Departure

Hey all!  Welp tomorrow is the big day, heading out..............finally.  The original date I was set to fly out of Phoenix was October 1st, but due to political unrest and police strikes in Quito and throughout the rest of the country, I had to postpone my arrival.  The strikes immediately headed to the main airport, Mariscal Sucre, which was where I was set to arrive the next day (here's more info on the situation and issues that happened during this attempted coup attempt as President Correa called it http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11447519 ).  Anyways, I rescheduled my flight and leave tomorrow, October 5th, at 8am, make a three hour layover in Miami, then fly straight down to Quito to arrive by 9pm their time (they are only two hours ahead of Arizona).

My original plan, when I was still arriving on the 1st, was to stay with a family I had found on craigslist (of all places) for one week at the very least.  I had been corresponding with them a lot over the past month and the 17 year old son was going to pick me up at the airport.  Unfortunately I didnt hear back from them for a couple of days after I changed my arrival, so I had to scramble for other plans.  Luckily, as it turns out I have a friend who went to both my high school and UofA, and who is down there finishing up his first cycle of teaching at the same University that I will be teaching at.  We've talked a bit after I found his teacher bio on our school's website, and he is going to meet me at the airport tomorrow night and help me get my first night in the city figured out.

Overall, I'm feeling very blessed and lucky, from the little things about my situation such as the friend I have down there and the fact that I missed the strikes by just one day, to the overall chance to live in this amazing new place and culture that is Ecuador.  I'll have to figure out many, many things when I arrive such as a phone plan and a place to live, but I am so ready to be busy and learning again.  I will let everyone know how things are when I get there, and be sure to post pictures as soon as I can.

here's some links for info on my future city as well as where I'll be teaching.

http://www.cec-epn.edu.ec/idiomas/linguistica/
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/ecuador/quito

Love everyone I am leaving behind here in Arizona and the States, and I shall see you all in a year or more!  Adios mis amigos y familia, te quiero mucho!!!

bye AZ ill miss you!