Today I went to the fancy cheese shop and asked for 3 dollars' worth of Pecorino Tartufo because I have no money. I carried my tiny wedge of cheese back to the car in the rain, wearing my polka dot skirt, and turned up the Cat Power on the stereo a little louder, because some things never change more than a little bit.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Buying Time
I am home safe and adjusting. I have so much to say, but I'm still catching up on sleep, pesto, being a social creature, and getting ready to go back to school. I have not worn a pair of pants since I got home. I feel a pang of guilt when I drink water from the tap, or throw toilet paper in the toilet. I catch myself before telling the cashiers that their prices are outrageous and offering them 3/4 of the cost. Sometimes I think of words in Spanish before I remember them in English. Sometimes I feel sad because I don't know what I'm doing here but I don't even want to go back.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Intag!
Yes!
Running on 26 hours of awake! Delerious! Peñeherrera, a nearby town, had its birthday party last night. I did not sleep.
I am in Apuela! Emailing! And buying green veggies! Chard garlic which is not green but also essential broccoli and onions which I am not lacking but I would feel guilty using so many onions of the families!
What am I doing?
Going back to the family to go watch the bullfight in Cuallaje and then make the family Chinese food for dinner while they are at church!!!!! With the sauces and straw mushrooms from my care pacakge!
The exclamation points are to keep me awake!
I have 13 host siblings. Only one of them, Katie, lives at home. She is the youngest and is 13. Also living in the house is Andrea, my host parents´daughter in law and her son Leo who is 1.5 years old. Andrea is 19, but since she´s a mom I feel like she is way older than I am. My host parents are nice but they treat me like I am ten years old. Recently they have started repeating themselves more. Lunch time! Ok! Lunch! Yes lets go! Yes lets go have lunch! I know the word for lunch, guys. They are very nice but since it´s the dry season there is nothing to do but occasionally harvest yucca or beans for a few minutes. And then there were the two days we spent the whole day harvesting coffee from coffee trees. They come in little cherries and you have to pull the branches toward you with a little hooked pole and it is really fun and really tedious at the same time. So I wander around awkwardly, read a lot but feel rude reading a lot, do yoga occasionally, and simply cannot convince myself to meditate even though I have nothing else to do.
They have a horse but so far I have not met her because she lives in the other pasture and they just keep neglecting to introduce us even though I have expressed all the interest possible just short of being rude and pushy.
I have running water! A shower! Even though it is cold water, it´s ok. The weather is a tad bit warmer than Tabacundo, although I am still living in the mountains. It is more lush landscape though. So beautiful.
My host mom cooks us food. She only makes us beige food. My little brother and my ex boyfriend would be in heaven, although the latter´s appreciation for red wine and chocolate are a little exotic and colorful for the cuisine here. A list of foods we eat- fried dough, bread, white rice, beans, chicken, chicken broth, yucca (which is like a really dense, chewy, yummy potatoe), potatoe, egg, noodles, onions, carrots (trace amounts), green peppers (trace amounts), plantain, coffee, milk, corn, sugar cane, various yellow and light orange fruits, and a cloying amount of sugar in all beverages, and salt in all savories. Occasionally we have tomatoes or purple cabbage and vinegar salads- about a quarter cup each.
For the first few days I was FREAKING out. Those of you who know me may be aware that I have some control and anxiety issues about my diet. I am fanatically opposed to simple carbohydrates, and fanatically dedicated to always getting enough protein with every meal. I try to eat primarily legumes and non-starchy vegetables. So the universe decided that it had had enough of my neuroticism, and now I eat only starchy vegetables with simple carbs and tons of sugar and hardly any protein. I have assuaged my fears by observing that Lucinda has raised 13 children, herself, and her husband on this diet, and they are healthy, non-obsese people. I can survive like this for 3 weeks. However, in Apuela I am now buying broccoli, chard, garlic, and onions so I can make sitr fry. My family will probably not like it but will also be too polite to tell me so, so I can make it again next weekend! Hooray!
I am doing just fine, but also ready to come home although I am sad that I will not be able to practice any more spanish when I get home. Ok, until next week. Over and out!
Running on 26 hours of awake! Delerious! Peñeherrera, a nearby town, had its birthday party last night. I did not sleep.
I am in Apuela! Emailing! And buying green veggies! Chard garlic which is not green but also essential broccoli and onions which I am not lacking but I would feel guilty using so many onions of the families!
What am I doing?
Going back to the family to go watch the bullfight in Cuallaje and then make the family Chinese food for dinner while they are at church!!!!! With the sauces and straw mushrooms from my care pacakge!
The exclamation points are to keep me awake!
I have 13 host siblings. Only one of them, Katie, lives at home. She is the youngest and is 13. Also living in the house is Andrea, my host parents´daughter in law and her son Leo who is 1.5 years old. Andrea is 19, but since she´s a mom I feel like she is way older than I am. My host parents are nice but they treat me like I am ten years old. Recently they have started repeating themselves more. Lunch time! Ok! Lunch! Yes lets go! Yes lets go have lunch! I know the word for lunch, guys. They are very nice but since it´s the dry season there is nothing to do but occasionally harvest yucca or beans for a few minutes. And then there were the two days we spent the whole day harvesting coffee from coffee trees. They come in little cherries and you have to pull the branches toward you with a little hooked pole and it is really fun and really tedious at the same time. So I wander around awkwardly, read a lot but feel rude reading a lot, do yoga occasionally, and simply cannot convince myself to meditate even though I have nothing else to do.
They have a horse but so far I have not met her because she lives in the other pasture and they just keep neglecting to introduce us even though I have expressed all the interest possible just short of being rude and pushy.
I have running water! A shower! Even though it is cold water, it´s ok. The weather is a tad bit warmer than Tabacundo, although I am still living in the mountains. It is more lush landscape though. So beautiful.
My host mom cooks us food. She only makes us beige food. My little brother and my ex boyfriend would be in heaven, although the latter´s appreciation for red wine and chocolate are a little exotic and colorful for the cuisine here. A list of foods we eat- fried dough, bread, white rice, beans, chicken, chicken broth, yucca (which is like a really dense, chewy, yummy potatoe), potatoe, egg, noodles, onions, carrots (trace amounts), green peppers (trace amounts), plantain, coffee, milk, corn, sugar cane, various yellow and light orange fruits, and a cloying amount of sugar in all beverages, and salt in all savories. Occasionally we have tomatoes or purple cabbage and vinegar salads- about a quarter cup each.
For the first few days I was FREAKING out. Those of you who know me may be aware that I have some control and anxiety issues about my diet. I am fanatically opposed to simple carbohydrates, and fanatically dedicated to always getting enough protein with every meal. I try to eat primarily legumes and non-starchy vegetables. So the universe decided that it had had enough of my neuroticism, and now I eat only starchy vegetables with simple carbs and tons of sugar and hardly any protein. I have assuaged my fears by observing that Lucinda has raised 13 children, herself, and her husband on this diet, and they are healthy, non-obsese people. I can survive like this for 3 weeks. However, in Apuela I am now buying broccoli, chard, garlic, and onions so I can make sitr fry. My family will probably not like it but will also be too polite to tell me so, so I can make it again next weekend! Hooray!
I am doing just fine, but also ready to come home although I am sad that I will not be able to practice any more spanish when I get home. Ok, until next week. Over and out!
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