It has been like a month and a half since I last wrote, and now I have so much to relate, I don´t know where to begin.

To sum up, everything is good. Everything is FAAAABULOUS. I am at one with the cosmic order of the universe. Everything just keeps sort of working out for me...even when something seeemingly doesn´t work out, it actually does.

So right before Christmas I left Nanegal and the cloud forest, probably forever. :-( Sad. Ah Nanegal..I will remember you fondly. For some weird reason I really ended up fitting in in that weird little Ecuadorian village. But I had to close that chapter.

I ended up spending the holidays in the Galapagos Islands, visiting my super-fab friend Chrisitina from Alaska. This is why it pays to know people in low places, my friends. Christina basicallly won the Peace Corps lottery and got stationed on the beautiful island of Isabela in the Galapagos archepelago. No living in a hut and learning an African click language for her, no! And being the fabulous friend she is, Christina invited me to spend the holidays with her in paradise.

Now when I first got there, things didn´t start out so smooth. My plane was late because there was a medical emergency. They had to call out over the intercom, "Is there a doctor on board the aircraft? We have a medical emergency on the aircraft..I repeat, a medical emergency..." It was like in the movies! Turns out some guy who was an alcoholic had a seizure on board because he hadn´t drank anything that day. Anyway, so my plane landed late in the airport. Then I ended up missing the bus I needed to take to get to the ferry dock because I was taking a pee. I got out of the bathroom, looked around, and realized every single other person from my flight was gone. This is going to be the most expensive pee of my life! I thought. Eventually I got to the town of Puerto Ayora on the island of Santa Cruz, which is where I was supposed to catch the boat to La Isla Isabela, where Chrsitina lives, but I got there too late, and the ferry was full!! Chucha verga!

At this point, I was reaching panic mode. I didn´t have a place to stay, I didn´t know where to go, I was worried everything was going to be full and/or really expensive because it was right before Christmas... Trying to keep my fear in check and avoid breaking down in tears like a little girl, I called Christina. She told me she´d take care of it and to call her back in half and hour, which I did. Meanwhile, she had called her friend Marguerite who lives on Santa Cruz, and this wonderful woman whom I had never even met let me stay in her apartment with her and her lovely Ecuadorian boyfriend Benicio. They were sooo nice to me. I didn´t even KNOW these people and they totally invited me into their home. And we had fun too, went to the Darwin Center and looked at the giant tortoises and stuff. Watched a bootleg DVD of a romantic comedy. Good times.

After THAT though, the NEXT day, I did make it to Isabela. For about the first week I was there Christina was house sitting for a friend of hers..who has a MANSION on the BEACH. Yes, I´m totally serious. Then after that we stayed in her apartment, which was also cool, and hung out with her neighbor from Cuenca and his goofy friends. They were kind of annoying, but also entertaining, and gave us something to make fun of. Another friend of Christina´s, Sue, was also staying with us, so the three of us spent a lot of time together. Sue is also very cool. She and I spent a lot of time combing the beach and talking about men (one of my favorite past times, as you all know). I saw tons of animalitos..penguins, blue footed boobies, marine iguanas, giant tortoises, flamingos, went snorkeling with rainbow colored fish, giant sea turtles, sea lions, parrot fish, SHARKS. We visited the volcanoes, lava tunnels, played on the beach, I tried surfing (sucked, by the way). It was basically the coolest thing ever. We spent Christmas swimming in the ocean. I got a fabulous tan. Towards the end of my three weeks there we went back to La Isla Santa Cruz and spent a few days exploring that island too. Met up with Margeurite and Benicio again. It was basically the best vacation of my life. It was a vacation within a vacation.

But alas, all good things must come to an end. I eventually had to leave, but luckily, I had a lot to look forward to. Jorge met me in the airport in Quito when I flew back and we spent a few last precious days together. But eventually I had to leave him, waah. :-( I know I complained about him a lot, but all in all, I ended up spending a significant amount of time with him, nearly three months really, and, although he bugged the crap out of me half the time, he is a really sweet boy. And although I know in all honesty there are a trillion reasons our relationship would never work in the long run, he made my time in Ecuador a lot more special. And I will always remember him fondly.

I met my friends Maresa and Laura from Seattle in Quito right after getting back from the Galapagos, and I am with them right now, working our way south to Peru, where I have to start teaching English on the 28th. I wish I could start that volunteer postion just a liiitle later, but the date is not flexible. The past couple days we spent in Baños, which is a small Andean town where they have some natural hot thermal pools. Very niiiice. We went soaking, hiked up the mountains for some fabulous views, went to Catholic mass (okay for like five minutes), and ate guinea pig. Good times!

Yesterday we got back from a three day jungle camping trip. It was pretty hardcore. We hiked for hours with our packs on treacherously steep and muddy trails down deep into the belly of the jungle. We were pretty lucky with the weather -- it only poured on us once for like an hour. The jungle was kind of similar looking to the cloud forest, but a some of the trees and things were different. We went swimming in a waterfall, fished in a river, and almost ate shit like 500 times on the reaaaaally treacherous, muddy trail. Our guide was absolutely precious. He knew the jungle like the back of his land. He grew up like Mowgli in the Jungle Book, as far as I can tell. He was like this compact little jungle man. And I think he had a big crush on me. Actually, I know he did. He didn´t speak any English, so I had to translate the whole time. That was the first time I´d had to do that. Kinda weird. I know it must be so much more fun for me, and that I get a lot more out of everything, because I can speak Spanish. Spain was good for something, anyway. The whole camping trip was awesome. Really, really fun. And very dirty.

After we got back to Baños we ended up going out to dinner and dancing a bit with our guide and some of his friends. I was tempted to make out with him..the option was definitely there. But, I don´t know..I just left Jorge like a week ago..I would have felt bad, even though we are definitely not together anymore. I really kind of did that guy wrong..at least, more than I´ve ever done anybody else wrong, whatever that means. Anyway, so I didn´t make out with the jungle man. He was short anyway, probably a smidge shorter than me. And I probably have fifty pounds on him. Besides, I thought I should at LEAST wait until my next menstrual cycle until I make out with any new boys. But I think the jungle man might be in love with me. Damn, I´m just breaking Ecuadorian hearts left and right.

Now the ladies and I are on the move farther south. I do have to start this new volunteer thing soon unfortunately. Well, not unfortunately..it´ll probably be awesome too. Hopefully I will have similar luck with Peruvian men that I have had with the Ecuadorians. Mmmm...

In other news, I got the job I wanted in the Tetons today. Woo! I´m really excited about this too. It pays shit, but I think it´s going to be really fun. I have high hopes. I think it´s going to be way better than working at Evergreen. So now I don´t have to feel so guilty about spending my savings.

So in other words, things are going well.

I sort of feel like a brat writing all this. I´m combing my brain for something negative to report? But I don´t really have anything! So far, this has been a very, very good trip.