Christmas In Ecuador

Merry Christmas!  Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!  Sorry for the lack of posts over the past few weeks, but I'm going to try to sum up what I've been up to.

Two weekends ago, Saturday the 14th, I went on a day hike with Nacion Urku, the foundation that works with the at risk children in South Quito.  Unfortunately, not many kids showed up, probably because we hadn't had classes the past week due to Fiestas de Quito.  However, the kids who did show up had a great time.  We hiked a volcano close to Quito.  It was a pretty difficult hike, especially because it had rained in the morning so a lot of the trail was very muddy, but the view at the top was completely worth it.  Once I get the pictures from the other counselor, I'll post them.

On Sunday, my Christmas celebrations began when visitors from the US Embassy came to the Nido for the day.  We decorated a Christmas tree and then watched Elf with the girls.  Though it was a small event, it started to get me in the spirit of Christmas.  

On Wednesday, we took the girls to the Mitad del Mundo ("Middle of the World") museum.  I was probably more interested than the girls, as I've been wanting to go t

here since arriving in Ecuador.  I was able to stand with one foot in the Southern Hemisphere and one in the Northern Hemisphere.  

On Thursday, the shelter held a Christmas party for the girls and some of the office professionals. As I had been feeling pretty homesick all week with Christmas approaching, this day was just what I needed.  The girls sang lots of Christmas carols and put on the play of the birth of Jesus, we played some Ecuadorean style Christmas games, and had a big family-style lunch.  It was so nice to spend the day with so many people...definitely helped a bit with the homesickness.  

I spent this past weekend finishing up a few last things for Christmas and the New Year.  On Sunday, I went to Colleen's (one of the Fulbright girls who also stayed in Ecuador over Christmas) to make some Christmas cookies.  We made chocolate chip oatmeal cookies and kolaches (Polish cookies that my mom and I usually make during the holidays).  They both turned out great!  We then decorated Colleen's Christmas tree while listening to some traditional holiday music.

Monday, Alas de Colibri had another Christmas celebration, but this time at a local park and with all the workers of the foundation - there are about 50 in total.  I spent the day playing basketball, equivolle, and soccer.  I loved the opportunity to get to know the other ACF workers better, especially those that don't work in the Nido. 

And so we are at Tuesday, Christmas Eve.  I spent the day at the Nido, just like a normal day.  After work, Lili, Jorge and I went to Jorge's grandmother's for Christmas Eve dinner.  We had turkey, rice and a yummy salad - not quite the decadent meal I'm accustomed to, but still very tasty.  We stayed at the house until midnight, so we could make one final toast and wish everyone a Merry Christmas right at 12:00.  

Today was definitely not my traditional Christmas.  Both Lili and Jorge needed to work, so I woke up to an empty house rather than presents under a Christmas tree.  I spent my morning watching some Christmas movies.  At noon, I headed into the city to have Christmas lunch with Daniella's family (Daniella is the niece of one of my mom's coworkers at CVIM who I met upon arriving in Ecuador).  There were so many people at the lunch - probably around 30 people .  We had a wonderful lunch, again not quite my traditional family dinner, but just as yummy.  After lunch, the family opened up their presents.  There were quite a few young children, so it was very fun to see how happy they got after opening each present.  It was great to be "adopted" by the Barriga family for a few hours and spend some of the day with others.

Tomorrow, I plan to have a relaxing day before heading to Colombia on Friday, where I will spend 10 days with Pablo (a nephew of my mom's coworker) and his fiancé, Paola.  Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and happy new year!

With the visitors from the US Embassy after decorating the Christmas tree

At the Mitad del Mundo!

One of the party games...Each team had to dress someone as the "Christmas Star".  If you don't get it, I didn't either - as I've learned throughout my time here, sometimes you just have to go with it!

The nativity scene

Christmas cookies!

Las Fiestas De Quito

Quito's independence day was this Friday, December 6th.  For the past 2 weeks, Quito has been filed with school parades, festivals, and concerts.   I ended up having a four day weekend, so I was fully able to enjoy all the festivities.

