Weather: 80, humid, and a tad rainy

Yesterday was my last day of Strategic Management and I had my final exam. It went pretty well I think so that's all I could ask for. I'm looking forward to my next class because it will be a lot busier than this class. I think one of our field trips is to Kicker Rock which is an amazing dive and snorkel spot. You're able to see lots of sharks which I am both petrified and excited for!

Later in the day, I met up with Sara, Nicola, Audrey, Ellie, and Steph at Rustica which is a cute restaurant on the boardwalk. I had leftovers from the veggie place for dinner but it was nice to catch up with all of them. We hung out on the pier for a bit and watched the sea life swim under the lights. We ended seeing a Galapagos shark! It was like 4-5 feet long and looked like a mini great white shark. It was gone before I could take a picture but it was such a cool sight to see. Some of my friends have seen sharks while snorkeling right on Playa Mann which is a bit scary but it'd be cool to see one. They have so much food here, they are harmless (supposedly).

Today (2/23), was family beach day. The university put it on for all of us and our host families. Paco had to work so I just went on my own and enjoyed the beach day. Tania texted me and asked how my stomach was this morning, so I explained it's a day to day thing sometimes. Here, no one suffers from IBS or allergies so it's very hard to explain. Having fried foods here is a huge part of the culture as well so telling Paco I didn't want fried foods was confusing for him. It is easier to blame things on the stomach even though that type of food may not actually hurt your stomach. Today was a bit rough because the nanny made THREE rolls with cheese in them for breakfast and a scrambled egg. It was a lot of food and I didn't have the heart to say no. However, now I know how my stomach feels about it so next time I'll be telling her I'm full. Anyways, I asked Tania how her trip was because she was supposed to be coming home today or tomorrow. It turns out Anahi and Mateo are sick so she is having them treated in Quito and she's extending the stay another week. I was bummed to hear that but I'd rather Ana and Mateo get good medical attention and not give me whatever they may have.

At the beach, I played some volleyball, tomato dancing (you have to keep a tomato between two people's foreheads and dance at the same time), and find my shoe. For find my shoe, I was blindfolded and Emily was my partner so it was her job to guide me to a pile of shoes and help me find my pair of flip flops. I ended up winning! We each got a postcard book so that was pretty cool. At the same time my sunglasses fell off my forehead and got very broken in the mad dash to find shoes. Luckily they were a cheap pair I picked up from good old Nantasket Pharmacy so no big loss and I'll be able to replace them with no problem thanks to the souvenir shops. Later in the day, I headed back home and applied for some jobs for the Summer. It was a very lowkey afternoon which was nice. For dinner, Sara, Nicola, and I went to Giuseppe's which is an italian-ish restaurant for dinner. It was a great relaxing day!

Edit: I wasn't going to put this in because I really only want to focus on the positives here however, as much as this feels like a vacation it is real life so it's only natural that I may encounter some tough days. Today wasn't a bad day, just a rough morning. Nana's one year anniversary is coming up in 3 weeks so she has been weighing heavily on my mind. This morning I called mom and was pretty upset, of course I don't want to be sad...I'm on a tropical island! My time here is limited and I don't want to waste a second of it. However, once I acknowledged that the morning is rough and the fact that Nana has been hitting me more than usual makes the day easier, and I'm able to move on and not dwell on it. I've noticed mornings are only rough on occasional weekend days which is when I don't have a particular routine. It allows my mind to wander and think about home a lot. Each week here has been getting better and the next couple of weeks I will be really busy. However, I am anticipating that as Nana's anniversary nears it will be rough at times. I know she wouldn't want me to be sad so that will keep me going.