It ain't me, babe.

No, no, no. It ain't me you're lookin' for. (Another title inspired by Johnny Cash.)

But seriously, leave me alone.

The desperate attempts to gain women's attention have me pitying some of these guys more than anything...and I am increasingly thankful for the many awesome men I've gotten to befriend in the last several weeks.

So, instead of a tirade, I will share the funniest lines I've heard as of yet!

"I need someone to espeak English with me. You could be my friend, no?"--a student.

The ever-popular, super-cool, whistle and/or comment then "Where are you from? Do you speak Spanish? etc" --creepers everywhere.

I jokingly told a female student how I was looking for a boyfriend with a motorcycle in order to avoid the heinous traffic here. Then I heard another student pipe up "What about a boyfriend with a car?" --a 50-something business man, who had just told us about his car. (I merely congratulated him on his good fortune of owning a car and proceeded to change the subject.)

And the winner: I was at a restaurant with my friends and others, including a guy I just met. They were drinking beer, he offered me some, so I declined and explained my gluten intolerance. He proceeded to offer me a variety of refreshments, "soda? Coca Cola? algo?" I said 'no thanks.' And, last but not least, he offered "Un chico?" (a.k.a. "a guy?"). Smooth, very smooth. I laughed and said I'd let him know. He certainly won points for creativity and general friendliness.

This is absolutely typical: no need to be alarmed.

In other, more tasty news, I am branching out in my cooking experiences and have really enjoyed getting to cook for friends here over the last month. My most recent creation was a Thai meal at a friend's house. My third ever--and rather successful, if I do say so myself--attempt at peanut sauce was well received, though my Venezuelan, Colombian, and Ecuadorian friends were perhaps a bit skeptical at first. (Apparently, the typical indigenous dish of guinea pig (cuy) is often served with a sort of peanut sauce! I have yet to try it, though I'm looking for an opportunity to do so.)

 

Cooking with friends for friends is so much fun! Click here for September's photo album

Some teaching news: in my most recent class, the students did a writing exercise about professions and what it takes to be a good teacher, homemaker, lawyer, etc. Several students chose 'teacher' and volunteered to read their statements aloud. They said teachers should be patient, kind, intelligent, friends of their students, explain things well etc. Then they all started pointing to me and said, "that is you!" Well, of course I blushed, and of course they said "you're red!" (Darn Latinos and their non-blushing skin.) It was indeed a sweet and embarrassing moment. I really love teaching sometimes. At the end of class, a student told me to keep the marker he lent me, because I was a good teacher. I guess it's the updated equivalent to giving one's teacher an apple? I'll accept that.

Another highlight of late has been meeting people from the Communion and Liberation (CL) group here in Quito. Among those I've met are an American and a handful of Ecuadorians from various cities around the country. I won't be able to attend meetings until the next cycle of teaching, as my hours run too late, but I just spoke with our oh-so-accommodating director today, and am quite hopeful that I'll be able to participate in October.

I've spent time conversing with them and I adore the Spanish language all the more when it's used to communicate the deep truths and beauty I've come to know and love. Faith is reasonable! No bit of our daily life is banal or unimportant! What a joy it is to infuse the language I love with the truths I'm longing to express! It's such motivation to increase my vocabulary and allow myself to wield a foreign tongue with dexterity, to enjoy soul-sharing truth, beauty, and goodness. I'm glad to continue my liberating education--thanks, Hillsdale. The freedom to pursue the good is a wonderful thing.

I am reminded of El Libro de Buen Amor which I halfheartedly read my sophomore year of college (oh, to take that class over again! Between God and Man--medieval literature from Spain...at the time, I was overwhelmed by the saints.) From the introduction:

 "Y cuando el alma, con buen entendimiento y buena voluntad escoge y ama el buen amor, que es el de Dios, con buena "remembranza lo pone en la guarda de la memoria para recordarlo y obliga al cuerpo a hacer buenas obras por las cuales se salva el hombre. Sobre esto dice San Juan Apóstol en el Apocalipsis, hablando de los buenos que mueren obrando bien: Beati mortui qui in Domino moriuntur: opera enim illorum sequuntur illps (8)."

To paraphrase: "when the soul, with sound understanding and will chooses and loves the good love, which is of God, that profitable habit encourages and obliges the body to do good, thus contributing to our salvation. As St. John said in the fourteenth chapter of Revelation, verse 13: "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them."'

Everyday is an opportunity to discover truth, be challenged, eat delicious food, laugh with friends, learn new jokes, delight in the sunshine and perfect the virtues, thus enjoying life more completely.

A very rough paraphrase of a couplet near the end of the poem ("know" has the connotation to explore, discover, differentiate between):

Que probemos las cosas no siempre es lo peor;

el bien y el mal sabed y escoged lo mejor.

That we try many things isn't always the worst;
Know good and evil and choose the best.

So, I will start trying out other beaches, cuy, new clubs, exciting adventures of all sorts, Spanish Rosaries, motorcycles (maybe!), hot springs, more volcanoes and hiking, etcetera, etcetera...