Who remembered, or knew of FD’s 3 week trip to Ecuador? I did, and it’s about time I heard from her!

FD (aka, T) left out a week ago last Sunday. We had an email from her on that next Monday following, saying she made it to Quito. 

The second email followed on Wednesday expressing concern with the group of noisy, obnoxiously-loud college kids. She was headed up the Andes to a remote community for a week of no outside world communication, teaching English and acting to the village youth, and a noticable lack of personal hygiene luxuries. Don’t we all wish we were with her on this trip :)

From the second FD email:

so quito is a gorgeous city.  we climbed to the top of one of the clock towers of their basilica and they let you climb out of a little window and sit on the ledge like a gargoyle.  so beautiful! so scary!  just you and the pigeons 60feet off of the ground in a city at 10,000ft elevation. 

there are a lot of college kids in our group and for most, it is there first time out of the country so they stay in large packs and they are not very aware of how loud they can get.  i am concerned for when we go up to the andes.  these will be very small towns and most likely our group will double the population of some of the towns.  i fear that we will come on too strong with a 20+ group of 19yr olds squaking away!

over all i am good –  it´s  a lot of people in a small hostel – so there is not much alone time but the excursions are fantastic.  i won´t have email for about a week (along with no shower for about a week).  

Today, excerpted word from the FD comes out of the third world with purpose:

i just returned from a very cold week in the andes and i am in quito for 2 days before the jungle.  i am having a good time despite the huge group of college kids with us.  we completed the community center that D.A.T. had promised only for the town to turn around and say that it wasn´t enough….  we left yesterday a little sad that in the end … – but the advances made, especially with teaching children english were vast. i think that i was one of 8 people who did NOT get sick – 5 people had to go to the hospital and 1 one of them spent 2 nights there.  total hospital bill for 5 people (including 1 person overnight for 2 nights) and perscriptions? $16 – and that was the flat rate.  they didn´t use the travel insurance….

i can´t wait to see you in  just a few weeks!  i miss your voices. 

I’m the one that’s doing the missing. I am so very proud of her attitude, ideas, morals, adventure, priorities, and genuine love for family, concern for all things living, and respect for place, culture, and  bygones…I miss, among many other things, her conversation – her voice. That girl-o-mine will be back in the States in a week and a half…then it’s down to Austin for her and Mark – 2 short days at the FS wedding. I’m expecting pictures and at least one Roadways YouTube clip….

tm