A Three Hour Tour

This Saturday all of the teachers were given a tour of the city. It was a blast and a great chance to get to see some more of Quito.

On our way, we saw Ecuador’s largest volcano, Cotopaxi. It is a glorious, gigantic beast of nature that serves as one of the few remaining snow-capped volcanoes in the world. It’s just another example of Ecuador’s vast ecological diversity and yet again another humbling chance to stand in awe of the country.

We started off by going to the beautiful Virgin de Quito. It was built in 1974 to commemorate the Virgin Mary. It is 45 meters tall and serves as a huge landmark in Quito. The statue stands guard over the city as if to protect it in the same way as the Christ the Redeemer Statue in Brazil. It’s one of the reasons Quito was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. She is unique in that she is the only statue of her kind to show the Madonna with angel wings. She is standing on a snake and faces North Quito. Surrounding the Virgin is a series of small markets. We were able to buy a legit alpaca blanket, a few paintings, and another trinket or two. It was a lot of fun and it gave us a chance to really see Quito from another perspective. It was beautiful. 

Our next stop was Old Town. We checked out the various squares and even saw an American Mickey there! Here I thought we left Orlando. Old Town was a unique area and almost seemed like another city in and of itself. The buildings were all gigantic and built in the style of old colonial Spanish architecture.

There were street vendors, tourists, and some of the most gorgeous churches I’ve ever seen.

I’ve seen some historoical churches and beautiful buildings but by far, Iglesia de la Compania de Jesus is one of the world’s best kept secret wonders. The church was commissioned by the Spanish, but built by the Ecuadorian natives. The entirety of the inside of the church is gold. The detail in the church is astounding and it truly is nearly impossible to stand in the church and not feel some level of spirituality. I wish I could have taken some pictures while I was on the tour, but it wasn’t allowed and wouldn’t have felt right anyway. I attached some pictures I found online for a reference point.

After the tour, we were all escorted to another school sponsored fancy pants lunch where we ate our fill and headed back for the rest of the weekend. The tour was a great way to see the city in a short window and to truly see some life changing sights. I really hope all of my friends and family will one day have an opportunity to see them.

Hace Frio!

Our apartment is a beautifully furnished place facing the valley and a forest. It’s really nice to look out and see in the morning. Also as I mentioned, Ecuador is a place of consistent climate. It is between 45-80 degrees every day. It gets cold at night. The sun is strong and warms things up in the day. It’s fantastic. In fact, the weather is so fantastic there are no heating or cooling units in the whole country as far as I can see. In our hotel there was no heater and no air conditioner. In all of the apartments we’ve visited or shopped for there were no temperature controls. However these things combine for a hurdle Shannon and I have to get over. The sun rises behind the forest, which means we don’t get sunlight into our apartment until about 9am. The sun is then over our apartment and therefore cannot heat it up by 12:30. This results in chilly temperatures inside most of the day.

This hasn’t been too big of an issue as we bought some space heaters and the consistency has given us an idea of what to expect every day. However, it becomes a BIG problem when one of your two gas tanks runs out; specifically the one that controls the hot water in the house. Also, Shannon is having to do her hair using the heater.

For the past three days and counting, Shannon and I have had no hot water for showers. On day one that means we’re going to bed smelling a little ripe. On day two that means we are going to take cold showers which consist of standing in the corner of the shower shivering and having your teeth shatter like the Crypt Keeper until you work up the nerve on the count of three to jump in to the cold water and as quickly as possible, rinse yourself off. That sucked. A lot. By day three we were a bit wiser and took our tiny pot and tiny pan that the previous owner left in our kitchen and boiled some water using the remaining working gas tank that is attached to the stove. We then transported the water in a bowl to the shower, repeated the shiver jump and followed it up with a warm washcloth and tiny salad bowl of warm water rinse. It’s getting better, but we need a long term solution immediately. Yet another adjustment we need to make as we cope with living in a new country where things work a bit differently.

UPDATE: I thought I solved the problem when I had a conversation with our security guard, Jorge Lopez (yes our security guard’s name is George Lopez) and we discussed the water issue. He told me if I gave him $3.50, and unlocked our outdoor storage bodega, he would pay for a new one when the truck came and he would install it for us. Shannon and I came home very excited for the prospect of hot showers only to find that our old tank was still in the bodega. We hope think that Jorge simply did not see a delivery truck today and that they will come by on Monday with gas for hot water. In the meantime, it’s going to be a long cold weekend.

