Ch-ch-ch-changes

            I remember when I was a kid I was really particular about my socks. I mean really particular. I remember telling my mom that I could only wear the “thin kind”. If I wore other kinds of socks it would feel like my feet were wrapped up and trapped. It made me anxious. Then one day, I think I was in high school, I realized that I was no longer picky about my socks. I hadn’t been picky about my socks for some time. I tried to remember the day that I said, “It doesn’t bother me anymore” but I couldn’t. I tried to remember the day that my mom forgot about the type of socks I needed to wear and said, “Emily, just wear them anyway!” but I couldn’t. Perhaps one of those days happened and perhaps not. Isn’t funny how you one day realize how dramatically you have changed?

            This realization came to me one day on the way to the bathroom in Ecuador. The toilet seat was up. All of the sudden it had occurred to me that once upon a time that used to really irritate me. I realized that now it doesn’t really bother me so much. Quite possibly because I strongly prefer putting to toilet seat down to wiping pee off the seat, or worse, sitting in pee.

It’s amazing how much Eric and I have changed since being in Ecuador and thankfully mostly for the better! Those of you who know Eric might not be able to believe that he eats EVERYTHING here. It’s amazing. For dinner tonight we ate meat and potatoes, which is a dinner we would have eaten in the States because Eric never ate vegetables. I take that back. He had one vegetable of every color that he would eat, so if it wasn’t green beans, carrots, corn, sweet potatoes, or ketchup he wasn’t eating it. This has completely changed. One night we were eating homemade vegetable pizza and Eric turns to me and says, “What happened to me?”  The truth was I didn’t know.

I have started to enjoy my time alone. I used to hate being alone. I would get so bored. But now I kind of like it. When Eric was working in the morning and I was working in the afternoon, I had my little routine. My host dad was also working so I had the house to myself. I would clean, listen to music and get ready for the day. It was nice. I find it interesting that this appreciation for being alone comes at this time in my life, because after Peace Corps when we start a family I am assuming that time will be limited. Right parents?

In the Peace Corps I think you have to learn to enjoy the quiet times, otherwise you will go crazy. This is why also I think I have started reading more. I’ve tried to start reading consistently for years now. I have always had difficulty. I think in Ecuador I can really learn to love it. The great thing about reading is you can take a book with you wherever you go and while you wait (because more than likely you will have to wait) you can fill the time with reading. 

Thus far the changes have been great. I'm looking forward to seeing how we change in the upcoming year and a half! Until next time...

Much love,

Emily

"It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad."
C. S. Lewis 
 

Fiestas in Latacunga. I'm not exactly sure what this was for, but I was told the town shares in eating it after the fiesta.

We finally ate cuy (guinea pig). RIP Katie, Sunshine, Kelly!! It is a food that is usually saved for special occasions as it is expensive ($10/guinea pig). 

A couple birthday pictures from my birthday in July. Pepe is our host dad (red shirt). The others are friends from the area.