Catch-up: Exactly 4 Weeks in Cuenca.

Today marks the 4th week that I've been in Cuenca. I feel like much has happened but at the same time that not a lot has happened… I still have much of the city to see.

My Spanish has much improved since i got here, and it's more natural now to speak it! It's so wonderful. I've also gotten comfortable with going places by myself- a cup of coffee there or some pan dulce there. I've been looking for good places to just sit and write and read where no one will bother me. So far the University of Cuenca and coffee shops serve this purpose.

More cultural observations. Girls walk down the street arm in arm all the time. I love that. Muy cariñosas (loving). Also, friends always pick each other up when they go out- they go together, they don't all drive separately and meet up. Maybe this is because Cuenca is so small that it isn't a bother. Also, driving around the city on a Saturday night is a normal way to hang out with friends. Most people that I've met here have thought that I'm way younger than I am- 16 or 17. I think this is because I don't wear much make up, and Cuencanas wear tons of make-up. For that reason I think they look way older than they are! They also wear heels (called tacos) for every day wear. I asked Dad to mail me my heels.

Animals roam free all over the place. So far I've seen and chicken and a dog get hit by cars. The dogs here are like the deer in Maryland, except the dogs actually have owners.

What have I been doing?? Well, Friday, I went to a colegio (high school) graduation party. The other American boy's family invited me. They have 4 daughters and the mom is absolutely lovely. She is so sweet and kind. It was a fancy deal- in the Cuenca Tennis Club. Each family was seated at their own reserved table. We had to wait almost 2 hours to eat dinner, but it was worth it for some shrimp atop mashed potatoes, and then a nice round piece of steak with olive & tomato salad, another cheesy potato type dish with ham, and a roll of chicken which happened to roll off of my plate as I tried to cut my steak. We toasted to the graduates with champagne and then danced the night away… Wisin Y Yandel, Juan Magan, Chino y Nacho…todo.

Saturday afternoon we went fishing in Cajas. I was expecting a big lagoon with fishing poles, then found myself in a little pond area surrounded by stones with a fishing line connected to a stick in my hand. All you had to do was throw the string into the water and pull it back in with your hands. It started raining, but that didn't stop me from catching a nice trucha (trout)! Thank goodness I didn't have to take out the hook. I was the only one that caught a fish. Afterwards we went to a hueca (a hole in the wall restaurant) that couldn't have been more of a hueca. It felt like we were literally in a hole in the ground- the walls of the place were made of earth and it smelled like earth inside. We drank some canelazo, which is a drink that comes from sugar cane, and ate delicious mote pill.

Sunday I went to church for the first time since getting here! It was a Christian church, though it was no Covenant Life. Though the people loved the Lord just the same. It was so nice to be there. At the end of the service, I found myself being pushed to the front of the church to receive a prophetic word from a woman. She prayed over me as if it was the Lord speaking- and it was the Lord, I am sure. He met me. Helped me refocus my gaze on Him, amidst the distractions of being in this different culture.

After church I went to Yunguilla, a nearby town, with the Ortizes. It was so very typical Latino that 4 of us were completely squished in the back seat of their little red SUV for the hour ride that it was to get there and back. But we were laughing and laughing the whole way. While there, Michelle and I explored the area and climbed through barbed wire fences looking for this pond with crabs. We never found the pond, but saw lime trees and orange trees and raspberry bushes growing wild. It started to pour when we got back to the house- after the rain passed we all packed up and went back to Cuenca.

This weekend I experienced a wake-up call. I was gone Thursday-Sunday, doing things. And it was too much. And it caused a burden on my family here as well. So I need to cut back. Dad reminded me of my principal goals- to learn Spanish and to glorify God while I'm here. How do I glorify God? By being a blessing to my family and others around me. I bring my sin with me everywhere I go, and even here in Ecuador I'm learning how to lay down my selfish desires to bless others.

So tonight I went with the family to their church meeting. Then we came back dying with hunger and ate the trucha (along with eggs and rice of course) that I caught on Saturday. I couldn't clean it myself- the slimy fish is too much for me. But Nancy, mi Mami, pulled the guts right out as if it were nothing and cooked it deliciously.

So tomorrow I'm going to try and hit some museums. There's at least 10 of them in Cuenca, and my mornings are free, so I'll be getting out and exploring in the coming weeks. Must milk every hour for all it's worth!

Besitos a todos y buenas noches.