UPDATE TO THE UPDATE: It’s Monday night. Still no hot water…

Llama Hunting

I don’t know if I can reiterate how well the school has treated us any more than I have already. Today, after our orientation stuff, we were split into two groups and given the choice to take a tour of Parque Metropolitano, or an art museum tour. Shannon and I went with the park group.

First thing is first. This park is massive. Depending on who you believe, it’s 1.8, 2.5, or 3 times bigger than Central Park in New York City. No matter the comparison, it is the biggest park in South America and is right by our school and our apartment.

We started our hike by walking on a few trails and checking out some of the beautiful views of some of the surrounding city, mountains, and volcanoes. It was really nice. The weather was great *shocker*, and some of the teachers brought their dogs, which made me want Howie here a little more.

As we got to about the halfway point in our walk, we found a Llama pen? The question mark is due to the fact that I’m not sure what to call it but there were about a dozen llamas hanging out in a pen type area. We all took some pictures and watched them for a minute until a llama herder (?) walked over, opened the gate, blew a whistle, and all of the llamas walked down the road away from us.

We kept walking a little bit longer and came across some beautiful art, various sculptures, a few wild horses and a couple of very upset cows who were making a big fuss about us being there. (I had to resist making a mad cow disease joke here with every bit of restraint I have)

When we got to the end of the hike we all ended up going to the home of our school’s director. She hosted us for a cocktail hour that was catered by the school’s food staff and was complete with wine, whiskey, beer, soda, food and the works. It was great! Llamas, sculptures, cows, dogs, and volcanoes…just another day in Quito.

Quito's Ark

We had a few days to settle into our apartment and into our school routine of orientation after moving in. Shannon and I got into a routine of walking to work and taking in all of the sights. On our way we pass the beautiful Mount Pichincha, a small volcano and a hell of a sight to see. We also pass a few dry cleaners, a pizza place, a few markets, and a three bakeries. They love bakeries in Quito. We also almost always see some stray street dogs. Ecuador, like many Latin American countries, has stray dogs roaming around and I suppose given the moderate climate they are able to thrive without much interference.

On our first walk through our neighborhood, we were leaving a bakery and Shannon decided when she saw a nice scruffy street dog, it would be appropriate to give him a croissant. Being a dog lover myself, part of me wanted to help the little fella, but given the possibility of rabies or other infection and the prospect of Shannon becoming a pied piper of Ecuadorian stray dogs I had to remind her that they were wild animals and it wouldn’t be wise to feed them. She looked at me square in the eye and gave the dog the pastry. There is no stopping her when she wants to do something.

When we got home a few days later, we found bird feathers in our apartment hallway. This is odd for many reasons. First, we are the only apartment on our floor. Second, there were bird feathers strewn across the tile hallway as if there was some kind of ritualistic animal sacrifice. Third, while we have a common area courtyard type thing on our floor that anyone could have access to, no one ever goes out there. Fourth, there were freaking bird feathers all across the hallway. What?! I haven’t even seen a bird in this country yet! (Although I have been told that due to the cloud forest, mountains, and Amazon, Ecuador has more bird species than all of North America and Europe combined even though it is a country the size of Nevada) We never found out what was up with the bird feathers, but hey a different culture is what we wanted.  Oh well, weird stuff happens here sometimes.

About a week later we were on our way home from school and Shannon grabbed my arm and shrieked. On the sidewalk where we were walking was a pig’s head. Let me reiterate so you don’t think there was a typo. There was a pig’s head on the sidewalk. Just the head. It looked like it may have come from a pig roast, but the side of a busy street in the middle of a city is still a weird place to see a pig’s head. Whole. Just the head. Again, it just seems like one of those unexplainable things that happens when you go from one culture to another. Things you don’t understand happen all the time. And hey, at least the stray dogs could eat without Shannon spending all of our money on croissants for Ecuador’s dogs. 

Shopping Time

Part of the compensation package at our school was a “settling in allowance.” The amount of money was also larger since Shannon and I aren’t married and it is a great asset to help with apartment down payments, furniture, food, and anything else you need upon arrival.

