leaving quito

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Leaving has ben long drawn out and strange...

Thursday was the last full work day because friday was a public holiday for the freedom of guayaquil..
So thursday was my last day to say goodbye and also the day all the interns were leaving to other jobs,, which was good as it took the focus off me!!

So after the obligatory examination of the con diarrhoea y fiebre kiddies, it was time to have a min goodbye party...what better food to sa goodbye with than encebollado..an ecuadorean delicacy. Someone trotted off to the takeaway and then we all got a tub of soup..huge, some popcorn and a lime.
The lime and the popcorn go into the soup and the soup itself is extremely strange.I ate half of it, and it alternated between being absoulutely disgusting, just wierd and on the edge of nice. Why is this> well its because its catfish soup!!! I thought it was chicken at first, despite the fishy smell because that is the texture it has.
They love the stuff...I gave half mine away!
One girl had ceviche. I have had delicious ceviche, although not in ecuador. It was dry and lemony and yummy. This was a black soup with raw shellfish floating around in it. I tried a spoonful and it was SO awful i almost had to spit it out..but manners prevailed and i had to rapidly ccompendsate by eating a lot of my popcorn very fast without putting it in the soup!

So the goodbyes were sad..I got teary!! Everyone has been so nice, especially in the last few weeks and its sad to think I will never see them again.The consultants wantd me to send them news and one told me Iw as to send her pictures when I graduate...which is so sweet! They also want picures of the galapagos, which is odd, cos you can get them everywehre.


Thursday night was also my last session at the gym and Alexandra, is the girl I have done EVERY class with. Shes prob abotu 16 (hangon i can check facebook...we are now friends) yes she is 16,, so we talked English so she could practice..but we spent about 2 hours a day togther on weekdays an d it was always fun and so Im going to miss exercising with her! But yeah she is originally from Cuba ab=nd she gave me a little cuban bracelet as a goodbye present which was so sweet!

Friday was a strange Limbo day..noone was going to work but I had to get my forms for uni signed, and so i had to go back in. Ages on the bus and then a time of waiting around with just two doctors and then more extended goodbyes becuase by this time i just wanted to leave..get it over with.

Its nice to have completed the placement. 5 weeks ago I remember thinking it seemed an impossible amount of time..looking ahead at the next three weeks it seems no time at all and looking back at the last 5 weeks its been no time at all even when you factor in the two weeks travel befor...but at the same time its been forever!! Time definitely isnt just a progressive line..it jumps around!
SO Friday night we went to the Mexican I discovered with mum, for my goodbye meal with the south african girls and went out for a couple of drinks...mojitos v good (If a little sweet..apparently made with champagne) caiparinhasl...absoultuely awful..tasted like it had been made with tequila..
again sad to be leaving friends..its amazing how quickly one can become settled!

So today has been another limbo day with the odd panic. Halfheartedly packed this mornig..dont know how I fitted everything in when I came..its expanded exponentially! Had to buy a bigger handluggage bag and leave a bag here. All thatrs really added is a poncho and a big wooly jumper, but somehow it wont fit for that..
chinese for lunch in our favourite chinese where for2 dollars you get enough food to last two meals if you tak ethe leftovers as takeaways, and nice homemade lemonade.

The south africans left for their first outing outside quito since they have been here..they were rightly very excited! Which meant I had a couple of hours to sort a few things out..buy some tea to go to galapagos, find a hotel to stay at on my return..found a good one..a coupl e fo steets outside the party zone. 8 dollars for a room with bathroom and cable, very clean with wifi internet..more like a hotel, not so sociable for meeting people. but I won twant to then, i shall come back have one last party with the south africans and then want to sleep on the night i have to get up at 4 for the plane!..its not so far off now...its going to com really fast...swap a book at the book shop. and then thought i was done and then had a mad panic when i realised at half past 5 I had forgotteon to collect my laundry which had my hospital uniform in it and i have to leav e for the airport at 7 tomorrow morning. So I ran there and luckily although I got worried when they didnt find it straight away, i got it back.

This afternoon and evening is not a good time to be in quito and not partying..Ecuador played urugguay and this whole area (I live in party central( was shut off covered in balloons,,everyone wearing shirts and screaming in unison if someone scored. My room felt like it was in a football stadium...Then ecuador lost and I think they are all getting extra drunk to make up for it..my room is shaking even more than usual with the music.

so tomorrow at 7 i will be out looking for a taxi to take me to the airport...next blog will be from the galapagos...im really looking forward to going but dont want to do my placement.

random quito facts..

lots of boys have nose jobs but havent seen any girls with one..
women and girls no matter how fat do not have a bum..it is flat.
women and girls tend not to have a waist either
there are some very attractive girls but ive yet to see a man who matches them
the same donkeys have stood roped together on two street corners since ive been going to the hospital..never been bought or sold or used.
Car horns are over used
children where uniforms like old fashioned british private schools
women favour tight diamante embellished clothes even if they shouldnt
men stare call and beep at women incessantly and without a break
rthere are at least 5 different types of policeman and ive yet to see them do anything useful..they certainly dont seem to be enforcing the law..instead the do a lot of posing, revving their motorbikes and driving on pavements because they can and calling after girls.
the mangos and watermelon and taxos are good here.
the milk and the cheese and the yoghurt are not good.
white poodles are the dog of choice,

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