semana ocho

chismoso: hay mucho de esta palabra sobre mi familia; in English "gossip"

So I returned from the jungle with a gargantuan amount of gossip about my host family after chit chatting with our program director and other students. but after an insistent and foul declaration of the facts from my host brother, I will not post them here. if you would like to hear my take on things just shoot me a comment or an email. I say this because in blogging about the gossip I heard and trying to frame it anthropologically, I ended up pissing people off. sad that you have to be weary of what you blog, in the states I'm rather unabashed about what I write...in Cuenca aappearances mean a lot more to people so you have to be careful.

this is probably my favorite Norman Rockwell

día cuarenta y nueve: 2/21/2010 I had a falling out with my host brother today and, in doing so, reconfirmed that I get really flustered in the face of a conflict (who doesn't, so I'm not kicking myself too much for this). Here's what happened: I went to send an email to Trent and the internet was not working. I tried rebooting and still no luck. Therefore, I went down stairs to check the computer in the office next to the kitchen and shook the mouse to see if it said my laptop was connected. It showed that I was indeed connected, but still I couldn't get it too function...so I sent a quick text via the internet to let Trent know I wouldn't be able to chat with him tonight. Thinking nothing of it, I shut the light off and went up stairs to finish my homework. Well, little did I know I had just committed a terrible sin! For when Santi came home he yelled at me for touching "his computer." 1: I didn't know it was "his" computer, I thought it was shared by all and that he just spent the majority of the time on it. and 2: I didn't know I wasn't allowed to touch it. I had left my notebook in the office and when I went to get it, I could tell he was pissed off, so I panicked and evaded telling him that I used to computer at first but then apologized and tried to explain what happened. It hard to speak spanish when you're flustered. I even wrote him an apology note explaining everything but we still are not talking to each other, probably for the rest of my time here.  but besides Santi, the rest of my family is wonderful.  it's ironic how the one person in all of Ecuador that I don't get along with is perhaps the most Americanized-male I have encountered while abroad.

día cincuenta: As if yesterday weren't enough to deal with, today was a bad day too. Usually my bad days are slippery slopes, where small silly worries turn into deep brooding frustrations and I inevitably end up with a tummy ache.

But now it's 4:22 am in the morning and this bad day has been long washed away by the rain. so no need to worry right?! right!


día cincuenta y uno: I came home from school today and caught my host dad listening to “How can I live without you” a country song by Trisha Yearwood. LOVE IT! I love Trisha Yearwood. it was precious. Then, instead of doing my homework, I watched the sports channel. During about the third soccer game I noticed that the announcers are very zealous...and seem to have super stamina in their lungs that allows them to shout "GO000000000000000000000000000ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOAL!" for so long that once they've stopped another goal has been scored. I ate some mote pite (scrambled eggs with corn) for dinner. I think I feel asleep pretty early because I woke up at about 3:30am and my light was still on. I do this often. life is tiring these days.

this is what the futbol announcers look like while yelling, the guy to the left that is:









 

día cincuenta y dos: For anthropology, we took a field trip to a Migrant Chapel where illegal immigrants, in preparation for their treturous journey, come to get blessed. did you know that 30% of Ecuador's population is living illegally in other countries!



día cincuenta y tres: Today, I had a quirky conversation with a street vendor. Normally I ignore them, but this one was nice. He asked me if I liked to paint my nails (mainly because he was selling nail polish) but then commented that Americans are so beautiful...wait, come to think of it a lot of Ecuadorians have this misconception. maybe it has something to do with idealized Western beauty standards or maybe it's just a "grass is greener on the other side" sort of thing. Whatever it is, one thing is certain, I sure do get stared at a lot in this country. Some days, I even feel like a celebrity, which trust me shouldn't be as coveted as it is. Today at school we had MORE b-day cake. So much birthday cake! People's parents must have been busy about 21 years ago around the month of July. Nearly everyone is having birthdays this month.  The cake was a good flavor though, mora (blackberry). then Leah and I came home and watched some Dancing with the Stars online and joined a few others for pizza.



día cincuenta y cuatro: so I went on a run today. There is a gorgeous park that loops around a river near my house and it is the perfect run early in the morning. The only problem being that you can run into a cow if you are not careful. True story. People will let there livestock free in the middle of the metropolitan park and one time I was running along and bumped right into the butt of a cow. I think I scared the poor thing. It took off running.  I didn't even know cows could run!

día cincuenta y seis: It's official- life is boring without the internet :( but not really instead of killing time on Facebook or looking up wiki articles, I walked to the park and swung on the swings and also went on another run (two in one day actually, is that allow?). Then I watched Farris B's day off. I sware to god I was Cameron in a past life, or maybe in this life even. And you'll be proud of me for this, I got all my homework done and it's not even Sunday. then I made about five new playlists and played a fuck load of Hearts on my computer. yup.