día setenta y ocho: 3/28/2010 Sunday my host family was gone so I cooked spaghetti (and just now taught myself finally how to spell spaghetti). it was glorious. and it made me miss home, where I can cook without our maid Nancy staring at me in shock with a look of "are you sure you can cook?"
día setenta y nueve: Monday I felt like a true Cuencano! I crossed the street without stopping or getting hit by a car. I also got asked for directions x 2. First by a lady and her small kid and second by a family trying to get to Banco Central. Seriously though, I'm not that tan am I? I also commented on a gal’s purse on the way home and we chit-chatted it up in Spanish. fuck what's happened? I'm becoming Ecuadorian.
too bad I didn't have a valiant cross guard like in elementary school...and one as cool as Marilyn Manson. you know, I bet kids love Marilyn Manson. he seems lovable, right?
día ochenta: accomplishment! I finally ran without my lungs feeling like they were on fire. and when I got back from my run I had a positive bonding conversation with host sister, Josefina. She called me "loca" (crazy) for running with gripe (oh yeah I still have a cold by the way, it sucks) and then commented on how I she was "casi muerte" (almost dead) from her workout.
día ochenta y uno: Miscommunication is the theme of Wednesday! I thought I had explain clearly about the date of a dinner that I wanted to cook my host family. but oh no sir-y. turns out my host family will be going to their second home during that date for holy week. but that's alright, right? oh no! my host mom also thought that I was going to go with them for holy week too. come on. I have way WAY way too much homework to go to their second home...because we all know I'd just end up swimming in the pool the entire time and not getting my homework done. but on the sunny side of things I got to learn how the alarm system works. the damn thing is terribly fast. so far I've tripped a good four times trying to scramble up the stairs to shut it off and still the beeps just get progressively faster and faster and inevitably I have to answer the call from the alarm company and tell them the password and that everything is buenisimo.
I've also made an observation in the last week or so...normally, I’m a confrontational person and like to deal with things as directly and quickly as possible. but it’s not just not worth it here. maybe it's cultural, but to try and constructively work through an issue is seemingly impossible here. take for example, lately my host brother has been taking showers in the morning when he usually doesn't and making me late for class. normally I would just approach him to try and resolve things but if I were to do so, all I would get other than a pain in my side and a tummy ache, would be guff about how my host brother doesn't really care and that I should accommodate for him. ahh, it's really just not a worthy fight to worry about.
día ochenta y dos: today I got a good cat call from a construction worker. he said, “pssst pssst, hey over here” in English and then waved. it was adorable.
it's Holy Week (Semana Santa) people and so Ecuadorians will be eating plenty of Fanesca and parading around in purple robes to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus...
above is Fanesca, a sort of "everything stew" served on holy Thursday, it's kinda gross to be honest
here are some Cucuruchos walking in a procession to recreate the cross-carrying of Jesus...they look oddly like the KKK but if the KKK had a lot of gay pride and really liked the color purple
día ochenta y tres: Damn Catholics! everything and I mean everything is closed today due to Holy Week. I searched the entire city high and low, combed that sucker over with a fine tooth, and finally found THE one cabina (internet café) open. I did some online research aka fucked around on facebook for an hour and a half and then had a great conversation with the guy who owns the place. we talked about holy week and how crazy Cuencanos get during Easter. He told me that some years they actually crucify a guy during the cross-carrying procession. and that some people won't bathe on Good Friday because they believe that if they touch water they'll turn into a fish. on an unrelated note, I got to cook for myself again!!!! At first, I burnt some popcorn (what can I say? I've never used a pressure cooker before) but then made up for it by cooking some delicious tuna salad. I then topped off a wonderful evening by watching Julie and Julia in Spanish. it was a fucking adorable movie. I smiled the entire time.
this was me
día ochenta y cuatro: essentially, I did the same on Saturday that I did Friday, except the movie was Bolt and add in walking to the Super Maxi (which was really packed for Easter Weekend) and not being able to find my running shoes (eventually I found them though, they were on the roof...don't ask...but if you did I would explain that I forgot I had put them out their to dry them out because the rainy season in upon us here in Ecuador). my host mom was surprised that I was still alive after a weekend alone.
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