Surprises!

Well, this weekend was filled with wonderful surprises. It seems that walking in Cuenca wearing partly Indian cloths makes you popular among a lot of people. Mainly guys, but even children started to talk with me out of the blue. Just a smile made them come towards me and start a conversation. For the guys I did not have to do anything. While walking they just said hey and started to talk to me. Within two hours I had a wonderful conversation with three children and two different guys. I was asked to go dancing and although I would like to go out and just have some fun, I was told this wasn’t a good idea. Too bad, a missed opportunity, but as I am living with a women taking wonderful care of me I cannot just go and ignore what she tells me. On the upside, I did get a braid done in my hair with a small hair wrap, was able to practice my Spanish and had some delightful conversations. All for free. On top of all this, I am able to give you some advice on how to look for a date in Cuenca if you are in search of one. I love how things can happen totally unexpected. Before you know it you get to know somebody that was a stranger just a few minutes ago. Maybe that is what we all should do; just start talking to the person next to you on the bus, to the person that seems in need of a friend or simply someone you pass by daily. I strongly believe that a simple hello can make someone’s day better. Through this hello you recognise their presents and their existence. Maybe you get a story you never expected in return.

My second surprise of the day was due to two swallows flying by, although flying by is a wrong way of putting it. When I was walking along the water two swallows flew right into my leg. Fortunately they were not hurt and just continued their journey. It was very strange, but simply amazing. It is unbelievable how happy you can become because of an animal coming closer than you expect it to. It reminds me of when I was a child. The first pig I had, Rollebol, wasn’t a big fan of me the first days. During one week I went into the garden every day and just sat as close as possible to him. I was so happy when he finally started to get curious and came towards me. You get the same feeling when you suddenly see a wild animal appear while hiking. You stop moving, hold your breath for a few seconds and admire the animal in front of you. Silently you keep on hoping it did not see you and try to get closer. Maybe this is nature’s way of saying hello.

Well, up till here my unexpected and surprising stories. Maybe I should now continue with all the other things I did this weekend before you stop believing me. Again I went to a birthday party, but this time of the daughter of one of my colleagues. Again I was surprised how huge it was! The birthday girl was dressed as a princess, and all the other children looked their best. Games were played during which mothers and children had to form pairs. There was a girl without her mother so I just took her place and tried to join in as much as possible, which wasn’t always easy with my basic Spanish. I had to play a tree while she was the monkey, be a mother koala bear while she was my young, dress up and dance. It was so nice to finally see a smile appear on the girl’s face!

I also got the chance to explore Ecuador a bit further as I was invited to join a fellow student from the lab to Yunguilla Valley. It is only one hour drive from Cuenca, but once you are there it seems as if you have arrived in another part of the world. Cuenca has been cloudy, rainy and cold the past week, but Yunguilla Valley is completely the opposite. It is warm and dry and has blue skies. It was whimsical to finally feel fully warm again, especially after the great mistake of the day before. I washed all my clothes in the afternoon, but as a consequence of the terrible weather nothing had dried by the evening.  Therefor there was nothing else I could do than sleep in a top and wrap a scarf around me to stay warm. It kind of worked, although I did wake up a couple of times cold and being totally stuck having to fight my way out of the scarf. To come back to my stay at Yunguilla Valley, I tried so many fruits I had never heard of before. They were all delicious! Ecuador is very rich in fruits. Maybe I sound stupid now, but did you know they even have green mangoes that aren’t sweet and are consumed with salt? I was so surprised when I heard of this! Up till now I really love all the fruits I ate, expect one, the pepino dulce (“sweet cucumber”, Solanum muricatum).  Of course, when I found out it is family of the cucumber I was not surprised as I am neither a big fan of those. It is not that I don’t like them; I just would not consume them by choice.

On the way back it was amazing to see the landscape, the temperature and clouds change. It went from dry, warm and blue skies to white clouds, dark grey clouds and finally rain to welcome me back in Cuenca. So now I am back in cold Cuenca longing for the sun and some warmth. Luckily my clothes are dry this time and I can wear whatever I want to keep me warm at night. Sadly enough I did not bring cloves to put on while typing at my computer. It is so strange how this country contains such an abundance of flowers, landscapes, temperatures and cultures in such a small area. Oh how I wish I already had my licence for the motorcycle so I could go and discover this country!