Meaning of life

     Upon our days on the island of Isabela we have been very busy. Since I last wrote I have been overcome with being sick. This is never fun especially where we are! I however did not let that stop me. Yesterday we had a busy day ahead of us. We began around 8 as we made our way to the wall of tears. This was a wall built from lava rocks that was made from the prisoners that inhabitated the island  when it was a penal colony. I usually enjoy these places as something always fascinates me about this history. I was struck though that the wall was very short in length. The strenuous activities that the men had to endure was just to much so the operation was struck down.

      After this we ventured over to a lagoon in which many of us swam. It was interesting type of water due to its postion. It contains both freshwater and saltwater. And the amount of saltwater depends mainly on the tide. Following the brief swim we made our way to another lava tunnel and got to see other wildlife. The typical marine iguanas were everywhere but it was the sighting of the octopus that was really cool to see. It was amazing in how it changed colors to the different positions in which it was located. After this we went and had lunch before we went on another little day excursion.

     We again were split into two groups as we traveled to a islet just off the shore of Isabela. On our way we began to see our first wildlife by spotting a Galápagos penguin and sea turtles. The islet we were going to was a resting spot for white reef sharks so we were in hope of spotting some of them. Fiirst, we walked through another lava field and where there were plenty of iggys that were there. We learned from our guide that they all face the sun in order to help in their cooling phases. When walking by the reef where the sharks tend to hang out we were almost disappointed but at the end we spotted one sleeping. It wasn't that big but was still sweet to see as pretty soon we were going to go snorkeling in hopes of swimming with them. 

      As my third and final snorkeling expereince was going to happen I was hoping to really see new things, like maybe a shark. We swam for roughly  30-40 minutes. When I first got into the water I spotted a sea turtle as it just swam right by me. It was pretty cool! As we continued to swim I saw other things like a sea lion, more sea turtles and two rays of some sort! It is all pretty surreal! When getting the boat  back most of us were pretty exhausted so we just wanted to get back. However I'm glad it took us some time as we got to see some pretty neat wildlife. We were just in time as a fishing boat had just arrived to where it was going to be preparing the fish. While taking the fish out it attracted many wildlife. There was four penguins, about 5 pelicans, a sea lion, and many frigate birds that flocked in hopes of getting scrapes. We just sat and watched because it was just so interesting in how all these different species wanted to get the same meal.

      Once returning we had time to rest and relax as class had gotten rescheduled. We hung out like usual and finished homework. This morning we had class in which our discussion was based on the meaning of life. As  part of the course is philosophy, we had a deep discussion on the readings and how evolution can play its part in the meaning of life and how we develop our own meaning. After this a much needed nap was taken as my roommates and I slept for three hours. When waking up we had to go catch some lunch and then begin a group project in behavioral research. We did our research on pelicans so we spent an hour and a half watching the pelicans behaviors. Although it was interesting in looking at this animal it was very time consuming.

      This is our last day on the Galapagos before we head back for Quito for a few days. It is bittersweet in leaving the islands as they are such an intriguing and beautiful location on this earth. The sights here are one of a kind and something I never could have imagined. For our farewell dinner we ate on the beach and all hung out. Although the weather didn't coorporate in watching the sunset or viewing the stars it has been a great time here and this place will forever be one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. 

Paradise Islands

     So when I last wrote, I had my free day! Like I said we went to Tortuga Bay which was a little ways from our hotel and spent most of the day here. We were able to see some marine iguanas and I broke the rules by chasing after them. Whoops! In order to preserve the nature here there is many rules in regards to the animals. After we came back from our time at Tortuga Bay and had lunch our group walked down to the Darwin Research Station. Here is where breeding of the giant tortoises takes place. This has been becoming popular on the islands as giants, rabbits and other various animals have been eating the baby or smaller tortoises making it hard to survive onsome of the islands. This is also where the famous Lonesome George was housed until he passed away in the last year.

