it in Spanish. Now the fun bit was that Vany is too nice. She said she could take both of us but in fact had family in town. She knew she would have family but did not realize how much.

Nikki was going to stay with Paulo´s family and I was staying with a girl name Joanna. Alright, not a problem. So we all waited at the airport for Paulo's wife Karen to pick us up. Karen came in a truck with her two adorable girls. Vany took off and I have not seen her since. Karen drove us to Duran which is actually quite far from the center of Guayaquil. I still felt like crap. We got to their pretty house and Karen showed me where I could rest. These people are just too nice. The parents were going to sleep in the kid´' room which did have three beds and Nikki was going to take their bed. Wow! Of course, then a stranger is not sleeping near their kids. I went in to visit the girls' room. They promptly showed me a lot. The girls folded paper for me and made what look like a frog face but the eldest drew a cat face on it. I sat in a tiny sit while they put a sparkly headband with two little attennas on it on my head. The youngest kept on asking me the name of shapes in Spanish and I could not help her. I wandered out to the living room and the mother looked at me. She said "I thought you were tired". I shrugged because I'm a sucker for kids. I sat with the kids a bit longer but really did start feeling worn out.

I rested on their bed for like an hour when they served dinner. It was so delicious! and I could not eat much. It was fresh veggies with bits of grained fed chicken on delicious rice. So much onion! I ate like four or five bites. And their was tomato of the tree juice which I did not drink. I ate soda crackers. Vany wanted to go out dancing apparently (she had told the family) and I was having nothing to do with that. Neither was Nikki. She had just spent 8 days on a boat in the Galapagos Island and she was tired. Andrea came over to pick me up. It amazes me how much time and money these people put into both of us but especially me because I experienced it directly. Part of the problem is that I do not think they could comprehend woman traveling alone. I did not need Andrea to come pick me up. I could have been put in a taxi alone and it would be cool. Andrea hung out with the family because the couchsurfers are a close knit group in Guayaquil. Andrea and I then took a bus to some part of Guayaquil. Not all the way to her home. I convinced her that we could take a taxi and I would pay. She actually let me pay.

I got to her house to learn that actually I would be staying with Joanna. Alright. Whatever just let me sleep. Not yet! Joanna came over and we caught a cab to a different part of Mira Flores (the name of the barrio). I was zoning out because I was tired and traffic is always kinda crazy so I never pay attention. Blue blazer passing in front of us WHAM!!

The taxi slammed into the green blazer and my head slammed into the side of the taxi. Joanna got the name of the plate of the blue blazer because it had ran a stop sign. The taxi driver tried to give chase. The blue blazer actually came back for some reason and whipped right on pass. The taxi driver valiently tried to chase but could not turn fast enough. We got out and that was that. Except the driver could not get any help from the police because there was no pictures. I was completely fine. I got no bruises and have had no trouble since.

Joanna and I got to her home where I had to meet the whole family right then. We watched TV for a while. They watched a Killers video just because I liked it. Joanna and I then shared her brother's bed because it was bigger. So I met her for an hour and I'm sharing her bed. No problem because I'm exhausted. I go to be at like 11 but have to get up at 6:30am because Joanna needs to get to work. I get up and get mostly dress but no one seems in a hurry. We eat breakfast and Joanna like "Lista?" Hell no, I have not brushed my hair or anything but I'm rushed off to Andrea's house. Bye Joanna! Andrea then takes me to the center part of town on a bus because she is working there today. I'm staring to get impatient because people on pushing me different places but I want to go my own way. Andrea finally sets me free. But first, we argue about direction because I will later learn that my map is slightly wrong on one street. Oh well, it all works out.

I explore the city and try to find my bearing. I'm still very grumpy because I have not much sleep and I'm still getting over my stomach thing. I come to a street corner and Wow. There is art on the side of a building. A lot of art, it calms me. This is why I travel. To find the beauty in different areas. There is a phot that reminds me of Tempest so I take a photo of it. I'm feeling a bit better. I then find a travel agent so I can book a trip to the Galapagos Islands. The guy does not do economy tours anymore but can book me a flight. Done. Chevere (cool), he also accepts travelers' checks. Woohoo! I'm no longer carrying 450 dollars worth of travelers' checks with me at all time. Only 150. But I´m excited that he accepts them because most places do not and the banks will change them to money but charge some interest rate. I got them to a one to one rate. I'm leaving from Guayaquil on the 13th of October and returning on the 22nd.

