Ignorance is Bliss

I recently noticed some of the changes I have made throughout this trip.  One of the more predominant to me is how I walk through the city to class every morning.  I take the same route I have taken since the beginning of our time in Cuenca but my mindset on my journey each morning has shifted.  As with many of the other students, I have been given a sort of ¨specialized¨attention.  At times I feel like an exotic animal in a zoo.  Through the weeks, though, I feel more distanced from the attention than I did when I first arrived.  During the first few weeks my focus was geared towards my personal safety and staying alert.  After the culture shock of the first week, I stopped reacting to every whistle and/or noise around me.  The car alarms became an easily recognizable pattern and the dogs barking no longer woke me up at night.  Settling in was a nice and necessary adjustment.  Even the mountainous slope I hiked up every morning seemed to be enjoyable. Slowly, I started zoning out the cat calls, car horns, and giggles.  The final transformation into complete social ignorance came about a week ago when I started listening to my iPod on the way to class and, in the afternoons, wearing my sunglasses.  Now, not only have I zoned out alarms and cat calls but I have also literally taken myself out of a state of alertness at all.  I find myself happier to remain in blissful ignorance (not having to see or hear any crude, lude or rude comments) than to maintain an uber-alert state.  I believe this may be how Americans get the stereotype of being uptight and egotistical, instead of giving a desired reaction we blatently ignore parts of the culture we don´t like.  I found this interesting in how I assimilated to a new culture that I am temporarily a part of.