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Published: April 29th 2007
Los Niños
Some of the younger kids at the school. Sorry for the delay in posting this blog! I temporarily lost my camera cable and had to manifest finding it!
It´s the end of my 4th week in Cuenca. I haven’t figured out where to go next, so, by default, I have decided to stay in Cuenca for one more week of instruction.
My volunteer work ended this week. I have ambivalent feelings about it. The kids threw me a little fiesta and we had orange soda and crackers and we danced! They kept saying ´no vaya´ (don’t go). When I explained I had to go, they wanted to know when I would return! The last day was sad for me, but, I am also relieved it is over. I’m glad I did it. I now know I can not only work with children, but, I’m actually pretty good at it. If I could speak their language, I could have been even more effective! But, I also know it isn’t my calling.
My Spanish is coming along slowly but surely. My moment of truth came last week when an older couple from Canada sat in a table next to me during breakfast. The waitress came to take
Mi Mascoto Nuevo
Here is my new llama friend I made at Cajas. He´s my newest pet. Just not sure how I´m going to get him through customs and immigration but I´ll figure something out! their order and asked them if they wanted café con leche o con aqua. They stared at her blankly for a few seconds. Then, they all turned to look at me to help translate. I thought it was odd because I thought everyone know what café con leche was. But, I guess not …. So, all my time and money I’ve spent so far came down to this moment! I said to them - She wants to know if you want milk with your coffee or only water. I translated their order back to the waitress and everyone was happy!
I really realized my Spanish must be getting a little better when I was sitting there chatting with one of the children on Friday and realized that for about five minutes, I understood perfectly what they were saying and I could respond. I didn’t have to say ´como?´ (What) or ´lo siento, no entiendo´ (sorry, I don’t understand you)! Which, is quite an accomplishment for me?
Last weekend, some students and I took a trip to Cajas, a park outside of Cuenca. And very high in altitude! Our hike was at about 12,000 feet. We took our time
- 2 1-2 hours to go about three miles! Cajas is very beautiful and reminds me of the Rocky Mountains without snow! It felt good to get into the mountains and do some hiking. The only thing missing was my dog, Josie!
The past four weeks, my good friends John and Emily have been my constant social companions and support. They left Saturday to continue their journey to the Galapagos, the jungle, the cloud forest, and other places. We’ve had a lot of fun struggling together to learn Spanish, how to salsa dance, and trying various places to eat. We had our last dinner together Friday night. I was very sad and will miss them terribly! I actually cried when I left them for the last time. It´s amazing how quickly you can bond with people when you make a connection! I am happy they live near me in San Francisco. I now have some great new friends that will let me stay with them when I go to salsa dance in San Francisco!
But, nature does fill voids and the next day (Saturday), I met up with three new amigas from Ireland and another chica from the
Las Chicas
Me with my newest frieds Aoife, Orla, Bronagh, Andrea and me on a walk along the Class II Rio Tomebamba that runs through Cuenca. I wish I had my kayak! States that are also studying at the school. Cuenca is having a big art exhibit right now and we walked a few kilometers to the Central Bank to see one of the exhibits only to find it had just closed! So, we wandered around for awhile and somehow got separated! Three of us went to the Panama Hat factory (yes, the Panama Hat originated in Ecuador! Not Panama) for coffee and a brownie and a couple of hours of conversation. Then, Andrea and I sat in the park for awhile people watching.
My other social activities include a couple of dates with the school’s salsa instructor. He’s also a confused artist. It is very frustrating to date him. But, it is an interesting view into a very different culture. Here in Ecuador, it is tradition for people to live at home with their families until they get married. This guy is no different. He invited me to his house and I met his mom. It was strange. When she went to bed, we hung out on the couch in his living room talking. I felt like I was in high school again! It was weird!
So, that’s my
Bailando con Francisco
I´m dancing with the school´s salsa instructor, Francisco. life right now! You will have one more week of my life in Cuenca and then someplace new! I promise! I don´t know where yet! I can´t wait to find out!
Hasta Luego, Amigos!
LuAnne
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