Malecón 2000

Thank god for the Malecón. I have been feeling about half crazy and always grumpy this week and I couldn't´t figure out why. Emily...the only volunteer left here with me has gone to Quito for the weekend which means I have been here on my own trying to entertain myself. You always read about culture shock and how it makes to kind of reclusive and grump all the time. But I couldn't´t figure out why, if that´s what I have been feeling, would I feel this way here in a city where I have a fridge, real bathroom, computer access and even a TV...and not feel this way living in a coco palm hut on a beach with a floor made of sand and a bucket shower that was fed by a very questionable Mexican well. I took a walk on the Malecón today....the refurbished, remodeled waterfront area of Guayaquil. I walked alone along the water....which is a murky, but expansive tidal river. Along the Malecón there are a number of gardens and walking through them...for the first time in about a week....I felt really happy and peaceful. I suppose this is what the purpose of this trip was...to find out what makes me tick. I have never lived in the middle of a city before. Everything is made of cement. Buildings, sidewalks, roads, houses and even the shelves in my house. Everything is owned by someone...if I want to get out of the house the only place I have to go is the mall or the internet cafe. I realized walking through the gardens today that they were the first really green, living things I had been among in weeks. I suppose the jardíns on the Malecón are owned by someone as well...at least the city. Even so it gave me a chance to lose myself among the flowers and palms and small waterfalls. I miss the waves crashing on the beach in Colola, the little geckoes making kissy noises above my head at night when I was going to sleep. I think I even miss the wild donkeys braying and the stray cattle and even deathly sounding Macaca birds. Well I guess there is todays life lesson. Creature comforts are lost on me unless I have some living environment to enjoy them in. A house full of appliances and working bathrooms etc. is fantastic as long as I can step outside and lye in the grass and smell the trees and hear the birds. The best thing that happens here evironmentaly is rain. When the rain pours down I stick my head out the window and inhale deeply...(I think my host mom things I´m crazy). In the hot rain I can smell the earth and the trees and the wet grass. So....I guess it must be here somewhere in this city. So, the reason I haven´t written much lately is because I have been doing much of the same thing. I go to work around 7:30 every morning....try to get the kids to listen to me....ride the bus home(more on that later) and then spend the afternoon lazing about until I have Spanish class or go meet Emily for dinner. Also, to be honest, until today I didn´t have much inspiration to write. I think thats about all for today...sorry about the stream of consciousness type writing but I suppose maybe it´s better anyhow.

Chao! Rosie