above the equator and climbing

well of course it's been about a month since i last wrote. that is so like me.

but listen to this: i have been in ecuador over a month now, after a week in montañita, close to three weeks in cuenca, a few days in baños, and a week in the otavalo mountains. in this time i have been in a mosh pit, a mormon baptism, and started writing my novel. my novel? yes, my novel. (you'll have to wait for details. i guess this is me dangling a carrot. deal.)

i have been loving the world cup madness. i have even set my alarm on a saturday to be up and showered for a 9:00 am match. yes, you are right--i don't follow american soccer at all but i'm not ashamed of this discrepancy. i enjoy having something to keep up with, sports-wise. it's one of my favorite pass times when i'm at home in the states and it shouldn't be any different on the road. so i found my thing, and it won't come around for another thousand-some-odd days, so let me have it, please?

ecuador has been nothing short of excellent. it has taught me some slang words i'll never use again and it has likewise continued to test my threshold for rice consumption. i have become very comfortable in this culture and yet i'm ready to walk across the frontera to a different country with its own set of awkward, wild, weird, and epic adventures.

tomorrow morning i am putting my life in the hands of fate, an unknown bus driver, and the colombian stereotypes, and getting aboard a bus from the north of ecuador to popoyan, colombia. after nearly two months of companionship, i am on a solo mission once again. hopefully someone who wants me to finish my novel will watch over me. with any luck, the only misfortune that awaits me is spilling food on myself, which i am not only good at, but borderline professional.

hasta next time, amigos.