Finally Arriving In Ecuador

           My journey to Ecuador started at 7am on August 14th (my best friend Ashley Ballarin's birthday!) when I left my grandparents' cottage to head to the Chicago airport. I traveled with three other girls from MSU: Amanda S., Emily B., and Chanika D. Our flight left at 12:20pm and we arrived in Miami at 4:25pm. Then we had a 3 hour layover. This was a rough time for me because I had a stomach ache and I was starting to have second thoughts as to if I could really go 4 and a half months straight without seeing my family and friends. The only positive thought that I had was that I had to think of it as an adventure. I love traveling and exploring and I also knew this experience be vital for me to improve my Spanish for my future career. I started feeling better and we loaded the plane for our 7:55 pm flight. We finally landed in Quito, Ecuador at 10:55 pm which was 11:55pm Michigan time. 
       However, this was not the end of our long journey---we still had to go through customs. This took a good hour for them to look at our passports and examine our suitcases. Once we got through customs, there was an area with people waiting for their families coming off the plane. There were so many people! There were also many families of exchange students since this was the day that our directors advised us to arrive. The families had signs with the names of their students and it was absolute chaos. I did not see my name so Sara Sanchez (a director) was helping me look when suddenly a man came running at me with a huge smile on his face. It was mi papa (Guillermo)! He was so excited to see me and gave me a big hug and kiss on the cheek (kissing on the cheek is the way that Ecuadorians greet each other and say good-bye....as I would quickly learn). 

        He told me that he had been waiting at the airport for an hour. I felt so bad! He did not seem too concerned. We took a cab to my new house and talked the entire way. My Spanish must have been awful since I was tired from a full day of traveling, but it felt so easy to me.  My host mom (Lorena) was waiting for me when we got to the house. They live in condominiums that are very beautiful and they have two kids: Leandro (5 years) and Linet (almost 2 years). The kids were passed out in their parents bed. They were so cute! I was bummed that they were sleeping because that meant I would have to wait another day to actually meet them and to give them their gifts from me. My new parents gave me a quick tour and showed me how everything worked in my room. We talked for almost an hour and then decided we should probably get to bed. Here is what my room looked like before I unpacked. I somehow had the energy to unpack EVERYTHING before I went to bed. It made me feel much better to sleep being all settled in at my new house :)