Yuck. I got sick today and it was no fun. I woke up in the morning more tired than usually and let myself sleep an extra hour. I spent the remainder of the day nauseous and had chills all morning and broke into a sweat mid-afternoon. My head was pounding, stomach turning, and I just felt my body fighting something. More than anything, I hated being weak and not able to be fully present, engaged, and as upbeat as usual. It is always hard to be sick away from the comfort of home but luckily I found some chicken noodle soup (with French fries in it?!) for lunch and ultimately ended up walking home early from school to curl up in a ball and fall fast asleep. I felt so supported and cared for this afternoon and it was cool to see my new community of friends care for me.
When I returned to my house mi mama made me tea and brought me water. I took a nap but couldn’t sleep for too long because of the commotion going on in the house. Tonight mi mama was having over all five of her daughters, a handful of their kids, and two friends from Canada. Poor timing healthy wise but tonight will certainly go down as one of the most memorable nights in Ecuador. I sat around a table with over 15 people drinking team, eating a dish of potatoes and eggs, and loving watching the interactions while trying to understand the conversation. Ultimately, I ended up talking to a 14 year old wonderful girl named Chaly. She has studied English for 3 years so we were able to both work on speaking each other’s language. Chaly starts her summer break in two days and she told me about her friends in the United States, her desires to go to school there and maybe even live there one day. She aspires to be a doctor. Chaly also invited me to her 15th birthday fiesta (unfortunately I am out of town) but on Friday I may end up joining her and friends at the local hotspot. I have never been so excited to hang out with 14 year olds. It should be a blast.
Renaldo has quickly become one of my favorite people in Cuenca. He is the husband of Melinda, one of mi mama’s daughters and he is a hoot. I have known him since day one and he is an incredibly animated person which makes him easy to be around and understand. Our communication is not reliant on words but a lot more acting and laughing. Tonight he sang for us and later in the evening gave me one of his cd’s. This is a gift I will treasure forever.
I am headed to bed and hoping to have a full recovery by tomorrow morning!
Hasta luego,
Cate
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