Llamas and Cell Phones

Tuesday, July 27th

I look to my left into my closet and feel a twinge of despair. There are 8 forlorn clothing items dangling from the hangers. Granted, I have one sweater draped over my chair and another resting on mi cama (ah hell yeah Spanglish), but my closet looks so bare. For shoes, I have one pair of boots, a pair of awkward tennis shoes, chonclas, and my beloved moccasins. I should be content, but I do indeed miss having a full closet. But then again, such is the circumstance of those procrastinating fools that pack last minute. J

After salsa lessons today (I repeat, SALSAAAAAA, ME ENCANTA SALSAAAAA) I walked home by myself. I feel a little bit like I did when I walked home from the bus stop for the first time when I was 5, though come to think of it I was never really alone and my public enemies were more along the lines of snakes and stickers, not cars and catcalls. But anyways, armed with my new keys, I employed my navigational skills (straight, left turn by the Ecovia, right turn by the Jipijapa station, left turn by the panaderia, key for the gate, key for the building, and key for the apartment, yyyy…I’m home! My nephews were here and two more relatives. It’s so much fun to have people over. Gaston told me he was going to teach me how to play squash. Estoy emocionada! And of course I played futbol in the hall again con mis primos Matthias y Juanca…and even several round of a card games, one of which I won. Heck yeah! Matthias and Juanca are so adorable.

I later had some alone time con mi mama. I showed her lots of pictures on my laptop and tried to explain them in terribly broken Spanish while we sipped some tea. That’s another reason why she is so great: she loves tea. Ariel, if you are reading this, I brought the tea you gave me from Nepal and it has found its way to an Ecuadorian kitchen. You are a contributive global citizen. (It’s super good!)

Quote of the day:

Yui Takashima: “Heather, how do you get George to talk? I’ve known him for two years, but all our conversations just end. It’s soo difficult.” Jajajajaja oh Yui. Me encantan mis chinitos mucho J

Wednesday, July 28

Today we went to El Banco Central Del Ecuador (a museum). I liked the pottery, but thought that the pictures and figurines of holy people and Jesus on the cross were not very appealing at all.

I was very tired when I got home today, so I didn’t play futbol in the hall with my nephews.

Monday, August 2^nd

Where to begin? I spent a wonderful weekend in Otavalo, but I am currently very angry at myself. I LOST MY PHONE. Already. It’s only been a little over a week. I also got home late which made my host mom worry because I couldn’t call her and she couldn’t call me, so now I feel kind of like an irresponsible jerk. Ughhhh.

Anyway.

Otavalo.

No wait, before Otavalo…

We had a scavenger hunt in the Centro de Historico, and afterwards, 4 of us went to Parque Carolina and talked about our experiences growing up, which were all, not surprisingly, extremely different. I’m really excited to get to know each person on a deeper level.

Ok. Now Otavalo. I went to la cine with Karen and Gaston, my awesome relatives, the night before we left, so I didn’t get to sleep until almost 2 before I had to wake up around 6:30 to walk to the station and meet our bus, but I am extremely grateful for long bus rides and the ample amount of nap time they provide. Plus, there’s nothing like sitting on a llama amidst ancient temples in the middle of the world to get you energized.

In brief, this is what we did:

· Visited ancient temples and llamas. (Sachiyo’s favorite animals are llamas and alpacas and her face was absolutely precious when we went here)

· Straddled the equatorial line

· Shopped in Otavalo. (I bought a bufanda, a sweater, 2 pairs of earrings, a slice of pie and some hot chocolate for when it rained)

· Went to a club

· Scampered around a gorgeous waterfall

· Ate qui (guinea pig) I did feel a little guilty. It didn’t help that it was still in guinea pig shape on the plate

· Watched a bird show at the condor park

· Visited the house of professional weavers. They were adorable…so I bought a wall hanging. I have a whole semester to plan what my dorm room is going to look like when I get back. (Nandini!)

Then I fell asleep while doing homework, made friends with a stranger at the university, had salsa lessons, and realized that I’m an idiot for losing my phone.