The unwinding of a weekend

I kept a journal last year. It was neither philosophical nor full of emotion. I merely recounted each day the events that had transpired. I was curious to look back through it at the end of the year and see how I had gotten from one place to another. Not so much how I got from November to April, but how the details from a number of days within those months led me from teaching in a school where I adore the students and staff to a whole new country, for example. I find the unpredictability of life the most fascinating.

I am at once a planner and an anti-planner. I will elaborate further. Generally speaking, I am not just a dreamer or big-talker. I like to take action and bring my desires and my dreams to fruition when possible. Por eso there are times I really need to plan and concern myself with fine details. Plans can also offer excitement and fun anticipation as I look forward to, say, the beach excursion Michelle and I embark on this coming weekend, or my trip to Argentina with NieNie in August. On the other hand, filling my day with plans can turn even events I enjoy into obligations. I find too quickly that the day becomes one big checklist. Luckily my life affords me the privilege of leaving some days and weekends unplanned, allowing my whims and needs to guide the moment. This weekend offered just such luxury.

The following are a number of (mostly) lovely events that ensued between Friday and Sunday afternoon.

Walking out of school on Friday, I crossed paths with Little Bro Pete who invited me to hit up a shawarma joint with him, Tom and company. Shawarma is the closest one will get to Happy Hour in Quito. A mango flavored hookah, cheap beer and Middle Eastern cuisine, as I shall call it, was a delightful way to end the week. The rain that poured down outside the restaurant inspired me to head home afterwards to drink hot chocolate and travel to the town of Macondo to see what the Buendia family was getting up to in One Hundred Years of Solitude.

Rising at the reasonable hour of 8 am on Saturday, I ventured to the gym. Upon arrival I found that the gymnasio was closed because of a feriado. (As it turned out, this weekend commemorated The Battle of Pichincha.) And so it goes. On my way home I stopped at Iñaquito for my weekly produce and the ingredients to make brunch for a few friends, which was the one part of the weekend that was planned in advance. Before Alli, Charles and Justin arrived, I utilized my new yoga room and got my Vinyasa flow on. By 11:45 am these three amigos  were at my door, bearing gifts of flowers, coffee and Bailey's Irish Cream. I will happily host The Brunch Club (much superior to The Breakfast Club) any weekend so long as these delightful offerings are presented.   ;-) As the four of us were chatting over Southwestern egg scramble and fruit salad, sipping our Bailey's and coffee, it struck me again how much my life has changed in the past year. I don't remember what I wrote in that journal for May 24th, 2013, but the events of that day were vastly different than May 24th, 2014. One day in May our lives were completely separate, and now another we are all joined.

Brunching with these beautiful friends is a delightful way to begin a Saturday.

After our bellies were sufficiently filled, I suggested we take a fieldtrip to La Thé, my favorite teashop in Quito. To our shock and dismay, La Thé was closed as well. So, what did we do with our disappointed selves? Hopped on the Ecovía to be dropped off just short of the G-Spot's doorstep. Nachos, cerveza and a big soccer match did verily improve our moods. As we were walking back towards my casa, we stumbled across a quaint little establishment that promised good microbrews, so naturally we sauntered in to seat ourselves at the bar and chat with the proprietario for un ratito. Finally making our way back to La Carolina, we tried our luck once more with another tea shop. Tippytea was indeed open as it is located inside of Mall El Jardin and the caramel rooibos that I am currently sipping is a pretty good consolation for the former tea shop being closed.

Having chatted with Tom at G-Spot, we had planned to try a new restaurant called Ajì, though my improving South American sense told me to call ahead. We will call it a milagrito that Ají 1. has a website, 2. lists a phone number, and 3. someone answered the phone when I called...and told me that the restaurant was indeed closed for the night. Whelp, no problem, we are learning to always have a Plan B, Plan C and D. At 8 pm, I was sitting with Tom at a Japanese restaurant I had been curious to explore. We were soon joined by Peter and Toby, which meant rather than going home afterwards, Toby entreated us to travel a short distance to Old Town's most delightful little calle se llama La Ronda. While Toby had friends already in the area who we were to meet up with, the night really turned into canelazoing our way up this street filled with tourists and tiendas.

Canelazo Stop #1

This morning I indulged myself and slept until 10 am. After serving myself breakfast in bed, a routine I frequently engage in on weekends, I got myself dressed and walked over to Quicentro in search of a tailor I had been told about, as I was in need of someone to hem my jeans. This is the weekend's milagrito numero dos. After losing myself in Quicentro's subsuelo underworld, I finally located the sastería and effectively communicated my desires. It is yet to be seen if I will find my way back on Wednesday to pick up my pants, but I've always been told events, both good and bad, happen in trios.

The most essential part of the weekend came in the form of a date with Parque Metropolitano. These past weeks I have been sitting with an unsettled, somewhat restless feeling. I surmise that it is due in part to the approaching summer. While I am full of excitement and anticipation at the reality of being in the flesh with my friends and family back home, it includes more shifts and changes from the routines and people that I have become so accustomed to here in Quito. Nonetheless, as an emotionally charged woman, I have concluded, and continue to daily learn, that whatever feeling I am experiencing, it is often wisest to just observe the emotion. It is often not an indication that I need to take action, fix anything or even make any changes, at least not right away. While I love embracing many of the strong emotions I feel, it proves fruitless to try to push away sentiments that bring discomfort; in time, these feelings subside. Observing families passing time together, breathing in the fresh air and bringing awareness to the organic stimuli of nature was not cause enough to dissipate the feeling of unsettledness, but it did provide some quietude.

I know not the purpose of this structure near my favorite lookout in the park, but it matters not--I love tortugas.

This early evening finds me back in my pjs, doing chores and considering what to whip up for dinner, pondering where life may be on May 25th, 2015.

I miss all of you back home dearly. And I miss the spring that seems to have finally arrived. I hope you are finding delight in the freshness of all that blooms this month.

Jame