Our 2012 Christmas Card

I'll admit I'm not on the top of my game for Christmas. I decorated our apartment in a frenzy upon returning to the States 15 days before Christmas, but you won't be receiving a Christmas card from the Dahls for their first married Christmas and you definitely won't be seeing us hosting a Christmas party. But it's okay because I'm back in America and I'm soaking up a lot of relaxing time at home with my husband and close friends. In my home. Eating a lot of cookies. So here is our own Christmas card of sorts, with a recap of my/our 2012:

2012 has been perfect in so many ways, yet I have never been so s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d as I was this year. And there were LOTS of big milestones hit!! Shall we look at the highlights?

1. Foot surgery happened at the end of 2011, but I kicked off the first few minutes of 2012 by attempting to play Just Dance in my parents' living room in my awesome post-op shoes. It was interesting. My new walking skills were compared to those of a stork, baby fawn, and a one-year-old child. Needless to say, we grew as a soon-to-be-married couple when he carried me to the bathroom and washed my hair for me. How cute. One year later, I have beautifully scarred and bunion-less feet!

2. With the wedding coming up, I spent all of my free time creating wedding things and attending bridal showers. I have sweet friends! When I wasn't doing schoolwork, my days were consumed with creating boutonnieres and finding the right clothes for the bridal party. David helped eat shower food and nod his head in approval of every item we registered for. Actually, that last part isn't 100% true. Woohoo for wedding planning!

3. Big Milestone #1: Renting our first home. One week before the wedding, we moved into the most PRECIOUS townhouse apartment in Louisville. I love love love our first home; it has been a huge joy to spend our first year of marriage in this area!

4. Big Milestone #2: Marriage. On May 19, I married my best friend and promised to love him forever. It has only gotten better since then, and I'm oh-so-thankful for a husband who has grown and matured in 7 months SO much more than I ever could have anticipated. The love fern we planted on that first day of marriage is still thriving in our living room, even though D didn't water it for the entire month I was out of the country... even so, the fern thrives!!! What does that tell you about our AWESOME marriage?! We also went on a honeymoon to Jamaica, where we stuffed ourselves with good food and slept like there was no tomorrow. Weddings are exhausting.

5. With our wedding over, it was time to get ready for another family matrimony! David's sister Jamie got married to sweet Blake in August. We went to lots of weddings for friends this year, but this one was definitely the most special. I loved getting to meet many of David's family members and spend some time getting to know them. And now, even more exciting news... we will be aunt and uncle to sweet little Brantley in May!! We're so excited for the Harwoods!!!

7. Big Milestone #3: Student teaching. D worked full-time (and usually overtime) at his job so that I would be able to do student teaching without worrying about working. That man is a GEM. Student teaching was a precious experience that confirmed for me what the Lord has created me to do. I loved teaching those 1st and 3rd graders, but it certainly kept me busy! Through my students, I learned to see the gifts that God truly has placed in each individual person that could uniquely give Him glory. I learned to embrace the gifts He has given me so that I can serve Him in the best way I know how. One artistically-gifted child chose to depict me on a unicorn, riding on a rainbow, as a departing gift for me... how ironic.

8. The last month of my student teaching was spent in Quito, Ecuador. I worked with a kinder class and a wonderful teacher in a K-12 bilingual (ish) school. D was such a trooper for letting me go on this trip that I had planned for since sophomore year of college, and I am so thankful!! This month was a strengthener in our marriage and an affirmation that we definitely work better together than apart.

9. Big Milestone #4: Graduation! Less than a week after returning to the States, we graduated from college! This is a photo of the other student teacher at my elementary school. It was so sweet to graduate with each of the people who worked so hard with me to complete each semester. I'm thankful for WKU and all that it has meant to me over the past 4 1/2 years. I've got prospects for teaching jobs in the future, but I'll share more when things are more definite!

That's our 2012 in review. It was a big year for us with a LOT of changes... but we are looking forward to 2013 with big expectations and lots of hope! Merry Christmas :)

Love,

The Dahls

Home and Graduating

I could add more pictures in an attempt to describe the end of my trip in Ecuador, but I think I'm finished. It was a beautiful trip, where I learned a lot about myself as a teacher, other school philosophies, myself as a traveler and learner, and that people really are basically the same no matter where you go. I'm thankful for this trip, and now I am so happy to be home.

Graduation is tomorrow, and I'm full of a lot of sentimental feelings toward the school that gave me a degree, a husband, a confidence in myself, and a spark to reach and teach people from all over the world. Although I'm not excited to sit through 2 hours of the same ceremony I've experienced before with friends, I am looking oh-so-forward to all the opportunities that lie just beyond the cap & gown. They're exciting things; maybe I'll share them soon. But for now... I'll just head to Diddle and sit down for a while.

Festival de Quito

Our stay in Ecuador holds a very important holiday for the people of Quito; the Festival de Quito, or their 500-something year anniversary! Can you imagine living in a city that has over 500 years of rich political and cultural history? The festivities traditionally centered around the Spanish-influenced bull fights, but this year the president has ruled the fights to be too cruel for the bulls. We have gotten the impression that Festival de Quito just hasn't been the same since there are no fights to watch.

