(I’m aware it isn’t Monday, but this was written on Monday)
The station (also known as Un Poco Del Choco or UPDC) works on its own clock. I wake up at around 6:45 every day, make myself some breakfast, read or listen to music and at 8 the five hour workday starts. Each day is something new. Whether it’s painting, or transplanting or just the other day I mixed around cow poop for 20 minutes – that was a blast! But all and all the work isn’t terribly hard. I’ve been working mostly with a local guy named Christian. Christian is 20 and has been working at Un Poco Del Choco for 3 years. He’ll just spew interesting facts about a certain tree or he’ll find a rock that the Incans used. At 12 every day, we cook lunch together and at 1 everybody comes together to eat. Afterwards things slow down a lot. Work stops at 1 and there’s really not all that much to do. I’ve spent probably close to 50 hours in the past 2 weeks playing card games. Time slips away. Two weeks hasn’t really seemed like two weeks. It has seemed much longer but in some ways has seemed like that time hasn’t really passed at all. That doesn’t really make sense but it’s how I feel.
LOST
This past weekend, Jonathan, Jaimie, Aaron and I went to a small coastal town called Canoa. About 3000 people live there, and I’d say there are 200 to 300 tourists there at all times. Canoa is situated right on the Pacific Ocean, and has views to die for! Plus there are some great surfing spots, which I think is what attracts so many visitors. Unfortunately, it isn’t the safest town. On the last night in Canoa the four of us were watching the sunset while swimming and splashing around in the ocean. Once the sun had set, and the waves grew smaller we got out only to find our stuff wasn’t where we had left it. Instead it was scattered around the beach and a couple things were missing, one of those being my phone. I was livid, I came pretty close to accusing some people of stealing it, but Aaron thankfully talked me down. He’s quite insightful and through him I’ve made peace with my phone being gone.
The next 3 months will be much more low key. I won’t have the option to check up on Instagram or Twitter. I’m seeing this as a much needed hiatus from the digital world, I can no longer rely on my phone as an escape mechanism. I’ll be fully experiencing what is around me without my ear buds plugged in or being locked to my phone’s screen. It will be a change and a challenge but one that I’m looking forward to.
FOUND
The good part of Canoa (and there were many good parts!) was meeting new people. We met 3 Canadian brothers on our first night: Deon, Ryland and Caden, and we stuck with them for most of the trip. They’re artistic and surf and skateboard and are genuinely nice and funny guys. We went out dancing on the beach at night and swam around with them during the day. In fact, Aaron was welcomed into the family by their slightly intoxicated mother – she suggested he come stay with them for 6 months. So Aaron adopted a family and we all adopted some new good friends…not too bad eh? We spent time with some other people from around the world. Two sisters from Norway, a woman from Iceland, and this 61 year old guy named Steve who has had his fair share of trials and tribulations throughout his life but is all the more wise from it.
This last weekend also had me thinking a lot about my place with the people I’m living with. I am the only one who speaks and understands Spanish, so I’ve become the resident translator and question asker. Jonathan can understand some of it but has some difficulty getting his point across. Jonathan has sort of become like an older brother. He gives me a lot of crap and we annoy each other quite a bit but he looks out for me and I enjoy his company and his love of birds (he’s obsessed with birds and can tell you which bird it is by it’s call without even looking…it’s amazing!). Jaimie is a bit quieter and is a self-proclaimed “listener”. He doesn’t do much talking, but when he does he’s witty and smart. Aaron, on the other hand, talks quite a bit. He’s Mr. Heresmyopinion and isn’t afraid to look like a fool because he has a damn good time doing so. Kira is the only other girl staying at the station. She’s very nice but doesn’t say much (at least in English) and is usually cooped up in her bedroom reading on her Kindle.
So I still have a way to go finding my purpose and my place here at the station, but I’m well on my way and I look forward to having a grand old time while I’m here. Sounds good, eh?
EcuaCora 