Night Out in Quito

My first year in Quito is coming to an end and I am feeling so torn! Part of me can’t wait for summer (I will be taking a two month long road trip across the US to visit all of my friends), but part of me is feeling really nostalgic and sad because a lot of my coworkers won’t be coming back next year. This is the reality of working in international schools: contracts last 2 years, so every year a lot of your friends leave. This will be a difficult part of the job to get used to. That DOES mean however that we will be getting around 15 new teachers next year, who will hopefully be as awesome as the teachers moving on this year. I am really excited for all of my friends who are moving on to awesome places like Brazil, China, and Egypt. Hope I end up somewhere as equally awesome in 2013!

Jenny, Laura and I have been trying to make the most out of our time together since Jenny is moving to Salvador de Bahia in 2 weeks at the end of the school year. It’s Laura’s birthday, so we went out last night (on a school night! uh oh!) We started off at a super swanky tapas bar and ordered a little bit of everything: prosciutto flatbread, oriental salad, pulled pork taquitos, melted brie dip, as well as some quality cocktails.

Martinis the size of my head at Zinc Restaurant in Quito

Happy birthday to Laura!!

After that we ended up at a German microbrewery for some good beers, and then a Guns N' Roses cover band concert. The night ended up hanging out in the back of a friend’s car, laughing until the wee hours of the morning. I think we are all feeling it today at work, but with only 2 weeks left of the school year, we have to make the most of our time! Today, a ton of my friends are going to Mindo straight from school. My bag is packed and ready under my desk. Can’t wait to sling it over my shoulder, hop on a bus, and kick my feet up in a hammock in the cloud forest! Hummingsbird galore!

Guns N' Roses cover band at the Blues Club in Quito

Jorge's trunk is a magical place

In other news, I splurged and bought myself a new camera because I have been relying on my blackberry camera since mine got stolen in Colombia. I got a great deal on a Nikon Coolpix P300 on ebay. I should have my new camera in 2 weeks, and picture quality on the blog will (hopefully) increase ten fold.