On Thursday, I went downtown to the historical district of Quito.  There was a huge food festival with lots of traditional Ecuadorian food, and even better, it was all extremely cheap.  I was able to taste lots of dishes like hornado (like pulled pork but much better!) and locro (potato soup).  I then went to the Christmas party of Dunamis, the foundation where we take the girls from the shelter to learn various skills to increase their chances of getting jobs.  A local missionary helped with the party, so there were LOTS of other Americans.  One of the Americans even dressed up as Santa and gave all the girls Christmas gifts.  At night, I went with a friend to a free concert with lots of Ecuadorian artists.  Even though I barely understood any of the words, it was a great evening.

Friday, I spent much of the day in my neighborhood.  Many of my neighbors were grilling on the streets and all the men were playing ecuavolley(the Ecuadorean's version of volleyball - it is played 3v3 and you can kinda catch the ball).  It is extremely popular.  Some cops and even cab drivers, who bet their day's earnings, showed up to play as well.  Friday night, I went to La Ronda, a little artsy avenue in the historical district.  It was absolutely packed!  The funniest part of the night was when I returned home around 1, my neighbors were still out partying.  They ended up dancing and playing music until around 4 or 5 in the morning!

On Saturday, I went to Otavalo, an outdoor market in a little town about 2 hours north of Quito.  The market was enormous and had practically everything you could ever imagine.  We wandered around for about 3 hours, and we all finished the day with bags full of Ecuadorean things.  I got a new sweater and a few gifts for my family for Christmas - hope you guys enjoy!

Sunday, I had a relaxing day after the past 3 busy days.  I went to lunch with two of John's friends from the US.  They live in Pomasqui, a town also in the North and about 10 minutes from Carcelen.  It's always nice to find more Americans, especially living so close to me!

(Sorry for the lack of photos.  Since there were soooooo many people around due to the fiestas, I didn't feel comfortable carrying around a camera.)

Quilotoa

This weekend, I ventured to Quilotoa, a lake in a huge volcanic crater, with Lauren, Colleen, and Lisa (Fulbrights who are actually my age - or closer than anyone else I have met). We left Saturday morning after my tutoring, and unfortunately, the trip took much longer than expected. First, we had to take a bus to South Quito, which took about 2 hours. Next, we took a 1.5 hour bus ride to Latacunga (the town where the Mama Negra Festival was). In Latacunga, as we were all starving by this point, we had lunch before continuing our journey. It was nice to see Latacunga without all the festivities of La Mama Negra - many more stores were open and we were able to see the beautiful architecture of the town. We then boarded another bus, which took us to Chugchilán, the town with our hostel. This 3 hour bus ride was absolutely terrifying - we flew along curvy roads through the mountains and I honestly thought the bus was going to fall off the road. However, the long trip was fully worth it, as our hostel and Quilotoa were BEAUTIFUL.

Our hostel, the Black Sheep, reminded me a lot of the hostel in Cotopaxi that I stayed in. It was deep in the Andes with the most beautiful views. Soon after arriving, we had a wonderful vegetarian dinner of eggplant parmesan (possibly the first vegetarian meal I've had since arriving in Quito). As we needed to get up bright and early to begin our hike on Sunday, we were fast asleep by 9:30 in our cosy cabin with a nice fire warming the place.

We woke up on Sunday to a wonderful pancake breakfast and soon after 7, our camioneta (pick-up truck) arrived to take us to Quilotoa. This ride was probably one of my favorite parts of the weekend. We rode in the back of the truck, holding tightly to the frame and hoping to catch all the beautiful views as we sped through the mountains. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures as I was using all my strength not to fall out of the truck. After the 45 minute ride, we were all freezing, but the views were definitely worth not being able to feel our fingers.

