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.