I´m off. I explore Guayaquil more. There is two main touristy sections in Guayaquil: 9th de Octobre blvd and the Malecon 2000. The Malecon is right on the river and stretches for blocks and blocks. I walk north to the MAAC (Museum of Anthropology and Arte Contemporia) and run into the cutest cat! I pet it and there is even more calm in my soul. I accidently spill water which startles the cat but not too much. It then starts to drink from the puddle. I have now repaid it for its kindness. I reach MAAC and sit to wait for Nikki. We were suppose to met at noon. I wait until 12:30 and decide to walk to the Peñas on my own.

Peñas is a sction of town just north of the Malecon. It used to be a rough part of town but parts of it are now really safe. It is really pretty and there are pictures up of it now. Oh right, I had misplaced my camera so Joanna lent me hers. So nice. The streets are really narrow and the buildings are liek two to three stories high. Also, it is built on a hill so it is all uphill. I get winded and this guard chats me. I do not understand a lot but he does tell me to take stock because there is more up. I'm like I will go straight. He looks at me weird. I go straight and pass this gate which I did not notice. Another younger gentleman talks to me but I again do not understand a lot. I keep on going. He whistles at me but I ignore it because you have to ignore since it happens so often. I see no guards and the buildings are not as pretty. I get to a spot and this other guy says "You want to go back the way you came" Alright, I go back the way I came and go back through the gate of safety. Nikki calls and says she is running late because she is really far from central which she did not realize. She is going to met up with another Aussie and then me in a few hours. All good but she still wants to see the Peñas. Okay back to the MAAC.

Well everyone that has read my blog now knows this bit. This is where I ran into the hot guide and did not make anything happen. Saddness. Nikki calls while I'm in the museum because her and Claire are in Peñas. I will be there as soon as the guide stops showing me around. He asks if I'm cold. Nope! Oh shit. I had forgotten my really cool jacket in the lunch place in the Peñas. I biff it with the guide and I'm off again. Up. Up. Up. the stairs running so I can meet the girls and get my jacket. Run into the girls outside the right place (what a cowinkadink) (coinicdence (I wish I could spell)). I run in hoping agains hope. YES. My jacket is still there.

Flashback --- Lunch was in a woman´s home. Peñas is hot because the buildings trap the heat. I get a lunch that I do not like very much for 1.50 (the usual). This boy across the way wanders in to watch TV but no really to hit on me. He is only 20 and kinda awkward looking. He sells handicrafts here and in Matañita ( a coast city) where I do plan on being. He starts off sitting further away but puts that chair back so he can sit at my table. He asks if it bothers. No not really. The usual questions insue. Where are you from? What part of the states? How old are you? What is your name? and then the usual compliment. You have really blue eyes. Thank you. He then turns on Chuck Norris: Texas Ranger. Too funny. I pay and go to the museum unknowingly leaving behind the jacket -- Flashback over.

Woah, we are back in real time. The girls and I walk in Peñas. We use an internet cafe and in fact go back to MAAC for a stalker moment to find Daniel. Does not happen. Then back to Peñas for drinks. There is a bar at the highest point (yes I walked all 350 stairs again - they label them for you so you can know) with the best view. They sold beer, cola, and wine by the crate. Claire wants beer, I want cola, and Nikki wants wine but cannot drink it by the crate. They discuss it and discuss it. I go out to call Joanna and she says dancing is near Peñas cool. She will meet me there. Alright. Go back. Nikki and Claire have got the staff to go out and buy wine. Impressive. Joanna shows up and in fact dancing is in the Mira Flores section. Miscommunication because of the phone and the fact that they will not tell me no! Nikki wants to get back earlier so bye Nikki.

Joanna and I take the bus 52 back to Mira Flores. I take a quick tepid shower and get ready. Some funny moments: yes, I do have to warm (iron) my shirt because Joann thinks it is better and if I did not do it. She would have. Blah. Yes, I try on two different pairs of Joanna's sandals because they look better. Ahhh! I do not care that much when I'm home but I'm her guest. We are ready to go out. Fabulous.


Photos are completely up and I need to leave because 2 hours and half in an internet cafe is enough. What I do for all of you (and me).
Ciao!

Chill at home

I was hoping the coast would be refreshing, but I still feel like I need a break. Oh well there is nothing I can do. I have visions of cooking my own meals and just being home. I love traveling but I love my home. Unfortunately it is too expensive to take a break from traveling by vacationing at home.

Back to the story. I was at Caco waiting for my bus to Tena. I got the bus and watched Terminator in Spanish. There is something about buses that make you tired no matter how much energy you had before you get on but I cannot sleep. I got to Tena and it was dark. I saw a sign for a hostal when I guy came up asked if I was looking for Limonchola (or whatever its name was. I went with this random guy into a humble neighborhood and part of me thought "This is kinda scary". It worked out and I gave him 50 cents as a tip. It was pretty nice place.

