As anyone who has ever met me in person knows – I like to wear black. Basically, a good 60% of my wardrobe is either black, black & white, gray, or a pattern with black, white & gray. Actually, it’s probably more like 75% since I just surveyed my wardrobe by looking across the room (which tells you just how limited a Peace Corps Volunteers wardrobe is!).
I’ve always liked wearing black even before I became a New Yorker. Maybe it was inspired by my love of black & white photography or the fact that my bedroom growing up was covered with black & white images (click here to see a post with pictures from my teenage room) but I have to admit it’s probably more out of laziness. Having basic black and gray pieces of clothing means I don’t have to think too much when I get dressed. Yet, since arriving in Ecuador I’ve been attempting to take more risks and wear a bit more color. It might just be candy-apple red sunglasses or a yellow tagua and paper bracelet but it’s a start.
Lately, I’ve been in a reminiscent mood. Toni Morrison writes in her book, Sula:
It’s sheer good fortune to miss somebody long before they ever leave you.
That’s how I feel right now. I am thinking about what’s next. Where we’ll be and how this crazy, amazing, scary, incredible, glorious, and challenging experience has changed us.
For one thing, I have appreciated the vibrancy of Ecuador – in general and specifically in life on the coast. From the bright pop of a purple flower against a dusty wall and the unimaginable hues of blue on a beach day to actual rainbows and a family’s bright clothing hanging on a line to dry there are a lot of colorful inspirations everywhere I look.
Ecuador’s natural wonders abound – the Galápagos, the Amazon, the Andes, cloud forests, and beaches. They inspire me to express myself more with color as do the people and their handiwork from artisan crafts to Guayasamín’s anguished paintings. There’s a reason the logo for Ecuador’s tourism campaign is a spiral of squares in a spectrum of colors (as pictured in the collage above).
Have a colorful day!
Mari