oui oui oui!

Since Kat left in March, I needed to find more friends, and fast. I have found it incredibly difficult to find a group of Ecuadorian friends mostly because I'm not looking for a boyfriend. If I had found an Ecuadorian boyfriend, I could fit in with his group of friends and the girls would (somewhat) accept me. Since I have to reject every Ecuadorian boy that comes within 10 feet of me because otherwise they'll think I want something else, it's very difficult to find girlfriends. they have very closed circles of friends and they don't like to let in new people, let alone foreigners. (I've heard enough stories from my host sister and her friends to know that this is true.) So, I've become recently attached at the hip to Sarah, a French teacher at my university. She's from La Rochelle, France and she's my age! I met her when my class switched campuses back in April, and we've been inseparable ever since. I pretty much owe my sanity to her. I have a permanent reservation on her couch in her apartment and she actually has vegetables and other things to cook with in her refrigerator. And the best part is, that even though she is also a gringa, we have to communicate in Spanish because it's our only common language. Although, I'm slowly picking up some French. :) Her boyfriend, Julien, is here in Ecuador, too. He's visiting for three months. last weekend, we went to the Llanganates mountains and stayed at the refuge with our Ecuadorian tour guide friends. We hiked and stayed up late playing cards and drinking. It was fantastic. Sarah has totally kept me from going insane here. The other night, I made her and Julien dinner to repay them for all the times they have fed me. I made chicken marsala (which they had never had before!) and a side of green beans. I had not cooked in so long! but it came out good. That's definitely the thing I'm most looking forward to when I get home: good food! I'll be home in 9 days!! This has been an eye opening, incredible experience, but I'm so ready for it to be over.