Monday March 15

When we woke up yesterday we were a bit lazy and watched a movie. Once we got up and about we went for a walk and ended up doing a little shopping (Kevin still wants a hat, we were still unsuccessful) and walking through the park. It was a beautiful day and the park was huge and very lively with people walking, biking, dogs running around, playing soccer, and we even saw one guy juggling. It was a little strange though because, when we were walking through, it was as if everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at us. That's an over-exaggeration of course, but that's what it felt like because so many eyes were on us. This is how it's been for a lot of the trip, people staring at us because we're Caucasian (and probably also because Kevin is six and a half feet tall). It is such an odd feeling to be the minority everywhere you go. There were parts of LA that were Spanish-speaking and I felt like somewhat of a minority, but it wasn't so dramatic, and people didn't stare at me.

It has really gotten me thinking about how I actually really enjoy how the United States has people of all races. It's not an oddity for you or me to walk down the street and see all different skin colors. I love it. And not only that, but I'm so grateful for the abundance of culture that the US has to offer from so many different places. The US has tradition, music, fashion, art, and let's not forget the amazing food, that has all come from all around the world. It is so interesting for me to see how other cultures thrive, and being in Ecuador has been and will continue to be such an amazing learning experience for me.

Moving on, yesterday after our walk, we went down to Gringo Land again for a few drinks. We grabbed a table outside at Coffee Tree, which is supposed to be really great, but it was pretty busy so the service was a bit slow (I think our waitress may have forgotten about us at one point) so we walked over to Azuca, across the street with a colorful little bar. While there, we met a small group of students from Auburn in Alabama that are here for school. We all became friends very quickly, comparing stories from our trips. We talked about meeting up with them again before we go to Portoviejo, so that's a possibility.

Tomorrow we're going to Robbie & Johana's place in Cumbaya (which is really close to Quito) to get some of the luggage we left there and hang out with them and have dinner together. Then on Wednesday evening some of the other Hands for Humanity volunteers are flying into Quito, so we'll be meeting up with them, then all flying to the coast on Thursday.