7 DAYS! Where did the time go?!?

COUNTDOWN: 7 days. Ready or not. It's finally hit me that I am leaving for 2 years. I went out with all of my friends for one last hoorah this past Saturday. That's when it hit... when I had to say some of my final "see ya laters." I know it's only going to get worse when I have to say my final "see ya laters" to my best friends, boyfriend, and family. I am NOT looking forward to that day :-(

Here are some pics from Saturday and the last couple weekends!:

Love them! And will miss them dearly until I come back next

 March 2012 when my one of my best friends will get married(Girl on the left)! :-)

 Before we went out one night!

 Greatest girl friends anyone could ask for :-)

 My little sister and I!

 St. Louis Blues Hockey Game.... we sat 3 rows from the ice! what what!

But what I am looking forward to is PC ECUADOR!!! I am so freaking ready to get there, get to know all the other awesome trainees in Omnibus 105 (that's the name of our training group, we are the 105th group to train in PC Ecuador), meet my host family, and start training! After all I have been waiting for this for TWO years!

Yesterday, I got all the clothes together 1.) that PC recommended I bring, and 2.) that I want to bring, and oh boy, there are wayyy more there then I thought was going to be. Shoot. Time to figure out which ones to hang back up and part ways with. I don't know why I want to bring so many. After all, I'm not going to a different world, just Ecuador, where I can find almost anything I will need, which makes me happy. So I need to relax and keep that in mind. I bought some 'space saver' vacuum bags today to help out with room in my 2 suitcases. It is a variety pack: 1 medium, 2 large, 2 extra large, 1 travel bag, and 1 pouch. I think those will be enough for the clothes in my 2 suitcases and carry-on.

I thought picking out which shoes I wanted to bring was going to be difficult, but surprisingly, it wasn't very difficult to part ways with some of my favorite shoes.

All of my clothes

 My shoes (I still want to bring another pair of tennis shoes though)

 Everything else!

 I have to fit all of the stuff above into this suitcase, duffel bag, and carry-on...

So the next 7 days are going to FLY by! I have a pretty booked schedule, and on top of that I need to stuff all my belongings into 2 suitcases. I thought I would provide you all with my schedule for the next week:

Tuesday 25th(tonight)--Dinner with friends one last time
Wednesday 26th--stay home and do a test packing run
Thursday 27th--hang out with Josh and my family
Friday 28th--Go to Jason Aldean concert at Mizzou with my sister!
Saturday 29th--Go get a massage with my aunt! Visit my grandparents one last time.
Sunday 30th-- Lunch with a friend in the afternoon. Then my Aunt is having the whole fam over in the evening for dinner.
Monday 31st--Say "see ya later" to my boyfriend's parents
Tuesday 1st--Finish up some last minute packing during the day. Then my sister is coming in from school and then we are going out to dinner one last time as a fam!!
Wednesday 2nd--Fly out of Saint Louis at 7:30am to Washington DC where I will meet all the other trainees in my group and have orientation from 12-7pm.
Thursday 3rd--Check out of hotel at 3:30am (yes, you read that correctly), get on a plane at 8:20am to Miami, then off to Ecuador at 11:00am. Land in Quito, Ecuador at 7pm!!!
Friday 4th-- PC stuff all day long: meetings, spanish crash courses, interviews, etc!
Saturday 5th-- PC stuff until 1pm, then meet our host families at 1!!

Okay, so I gave you my schedule for the next TWO weeks, I got carried away, oops! :-)

In the next post I will give you my address so you can send me letters during training:-) And yes, every single one of you MUST send me letters!!

Heather

Facts about Ecuador

Since the holidays are over and things have settled down I figured it was time for another update. I wanted to provide you with some facts and pictures of Ecuador! So here you have it! I hope you enjoy this as much as I do!

