Surprise! We have internet that´s only a 20 miute walk from our pueblo. We´ve officially made it and are settled into Chicapamba. It´s awesome here. I never thought that it would, but rain makes me super happy here; it´s so much like home!! We´re high up in the Andes living the life, though. We´re building a new playground for kids aged 2-5 and they are the cutest things I have ever seen. It´s a little chilly so they all have little snot dribbles coming out of their noses and they all have these cute little hats and scarves to keep warm. The only problem is that they all have identical braided hair and it is literally impossible to tell their genders apart. That is except for when they suddenly walk out of their classroom, past where I am working, and pee on the ground. That makes it very easy to tell Jane from John.

Tupac!

Tupac!

On a slightly cleaner note, everyone loves it here. We live in a valley between some volcanoes and it is beautiful. There are cows and pigs next door and everyone is extremely friendly. The food is great to boot; we´ll never want to leave. We are living with a family this time. The father´s name is Alfonzo. He is the man. He never stops smiling and he speaks super clearly and slow so I feel like my Spanish actually works the way it should. It´s great here. Alfonzo has a son named Tupac. Yes, like the rapper, Tupac! The kid is nuts. He runs around, jumps all over things, is five years old, and constantly gives Ben and me hugs. He´s the best.

We´re heading off to Otovalo this weekend to do some shopping. Items to fight off the chill of Middlebury and my list include: Sweaters, woolen socks, hats, and mittens. Life will be very warm after this weekend!

That´s all I have time for today. But feast your eyes on this photo of our stunning view:

The Cotacachi Volcano

The Cotacachi Volcano

Much love,
Alan