I´m trying to make friends here. So far the workers in a local sanduche place have graced me with their friendship! They make the best Ecua-style vegetarian sandwiches around. And for only $1!!! Alright, my Peace Corps budget can handle that. The bartenders at Black Coffee (yes, that´s really the name of the bar...) have taken a liking to Sarah and I. We never say no to free beers and tequila shots...even on the occasional Tuesday night. :) It´s these simple things that keep me going and make me feel comfortable in my new life here.
Wanna hear a scary bus story? No? Ah well...too bad!...
So yesterday on my way home from Bridget´s house I waited about 20 minutes for a bus (the 129) on this street corner...a few of them passed but didn´t stop because they were ¨full¨ of people. Aka: no room for the lonely gringa. Anyway, finally one stopped and I hopped on, having to stand in a cramped area near the front (Ecuadorians are very small/short...and they are accomodated very comfortably in the city buses here which are tinyyy...). So I´m not really paying attention because I have a large landmark to guide my journey (the Mall del Sur which is right by my house). I thought this large landmark would be sufficient to catch my attention....
However, we began to embark on an unfamiliar road, no mall in site. At every stop a handful of people got off. The bus was emptying slowly. It´s also on it´s way to night fall which sometimes makes me nervous in my new surroundings. The only things in my view were dilapidated houses, dirt roads, rocky sidewalks, people walking too quickly, with worried, heads down...where am I?? Then the bus stops. The last few people get off. The driver turns the engine off. I am worried. ¨Disculpe, señor...¨ Apparently we had passed the mall and I didn´t even notice. Chuta!!!! So I explained to him my dilemma and he kindly offered to drive me back to the mall. Duh, gringa. Ugh. He left the bus and I´m now officially afraid of every person walking by who gazes up at me. The lonely gringa in the empty bus. Out of her element. Another bus 129 pulls up and I switch over to that one making a point to ask the driver if he´ll pass by the mall. It´s now dark dark dark and I´m later than I thought. But...asi es la vida. I was never so happy to see that silly Mall del Sur and I hopped off the bus as fast as my legs could carry me. It´s amazing how comforting familiar settings are...seeing the ¨malabaristas¨ (fire jugglers) under the bridge twirling their balls of flames has never felt so much like home. Scurrying across the streets in front of dangerously insane bus drivers never felt so good. Hearing the gross cat calls of inappropriate men has never sounded so sweet!!!!!! Ha! Oh, Guayaquil...
BREAKING NEWS: Tal vez (that means ¨perhaps¨...sorry, Spanish words are just cooler sometimes!!) some of you have noticed that I have recently deactivated my facebook. This decision was based off of the following (to put it simply...): It has been rather difficult to find my balance between my life here and my life there, in the U.S. I know that may sound silly, but it really has proven to be a challenge for me. I want to establish myself and my comfort zone here but it´s hard when I´m always trying to communicate with those in my life back home...ahhh, confusion. It´s just already an emotional/mental stress and struggle at times to be here and living my relationships and friendships through facebook just proved to be too difficult as of right now. I may ¨reactivate¨ it at some point, but only when I´m more comfortable with it. I´m sure a load of Peace Corps Volunteers are struggling with these same technology-based issues...it´s not as easy as you´d think, for those of you at home. Technology is a blessing in some ways, but it´s also very burdensome and stressful in others. I know you all can somewhat relate or at least understand what I´m saying, so I´m gonna hop off this soapbox...
Anyway, I´ll try to do better with updating my blog since I promised all of you that I´d update it WAY MORE than I am updating it currently. :)
If any of you have questions, comments, suggestions, concerns, e-mail me at everlys1561@gmail.com!!! My blog and my gmail are the only two internet-based modes of communications. I´m seriously considering starting a photo page (Picasa? Flickr? Not sure...) in order to keep all of you updated (since I obvi won´t have fbook albums to update anymore...) However, I´ll keep you posted!
Also, if any of our mutual facebook friends are asking what happened to me, please ¨no sea malito¨ (LOL Sorry...dumb Spanish talk again) please send my blog link, e-mail address, and/or skype name (sarah.everly156) to them, will you?? And if you´d like to write me an old-fashioned snail-mail or send any packages (creamy peanut butter, Reese Cups and Peanut Butter M&M´s would be greatly appreciated.....) please e-mail me and I´ll forward you my address.
