6 AM: I woke in time to get in a run and some weight lifting in the hotel gym before my first school visit. Trying to run at 10,000 feet above sea level when you ordinarily live at 1,000 feet above sea level is quite a challenge. It took me 12 minutes to run a mile because I had to keep slowing down to a walk to breathe. Oh well, it is the thought that counts, right?
8:30 AM: I'm at my first school, starting my presentation and one girl in the front cuddles up with a friend and closes her eyes to take a nap. I stopped mid-sentence and said, "Don't go to sleep; that is rude," and then continued on with my presentation. Little twit! They were some of the rudest kids, as a group, that I've ever encountered. Ugh!
10:25 AM: Even though my next school visit was scheduled for 10 AM, and I was there 5 minutes early, the counselor didn't come get me until 10:25. Just in time, too, because I had told myself that I was leaving at 10:30 - c'mon, do you know how far I traveled to get there!?! Show a little respect! So I shouldn't have been surprised by the kids' lack of respect when I finally got to see them, since the counselor was so lax. They were eating, doing homework, talking amongst themselves; I couldn't wait to get out of there. I have a feeling I'll be cutting those two schools in the future - nowhere else do I experience such rudeness.
12:00 PM: My flight from Quito to Atlanta doesn't leave until 11:30 PM, so I ask my driver to take me somewhere I can try some typical Ecuadorian food. I can definitely say it is not my favorite type of food, although I do love that avacados are so pleniful there. Here's an example: I try the soup. It is passable. I recognize potato and onion and, "oh, what's this?" I ask. I thought perhaps it was calamari, because that is kinda how it was cut. Think again, it is pig intestines. "I'm full; let's be on our way, shall we?" Yeech!
2:00 PM: Since I have so much time to kill, I have the driver take me to Papallacta, a small town about 40 miles outside of Quito, known for its hot, natural, mineral springs. $7.00 gets me admission to a series of tiled pools. I tried them all, but spent most of my time in this one, the hottest and therefore my favorite.
5:00 PM: I'm paying the driver by the hour, so I have him drop me at the airport where I can kill time before my flight for free. It turns out, I couldn't even check in until 8:30, so I spent 3.5 hours just sitting in the lobby reading. And then, when I do check in and go through security, you KNOW what happens (read my last post if you missed it). Not the most pleasant 6.5 hours I've ever spent.
Saturday, October 16
1:30 PM: I'm finally back in Lexington, VA after 2 long, miserable, uncomfortable flights and a two-hour maintenance delay tacked onto my 3.5 hour layover in Atlanta. I was so glad to see my family, and the screech of joy the boys let out when they saw me was the loveliest ear-splitting noise I've ever heard.
8:00 PM: I'm finally back home. We couldn't come home once I picked the boys up from their father at the gym because there was a cub scouts cookout at 3 PM followed by a fundraising event at the elementary school at 6:30 PM and we wouldn't have had time to come home and go back out again. I am a walking zombie, but I am proud that I stayed awake through reading the boys a bedtime story.
9:30 PM: I'm showered with a fresh (home bathroom) haircut and swept floors. I crawl into bed with a book thinking I'm going to stay awake until my husband gets home from basketball practice. Think again.
Sunday, October 17
9:30 AM: I can't remember the last time I slept for 12 hours, but I feel great! I spend the next 3 hours cleaning house and doing laundry and unpacking, then spend a few hours outside with the boys enjoying a spectacular fall day. I'm so glad to be home!
9:30 PM: After a wonderful day, which included some belly laughs as the boys decide to give yoga a try,
I'm ready to head down to my sewing room. This week's goals include:
- 2 more Dresden Plates prepared for Wednesday's trip to Atlanta and this weekend's wedding festivities
- Finish sewing together the rows for the scrappy lap quilt currently on the design wall
- Sandwich and baste my great-great-grandmother's quilt. I'd love to have that one done by Christmas
What do YOU have planned for this week?
