Skip to main content

The Final Days


For the last few days I was in Ecuador it wasn't really sinking in that I would be leaving so soon. It didn't hit me until after school the last day I was there - after saying goodbye to everyone. Or at least thinking I was saying goodbye to everyone. We went home and there were so many clues I should've caught on to... but as we know, I can be rather oblivious at times... So Eli and I went for coffee. She talks about how it'll be a nice last, relaxing family dinner and what all we can do this evening. We get home. Nathan is sitting on the couch in the dark. "Hey, Shaneen, guess what?" "...What...?" "SURPRISE!!!" Everyone jumps out from their hiding places. "Are you surprised?" "...Uhuh..." I was not expecting that at all... We had a great time. Mexican, cookies, people piling on top of each other, people piling on top of me, everyone making fun of me mercilessly. Ah, good times... good until we had to say goodbye anyways.

I spent a few days in Texas on my way back to Canada. It was good getting to see Daniella, Ryan and Meghan and spend some time with them.

And now I'm home.

How did my trip end so soon? I swear it was just last week I was telling everyone I might be going down to Ecuador. Maybe. If it worked out. And wasn't it just yesterday that I was freaking out, trying to get everything packed, and wondering how on God's green earth everything was going to fit into those suitcases? And now I'm home?


"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." -Dr. Seuss


I've been doing an awful lot of both... it's such good advice, but so very hard to follow...

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Going to Thailand!

On Friday, November 29, 2013 I was officially accepted to the CARM DTS in Bangkok, Thailand!  I saw the email and said, "Huh."  A little underwhelming of a response, I know.  But I had just been so stressed out for so long, being unable to make plans for my trip and frustration had been building.  So seeing my acceptance was more of an exasperated "Finally!", than a "Yay, I get to go!".  Of course, the news started to sink in throughout the day and I began to get excited about going to Thailand for five months.  At least I was excited when I wasn't looking at the overload of information and extensive lists of things to do, sending me into full on panic attacks. Then I had to figure out how and where and when to apply for my visa.  We conveniently have a Thai Consulate right in Edmonton, so the how and where was very simple.  The when on the other hand - not so much.  My work schedule, which includes three respite families and Famoso, is d...

I'm Staying

Basically it's official. I'm staying here. I love it!!! I love the people!!! I am staying. Saturday was awesome. We went to the cast party for Eli's play. That was fun. The chili and cookies tasted so amazing! The best I have ever eaten. And everyone was so overtired... wearing bowls on their heads... talking with stuffed dogs... laughing hysterically at Pixar's shorts. And stupid things people said. Sunday I went to downtown Quito - the tourist area. Saw some gorgeous churches. I loved the Basilica. So intricately awesome. When I got home (it was just Uncle Earl, me and some other visitors) Nathan was here. That was fun. XD Whipped cream... water... all over... yeah. Today I had my first Spanish lesson. It went pretty well. The teacher is really nice. It was mostly review, but some new stuff as well. Went to the first half of the soccer game, before we had to go shopping for snacks for this weekend. It was such an intense game. 2-0, for the other t...

The Mountains and Valleys of India

Sunday, May 25, 2014 An overview of our outreach time in India - it's a bit of a long one.  India ended up being a very mixed experience for me.  Darjeeling really was beautiful and we were able to be involved in several different ministries.  It was such great experience to see such a variety of ministries. I went to a children's slum ministry, where the kids ranged in age from around 1 to 12, mostly falling into the 5ish area.  There were about 40 kids packed into a room slightly bigger than my living room (which is not big enough for 10 people sitting, let alone 40 brawling children).  Despite the utter chaos, we were still able to act out Daniel and the Lions' Den (I was one of the bad advisors.  It was a real big hit when I was eaten.), play some games (still not entirely sure how that was accomplished), do a lion mask craft (lions are now green, purple, blue and covered in flower patterns) and hand out snack.  It was over so quickly and all ...