Leaving tomorrow for Ecuador

It feels really weird to finally be leaving. After months, or years really, of thinking about studying abroad, I'm finally going through with it. I've got John Denver's "Leaving on a Jet Plane" stuck in my head, and I've said almost al of my goodbyes. Tomorrow, I'm boarding a plane in Dallas, connecting through two airports, and then arriving in Quito tomorrow night at 11.

I'm going to miss my family the most while I'm gone. My mom cried a bit today - I called it an orientation for what's coming with the final separation tomorrow. It's also going to be hard to avoid calling them every night or firing off emails every couple of hours. I also will miss my friends in Texas. I'm used to being able to keep up with them in person and on Facebook. I think it will be a bit surreal to see what's going on with them via Facebook but be almost completely separated from the things going on with them.

However, it's gonna be great to get away from the Texas heat (it's the end of September and we're still hitting 100 degrees each day). I'm also excited to meet new people (especially my host family) in Ecuador. Finally, I can't wait to get started using my Spanish

I know this is a lot of blog postings for not very much time. I think I'll probably post much less often from Ecuador. I'm not yet sure exactly what kind of Internet coverage I'll have; more on that in the next few days! Until then, goodbye.

Three days to go...

So with three days to go until I leave, I'm getting really nervous. But, it's been a good couple of final days in Fort Worth. My going away party was awesome (thanks for coming guys). I also called my host family again yesterday and was able to speak for half an hour on the phone (IN SPANISH) without completely embarrassing myself. Well, I did forget some common vocabulary words (caliente is really a complicated word that I can be expected to forget a lot, right?). Anyways, I'm getting serious (finally) about packing. The suitcase is out, I'm starting to pile clothes in. 

Here's some info on where I'm going: I'm gonna be living in Sangolquí, Ecuador; a smaller suburb of the capital city of Quito. There are only two seasons in Ecuador: rainy and dry (a relative term because it seems to rain most of the year). The usual highs are around the high 60s and lows in the high 40s or low 50s. In other info, I'll be attending a local high school - Unidad Educativa Dario Figueroa Larco - in Sangolquí. It looks like I'm going to have to wear a uniform, including a coat and tie, to school every day.

Finally, some info on my host family. Miguel (my host dad) is married to Dori (my host mom). I think they're around the same age as my parents. They have three kids - Dario, who's an adult and married, living with his wife and young kid in a different part of the country; Veronica, who's 24 and studying for her master's degree at a university in Quito; and Alexis, who's 14 and attending a secondary school in Sangolquí. 

 Here's some pictures of the school I'm attending in Sangolquí: