Views of the inactive volcano, Tayta Imbabura, from one of our morning hikes.
5AM – 8AM Wake up, with hours depending on whether or not we will take a morning
hike around the volcano. I awake with the all-natural alarms of geese
honking, roosters crowing, and the baby cow mooing for more milk.
8AM – 9AM Make breakfast and set up the table. Breakfast is usually a bowl of fruits,
a steaming cup of milk, bread, and a boiled egg. But sometimes, we will
eat leftovers from, say, the Christmas dinner.
9AM-9:30AM Prepare my lunch to take to my apprenticeship, Museo Otavalango.
Lunch is usually rice, stir-fried vegetables, and any other leftover
meat/dishes they have.
9:30AM-10:15AM Take the bus and walk to my apprenticeship. I wait right in front of my
house and wave at the bus for it to stop. It takes me to the Otavalo
terminal, from where I transfer onto another bus bound for Quiroga. I ask
the driver to drop me off at the traffic light, from where I walk about 5
minutes to get to the museum.
10:15AM-11AM Chill out with Diana (the cook) and the Zambrano family in the kitchen,
often learning Spanish jokes and discovering more about the Kichwa
culture.
11AM-1PM Make lunch with Diana while discovering more about her life as a
Colombian refugee.
1PM-3PM Enjoy lunch with everyone.
3PM-5PM Teach English class. Although some of the English-speaking tourists do
come in the morning, most of them come around this time. I then have to
pause English class and give the tourists an English tour of the museum.
5PM-6PM Go back home.
6PM-11PM Everyday varies. Sometimes, the house is very quiet or Mama Rosita
has clients/friends she talks to, so I stay in my room to read books,
discover new Spanish music, watch Spanish films on Netflix, plan future
travels, surf the web, or exercise on the elliptical in my room. Other times,
my abuela, tia, tio, and 3 primos from Mama Rosita’s side come over to
chat and have a bit of food. Cynthi (my host sister) and I usually join the
conversation with a hot cup of lemon water or tea with bread. While the
adults are talking, us wawaitos are normally sharing Facebook memes.
