hi from Quito

Well, I made it to Quito, which if you didn't know is the second highest capital city in the world at 9,186 feet above sea level. I was pretty nervous during the whole trip here, but I made it safely with all of my luggage and was happy to be greeted by the owners of the hostel I am staying in tonight as soon as I made it through customs. They are shockingly kind and are bringing me back to the airport in the morning so that I can catch my flight to Loja.

On the flight from Milwaukee to Atlanta, I sat next to a 67 year old man on his way to Belize. He was telling me really interesting stories about his mother who was a travel agent until she retired at the age of 88 and about all the places she had been. He was very nice and when we departed the flight all he said was "Just remember to be happy." So fitting.

My flight to Miami was short and I was glad that the plane was way underbooked. There was no one in the aisle next to me, in front of me, or behind me. Let me just say also that the Atlanta and Miami airports are so huge that I was intimidated walking through them.

From Miami to Quito, I sat next to a man and woman from Guatemala who were on there way here (to Quito) from Miami for a conference for some company they work for that sells nutritional supplements. I spoke with them in Spanish, which was good and it seemed like the company they work for is a gigantic pyramid scheme, but I didn't say anything about that so as not to offend them. Their two sons were on the plane and about halfway through the flight the wife switched places with one of her sons who talked to me in English and asked me tons of questions about what I'm going to be doing here and also showed me pictures of his family and friends on his camera. It was kind of bizarre and they all wanted my email address to keep in touch and then gave me their business cards. I just hope I don't get junk emails from them because they want me to use and sell the products they vend... But whatever, they were all very friendly and told me not to be nervous and to just have faith because everything will work out.

I breathed a large sigh of relief when waiting to get off the plane in Quito because I saw my suitcases being pulled off the conveyor belt from the plane

It's hard to believe still that I am so far away from my friends and family. I cried a lot today thinking about how I won't see my family for a year. 

Well, I am physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausted so I need to sleep. Those two hours I got last night and the maybe 2 I had intermittently on the planes today just weren't sufficient.

Think good thoughts to get me through my last flight tomorrow. I hope everything works out well.