Life at Latitude 3

One day, I’m swimming with penguins in the Galapagos, and the next thing I know, I’m watching the mailman shovel his car out of the snow, because he got stuck trying to pull up to our mailbox.  Okay, a few things happened in between.

It seems so fitting that my last 6 days in Ecuador will be unforgettable.  For one thing, walking could be excrutiating, thanks to my bout with seasickness on the way back from Isla Bartolome.  I had no idea that vomiting so much and so violently could strain a back muscle, but that’s exactly what I did.  Friends told me that I should just relax, but that was clearly out of the question – it was my final week in Cuenca.  I had goodbyes to say, loose ends to tie, things to see for the last time, etc etc.

I’m not one of those people who dread or avoid saying goodbye.  There were certain people in Cuenca that I wanted and needed to say goodbye to – to thank them for being a wonderful part of my Cuenca life.  When I went to say goodbye to my tomato woman, I found out that she had a some kidney problems, and wouldn’t be back to work for a month.  Her daughter told me if I gave her mom my phone number, she’d call me, and sure enough, she did.  This woman, who’d sold me pounds and pounds of tomatoes and other fresh produce, who never knew my name and never told me her name, called me so that we could say goodbye to each other.  When I went to say goodbye to Luis, he hugged me like a father would hug his daughter.  And even after that, he called me, just to say goodbye one last time.  When I went to say goodbye to Piedad, the sweet waitress at Akelarre, I could tell she meant it when she said, No te vayas!  I had to cut that goodbye a bit short because I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. And when I went to say goodbye to Amigo, he gave me one of the sweetest hugs, and said some really sincere and kind things.  I will never forget any of those goodbyes.

By midweek I felt very tired.  In part from my back pain, which could be fine one minute, but flare viciously the next, in part from having to say all my goodbyes, and in part from just making sure I hadn’t forgotten something important.

But finally, Sunday night came.  After saying goodbye to Pato, Brian walked with me down to the corner of Padre Aguirre and Calle Larga to hail a taxi.  We looked up to see globitos floating silently into the night sky.  What a perfect last thing to see in Cuenca.  Brian gave me a good send-off hug, and then the taxi whisked me away.

I had the most amazing travel karma on the way home. No long layovers, no delays, no lost baggage – absolutely everything went perfectly.  What a nice way to start my new life!

Back in the states, I was confronted with abnormally frigid temps, and a political onslaught brought on by the Iowa caucus.  It occurred to me that I’d never been in Iowa as a voting adult, and it was actually kind’ve fun to participate in something that I’d heard about my whole life.

I was shocked to learn that the Barnes and Nobles in Des Moines has an escalator, with no optional stairs.  And that neither Barnes and Nobles nor Borders sells the National Geographic in Spanish.

In the short time that I’ve been back, it’s been nice and comforting to spend relaxed time with my family.  In the last few years, every time I saw them there was always this underlying knowledge that my time with them would be brief, as I had so many people to see during my short visits home.  I’ve gotten to see my niece and nephew several times, already, and they’re really fun little guys.

I’m slowly being reminded of how much fun job-searching is.  In all seriousness, there are days.  Days when it’s discouraging, as I scour my favorite internet sites, only to find jobs that totally interest me, but for which I don’t totally qualify.  And on those days the silence of the phone can be unnerving and disheartening.  And then other days, like today, I find several positions that really excite me and raise my hope as I realize that my experience completely prepares me for the position.

Today was the first day since I’ve been home (nearly 3 wks) that I’ve really been able to go for a walk.  It’s either been way too cold, too gray and mush, too snowy, etc etc.  But today was a crisp blue day, temps in the high teens, just perfect for pulling on some wool and taking a stroll ’round the block.

