We are now in the wee hours of Tuesday morning, and Thursday is the big D-day: Departure! This week is already completely booked. Today, my friends and I made the drive to a theme park, and then I had my LAST shift at Stewart's before 10 months of leave. Then, tomorrow is College Application day and dinner with my extended family at night. Wednesday, I plan on sleeping in! I'll need it, haha. Then a final Rotary lunch, Saratoga racecourse in the afternoon, and a Last Supper, so to speak.

Thursday will be completely consumed by traveling, unfortunately. I depart from Albany at 6:50 AM, then we have a 2 hour and 40 minute layover in Chicago and a 3 hour and 20 minute layover in Miami. We fly into Guayaquil, my home city, at 9:25 at night. Exhausting! Luckily, Guayaquil is in the same time zone as New York so I won't get jet lagged.

My schedule has been PACKED for weeks now! I've been working an average of 30-40 hours a week, getting out around 11 and staying up until 1 AM or so when I can finally run out of steam. I sleep for more of the morning than I should, and occasionally I'll ride a bike or take a bus to shop or get lunch. Yesterday, in fact, I took my bike to go buy my official Rotary Blue Blazer. Then I work a shift, come home, and start the cycle all over again.

I've been taking tons of pictures! My flickr account is pretty empty at the moment, but I'll upload my photos before I leave and post a link for my devoted fans! Hahaha

I've had a fair amount of contact with my host family in Guayaquil. The sister, Nia, and I have been exchanging emails more than ever, now that I have an itinerary-and tons of questions! The emails give her a chance to practice her English. I write back and practice my Spanish. She says I'm pretty good and just need to work on defining feminine and masculine verbs. Her English is pretty accurate, because of her time in the States and her usage in her career. I hope I can be like that someday, too!

I am sitting home right now with my sister, Allison. I am coming to grips with how soon I will be leaving my family, and I must say, I will miss her very very very very much, along with the rest of my family.

Anyway... It's nearing 12:30, and I need to catch up on sleep for the busy week ahead of me. Hasta luego!