Ecuador Day Ten - Tuesday

     After staying up super late on Monday night we all retired back to our rooms to make sure everything was completely packed. We did a sweep of the room to make sure nothing was forgotten and either slept or rested until it was time to go.

      Really early in the morning (3ish maybe?) we had to be up. We brought all our luggage out in front of the kitchen where it was loaded on to a bus by the driver. Our final goodbyes were to Anna, who we all loved, and the guard dog Bolt. (Bolt followed us everywhere and was truly loved by most of us). The bus ride was bittersweet. Unlike when we arrived we knew the roads we were taking. We knew some of the houses we were passing. We were leaving a piece of our heart there in CalaCali.

     I remember standing in line to check our bags and then standing in an even bigger line to start through security check points. On the plane we settled in for the first flight. I remember talking to Allie and bit and laughing with her over pointless stuff, probably inbetween sleeping. That basically means it was a good flight.When we got off that flight we were back in the United States. And let me tell you, right when you step our of the plane you can feel the attitude difference. It's a whole different atmosphere. It's hard to explain. Anyway, being back on US soil meant everyone's favorite things, customs. It was the same exact customs line that I went through coming back from Guatemala.

     From that line we found out that we had a pretty far hike to our next flight which was leaving reallyreally soon. Like minutes soon. A few of us literally ran to the gate which was already empty. The lady at the desk asked who we were and so we explained that we had a group coming through customs. She was really nice, but informed us that if the group wasn't there in exactly 3 minutes they would have to close the doors and leave without us. She suggested those that we were there to get on without them, but we quickly shut that down. We do things as team even if that meant missing a flight. Luckily everyone got there right as they were about to close. We were the last ones on, but we were on. I don't really remember that flight at the moment except for a rude flight attendant throwing our stuff around.

    Off of that flight now, we were in the JFK airport (I think?) and since we were actually leaving the airport we had to go through a different customs thing. Or maybe that was before, I don't know. But we had to individually talk to some guy and say that we really were who our passports said we were. Through there we were greeted by a professor that came to drive us home in a PBU van. Then we went to get our luggage. We found our carousel and waited. And waited. And waited. Finally we went over to the desk and asked if they could locate it. It turned out that customs and almost missing our flight made our bags miss the flight. They would be there for at least an hour or two. We debated between having just delivered to us or waiting and finally decided to just wait it out. The food court was near by so we all went there and got some good pizza or Mexican food because that's all that was still open that late at night. The team made the most of our extra hour together. (:

    Finally our bags arrived and we smushed back into a PBU van where we all promptly fell asleep. We attempted to talk to the professor, but we were just too exhausted. Back at the school, all the families were waiting. We had to say goodbye to one family to go with the other. The team had done so much together that we were like a band of siblings. It was definitely bittersweet.

    The next day was the first day of classes. That's right, no break for us! We were throw right into a new routine of schooling.Talk about reverse culture shock. It was kinda hard to assimilate ourselves. The day before we were in a completely different country, a completely different culture.

Since then we had 2 reunion dinners and we presented our trip to the school in a chapel. But it's not the same and everyone wasn't there. Because we were just thrown right back into life I feel like I had no time to really just reflect on the trip. Every time I see a team member I get excited because we have a unique bond, but ultimately it's all different. Once again, new people have taken a chunk of my heart.

Our group update page:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/257699264289961/]

Ecuador Day Nine- Monday

    So... I just realized that it's been like almost six months since Ecuador and I never finished by blog...I should do that so that someday I look back and actually remember.

      Monday, sadly, was our last day in the beautiful CalaCali. When everyone got up we gathered in the guys room to sign the cards that we had made for the El Refugio staff. It was fun just being together, talking, and reflecting before starting our day. I'm not positive, but I think we had orejitas again for breakfast. From there we headed out to the garage building to finish up our work there. We did a bunch of touch ups on the boards and tried to get as many T-nuts in as we could. We talked of course as we worked and soon enough it was time for lunch.

       After our final lunch Paul took the group up into the woods a bit to this tree house. It was an epic treehouse at that too because there was a bridge, 3 towers, hammocks, etc. While we were there we reflected both individually and as a group about our stay in Ecuador. It was really touching to hear some of what the team said and I cried a little bit, but didn't speak up. When we were finished there Susie, a PBU missionary person, came with her husband Glenn. She works in another city of Ecuador called Cayumbe. She talked to us about what she does and where her ministry is going.We had a good time talking to them.

    When they left we were supposed to take the afternoon to wind down and pack, but that didn't really seem right to us. We didn't need a whole afternoon and night to pack. A group of us decided to go finish the boards that we didn't get done in the garage, but by the time we got back the garage was all cleaned up. It was kinda disappointing because we weren't able to completely finish our project and mere hours after we were done, the garage moved on. We didn't let it faze us though so Harry, Mary, Bren, Christian, and I went back up to the Islands game. We were determined to make it through. We chose to keep the same rules of no talking and got through successfully in 9 min 25 sec! WOOO!      

From there we walked out of the woods to the rock climbing wall that our boards would soon be apart of. Everyone climbed up pretty high and I stayed about half way down from them to take pictures. It started to drizzle so we climbed down and went to the volleyball field where someone had left out a ball. By this time it had started to rain - like inbetween a drizzle and pour- so naturally we decided to play. It was Christian and Harry against Mary, Bren, and I. It was hard to even see through the rain (thanks to my glasses) but still super fun.

        From there we went back to the chapel tucked in the woods to make dinner over the fire. There was a special treat for us there too... guinea pig! It is considered sort of a specialty mean in Ecuador. So I've had like a bunch of guinea pigs as pets so it was kinda awkward to see a roasted one, head attached, sitting there with its mouth open. But I was in Ecuador so I tried just a tiny bit. Tasted kinda like pork if you ask me. The none guinea pig eaters roasted hot dogs and everyone had marshmallows. Esteban, Santi, Wilmar, and Jhonotan came to hang out as well. We talked, debriefed, and presented our final gifts to each other each with a special meaning. Mine came from Campbell-Farrell and it was super sweet and her speech made me teary.

       Then we had to say goodbye...Everyone hugged and hugged some more. Allie started crying and then I started crying. Some of the guys told me not to cry, but I really couldn't help it. I hate leaving. I hate saying goodbye. Jhonotan gave me a glow in the dark bracelet that says Ecuador on it (I think he got it from a past team or something) as a goodbye present and for being friends so I of course cried more. I wear it all the time as a reminder of Ecuador. Plus it glows. After we finished crying and everyone left and was mostly packed we went over to La Casa Grande and hung out for a long while.