Quilotoa, the lake itself, was beautiful. We eagerly began the trek down the crater to the lake - this was the easy part. At the bottom of the crater, we rented kayaks to check out the crater from the water. After eating our packed lunch from the hostel, we started the hike up out of the crater - this was the hard part. It took about 1 hour, which isn't long, but we had to basically climb one wall of the crater solely on a sand path where you constantly lost your footing. Plus, you had to make room for horses, carrying those too lazy to hike out. We were ecstatic to finally finish the hike.

After finishing the hike and having a snack, we rented a van to take us back to Latacunga, where we were able to catch a bus to Quito. Luckily, the return trip was much quicker than the first trip. I was back home about 4 hours after leaving Quilotoa. Overall, it was a great weekend with wonderful company, great hiking, and wonderful sights.

The morning view from our hostel

                                                    Our hostel was literally above the clouds in the mountains

Our first view of Quilotoa Lake

The trek down the crater

At the bottom of the crater - we picked up one more person at our hostel to join us for the day

Kayaking - The water was a beautiful teal

At the top of the crater

The post climb victory jump

La Festival Mama Negra

This weekend, I traveled to Latacunga for La Festival Mama Negra.  Latacunga is a small town about 2 hours south of Quito, located very close to the volcano Cotopaxi.  The Mama Negra (Black Mother) festival is held each year by the indigenous people.  They praise the "black mother" for protecting their city, especially from the volcano Cotopaxi, one of Ecuador's most active volcanoes.  The festival and parade were nothing like anything I've ever seen before.  As you would expect, there were bands playing music and many people dressed in traditional Ecuadorian clothes dancing throughout the streets.  However, included in these dancers were men dressed as women.  It was pretty hysterical.  There were also men dressed in all white with sticks who traveled throughout the crowd "purifying" people.  They would dance around you, hit you with the sticks, and chant things like "Long Live Latacunga" while another man would spit alcohol on you.  Being a gringa, I definitely stuck out in the crowd and was chosen multiple times.  In the eyes of "La Mama Negra", I am now as pure as can be.   Like parades in the US, dancers and others walked the streets handing out candies, pins, and other small things.  However, unlike the US, these people also walked around with flasks and bottles of who-knows-what type of alcohol, attempting to force shots on everyone in the crowd.  You just had to keep your mouth closed and run in the opposite direction whenever you saw someone coming with a bottle.  

On Saturday, after the parade ended, we left Latacunga to go to Cotopaxi.  We spent the night in a beautiful hostel in the country side - after leaving the main road, we drove for about 1.5 hours on a dirt road before we got to the hostel.  It was definitely worth the drive as it was absolutely gorgeous.  The sunset, the mountains, the garden - everything was wonderful!  On Sunday, we rented horses and went for a 3 hour ride up into the mountains.  I had a wonderful time - just now I have a very sore back and legs.  Upon returning to the hostel after the horse ride, we were able to relax in the jacuzzi and read by the fire.  It was some much needed relaxation before returning to Quito to start another busy week of volunteering.

One of the many "women" in the parade

Some "women" line dancing throughout the streets

A couple in traditional Ecuadorian dress

More parade dancers

The "purifiers"

The masks of the "purifiers" - yes, it was a little bit frightening

More dancers - I loved all the beautiful colors

Look at the beautiful colors of Ecuador clothing!

Myself, Jo and Kathy - 3 of the 5 weekend travelers 

The sunset from our hostel in Cotopaxi

The wonderful view from our hostel in Cotopaxi

Horseback riding in the mountains

We even got to look like Ecuadorian cowboys with our chaps!

The five of us on our horses

El Dia de Los Difuntos

Saturday was El Dia de Los Difuntos (the Day of the Dead).   Walking through much of Quito, you wouldn't even know it was a holiday, except for the abundance of colada morada (a fruit drink with a deep purple color to resemble blood) and guaguas de pan (bread shaped and decorated like a baby) everywhere.  However, John and I decided to spend the afternoon in one of Quito's largest cemeteries, El Cementario de San Diego.  Here, you could definitely tell that it was a special day.  At the entrance to the cemetery, there were hundreds of people selling flowers, rosaries, and of course, colada morada and guaguas de pan.  The cemetery itself was packed with families, painting and decorating family members' tombs, eating food by the tombs, and just spending time with each other.  It was a pretty powerful thing to watch - definitely made me miss my family.