The first place we went was to the cell phone store. We were all instructed to unlock our phones in our previous countries so they would work oversees. When we got to the cell phone store, we found out it is Ecuadorian law that you cannot have a phone plan unless you have been a resident for more than 6 months. So here we are, a bunch of professionals used to the finer things in life like wine, good credit scores, and entitlement; and we were told we had to go back to prepaid phones like we were zit-faced teenagers who couldn’t be trusted to hold a phone without dropping it into a bowl of nacho cheese while taking a selfie. Oh well, we set up our prepaid phones with our Ecuadorian cell phone company, Movistar and we were on our way.

Once people had apartments, the school took them to the bank with their checks and waited while we cashed them. While waiting in line, we felt the room move and shake and realized after a second or two that we were having an earthquake. All of the teachers looked around for guidance like a tiny infant bumping their head deciding whether to cry or laugh. The Quitenos all turned to look at us to see if we would react and then muttered and smiled as if to say “Foolish Gringos…” No one even got out of line at the bank. I repeat, there was an earthquake (a  4.8 we would later find out, not that big of a deal but still) and no one even got out of line. Of course, we took our ques from the Quitenos and kept our place as well, thus proving our bravery and/or foolishness or something.

When we finally got to the front of the line, we cashed our checks and let me tell you, it is unsettling to know that you are cashing a check that you didn’t reallllllllllllllllly earn that is greater than a third of what the average person makes in your new country. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad they gave it to us, but it makes you a little nervous when you are in a bank and a mall and you stick out like a green thumb because of your culture and on top of that you have an uncomfortable amount of money in your pocket. Another variable to this equation is that the banks give these large sums in 10s and 20s, so your pockets stick out like you’re trying to smuggle juice boxes.

It was all good though because we immediately spent half of that money. One thing I need to make clear is that manufactured import goods are expensive in Ecuador. Like Scrooge McDuck expensive. While our apartment was furnished, it had a twin and a full bed and as grownups we had to upgrade that. We ended up ordering a bed and dropping half my settling in allowance. After some groceries, our apartment deposit, and a coffee it was all gone.

Now to be clear, as a couple without a car it is an important feature that most stores in Quito provide free delivery. The problem lies in the address. We had our apartment issues figured out but they don’t really do addresses here. The translation of addresses would equate to “the road on the way to ____.” There are no street numbers, sometimes no street names. So our ordering and delivery consisted of a bunch of hand drawn maps, a landmark, repeating the few applicable things we knew in Spanish, and pointing and grunting. Amazingly, this works. We have successfully had a bed delivered and the cable guy come to the apartment with no real issues. It takes some adjusting but hey, a new culture is what we wanted.

In Quito, there are some sketchy places to go shopping, some local artisans, and MEGAMAXI. Think of MEGAMAXI as a Super Target. Upon our arrival to the school, we were given a Megamaxi discount card which would help us with discounts on all of our furniture, food, electronics, etc. Every cent of the discount is needed. Imports are expensive, like I mentioned above. To prove this, here’s an approximate pricing guide for some of the stuff we looked at.

-Crappy coffee maker in the U.S. $15/Ecuador $60
-Crappy branch 32” TV in the U.S. $275/Ecuador $400 on sale
-Crappy bedsheets in the U.S. $20/Ecuador $60
-Crappy floor lamp in the U.S. $20/Ecuador $300

You get the idea. Now this isn’t a completely awful thing. Labor, local items, restaurants, beer, wine, and food are all super cheap here. Even fresh flowers are cheap. You can get 25 roses for $1 at any number of florist shops on the street. I guess it all equals out in the end. Either way, we outfitted ourselves with what we needed in terms of food, blankets, and other essentials and we are eagerly awaiting our shipment of belongings. 

House Hunters International...Quito

The first thing I have to say is that I am amazed at how helpful the staff at our school really is. From our arrival, they have been driving us around town, translating when we couldn’t, asking if we need anything, feeding us, and giving us pointers on the city. Even if they were required to do it, the genuine care and affection they have shown us has truly been much greater than I could have imagined.

If I haven’t mentioned this in the blog yet, the school we are working for provides a housing stipend for their teachers. It is a very common international school practice. Some places have on campus housing, others own properties and let their employees live in them, and others like our school simply give a certain amount of money for the teachers to pick out a home. I have weighed the options on whether or not I wanted to publicize anything about our financials on this blog and decided there isn’t much of a benefit but I will explain the structure of the stipends. If you are a single teacher you get x per month for an apartment. If you are a an employee with a dependent such as a non-employee spouse or child, you get y for your stipend. (Slightly larger than x) That’s pretty much how it goes. The same process goes for a lot of the benefits offered to the school. Shannon and I are fortunate in that when we were hired we were not hired as a married couple, but rather two singles. We live together, split expenses, and yet still get the full stipends. It ends up being a better benefit for us this way but I digress.

