1 year

it's monsoon season again, and i'm sitting in my new little apartment on the third floor, listening to the rain as it hits the streets below. perfect writing weather :)

so it's been a year.
...and a bit.

can't believe how quickly the time passed, how much has changed.
moving to a new country, language and culture shakes you up in ways that you couldn't dream of. it challenges your perceptions on the deepest levels.

and it's a good thing. it opens your mind, it teaches you to relate, to enjoy, to stop putting people in a box. it opens your heart.

but before you get there, sometimes it's not pretty. about 6 months in i was reading an article about culture shock which basically summed it up as "walking out the door, being greeted by a neighbour, and wanting nothing more than to shout obscenities at them". it's totally true.

thankfully that passes ;)

after a year i can safely say that i feel like i'm getting my feet on the ground. there's a point when you just accept that you will always be a little strange to the people around you, and them to you, and you just learn to love all the weirdness, not let it get to you, and carry on with whatever it is you're doing. we've all got something good to share, and things we need to learn.

here's a list of some of the things i've learned since arriving.

cooking good food from scratch
not worrying too much about the future
scaring off mean dogs
washing clothes by hand
be more flexible (yes, it's possible)
how to live with less
how to forgive
how to be a ruthless bargainer (mwahaha)
to be more patient (sort of, haha)

there's so much more i could write, in greater detail, but maybe later. or maybe it's just to personal to share here. but all that to say... it feels nice to be in the place where you like where you're at, and what you're doing in life.
i hope i can hold onto this moment a little longer. and let it all sink in a bit more.

so here's to another year in ecuador. :)

to finish up, a few things i love about living in ecuador:

encebollado
salsa urbana
people laugh easily
market day
garbage trucks with music
that all the girls here love 'orgullo y perjuicio' (pride and prejudice)
the creative approach to life and work
being greeted with equal enthusiasm on a bad day as on a good one
relaxing!!

so there it is. life is not too shabby...

cheers for now.