criplomats

Quito

I got back to Guadalajara last Sunday evening, and it was back to work on Monday. The conference in Quito was so fun and inspirational – the challenge is to find the time to put some of those good ideas into action! Hopefully I’ll succeed.

Wednesday evening I helped with the guards’ English class after work. Friday, John and I met one of his mentees, an entry-level office from Juarez and her partner, for dinner at Alcachofa, our new favorite restaurant. They have an artichoke-Alfredo fettuccine that I just love. The ladies were super nice and fun to visit with.

We’re into a three-day weekend now, and I have to admit we were pretty lazy yesterday. I’ve been fighting a cold all week, but feeling better now. We started getting caught up on “Game of Thrones” – so fun!

Here are a few shots from Quito. To see all of my photos from Quito, click here!

Highway guide

At the market

Elderly woman with traditional hat

Snow-capped Cotopaxi volcano at sunset

Street-side sewing

Today is my return to Guadalajara – it started with an early departure from Quito. I’m currently having lunch in the lounge in Mexico City, waiting for my flight home. While I had a great time in Ecuador, it’s always good to get home!

The conference was very interesting and a lot of fun. We had a great group of folks, and I was happy to see my Islamabad friend Mike and get caught up with him. I also met a lot of new people – some who were in from Washington and others from other posts in Western Hemisphere.

With my friend Mike

Our meetings were held at the hotel, but we managed to get out for nice dinners in the evening and some sightseeing. Yesterday I went with one of the women in from DC on an all-day tour. We had a great time – the highlight was going to the indigenous market up in the highlands a couple of hours outside of Quito. There were several stops along the way, of course, with ample opportunity to buy chunches, of course! I’ll post pictures next week!

Sewing

I flew to Quito yesterday for a leadership conference – I flew all day (via Houston) and didn’t get to my hotel until around 1AM. John and I were in Quito back in 2007 when we came for a language immersion before we went to our first post – a lot has happened since then!

I ran into a fellow conference-goer last night at the airport, so we shared a taxi to the hotel, and he joined me on my city tour this afternoon with a tour guide. We had fun – she took us to the old part of the city and we walked around, and we went to several vistas – it’s hard not to have a good view here.

John got home last Sunday night, and we had Tuesday off from work for Mexican Mother’s Day. Thursday night we hosted book club at our house, and Friday night we celebrated my birthday with a lovely dinner at Corazon de Alfachofa.

I’ll leave you with some photos from Quito!

Basket and cathedral

The Virgin on the hill

Church

Selling trinkets outside the church

Making ice cream

Carrying baby

Woman waiting

Hanging out

Selling watermelons

Crossing the street

Selling food at the foot of the virgin

Houses on the hill

Three girls enjoying the day

Wow! How is it that I really don’t feel any older?! This has been a quiet day since John’s out of town, but I’ve enjoyed it thoroughly. I’ve gotten lots of good wishes from all around the world – so fun to hear from so many people!

It was a busy week at work – as always – but we had a local holiday on Thursday (Cinco de Mayo – curiously not that celebrated in Mexico), so it was a short week, at least. Friday afternoon was festive: a friend at work brought mint juleps and Kentucky Derby pie (he’s from Kentucky) so we finished the day with a toast!

A while back, John bought me a “Great Courses” travel photography class and I watched it yesterday. It’s basically a series of videos taught by a National Geographic photographer. I really enjoyed listening to him and seeing him incredible photos – it also really made me want to travel more!

It’s the first of May! Time is flying. I’m solo this week – John went to Arkansas on Friday morning to help his parents get ready for their big move, the he’ll go on to Washington DC and Pennsylvania for Army War College orientation (in preparation for his strategic studies long-distance class). He managed to squeeze in a visit with Hooper and Stoker, which made him very happy!

Yesterday I went to an afternoon birthday party for Monica and had a really nice time. I had a chance to talk to some folks who I normally don’t see, so it was good to catch up with them.

I can’t remember if I’ve posted about this before, but when Mom died, her kitty Tiger just moved over to my Aunt Bonnie’s house next door – but then Aunt Bonnie died in February. My cousins did me a solid and took him to their house across town. Unfortunately, he disappeared in mid-March and I’ve been worried sick about him. I alerted friends in the old neighborhood – one said she was pretty sure she had seen him once, but then nothing else. I posted him on a lost & found page, and immediately got a response from a woman who said she knew where he was – indeed, the photo she sent bore a strong resemblance. After some back and forth, she admitted that she was in North Little Rock – 100 miles away, so I knew that was a dead end. John even went to the old neighborhood yesterday to call for him, but no luck.

Then lo and behold, last night my cousin Sue emailed and said that Tiger had returned to their house! He was skinny and ate a lot, but he came back! I’m so happy, and just hope that he will stay. It’s such a relief to me, because Mom just loved that cat! So keep your fingers crossed for a happy ending!

While John was away, I took the opportunity to do a little redecorating – I’ve been wanting a cow hide rug, and found a lovely one yesterday. A guy from Guanajuato had them on his truck on the side of the road at a reasonable price – it’s so soft and clean – I love it! (I can hear my mother saying in my ear: “UGH.” Sorry, Mom!)

New rug!

And here’s my team bowling from last week – it’s my fun boss Pete on the left, and the ladies from our agency in Vallarta on the right. Good times!