The last 3 weeks + Carnaval

All right, so I am still really bad at updating this blog. Maybe this is because I'm starting to have less big things to do. Instead I feel like I'm settling more of a normal routine. Cycle 1 is almost over (last day is my birthday), which I find really hard to believe. Last cycle seemed to last so long and this cycle seemed to fly by.

So let's see, big things...well, first I will be moving out of my host family's house. I love my host family, and they take really good care of me, but they have a hyperactive 6 year old. This means that usually when I'm trying to get work done, he's running around and yelling very loudly. However, I plan to visit with them after moving out because they are so kind to me. :-)

Lately, I've been hanging out with Ecuadorian friends and other teachers from CEC. It's having a bigger network of people that I had when I first came. Usually there's someone around to hang out with when I have free time.

So this weekend was Carnaval. This means no classes today (Monday) or tomorrow (Tuesday), although Carnaval technically ends today. For Carnaval I went to Mindo with Galo. If you remember, I went to Mindo a few weeks ago for mid-service. However, I didn't really have time to do tourist-y things. This time was nice, because it was chill yet a lot of fun. We went on Saturday morning, and just walked around Mindo for the rest of the day. On Sunday we went zip lining with Mindo Ropes & Canopy. It was not nearly as terrifying as I thought it would be. Yes, it's a little scary trusting your life to one thin cable, but the views are incredible. However, after walking up the hill/mountain/thing to the place and then walking up more stairs in between cables, I am sooo sore. Unfortunately, both of us forgot our cameras, so there are no pictures of this adventure. :-( We came back on a bus at 6:30 am this morning, so now I'm extremely tired. However, there are still no classes tomorrow, I can spend all day being lazy. Yay!

Now I just need to figure out what I will be doing with my next break. Between cycles 1 and 2, I have about a week and a half. I'm thinking about traveling to Cuenca then Loja. I don't want to travel myself, though, so we'll see. But whatever I do, I will definitely remember my camera.

So I'm sorry this post is so short for such a long amount of time between posts, I don't really have much else to talk about. Sadly, moving is going to take up a lot of my money. (My World Teach contract says I have to give my host family a month notice before I move, which basically means I need to pay for a month after the day I tell them. Then I need to pay rent for the new apartment.) So this probably means not a lot of traveling until after my birthday. Birthday money, woo! :-) Also, after this next paycheck, I hope to start the souvenir shopping for everyone. I know I should intelligently spread this out over a few paychecks, so it will be starting soon. Now I need to figure out what to get everyone - never an easy task. I foresee a few trips to Otavalo in my future.

Now, I leave you with a meme from the internet that has been cracking me up for days. This is because I feel bad for not having any exciting new pictures to show you. (Also, I'm sorry if the language from the owl picture bothers you. But it's been making me laugh at random times, so people think I'm crazy.)

Of course, I just realized I could add pictures of my presents from Valentine's day. So here they are: 

There was also a bar of Ecuadorian chocolate, but I ate that before I thought to take a picture. Oh yes, and here are my recent jewelry purchases from the artisan market on Jorge Washington:

And that's all folks! :-)