Mommy,
Heya. I
thought I’d write you a letter to let you know how I’ve been doing.
I just
got back from TS3 (Training Seminar 3). We went to a nearby province called Imbabura to a town
called Otavalo. Otavalo is super touristy because it has the biggest outdoor
market in South America. Good part: Lots of really cool Ecua stuff. Bad part: I
totally judge tourists.. not all of them.. just a significant chunk of them.
Otavalo
was really fun. This is what we did:
This is Otavalo.
We stayed in this cute place.
Took plenty of photos.
Hiked this mountain with our weak, low altitude Cloud Forest lungs… it was hard, but worth it because we took TONS of photos and it was beaaautiful!
This
is Betty, my “site mate” (that’s a Peace Corp term I’ve decided to adopt).
We got a cleansing by an Indigenous woman. To cleanse you,
she rubs a cuy (guinea pig) all over. The cuy takes out the bad spirits. (If the cuy dies fast it’s because you
had a lot of bad spirits.) She rubs the cuy all over you until it dies. Then
she puts the cuy in a bowl of water, takes off the skin (without a knife -- she starts at the anus and pulls it inside out) and examines the
insides. Where the blood accumulates is where you have a sickness. Based on where you're sick, she then gives you recommendations for how you can feel better. (My diagnosis? Healthy! ..not a very exciting one)
I only have about a month left in Ecuador. We leave our
sites on April 9th, go to Quito for a few days, San Francisco for a
few more and then my flight is April 20th. It says I’ll get home at
8:10. I’m really excited to see everyone,
but I’m really nervous for transitioning back into being an American.
Quite frankly, I just don’t fit into the mold I did before. I’m attaching a chapter
about the psychological effects of readjusting that GCY sent us recently. Just
something to think about.
I’ve
been pretty set on going on a mission for this last month or so. I really want
to do it. I’ve wanted to do it forever. And maybe it’ll be an opportunity to
learn about another culture or another language or improve my Spanish. From
this year, I’ve really seen the value of learning outside of a classroom
setting. Plus, China’s open. It’s been open for quite a while, actually. At
least a year. I would absolutely die of happiness if I went to China. (I would
die of happiness and then struggle to learn Chinese and maybe not die of
happiness so much….) I love China.
Tomorrow
I’m traveling! I haven’t traveled on my own this whole time here, so I’m
excited. I’m going to Riobamba (mountains) to visit some fellows and then to
Tena (Amazon). I’m going with two friends.
Near
the end of March, I have that program I’m doing. I really hope someone sponsors
it. I think that the agenda looks pretty legit because I showed it to one
volunteer from Germany to see if she’d be interested in helping and she was
very impressed.
Random
question. When I get home, should I try dying my hair blonde or dye it dark
again?
How’s
it going at home? Miss you all!
Love,
Sydni
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