Oportunidades: My Sister and Ecuador

Before Thanksgiving, I was fortunate enough to be able to spend a week in Ecuador with my sister. She was studying there for a couple weeks, and I tagged along with the class for a week. It was great! I was so excited to see Emily! It had been 15 months since I had seen any family members. I will never forget what it was like watching her walk through the doors at the Ecuadorian Airport. We had a blast together.

We were in Quito for a couple days at first, staying at a very nice hotel with hot water, carpet, big beds, hair-dryers, water I could drink out of the tap, beautiful breakfasts, a pool, hot-tub, work-out room, etc. (You may chuckle reading this, but trust me, this hotel was no Peace Corps hostel—it was so luxurious.) We listened to a few speakers talk about development in Ecuador. It was interesting going through the learning phase again on a topic in which a live everyday.

We also spent a couple of days in Otavalo—the biggest Andean market. Needless to say, Emily and I did a lot of shopping. Christmas gifts are pretty much taken care of. We went on a couple hikes and hung out. The whole experience was wonderful and relaxing, but the highlight was definitely the fact that I could spend the time with Emily!