When day two came and we were all in town, we were taken to the school and divided into groups. Shannon and I decided on a list of things we wanted and came up with this:

1.       Had to allow Howie the dog.

2.       We had a specific budget in mind that would be far less than our combined rent allotment so we could save some money.

3.       If possible, we wanted a place that was within walking distance of the school.

4.       If possible, a furnished place would be great.

5.       A nice view if possible.

6.       Two bedrooms and two bathrooms if possible.

7.       Closet space if possible.

It seemed arbitrary in the manner which they divided us. We were all eager to see the options made available to us. We ended up in a group with another couple, a family of three with a small child, a family of four with teenagers, and us needing a place for a dog. So literally every family had different needs. This proved to be a difficulty because during that day, we saw many options but very few could have possibly applied to us. Five bedroom mansion on the mountain, too expensive. Shire-like home with three “bedrooms” and three stories but couldn’t fit a family of Keebler Elves, not meant for a 6’1 guy. One bedroom efficiency in the center of the city (no dogs allowed), not for us. It seemed to go on like this for a while. We ended up seeing a total of thirteen places and only two would have been options for us and we only liked one of them. It was a gorgeous two bedroom two bathroom apartment with a phenomenal 360 degree panoramic view of the city, the mountains, and the volcanoes. The only problem was, it was unfurnished, a little bit more than we wanted to spend, and the other couple who we had quickly become friends with was really interested in it. We discussed it with the other couple and both agreed that we would wait until the next day of house hunting in order to make a decision but in all likelihood, one of us would take the place. It was overall a bit of a frustrating day but we were ready to go the next day.

The next day the school listened to our feedback on apartments and split us up by need. We ended up in a group with another couple who needed a place with a dog and we looked at about seven or eight more places that day. We were very happy with two in particular.

Side note on homes in Quito to provide a reference point for our tours:

1.       Houses in Quito don’t come with furniture. That includes a washer/dryer, oven, or fridge.

2.       Everything is gas. The stove runs on a gas tank. The showers run on a gas tank. Everything. I’m not talking about a traditional gas powered hot water heater. I’m talking about a mini version of one of those that comes with two scuba sized tanks. We later found out this is common in every home and a company will bring new tanks for $3.50 whenever you need them filled. The procedure for almost all places is to just give your security guard the money, unlock your bodega (small satellite storage area on property), and change them out for you.

3.       Also, there are no mailboxes. The guards receive your mail if you get any and give them to you when you get home.

House 1: It had an amazing view of the mountains and valley with floor to ceiling windows. It was close enough to walk to the school and even had a park for Howie the dog to play in.  It fit our pre-determined budget exactly, had a bbq pit area, a dog area, a gym, and a pool. The only drawbacks were that it was unfurnished, it smelled a little funny, and some of the walls had floor to ceiling cracks in them from the earthquake the previous week. Oh yeah and it was literally on the side of a mountain in earthquake country. It was still one of the more viable options we had seen up to that point so we were strongly considering it. In terms of security, the house wasn’t on a busy street, you had a guard you had to check in with if you were a visitor, and you had  the locked door of your apartment. It was a two bed, two bath with plenty of closet space as well.

House 2: Our other viable option was right on target in terms of budget as well. It was also within walking distance to the school (10 minutes). It was near a semi-busy street which could prove beneficial for taxis, but less beneficial for dog-walking. It had a decent view (albeit inferior to the one of house 1). It allowed for dogs, came fully furnished, and was very close to a nice pizzeria, convenience store, grocery store, and our friends’ house. (yes, the one I mentioned earlier. They ended up there) In terms of security, House 2 had a 10 foot perimeter wall with an electric fence on top, then a security guard to get permission to enter, then an elevator with a combination, then a metal doggie-door style gate, then our locked door. It was a two bed, two bath with plenty of closet space as well. There was also a park very close to the apartment that I could take Howie to on the weekends, which would alleviate some of my concerns about the somewhat busy area. The big negative for me in this house, and only a temporary one is the hideous pink walls it came with in the master bedroom. Seriously we’re talking Barney+ Pepto Bismol +those obnoxious highlighter neon pink Nike shirts some people wear. An easy fix though. There is also a little bit of construction on a college fairly close to this apartment which could be noisy.

