Neener's Travel Blog

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 anywa...

*sigh*

So. That was interesting. For starters, as you already know, I didn't know about going to Florida until the day before. Secondly, I didn't know I was staying in an actual dorm (not a hotel room with Aunty and Uncle like I thought) until 10 minutes after arriving! Yeah. I was a guest student for the weekend and slept in a dorm room with my cousin's girl friend and her two room mates. Ryan's girlfriend, Meghan, is so nice. I just love her. She has a great sense of humor and is so easy to talk to and get along with. I love her. :) Pensacola is, um, nice...? Haha, no, it was actually pretty nice there. If you can ignore all the weird rules that seem, no, that ARE, a little overly conservative, it is actually a really get college. There is a Bible Manuscript room with all these old Bibles and such. So incredible. They had the tiniest Bible's EVER, scrolls, a shofar, and other neat things. They had Bibles in a whole bunch of different languages, as well. ...

So, today was more shopping. Mostly stuff for the Ecuador family. We went to a Christian bookstore and I found a lot of books that I will need to read eventually. And then Aunty asked if I remembered when her and Uncle used to buy me dresses, and if I wanted her to buy me one of the dresses I tried on the other day. So went to the mall, and she bought me one of them. :) It is so cute. It reminds me of Alice in Wonderland for some reason. This morning Aunty asks me, "Would you like to go to Florida to see Ryan?" Uh, would I? It was more of a 'Would you like to? Yes? Good, because it's already all planned.' So we're going to Florida for the weekend...

Today was, without question, the best St. Patrick's Day I've ever had. And not only because it's the first time I've ever really celebrated it. We went out for lunch with Cam and his girlfriend. That was fun. She seems pretty nice. Then I went to Alice in Wonderland with them. We were supposed to see it in 3D, but that was just one big fiasco... so I saw it in regular theatre again. I think I liked it better the second time around. And then Uncle, Aunty and I went to a St. Patty's party! Oh, Plank came too. We got all decked out in our St. Patty's apparel. The party was really fun! All the people were really nice and friendly. We did this introduction thing - we all had sheets of paper with a random fact about each person and had to figure out who matched up with what. My clue was that I'm writing a novel. And I have never talked so much to a stranger about anything, particularly that. But one of the men there got me talking and asked me a whole bunch of q...

Helen Parr asks the kids how their day at school went. "Nothing to report," Violet replies. Nothing much happened today. Aunt Shirley and I went shopping. I found a couple bolero-type sweater things. I found these two really cute grey dresses, but seeing as I never wear dresses, except for special events, I chose not to buy them. Even though they were very cute. Like, really, really cute. I got to talk to daddy, mommy and brother on Skype tonight. That was cool. Especially once we got my mic figured out. It was really good getting to talk to and see everybody. I can't believe I leave Texas next Monday. How have I been here for over a week already? Is my time in Ecuador going to fly by just as fast? I know it is. *sigh* So, I'm taking my cousins advice and living in the moment. And I'm taking everyone else's advice and taking tons of pictures.

We went shopping a bit today. We bought great things to dress up in for the St. Patty's Day party on Wednesday. Feather boas. Headbands. Jewelry. Great stuff. Aunty is a lot more enthusiastic about it than I am. Probably part of it is because I've never really celebrated St. Patty's before. I only put on something green to avoid being pinched. After that, we went back to the scrapbooking store. Yes, the same place where the infamous stamping class took place. And lo and behold the class instructor was there. I almost started laughing all over again. Aunty was very impressed that she talked right to me. And slow enough for me to understand everything, although some things were a bit difficult for me to comprehend. I am only 17 after all. I'm still learning. We went out to Aunty and Uncle's property to go fishing! We had a hot dog roast. The whole time we were fishing I would get some nibbles and think I was going to get a fish, but no. Oh, oh! No. Maybe, maybe! No. A...

I had to get up much too early to get ready for Sunday School this morning. I think it's a State's thing, to have adult Sunday School before the church service. After that we went to La Madeleine for breakfast. That's right, it was French. I haven't died yet so far, so I think I'm safe. Then we went to a church service at Christchurch Baptist. Aunty described the church as a mini-Pensacola. So for any of you who know what that means, it paints an interesting picture. It was actually a really good service though - I enjoyed it. A family group sang for us, and holy moley the little girl was amazing! She was only in grade three and had the most beautiful voice. It didn't sound like a child's voice. It was so beautiful. All the people I met were very nice as well. The pastor, Pastor Pope (that just kills me... Pastor Pope), was really cool. I was wearing my angel wings necklace and he asked if I was an angel. For all you LoE-ers, I instantly thought of Pascal. S...

I've seen many interesting signs here so far. One telling people to "Drive Friendly." One telling you to "Buckle Up." And those aren't billboards like we see in Canada. These are actual roadsigns. I've seen a sign for Uncle Bob's storage something-or-other. But my personal favorite has been "Watch for Ice on Bridge". Yes, I will definitely keep an eye out for that. On days like today with 22 degree weather, that ice can come out of nowhere. Today we went to a fruit market, which reminded me of Costa Rica, of course. It was really cool. Then we went to Galveston. I am in love with the buildings there... They were gorgeous! All the pretty ones looked like castles or old mansions. Not old as in tumbledown, but old as in...old... Just really pretty. And I fell in love! There was a ship. I wanted it. Pictures had to suffice. I don't have room for a ship in my suitcases. We also went into an Army Surplus store that daddy and brother would hav...

This could be classified as the most interesting day thusfar on my adventure. I got to go shooting! We went to this place and got to shoot at targets. I used a .22 and a 9 mm. I was so close to a bullseye! Right on the edge of the red circle. I was doing pretty good. And I'm not just saying that, Uncle and Aunty said so, too. I think towards the end I was getting quite a few shots close to the centre. I got to keep the targets I shot at. After that we went to Willie's and I was forced to try crawfish. Considering that I do not really like seafood, I thought crawfish was actually pretty good. I wouldn't give up beef for it or anything, but eating crawfish doesn't kill me like other seafood does. And I really don't mind prying the little suckers apart - that's half the fun. There was a man at Willie's wandering around making balloon animals for everyone. Well, for all the kids and women. He made me a purple dinosaur. Like Dino. So, yeah, that was my day 5. Qui...

Well, day 5 of my big adventure. Clearly, I arrived in Texas safely, as did all my luggage. Thank goodness. So far I haven't had any big adventures, but it's been nice and relaxing. I've finished reading Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict already. What a hilarious book! Laugh out loud fantastic. I've gone on walks with Aunty and the dogs everyday. The weather is so nice. It reached 26-27 degrees yesterday. I've seen lots of interesting wildlife: ducks, turtles and turkey ducks aka the ugliest bird known to man. Aunty says it has a face only a mother could love. And in my opinion that's stretching it. My favorite story of the trip so far: Today Aunty and I went to a stamping class, which was a total bust. The instructor was, um, well, interesting. Part way through the class she comes up to Aunty and says, "Am I going slow enough for her to understand everything?" Aunty says, "Yes." The instructor walks away and Aunty and I l...