Just a normal day here at the office. Translation: boring, boring, boring. It might be the back pain I´m having from sitting in an uncomfortable chair for 4 hours now, or it might be the slightly fuzzy vision I have from staring at a brilliantly light computer screen for 4 hours now--either way, feeling pessimistic.
To lighten the mood, I´m sure all will rejoice to hear that I have my spirit back. It seems that I had lost it, though I never got that memo. STORY TIME! So, I traveled with my group to Otavalo this weekend, a small little pueblo near Quito. It´s simply beautiful. First stop was at a health clinic that practices both occidental and indigenous medicine. We got to volunteer for indigenous cleansings and I was down for that. The options were to be rubbed all over by a guinea pig that would then be killed in front of you and have its guts read, OR be rubbed all over by a harmless egg that would then be cracked and read. I went with the latter choice.
I stood in the middle of the room and the medicine woman literally rubbed an egg all over my body. Upon cracking it and examining the yolk and white, she told me that ¨tienes espanto", which basically means that I am scared and so my spirit has left my body. Well, I knew why I was scared but how to get my spirit back? Fortunately, it seemed that my case of espanto was dire enough to merit a ritual healing process. So I sat in a chair while she rubbed me all over with rocks, muttering in kichwa. Maybe nothing happened, but for me it really was an intense experience that left me feeling much calmer after.
The rest of our weekend there was a whole lot of fun. We stayed with indigenous families and went to the mercado artesenal, where there are hundreds of stands set up with indigenous goods. I may have gone a little crazy but can you really pass up the chance to buy an alpaca wool blanket? Also, I got to practice my bargaining skills, and was able to make the meager $40 I brought go a long way. Go me!
Best part was probably Saturday night, when I met the son, Ramiro, of the woman in whose house we were staying. Turns out that he is part of a group in Otavalo that plays traditional Andean music, and he was very excited to have the band come over and give us a little concert. It was amazing, beautiful, soul-warming, I could go on and on. The different instruments that you don´t normally see in a band: the charango, andean pipes, el bombo--all just added to a concert that filled my alma with a sense of completeness.
It was hard coming back to Quito, back to real life, but with only 4 weeks left, I figure I need to take advantage of what this country has to offer. And I´ll be able to enjoy it all so much more now that I am complete with my spirit.
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