     The Research Station was very interesting but when returning to our hotel we talked with the other group about their excursion on the boat. They traveled to a smaller island off the eastern coast of Santa Cruz called Plazas. They had a very amazing  experience because they got to see colonies of sea lions. As well they got to watch a mom give birth to a baby sea lion! They were fascinated by it!! After a lot of discussion about this we had class to share and discuss what we've been seeing. 

      This day was a good day to relax as the next day we headed to our final destination, the island of Isabela. This is the largest island in the Galapagos but there is only one city and road among the island as there is 5 volcanos. We took a speed boat from Santa Cruz to Isabela which took about 2 1/2 hours. It was a little bumpy but with the help of Dramamine I was able to be free from sea sickness. On our boat ride though we got to see dolphins!!! We didn't see them the other day so it was awesome to see them! Upon arriving to our port we were greeted with more sea life as the docking station was full of sea lions!  They were everywhere

      The island of Isabela is something so picturesque it's unbelieveable. We are very fortuante with a hotel right along the ocean view and perfect for viewing the sunsets. To call this place home for 5 days is great! Yesterday, our first full day on the island was a very active one. We got to hike an active volcano thats last eruption was in 2005. We reached the caldera about an hour in our hike and it was nothing like what I had thought. I always pictured a small like hole at the top of the volcano with lava bubbling underneath. That is not so at all! This was the second largest volcano in the world in circumference according to our guide, with 9 km long and 6 km wide. It was huge!

       After this we were allowed a choice of continuing to a longer hike or returning to the beach. I opted for the longer hike because how frequently am I going to be able to see some of those sights! It was a good decsion! We hiked to a lava field which was a result of an eruption (I'm not quite sure if it was the 2005 eruption). Along our way we had many amazing views as we could see the ocean on both sides of the upper pennisula of Isabella. As well, we could see all 5 volcanos on the island. Upon reaching the lava field it was so cool to see the path the lava formed and all of the different colors showing the chemical make-up of the rocks. One thing that we've seen common is the lava tunnels. This is what is formed when an errpution occurs but lava continues to flow underneath. Sometimes you're even able to walk in them which we've done too. It was all very cool and the views were breathtaking!

      Now it brings me to today! The day began as a little downer as I woke up feeling a little sick and the fact that it was raining wasn't great either! However, the day steadly improved for both myself and the weather! With the weather bringing on a little delay we soon ventured to go see some flamingos. As our group stopped there on the way back from the hike it was still a sight as during the day they are active in searching for food. None were standing in the resting postion on one leg. We continued on though to another breeding center of turtles. Almost all of the inhabitated islands have breeding centers as there can be various species of the tortoises on each island. Paricularly a different species around each volcano. This place was especially interesting as we got to see the biggest ones but then even one that was only 10 days old! It was so tiny and cute!!! They really do grow a lot in their 150 year lifespan. 

      In the afternoon another snorkeling adventure persisted itself. A group of 10 of us went down to a mangrove and saw around a lagoon. When we first jumped in we were accompaniedby sea lions as well as many fish. It's so interesting to just view life underwater. I sat at one point and watched a group of 20 fish compete over a small thing of coral. I continued to swim around until one of our group members saw a sea turtle!!! It was so big and all 10 of us swam along with it! It was well worth it and tomorrow we get to do it again! With only 4 days left our jouney is coming to an end. The memories are great as always and will never fail to amaze me in what I'm experiencing!

We're on a Boat

     The past few days have been beyond perfect!! Starting with yesterday, our group woke up around 6:30 for our day trip to the island of Bartoleme. We got on this mini yacht looking this called El Espanola 1. We all were embracing the journey we were about to experience by taking the classic Titanic photos and scoping out the best places to catch some rays and look for sea creatures. I found my spot at the front of the boat, all ready to look for dolphins, whales, mantarays and various other things that have been spotted. I also hoped that sea sickness would not fall upon me. 

