Many things to delight the soul!

Yesterday was a fun day! As usual, we had Spanish lessons. Above is a photo Jack took to prove that he is indeed taking Spanish lessons. You may ascertain how he feels about it from his facial expression.

Our Spanish teachers took us to the oldest Cathedral in the city. We weren't allowed to take photos, but we did (without flash, so they look kind of crappy).

These large wooden sculptures always creep me out a little. Jesus is pretty gory in this one; his ribs show a little. Note the eerie light setting his feet aglow.

We tried the delicious, healing, herbal waters made by the hands of nuns who eschew the light of day. It tasted like earth, beets, mint, and photosynthesis. One lady told us that the waters are "good for your heart" (except she said it in Spanish). The nuns are Carmelitas. You can talk to one behind a black screen and ask her for advice about your life. They live by candlelight, and never see or communicate with their families again after entering the convent. Nor do they ever leave.

This is a video you should watch. It shows Jack being purified by a shaman. As you can see, she beats him gently with herbs, then takes a mouthful of a fermented herbal brew and expertly spits it all over him. As a nearby ambulator explained to us, they only do this particular type of cleansing magic in Cuenca. People often have it done to their babies if they are sick or having psychological problems, not sleeping well, etc. The babies usually either cry or sit there with a solemn and stoic look that gradually transitions to fear and loathing. Make sure to notice the reaction of the poor baby in the background, who is anticipating his grim fate.

I had it done to me, too, and she spent more time on me. First she had me take a deep whiff of the herbs. Then she lifted up my shirt, and examined my belly button as she patted it with the herbs. She patted me much more thoroughly than she did to Jack, and soaked me with the spat brew. The brew smelled like a combination of vomit, kombucha and chicha (a fermented drink from this region). Afterwards, my soul felt content.

We are also helping our Spanish teachers set up their new therapeutic after-school center for poor kids. It will have art therapy, meditation, homework help and games for the kiddos.

This is a photo of a baby doll sold in an odd supermarket. It's hard to read, but there's a sign on it that says, "Now with baby smell!!!!"

In closing, we are planning our trip to Peru. In December, we will be staying at a flat in Arequipa and volunteering at an orphanage or building a school. Here is the website of the organization through which we will volunteer and live:

http://www.travellernottourist.com/

They don't make you pay to volunteer, which is nice.

Coming up: The Day of the Dead and celebrations of Cuenca's founding!!! PARTAY

El Cajas in your FACE

We went to El Cajas, one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. Guess what? We forgot our camera. I blame Jack, of course. You should, too. JK!!!! The above is a photo I stole from the internet. It doesn't do justice to the place, of course, but it's a small glimpse at least.

It was very hilly, green and sparse-looking, with spectacular views--like Wales. It's dotted with crystal clear lakes, and the ground is spongy, moist and soft. It has a unique ecology, with a number (unknown by me) of endemic species. The very rare Andean Spectacled Bear lives there. We saw wolf, rabbit, and llama poop. Our guide told us that the wolves look "stoned" when you see them because their eyes are so bloodshot. We didn't see any mammals because they are shy (and endangered), but we may go back for a camping trip in November; our guide told us we would have a good chance of seeing mammals if we did.

There was also a strange, tiny rainforest in the park. It was tightly packed with red, sinewy trees. The trees' bark peels off, like Jack's skin after a sunburn. They were covered in moss, bromeliads and orchids. We slid through the forest, as it was very muddy and sloped. It was fun (Jack's favorite part).

This region is fascinating because the climate is so variable. The light is always changing, and when the sun comes out, it is intense due to the altitude. You suddenly feel this lovely warmth spreading all over you, like a shot of whiskey. (ha!) In Spanish, it is common to say that the sun feels "delicious" (rico).

Oh... and the trip also featured a fat man from Uruguay who was having a hard time.

This blog was brought to you by,

Gillian Barlow Graham

I had a horrible dream that I married this really gross, unscrupulous, unsavory character from the TV series Deadwood. He is pictured above. His name is E.B. Farnum. I partied all night, but then all of a sudden I realized what I had done. Outside the wedding bed, which had a large, fancy canopy, I yelled, "I CAN'T BELIEVE I DID THAT!" and I missed Jack. 

Thanks for sharing,

Gillian

This is what happens when I ask Jack to hand me my pajamas!

love, Gillian

Taking Lessons on Spanish, Life

We{re taking lessons together now and I{m making progress! They took us for a hike to see Cuenca from above.
The above mentioned above.

Then we saw some neat-o ceramic art by a famous local guy.

Here is the artist E. Vega with random celebrity Jack Hanna. If I we{re to ever get my picture with him, I would certainly insist he hold a monkey or something. ¿Otherwise, what{s the point, you know?

His art is all over Ecuador, so afterward we went to see one in a hotel near by.

We{ve been trying real hard to volunteer, but it is just not in the cards here in Cuenca. At one point they set us up to be volunteer nurses for some reason. We went home after killing very few.

I can{t think what to add about Cuenca. We{ve been here forever and have a good vegetarian restraunt and a few other favorites we frequent. They have a lot of music here in the park. Yesterday there was a guy, being paid by the government, like all the music in the park, doing some very good karaoke. It was kinda lame. Also, there is a guy that sells snails next to our hostel, huge snails! And we{re found some cockatiels we say high to when we go grocery shopping. And also, we{ve been watching pirated dvd{s of Deadwood and the Tudors a lot. And and and... I dunno.