 

 

Result: We ended up choosing house two because it was more secure (which is always important in a city and even more so in a developing country), it was closer to school, we wouldn’t have to spend $6,000 furnishing the place, and we were happy with the surrounding amenities. We are very happy with our choice and just need to get Howie the dog to complete the home.

Altitude Sickness

The city of Quito rests at an elevation of 9,350 feet. By comparison, Orlando, Florida sits at an elevation of about 300 feet. Obviously this is going to be an adjustment. As you go up in elevation, the oxygen becomes thinner. As a result, your body goes into a sort of overdrive trying to get sufficient oxygen to your heart, lungs, brain, and every other organ. What does this feel like? The first thing you notice is how quickly you get winded. Walking briskly, climbing up a few steps,  even hauling a suitcase from the closet to the bed can easily make you short of breath. I even noticed a few times when I was just having a conversation with someone that I became winded from just talking! The other things you feel are a dizziness or lightheadedness, headaches, and fatigue. According to medical opinion, the most important advice to help you acclimate is to not overexert yourself in the first few days. Sleeping, despite the fatigue you feel, is to be avoided as it will only make you feel worse. Instead, light activity that will pump more oxygen through your system is advised. But I wouldn’t necessarily call three days of apartment shopping (jumping in and out buses, climbing up flights of stairs, trudging through flat after flat) light activity.

Before leaving the states my doctor prescribed acetazolamide, a medication used to prevent altitude sickness. I believe it works by lowering the pressure in your body, caused by the lack of oxygen. After taking the medication for the first few days and feeling virtually no symptoms, I assumed I was in the clear and discontinued the medicine. Bad idea. The next day I got hit hard – a tremendous headache with intense pressure behind my eyes and ears (much like a migraine), and a queasy stomach. Unfortunately this hit me as we were in the middle of mattress shopping with a group of about 8 people. It was a pretty miserable feeling and lasted for the next 2-3 hours. The best thing to do when you have a spell like this is to rest, drink a ton of water, take Advil for the headache, and according to our school doctor – get some sugar into your system. She explained that the glucose aids your body’s metabolism as its struggling with the lack of oxygen. Sure enough, after eating some food, I felt on the mend again.

Justin and I still get winded after climbing the stairs or making the brisk 10-minute, uphill walk to school each day, but for the most part the headaches and fatigue have subsided. What I read online prior to travelling said that acclimatization can take around 3-4 days. But after talking to some actual Ecuadorians, they said the process can actually take up to a month before you feel in peak condition again. We can’t wait until we reach that point so we can really start taking advantage of some of the beautiful public parks and hiking trails in the city. But until then, we’ll just keep huffing and puffing our way along one day at a time.

Goin' South

Well it’s been longer than I anticipated before having a chance to post due to a lack of internet, however we are scheduled to get that all hooked up on Friday…which means probably next Wednesday or so. See, even I’m getting the hang of this Latin American Time thing.

Well since we last left off, we were about to leave for Quito and our trip was a little adventure. We were allowed two checked bags each plus a carry on plus a personal item. Our checked bags were weighed and re-weighed prior to leaving with the meticulous hand of a Post Master General, or a Nicaraguan drug kingpin. We ended up maxing out, with a little wiggle room in case the airlines were a bit heavy on their own scales. Each bag weighed in at about 47lbs. So we were good.

We flew from Orlando to Miami on American Airlines and it was alright. It was uneventful, which is what I guess you want from a flight. Then we had about an hour to catch our connecting flight to Quito. For those of you who don’t know, Miami International is a big airport. Also, an hour isn’t enough time to go from one end of the airport to the other. We started run-walking (the thing you see old ladies doing in purple and turquoise jumpsuits in the mall at 9:00am) from one area to another. The run walk turned into a rush jog reminiscent of the scene in Home Alone where the whole family sprints through the airport. Run run Rudolph indeed. We were on our way and approaching our proper terminal before realizing that we had to go through security AGAIN! We had about 15 minutes until boarding and we were just now getting into a security line for an international city in a city that isn’t famous for its punctuality. Tensions ran high but Shannon and I made it with enough time to make our connecting flight barely.