     We started the two and half hike with clouds out but still a nice calm of a day. As I was very interested in looking for the ocean animals occasionally we would see things jump. A girl  on my trip and I first saw a giant tuna jump from the water which was great! Then the biggest and coolest thing was we saw a giant mantaray with a 4 and 1/2 wing span go right by our boat! It was amazinng! We continued to see many sea lions and mantarays on our way to the island with a sighting of what we believed to be a shark!

     After about our 2 1/2 boat ride we had finaly arrived at our destiation, Bartoleme Island. It was a voclanic lava foramtion of an island in which we rode a diggy from our boat to the mainland. In doing this there were many crbs we saw on the shore which was really cool because it wasn't just a red crab. They had different colorings like a light blue and yellow on their shell as well. Our hike was right during the middle time of the day so the sun was really burning down on us. But the view we saw was great! I love playing the game with our group, how many islands can you spot. In a way it is a little decieving. As we often hike to the top of the volcanic structures you can see many of the island or islets that form the galapagos. In asking our guide this question, he said we could see about 11 different island from the point at which we were.

     The best part is next, after getting done with our hike we got to snorkel!! It was my first time doing this so it was a great experience. However, at first it was a bit of a stuggle. When I first jumped in I got a good gulp of salt water which then ensued into a panic attack because my googles were began filling up with water as well. After this first reaction I began to figure out. I successfully was then able to swim around the rock we were going around and saw Dory and Nemo! Also, I saw my first Blue-footed Boobie that is another Galapagean famous animal. After this we ate fresh tuna on the boat and then began the excursion back to the island back. We again were looking for interesting animal in which we saw a mantaray flip three times! It was great!

     Our group had a free day the next day so it was time to have a good night as a group! One thing we've learned in our time here is that it is election time. Unlike the frequent commercials we encounter back home, the Ecuadorians blast music through the streets or have political concerts in support of them. So we all decided to go to one of the concerts in thinking it would be very interesting. It wasn't really what we thought, so instead we decided to go to the discoteca. It was great because we were the only ones there and they were playing America songs so it was good! 

      After a long night it was really good to finally get a good nights sleep. We woke up a little later than normal and now we are headed off to Tortuga Bay. We are hoping to see the iganuas and possibly another shark as the group yesterday saw it! Well I better go! Hopefully blog again soon!

The Islands have called

     First off, just want to apologize I feel like I'm not blogging a whole lot I just feel like we're usually pretty busy or I'm tired by the time I should be writing this. Anyways, since I last wrote we spent one night in Guayquil the most populated city in Ecuador and finally travelled to the beautiful Galápagos Islands. Guayquil was a short stay as we were only there for a night. Most of the night was spent in class as we were getting prepared for the islands that awaited us for the coming week. One of the books we are reading for class, The Beak of the Finch, is about a couple whom have been studying on one of the islands, Daphne Major. They have come to this island which is only allowed for strictly their research in the idea of proving evolution among Darwin's finches. They have been wildly successful as they proved that the beaks of the finches on the island have evolved in their research study which is more rapid than what Darwin predicted in his theory. So we spent class time watching a documentary on them and learning more about their lives. 

     After this we fell asleep and got a very early wake-up call at 5 am to head to the airport to catch our flight. This was a bittersweet moment for us.  We were all super excited to leave and go to the long-awaited place we've been looking forward to but it was sad because we had to leave our guide Willie and bus driver, Reuben, whom we had gotten so close to. However, we will see Willie before we head home for one last Quito but we are still unsure if we will see Reuben. After getting through the airport, which requires more security baggage checking due to the restrictions place for ending the Galapagos we were ready to head out. We got on our plane and unfortunately had to sit on there for an hour due to the traffic flying into the Galapagos. 

      We waited patiently, yet slightly impatiently, for our arrival to the Galapagos. Most of us did our homework and various readings on the plane in order to be able to spend time seeing the islands when we arrived. The view from the airplane was breathtaking. The water is a beautiful blue-green color and the view of looking at all of the islands we've been discussing was awesome too! We landed on the island of Baltra which is just north of the island of Santa Cruz where we are staying. We were greeted then by our guide Fabio. Our class took a shift when we got to the islands as we were seperated into two groups depending on different assignment we picked out. It was difficult though for some of us as we have spent a lot of time with a group of 18 or so of us, while the groups were 14 each. 

      Going from Balta to Santa Cruz we had to take a short ferry ride over which was nothing for us. However, the weather was perfect and we were able to see our first sight of wildlife here. The first few wildlife we saw were a school of sardines and other various fish near the shore. Although we were all very excited to see this it wasn't near as amazing as what was yet to come! The islands are a little what I had expected but more unexpected I would say. I had gone in with the idea of being on some type of paradise with lucious green vegetation with sand and beaches all around. This was suprisingly not what I was welcomed with. To me when getting our first tour from the northern shore to the southern shore town of Puerto Ayora it felt like we were on a deserted island. 

      The vegetation was much different as all of the islands have been formed due to volcanic erruptions. There is a lot more cacti than expected as well the varying birds. On our drive to lunch and in beginning the exploration of the islands, we got to see our first famous galapagean animal, the Giant Tortoise!! They were huge and we even got to see some trying to mate! This was very sweet and we were all so stoked to fianlly see them! Due to a very long travel day we were very tired and so we decided to grab a quick dinner. This was an awesome dinner as we ate hamburgers cooked on a lava rock! It was great! Tomorrow we are off to a day on the boat! So hopefully no sunburns for us! 

Cruising in Cuenca

     As we arrived for our three night stay in Cuenca, we first made a stop at the Inca Ruins. The Inca ruins are a important historic place in Ecuador.  The history behind Ecuador from which we've learned a lot from Willie. He has always stressed the three time periods of Ecuador, pre-Inca, Inca and colonial time periods. So stopping at the Ingapirca was a historic sight in Ecuador. We were able to learn a lot what life was like for them. Many walls of the city were still there but it was picked over when the ruins were first discovered because of the amounts of gold and other valuables they had left.

    After this we continued on our journey to our next major city of Cuenca. This is where we spent three nights at and had our first free day to explore on our own. It was a nice break as we've often been busy with class or traveling the last few days. When we first arrived we ate dinner at our hotel and then most of us just hung out together and got rested up. The next day was very busy. This was our free day! A group of us went out exploring through the town. Cuenca is the third largest city in Ecuador so there was a lot to explore. We started by heading down towards the river and just taking in all of the sights. Some of the guys had bought a football earlier so we stopped at a park so they could toss around the pigskin. The girls all went to go swing but were shortly caught because we weren't 12 years or younger. What rebellions we were!

      Then we all went to lunch and hung out a little bit more before the long awaited match was going to occur. Us gringos wanted to play soccer! My friend, Sara and I bought jerseys for the game which was really funny. Out of the 26 people in our group about 18 of us played including Willie our guide and Reuben our bus driver. I was pretty proud of myself as I scored two goals and was on the winning team! On our way back we continued the fun by making our `bus a party bus. We were all jamming out and dancing. Then we took a little time to get ready then all went and had a very nice dinner together. Post-dinner we did the long-awaited trip to the karaoke bar. This was great because we all were able to sit on top of the loft and control our own music. Don't worry Aaron Carter was sang. 

     We called it a little bit of an early night because we had a early day.  The next day we again began with a hike. This time it took place in El Cajas National Park. The beautiful views we've been seeing are just hard to capture with a picture. A lot of where we have been are in the Andes which was formed out of volcanic ruins so the vegetation, terrian, and animals is just so unique. After about our three hour hike we returned to the hotel to begin to prepare ourselves for our dinner of delicacy. We left the hotel to go to our the restuarant in which we watch our guniea pig be cooked.This type of meet here is a delicacy that we were able to try. It was pretty good for it being a guinea pig but it was definately one thing that you just had to try to say you tried it.