Tena was slightly boring. It was a nice city but not much going on. Apparently people go there for white water rafting and to go into the jungle for cheaper. I had already visited the jungle. I instead blogged and figured out how to upload photos. I spent like 3 hours in internet cafes. I met an American woman whose names has escaped me. She was so insecure. It was weird to meet a long term traveler who was cracking under the pressure. I order a tostada with cheese and salsa and doritos with guacomole. I expected a Mexican tostada and regular chips with guacomole. I got a cheese sandwhich and literally Doritos with guacomole. So different and weird. I spent two nights in Tena and got in a bus for Baños.

Baños is a touristy town famous for its baths, waterfall, and the fact that a very active volcano is right there. It went off like three years ago and destroyed towns on the other side of the volcano. I got in the bus and waited for it. A guy dressed up in a clown outfit got in and directed people. It amused me and I took pictures. He ten later started begging for money and showed his scar. I gave money for the picture not the begging. The interesting part about the bus ride was I met Chris(L.A.)and the other two Americans that I had met right before i had left for jungle. Chris sat next to me and we chatted. I was interested in hanging put with Americans so invited myself along.

We were traveling very different. I am a long term traveler and they were here for like two weeks. I wanted to walk to a hostal but they wanted to take a taxi. It is a small town for goodness sake! They paid for it but I do not like being a leech. We headed to a hostal and suddenly I was sharing a room with Chris. I should have stayed in the dormitory because it was cheaper but I got roped in by the moment. We had separate beds for those that are thing wrong thoughts. I was not interested at all. I did have fun hanging out with them but I also felt trapped.

We headed to a restaurant called Cafe Hood. It was delicious but boy were the other Americans different. They were so gluttonous. I had an almuerzo for three dollars which came with delicious pineapple juice, a thick and hearty soup, and pasta. I could not even eat most of the pasta. They ordered nachos (which were delicious). Chris had a hamburger, taquitos, and like three sodas. Mike had a big platter of food and so did the girl with sodas. My portion was 3 dollars and I included fours dollars. The total bill was 28 dollar which is huge in Ecuador. Not that this is terrible but just so different from what I'm use to.

We then headed off to a pool. A lot of them were closed for some reason - we were told this by taxi drivers. We went to one and there were quite a few kids. Mike and Tao (his girlfriend), I think her name is different, did not want to get in and they put their stuff in a waterprrof bag so they could get in if they decided. I ran down to use the bathroom and deposited my stuff including clothes with the staff. I got a nifty yellow armband with the number of my crate. I then ran up the path in only my bikini feeling hot. Chris was in and I got in. It was not that impressive. It looked like a pool with muddy water in it. No natural feeling at all. I jumped in and had a great time. Chris was not bothered by the idea that people could be peeing in water or anything. I have swam in public pools all my life and in fast was a kid who peed when young. Sorry everyone! I was not bothered. Mike and T got in. We swam in the warmish water. Then everyone started to empty out of the pool fast. I see brown bits floating in the water. Yeww!!! I tell the others and start to make for the stairs but the pooh is in my way. I jump out. Mike and T are cracking up. The people who did not want to get in because of this very problem. I'm a bit grossed out but good. Chris is almost retching in the grass and takes like a ten minutes rinse in the showers. What a role reversal!. So aptly enough, in Baños someone used the pool as a baño.

The American group wandered off so I wandered the city. The waterfall was beautiful and I will upload photos soon. I had just a marvelous time looking at the sites and being by myself. I went back and found the group on the roof. We chatted a bit and they wanted to do something I did not. I instead went to eat dinner at Casa Hood. They have a lot of hood resturants. There is also a Casa or Cafe Good. Anyway, it was delicious and fun. It had a funky cafe feeling and I had a great fruit smoothie. Got a touch lonely but had my diary so started to write. Live music played and it was just wonderful.

I went back to use the free internet and meet this guy. He was kinda short and cute. I did not pay terribly attention to him. I then spent the night with Chris and he snored. I left that day for Riobamba. I wwaited for a bus but decided I need to buy some of the toffee I had seen earlier. I ran back, grabbed it, and rushed back. Just as I got back, the bus arrived. It was full and it was the first time I had to stand in a bus. I had a blast. I saw this guy up front who looked kind cute and was short. We kinda made eyes at each other but not terribly much. I got a seat about an hour later. I saw another cute guy rush to the back to grab a seat.