1. Favorite everyday words: “Siga no mas,” “Buen provecho,” “Chuta!” and “Chendo!”
2. Fresh fruits and veggies all year round, just outside my front door
3. People cruising the streets with wheelbarrows vending fruit
4. The freshest juices, ice cream, yogurt, and fruit salads, made with delicious tropical fruits
5. Being strangle-mugged and all the bureaucratic fun that followed
6. Spring eternal: swollen rivers sing past graceful calla lilies and fragrant jacandará trees in bloom
7. Reserva Cuyabeno: Beautiful Blue, falling asleep to falling Amazon rain, and finally understanding why losing the gifts of the rainforest would be unforgivable
8. The vibrant flower market 2 blocks from my apt. where a dozen roses costs less than $2.50
9. Jewel-colored hummingbirds
10. Cuenca´s charming colonial style architecture with its wrought-iron balconies, cobblestone streets, and overall cleanliness – all of which maintains its centro´s UNESCO world-heritage status
11. Buena gente: Amigo (aka beer man), my fruit woman, my tomato woman, and my bread people
12. Coming home at night to find kids playing soccer on my street
13. Streets strewn with rose petals (evidence of a recent religious processional)
14. Fiery castillos ablaze under globito-studded night skies
15. Randomly walking around and always finding something happening
16. Like Indigenous dance festivals, which still mesmerize me completely
17. Watching breakdancing in the gazebo on Sunday afternoons
18. All things Otavaleño: their cultural integrity, their business acumen, their physical beauty, their distinct dress, their world famous market, their woolen goods, etc.
19. Brown eggs and boxes or bags (no jugs) of milk
20. El Cajas National Park

21. $1 meals complete with mote, soup, at least two forms of starches, meat, and juice
22. Tasty snacks that are fun to say: salchipapas, papipollos, quimbolitos, llapingachos, etc.
23. Pato
24. Aichaichai!!! Wondering how it can be so bone-chilling cold at the equator, and not being warm unless you´re ensconced inside with a piping hot mug of manzanilla tea
25. Looking out the bathroom window and seeing Cuenca´s signature blue domes gleaming during the day, and at night, the San Francisco church lit up
26. Rediscovering the peace and joy of Christmas in the Old Cathedral
27. An enviable nation-wide bus system
28. Bus music (loud and endless), movies (loud and violent), and vendors (loud and “Colon cleanser! Donkey extract!”)
29. Green golf ball-sized lemons that make cuba libres and homemade guacamole very happy
30. Akelarre: Iñigo, the friendly owner, Piedad (the sweet waitress), and indie movies every Mon.
31. Perusing the hippy market for earrings ($1 a pair) made from tagua (vegetable ivory), horsehair, seashells, fish scales, coconut shell, various rain forest seeds, and the bottoms of aluminum cans
32. Llamas y cuy
33. Avoiding guatita (cow stomach), amoebas, and tiburón-infested dives (esp. the Great White).
34. My favorite family-owned shoebox-sized tienda that sells that rare item known as sugar
35. My happy place: good friends, cards, and Mana’
36. Suffering for the first time in my life from sunburn, teargas, and thin air
37. The diminutive form of everything: fundita, chompita, besito, etc.
38. Sunday chancho and picnics at Parque Paraiso
39. The blue place (desayuno), yellow place (almuerzo), green place (merienda), and the lovely families who own them
40. Near sunset, the enticing sound of street meat sizzling from nearby corners

41. Parque Calderón
42. Not having to pay heating or cooling bills, or rising gas prices
43. Hand-washing and line-drying clothes in fresh mountain air
44. Soaking problems away in thermal waters near Cuenca, and then rediscovering fresh healthy skin after a few minutes in the eucalyptus steam room
45. The neighborhood rooster who goes off at all hours of the night. He would make a tasty seco de pollo
46. Cuenca´s migration officials
47. Seeing fireworks from my bedroom window any hour of the night (I once saw them at 1am), any night of the year
48. Why gyms in Cuenca don´t need StairMasters: Turi, El Barranco and El Escalinata
49. The shadow life in The Alley of Perdition and Lost Souls
50. Santos (where the owner was NOT a saint), and Percal (where the filet mignon comes strongly recommended, and all you need is $2. Maybe 3.)
51. What Ecuador lacks in pedestrian rights or child vehicular restraint laws, is overcompensated for in bus fumes and incessant, and seemingly purposeless, honking
52. Learning volumes of rich Cuenca history from my intercambio, Luis
53. Zhumir (“The Latin Spirit”), Pilsener (“Equatorianamente Refrescante”), and Clos (a fine name in box wine)
54. 10 de agosto, 3 de noviembre, 9 de octubre, 12 de abril, etc
55. Paying someone back a quarter because you know that they might actually need or want it
56. Learning that, paradoxically, a $1 bill can be 20 times more valuable than a $20 bill
57. The distinct and deafening sound of rain and hail pounding on corrugated tin roofs
58. Supermaxi – not just the size of feminine hygiene products, but an upscale grocery chain. If you can´t find a food item in Supermaxi (or its big brother, the Megamaxi), you won´t find it in Ecuador
59. Tanktop at noon, wool sweater by 6
60. Looking to the east (not west) for incoming weather, gazing at the Southern Cross from my terrace, and the sun rising and setting at nearly the same time every day, all year

