Jueves en Latacunga

Nina Dog's seductive face.

My favorite things about Latacunga this morning, in no particular order:

• After two weeks of cold equatorial rainstorms, today brought a break in the weather: sunshine and blue skies.  The mud in the streets has dried up.  The air is cleaner after the rain.  
• My bicycle, as usual.
• At 9:00 this morning, after three consecutive days of work, Fabiola Cando and I finished revising her Master's thesis project.  She's going to do good things for education in this country.  It felt good to play a small role in her efforts.
• Nina has taken to sleeping in my bedroom, which makes me love her more.  Our friendship is evolving.
• Tomorrow is Semana Santa.  The market is completely flooded with women buying bacalao (dried, salted cod) to put in their massive batches of fanesca, Ecuador's famous Easter soup.  The smell of the fish overwhelms the usual smells of the market, and the sunshine brings smiles to the vendors' faces.
• The man at the post office calls me by my name now.  (It only took six months.)
• A long lunchtime talk with my lovely neighbor yesterday left me a little more comfortable with the pueblo's increasingly tumultuous political climate today.  
• I'm going to Chicago tonight.  Tomorrow, and for two short days afterward, I'll enjoy immediate access to deep dish pizza, real beer, and hugs from some of my favorite people.  

To respectfully counter the image above: my favorite creature with four legs.  In the whole world.  Oh, man, do I miss him.