Cultural Immerson #1298: The Mullet

So although my hair´s been longer than I usually like it for a couple weeks now, I´ve been assured by JuanCar and Juan Carlos (both of whom have hair past their shoulders) that my hair has been a perfectly acceptable, almost too short length. I finally decided this past weekend that enough was enough and that regardless of the outcome, I needed a haircut. I went to a place recommended by a friend and $2, 15 minutes, and several questionable sighs from the barber later I was mullet-clad. I haven´t decided yet whether to cut it off or just embrace my new style as a cultural adaptation...probably the former...

I´ve felt my time quickly slipping away here for a couple weeks now, but today it really hit. Although my kids were kind of punks today for some reason, they are all starting to ask, "When are you going back to the United States?" and I don´t think in a "Can´t you just leave already?" way. I´m usually pretty skeptical when people come back from study abroad or a summer experience gushing about their fantastic kids and their amazing time but I´m afraid I´m in danger of becoming one of those people myself. I´m not going to pretend that my kids are angels or that I´ve enjoyed every minute of my internship, but several of my kids have quickly worked their ways into my heart. I´m getting ready to leave my internship and several aspects are starting to wear on me, but at the same time, I´m going to miss Narsisa´s hug in the morning, Julio´s beaming smile, Sergio´s chess challenges, Gustavo´s gripping handshakes, Ricky´s swearing, Jesica´s questions, Jaqueline´s criticisms, Gabriela´s nicknames and English, and maybe even Hector´s constant nagging about stilts.

Today was also a difficult day in that I ran into Paúl, a kid from Sol who had to leave because he was too direspectful and got in too many fights. I was walking up to the park with my boys on stilts (they can climb stairs now) when we saw Paúl and his brothers playing. When Paúl was in Sol he was my biggest problem and left me frustrated with his disrespect and violence every day. Today when I saw him I was with his group of zancos and it was a real shock to see what exactly it´s like for these kids outside of our foundation. In Sol the kids get 2 meals a day, plenty of activities and always have to practice good hygeine. When I saw Paúl today, he was just playing on the street on a Tuesday morning and obviously hadn´t washed his face or hands in days. Even though he was my biggest problem a few weeks ago, today he ran up to me and asked about things in Sol and if people had been asking about him. I was really taken aback by his eagerness, especially since he was my "llorón" (whiner) when he was actually attending Sol. Seeing him again really made me appreciate, if not what I´m doing here, the pretty incredible work of which I´m a tiny part.

This weekend is probably my last "free" weekend in Quito and I´ll probably spend most of it writing my independent study project. I haven´t really had the motivation I might have hoped for in the project, but I´ve become really interested and am excited to write the paper. So little time for everything...but what else is new?

Still coming soon: Sumo, Thanksgiving, and Quitu Raymi