I've now been in Salasaca for slightly over a week. Good news: I actually have some vague semblance of a project here! Bad news: I continue to be a bit of an emotional wreck. Between the craziness of life here and the realization that, as of today, I have been alive for two decades has thrown me into a bit of an existential crisis.
I'm living here with Andrés Jeréz and his family. He is a weaver, a local politician, an organic farmer, and is currently in the process of trying to start his own community tourism project. Basically, my life here consists of following him around, taking notes on all that he says and does, and praying that we'll start weaving soon. His family is really nice in a still not actually my family sort of way, and I'm hoping the next week goes smoothly before I return to Quito and start writing.
So, as I mentioned, today is my 20th birthday. I'm lonely. This is, oddly enough, the first birthday in my entire life that I've spent away from my family, and I'm taking it kind of hard. My Ecuadorian birthday festivities have included: climbing a sacred mountain in search of medicinal plants and natural dyes, a dinner of blood soup and rabbit roasted over an open fire, and an herbal cleansing ritual happening tonight. It's certainly been memorable, but I can't help still being a little sad. Even my Ecuadorian horoscope in today's paper chastised me for not appreciating my travels enough and being glad for how lucky I am for this whole experience. I really have had an amazing time here, but I'm also to the point where I'm getting really ready to be home and return to some normalcy again.
20 more days.
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