first ecua haircut!

i finally did it. i cut my hair after ten months. it was absolutely necessary---any day now an animal was going to start nesting in it. so i got up the nerve to have francisca cut it, one of our neighbors. now its not that i´m picky about my hair, but i just had these horrific visions of someone getting a little too cut crazy and chopping off far more than i wanted, and then having to come home with a mullet or something. which let´s face it, no one would have said "your hair looks like shitt", but they all would´ve wondered what the heck happened down there in that country. so i asked francisca to do it, and now ya know what, i´m actually considering coming back to ecuador everytime i need a haircut, so simple, so easy. not like having to go to a salon and having to make small talk with a hairdressor you don´t know, while listening to middle aged women gossip and complain about ridiculous things. here i just sat in francisca´s house as she cut off about three inches and angled the front in a matter of 10 minutes---so easy! and i didn´t have to pay an arm and a leg to get it done!

the funny thing too was that after i was done, her daughter, genesis was like okay well now you can cut my hair-----HA! if anyone has ever seen genesis´s hair, it´s absolutely ridiculous, i´ll have to post a picture of something----long, long black, curly hair all the way down to her butt----and she goes to me, just take off like 2 or 3 inches! i´m like uhhhh, i´m not sure if you want me to do this......but i did! francisca walked me through the whole thing, and while there was a little bit of unevenness here and there, it didn´t turn out half bad ha----although i did have to deal with all the commentary from the peanut gallery---lupita, fix that part, cut more there, that sides uneven, that side you need to wet more, yadda yaddda-- from her 3 other children who were sitting there watching me. the pressure was definitely on, but i think it all turned out okay. just another ecua memory to stash away. another example of how easy going people are here, and how little stress can be involved in activities that we sometimes overanalyze. within a half an hour two of us had new haircuts, and were feeling much better! and that was that.

i may even have her do it again before i leave.

alright, gotta run peeps---sending you a big hug and lots of love,
jamie

¡gloria a dios!

this has been the strangest day ever. literally. well, the week was also strange...good and bad, but overall just strange. i just have to say though, that as i sit here and write this, there is a HUGE evangelical sermon happening right outside this cyber----and all i keep hearing is "gloria a dios" repeat, repeat, repeat---it´s definitely an experience! they LOVE God, and i feel like saying to them, good for you! you go praise the lord! i´m certainly not going to stop you!

so yeah, about today---i guess the strange factor started when i had to help my little neighbor Belén chase her lost pig. She comes up and asks me, "Lupita si ha visto mi chanchito?"(lupita have you seen my little pig) and i´m like uhhh, no why? has he escaped? and she´s like yeah, will you help me catch him...so here i am, trying to find a pig, catch a pig, and get him back in his fence. it was literally one of the funniest things i´ve been a part of this year. i couldn´t help laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. "oh lupita what´d you do today, oh yah know, just helped catch a pig, nbd" but yes. it was a success, we found him in a marshy swampland next to my house and made here piggy piggy noises, to get him to come to us. so funny.

the week too---i was just in such a strange trance. like some days really high, others really low---but i think it was just from coming off my best week ever, ya know? and i think this whole transition thing is really starting to take a toll on me. i mean the new volunteers are picked, they´re coming in two months, and this is just a very odd concept for me to grasp. hence, my feelings of strange. neighbors keep telling me, this is so sad you´re leaving so soon---and i´m just like hold up! i still have two months! let´s not dwell here people!

alright, this cyber is going to close soon. i´ve got to run, even this entry is strange---there was really no point to even write it, i´m half considering just not posting it, but that would be a shame! so i´ll just end on the note i always do and tell you i still miss you all so much, hope you´re enjoying life to it´s fullest everyday, and laughing a ton! just think of me trying to catch that little piglet, that´ll certainly give you a chuckle!

love yous!
jamie

Best Week Ever

ha, so i know it sounds ridiculous, but if i had to rank my weeks here in Ecuador, I think this week would top the charts. so much to tell, so little time, and so many memories to recap! i think i may do this in bullet form, so here goes:

1. SUSIE AND JIMMY B DO ECUADOR!---all of the hesitation, the anxiety, the nervousness immediately dissappated once i saw their faces in the airport--it was a reunion like no other---and the best part was....THEY BROUGHT BRANDON! okay so i´ll set the scene, they walk out and into the crowd and start telling me this story how they forgot two of their suitcases in customs, now i´m thinking to myself, are you kidding me?, how spacey can they get? not one but two suitcases?? so i´m completely distracted and trying to come up with ideas for entering back into customs, when out walks this tall kid with a hat---now i must´ve stared at him for about a whole minute before i even realized it was my brother--bc why would my brother be in ecuador--anyway, so much excitement, tons of screaming, and then security moving us towards the exit ha it was incredible!

so my parents and brother spent four full days with me and my housemates---and all of their questions were answered, both that is, those of my parents and those of my housemates as to why i´m so freaking crazy. i mean the curse words definitely increased this week, and the sarcasm was also upped a notch, but it was so much fun, i don´t think i´ve laughed that hard in a really long time. my mom was such a trooper too--although she came with her own bottled water and power bars, she went with the flow the whole time! waving down buses, eating ecua food, and handling 60 screaming kids---her tactics: miss merry mack, hangman, puzzles, and jump ropes--worked like a charm! it really could not have gone better. i was in a state of complete joy the entire time they were here, and on top of it they took us all out for dinner which was so very much needed!

my mom even said it was the best mothers day she has spent in like eighteen years--so that was huge. on top of it they had the opportunity to meet all of the people who i constantly talk about, lupe and lucy, lourdes and pastora---now they can finally put faces and names to all of the families i have come to know and love. so yeah, amazing visit, so much love exchanged and so many memories created. i will forever remember this. and as dan says now, "well at least we can all say we survived hurricane Buller" ha!

