Spending your time in Cuenca before you delve into teaching for the first time is...wonderful. This charming city has a lot to offer, and I just don't have enough time (or energy) to do it all! Luckily, I have 9 months!
Recently, I've been taking bike rides around town. Dangerous? Yes. But down by the rivers there are nice bike paths that allow for safety and enjoyment. It's during these bike rides that I notice how polluted the air is. Maybe it's just me, but the buses excrete so much exhaust, the air behind them is black for a good thirty seconds before you can see through it. I'm totally used to city smells, so it's nothing new to me. It is markedly different from Barcelona though. Even though some of my friends over there said the air in Barcelona seemed really dirty, I didn't notice it; it seemed rather clean to me! Here, I notice it, but it's one of those things that comes with a busy city. If I want my city life, I must pollute my lungs. Combine that with the altitude, and I feel like a sedentary couch potato on my bike. Ten minutes in and I already feel as if I've been overexerting myself. It really is going to take some time to get used to this air (or lack thereof!)
Besides bike riding, I've been trotting around with some fellow teachers, and now friends. We celebrated someone's birthday last night. Just a quiet night in with a movie, some wine (I'll pass!) and an attempt at baking. The end product resembled a giant oreo more than a cake. Hahaha!
It's nice to go visit everyone else's homes now that we're all starting to settle into accommodations. I personally love where I'm staying. I have my own bedroom, and share everything else, which is just fine with me. If I need my alone time, it's there. If I want to socialize, there's almost always someone hanging around.
Just to backtrack a bit, my Friday was pretty sweet. A friend and I attend "First Fridays Art," which featured a local artists' work. This month's artist was a local who used oils, and most of his works on display retold Cuencana life. A little surreal, which I liked. Thick applications of paint and vibrant colors. I particularly liked his nature scenes and fish, which my friend commented would look right at home in a cafe in California. I could see that.
On the way home, we found another vegetarian-friendly joint, which we both found very exciting, being wannabe-veggie-foodies (if such a thing exists.) Even though my dining out will be limited, it's exciting to discover these potential lunch spots.
This morning, I chatted with some teachers at the CoffeeTree, which was less gringo than I thought it'd be. It's a typical place for foreigners (North Americans) to hang out, and there was a television screen showing American football, but one showing soccer as well (by the way, Colombia defeated Ecuador on Friday night, 1-0.) Even with the North American atmosphere, the waiters still spoke Spanish to us, and we sat ourselves at a table on the sidewalk, among the old buildings and rocky streets. It was a nice way to start the day.
Now, I'm off to the Museum of Modern Art (!) with a friend. I'm very excited, especially since I've been wanting to go deeper into my own art. It's tough because I'm limited to a number 2 pencil and a sketchpad right now. Couldn't bring all of my supplies with me, and can't afford any right now. But even so, I can do some sketches for future works! I'm feeling very Kandinsky right now, just letting my positive energy, enthusiasm, and gratitude come out and express itself. I'm getting tired of drawing representational objects that already exist...I'm asking myself why I'm doing that, and I can't find a reason. Because that's what people want? But it's not what I want right now, which means I need to redirect my art. I'm feeling colorful, I'm feeling free, I'm feeling that I just want myself to explode on a sheet of paper or canvas or whatever.
Sounds like a plan.
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