Simple Pleasures

I feel like so much has happened in my blog absence. Training keeps on trucking and I’m just doing my best to try to keep up both mentally and physically!

A few noteworthy things have happened though. While each week seems to present a new challenge (or challenges), it’s the simple joys that make everything worthwhile.

A small list of a few recent joys:

1.       The local grocery store here is called Santa Maria. While it is almost always busy (and Ecuadorians don’t move out of your way for nothing!), all things considered it’s a decent little store for the necessity. Oh but then there’re the maxis. SuperMaxi and MegaMaxi. And these places, these are gifts direct from God himself. Here you can find things you actually recognize like Maybelline makeup, Neutrogena face wash, Prego sauce, North American chocolate brands (though very expensive) and the best thing of all: Gluten Free wonders! When I left the states I thought I would be kissing those pleasures in life goodbye for the next two years, save from people sending me food or if I return home on vacay. But Monday, oh this all changed! I found gluten free pasta, cookies, flour, brownie mix, and muffin mix on their lovely little shelves. There might have even been more I haven’t discovered yet (and this was just at SuperMaxi…I’m excited to venture out and see what MegaMaxi holds). I had the best gringo dinner since arriving with three cheese spaghetti with zucchini and some cookies I still can’t figure out the flavor of (a little different than basic sugar) but it doesn’t even matter! I’m not sure if our oven works so I didn’t grab the brownie and muffin mixes (yet) but the flour bag (made from Quinoa) had a pancake recipe on the back I’m anxious to try. All these treasures just a 25 cent bus ride away!

2.       Weekends are made for adventuring and so far I’ve had some great ones! The second weekend I was shown how exciting life can be beyond my little town. I was taken to the town next door, Cumbaya (I know, right) to a mall (which are so fancy here by the way) to watch the new X-Men movie. I’m all about integrating into this new culture and I greatly appreciate the importance of this. But sometimes you just need some gringo moments!

3.       The weekend after that a PCV who used to live in the house across from mine met a few of us in Quito and showed us around a bit. Until this point, I had only really seen the bus stations of Quito, the PC Headquarters, and the church Susanna (my host mom) takes me to every Sunday. But oh there’s so much more and it’s adorably beautiful!! After watching the Ecuador/Mexico futbol game in a local dive, we were taken to a little Greek style restaurant, El Mosaico, that sat atop one of the more mountainous areas of the city with probably the best view I’ve seen so far! Blending in as best I can is a very important thing to me and it’s one of my biggest pet peeves to be “that gringo” or “that tourist” when I travel. But omylanta, the second we got to the top of those stairs and out on the balcony to our table, I couldn’t help it! The cameras were out and we gringoed the crap out of that place! After that we met up with another PCV in the area and got the opportunity to learn even a little bit more about our future lives.

Sometimes my life is simply charmed. And it’s these moments that keep my head on just right! I know my God is looking out for me, even in the little things!