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.)