I have not yet traveled enough to say that I am a particularly worldly person, but I desperately want to be. Living in Cuenca has shown me yet another way of life -- from the four churches (and one main/new cathedral) that I pass on my way to and from school every day, to the women layered in colored skirts who sell fruit in the markets, to the men and boys who whistle and cat-call as my friends and I walk past, I have new experiences and meet new people every day. I am still learning my way around the city, and if my bus makes a different turn, I still freak out a little inside even though I know I will end up in the right place. I have to wash my fruit and vegetables very well, and there are certain restaurants that I am not allowed to go to.
And yet, I feel as if I am home. Finally. Until I moved into a dormitory in Athens, Ohio towards the end of 2012, I only had memories of living in one city: Columbus, Ohio. Though it still does, and probably will always, feel like home, I have never been in love with a city. I traveled to New York City and claimed to have fallen in love with the bustle and the tall buildings, but that was merely infatuation. I spend time every summer at my grandparents' summer home in Ocean City, New Jersey, and while the small island feels like a second home, I only know how navigate because many of the streets are numbered. I have visited family throughout Ohio, and I spent last summer living in Dayton, Ohio with my dad, but I don't know enough of those cities to really love them. Perhaps Columbus, but at the same time, not really. I have only been in Cuenca for about a month now, but I love this city. I love the markets named after different important days in history; I love the uneven streets, most of which are actually stone or some sort of brick; I love seeing the blue domes of the New Cathedral as I walk through Parque Calderone; I love the $1 ice cream; I love the detail and artistry of the graffiti; I love the flower market near the cathedral; I love how I can see the mountains no matter where I am walking because no skyscrapers are in the way. I don't like the lack of books, or the fact that those here cost roughly two to three times as much as they do in the United States. The cat-calls and whistles will probably never end (I am a gringo, after all), and I don't know if I will ever be able to buy fruit on a corner and just eat it right then without getting sick. But none of those things matter because for the first time in my life, I truly feel at home in a city. I am nowhere near being fluent in the local language (though I am improving every day!), and I can't even read the local newspapers...yet I almost feel more comfortable here than I ever have been elsewhere. Perhaps I am still stuck in the "honeymoon" phase of studying abroad, in which "everything is incredible and the people are fantastic and I wish I could be here forever!" Perhaps I will end up despising this beautiful city by the time I start my airport-hop home. I don't think so though. I feel at home and I already want to start planning my return trip...not that I know when I'll be able to afford it. To my family members who are reading this -- don't freak out just yet. I still have two years of college left in the US when I get back, and who knows where I will be headed when that is over. But I love this city, and unless something absolutely horrible happens in the next few months, I will most likely be coming back at some point in my life...so consider this your fair warning, I guess. Let me repeat...I can see the mountains from anywhere in the city. Wouldn't you like to live somewhere this beautiful, too?
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AuthorKate Hiller is a wannabe world traveler studying journalism and Spanish at Ohio University. This blog is about her experiences living abroad in Cuenca, Ecuador for a semester. (Spring 2014) Archives
May 2014
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