      Today we are on our last big travel day as we are heading to Guayquil the most populated city in Ecuador. It is basically our last day on the mainland of Ecuador before we head to the long awaited Galápagos Islands. We are really excited for both warmer weather and the adventures it will bring. Howeverr, we are said to leaving our guide Willie as he will return to Quito where he will pick us up when we are our journey home. 

Jane in the Jungle

     After our last adventuring of ziplining we made our way to the Amazon rainforest. First we stopped however in Cotopaxi. We stayed one night at a hacienda at an altitude of about 12,000 ft. We were greeted by Ecuadorians in the native attire and there was a very homey feel as it was ranch style housing. We got our room assignments like we normally do when arriving at our destination. All 26 students were placed on the loft the loft with very thin walls seperating us. It was fun to be all together for the night but it did get a little toasty. We all got ponchos and took pictures and then went and tried to play with the llamas that were outside. They didn't really like that idea though. I had returned inside to begin working on my homework for class later that night when we were introduced to the most fascinating couple I've ever met.

     These people lived a life I could only hope to live. They were from Canada along the Nova Scotia reigion where they have a house on the beach. In the winter they go down to their house in Uruguay where they again have another house on the beach. During the month of January, they travel to a different country, this year it happened to be Ecuador. Earlier in their lives they were teachers by profession, and they got involved with international education. When living in Canada they decided when their 3 kids were 14, 16, and 17 to sell everything they own and travel the world. They began in England and drove a car crossing on to the mainland Europe by ferry and then into Africa. They spent 14 months doing this. There kids as you can imagine didn't want to return to school after this. I was just in awe at what they were telling a group of us and hopefully will be in contact with them in the future. As the man had said when we asked him about selling all of their belongings, "It is only the thing that is in between your eyes that limit you in experiencing the world". 

     After our stay at Cotopaxi and hike around the national park, we made our way to the Amazon. It was a long travel day for us but all worth it when we got it our hotel. It was beautiful as we arrived close to sunset. We ate dinner and then a group of us spent time by the fire, pool or in hammocks. It was nice to be in that enviroment away from hectic surroundings. In the morning, we woke up early to start our day with a hike. We were introduced to our parrot and macaw(another species of parrot) friends that spent the majority of breakfast by us. 

     To get to our hiking destiation, we traveled by a motorized canoe that took us to the private landing. Here we had two guides from our hotel lead us through the forest. In doing these hikes we often are split into smaller groups so we lack the help of our guide and translator, Willie. It is another adventure we embark in when trying to translate and iterpret what the guides are telling us. During our hike we learn of the different species that surround us and how they are different in the varying habitats we experiences. Although I believe it is definately a learning process to be able to have the eye to particularly see this it provides for an interesting leanring enviroment. Through our hikes and travels to different sites we have to keep a field notebook which keeps us engaged in our hikes as well as expanded our knowledge on the variation of species within the world we live in.

      Today we left the amazon and made our way to Riobamba. It was again a long travel day but we broke it up with a hike to the waterfalls. I don't know exact name of the waterfall we traveled to but it was located in Rio Verde. This waterfall was huge!! Although I'm sure it doesn't compare it reminded me a little of the Niagra Falls but at a smaller scale. We were able to go to different balconies near the waterfall and feel the mist coming from it. After this we continued on the bus to the city of Riobamba. Some of us went out into the city near our hotel and found a soccer or volleyball court. The seven of us made our way inside and had everyone there staring at us. The three girls, including myself, felt like we were getting more as it appeared to be strange to see us wanting to play along with them. We welcomed and allowed to play, with bets coming in right away. None of us could really understand what was going on but we played what we thought to be volleyball but it ended up just being a spiking contest. It was really fun to be among the locals and as many of us on the trip have soccer experience, hopefully we can play a pick up game soon!

