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| Truck-load of...people. I love Manabí. |
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| Nothing new...can't wait to live here! |
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| A whale of a tail! |
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| Hello, whales! |
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| Spent the afternoon in Cotopaxi National Park. |
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| Volcanic flowers and mosses. |
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| Patricio and I. |
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Photos from August, September, and October 2013
Monday, July 1, 2013
A mini-update and a poem
How is it July already? (P.S. Happy birthday, Mom! Love you!)
Haven´t much to say other than that I´m happy and doing well. Finding that life is kind of like an endurance run with hurdles...at least you can rest for a few meters at a time before the next one. And if you trip, well, you learned something (jump higher! find a better trainer!) and you´ll get a scab and a story. I think I owe my Dad a bit of thanks for the analogy nonsense. Also, English feels like my second language (and it technically is as far as how much I use it here)...
So, a couple of months ago I wrote a poem. To preface it, let me ask you a question:
Have you ever wanted it to rain because an afternoon was so beautiful and sunny and you felt like you couldn´t appreciate it fully? (...or perhaps I´m a hyper-sensitive person and you think my question is nuts...anyway, read on if you care to.)
The original was in Spanish, and then I translated it to English:
rolling thunder
and fierce winds
but i forget that rain
makes things grow.
Haven´t much to say other than that I´m happy and doing well. Finding that life is kind of like an endurance run with hurdles...at least you can rest for a few meters at a time before the next one. And if you trip, well, you learned something (jump higher! find a better trainer!) and you´ll get a scab and a story. I think I owe my Dad a bit of thanks for the analogy nonsense. Also, English feels like my second language (and it technically is as far as how much I use it here)...
So, a couple of months ago I wrote a poem. To preface it, let me ask you a question:
Have you ever wanted it to rain because an afternoon was so beautiful and sunny and you felt like you couldn´t appreciate it fully? (...or perhaps I´m a hyper-sensitive person and you think my question is nuts...anyway, read on if you care to.)
The original was in Spanish, and then I translated it to English:
on a sunny afternoon
i long for rain.
a storm with dark cloudsi long for rain.
rolling thunder
and fierce winds
on a sunny afternoon
i long for rain.
i long for rain.
that will turn off the sun
the flame that burns me
with its beauty and heat
the flame that burns me
with its beauty and heat
it calls me to desire more
on a sunny afternoon
i long for rain
i long for rain
to rinse me clean
with its drops
falling like tears
with its drops
falling like tears
on a sunny afternoon
i long for rain
i long for rain
that makes me shut the window
shut the door
shut myself
quench the desire to leave
if it´s raining, i just can´t.
if it´s raining, i just can´t.
i won´t find the answer out there
in the street
in the street
in the mountain
in the fields.
in the fields.
but i forget that rain
makes things grow.
the brilliant green of the grass after the rains
calls me anew
calls me anew
the beauty calls me
the flowers, the birdsongs
call me, claim me.
the flowers, the birdsongs
call me, claim me.
the flowers open,
the birds open their mouths.
i open myself, i grow, i see.
the birds open their mouths.
i open myself, i grow, i see.
on a sunny afternoon
i long for You
satisfy me
el original:
en una tarde soleada
satisfy me
el original:
en una tarde soleada
anhelo la lluvia
una lluvia de nubes grises
de truenos
y vientos feroces.
en una tarde soleada
anhelo la lluvia
que se apague el sol
la llama que me quema
con su belleza y calor
quien me llama a anhelar
más que él.
en una tarde soleada
anhelo la lluvia
que me enjuague
con sus gotas
cayéndose como lágrimas.
en una tarde soleada
anhelo la lluvia
que me hace cerrar la ventana
cerrar la puerta
cerrarme
apagar el deseo de salir
si está lloviendo, no puedo--
no voy a encontrar la respuesta afuera
en la calle
en la montaña
en el campo.
pero olvido que la lluvia
hace las cosas crecer.
el verde brillante del césped
después de la lluvia
me llama de nuevo.
la belleza me llama
las flores, el canto de los pájaros
me llaman, me reclaman.
las flores se abren
los pájaros abren sus bocas.
me abro, crezco, veo.
en una tarde soleada
Te anhelo
satisfáceme.Saturday, June 1, 2013
It´s June!
I just happened to find time to post something super-quick...and realized it was June 1. First of all, I can´t believe it´s already June. It´s confusing when the weather in Quito is perpetual fall...I keep thinking it´s October or something. Especially now that I´ve moved farther north, the weather is actually cooler. Perhaps I´m at a higher altitude? I think. And also, I had hopes of blogging once a month so it´s pure luck that I ran across the street to use the internet. I use the computer at this little store that sells everything, and to the store owner, everyone is named ´neighbor.´
Let´s see, what´s there to report? I´m happy, healthy, and thinking of a visit to the States in August or December. I´m not really sure when is best.
I moved about three weeks ago and am happy in this new area. There are 0 foreigners, I´m a bit closer to other friends, and my roommate is a friend of mine who recently moved to Quito from the coast. Our apartment is the lower level of a house, it´s spacious and aside from being a bit chilly, I have no complaints.
And, that´s all for now.
Here are some photos of the last month:
May 2013
Also, June 1 was another date I had in mind, once upon a time, of leaving Quito. Ha!
Let´s see, what´s there to report? I´m happy, healthy, and thinking of a visit to the States in August or December. I´m not really sure when is best.
I moved about three weeks ago and am happy in this new area. There are 0 foreigners, I´m a bit closer to other friends, and my roommate is a friend of mine who recently moved to Quito from the coast. Our apartment is the lower level of a house, it´s spacious and aside from being a bit chilly, I have no complaints.
And, that´s all for now.
Here are some photos of the last month:
May 2013
Also, June 1 was another date I had in mind, once upon a time, of leaving Quito. Ha!
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Everything changes
I think once-a-month blogposts are about as frequent as I'm going to get now. And this one is just a quick update. Today I am moving to a new apartment! (And in case anyone is wondering if/when I'll be back: my lease is for six months...so I'll be here for that long, at least. At this point, I don't have particular plans to return to the States...aside from a Christmas visit.) I woke up this morning, early as usual, and decided to take in the sunrise one last time from my terrace. And what did I find? A double-rainbow! What a gift!
In honor of all my recent changes--which have been wonderful--in the soundtrack of my life Mercedes Sosa's "Todo Cambia" (Everything Changes) has been on repeat. It's a beautiful observation of life with its endless changes and the one, true constant: love.
I'm listening to this and packing up (and not in order to return to the States...)--it really brings out the nostalgia. But, friends and family, I'll let Mercedes express these thoughts for me...
Below you'll find my translation.
Todo Cambia <--click to hear the song!
The superficial changes
As well as the deep
Our way of thinking changes
Everything changes in this world
The climate changes as the years pass
The shepherd changes his flock
And since everything changes
That I change isn't strange
The finest brilliance changes
Its brightness from hand to hand
The bird changes its nest
A lover changes his feelings
A wanderer changes his path
Though it does him harm
And since everything changes
That I change isn’t strange
Everything changes
The sun changes its route
When the night has fallen
Plants change their shade
Of green in the spring
The fur of the wild beast changes
And the color of an old man’s hair
And since everything changes
That I change isn’t strange
But my love doesn’t change
No matter how far away you find me
Nor the memory nor pain, of my home and my
people
What changed yesterday must change tomorrow
And so I change
In this far distant land
Everything changes
But my love doesn’t change
No matter how far away you find me
Nor the memory nor pain of my home and my
people
What changed yesterday must change tomorrow
And so I change
In this far distant land
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