So in case you didn't realize, I have authorized and registered my visa and everything is all set! I have completed the obstacle course of visa registration. Woohoo! Glad that's done.
Every day is a good day, with yesterday being no exception. I did some prep work for my visa with a couple of other teachers. That basically involved going to a notary and waiting a bit for an old man to stamp my papers and sign them, then paying $2. After that, we headed to Movimiento Migratorio for another fancy stamp and signature. We then headed back to our school to hand in our authorized documents only to discover that one of the teachers had the wrong visa! She was issued a tourist visa instead of a cultural exchange visa! I wanted to cry for her. She now has to go to Guayaquil to correct this. I sincerely hope that she gets everything straightened out. She's fabulous, so I know she'll be okay, but it's just another thing to worry about that I know she doesn't need right now.
On a positive note, we got some lunch at a vegetarian-friendly spot serving Indian-style food, which was right up my alley. And at $2.75 for the menu del dia, it was a far cry from the lunches in Barcelona. This I could actually do and not weep for my wallet! Even $2.75 is a bit much, as the typical almuerzos go for about $1.25-$1.50. But this was fine, very good and tasty...juice, soup, veggies, rice. Mmmm. We all got to talking, and I mostly listened. Just listened to the other 3 teachers talk about their experiences...with travel, with relationships, with life.
I felt so.....................young.
I realized that we had 4 different decades at the table...50s, (almost) 40, 30s, and me, the young 22-year-old. The baby. The one with so much to learn/discover/experience/etc. And while I genuinely enjoy hanging out with people older than me, sometimes another teacher will pinch me on the cheek, and it's just...really? Could I be aging myself too quickly? Good thing I have 20-somethings back at my homestay!
Anyway, later on, I accompanied my friends as they bee-lined to their newest obsession in Cuenca: Tutto Freddo, an ice-cream joint. Which must have extremely good ice cream, because one the teachers has been there 5 times this week. Hey, I don't judge, but I'm much too cold for ice cream! We got the frosty treats and sat in the Plaza Calderon for a bit, which happened to be hosting a little dance recital from the Juventud de Azuay (Youth of Azuay.) It was wonderful! The young dancers wore beautiful traditional clothing...the girls in colorful skirts, ribbons in their braids, vibrant shawls, and crisp white blouses. The boys were in brown trousers and wool sweaters and jackets. And they danced barefoot. I watched in awe as they hopped, skipped, and twirled across the stage in harmony to the cheery Cuencana music. I wanteed to jump up there and dance with them! It was such a goregous thing to watch, and somewhat surreal...another one of those moments where I needed to take a breath, sit back, and realize that I'm in a foreign country, watching this new sight and taking it all in. The colors, the noise, the people, the energy...
So beautiful.
The day continued to be enjoyable, with an afternoon bike ride down by the river. Still getting acclimated to the altitude and those hills! Ugh, I'll have thighs of steel after this trip! Heh heh heh...
I arrived home to be greeted by one of my housemates, and fellow teacher. She's my age, so it's nice to have someone close by that's on a similar age-wavelength. I'm glad that most of the people living in my homestay are in their 20s; sometimes I need that youthful
naïveté we all have about life. I'm really glad that I'm choosing to do this (teaching abroad) while I'm so young. Fresh out of college, just got certified, I have so many hardships and challenges coming, yes, but also so many lessons. Funny, I'll be a teacher here, but I'll be learning as well. We're all always learning. If you're not learning, you're not living. No matter their age, everyone is discovering new things. About themselves, about others, about the world. This crazy world we live in. In this crazy universe. And I love it. Look where it's taken me so far.
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