Today was a big election in Ecuador... there has been a new proposed constitution and the vote was si or no; to pass it or not.  I don't really know what the old constitution said or what the new one says, but the Ecuadorians I talked to were for passing the referendum for the new constitution - wanting a change.  I read that Correa, the president of Ecuador, projects that the referendum was passed.  Elections in Ecuador are a big deal with a lot of campaigning - people driving around in trucks announcing their political views on a mega phone.  Correa was seen in McDonalds yesterday speaking for his cause.  There is the potential for strikes, crowds protesting, tear gas... although as far as I know this was a peaceful vote.  It is also a dry weekend for the country... the alcohol section is covered in the grocery stores and not available in restaurants.  If you show up to vote intoxicated you are put in prison. 

   I climbed Rucu again yesterday.  I love the opportunity to get out of the city and be in the open air.  As we got towards the top, it started snowing/hailing little pellets of cold white substance.  It was cold and then slippery.  It was a cloudy day, so we were moving in the clouds.  Amidst the gray white mist we were climbing through, the green of the ground seemed greener than usual.  After the snow, I could smell the soil.  I love how the change in the atmosphere heightens the senses.  

   Rain.  Every day, lately.  Not just rain, but thunder, lightening, and occasional brinks with no electricity.  

   Last weekend we went to the Marriott Hotel for our staff retreat.  It seemed a little extravagant to me, but it was really neat, because every employee of the school was invited, from the administration to the cleaning staff and maintenance workers - so for the weekend we were all pampered together.  My favorite part of the experience was the bathroom.  It was absolutely beautiful and I didn't have to adjust the water temperature after I set it (at home I am continually readjusting the shower, because one second its too hot and the next second its too cold).  In the short amount of time I was there I took two showers and two baths... there was also a beautiful bathtub.                

   Friday night we went to hear Pablo play at Cafe Libro with the band Sierra.  The show was really fun and the cafe was a really good atmosphere.  After the band was done playing, the floor was cleared and everybody started dancing.  They played a lot of fun latino music and at the end they played I Will Survive and the YMCA.  It was so fun to be on the dance floor with all Ecuadorians doing the motions to the YMCA.   

   Yesterday I hiked to the top of Rucu, a peak that is 15,414 feet above sea level (higher than any peak in the lower 48 states, I'm told), part of the Pichincha range.  Rucu means "old man" in Quichua, and it does look like the profile of the face of an old man lying down.  There were some thrilling parts, including the Paso de los Muertos (Pass of the Dead), with sharp drop offs an either side of a narrow, rocky passage.  I started out on the hike, expecting just that - a leisurely jaunt to the top of the mountain, using my legs.  I hadn't anticipated holding on for dear life with every part of my body.  It was awesome and totally worthwhile.  The view from the top was absolutely amazing.  The wind and being outside in open air without pollution was my favorite part of the day.  When we got back to the city I got a headache, partially from my sunburn, and partially from the exhaust smells.  I miss the country.      

           (Holding on for dear life across the Paso de los Muertos - although you can't tell, there are very steep drop offs on either side of me)                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

    (The summit)                                                                      

    My third grade class has recently started calling me Mrs. Peterpan, instead of Miss Petersen.  They think its funny and I think its cute, so I don't bother correcting them.  

    The other day I was talking to my second grader, who cracks me up incessantly throughout our entire class period... so I was laughing a lot.  She then proceeded to tell me, in Spanish, that when I smile, my eyes look Chinese.  The same girl, when I asked her what color my teeth are, said they are white and yellow mixed together.  Maybe I should stop drinking so much coffee.  

     

    

   

   

      

    Coming back to Ecuador has been like finding an old friend.  Each day spent here holds new discovery.  Ecuador continues to amaze me.  I love it.  

    Saturday was a World Cup qualifier game for Ecuador against Bolivia.  Amanda and I walked over to the stadium to soak in some of the atmosphere.  Once there we decided we wanted to go to the game, so we stood around for awhile trying to figure out how to get cheap tickets.  Suddenly two free tickets were handed to us... apparently a benefit of being the only white girls amidst a crowd of people.  Ecuador won 3-1. Every time Ecuador scored the crowd went wild and we received beer showers.  

