last night i ended up catching betsy and we went out for beers and hookah. i also got to meet her novio and some of the other kids from her program. all great folks. insisted on goodness of schwarma, a rotating pillar of meat that they carve into huge sandwiches. think its from argentina. definitely on the list for dinner tonight...
today we got up early and rode the bus for 3 hours, hopped off and hiked 3 km up to mascarilla - the african ecuadorian village where betsy (known as pepsi to them) had her internship for the past three months. it was awesome, theyve got a great community development project going with mask-making that benefits a womens group. she taught english and the whole village was ecstatic to see her again.
we had lunch (an awesome lunch, probably the highlight of the year) with betsys host mom who is the coolest cranky old lady. she broke her foot a while ago and betsy carried her on her back to the bus station!
now were off for more beer and schwarma. first thing in the morning i leave for a week of training in organic farming before i stay with a family and do the real thing for 3 weeks. already my spanish is much improved and rather useful, i cant wait to see what can happen in 4 more weeks. thinking more and more about delaying return trip home for an excursion to machu pichu. booking is a bit difficult, but theres some ways to get there that arent as cool and even if that doesnt work out, other cool ruins in the area.
today we got up early and rode the bus for 3 hours, hopped off and hiked 3 km up to mascarilla - the african ecuadorian village where betsy (known as pepsi to them) had her internship for the past three months. it was awesome, theyve got a great community development project going with mask-making that benefits a womens group. she taught english and the whole village was ecstatic to see her again.
we had lunch (an awesome lunch, probably the highlight of the year) with betsys host mom who is the coolest cranky old lady. she broke her foot a while ago and betsy carried her on her back to the bus station!
now were off for more beer and schwarma. first thing in the morning i leave for a week of training in organic farming before i stay with a family and do the real thing for 3 weeks. already my spanish is much improved and rather useful, i cant wait to see what can happen in 4 more weeks. thinking more and more about delaying return trip home for an excursion to machu pichu. booking is a bit difficult, but theres some ways to get there that arent as cool and even if that doesnt work out, other cool ruins in the area.
while we were out getting schwarma there were a couple of travelers at the table across from us. its such a strange phenonmenon. they want to leave home, but at the same time want to seem like they are home where ever they are and shoot discriminating looks at anyone that could be a potential threat to the secrecy of their identities as travellers. theres still a lot of thinking to be done, but were certainly a group of misfits. ive been talking with a good friend about how it ruins your life in the sense that it poops on any plans for work in ones home land and makes one supremely lonely wherever one may go. even that loneliness though can become a comfort in time. certainly dovetails with question thats been bugging me of whether its better to live comfortably with folks like ones self or to go where one might be an agent of change. why americans feel like they should/can change things is a different discussion altogether. perhaps later. anyway, its bedtime for me.
love to all.
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