- The equator runs through the country, hence why the country is named Ecuador
-  Ecuador is a republic government
-  The capital of Ecuador is Quito
-  Guayaquil is the largest city in Ecuador, apart from being a major port and a leading commercial center
-  Ecuador received its independence from Spain on May 24, 1822, but the holiday is celebrated on August 10, 1809 because that is when Quito received its independence
-  Ecuador was a part of the Inca Empire before the arrival of the Spanish, in 1534
-  Population: 14 million
-  Age Structure:  0-14 yrs: 31.1%

                            15-64 years: 62.7%

                            65 and over: 6.2%

-  Average Life Expectancy: 75.5  years

-  95% of the population is Roman Catholic

-  Official Language: Spanish

-  Literacy Rate: 91% of the population is able to read

-  Main exports are: petroleum, bananas, cut flowers, shrimp, cacao, coffee, hemp, wood, fish

-  Adopted the US dollar for its currency in 2000, crazy huh??? (I also found a site that said January 2001)

-  Ecuador is about the size of Colorado

-  Ecuador is the smallest country in the Andean highlands

-  Bordered by Colombia to the north, Peru to the south and east, and the Pacific ocean to the west

-  Ecuador is one of only two countries in South America that do not share a border with Brazil

-  It’s one of the most bio-diverse countries in the world and contains 10 percent of the Earth's plant species and 18 percent of bird species

-  Has the second highest deforestation rate in South America

-  Divided into 4 regions: Andean Highlands (Sierra), Amazon Lowlands (Oriente), Coastal Lowlands (Costa), and the Galapagos Islands about 600 miles west of the Ecuadorean mainland

-  Climate: tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands

-  Two of Conservation International’s 34 biodiversity hotspots are represented in Ecuador, and it is the smallest of the 17 mega-diverse countries of the world

-  Chimborazo Volcano, at 6310, forms the highest point in Ecuador, while the lowest point is formed by Pacific Ocean

-  Ecuador has many active volcanoes and also, one of the greatest densities of volcanoes in the world

-  Majority of the balsa wood in the world comes from Ecuador

-  Quinine, the first drug used to prevent and treat malaria, is obtained from the bark of the cinchona tree that grows in the Andes mountain range, in Ecuador and Peru

-  Guinea pig is considered to be a delicacy in Ecuador

Flag of Ecuador

Different regions of Ecuador

Volcano Cotopaxi (claimed to be the highest active volcano in the world)



Now for some facts about the famous Galapagos Islands!

- The name 'galapagos', an old Spanish word for 'saddle', was originally used by Bishop Tomas and his crew to describe the giant tortoises but the name stuck

- Darwin's research in Galapagos led to the groundbreaking theory of The Origin of Species

- In 1978 UNESCO designated Galapagos as the first World Heritage site

- The convergence of three major oceanic currents brings an incredible mix of marine life to Galapagos

- Galapagos is home to the only surviving giant Pinta tortoise, 'Lonesome George'

- The abundant, fearless wildlife allows visitors to get up close and personal to some of the world's rarest animals

- There are two seasons: December to May is warm and wet and June to December is cool and dry

- Annual rainfall in the lower regions is 2-4in (60-100mm) and the air temperature varies between 69°-84°F/21°-29°C

- The Islands' climate is determined by ocean currents

- Despite being located in the tropics, the Islands' micro-climate is curiously dry

Map of the Galapagos Islands

You can find these giant tortoises roaming the Islands!

                Marine Iguana: found in the islands, as well, could you image coming across one of these things?!?!? I hear they are nice creatures, I won't believe it til I see it!

 The famous blue footed booby found on the Galapagos. Booby comes from the Spanish term bobo, which means "stupid" or "fool/clown". This is because the Blue-footed Booby is clumsy on the land, and (like other seabirds), they can be very tame and therefore easily captured, killed, and eaten by humans

There you have it, plenty of facts about Ecuador and its famous Galapagos islands! Coming next, some pics and my itinerary for Staging (aka orientation) and my first few days in Ecuador.

Hasta Luego (translation: 'bye'. If I have to learn Spanish, then so do you! :-) )

Heather