I'm goin' to Ecuador!!!

Hooray!!! I have a visa! It only took all morning, mainly because the woman who was looking for my folder (with my passport and all my documents in it) couldn't find it for about 45 minutes. She was looking at the form for my blood test that I got at the hospital, and she was looking for my doctor's name instead of my name! Wow.

So I finally got a visa, after having to get an entirely new blood test in Glenview and getting it notarized/stamped. It was quite an adventure. I leave in 3 days! :)

Consulate Nightmares

So today I thought I would go get my 'Cultural Exchange' visa to go to Ecuador. Luckily I live near Chicago, because there was a girl there from Michigan who is also leaving on Saturday and needed her visa! Anyways, I had all of the paperwork I needed, except for an "original" HIV test result from the health clinic.

The woman at the consulate kept saying that I didn't have the original, but what I had was exactly what the clinic had given me, not a copy. So I proceeded to find out that what I needed was an embossed stamp on that paper from the clinic (McKinley) in URBANA-CHAMPAIGN! Fun.

What I ended up doing was calling McKinley and talking to someone who could luckily FedEx the paper (not fax it, because the stamp wouldn't even show up), and only because they are really really nice! Also, I went to get an entirely new blood test in Glenview, so those results should be in tomorrow, then I'll have the hospital stamp those results with everything they've got! So now I might take the Ecuadorian consulate 2 HIV tests, hah! And I only have a few more days to do it. Oh my goodness...

Host Fam!

Merry (late) Christmas! I meant to write this sooner, because I found out about my host family before winter break, but here's the info :)

I'm really excited about the family I will be living with in Ecuador! My host mom's name is Yolanda Cordova, and she is an older woman with one of her sons living in the house, as well as her daughter and the daughter's family (including four kids) living next door. This is a family that a good friend of mine(Murph) suggested I live with, because she had already been on the program to Ecuador in Fall 2007. I'll also have wireless internet, Skyyyype! (and blogging)

Another friend who also went on the program in Quito looked at Google Maps and showed me how the bus system works and where I can get a chip for a cell phone while in Ecuador. The house I'll be living in is very close to the bus station, where I'll take a bus to Cumbayá (a town about 15 min outside of Quito, where my university is located).

In terms of my host family, I'm so excited about having kids nearby (you know me)! I have also heard so much about how nice Yolanda is from my friend who lived with her, and they still keep in contact often. I can't wait to meet my new familia! muuuy pronto!

1 month countdown! If I can post before midnight...

So I should be studying for a Spanish in the Community test. But whatevs. I thought I would write my first post instead! (granted Jon Stewart just had a guest that talked all about blogging on The Daily Show)

I really wanted to thank all of the people that are helping me prepare for this trip. Obviously my family and bestest friends are being very supportive... even though I'm going far far away, but I wanted to thank a few people that specifically helped me prepare for the culture and random stuff I'm going to encounter in Ecuador.

Liz & Britta - You did it first, thanks! haha. love you guys, your experiences are helping me already!

Liz Girten - You're so open about study abroad, it's great! I see a lot of similarities between us and I can't wait to follow your AMAZING footsteps in volunteering and learning about Spanish, culture, etc.

Murph - I'm so excited to live with your host family.... I really hope it works! I can't wait to interact with kids like you do.

Rachel Mowery - Your travel tips have been awesome! I hope I can make a scrapbook as cool as yours when i get back :)

Bauman - I'm so glad to keep in touch, and all of your help is so valuable. I am really looking forward to making some great connections with people in Ecuador, thanks for helping me get started!

Ann Abbott & Marcos - Working in Spanish in the Community (and writing about it!) are really inspiring me in a big way. I'm very excited about going to another country and pursuing similar ideas and actions regarding community work and reflection.

Brandon - Duh. Thanks for organizing everything! I really appreciate the conversations we have as well, I can't wait to tell you all about my experiences!

I'm sure I totally forgot someone. Can you edit posts? Well, the lady on The Daily Show (Sam? remember her name? oooh something Huffington...) said to blog your passions, and that it should be different from formal writing, more like a 'first draft'. So this is my first draft... I'm sure there are more people that have helped me prepare. Muchas gracias a todos!!!!

Hasta luego (after finals maybe... ugh)