I got to Rhiobamba and the guys got off as well. They were together, odd. The short guy asked me if I knew where I was going. "Of course I know where I am going, just have to find a street." I walked a bit off and found a street. They walk to the same point and we started to explore the town together. That is when I meet Chris and Matt from Conneticut. I had swore I would not share a room with anyone again but I did exactly that. I shared a room with a Chris for a second night in a row. It was cheaper so I met two cute guys and was sharing a room with them like 30 minutes later. We explored the city for a while but they did not want to do what I wanted. I looked at a church and went into a free museum. I played in the kid section and went back. Chris was there and we chatted. He had an experience in the plaza where a kid almost drowned, and he and Matt gave advice to the local drunk on things to say to have sex with a tourist. Chris told me where he planned on going and I tried to find it on a map. It was a town called Mantanita. He sat really close to me and I will admit it was nice. They wanted to use the internet so I walked really far to the bus terminal and back. When I got back, we all went out for a chicken dinner and amazing ice cream. A two scooped cone for seventy cents. Matt got the best one which was Kiwi and Guaynaba as one scoop and mora with yourgut as the second. Mora being blackberry. I got lemon and mora. We ended up the night watching Million Dollar baby. I swear I watch more movies in Ecuador than USA.

The next day we all caught a bus to Guayaquil. I sat next to Chris who I thought was cuter. I did not know what bus ride I was in for. Breakfast was from a panderia which was great. It was really amazing traveling with other long term travelers because they know the joys of walking and cheap bread. I also ate an apple on the bus. That was the mistake. The view from the bus was beautiful but I was queasy. I ended up actually throwing up a little bit into a bag. Chris did not even notice because I did not really talk about it. I felt better. About thirty minutes later, the bus stopped for a quick break. Chris got off and I threw up everything in my stomach. I ran off the bus and threw away the bag. The trip was better but I was still weak the rest of the day. When we got to the bus terminal, I called the girl from couchsurfing whose couch I was going to crash. She was surprised because she expected me another day. She told me she would pick me up from the food court. I escorted the guys to the ticket booth and their bus was leaving in 15 minutes. Said goodybye.

It was now the 30th of September. It was month since I started my trip and I was waithing for a girl named Vany to pick me up from the bus. Soon Nikki and I would meet up to travel up the coast.

Omg, I am traveling with Niiki now and I totally told her about my saying sorry too much in the past. I started saying it again! She totally called me out on it which made me sad and want to say sorry. Grrr!

The Jungle!

Back to the world of Quito - I was hanging out with some friends for dinner like two weeks ago.  We split up.  Clara and Brian went home while Nikki walked me to the corner of Plaza Foch to catch a cab.  I ended up meeting a guy named Chris and his two friends because of Nikki.  Hey and Goodbye.  I took the taxi to the McDonald´s to wait for my ride to the jungle.  It cost me two dollars.  I ended up eating their for nostalgic sake but will never eat at McDonald's again.  The memories of Big Macs do not live up to my expectations. 

I waited and this guy named Tobias came up.  He was waiting for the school as well so we chatted.  Only three of us showed up at that spot and got a ride to the bus which cost money as well.  Really, I wished they had just told us where to go for the bus because it would have saved a bit of money.
I was waiting and who should walk up?  Reto, the cool Swiss dude, who I really liked.  We chatted a bit and it was fun.  I met Andre a Canadian man who has been traveling for like two years. We all got on this bus where we got served apple soda and little cookies.  Very posh for Ecuador.  An hour and a half into the ride, the bus breaks down.  We wait for another one which is worse.  I wore my rain jacket through most of the ride because when the bus would stop or turn, the roof would leak on my head.  I was exhausted from my 7 hour hike but could not sleep.
We got to Coca and made a mad dash through the town to wait at a pier.  Why the mad dash?  I do not know.  Perhaps we were a bit late because of the bus breaking down.  Off to breakfast.  Where I learned the joys of hot milk and powdered hot chocolate.  I drank that all week in the jungle.  Then there was an awesome ride in a boat on the River Napo (?) which looked like a lake because it was so big.  There was something so peaceful and amazing about the river by the jungle.  45 minutes later, there was a sign for the Yarinia Lodge and we slid into a tributary.  Ten minutes later, we made it to the lodge.
The jungle was beautiful and there was a lot of structure.  Breakfast was at 6:30am, lunch at noon, and dinner at seven.  My schedule for classes switched around but everyones did so two groups were on the same schedule.  I was a bit sad because I got stuck with the six german girls, two swiss girls, and one really cool Swedish chick.  The Germans were just so annoying because they were so young and always talked in German.  It was frustrating when we had tours and I would ask them to pass information back because that was where I was. They would.  In German. 
Anyway, we had a guide named Marcelo and lots of nice male staff.  No female staff.  The rumor going around the lodge was there was female staff in the past but they kept on getting pregnant. We studied Spanish and when not studying Spanish, would be exploring the jungle. I was a bit lonely because most people wanted to talk their own language. Spanish was cool but the Europeans languages were not for me. I was also a bit sad because the connection with Reto was gone and in fact we argued a bit. Not bad but just a bit of heat butts when talking.

