mitad del semestre/ our new pet

the semester is half way over. i have so many mixed feelings. i miss my family, blake, my roommates, and my friends so so so much. however, i cannot imagine what it will be like to leave ecuador. this country and its people are so beautiful and they have changed my life immensely. it is really hard for me to put it inwords. i doubt i will ever be able to. so i won't try.

on thursday we went to the basilica, which is stunning. i will get photos developed soon.

on friday, we went to the market to buy the groceries for the cafeteria. we were each assigned to pick up three different things. i was assigned to buy six avocados, 1 pound of peas, and six maracuyas. prices were a bit higher because of something to do with holy week, but regardless, everything was incredibly cheap. i also bought 1 pound of grapes for eighty cents and one pound of ecuadorean coffee beans for one dollar.

also, ben, conrad, alex and i decided we needed a pet. so, we bought a hen for four dollars. we named her Frida Kahlo. the other names considered were whoopi goldberg, luzita, nilita, niliana, and so on... Although she lacks the signature unibrow, she definitely looks like a frida. we put her in what used to be a rabbit house, but we felt it was a bit too small. so today, alex and i made a palace for her. she has a courtyard and a place for shade. we feed her our leftover rice. she is surprisingly tame and docile. we like to take her for walks. the latinos threaten to eat her the day that we go back to the states. over my dead body.

a week in pictures.

if you didn't already know, i really love BBC. i spend probably way too much time on their website. they always have several different stories that are told through a set of pictures. i thought all of their featured stories were notable today...

• this picture story is my favourite of the three. it shows the current situation in ecuador/colombia/venezuela.

• i do NOT miss this. suckaaaaaz.
  

• okay, so i am not a feminazi, but Women's Day was yesterday and i like being a woman and i always like a reason to celebrate. so raise your glass to feminity. right on.

in other news, the new cloud cult album is really good, the colombians are teaching me so many dance moves (papa, nonnie, mom, and daddy, i'll be sure to teach you), i am mastering the art of making chifles (tastey little plantain chips), i found a bunch of bjork covers by radiohead that are excellent, i talked to my parents for a little bit the other night, my spanish is getting really really good, there's a possibility of visiting Macchu Picchu (!!!!!!!!), and i still live in the most beautiful country in the world. all is good in the hood.

volcanic eruption

Mount Tungurahua has been violently erupting.
i was just there. craaaaazy.
please be thinking of the displaced families.

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