Life at Latitude 3

When I was in high school, I had a sizable crush on BJ Armstrong, who, at the time, played for the University of Iowa.  While BJ was on the team, I knew the name of every player, their hometowns, important stats, etc.  I eagerly anticipated each and every Iowa basketball game, and proudly wore black and gold, win or loss.  I haven´t followed or cared about a team like that since.  Until now.  It´s been such a fun and important part of my Ecuador experience to follow them from their qualification game against Uruguay (back in October), through the “friendly” international matches during the anticipative months leading up to the Cup, and then through the Cup games themselves.  I know the names, hometowns, ages, and positions of all the players on the Ecuadorian team, and could make a good guess who they play for professionally.  I may even admit that I have a crush on one or two of them.  And no doubt, I wear my Ecuador seleción shirt every chance I get. 

When Ecuador lost to England, there was of course a sense of sadness, as there always is when a dream comes to an end.  But the more prominent emotion felt and expressed by everyone was that of immense pride.  Everywhere, on TV, in the streets, the message changed from “sí se puede” to “Muchas Gracias Seleción Por Todo – Misión Cumplida!”  Ecuador´s selecion had played their very best, and represented their country in a most admirable way.  Despite the loss, there was still plenty of flag waving, horn-honking, and all around celebration of what had been a historic event for little Ecuador.  It was a good reminder to me of what sports should really be all about

Aside from the Cup, there have been some changes in my life.

1) For a minor change of scenery, I went with my roommate and his friends to the coastal town of Montañitas (which means Little Mountains, confusingly enough).  For two glorious days, my feet got to feel soft, soothing sand beneath them.  The historic part of Cuenca, where I live, has cobblestone streets and sidewalks.  I hate cobblestone.  Oh, it´s lovely and charming and all, but it is so hard on feet.  It´s so unforgiving and uneven that my feet are forever in a state of trauma – all aspirations I ever had of being a foot model have vanished. 

Anyway – back to Montañitas – Montañitas, like all beach towns, is pretty laid back, and something about the salty air just make it tranquilo.  If you want to hang in a hammock, smoke eed, party from midnight until 5am, or surf the morning away, Montañitas would be your heaven.  Montañitas is filled with people, both gringos and ecuadorians, who came to Montañitas, and just never found their way back out.  As I don´t really fit into any of the above categories, I didn´t have any problems leaving.  It was a nice place to visit, but I´m always ready to come back to Cuenca. 

2) Now for some more significant changes.  I broke up with Gerardo.  I think it was for the best, for both of us.  We´re still on very good terms, and keep in touch, but for now, I´m on my own again. 

3) I´ve taken a break from teaching teenagers to working with preschoolers.  Supposedly, teaching teens can be rewarding,  but I had a hard time dealing with their hormonal energy. Preschoolers no doubt abound with energy as well, but it´s an energy that I can more naturally match. I went from teaching 2nd conditionals and the present perfect progressive, to teaching “Duck Duck Goose”, and the numbers 11-20.  We start every morning with the Hokey Pokey, which they LOVE.   I have of course, already found my favorites.  There´s Pedrito, whose physicality and personality both remind me of my nephew Seth.  And there´s Maria Emelia, who has the best giggle in the world. 

But my heart breaks every day for little Juan Carlos.  The recent divorce of his parents has affected Juan Carlos profoundly.  Divorce of course affects different kids differently, but I think it´s hardest on children who are especially sensitive to the pain of others.  Imagine not having even basic words to express your own pain, or the developmental maturity to understand its source.  If I let him, he would melt in a corner all morning. But he´s slowly warming up to me, and I´m slowly finding gentle but effective ways to coax him out of the corner and out of his shell.  I of course try to give all the kids as much praise and positive attention as I can, but, quite shamelessly, I give Juan Carlos just a little more. 

4) Finally, I had to move apartments.  Both of my roommates had left, and despite my best efforts, I couldn´t find replacements.  I was both sad and bitter about having to move.  Sad, because I absolutely loved my apartment, my street, etc.  Bitter because I had showed my apartment to several other teachers who had decided it wasn´t good enough for them. I can hear people now saying, Jenni, you shouldn´t take it personally.  But in a way, it was personal for me, because it meant that I had to give up a place that was home to me.  As much as I loved the place, I just couldn´t cough up the entire rent on my own. 

So, I moved into a place known as the Sucre house (because it´s on Sucre street).  It´s sort´ve like living in a hostal. It´s a large courtyard style 2 story house, with the family living on one side, and 9 gringos living on the other.  It all feels very Big Brotherish (the reality show, not the political reference), and it feels more like living in a nice hostal than in a comfy home to me.   But, it is a beautiful house, full of hammocks, big plants, and light, and I imagine I´ll eventually get used to it. I even have my own private balcony, where, facing the south, I can still see the Southern Cross on a clear night (from the terrace of my last place, I had a PERFECT view of the cross).  As soon as Marvelyn Adams sends me sheet music, I will send pictures of the place. 

Discoveries

            It´s been over 2 months since I´ve returned to Cuenca, and in some ways, I feel very settled in here.  After a month and a half, I finally had all of my documents in order, making me a non-immigrant resident, and I quickly reacquainted myself with all of my favorite Cuenca haunts.  In many respects, I know Cuenca better than any other place I´ve ever lived.   
            And yet, I continue to discover Cuenca and Ecuador.  I´ll never forget my first year in my house.  Every season fascinated me, as it showed me new aspects of my house.  It was fun in the spring to see what flowers popped up out of the ground, in the fall I discovered just how many trees I had on my tiny property, etc.  My time in Cuenca has been very similar, as I´ve experienced Cuenca through its various yearly celebrations. And major events aside, I continue to find new favorite restaurants, foods, parks, etc.  
            I have also discovered the rich element of Cuenca.  When I was here before I stayed in the central part of Cuenca, which contains all of the history, tradition, pride, poverty, and charm of Cuenca .  My time was spent with the working class of Cuenca, talking with street children, shoe shiners, guards, store owners, etc. On a daily basis I had to make sure that I had singles and fives, as most of my money transactions rarely exceeded $3, and people would laugh if I handed them a twenty dollar bill, expecting change.
            But, now that I teach for CEDEI, on a daily basis I rub elbows with the richest of Ecuador´s rich. Cuenca still has its poor huddled masses yearning to be free from their disenfranchised impoverished lives.  But, overall, Cuenca, with the highest cost of living in Ecuador, is FAR from the 3^rd world provincial experience that many of you may think I´m suffering..   Discovering all of the places in Cuenca that one would find in virtual middle class USA has actually inflicted on me a form of culture shock, which is strange considering how long I´ve lived in Cuenca.  I don´t mean to say that Cuencanos shouldn´t have nice comfy lives like we do back in the states. But with their ipods, cell phones and other toys, rich Cuencanos, while still very Ecuadorian in some ways, adopt many of the attitudes and customs of USians (I don´t like to use the word Americans to refer to only those of us in the States), and that is not always a positive or attractive thing.  Because I spend so much time with rich people, I value even more my relationships at the orphanage.  Being there, it´s easier for me to remember why I came back to Ecuador, and what I really love and value about this country.