So yesterday on my way home from Bridget´s house I waited about 20 minutes for a bus (the 129) on this street corner...a few of them passed but didn´t stop because they were ¨full¨ of people. Aka: no room for the lonely gringa. Anyway, finally one stopped and I hopped on, having to stand in a cramped area near the front (Ecuadorians are very small/short...and they are accomodated very comfortably in the city buses here which are tinyyy...). So I´m not really paying attention because I have a large landmark to guide my journey (the Mall del Sur which is right by my house). I thought this large landmark would be sufficient to catch my attention....
However, we began to embark on an unfamiliar road, no mall in site. At every stop a handful of people got off. The bus was emptying slowly. It´s also on it´s way to night fall which sometimes makes me nervous in my new surroundings. The only things in my view were dilapidated houses, dirt roads, rocky sidewalks, people walking too quickly, with worried, heads down...where am I?? Then the bus stops. The last few people get off. The driver turns the engine off. I am worried. ¨Disculpe, señor...¨ Apparently we had passed the mall and I didn´t even notice. Chuta!!!! So I explained to him my dilemma and he kindly offered to drive me back to the mall. Duh, gringa. Ugh. He left the bus and I´m now officially afraid of every person walking by who gazes up at me. The lonely gringa in the empty bus. Out of her element. Another bus 129 pulls up and I switch over to that one making a point to ask the driver if he´ll pass by the mall. It´s now dark dark dark and I´m later than I thought. But...asi es la vida. I was never so happy to see that silly Mall del Sur and I hopped off the bus as fast as my legs could carry me. It´s amazing how comforting familiar settings are...seeing the ¨malabaristas¨ (fire jugglers) under the bridge twirling their balls of flames has never felt so much like home. Scurrying across the streets in front of dangerously insane bus drivers never felt so good. Hearing the gross cat calls of inappropriate men has never sounded so sweet!!!!!! Ha! Oh, Guayaquil...
BREAKING NEWS: Tal vez (that means ¨perhaps¨...sorry, Spanish words are just cooler sometimes!!) some of you have noticed that I have recently deactivated my facebook. This decision was based off of the following (to put it simply...): It has been rather difficult to find my balance between my life here and my life there, in the U.S. I know that may sound silly, but it really has proven to be a challenge for me. I want to establish myself and my comfort zone here but it´s hard when I´m always trying to communicate with those in my life back home...ahhh, confusion. It´s just already an emotional/mental stress and struggle at times to be here and living my relationships and friendships through facebook just proved to be too difficult as of right now. I may ¨reactivate¨ it at some point, but only when I´m more comfortable with it. I´m sure a load of Peace Corps Volunteers are struggling with these same technology-based issues...it´s not as easy as you´d think, for those of you at home. Technology is a blessing in some ways, but it´s also very burdensome and stressful in others. I know you all can somewhat relate or at least understand what I´m saying, so I´m gonna hop off this soapbox...
Anyway, I´ll try to do better with updating my blog since I promised all of you that I´d update it WAY MORE than I am updating it currently. :)
If any of you have questions, comments, suggestions, concerns, e-mail me at everlys1561@gmail.com!!! My blog and my gmail are the only two internet-based modes of communications. I´m seriously considering starting a photo page (Picasa? Flickr? Not sure...) in order to keep all of you updated (since I obvi won´t have fbook albums to update anymore...) However, I´ll keep you posted!
Also, if any of our mutual facebook friends are asking what happened to me, please ¨no sea malito¨ (LOL Sorry...dumb Spanish talk again) please send my blog link, e-mail address, and/or skype name (sarah.everly156) to them, will you?? And if you´d like to write me an old-fashioned snail-mail or send any packages (creamy peanut butter, Reese Cups and Peanut Butter M&M´s would be greatly appreciated.....) please e-mail me and I´ll forward you my address.
Thanks for reading my dumb blog. Please don´t worry about me, I´m ok. I´m gonna go save the world now.....
Paz, amor y Ecuador,
Sarita Altita
Adventure addict? me too. Rock on, Sarah. Stay relatively safe! lol --Jude
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