| | new experience #24509786203
i went grocery shopping with my sister here in ecuador. there were so many fruits i didn't even recognize. i decided that any fruit i had never tried before was going to be purchased and savored. i haven't tried all of them yet, but so far, so good. have you ever heard of a pepino dulce? or a tomate ducle? or seen fruits that are yellow and spiky, but taste like a kiwi-grape combo on the inside? or eaten mora berries? or uvilla? or a custard apple. (like, grows on the tree, but tastes like custard apple) or seen the inside of a grandajilla, which looks like something out of a sci-fi movie?
there's so much about ecuador that feels like the united states, but then i will hear the rapid cadence of another language, or see the weathered face of the women selling a roses, a dollar per dozen, on the corner of the street. or the political conversations have less to do with iraq and more to do with colombia. or look outside my window and see the power of a mighty mountain. or sit back and relax, because in spite of it being a city, quito still operates at a slower pace than the u.s.
i stood at the center of the world, one foot in the northern hemisphere and one foot in the southern hemisphere. i have ridden in several taxis, all of which make me feel like i am only breaths away from meeting my creator. i have visited the malls, so similar to the united states, and yet somehow more trendy, laughing at the fact that you no longer have to purchase toilet paper in the public bathrooms, though you still are not allowed to flush it down. i have gone to the park and walked in a forest full of eucalyptus trees and breathed deeply from the thin, elevated air. i visited the crater of an inactive volcano. i've attended two different bible studies, striking in their contrast, yet amazing at how similar people are in their desires and wishes for themselves, others, justice, faith, and truth.
tomorrow i will visit the top of the mountain, by way of suspended cable cars. afterward we will go to the cathedrals and participate in the colorful, sacred services of latin americans during holy week. so much left to do.
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| | Posted 3/21/2008 1:17 AM - 93 Views - 6 eProps - 3 comments
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