Bicicleta

A little over a week ago I bought a bicycle. 

One block down from my house, there is a collective of storefronts that, during business hours, overflow with bikes, most of which are surprisingly not for sale.  The same workers are there every day, tinkering with grimy hands, welding without masks and making repairs without fancy tools.  I bought my new bike from Jorge, a sweetheart of a man who wears blue overalls and an alpaca scarf.  I bought it for $50 and chose it mostly for the color scheme.  And it has changed my life here in Latacunga.  My commute to the university is now fifteen minutes instead of forty.  The skinny one-way cobblestone streets suddenly make more sense than they do when I walk.  I can move faster than the cars through the constant traffic congestion.  It is, for lack of a better descriptor, awesome.

Happy Nina.