Saturday night, John and I went out for one last meal together.  He left Quito on Monday morning to return to the states, with no plans to return to Quito in the near future.  It was a pretty tough goodbye, as John is the friend who helped me to arrange this entire gap year.  We went to an Italian restaurant which was delicious (if anyone comes to visit me - we will definitely go to dinner there one night).  Plus, the meal did not include rice!!

I spent Sunday relaxing in one of Quito's many parks with a few friends.  I love spending Sundays in the parks.  Since Sunday is a very family-oriented day, there's always plenty of people watching with a lot of cute kids and adorable puppies!

My way of participating in the day's festivities - my guagua de pan

The flowers outside of the cemetery

The pictures below are all from inside El Cementario de San Diego - John and I got a little carried away with taking photos.

Halloween Edition

Let me start by saying in Ecuador, Halloween is technically banned.  The president does not want Ecuadorians to celebrate any foreign holiday, so instead of celebrating Halloween, Ecuadorians are supposed to celebrate El Dia de La Bandera (The day of the shield).  However, this law does not stop anyone from celebrating Halloween.

So last night for Halloween, along with 40 other people, I went on a chiva, basically a wooden party bus.  We rode around the city for 2 hours - dancing, singing, and even stopping in a plaza to elect a rey and reina (king and queen) of the chiva.

Hannah, Lauren, Colleen (the three fulbright girls)  and I dressed as an Ecuadorian meal.  Hannah was arroz (rice), Lauren was una sopa de espinaca (spinach soup), Colleen was espumilla (a type of ice cream treat sold on the streets everywhere), and I was guagua de pan (a little bit like a gingerbread man but made from bread).

We all had a great night! While there were no children trick or treating and I did miss the American candy, it was fun to celebrate Halloween in a new way!

The chiva which drove us around town all night

Guaguas de pan - It's a custom to eat these on El Dia de Los Difuntos (Day of the Dead - Nov 2)

The Ecuadorian Meal - A guagua de pan, arroz, espumilla, and sopa de espinaca

Just your average guagua de pan!

A Relaxing Week Followed By A Busy Weekend

I enjoyed my second week at El Nido just as much as my first.  I've been able to get to know the other workers much better, so now I feel as though I have a few more friends and people to talk to at work.  Also, I'm connecting with the girls more and more each day.  Whether it's playing basketball, helping with English or math, or watching their favorite soap opera, Corazon Valiente, I'm loving all the time that I get to spend with these girls.

On Saturday morning, ACF (the foundation I'm working with) hosted a Sports Day.  Two other foundations from the area came, and the girls spent the morning playing basketball in the local park.   I was called in to play in overtime of one game as a secret weapon, for I'm basically a giant to most Ecuadorians.  We did win the game 11 to 10!  I loved spending the morning playing with the girls and getting to know other ACF workers.

I spent Saturday afternoon with Colleen, Hannah and Lauren, the Fulbright scholars who graduated from college last year.  As Halloween is quickly approaching, we spent the afternoon shopping for Halloween costumes, followed by a movie night in one of their apartments.  For Halloween, we decided that we would be an Ecuadorian meal - each of us is going to be a different type of food.  Don't worry, I'll post lots of pictures!

On Sunday, I went with Lili and Jorge to Lili's parents house to celebrate Daniel's (Lili's brother) birthday.  It was nice to have a big family lunch, something that I have definitely been missing here.   After lunch, we went to Cotocachi, the leather capital of Ecuador.  There was a huge artisan market and you could find almost anything made of leather - belts, hats, bracelets, bags, coats, scarfs, boots!

Sunday night, I caught my first sickness.  Not sure if it was from the food (especially our dinner of cuy-guinea pig), or something else, but I've been pretty sick for the past 36 hours.   Luckily, there is plenty of rice and tea in my house!  

Playing basketball during overtime - we won by one point!

