Monday 10/7
Today... my last day in Colombia. At this rate, I'll be home from Europe in the blink of an eye. Time goes so fast. I've loved Colombia! Too much traffic and pollution in Bogota, but so much diversity and awesome people and cool sites, good schools, handsome men, new fruit, everything exciting. I have loved it.
Tuesday 10/8
I'm so so tired... I left Bogota at 1:00PM and got to Quito, Ecuador, at 7:30PM. Cynthia's uncle picked me up from the airport and we stopped at the mall to get some food. I devoured a Subway sandwich--all I had eaten all day was a croissant.
Leaving Colombia, I got questioned, searched, and X-rayed for involvement with drugs. They told me flat out, 'We're investigating you for involvement with drug trafficking.' By far the most stressful moment of my airport experience was when they took away my passport and airline ticket to 'investigate' me... I was so scared that I wouldn't get them back! I've never had to give up my passport before. So discomforting.
Later, in Ecuador, someone told me that drug traffickers choose women who wouldn't look like they'd be involved with drugs to transport drugs from Colombia to Ecuador... so I guess I was suspiciously un-suspicious looking, which made them suspicious?
I'm staying in Quito tonight, and tomorrow to Ibarra! I love it here already... no traffic, no pollution, I can understand their accent clear as day! And their money is the US DOLLAR! Horray! So easy! I'm super stoked to be here... one full month! 6 weeks, actually. As we were driving here, I felt like this is exactly where I should be right now. Such a comforting feeling!!! This feels right.
Wednesday 10/9
I have no idea what time it is... I left Quito at 5:30PM and got here (to Ibarra) around 8:30PM I think. Maybe it's 10:00PM now, I don't know.
Bogota and Quito took zero getting-used-to time... but Ibarra was a shock. I definitely felt a jolt of culture shock when I arrived! I didn't expect it, either, because I thought that culture shock was a one-time thing, and I already experienced it in Chile. But no. Big, big shock arriving here tonight (probably because I arrived in pitch black, all alone, and was greeted by a gigantic spider in my bed...).
And I miss Oscar, my tour guide, friend, and constant companion of the past 2 weeks straight. I am completely and utterly alone in Ibarra--and I feel completely disconnected from the world, in this moment.
Thursday 10/10
I have absolutely no idea what time it is... ever. I need a watch! Or a clock! I clearly have no sense of time, and I'm concentrating on so many other things (Spanish, not getting lost, meeting people, eating food, etc) that I can't tell how much time passes at any given segment.
Compared with 24 hours ago, I feel a million times better... that spider really gave me a bad welcome. I'm still sleeping in the kitchen. (Surprisingly, I slept well last night!)
Today I walked around town, spent probably hours grocery shopping (I had to read every label and everything was new to me), uploaded a video and a blog post, and talked to Oscar on Skype.
I dreamt last night that I went on another mission speaking either French or Italian or something... :)
Friday 10/11
Today was a holiday and everything was closed... it was not the best day to be by yourself in a new, small town. I need to get involved in something...
Saturday 10/12
I would have guessed that it's 9:00PM, but I just found the time on my digital camera, and I set it to the clock in my neighbor's apartment. It's 7:30PM. So, last night it's possible that I went to bed at like 7:30, because it felt like this hour, haha. Now that I have this camera-clock, I shouldn't be so lost.
How many hours did I spend at the Internet cafe today? 5 1/2. Five and one-half hours!!! The Internet is sooo slow to upload videos. I'm going to have to change my focus from youtube to this blog, and I'll try to upload shorter, non-edited videos. The Internet places charge $0.60 - $0.70 per hour... and I feel so much pressure while I'm there, haha! I feel rushed because it costs money, even though it's only $0.01 per minute. I wonder if I always had to pay money for every minute of my life, how much differently would I use my time. If sleeping cost $1 per hour? If showering cost $0.10 per minute? If driving in my car cost $0.25 per minute? Makes me think. I would definitely use the Internet less in the States.
Sunday 10/13
At church today, an older man came up to me and shook my hand:
HIM: How long have you been a member of the Church?
me: My whole life! I was born in the Church.
HIM: Then why haven't I seen you before?
me: I just got here on Wednesday.
HIM: You're not from here?
me: No, I'm from the US.
HIM: Have you been here for a long time?
me: No... in Ecuador a few days, in Colombia for 2 weeks, and before that in the US.
HIM: But you speak Spanish like someone who doesn't know how to speak English... do you still know English, or has it been a long time since you've spoken it?
Haha! My favorite conversation ever.
Later, Miguel (a 30-year-old member who I hung out with all day) told me I sound and look Brazilian, and that he thought I was Brazilian when he first saw me. I love when people think I'm from South America!
Also, this week and in Colombia at church, the little kids (ages 1-3) come up to me to touch, rub, or poke my legs -- since I wear a skirt and my legs are bare, they toddle over, staring, mouths open, fascinated by my super white legs, haha. One little boy in Colombia (probably almost 2 years old) walked by 2 or 3 times before he mustered up the courage to poke my leg with his finger, and then he ran away as fast as he could. Another little boy (probably about age 3) came over while I was standing near the door, and wrapped his arms around my legs and ran both hands up and down both of my legs, haha...
The older kids (up to ages 6-7) just stare at me from a distance... a couple of the little girls have been scared of me, and the boys just look at me with furrowed brows, waiting for me to do something, I think. One little girl asked her sister to trade her places when I sat by her in church, and she would steal glances every now and then, from her safety zone.
I love watching the little kids watch me at church and on the street--one little 5-year-old girl in a taxi looked at me like I was the strangest thing she had ever seen in her life! She poked her head out of the window and watched me for as long as she could, her brow furrowed like she just didn't know what to think. Sometimes I feel like I'm on display.