The end of the fights did not stop Colegio Menor from celebrating, however, so we jumped right into this major cultural holiday right alongside our students! The day before the official holiday, students showed up in traditional dress or the colors of Quito's flag, red and blue. Kind of interesting that a city has its own flag, eh? The entire early childhood school came outside to hear the high school band perform traditional Songs from Quito, which are extremely catchy and very happy! What other city do you know that has its own widely-known song? And the kids were SO CUTE waving their flags and singing every word!

After the performance, our kinder classes ate snacks of traditional Quito dulces, or sweets. I love that the city has such a rich tradition that they can even claim sweets as their own! I tested way too many of those yummy things, and I found a lot of things I wished were easy to find in the States. Yum yum!!

Today, the actual anniversary date, we had a vacation from school. So us Americans ventured into the old town to see what was going on! The whole area was covered in flags, in every plaza and on most buildings. We saw several bands, watched performers dancing, and ate lunch once again in an old palace. We even visited a Pre-Columbian museum! This week has further opened my appreciation for places with rich, deep, and long-standing culture. I love the excitement this week has brought!

Listen to their theme song, El Chulla Quiteno, that we danced to at school with the bad and the kids. I promise it's catchy and the happiest song you'll ever hear, I think:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iBLtxPSBkoY

Breathe. Mindo.

This weekend was so phenomenal that I have to break the events up into TWO posts! Our time in Mindo was perfect. Relaxing and calm, yet very exciting. At night, we joined sisters from LA to make chocolate from Ecuadorian cacao for some fondue! We embraced the opportunity to make and quickly consume our own chocolate while listening to someone tell us all about the history of cocoa in South America. It's crazy to think that the rich stuff actually comes from a fruit!

At the chocolate shop, we learned of a place called The Little House of Tea and Art. In Spanish, of course. I got SO excited at the idea of drinking some herbal tea, so we ventured into town to find this house. We found it, alright, and a band at the house playing everything from a flute to a didgeridoo! It was so neat to watch, even if everyone there was about 500x more hippie than me. I had some tea made from linseed; I've never heard of it before but the waitress highly recommended it and it was yummy! They even gave us the rest of the tea in vases for quick refills.

The next morning, I headed to Chocolarte to have breakfast and spend some time alone reading. I thrive most when I'm fueled with alone time and Jesus time. Over a cup of coffee and scrambled eggs, I read and people watched and prayed and reflected on everything that has happened in the last few weeks. This month has flown by, and I've learned so much about how other cultures view education. I've been able to see the most beautiful mountain backdrop every time I step outside my door. How did I get so blessed to come here, invade their space, and learn so much?! In the calm of that sweet Sunday morning, watching the sleepy town wake and begin turning its wheels, I found a deep appreciation for this special opportunity. And I can't wait to see what these last 3 days will hold.

Mindo

What a beautiful weekend! We traveled out of the Quito-Cumbaya area this weekend to see a much different area of Ecuador. We have gone out of town before and seen many indigenous people with the traditional dress, but those days were mostly filled with shopping and weren't really worthy of pictures. Our trip to Mindo this weekend, however, kept me excited and loving this country so much!

We've experienced the arid mountains of Quito, but Mindo is a humid, tropical, rainforest area. I like to call it the jungle, but it probably doesn't warrant that name. Our weekend was full of butterflies, hummingbirds, waterfalls, and orchid gardens!! Can it get much more beautiful than that?

We were able to watch butterflies coming out of  their cocoons! It happens very quickly.

Orchids are abundant in Ecuador

The place we chose to watch hummingbirds was kind of a rip-off. They were beautiful, but we couldn't leave the balcony and were given binoculars. So I got fancy and took pictures through the lenses of the binoculars! Ha.

 

 

Field Trip

During student teaching in the States, I never got the chance to go on any field trips as a teacher. Somehow, with the dates for my placements, I always seemed to miss those that my classes went on! I was so excited to find out that the kinder classes at our school would be going on a field trip during my time here. We went to Itchimbia, a public park located in downtown Quito. The students were SO excited and looked adorable in their class tshirts! It was a simple trip, lasting just a couple hours so that the class could walk around the park looking at plants & animals, but they had such a good time. And I did, too, until a necklace that a student had me hold slipped off my wrist and fell between the cracks of the stairs in the picture below! It was quite an ordeal and took a lot of skill to retrieve it... but in the end I came out successful and everything went back to normal. Thank goodness. Just look at the cuties I spent that morning with!

Downtown Quito

It's been a busy week!! We've gone all over this city and the surrounding towns, and I have seen some beautiful places. Last weekend, we spent some time traveling around Quito on a bus-- it made us look super touristy, riding a double-decker bus to the major Capitol attractions, but I guess we are tourists anyway. When getting on the bus, I actually found one of my students with his grandparents and cousins on the tour!

