When It Rains it Pours

It’s amazing how life throws you curve balls when you least expect them. The week started out so wonderfully and then turned for the worse. But as the saying goes, God doesn’t give us what we can’t handle, and we need to take advantage of all the life we’re given- the difficult along with the great.

So the great to begin with. On Saturday Richard and Diego took Kat, Aubrey, and I caving. I was so excited not only for the adventure of it all, but also because the caves are called 24 de Mayo, my birthday! So we left Ambato in the morning to arrive in the quasi-jungle town of Mera two hours later. Little did we know what we were in for. We headed into the jungle and walked for an hour and a half through the thickest mud I have ever experienced. It’s so funny looking back because we had been so careful watching our steps and making calculated moves as to minimize mud submersion. We soon found out our efforts were in vain. The caves were literally a hole in the middle of the jungle floor- totally removed from everything! We couldn’t imagine how someone found them in the first place. Lucky for us we had some great guides.

The caves themselves were incredible. With headlamps on, we all headed down into the darkness. At points, the spaces were so narrow that only our heads were above water, the rest of us submerged and without any space to turn around. Good thing I don’t get claustrophobic! And needless to say, we were soaking wet and as muddy as possible. We got to see tons of bats that kept flying around and amazing stalactites and stalagmites. When we got to the big room at the end and turned off all our lights so that we could experience true darkness and silence. Then we headed back out (it took about 25 minutes from one end to the other) and started to walk back to the truck. Because we were so filthy already,  we just had a ball slushing through the mud without a care. And then it started to downpour, the strongest I had experienced in Ecuador.  Though I was freezing, I thought to myself that I know one day not too far from now when I am working, I am going to think back and wish more than anything that I was stuck in a downfall in the Amazon. Though at the time, I didn’t know how much that downpour would come to symbolize my week ahead.

Sunday was Mother’s Day and I decided to make pancakes for my host mom and the rest of the family. Can you believe they had never had them before? So I made a batch of regular pancakes and a batch of banana, and some scrambled eggs as well. They also were puzzled with syrup, having never seen it before. But I think the breakfast was a success! Then I went to Mass and went shopping with them all. After doing some work, Aubrey and I took a study break and went on a double date of sorts! We had met two guys dancing a few weeks before and they invited us for ice cream. Since I never turn down free ice cream, we made our way to La Fornace, Ambato’s most famous heladaria. And of course an Ecuadorian evening wouldn’t be complete without daring vueltas, or driving around aimlessly, so after circling the city multiple times, the boys took us home. It was definitely fun to experience the Ecuadorian dating world, and if nothing else, it was great conversation practice!

Then Monday came, and as is common on that day, things started to fall apart. I woke up not feeling very well, with a runny nose and a really sore throat. I had my morning routine as usual and ate lunch with the family, and then was hit really hard with whatever bug I had. I got body aches, a fever, and let’s just say I was having some digestive problems as well. I felt so miserable that I canceled class for the first time in 8 months. It really is hard to feel so sick when you are so far from home. Then I called my mom in the States because I just wanted to hear a friendly voice, and I got terrible news. She told me that my grandma might very well not make it through the week. And if I thought being sick in a different country was the loneliest feeling possible, I was about to discover I was wrong. So with everything, Monday night was definitely my worst night in Ecuador.

I woke up Tuesday morning exhausted from lack of sleep from sickness and sadness, only to go downtown for a phone interview I had planned. Obviously, this interview, which had been on the forefront of my mind for a week, seemed to be so far from my thoughts at the time. But deep down I knew how much this organization interested me and I really did want the job. I went to both of my favorite internet cafes, which both have a lot of space, and as my luck had it they had both been closed temporarily for not paying taxes. So I ended up in a little cabina about the size of a porta-potty with all the company information spread around me.  I think the interview went as well as can be expected at a time like that, and if nothing else, I know it was good practice for future interviews.

I was headed to breakfast with our director from Quito on Wednesday morning when I got a call from my mom that I should book a ticket to the States, and the soonest one possible. That was when I let go of the hope that my grandma would make it, and knew that I had to embrace reality and get ready to say goodbye. It had just all been so unexpected and it seemed so surreal, but somehow I was able to get a plane ticket in the next hour, pack my bags, and create a lesson plan for Dan to help me with in my absence. Thankfully for me, the buses were all on strike in Ambato anyway, so there would be no class that day. That also meant, though, it would be a lot harder to relay all the changes to my students. Luckily I have an amazing coworker in Dan, and such supportive administrators, that I was able to leave knowing my students were in good hands and that I needn’t worry about classes while I was away. Then I headed to the airport and flew out that night. I was bound for the US and instead of excitement, I was just filled with great sadness.

But through it all I just saw time and time again how good can come in the hardest of times. My host family showed me so much love and compassion- buying me medicine, making me crazy sore throat drink concoctions, and driving me to the bus terminal when I had to get to the airport. Many of my students called or texted me when I was sick to give me advice or to offer to take me to the doctor. Aubrey and Dan both helped me with my lesson plans and my school administrators gave me great peace of mind. So while I left Ambato very down, I knew that I was leaving with a lot of love and support as well.