61. Experiencing major events like Ecuador´s 2^nd appearance in the World Cup, Ecuadorian presidential elections (Dale Correa!), the eruption of Tungurahua, and Cuenca´s 450^th foundation anniversary
62. Jefferson Perez: Cuenca´s much-beloved son, the only Ecuadorian Olympic medalist (gold), and current world champion in speed walking
63. A faucet that sounds like Chewbaca, a dribbling electric shower that incites malas palabras, and war water
64. Breath-taking moments: Laguna Quilotoa, hiking in a cloud forest, trekking up Volcàn Cotopaxi, and biking from Baños to Puyo,
65. The Ecuadorian greeting
66. And the awkward confusion felt by “Ecuadorianized” North Americans encountering other North Americans in Ecuador – Should I kiss? Should I shake hands? What do I do?!?!?
67. Obsessions: The men and their hair gel, and the women and their three-sizes-too-snug jeans
68. The Ecuadorian belief that if there isn’t dancing that lasts til 4am, it’s not a party -it’s a meeting
69. My sweet niñas
70. 70 yr olds hunch over, carrying the weight of the earth on their backs, while 7 yr olds stain their fingers black shining shoes
71. The Andean windpipes, landscape, and cosmovision
72. 3am serenades, complete with brass instruments – God bless the soul who invented earplugs
73. ¡Oye! ¡Chinita bonita! ¡¿Sabes karate?!
74. The distinct rhythms that infuse every aspect of Latin America: bachata, vallenato, salsa, meringue, and cumbia,
75. Having students that ranged from my energetic 2-3 yr olds (BLUE!), to teenagers, to a very likable rheumatologist who brought me Coke Light to his tutorials
76. Tito, my best Ecuadorian friend, and all his antics (“Hasta nunca!!!!!!”)
77. Women scrubbing clothes clean in Rio Tomebamba and leaving them to dry on its banks
78. Las Cholas Cuencanas: their long schoolgirl pigtails, Panama hats, and brightly colored skirts79. Cuencanos´ unabashed, and often over-inflated, pride in their drinking water, lilting accent, and their self-perception of being so polite
80. Team QUE BESTIA!

81. Ecuadorian concepts of time, customer service, and sidewalk etiquette
82. My favorite neighborhood street dogs
83. Learning random words in Spanish like curfew (toque de queda), @ (arroba), and tremor (temblor) because I actually needed them
84. Babies bundled tightly to their mothers´ backs
85. Cuenca dressed to impress: Corpus Cristi, Las Fiestas de Cuenca, and El Pase del Niño
86. All my clothes fading about 5 shades lighter from when I first bought them
87. Walking past the San Francisco market everyday: Quechua murmured in the corners while taxistas relax playing Cuarenta
88. Everything tasting a little better with aji
89. Discovering that some things really don´t translate, and some things that do shouldn´t be because they just sound better in Spanish (like Marc Anthony)
90. Always more than enough rain, rice, and reggaeton
91. Exploring my spirituality in a temezcal (sweat lodge) ceremony
92. Swimming with penguins and iguanas, watching frigates be magnificent, and falling in love with boobies while they court on that island thing (aka The Galapagos)
93. And finally learning that sometimes you have to say goodbye before you can say hello

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