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Published: July 26th 2010
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Over the last few days, I have sensed some serious happiness settling in. It has been awhile since I have felt this present in each moment. Its with these squishy sentiments that I decided to prolong my stay in Cuenca a bit....
For starters, I am not ready to stop formally studying spanish. Although at times I feel like Helen Keller before the breakthrough water-pump moment, I think my spanish is slowly improving. My teacher, Marcela, is an adoroble spunky gal who gives me way more "muy biens" than I deserve. We have ventured into interesting-conversation-territory and she shares great perspective on life as a young person in Cuenca. My family and I have begun to let some walls down, too. They tell me about their family illnesses and relationship problems, help me pick out my outfit for salsa clubs, and have given me my own set of keys. I have met some interesting fellow travelers and befriended my smiley, bouncey salsa teacher. Soon I will move on, but not yet.
I am realizing that my ideal way of traveling is taking time and absorbing the ways of each place that I land. Poco a poco people are sharing
what shapes life here. Cuenca seems to be a relatively progressive city with a vibrant arts scene and some cool places to chill. A lot of people are highly educated and many woman have university educations and careers. However, Ive found that a single woman in her 30s is a bit of an anomoly here. (Although I have NOT found the apostrophe on this keyboard.) My understanding is that a lot of tradition still exists within many families. First born daughters are given a lot of household responsibility at a young age and expected to be married by the time they are 20- or at least before any of their younger sisters are betrothed....
With this in mind, I have learned some key Euatorian sayings...
For example: "Estoy esperando por el principe azul" conveys that you are waiting for the right person, but it literally translates as "I am waiting for the blue prince." I find this saying pretty awesome. An older single woman may be described as "en la percha." This translates into "the side of the closet where you put your clothes that you dont really like to wear." My family thinks its hilarious when I
jokingly say "estoy en la percha." My mama responds that the clothes you dont currently wear will return to fashion one day. At least I think thats what she is saying...
I have found myself pretty fascinated by how the use of language reflects on culture (or maybe its the other way around). For example, if you say "Manana voy a la playa" you are saying that you may OR may NOT go to the beach tomorrow. You really need to say "manana MISMA" which literally translates into the "SAME tomorrow, I am going to the beach." I find this riveting and realize why my sense of time and punctuality fits in so well here.
I love the affection that exists in the Ecuatorain culture. You cant enter a room without at least 5 cheek kisses. I think it is relfected in the prolific use of "-ita" here. Mama is mamita. Perro is perrito. Even a drink of water is aguita. And boy do I love the sopita! I am also a big fan of how the word descansar (to rest) has such positive connotations. When I tell someone I am going to descansar for the afternoon, its
met with great encouragement and support. Like I am announcing that I will write a novel. Or end hunger. I love it...
So between siestas, cultural contemplation, and verb conjugations, I HAVE seen much of the surrounding area. Last weekend I went to Cajas National Park. It was a cold, cloudy, Lord of the Rings type place. There is a plethora of birds in the area (though we saw few) and the plants and trees were quite interesting. Por ejemplo, the beautiful sea oats that characterize Southeastern US beaches pop up all over at 4000 meters elevation in the land-locked Andes. Who knew? I went on a hike with some other tourists and was feeling very proud of my hearty ability to withstand the cold and the rain. Until I promptly fell in a freezing river. When our guide-of-questionable-guidance tried to tell me that I was wearing quick drying pants, I bit my tongue to keep from shouting at him that my two pairs of long underwear beneath clearly were NOT. After warming up with a fresh trout lunch and a beer, I was much happier.
The next day, my family and I drove to the surrounding villages
Spongy Cajas Ground
Strange ground made of tiny, delicate plants of Chordeleg and Gualaceo for the Sunday afternoon markets. There I had my first mini taste of choncho (roasted whole pig with thick crispy skin.) I chased that with a thick corn tortilla and a rich warm white beverage called morocho brewed by locale ladies. I continue to relesh the markets colors and sights here. Ive been introduced to new fruits like granadilla which you essentially break open with your fingers, suck out its sweet slime and chew the plethora of seeds within. And new ways of preparing old fruits like mashed, candied figs. It was fun to get out to some smaller villages, especially on days when they draw hundreds of people from the even smaller surrounding villages for market day- a combination of people from traditional to modern. Chordeleg was especially beautiful nestled high up in the Andes. It is known for filigree jewelry, but I resisted temptation and left only with icecream.
This week I have been lucky to spend time with some new friends. I had a great dinner at a traveler friendly hipster type spot with two very interesting American folks I met in Cajas (shout out to Gil and Andy!) And Francisco, the
salsa teacher, taught me the basics and is kind enough to take me to legit salsa spots and put up with my gringa-moves. In exchange, I have taught him to say dancefloor instead of floordance.
All in all, its been a pretty awesome and wonderful week. I am looking forward to my next 5 days here. And then i am forcing myself to get on a bus and head north to dicover new great things about this beautiful country. Hasta luego!
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Jealous!
Wow Jen, I just read all your entries!! Your blog is fantastic and it sounds like you are having an amazing time!! I am so excited for you and happy i can live vicariously through you!!!