A Journey of a Thousand Miles beings with a lot of boring details
So I took some creative license there, but settling in
for 6 months of research entails a lot of mundane things that don’t make for an
exciting blog. A week in, I’ve reconnected with my contacts, wrangled
technology into cooperating for the most part, gotten a few good days of
research in, had my first day (of what will likely be many) with an
uncooperative tummy, and even went to a birthday party (stay tuned). For those
of you who aren’t on my Facebook, I also got witnessed to by a Jehovah’s
Witness (basically the same as in English), who complimented me on my Spanish
and accent, and made friends with a sweet dog who followed me home for blocks,
despite my repeated apologies that I didn't have any food. Not to worry – she
was rewarded when she waited at the door and my host mom took pity, allowing me
to run back out with some bread!
One of the highlights of the past week was visiting my
friend, Andrea in San Antonio. I actually got a ride with my host mom, which
meant I arrived much earlier than had I taken the bus, but I didn’t mind
because I knew just where to kill some time: my favorite coffee shop/wooden art
gallery! I was even able to catch up with the artist, Luis Potosí, who is in
his early 80s and still making incredible sculptures. Everything his makes is captivating
in its beautiful simplicity while it’s steeped in deeper symbolism. He takes
inspiration from nature and Catholicism, and is incredibly interesting to talk
to. Last year, he had an exposition in Quito, where he received some major
awards, but it was right after I left, so I couldn’t attend. It was nice to
catch up a bit.
I’ve also been enjoying the cuisine here, especially
the fruit. A friend in the market gave me a fruit to try – a red spiky fruit
called achotillo.
According to Google, it’s called rambutan in other parts of the world and actually originates from Southeast Asia. I’ve never heard of it before, but I have a vague memory of seeing the red spiky shells discarded on the ground. It’s incredibly common for people to throw their organic waste – and often inorganic waste – on the ground here. Some even justify it, saying they’re just giving work to the city workers who clean the streets. But back to the fruit. You crack the spiky shell open and eat the white, fleshy fruit inside, which sticks to large seeds in the center. In all of my previous visits, I’ve somehow never tried the fruit before today, but I really enjoyed the flavor. Funnily enough, I was later given more achotillos by a woman I met for the first time later in the day (a neighbor of one of my contacts). People always have fruit on hand, and they always share it. The fruit is so cheap and so fresh (ex: 10-12 mandarin oranges for $1!), which is one of my favorite things about living here! The locals think I’m a little nuts when I tell them my favorite food here is the fruit, especially the fresh juices!
According to Google, it’s called rambutan in other parts of the world and actually originates from Southeast Asia. I’ve never heard of it before, but I have a vague memory of seeing the red spiky shells discarded on the ground. It’s incredibly common for people to throw their organic waste – and often inorganic waste – on the ground here. Some even justify it, saying they’re just giving work to the city workers who clean the streets. But back to the fruit. You crack the spiky shell open and eat the white, fleshy fruit inside, which sticks to large seeds in the center. In all of my previous visits, I’ve somehow never tried the fruit before today, but I really enjoyed the flavor. Funnily enough, I was later given more achotillos by a woman I met for the first time later in the day (a neighbor of one of my contacts). People always have fruit on hand, and they always share it. The fruit is so cheap and so fresh (ex: 10-12 mandarin oranges for $1!), which is one of my favorite things about living here! The locals think I’m a little nuts when I tell them my favorite food here is the fruit, especially the fresh juices!
Proving the stereotype that women work while men play
holds some truth and transcends borders: we moved all of these tables and
benches from the attached beauty parlor, while the guys watch the World Cup. In
the process, we basically rearranged the entire salon in order to move then and
then reconfigured the tables many, many times. Everyone had a different idea
for how it should be configured. My host mom had bought them last year, in
hopes of turning this space into a café, but alas, that hasn’t happened yet. We
set them up for a Father’s Day party. Let me tell you, those things felt about like moving the trees from which they are made!
Cristina told me we were going to play Bingo, and I got pretty excited. Finally, I can tap into all those years of prep in my high school Spanish classes. I started off strong, but was 0/8. They said that means I’m lucky in love, but not in games. I think I can live with that, even if I’m down $2. It was a really fun day!
Cristina told me we were going to play Bingo, and I got pretty excited. Finally, I can tap into all those years of prep in my high school Spanish classes. I started off strong, but was 0/8. They said that means I’m lucky in love, but not in games. I think I can live with that, even if I’m down $2. It was a really fun day!
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