We have all souls day and the Cuenca festial to look forward too before meeting up with mom.

More Cuenca, More Fun!

Gillian took a few Spanish lessons before I started and went on a field trip to this art museum that was actually not closed!

I don{t know the story behind this one, sorry, haha.

Then we went and bought cool hats.

A hat wedding dress is actually a thing people do here. Kinda cool!

You can store your hats either in these tiny balsa wood boxes or in hat-shaped bags, which are just like carrying a hat.

The streets of Cuenca.

The convent behind our hostel is a suprisingly loud place. They blare music at 4 am like the couple that runs the hostle and it{s always under construction 7am-12am.

Oh ya, our hostel is now under construction too, but we{re staying since we get free internet. It{s weird though; after 6pm, we{re the only people in the place. We could steal their computer and leave. I don{t know why they would trust anyone so much but they do. The first night alone, someone kept trying to get in. I crept downstairs at 1am or something. I didn{t recognize him so I crept back up. There are all sorts of gates protecting us, but it was still creepy. Oh and they left all these alarms on all over. It was a weird night.

Not Much In The Way Of Ruins In Ecuador, But...

It seems that the best museums are attached to banks. We went in search of one of these banks that was to have ruins in the back as well. We stumbled upon another ruin on the way. It had a museum with about 4 things in it too. It was amazing!

This was after we saw the big museum. It was huge but we couldn{t use our camera. One of it{s exibits was on indiginous history and culture and it even had shrunken heads on display! They can{t shrink them anymore without facing jail time, but for a while there was quite a thriving black market for the heads.

This was the sight of the biggest Ican ruins in Ecuador and at first it didn{t seem all that cool...

But then we discovered the second level. They actually grow all the crops that the Ican{s would have, which made it kinda neat. Above Gillian is a seceret Incan tunnel but we couldn{t go inside.

On the same spot, there was this cool cool-bird exibit. Some of the pictures didn{t turn out.Then there were these llamas too!

Gillian's thoughts on Blood Meridian

Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

One of the epigraphs notes that a 300,000 year old skull was found in Africa that showed "evidence of being scalped." This, of course, suggests that McCarthy means us to consider the violent impulses of humanity, not just the cruelty and genocide that the white race has perpetrated.



However, I think that one of the reasons this book reminds us of Moby Dick is the absence of women. Being at sea and being at war are two situations in which women have historically not been present. The huge, white Judge, like the massive white whale, is more a mythical figure than a human character. They represent the nihilistic void that is a deeply seductive aspect of war. The pure indifference, the absence of commitment to past or future, the moment-to-moment life of the void translates to a kind of power. And the Judge is very persuasive in his argument that the void is the only kind of power that exists. If we choose to look away from what he tells us to ignore, and if we accept his policy of murdering the vulnerable to mean that there is no other correct relationship to vulnerability, then we are in his thrall.



However, the Kid is not in his thrall, and that should give us pause. Although he participates in the meaningless murderous rampage, like many men who go to war, the Kid resists the Judge, and he knows it; after all, the Judge says to the Kid, "There's a flawed place in the fabric of your heart. Do you think I could not know? You alone were mutinous. You alone reserved in your soul some corner of clemency for the heathen." Why would the Kid's death and lack of miraculous ascension mean that there is no salvation--that "man's inhumanity to man" is the final sentence we can pronounce on humanity? The Judge speaks more words than any other person in the book, but the Kid lives in silence. I think that the silence of the book is significant--the silence of the Kid, the silence of victims, the silence of women and the vulnerable. It "speaks" to other worlds and bigger meanings that the Judge refuses to allow, but continue nevertheless--even without his consent.



Note: I wrote the above in response to someone else's review, and then later I cut and pasted it to make a separate review. I hope that's not obnoxious, and I hope it still makes some sense!


View all my reviews.

Ian Andes (Get it?)

On a final note. This community has been around since the Incans and actually fought the Incans off to maintain their land. Recently, they bought a small amount back from the government for a huge sum.

On a note that goes beyond our understanding of finality, touching ever so briefly on the infinite, we had to wait around for a while when the tour was doen because it was raining so much, the roads had become rivers. So, I fluted.

Quichua Cultural Tour (we´re really catching up to the present now!)

This is Gillian. She was driven 30 minutes outside of Cuenca to this community that keeps their old culture alive.

We have yet to try Cuy, Guinnie Pigs. It´s quite exspensive. 18 bucks a pig which plus 9 for our hostel is the budget for the whole day.

I´m growing a beard for some reason.

We hiked on a carpet of moss.

More beard.

HAHAHA. I caught our tour guide in an unfortunate position.

Green Stone. Why green? It is. When? Now. Go away, idiot. Why? Green. alkdhfahfjdl

The plants naturally formed a circle. It was a spot they used to pray.

Lunch on a sheet. The gray haired women was racist yet thought she was soooo liberal. It was quite annoying and offensive.

Back to the house we walked for a concert

The tour was great but there were a lot of breaks. I think we took this during one of them.

Breaks over. These kids were really cute and they were always shaking your hands.

Gillian showing her lack of respect for corn. A very satisfying procedure.