Downtown plaza, right next to the president's palace

Quito is an old and very beautiful city. It is unique in shape, nestled between mountain peaks but continually growing in a long rectangular shape. We stopped off on the tour to see beautiful churches and old monuments, but my favorite part was seeing all of Quito from the top of a hill. On top of this hill resides El Panecillo, the virgin statue that looks out over all of Quito. She's kind of like the Ecuadorian version of the Statue of Liberty, looking out over the city as if she is guarding it. Apparently Quito was born as early as 500 BC, which is almost unfathomable for someone from a country that only has a few hundred years of history. El Panecillo was created sometime probably before the US was even founded!

What's more, the hill with the Panecillo reminded me of how great Creation and its Creator truly are. At the beginning of our stay here, we visited the Basilica in downtown, where I went up into a huge clock tower that was on top of an enormous cathedral wi flying buttresses. The sheer size of the church fascinated me. But from El Panecillo, the Basilica could have fit in my hand. And from the top of Mount Pichincha, the volcano we climbed a few weeks ago, even the hill with El Panecillo was barely visible. No photo can truly depict the view around me from that spot, but I will cling to the memory that Creation proves the greatness of our Creator God. The greatest cathedral men can make will pale in comparison to the great massiveness of the One who created those men. And for that I am thankful, because I trust Him to direct my paths!

Toward the end of the day, clouds began rolling into Quito. Literally, they wove through the streets of Quito much like the sandstorms of Sub-Saharan Africa. How can you NOT love the mountains when you see this view?!

Pretty colors all over this country... Can I paint my future house these colors??

Tons of old, beautiful churches- this one made completely of gold on the inside!

Thanksgiving, Way (way) Down South

When I signed up to go on this trip for student teaching, I was fully aware that we would miss Thanksgiving. I think Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday (but I say that about most holidays when I get to see my WHOLE family), so it kind of made me sad to miss the day. And when we found out Thanksgiving isn't even celebrated in Ecuador... that school is in session just like every other week... we decided to bring America to Ecuador for a day! We are so thankful for a host family that is gracious and precious and more than willing to welcome us into their family for the month. When we asked to make Thanksgiving Dinner for them, it became a family affair in which we cooked TONS of food for about 17 people. And it turned out fantastic!

Eleana was precious and decorated the house for dinner... Even though pink roses don't really scream "Thanksgiving" they looked beautiful!

I cooked sweet potato casserole with purple potatoes! It looked really strange, but it tasted as great as always!

Our lineup of goods!

So thankful to feel a little at home for an evening in a house that smells like turkey and people who make us smile!

The Middle of the World

This past weekend was packed with so much that I decided to break it up into several posts. On Saturday, we took a visit to "El Centro del Mundo," or the center of the Earth, or as we call it- The Equator!! Ecuador is one of just a handful of countries that reside on the equator, but because of the mountains it is typically a breezy 60-70 degrees. The park we visited was really interesting, and I clearly had a little fun:

I'm standing on two hemispheres! Whaaaat?!

A stuffed llama!!

We also walked through several museums at the park, including an insectarium (gross, look at the SIZE of those beetles!!!!) and a cultural exhibit of the indigenous groups in Ecuador. Quito is a very modern city, so it was really neat to see the unique groups that exist outside the capital city.

After the Equator, we went shopping and bartering at a market, where of of course I bought a silk llama scarf... And lots of Christmas presents! We joined our host mom for Mass at the CUTEST country church and stopped by a local bakery for some yummo things. It was so fancy that I had to take a picture! I have seen so many beautiful places here that I am afraid I will forget. I got some strange looks for taking pictures at the bakery, but I don't want to forget!

Mount Pichincha

When I think of volcanoes, I visualize a bunch of black rocks and nastiness. And lots of lava. Apparently I'm not the only one-- the 3rd grade teacher I worked with during student teaching emailed me to say that my kids were worried about me once they found out there were volcanoes in Ecuador. She assured them I'd be fine, but after my incredible experience this weekend with a nearby volcano, I am so excited to show them what volcanoes can really look like.

We began our ascension of Mt. Pichincha by cable car. Actually, we began all the way at our home in the valley of Cumbaya, just 20 minutes outside of the capital city Quito. And we got to the cable cars by a taxi all by our big selves-- even with our tiny Spanish skills! The view from the top of the cable cars was breathtaking, but we had no idea what beauty was to come.

In case you didn't already know, llamas are my favorite and I happen to be in one of the best countries for spotting one! We met a woman with llamas so we took full advantage of the opportunity to say hello to them.

As we continued to climb the volcano, we found a corral of trail horses available for rent. After a little Spanglish communication, we decided to go on a 2-hour ride up the volcano on horseback! This experience was incredible. I was so happy that I caught myself giggling as the horse did a trot/gallop across dirt paths... And I think our guide thought we were a bit crazy. We saw gorgeous landscape and interesting plants everywhere we went! Riding on the ridge of a volcano, 13,000 feet in the air, I suddenly felt incredibly small and extremely awed. I didn't want to leave, but the clouds began to envelope us and I (unknowingly) was getting a horrible sunburn on my face. We descended the mountain over a day ago, but my mind continues to return to this beautiful piece of creation that stilled my heart and quieted my soul. 

I am so, so thankful for this opportunity to see the world while student teaching.