La Vida de Los Suenos

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Mis Sueños

For some reason or another, I don’t have dreams. Maybe I just never remember them, maybe in the past I haven’t had room in my brain for dreams, or maybe I just don’t have them. I guess it doesn’t really matter why.

But lately I’ve been seeing my life as if it were a dream. Everything seems nostalgic, and sometimes I even stop and picture what is in front of me as if it were in a sepia toned photograph in a slideshow at my funeral. As weird as that may sound, my inexperienced dream interpretation skills are telling me that maybe this dreamlike significance is simply signaling the significance of my daily life right now.

Though I am absolutely happy in this daily life, it sort of seems like I am going backwards on my previously perceived “scale of significance”, even though I’m simply seeing a few things come full circle, which note: is not the same as backwards.

Maybe you can call it prioritizing, maybe you can call it a reality check, or maybe its just slacking… but I’m realizing that the things I truly care about now, are different than before.

This change, as I slowly recognize its existence, feels so real that I don’t even have the desire to fully explain it. Its here, its happened, and words won’t do it justice. So, bear with me, and trust me.

There are many quotes similar to “live each day to its fullest”. I used to think that packing my days absolutely full was the equivalent of “fullest”. But living here, having time to fully share myself with my friends and family here has, once again, altered the metrics of this scale.

Several times a day, I stop and absorb my ambiente, and I see it as if it were a dream, as if I’m watching a movie, the kind that makes you smile without knowing it.

I guess you could say that I’m living my dreams.

This was actually written a week ago, but I've been in the cloud forest (sin internet) for class!!!

Que bueno a estar en el Ecuador otra vez! After a nice 6-week break backpacking through Peru (and also backpacking down I-5 from Seattle to LA) I arrived back in my “second city”, my new home, Quito. It hasn’t even been 2 weeks since I’ve been back, but I have packed so much in already! From taking the new group of CIMAS students out to La Mariscal the first night (!!!) to taking my fourth trip to the beautiful indigenous market town of Otavalo, it sure has been a whirlwind!

Even on the way back down here, I was able answer other South Americans’ questions about time changes and airport transportation… let’s just say, now that I’m back, I definitely feel more than comfortable.

Last night my new host mom asked me if I had ever tried a few typical Ecuadorian “comida Manabita” dishes from the coast. After I replied that, yes, I had, my host dad said, “Mamita, Maura no es de Ecuador, Maura es Ecuador!” (I’m not from Ecuador, I am Ecuador). Though I will continue to visit my old host family, my new one in this new area of town is great. I play soccer with my whole family (Mama, Papa, Jesus, Fernanda and Andres) and a few neighbors at least a few times a week, and run every morning at a less-smoggy park with another neighbor and two other Washingtonians in my program.

Speaking of soccer: Though from being here since June, I’ve gotten to see some amazing parts of the country, one of my most memorable experiences yet, was watching the Ecuador/Uruguay World Cup qualifier last Saturday. Some local and non-local friends and I showed up at the stadium at 11 am for the 5 pm game, sat through hours of a stadium glowing with yellow jerseys and buzzing with just 40,000 people, to watch a game along with literally the entire rest of the country (via TV) ready to see Ecuador make it to the World Cup. To my surprise, there was no announcer, no replay screen, and not even a timer, so everybody in the stadium had to be absolutely engaged in the game. An unfortunate series of the worst calls I have ever seen in all of my 16 years of playing and watching soccer, Ecuador lost in what was apparently overtime. From this, the entire stadium went quiet. The people began to slowly shuffle out of the stadium, not angry or violent, but sincerely sad.

Not only have I enjoyed participating in a culture that absolutely lives for family and soccer, but also is so accepting of disappointment (if you can even call it that). To many people, a simple “oh well” is enough to move on from something that in other cultures would be devastating. This is just one example of this refreshingly persevering society.

After nearly four months, my eyes continue to be opened by new experiences and new observations, and I can’t wait to continue to soak up even more.