There are some highlights though. Walking through the lodge and suddenly seeing Tapirs hanging out on a porch. The lodge did feed them but still cool to see. I caught the tapirs eating out of the organic waste bucket. Which reminds me of the food - delicious and plentiful. I shared my room with this cool women named Franzika. She was late coming to the jungle because her first plane crashed. It never made it off the runway and went into a brick wall. There was a problem with the door so they had to exit off emergency exit on the wings. She had the newspapers' stories because she was freaking a bit and was trying to cope.

I saw some of the other group swimming in the river and sighed. My teacher told me to go so I ran down and swam instead of learning Spanish, for 15 minutes or so. I got a group of people to play equibole (like volley ball but different) and we ended up playing futbol. Fun because it was muddy.

After the last separated expidition, the guide asked me if I wanted to play volleyball because he saw us all playing like two days before. I said yes but also said I wanted to go swimming. He said there was time for all. He organized a game while I ran back to get my suit on. When I got back, everyone was playing including the German girls! After three games, most people left but a small group of us played futbol. So much fun and tiring. Then we were done and everyone left. I was a bit sad because it was nice and not safe to swim in the river. So I walked to the pier to rinse my feet and legs off. The guide was there as well and asked if I was going swim. I said no because it was dangerous. He was like "Its fine". I stared at hime. "You showed me cayman (like alligators and crocidiles but slightly smaller) and serpents in the river!" "Its safe" swears the guide. He then takes off his shirts and dives in. I think all right. I take off my shirt and jump in. I was wearing my suit and my waterproof pants. It was so nice! It was refreshing and nothing bad happen! I got out after a very little bit. I guess he need to wash his pants because the guide took off his pants and was wearing like a cloth speedo. It covered the important bits but not much. And wow, just imagine a guy who walks all day for a living, and climbs trees, play sports, and swims in a river for fun. What a body! The pants had dragged me down so I got down to just my swimming suit. We did not end up swimming at the same time because one of us would be on the pier but it was great. I was the only one in the school who went swimming at night. I then had a crush on the guide. It is apparently what I do in Ecuador. I get crushes on my guides.

Which is a prefect segue to the current guide story. Nikki and I did go back to the museum two days ago. A different guide met us at the bottom. We used the rest room and when we got out, that guy asked us "You are looking for Daniel?" That is right, he or someone else recognized me and remember. Now the question to ask is what did I say? Hmmmm, really think about who I am and make a guess in your head. ....

The answer - No! I startled the guide. He faltered and did not know where to go from there because he was expecting yes and so was Nikki. I then kicked myself while looking at cool art. I finally pushed myself to ask another guide if in fact Daniel was working that day. He had left for the day. Stupid Shilo! Like a soap opera, I made you all wait for the story and nothing actually change. And! the story might continue. I go back to Guayaquil to catch a plane to the Galapagos Islands on the 13th of October. The museum is free on Sundays and I have even more people who are willing to go. Will I do it? I do not know. The time might be past but part of me really wants to at least get a photo. I will keep everyone informed on what happens.

Real fast about the jungle, we ended with two expeditons. We saw a mock shaman do a ritual and it was interesting but I did not go through it. I want a real shaman. It was long but people really enjoyed it. We also went to see indigenous people living in the jungle. Our guide did most of the talking and there were standing there awkward. So would I if like 15 tourists were in my house staring around. People did buy up the handicrafts.

We took a boat back up to Caco. I tried to get a bus to Tena but two other students took the last two seats. I had paid for a trip back to Quito but changed my mind. It worked out because Franika took it and gave me money. I waited at Coca for an hour and half to catch the bus to Tena. That is when the next segment of traveling happened. Will catch up even more next time!

Oh yeah, I responsed to people's comments in the comment section. I did not try the coffee at Mindo. Coffee in Ecuador is usually hot water with instant coffee. I did not see anything different at Mindo. Anali, you will have to travel down here and try it yourself.