Return to Quito

Belina and Marius

Another whirlwind day. So many errands, so much driving, visiting, organizing, preparing. I find myself now facing a much smaller pile of bills to wade through (and a very large garbage bag full of most of the junkmail and envelopes), after packing my bags, making sure we have everything we need for our trip, spending an inordinate amount of time looking for Maya's new ipod which disappeared for a few days without anyone knowing it, was lost and then found after unpacking every suitcase and searching every corner. Success!!!

I am eager to return to Quito. Our short time in Baltimore has been intense and stressful and I look forward to the slower pace of our Ecuador life. Of course, for the next two weeks I will be traveling with the students to the Galapagos, the rainforest and the highlands. We will be waking up each morning at 5 or 6, eating, touring and exploring together. It will not be particularly restful until after the course.

My lecture went well. I hope I was able to interest some of the students. It is difficult to know if there is any enthusiasm. There are few questions and some are nodding off during the talk. I am not accustomed to lecturing, so I want all the students to be excited and interested in what I have to say. If they are napping and not asking questions, I have to presume that the subject or my delivery is simply not compelling.

Maya took a ballet class and a contemporary class at Peabody, met with her accompanist, and managed to participate in two playdates. I am trying to read her during these past few days, wondering how she is reacting to being here after struggling so much in Quito, and finally adjusting and managing at school. I overheard her tell others that she is not thrilled with school in Quito, but I had been worried that she would decide that she did not want to go back, and I have heard no word of that (of course as a child, she has little choice in the matter, but I imagined that at some point she would beg me to stay and she has not done that). I have heard her explain to her friends how to speak some Spanish, and she sounds proud to be able to speak as much as she does.

In twenty four hours from now, I will be in my own bed in my own matchbox apartment on Republica del Salvador and it will be much warmer than it has been here. I wonder if the apagones persist, if the drought continues or if the rains have started, if anything has happened politically. I have heard not a word about Ecuador during the weeks we have been away, but of course I have neither watched television or listened to the radio, so if anything happened I would not have heard anyway.

I am looking forward to being home in Eucador!

Elmer is HUGE!!!!