with burning eyes and beating heart...

Hola Mis Amigos,

I am suffering through an unfamiliar keyboard to give a little update.

After a somewhat exciting new years eve, I left Medellin to fly to Quito. Spent about an hour with immigration in a blazingly hot room all to discover that I AM a nice person and it was just a computer error and I was free to leave the country... whew because this was where I discovered my spanish is limited to things I am familiar with not interrogation!

My time with Wai and Paula in Medellin was so lovely and I am so appreciative of their sharing the apartament with me and the fact that I had a room with a killer view and an incredibly comfortable bed. ah some nights it was pure liss to lie down!

I enjoyed the smaller town of sabaneta very much and will look forward to seeing my friends again in May. In the meantime some highlights were:
an impromptu concert in the park. If Twitter were happening here I would say that a tweet went out for all musicians to gather in the park but I know it was something more organic than that as this is not twitterland. Guitars, flutes, drums and vocalists... a stand up bass. it was pretty awesome.

Wai and I went out to a bar where there were dancing horses. pretty cool. I also got to pet a cow there. The cow got to lick wai.

Later that same night we went to a place where there was much sunging, employees were in costume, lights were sparkling and decor was decidedly strange. There were dancing midgets at this place. Half way through our half bottle of rum the colombian equivalent of a neil diamond imersonater arrived and started crooning. He came and sat on Wai´s lap singing to him. I was too close for a photo. It was a riot. very surreal.

Wai Paula and >I had a trip to the exploatorium and the aquarium that was also quite fun.

NYE I made dinner at the house. went out for a mdnight drink and came home fairly early. Not sure when the bullet came whizzing through my window but it was next to the bed in the morning and my book was damaged. I did not wake up as it is common to have explosive fireworks throughout the night during the holidays. the bullet missed the window glass but came through the window frame. Downstairs there was a lot of glass as it it the actual window. Strange way to start the new year. Better though than last year. it would be tough to be worse than last year.

Now through the immigration mess and into quito. Thankfully I was met at the airport and delivered after a terrible day into a hopstel that smelled bad, had no windows, my pricçvate bath was shared and filthy. I cliosed the door. took a breath and thats when it hit me that there was a bullet in my room, immigration hassled me and I was all alone in quito. Then came the tears. :)

Fortunately I was able to switch to their other hostel and had a somewhat better room for the night. with internet (did I mention no internet?) I immediatyely called sarah lucy miller and felt much better. I also decided I needed to wear my Belive in Yoursaelf necklace in addition to my BGI sundrop. Thanks LIbby for the support!

Found a new amazing hostel in old town and moved the next day. The secret garden has wonderful dinners and breakfasts on a roof top terrace, the feel of community is delightful and I stayed here for five days while I took more spanish. Met some lovely under twenty-five year olds (you all know how I am !) and rumbled around with them for a few days. Today we all go separate ways and are all in the internet cafe catching up.

We went to the Mitad del Mundo and then the real equator museum. Very fun in the museum. I gotr a diploma for successfully balancing an egg on its end on the equator. Kate did as well. Must be the oregonian advantage! lets see, we also watched water drain in different directions on either side. cheesy cheeky fun!

I am off to Otavalo today... am excited that the next part of the trip is beginning. Many thanks to Zac for the connection to his family here. wonderful dinner last night and new friends to meet this week.

love to all...
aly