On Saturday morning I went in search of waterproof pants and a second waterproof jacket as mine doesn't work as well as I hoped. You would think this would be quite simple as Quito is the starting point for many trips into the Amazon. It turns out that the height of Ecuadorians precludes any stores selling things in Canadian sizes. After visiting about 6 stores and trying on 20 different jackets, I came to the conclusion that I'm destined to get wet in the Cloud Forest. Luckily I managed to find waterproof pants, which will work even though they are a little short (I figure my rubber boots are high enough so it won't matter too much).
Once I determined I was going to be sufficiently dry, I met Lee for an afternoon in the Irish Pub watching rugby. It was quite the experience as I have never watched a rugby match and here I was in the middle of Quito in a bar where the only two languages being spoken at the time were English and French (it was an England vs France game). Lee spent most the afternoon teaching me the rules while I was being entertained by the Frenchmen yelling insults at the English. Needless to say the French team lost.
My cultural education and international exposure continued throughout the evening. Lee and I decided to go and support Kat by watching the Opera she had been working on for the past few weeks, La Traviata. Her roll has been slightly undefined, but she has been working basically as the director's assistant. Needless to say, Kat has been very excited about her project and every time we meet up with her she only has more exciting things to say about the opportunity. Lee and I went to the dress rehearsal.
As it was pouring rain outside, Lee and I joined a Korean tour group and were let into the theatre a little early for the show (why they thought two white 6'3" guys were part of the Korean tour group, I have no idea). Once inside we ran into one of the coordinators from the school who was there to support her roommate, a lead in the opera. It as a good thing I met her there as she informed me that no one would be at the train station on Monday to take me to my project. Instead I would be leaving on Tuesday.
Since she was busy working we didn't get a chance to meet Kat before the show (at least that's what we though, it turned out she was waiting for us in the rain outside). Overall, Lee and I were very impressed with the show, even though the director was quick to inform the audience that this was a dress rehearsal and some things might go wrong. It was also probably one of the most international experiences one could have. Here you have a British and Canadian guy going to support a German friend who helped put on an Italian opera, set in Paris, produced by Columbians, staring Koreans and Ecuadorians, located in the beautiful Theatro Sucre (modeled after a theatre in France) and translated into Spanish subtitles for the audience to follow along. Who says globalization doesn't exist?
Lee and I wanted to congratulate Kat on the great show so we headed backstage in hopes of finding her. She told us everything that was happening backstage. She couldn't contain her excitement, and who could blame her, it sounds like things are more interesting behind the scenes.
Sunday and Monday transpired without much happening. Sunday afternoon we met for our "family outing in the park" before heading out for drinks that evening. Monday I spent puttering away at a few things I wanted to get done before I headed into the woods, including arranging my next few weeks and making plans to meet a number of new friends, over the next few weeks. 
Monday morning I managed to visit Anna's project again at a time when the kids weren't all stuck in class. Anna had asked the headmaster if it was alright if I came by to visit. He was excited to have people come in, and made sure to stop by a few times while I was there to see how I was enjoying myself and to welcome me to his school. It took a while for the children to warm up to me, but once they did, they figured out I was a great moving jungle gym and spent most of their break getting me to lift them up and take their picture. After what Anna had told me about these children (most are street kids and some are orphans) it was great to see them so happy and full of energy. They were exactly the same as Canadian children and it broke my heart when they tried to block the door and keep me from leaving. If I had my large backpack, I probably would have grabbed a few to take with me.
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