When we got on the plane we realized that we struck gold. Attention everyone: FLY LAN AIRLINES WHENEVER YOU CAN. It was amazing. We only had a 4.5 hour flight, but we were fed a decent meal, followed by complementary wine, followed by complementary coffee. This may not seem like such a big deal, but I’m used to flying on Spirit Airlines who charge you in order to not be put in the cargo cage containing bananas and cobras. Our experience was delightful. We even had touch screen computers in each seat back in front of us with pre-programed movies, tv shows, games, documentaries on Latin American Cities (Shannon and I watched one on Quito), and a music library.

When we got off the plane, we went through immigration pretty quickly and then waited for our bags for about 40 minutes. We were quite a sight with 8 bags total. We made our way through customs, which was also quick and we were greeted by a party of our school director, one of the Assistant Principals, and a few other VIPS. It was quite a reception. We were greeted with cheers and clapping and smiling faces. It may seem corny, but it was exactly what we needed after a day at the airport and arriving in a foreign land. We later found out that the school director and a variety of others from the school were personally meeting each person at the airport, which shows you what kind of personal family touch our new administration believes in philosophically.

We were then quickly whisked away and taken to the Hotel Quito to settle in with instructions to drink a lot of water for the altitude (9000+ feet above sea level) and a pickup time the next day of 8:30am. On the way, our driver who spoke no English whipped around hair pin mountain turns and weaved in and out of traffic at about 80 miles per hour. He kept trying to talk to us and tell us about Quito and I finally decided to try to oblige. When we got to the hotel, Shannon commented that my 15 year old middle school Spanish was good enough to fool the driver and that he hardly noticed that I didn’t speak the native tongue. I was in the zone. *Also, he probably definitely knew we didn’t know what we were talking about so he used the easiest language he could, either way it was a confidence booster and I was already riding high from our arrival. When we got to the hotel, we followed the directions and aside from a few moments of exercise and getting short of breath easier than normal, we were relatively unaffected by the altitude.

The next morning we went for breakfast at the hotel and caught our first real glimpse of Quito, which is amazing. We obviously googled the heck out of Quito with relentless enthusiasm  when we found out we were going there, yet as beautiful as the pictures were, it was no match for what the city actually looks like. Quito is such a blend of beautiful mountains filled with trees and forests, clouds, sprawling city, giant buildings, fancy restaurants, and street venders. The differences between the natural beauty of the area mixed with poor slum-like areas, mixed in with modernity are really a unique balance that simultaneously take your breath away. It’s really a marvel.

After meeting some of the teachers and getting bussed to the school, we got our first glimpse of who we would be working with. I have worked with some wonderful people. Some of the best human beings I know are friends who I have met at work yet even they would agree that there are just some people who we’ve worked with in public schools who don’t share the work ethic, passion, and grit to really care about their job. Some people just show up and clock out, which is not what teaching is all about. I don’t know if it was the nature of the type of person who has to literally give up everything they have ever known in terms of culture, distance to their family, and possessions, but in my first impression it seems that every single teacher I have met truly cares about their job and is devoted to bettering themselves and their students. Again, this is not meant as a slight to people I have worked with in the past because I have worked with amazing people and educators who truly will change the world, but it seems that the percentage of people who flat out live for this is a much higher rate. They are all friendly, adaptable, funny, and warm people who seem just as apt to share a meal with a complete stranger as anything. We decided to teach abroad and heard stories of how we were crazy, brave, restless, and maybe even bored but meeting all of the wonderful people we have so far who have made a life out of traveling the world to teach has kind of provided us with some clarity and for a lack of a better term, validation. There are people like us who want to just go out into the world and explore; who think that this experience and alternate lifestyle can be and should be considered a valid one, although it would be a fair statement to say that I am perhaps clouded by the fact that I am in my honeymoon stage with international teaching and with Quito.

We got to know each other quite well and spent the next few days in different groups apartment shopping before getting to the nitty gritty of school business but that is an adventure best saved for another day. I’ll post all of these as soon as I have internet. Just understand they aren’t being posted as they happen. We’re here in Quito, happy and healthy and ready for what we’ve set out for. 

Countdown to Quito – Bucket Lists

With only three weeks remaining before our departure, Justin and I began working on our United States bucket lists. Not surprisingly, a good portion of these items were food-related. Justin’s requests included: a juicy cheeseburger, pizza from a “mom and pop” place, Mexican food, a Pat’s Steaks cheesesteak, and one final meal at his favorite restaurant – Cajun Café on the Bayou down in Pinellas Park. My last food request was simply: a Wendy’s spicy chicken sandwich, and ice dream from Chic-Fil-A. Other must-haves on our bucket lists: attend a Phillies game (Justin), have a pampered, bougie day at a luxurious pool (both of us), one more visit to Miami (me,) make a few more trips to the beach (both of us).

