“Even after all these years, the sun never says to the earth ‘you owe me’. Look what happens with a love like that, it lights the whole sky”
Dear Readers,
It has been about
two and a half weeks since we arrived back to Palugo from our first expedition,
and somehow in a crazy whirlwind of crafts, cooking, lessons on permaculture
and political history, we are now preparing ourselves to be launched back into the
nomadic form of living and onto the Ecuadorian highlands for our final
expedition. These weeks have been filled with laughter and music; and weaving through
all of our work, let it be running at 5 in the morning, carving a spoon or
drawing a healing dragon, the idea of active rest has guided our lifestyle.
The first week
back was relatively calm and gave us the space to rejuvenate after our travels.
We worked on lingering projects such as embroidery, spoons and knitting. We had
a mega minga to clean all of our gear that had been traveling with us, and
continued to work on our semester book. We had personal meetings with Marcela,
Michael, and Mathias and most importantly we celebrated Zoë’s 18th
birthday! For that inaugural occasion we feasted on chocolate cake with cream
cheese icing, and a much anticipated mango mousse that has been discussed since
our time in New Hampshire.
It has been especially nice these past few weeks to find the space to relax with one another and do something that might not be required, something that isn’t scheduled, and take in for a moment the unique time that we are, for a short period of our lives, embedded in. It is calming to sit and read in our cabañas, all of the girls there together, snuggled up with a jar of peanut butter and listen to the romantic words of “Like Water for Chocolate”. We have now finished that book and have started on Chronicles of a Death Foretold, The Glass Castle, and The Post Man Always Rings Twice, we like to get ambitious with our make shift book club.
On Thursday, the
1st of November, we woke up for chores and had a quiet morning of
personal preparation before we went out on Solo. For two and a half days we
found our place somewhere in Palugo’s encompassing land, and sat in one spot
with only our clothes, water, and ourselves for company. We sat there among the
grasses, watching the sky change from day to night, imprinting the path of the
sun on our eyes, and waiting for it to be traced by the moon. We saw each
change with a mind sometimes empty and sometimes full, our thoughts coming and
going with the clouds above. At night we were cold, and maybe at times wishing
we were warm in some other place. But looking back at those moments, I feel a
kind of peace and clarity. I can not exactly put to words the feeling that I
remember during those days, but it gave me, and many others I am sure, a way of
learning, a way of coping, and it showed me, from a perspective that was not
totally my own, the art of waiting.
On Saturday
morning Mathias came to each of our spots and gathered us all together at the
highest point on the farm. We stood there for a moment, all together after
being alone for more time than we ever have in the past few months, and were
able to reset our minds, and our group, for this culminating section of
semester. Having this time alone, to reflect on everything that has been moving
so quickly around us and through us, I believe was very important, especially
at this particular point. It is a difficult thing to live so closely, and share
so much of yourself with other people for such a long while, some kind of
tension is bound to arise. Frustration and impatience are very human traits and
within a group of people it is very hard to avoid this bubbling of emotion. Yet
it is good, it is not something we should suppress or try to run away from.
From these eruptions come a new appreciation, and love is just as human a
trait. Before solo, we had some struggles, and this time away did not erase
those feelings, but we have been able to improve our communication and our ability
to confront each other in a direct manner, which is something that many people
struggle in learning. Some go through their whole
lives and never do.
Saturday was also
the holiday Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead) here in Ecuador, and after
re-gathering ourselves we walked down into the town of Pifo for lunch and to
visit the graveyard there. It was a beautiful thing to see the celebrations of life
and around every grave were flowers, food, and other offerings to people that someone
has loved. That night Raina and Tupac returned from their days off and brought
us all sugar cane and fruit candy. We ate with a hungry satisfaction after days
of fasting, and listened to Shai’s long share.
Starting into
the next week, we began our building project which is called Guagua Choza that
will serve as a workshop (ground floor) and a place for teachers to stay (first
floor). It has been a lot of fun figuring out this project from the very
beginning, and it is a nice feeling to see our work begin to take shape in such
a long lasting way. We have spent many mornings working on the Guagua Choza and
in the afternoons we have had a multitude of guest teachers, and time to work
on the numerous projects that we have embarked on. We have gone to cook with
Adela and have made the most delicious bread with chocolate called Guagua Pan (which
means baby bread) and Colada de Morada which is a traditional meal to make on
Dia de los Muertos. We have also worked with her on pottery and are very
excited to see how our creations turn out. Marcela’s brother, Ricardo came on
Wednesday evening and gave a talk on the socio political situations in Ecuador
and Latin America as a whole. It was so interesting to look at this place where
we have been living in such a different manner, and take in everything that is
currently happening around us and is affecting everything we do. We are not
just here to climb mountains in an isolated fashion but also to live. To be aware
of your greater surroundings is such an important thing. We have been working
with Marcela on theatre and a man named Herman came to work with us on leather
projects for three days. We made sheaths for our machetes, covers for our
semester books, and many people also made extra projects like bracelets, belts,
and wallets.
On Friday we
left right after breakfast for a day of rock climbing at a wall that is close
to Palugo. We rode over in the back of a pick-up truck, bouncing around on the
precarious roads. It was a beautiful spot that many of the Nahual climbers
helped open, and we set up five routes to climb on. It was a great day, filled
with a lot of fun testing our skill on the rocks. Afterwards we went fishing
for dinner and caught about 20 trout, they were delicious! A few nights later
we invited the Outward Bound semester over for dinner and we had a wonderful
night with them. It was a very special thing to share all of our experiences
with them and to hear all of their stories as well. In some aspects both trips
are very similar, yet they are also so different in the way they unfold. Their
group was a little older than ours, mostly in their twenties. We all had a
great night of delicious food, some pretty funny games including a lot of
spinning outside in the dark and some beautiful music.
One of our
highlights these past few weeks happened very early just a few mornings ago. We
awoke at our usual time to go running, 5 o’clock, and set out on a fairly
routine route that we have done many times. We were maybe 15 minutes into our jog
and were turning one of the corners of our loop, when suddenly I hear this
shrill scream emanating from Zoë! She turned around with an amazing amount of
vigor and started sprinting the other direction followed by an equally
determined Nicole. And then I saw the culprit. A little, smelly, black and
white tail scuttled back into the bushes leaving behind its pungent aroma. We
had been attacked by a killer skunk! Saturated with its stench we promptly decided
to change our course to avoid further battling, and finished our run with as
much dignity as we could, leaving a slight trail of perfumed air behind us.
I
hope you are all well and happy, and enjoying this last month without us.
Lots
of love, Siesta Powers.
Just a little
loving note from all of us here, we love mail! And have been so appreciating
all the wonderful people who have sent us their warm wishes! Especially when it
is in chocolate form... Also Meredith would like to say Happy Birthday to her
sister!
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