"And tonight's gonna be a good, good night..."

It's a sunny Saturday afternoon here in Cuenca, and Lauren and I are at an Internet cafe near our houses. It's probably in the low 60s (Fahrenheit) outside...be jealous, Ohioans!!

Before I forget, I'd like to invite you all to check out the collective blog for everyone on our trip. Some of my posts here may wind up over there too, and you can read about what everyone else has been up to. Also, check out the Photobucket page that Paul was kind enough to set up for all of us. My photos aren't up yet, but hopefully they will be soon.

As always, the last few days have been interesting, which is mostly a good thing. Emotions are still a bit rough for some of us. Yesterday was the first day we didn't have to take a few minutes' break for a group hug during class, because one of us would start crying for one reason or another, and then the rest of us would start in as well. Fortunately, our teacher is really understanding of our situation and she gives great hugs. :)

Yesterday we took a field trip to one of the small markets in town to witness a traditional cultural practice. Many women take their babies to the market to be "cleaned" and cured of common childhood afflictions that are the result of bad energies. Katy was a good sport and volunteered to be cleaned. A tiny old woman took a large bundle of flowers and plants (which I think included some marijuana) and whacked her all over her arms, legs, torso, and head while saying "Kisha, kisha!" which is a Quechuan word to drive away the evil spirits. Then she took an egg and rolled it all over Katy, and then she cracked it open in a plastic bag, examined it, and declared Katy was suffering from espanto, or fright. In order to be totally cured, Katy should come back next Tuesday and next Friday and do it all over again, because Tuesday and Friday are the Virgin's days, or something like that. Katy said that it actually kind of hurt and she had a bunch of leaves stuck in her hair, but she might go back and finish out the process.

Yesterday afternoon several of us B-W students and our new friend, Emma, met at the school and went to the "zoo." The Cuenca zoo is nothing like an American zoo. Instead, it's a small, dark building full of fish, snakes, turtles, frogs, and tarantulas. It was interesting to see pirahnas and tilapias, but we weren't exactly enthused at the way some of the snake cages were constructed. They looked more than a little iffy. Also, there was a humongous alligator just chillin' on the floor, penned in by some tanks and the rickety wooden bridge we walked across. I'm not a huge fan of snakes, but I was rather disappointed that the boa constrictor was all curled up and asleep. I was sincerely hoping it would look me in the eye and tell me it had never seen Brazil. (25 Awesome Points to the first person to comment on that reference!!)

When we came out of the "zoo," it was pouring, like it does most afternoons here. We waited out the worst of it in the convenience store next door and then we went with Emma to the hostel where she's staying. It was really nice, as hostels go, and she said it was $8 a night including breakfast. We all just hung out in the lobby and talked for a while and got to know her better. She's from Manchester, so she has a really awesome accent. She's been traveling all over South America for a few months, from Brazil to Argentina to Chile to Bolivia to Ecuador, and she's intending to be home in time for Christmas. That's the sort of trip I sometimes dream about taking, but there's no way I would go by myself.

Last night we went dancing. We were planning to all go as a group, but everyone on the other side of town got invited to a party that they didn't feel they could refuse, so it wound up being Lauren, Emma, our other friend Sierra, who's rooming with Emma at the hostel, and me. Emma kind of started a dance party on the steps down to the river, where a band was playing, and insisted that we all join. We wound up getting about forty people to get up and dance with us, and it was really fun. Then the band just kind of abruptly quit playing and started packing up, so we went with a group of four or five American girls we'd met to a club called Zo. It was super crowded, but after we had been there for a little bit, we ran into the rest of the B-W group!! All in all it was a very fun night.