We smashed a bunch of these things into one plush, fabulous week. We started by driving down to Tampa for an indulgent lunch at Cajun Café. Justin ordered the catfish po’boy with fried okra, and I had fried green tomatoes, and the shrimp creole with French bread. We washed this down with a few Founders Centennial IPAs and for dessert: the whisky bread pudding – always a nonnegotiable. (Cajun Café – check!) 

Once we had reached the traditional “uncomfortably full” status that comes with any trip to Cajun Café, we drove over to St. Pete Beach and checked in at the historic Don Cesar hotel. Dubbed “the pink palace,” the Don Cesar sits on powdery white sand, surrounded by wispy palm trees that swish in the wind and overlooks the warm blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

 Our afternoon was spent alternating between lounging at the pool and drinking Ketel One and sodas from the tiki bar (posh pool day – check!) and basking on the sand and floating in the ocean (beach day – check!)

Once we were done with the west coast we headed down to south Florida for one last visit (Miami – check!) And wouldn’t you know, it happened to be Miami Spa Month. Happy Day! Meagan booked us an Asian fusion couples massage at the Setai on South Beach. Justin has never had the pleasure of having a professional massage and I told him he was in for a treat. However we were  both equally surprised when we were introduced to our male masseurs. Let’s just say it’s a little hard to fully unplug and enjoy your own massage when you’re listening to the one going on right next to your head. Of further distraction were the frequent, throaty ujjayi breaths coming from Justin’s masseuse. I found the whole situation so silly I was muffling my giggles in the face pad for the first 40 minutes of the experience. Then, when we had flipped to our fronts and had our tummies rubbed (our tummies!) I nearly lost it. Later, when the four of us had reconvened for some cocktails, I asked Justin what he thought of his first massage. “It was okay” he said. “Parts of it were…weird. Did any of you guys get your face cupped for like, a solid two minutes?” With wide eyes we all shook our heads that, no, none of us had the side of our face cupped in the hand of the masseuse for any extended period of time. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to talk Justin into getting another massage, but I was impressed by his sense of humor and was relieved he was such a good sport about it – heavy breathing, face cupping and all.

In our last week we were honored with a farewell party hosted by the renowned Meg and Chappetta. They set up a pasta bar and Kevin made all the delicious sauces – alfredo, vodka, and marinara by scratch. Yum! We brought Howie with us (of course) and he got to sample the meatballs. For dessert, Meg made homemade key lime and strawberry gelato (what CAN’T that girl make?!), and we enjoyed a few boisterous rounds of Cards Against Humanity and an animated tournament of Heads Up. (PUDDING POPS!!!!!) And my most favorite thing, that little special touch that Chappetta is always so good at – she decorated the entire house with photos from our last 3 years as friends and as teachers at Freedom Middle School. Title I nights, AR Recognition ice cream socials, teacher paintball outings, field trips, all documented for us in photos. We got to take the photos home with us and I was so happy to have such a sweet souvenir to take with us on our travels. Justin and I were the last to leave. It was 1:30 am!! Do you know how late that is in teacher time?! It’s virtually unheard of. It was sad to have to say goodbye but we both left feeling so loved and so grateful to have such generous, loving friends. 

Our next few days involved a lot of packing, unpacking, weighing suitcases, repacking and reweighing suitcases – a dance I named the Suitcase Shuffle. After days of suitcase shuffling, we were able to get all of our things packed into our allotment of two check bags each, each weighing it at about 46 pounds – just four pounds short of the maximum weight allowed. Once again, I’d like to give a shot out to Space Bags for allowing us to shrink piles of clothes, towels, and pillows into neat little bricks. Seriously, Space Bags are amazing. 

And this brings us up to now, the time I’m writing this entry, the eve of our departure. Justin and I enjoyed a lovely meal with my mom at Bonefish. Then we came home and weighed our suitcases just one more time, just to be sure. Justin gave Howie some extra belly rubs and a rawhide chew and spent the rest of the night watching Shark Week. Those two are really going to miss each other. And then, after all the bags were packed, and all the final preparations had been attended to, we were able to relax on the couch with a little Shark Week and a bottle of Cotes du Rhone. Not a bad way to spend your last night at home, eh?

We'll check in when we get to Quito and get internet again.