Update

Sorry that I haven't written in here of months! As of 1 week ago, I've been here in Ecuador living the dream for 7 months now! I can't believe how fast the time is going, and I really wish that it would slow down. It scares me so much to think that I will be home in Vermont in less than 3 months. I am absolutely loving my life here and in no way do I want to give this up and go home in June. Since my last post I have finished the school year and entered my summer break! It's so nice being able to sleep in till 1pm on some days! I started tennis lessons with my host sister, but after a month we stopped. To keep busy, one of my exchange friends, Cleo from Germany, and I started doing cross fit, which is a VERY intense and difficult hour long exercise class. My parents visited me 3 weeks ago, and I also went to the Galapagos! I will write about each of those trips in other posts.

There is a phrase that a lot of people use when they talk about their year abroad; It's not 1 year in a life, it's a life in 1 year. This to me sums up the exchange perfectly. When you first arrive, your like a baby. You don't know anybody, can hardly talk, and never know whats going on around you. As you get further into your exchange, you grow up. You go to school, meet friends, feel like you have a family, and start to be able to communicate with people. Throughout the whole exchange you are constantly growing and figuring out who you really are, which in the real world, can take your whole life to do. I refer to back home as the "real world" because to me, my life in Ecuador and in Vermont are completely separate. I'm 2 different people in each world, and in no way is my experience here like a vacation, but it is not anything like back home. By the end of your exchange, you are done growing. You have memories and experiences that you will remember for your life, friends and family that you will never forget. A life in 1 year.