Daily Life, Podcasts, and Bus Rides

Apart from the 40 hours a week that I work here, which tends to be fairly busy during the day, life in the afternoons and evenings is relatively slow. There are no televisions here, so no catching up on those latest Netflix or Hulu hits. Also, no internet in the house that we stay in (only if I want to walk back up to the hospital offices). Some nights Mike and I cook dinner together for the rest of the house guests. Some nights are more successful than others with the ingredients that we can muster :) Generally we have tea or some kind of hot drink in the evenings, and we may play a round or two of RummyKub, a favorite with the hospital director we live with. Other nights, I might just read a book while Mike studies beside me for his MPH classes, watch a movie on my laptop from the volunteers' collection of burned DVDs, or my favorite... trip plan for our next weekend travels, or my parent's upcoming visit in March.

I feel blessed to have my best friend and favorite partner in work and play here with me, to share in this amazing adventure. Thanks to Mike, I have not once felt lonely (as I imagine I probably might if I were here on my own), nor has the general phase of "reality sucks," set in, which is common in the acclimation process, and hopefully it won't. Often I find myself enjoying this slower pace of life, with fewer outside distractions. I often go a week at a time without leaving the hospital compound, but so far I never have felt trapped or restless. We have the benefit of having a community of other Ecuadorian healthcare staff and some Italian volunteers also living here, who are nice to have a round.

I have had the Serial podcast recommended to me many times by friends back home, but have not until recently actually pursued listening. A few weeks ago, I finally downloaded the podcast, and Mike and I have been listening to it on bus rides as we travel over our long weekends, twice a month. We are a bit distraught that we have almost come to the end of the available episodes, and are hoping for more to come soon. It has been an excellent way to pass the time, and almost look forward to the less than enjoyable public bus rides.

Whether the podcast listening will be available on any given bus ride is a toss of the dice. Often the regaton, bachata, or cumbia music is blaring entirely too loud to hear anything else, or a terrible action movie with non-stop shooting noises is playing overhead. Or we may board mid-route for the bus, and end up standing in the aisles, squished between other passengers, trying to brace ourselves as the bus swings around the corners of the mountainous terrain. But when the conditions are just right, we pull out our ear buds with glee (one person gets the left ear, one the right ear bud) and settle into the mystery story.

Last weekend Mike and I decided to take the 8 hour bus into the southern highlands to a colonial city called Cuenca. Our first mistake was thinking that taking an overnight bus would be a great idea to get an extra day in, and save a night on a hotel cost. Well... after departing at 9pm, we didn't sleep a wink due to the frequent stops and very poor temperature control. Not to mention to two drunk guys who happened to board mid-way into the trip, be rather loud in the seat right behind us, then finally fell asleep. They proceeded to miss their stop by several hours, which they realized finally once they woke up, and again proceeded to talk loudly about what they should do, because they had not enough cash to get off and catch another bus. At this point, one began to vomit, which went all over his seat, and seeped down on the floor under our seat to where our backpacks were sitting. Needless to say, we got off the bus at 4:30am, exhausted, and rather disgruntled. Besides that, the rest of our adventure in Cuenca was lovely. Lots of good food for a change, and some neat museums and sightseeing. There is a beautiful river running through the south end of town, with a historic walkway along the bank. Luckily, our bus ride home yesterday during daytime hours went much better :)

Mike is turning campesino.

Typical food near Cuenca. Seen all along the streets in neighboring communities.

Evening view of the main cathedral in Cuenca.

My favorite part of the trip, walking along the river.