This has been a very interesting past week. The volcano Tungurahua, dubbed "Mama Tungurahua" next to Baños decided to wake up last Friday from her slumber and has been spitting lava and shaking houses every day and night since. There is the impending threat of needing to evacuate, but the families here are very reluctant to do so because in 2006 when there was a forced evacuation, the military looted their houses and they were not let back into town for 3 months. This is one of the many examples I have seen, which remind me that I´m in a 3rd world country. Another example is that the army here gets quite drunk in the bars at night. I cross my fingers that the volcano doesn´t force evacuation at night, because the military would be more harmful then than they usually are. I realize how much I´ve taken order and authority for granted in the States. No one here has slept well since last Thursday (one week) and everyone is on edge and jumps at every loud cannon-like sound from the volcano (it´s impossible not to). School has been closed for the kids and tourism (their main lively-hood here) has come to an abrupt halt, as visitors have not been allowed into town since last Friday and most who were here have left. Compared to my first week here, it´s a ghost town and quite scary. I´m reluctant to leave because I´ve committed to volunteering at La Bib (a foundation that serves as a library for kids and afterschool sancutuary). There are a few other volunteers there and we´ve decided to stay until the families evacuate.
The kids are so incredibly adorable and it´s been a lot of fun playing with them Monday through Friday. I´m amazed at how independent they are at such young age. They are certainly not babied and as soon as they can walk, they know to look both ways before crossing the street. It´s very common to see older siblings taking care of the younger ones, like a 5 year old holding a baby...quite different from home. I have yet to see siblings fight and actually have yet to see any children fight. They all play so nicely together and take such good care of their second-hand, ratty toys.
The homestay has been a great experience as well although sometimes exhausting because they don´t speak any English. There are days at a time that go by where I won´t hear or speak a word of English. I´ve been learning conversational Spanish out of necessity and this is perhaps the best way to learn (at least the fastest). At times I feel like my brain is going to explode, although this is usually only after 3 or so days of only Spanish talk. The other night I watched a pirated version of Iron Man 2 dubbed in Spanish with German subtitles. It´s times like these that I really miss the luxuries of home, like understanding what I´m watching on TV. I´ve perfected the art of the 3 minute shower, haven´t worn makeup since April, and wear the same pants/shirt on average 3 times in a row before changing. If that doesn´t make me a hippie, I don´t know what would! While I´m able to do it, I have to say I really miss long warm showers, real towels and my hairdryer. The level of cleanliness here is much lower than I´ve ever experienced. It´s really amazing to see how other people live and quite an experience to live that way for a while too. After being sick for the entire first week here, I´ve decided that while it may be rude, I´m more selective with what I choose to eat. Milk products of all types are not refrigerated, neither are eggs. Apparently if the food is fresh enough it doesn´t need to be refrigerated, but my body seems to think otherwise. Given that I grew up in the most sterile household of anyone I know, it stands to reason that I´m struggling a bit in Ecuador. Along with food storage being laxed, washing hands seems to also be an optional decision, not employed by many here.
So far, my trip has been entirely different than I imagined. It´s good I didn´t know what I was getting into before I came, because I don´t think I would have come, although I´m glad to be here. Traveling in this way has opened my eyes to the real world and to who I am. Speaking in only Spanish with those I live with has given me the opportunity and time for a lot of self-discovery. Since I am only able to voice basic sentances out loud in Spanish, the intricate conversations are now only in my head. It´s very hard to describe, but I assume others who have been in this situation know what I mean.
So far I´ve had about 5 "WTF was I thinking, get me out of here moments", which I think is pretty good since I´ve been traveling for 40-something days so far. All of them have occurred when there was pretty legitimate reason to be frightened. Unsecure hostel rooms in places without police, earthquake, volcano eruption and of course encounters with creepy-crawlers (including crabs, mice, large spiders, flying massive beetles and cockroaches). Despite these moments, I´m really enjoying being here and know I made the right decision in coming. I´m looking forward to the volcano stabalizing or even evacuation because limbo is really unsettling.
Hope all is well with everyone at home and keep those emails coming, I love the updates and miss you all!
