Snippets of Daily Life (part 7)

"It's a brand new-world, I got a brand-new heart
And everyday I make a brand-new start"
 - All my Friends, by The Revivalists



One of the boys at Casa Gabriel likes to call me by my full name.
"Senorita ... " he begins, rolling through my complete name. Since Ecuadorians have four names, I in turn, do not say his complete name, because that is an awful lot of names for me to memorize. I simply say his first and one of his last. Everyone has two last names here; the boys have thought it strange that I, and the rest of my gringo-kind, only have one.
Even if we don't always understand the differences between cultures, I love the conversations we have about them. Questions and explanations and wonderings: how better to learn that there isn't simply one correct way for things, but many options and points of view to appreciate.




I bruised my chest while rock-climbing. All the way home I walked and wondered why it hurt to take a deep breath. It wasn't until changing clothes that I saw the angry red mark on my chest and realized what happened.
I had gone to meet two friends to do indoor rock climbing, free-style with no ropes or harnesses. As I arrived, one friend called and said she'd be late. Wanting to keep my phone on me in case she called again, and also to check the time, I slid it into my sports bra. I left it there as the three of us climbed, arms straining to pull ourselves up, feet feeling around for a solid next step. Apparently, I must have hugged the wall a few too many times while climbing, the pressure of my phone causing the large bruise. A lesson learned for next time.




There's a party in Pomasqui. It's the nearest town over from where I'm currently staying, which is a hotel beside the Equator line. I'm here for a 2.5-day conference. From outside my window, the sounds of drums and chanting is clearly audible, punctuated by the occasional round of fireworks. I wonder what in the world could be happening. Some festival or ceremony? Practice for a parade? (yet as to how the fireworks fit in, I'm at a loss). The strangest part? It's not a weekend. It's Tuesday.
To the team from the US who came to present this conference: welcome to Ecuador!