With all my girls after the games!

The market at Cotopaxi

My dinner of cuy - guinea pig

Continuing To Adjust

Since Cuenca, I haven't taken any more big trips, just small nights out trying to meet new people.  Last week, I went out with a friend of Lili's one night, and with Lili and Jorge and another couple another night.  I had a good time, it's just a little strange for me to be going out with people who are all over 30. Next mission:  Make friends my own age.  

On Sunday night, I went to a potluck with other people who are from the United States.  While I was hoping to meet other students, I found that most people were actually teachers and much older than me. I did, however, meet 3 girls who just graduated from college and are in Ecuador on Fulbright scholarships.  These girls may be my best bet at finding people close to my own age.  I may just have to get used to having older friends.  

This weekend, I also decided to move houses.  I had been living on the 3rd floor of the apartment complex with Lorena and her daughter Karla.  While Karla was very sweet, Lorena was almost never home.  With being homesick and missing my family, I think not having a "mom" in the house was making me feel even worse.  So Saturday morning, I packed up all my stuff again and moved to the 1st floor apartment with Lili and Jorge.  I'm hoping this situation will be better, as Lili, Jorge and I have similar schedules.  So far, we've been having dinner together and I feel as though I have a lot more interaction with others.  

My work at El Nido is continuing to be the highlight of my days.  As my spanish is improving, I'm starting to be able to connect with some girls and joke around with them.  On Friday, a new girl, Marianna, moved into the house.  Right now, she is very quiet and keeps to herself.  I can't wait to see a transformation in her as she spends time in the house.  

I'm continuing to adjust to life in Ecuador, whether it's eating dinner at 9:30, using buses to go almost everywhere, or texting in spanish.  While right now I would not say I'm having the time of my life, I feel that once I make a close group of friends, the fun will really start.  Hopefully that time is soon!

Night out on the town, in a spanish karaoke club.  Lili and Jorge (my hosts) are in the middle.

One Week Down

This past week has been pretty hectic, with a lot of traveling and adjusting to new places.  On Wednesday night, I moved into my new house and met my host family.  Karlita - my "sister"- is very welcoming, spending the first night showing me all her favorite music, movies, and helping me unpack.

Thursday morning, John and I,  with 3 others, went rock climbing in the mountains surrounding Quito.  It was my first time rock climbing outside (not in a gym), and I'm positive that I want to go again.  For those of you who are worrying, my shoulder was fine!

John's brother, Luke, and friend, Zack, arrived in Quito on Thursday night, and the 4 of us left at 4am on Friday morning for Cuenca.  We spent Friday through Sunday in San Bartolome (about an hour outside of Cuenca) with a family that makes guitars.  Luke and Zack were filming a documentary about the family and how the guitars are made in order to promote sales of the guitars in places other than Ecuador, where it's difficult for the family to sell the guitars at their full prices due to the poverty.  While there, I ate my first guinea pig, a delicacy in Ecuador.  Surprisingly, it was very good - kinda like duck.  On Sunday, because Luke and Zack finished filming early, we spent the day exploring Cajas, one of Cuenca's national parks.  It reminded me of the setting of the Lord of the Rings, only there were a lot of llamas.

This week, I had my first day of volunteering at El Nido ("the nest" in english), the shelter for the girls who are victims of human trafficking.  It was very fun to meet all the girls - there are 9 in total right now, and I can't wait to improve my spanish so I can better connect with them.  About an hour after I arrived at El Nido on Monday, I was told that I need to teach an English class to the girls -  I was given zero notice ahead of time and no guidance on what to teach.  I decided to teach the alphabet and numbers, and now I know to always be prepared with a lesson plan for my English class on Mondays.  I also helped with art classes, directed the "exercise hour" (we just danced for an hour), and helped with other various jobs around the shelter.  I had a great first week and I definitely think I will enjoy volunteering in El Nido.

Cajas National Park - Luke, Zack, and I

View from house in San Bartolome

Playing with the chickens at the house in San Bartolome

Cajas National Park