The past two weeks have been about trying to settle in, finding a routine, and feeling comfortable living in a city. To that end, I spent last weekend playing tourist. It’s a strange thing to go from pure cultural immersion, to taking the double-decker bus along with a group of other North Americans past my jogging path by the river. It’s like I’m moving between worlds. The world of tourist, and the world of inhabitant.
Plaza de las Artesanias (Plaza of Handicrafts) in Cuenca.
(Caution: Vegetarians may want to skip this post!) Where can you buy tomatoes, papayas, onions, a new pair of sneakers, a can of spray foam for Carnaval, and a live chicken all in one go? That would be Cuenca’s largest local marketplace, Feria Libre!
At last, I have arrived in Cuenca – my home for the next 5 and a half months. The past couple of days have involved another flurry of orientation and adjustment. I’ve had to learn how to get around again, how to communicate (hello, super-cheap cell-phone), and I’m getting to know my housemates in Cuenca and colleagues at la Universidad de Cuenca. Through all this, I’m meeting great people, discovering fabulous colonial architecture, and getting excited to begin work with a really motivated research group.
The cathedral near Parque Calderon, in the heart of Cuenca.
Northern Colorado Climo Prof 