2. ya know i guess when i think about it there really isn´t anything else that spectacular to comment on. i guess my parents visit just held so much weight that i can´t really even think of anything else. today we did just get back from an awesome paseo to parque historico en guayaquil. we took 11 of our sweetest kids and it was the best paseo of all time. our kids were so well behaved, so respectful, and acted like real human beings. i was so proud of them. and even shocked by some of the questions they asked to the tourguides. at the park there were animals and gardens and the kids absolutely loved it. i mean these kids live amongst dirt rodes and barbed wire, and here they got a chance to see green grass, beautiful flowers, and cool creatures. it was a great day that i loved spending with them.

3. well now that i think about, i guess i just have had more of those amazing moments where you´re like "wow, i am so blessed to be exactly where i am" like the other day when karla, ricardo, daniel and i got coco ice creams and sat on the curb recounting the day, or when dan, karla, and i watched the sunset from our roof last night, or this morning when theresa, karla and i went out to coffee in the city (our first real cup of coffee in a really long time, and it was sooo good) i keep having these moments with people i really care about and when i´m in them i feel so much love and joy. it´s all so beautiful. and it only continues with our neighbors too. sitting crocheting with pastora and talking about crazy health remedies, laughing till my stomach hurts, or with lupe and her daughter joshua, eating chocolates and talking about boys, just like i would with anyone else. it´s so real here. life just feels so good.

and for that i had to award it: best week ever in Ecuador. and it just keeps getting better! next month i have my last retreat group and my two roommates from college are coming to visit me! can you believe it, at the beginning of the year i had no visitors, and now look at me! i am one lucky gal.

anyway, i´ve gotta say chao for now. i love and miss you all so much---especially my cousin lindsey who graduated with her masters in speech and language disorders!! you are awesome linds, i am so proud of you and miss you so much! sending love to everyone back home!
con paz y amor,
jamie

what´s your love language?

just came back from a BEAUTIFUL weekend at Playas spending our third retreat together as an entire community. i honestly could not have asked for a better weekend. great beach time, awesome conversation, hysterical memories, and plenty of time to think and reflect. (side note as i sit here writing this, the afternoon school kids are just getting out of school and sending me kisses through the glass windows, it´s making my heart melt-- i am so in love with all of them!)

anyway, back on track--so yeah, this weekend. so perfect. well, after a stressful start (we kind of forgot theresa, whoops!) but don´t all travel days start like that--everybody´s yelling at everyone--f bombs are flying, who´s late, who forgot the keys, who has to turn around to go get the keys, who´s gotta pee, who´s carsick--oh wait that was me---yadda yadda--BUT we made it! and were finally able to breathe once we got there.

our retreat was led by a former volunteer, and she did an amazing job. her theme for the weekend was "the five love languages"-- really focusing on which ways we share and receive love---understanding that not everyone gives and accepts love in the same ways. i had kind of heard of this before, but never really dove any deeper. so after doing a little self analysis, i felt like i best identified with receiving and sharing love in forms of affirmation and acts of service. most of my housemates will tell you that if you clean the kitchen for me, i will love you forever, the same goes for the bathroom, taking down laundry from the line, picking up crap etc. it´s little things like that that say to me, "hey, we´re in this together, let me help you out".

on the other end, i also realized that something i truly need to feel love is for people to tell me they love me. now, while that sounds a little self absorbed let me try to explain. i think that one of the most powerful things that has helped me get through this year has been the letters and emails i´ve received from all of those people i know and love back home. receiving letters and words of encouragement has been so life giving. something tangible that i can look back on when days can be so hard is one of the most empowering experiences because trust me, there have been some hard days. But knowing and seeing, and hearing that i have love and support from back home has meant so much to me. and i know that everyone doesn´t feel that way, but for me, it is so expressive. so those were the two basic conclusions i came to at the end of the weekend--the other three types are gift giving, quality time, and touch----i mean we all know i love LOVE, so all five of the types do fit me at times, but those first two were my primary and secondary. i feel like it´s a really important thing to figure out. because not everyone loves in the same ways, and let´s face it, we´re not mind readers. so yeah, definitely a great topic of conversation for our weekend away--and they should probably do it in marriage prep or something too--wouldn´t that be helpful?

let´s see, what else....well---the padres will be coming in this friday, and let´s just say someone is pumped!! it´s been so long, and i can´t wait to see them. let alone share this experience with people back home. already neighbors have been bugging me, "when are you coming by? what do you want to eat?, where are you going to go?, you have to come to my house"...and the requests continue! it makes me excited to know that so many people want to meet my family---i can already tell this is going to be a beautiful experience. i also just can´t wait to see my mom in ecuador---sometimes i wonder what she´s going to say ha, or do---there should be some comical moments for sure!

shoot, but i gotta run--i feel like they´res so many more things i want to share with you but it´ll have to wait dinner will be ready soon and i don´t want to be late! missing you as always--loving you so fully! my heart stretches everyday for you all, i hope you know that!

love you un montón,
jamie