Macas!

So my mom told me that my grandma is tired of the cats and wants me to write something else. :) I did make it to Macas a week ago yesterday and have been really busy ever since! The flight down was an adventure in and of itself, with an 11 1/2 hour layover in Houston!!! Thankfully I have a friend who graciously offered to come hang out with me for part of that, otherwise I probably would have gone a little bit more crazy than I already am! :) The flight from Houston to Quito was probably one of the most fun flights I've ever been on. I was sitting next to a young couple from Britain who were going to do mission work for a week, in Ecuador. We had fun talking during the flight down, about different cultures and languages and our experiences in Ecuador. Then the pilot made an anouncement about possible turbulence coming up, because we were flying by a storm. I was expecting it to be pretty bad, since the flight to Houston was a big rollercoasterish at times and nothing was said, so for something to be said about it, I expected a lot worse. A couple minutes later I noticed a different kind of flash out the window (MOM, DON'T READ FURTHER :)). I realized that the storm we were going by was a thunder storm and got excited because I hadn't seen one for quite awhile. It was amazing to watch the clouds light up below us, turning purple and going dark again. I love watching thunderstorms because it always reminds me of the enormity of God's power. We probably watched the storm for about 20 minutes or so, until we passed it by, with never a bump that we could feel. :) (IT'S SAFE FOR YOU TO READ AGAIN, MOM) And then a couple hours later I landed in Quito and made it through immigration with no troubles at all!!

I was able to fly to Macas a day early, because we finished up my orientation faster than was originally thought, so I landed in Macas Monday morning. Tuesday I started working at the school and had so much fun surprising people! Most people weren't expecting me until later that week, or didn't even know that I was coming so the looks on their faces was priceless. :) Overall it's been an adventure adjusting to actually living down here. I've only rarely cooked on a gas stove and here that's nearly all that there is, however, I only got my stove on Saturday, so I haven't even been able to do much of that! Slowly I'm starting to figure things out, like when to take out the trash, how to buy gas, things that I never had to think about before when I was staying with friends! :)

The teachers all started yesterday, so I'm getting to know everyone, not just those that hang around Macas during their vacations. I've heard about so many of them, but not had a chance to meet them or get to know them, but I've really enjoyed these past couple of days. I think the thing I've loved the most, though, is the way staff meetings are run. We have a devotional. That's amazing to me, having only worked in public schools in the past. What a privilege it is to be a part of a Christian school now! I'll try to write more often, but they keep us pretty busy here, so I don't know how often I'll be able to. :)