From her perch atop El Panecillo hill, the 148-foot winged Virgin kept watch over the city of Quito. I lingered in her shadow long after my classmates had snapped their photos and left. When the coast was clear, I stuck a crumpled note into a crack at the base of the statue.<\/p>\n
I\u2019d scribbled five simple words across it, my heart\u2019s deepest desire: Please send me an angel.<\/em><\/p>\n It was week two of my college study abroad semester in Quito, Ecuador, 6,000 miles from my home in Norway, and I was desperately homesick. Maybe I wasn\u2019t cut out for travel. In fact, at 21, I still really didn\u2019t know what <\/em>I was cut out for.<\/p>\n My parents were very logical, by-the-book people. They wanted me to pursue a practical career in economics or finance. While I studied numbers, I dreamed of becoming an artist, writing and painting, but I couldn\u2019t tell my parents. I didn\u2019t want to disappoint them.<\/p>\n Grandmother thought a semester in Quito might be just the thing\u2014a complete change of scenery, a whole new culture, an opportunity to assert my independence. \u201cFollow your heart,\u201d she always said. \u201cGod has so much in store for you.\u201d<\/p>\n But I didn\u2019t know how to do that. Especially not in Quito, surrounded by American exchange students, unable to speak much Spanish with the locals. I couldn\u2019t even get a good night\u2019s sleep in this strange city.<\/p>\n If ever I needed an angel, it was now. Not a giant angel like Quito\u2019s. A tiny angel would be enough for me.<\/p>\n I walked back to the tour bus, hoping no one had seen me leave my note. As we pulled out, I took one last look at the statue. A beam of sunlight caught on the metal, and Quito\u2019s angel sparkled back at me, as if to say, Give our city a chance. <\/em>I guessed that she and my grandmother had something in common.<\/p>\n The next day I determined to get to know the city a little better. I visited a market with some girls from my class. We found stalls brimming with treasures. I bought a turquoise scarf for my mother and a carved wooden jewelry box for my aunt. Just as we got ready to leave I noticed one last booth at the back. I had to see it. \u201cLina, where are you going?\u201d one of my classmates called after me.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll be right back,\u201d I said, not sure what drew my attention. Follow your heart, <\/em>I reminded myself as I reached the run-down stall selling silver bangles, flasks and rings. I was examining a bracelet when the vendor shook her head and placed something else in my hand instead.<\/p>\n \u201cPara usted,<\/em>\u201d she said with a cryptic smile. It was smooth and cool to the touch\u2014a little guardian angel! \u201cFor me?\u201d I wished I could tell the woman just how perfect the angel was, but my Spanish was too poor for that. When I pulled out my wallet to pay, she waved me off.<\/p>\n \u201cMuchas gracias,<\/em>\u201d I managed to whisper. I looped the angel on the chain around my neck. That night, for the first time since arriving in Quito, I slept like a baby.<\/p>\n Instead of going to class the next day, I followed my heart to Quito\u2019s historic center. I fingered the angel necklace and walked the cobblestone streets. In the distance, I could make out the winged outline of the Virgen de Quito. From a caf\u00e9, I watched the locals going about their business while I took a lunch break. As I was about to dig in, someone approached me.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a beautiful necklace you have there,\u201d a young man said. He was tall and blond, and he spoke with an American accent. \u201cI\u2019m Ty.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m Lina,\u201d I said. \u201cWould you like to join me?\u201d My own words completely shocked me. I never <\/em>spoke to strangers. But today my heart\u2014or my angel\u2014had other ideas.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ty asked me what I was doing in Quito. Before I knew it, I\u2019d told him my life story. We talked about my grandmother and my secret dream of pursuing a career in art, despite my parents\u2019 wishes.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s your life,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have to live it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI dunno…\u201d Ty really didn\u2019t know me at all. How could he imagine I could do something so brave?<\/p>\n