     Tomorrow we head to Cuenca. There we will spend a few days relaxing as we have free days to explore and get caught up on our work. Then soon enough we will be heading to the Galápagos Islands, on Friday! I'm trying to get everyone caught up as we have had limited wireless internet! Hopefully, I will still continue to be able to post blogs! 

Up in the Clouds

     So since I've posted last, we've been up to a lot of things here in Ecuador. We left our first location and traveled Northwest to the city of Mindo. On our journey here yesterday, I got to experience being in two places at once. I was located upon the highest point on the equatorial line. Ecuador is one of 13 countries in which the equator passes through but it is the highest due to the reigon of the Andes. Here we learned and experienced the different effects the different hemishperes have and the equators nature of equality. For instance, if you look at the globe with the north and south poles facing horizontally and spin it, the ones looking at the Southern Hemisphere will see the earth spinning in a clockwise direction. Meanwhile, the Northern Hemishpere is being seen spinning in a counterclockwise direction. The equator will just spin straight. Another interesting experience here was trying to walk on the equatorial line. They had us walk like you were being tested for drunk driving, one foot in front of the other with your arms on either hemishpere with your eyes close. Although this may sound simple it was actually very difficult as you could feel the magnetic forces pulling you in either direction. 

     After our brief stop at the equator we continued on our journey to the Cloud Forest near Mindo. We are staying at the Bellavista resort which is one of the most beautiful places I've seen. There is so much green here. In taking a biology course were are learning about all of the different vegetation as well a birds, which is super interesting because they are unique to this area as well as vast in how many are seen here. We started our day today with an early 6:30 am hike. This mainly in part so we could see the different birds that are here. One bird that is very common among this location is the hummingbird. As Willie told us there are roughly 52 species that can be seen at this location among the 132 in Ecuador and appox. 300 in the world. As Ecuador can be home to about 40% of the worlds species of hummingbirds. 

     After seeing and observing these beautiful sights we moved on to our first scheduled adventure, ziplining. As I have ziplined many times before at Camp Wapsie nothing compared to the view we were given on our canopy ziplining experience. We were blessed with one of our first non-raining days and a view that is unimanginable. We went on roughly 12 ziplines in the forest which were above the trees which allowed us to see many of the different plant life we're studying about. Tomorrow we will be heading in the amazon which I'm sure will bring an adventure in and of itself. 

    

Loco Willie

     We have arrived in Quito safe and sound. This is the first city in our tour of the mainland of Ecuador. When we arrived we were introduced to our tour guide, William and our bus driver, Rueben. William was hilarious as he says to call him Loco Willie. Our driver Rueben is a sweetheart but only speaks spanish so it is a lot of holas and gracias to him. Speaking of speaking spanish, I have been trying, roughly, to practice my spanish and pick up on what the locals say. As many places we visit are tourist locations so we can ususally get by but when it comes to ordering food or shopping at a market it becomes difficult. We often just point or I use my friend Jenna to help translate. But all in all it's good and hopefully I will continue to pick up and learn Spanish while I am here. 

     So yesterday was our first trip in looking at Quito. We had a pretty light day as Quito is the highest captial in the world. It stands at about 10,000 feet. We are adjusting well to the hight altitude we are facing and overall it hasn't been too bad. In our tour, we began it at one of the best places to view the city. They have a statue of the Virgin Mary with angel wings which overlooks the city as Ecuador is roughly 95% Catholic. Then we continued the tour by walking two hours throughout the city seeing many churches, important government buildings, and neighborhoods. One thing I found interesting was that on Sunday the city shuts down major roads. This is done to encourage biking by the natives of Quito to help control the diabetes  problem they are now facing. Most of our group really liked this idea and I think it would be interesting to see it implement in the United States. 

