...me voy.

sitting in the Miami airport, just beginning the 8 hour lay over- straight from the diablo. Time to do some processing...

things i will certainly miss about Quito:

• the people. of course my fellow semester abroaders, but also the Bible reading gang (Mika, Roberto, Jose Luis, Joe,David, Dan, the twins,... so many!), the host family- Lilli, Ivanhoe,Cris, Gabi, Melba, Mathias!!, and of course... the fine folks over at Christy's store and my beloved Cuban (of, what else, "the cuban store".) 
• the language. I love spanish. I love speaking it and I love hearing it being spoken. good thing i'm from Chicago. 
• the food. rice with aji, lots of avocado,cilantro and regrettably, mushrooms. Soup with bones! pancitos, cafe con leche... ugh, everything. 
• the smells. walking past Arenas Panderia every morning, the natural medicine cart, the pee on the walls... this semester was also an adventure for my nose. 
• the trolley, the bus. public transit in general. What a totally nutso part of Ecuador, but it certainly makes it what it is. 

things i can't wait to get home to:

• the people. mom and dad and all the friends at home make goodbye a little easier on the other side. 
• flushing toilet paper (just did that here in Miami. so weird.)
• certain foods. dr.pepper, rold gold tiny twists, taco bell, chik fil a, pickles, hummus, regular cucumbers. 
• driving my car, feeling like a grown up.
• knowing what to expect when i do things. shopping will be easier, traveling more familiar and greeting new acquaintances will be a breeze. 

Yep. so thats it. el fin. vaya bien, y'all. Cuidate, no?

the lastest addition to the kitchen wall. I will live on in infamy. ask for the story...