A 5 hour layover in Bogota, Colombia seemed scary at first. I am fortunate to have Sarah Priddy with me, a fellow Volunteer and new friend. Now that we are here, in Colombia, waiting for a connecting flight, fear subsides and my excitement swells. In approximately 4 hours, I will meet my host parents and the 6 exchange students living with them- my new Ecuadorian family. The trip, so far, has been rather smooth and uneventful. A 4:20 am wakeup call at the Comfort Inn was nothing short of a delight (note the sarcasm) after my mere 3 hour slumber. The good news is that throughout the process of checking in, finding our gate, and eating breakfast, Sarah and I had tons to talk about. Bad news- deep conversation often leads to being distracted, which often leads to nearly MISSING FLIGHTS. Luckily, I heard the "last call" announcement from the gate we thought was ours, but turned out to be NOT ours. We made it though! We even got to sit together on the plane and met a Colombian Surgeon who overheard us reviewing -ir, -er,-ar verb conjugations. He kindly offered to help and was patient with me as I stumbled through my rusty Spanish. It was fun, though!
At the gate in Colombia, we were a little timid, but ventured out into the food area where I saw (and quickly purchased) the most beautiful SA item: drinkable yogurt... and muesli. It was perfect, and tasted just like I remember it from Peru. This drinkable yogurt will be my vice and work against me every month as I aim to fit into Amy's bridesmaid dress in January.
While we wait for our flight, Sarah and I are enjoying the luxury of wireless internet in the terminals and reviewing our Spanish. We both have 'mucho' to learn, but are really excited to learn it!
We are almost there and I really am looking forward to it. I knew that saying goodbye would be hard and sad, which it was- really really sad (I will admit that there were definitely some tears and long goodbye hugs as Chris escorted me as far as he possibly could through check-in and to the entrance of security. He even waited until I was out of eye sight to leave... There is not much to say about all of that other than I MISS HIM!). However, I was also right that saying goodbye would be the hard part and the rest would be an adventure! Ahora, me voy! Adios!