    I went with Kim and Pablo to Santos Pamba, an extremely poor Quichua community (the Quichua people tend to be society's outcasts and do not have rights with the government, etc) in the very south part of Quito (1 1/2 hours south of where I live) on Sunday.  She has started a pre-school and kindergarten there - with the hope of adding a grade every year.  There is a church in connection with the school, so we attended the service and I got to meet some of the people from the community, including the teachers at the school.  This experience was one of the most tangibly evident of God's provision that I've seen.  He has taken Kim's dream and blessed it beyond her imagination.  Throughout the church service there were stray dogs wandering through the building (and we were on the second floor), because it does not have doors or windows yet.  It was also incredibly cold, because its up the mountain a ways, and again, no windows to block the wind.  The people were so gracious and loving towards me as a newcomer, and especially to Kim, who has impacted their community so deeply.

Compassion International will be coming into the community within a month to start a sponsorship program, which is a huge answer to prayer.

    This is a picture of Quito from Santos Pamba - the little hill in the middle is the Panacillo, and I live somewhere around the white cloud in the far north (around 30 miles away from Santos Pamba). 

                 

   

   After school Kim, Cherie, and I took a bus to the University Central area, to go to a copy shop. 1 1/2 cents per page.  The print shop is one of those hole in the wall businesses, up 3 flights of stairs, passing by one of those "treasure" stores that has every kind of tacky decorative crap you could ever imagine, on the first floor, a sketchy billiards room that smelled overwhelmingly like stale incense, on the second, and at last, our muy barrato print shop... and quite possibly the smiliest baby I have ever seen, who sat in his papa's arms, smiling so big his eyes almost disappeared.  It rained the whole time we were out.

   The electricity went out at school today.  I understand this is a common occurrence.  I didn't even realize until I went downstairs for lunch, since my classroom has a huge window with enough sunlight that I never turn on the overhead lights.  Which works perfectly for me, since I strongly dislike fluorescent lighting.  

   The school is situated on one block and the soccer field is on the next block over, connected by a second floor tunnel.  Two days a week it is my responsibility to stand by the soccer field entrance and greet the students as they arrive.  Apparently we have some prestigious students, or one in particular... the preschooler arrived in a suv with tinted windows and a driver.  A guard on motorcycle was following.  Moments later another guard on motorcycle arrived on the scene, apparently circling the neighborhood to check security - and every day, all day long, there is a privately hired guard sitting outside the school on his behalf, just in case.   

   Tonight was open house for the parents at the school.  Since I don't have a homeroom, I meandered between the third grade classrooms, meeting parents of my students.  I introduced myself in Spanish, giving a brief history of my life and what brought me to the Academia Alianza.  This was one of the most empowering moments of my life.  When I was done speaking, all of the parents applauded my Spanish, as if I'd given a highly inspirational speech, rather than linguistically stumbling through it.  I spoke further with more parents in Spanish... maybe its just the thrill of the job, but to communicate meaningfully with your students' parents in another language is elating.  ...I wonder if my students feel the same excitement when they speak in English.  

   I bought peanut butter today.  Ordinarily this would be a $5 investment for a jar of Jif.  My friend showed me a place in the market that sells homemade natural peanut butter for $1.70.  I think it's just crushed peanuts, but its delicious to my peanut-butter-deprived taste buds.

     

   In the past 22 years I have accumulated a few places that I consider home.  The farm I grew up on, the lake I've lived on the past 4 summers, La Merced, Ecuador, and whatever my present address is.  Saturday I went to La Merced, only to find myself a tourist in a world supremely familiar to me.  The buildings still the same, the woodsy smell conjuring memories otherwise distant, but the place no longer belonging to me.  I walked the same steps I've walked hundreds of times before, but I am four years removed from the home I knew.  

   I now live in Quito, a city of 2 million people.  I live close to the airport, so airplanes commonly fly past my dining room window.  On clear days, I have a view of Cotopoxi, a volcano situated south of the city.  Domino's Pizza is my next door neighbor, which is especially useful on Tuesdays - the two for one day.  There are 5 keys needed to get from the sidewalk outside to my apartment inside.  When the keys are forgotten at home, there is a compliant guard who is willing to let us in, regardless of the late hour.  

   My first teaching job is at an international school, the Alliance Academy, where I have found a very unique community.  I teach English as a Second (or third, or fourth) Language to second, third, and sixth graders.  I love my job.        

   This life I have chosen, this opportunity God has given me, I live in expectation of simplicity, struggle, adventure, challenge, and amidst love, joy, grace, and gratefulness.  

   I am not a blog reader, nor have I ever before been a blog writer.