     Today was our real adventure. William and Reuben picked us up at 9:30 for our hike up the local volcanos next to Quito. One is inactive or sleeping and one is active with the last "eruption" occuring in October of 1999. This I believe was just a release of gases and didn't effect the city immensely. However, William had told us that in the many volcanos found in Ecuador often only one could destroy the country if it had a major eruption. The altitude we were about to face was about 14,000 feet so we had to prepare ourselves for what was ahead. We stopped frequently to allow ourselves to catch a break as it is common to get exhausted faster. After riding in a cable car, like a ski lift, up to the volcano we were able to view the city of Quito. It was amazing to be within the clouds and look at a city that stretches 35 miles North to South. The views were fanatastic but I feel like the pictures don't even begin to do it justice. 

     So after this we continued our hike up to the volcano. The first day Willie had told us that Quito can often experience 4 seasons in one day. We listened but kind of shrugged it off knowing the seasons we've faced in Minnesota, or Iowa. As we have reached a pretty high altitude and we were all beginning to get a little tired Willie told us we were going to walk about another mile. With a little hesitance we said okay and were ready to go. About a quarter mile after this had started a light sprinkle had began so the raincoats were put on. Then a little after it picked up and a little long we were in a hail storm with lightening striking all around us. We booked it back to the indoor place we had been when we arrived but let me tell you it was not close. There is no faster way to bond 28 people then put them in a life threatening situation. Although we were scared but more like just second nature to get to safety all of us reached a wet placed soaked and freezing. Whoever said anything about global warming I would have to quesiton with -40+ degrees back home and a hailstorm here I don't know. We now know to never doubt Willie. 

     We then reached back to our hotel had lunch and class and continued to get warm. A group of us then when out to dinner and hung out and watched the national championship for football. It was an exciting day of adventures to say the least but more to come. Tomorrow we leave Quito to head to the Cloud Forest. We will stop on our way at the equatorial line and get our passports stamped and tour the muesem there. We are all looking forward to this but not sure if I will be able to post blogs but I will when we return to a wifi location! Stay warm!!!

Off For Some More Adventures

     Today, I left again for another J-term trip. For those whom may not know, I am studying abroad in Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands for the next month. Similar to my trip to India, I will be taking a course. However this time I will be studying Biology along with a little Philosophy. From looking at class material it apppears to be focused on Darwin and the studies of Evolution. We will take many hikes during our time here.

     As we began our travels, I was faced with the unpreparedness and the feeling of not believing that the day to leave was already here. In this experience being my second study aborad trip I was faced with the difficulity of not comparing trips. This is difficult to do for me as my trip to India was an experience of a lifetime and I made some of the greatest friends there. So, to begin this journey, the first thing I noticed was the size of our group. We are traveling with a group of 25 which is much larger than the 13 I traveled with last year. I am excited to see how the group dynamic, will work as it appears we will be together a lot during hikes, classes and just overall travel. 

     Speaking of travel, I am currently writing this first blog from our flight to Ecuador from Atlanta. In the last few days I was nervous that we might encounter delays in leaving due to the frozen tundra of Minnesota I was leaving. Everything went smoothly with no delays though. The flight to Atlanta was only a short and comfortable three hours and with this flight only being 5 and a half hours it is a very light travel day in comparison to most abroad visits. I am currently enjoying the luxury of improved technology by watching the Chiefs play the Colts and with it being late in the 3rd quarter I am hoping the Chiefs can pull out this win. I was nervous I was going to miss the game, but am very happy I can watch it.

     Anyways, we will arrive in Quito in just a few hours and I want to take this time again to thank everyone whom has supported me in my traveling adventures. To my family, I can't thank you enough, as I have been blessed with one, being related to you all, but also for having your support for everything I do. To everyone else, thank you for one reading my posts, as it means a lot that I can share this experience with you, but also for your support in encouraging me to travel and experiencing things beyond my comfort zone. Hope you all survive the freezing weather heading your way!!!