Colada Morada!

Happy Halloween, everyone! Here in Ecuador, although there are lots of costume parties, they claim not to celebrate Halloween. They prefer to celebrate their own holidays rather than adopt those of the U.S. (even though all the bars and halloween themed nights this week.) Here, we celebrate dia de los difuntos (the day of the dead) on november 2. People go to the cemetaries and celebrate their loved ones who have died. Today and friday, classes and workplaces all over Ecuador are making time to drink Colada Morada (like pina colada only dark purple) eat guaguas de pan (bread babies... ok bread shaped like babies sounds better). This is the traditional food to eat in this time of year. Both of my classes asked to bring in colada morada tomorrow, so I will take pictures and put it up. I know it is a big deal, because each class elects a "Miss Colada Morada" and a "Mister guagua de pan." It´s kind of like prom king and queen. These two individuals are elected to bring in colada morada and guaguas de pan for the whole class. In my morning class I was elected Miss Colada Morada. (Thank you! Thank you! I´ve been practicing my wave...) but I told them that I have no idea where to get Colada Morada and that someone else will have to bring it for me. I´ll let you know what else goes down tomorrow, and hopefully take some pictures! Feliz dia de los difuntos!

Tungurahua

I was finally able to get a good shot of Tungurahua volcano from my window. There was one day when it wasn´t covered in clouds, and the sun was setting and the light hit the snow on the top of the volcano just right. I hope you enjoy it!

I also put up a picture of the campo, just before it started to rain. The sun rays were amazing. And finally a picture of me and Juan Carlos and his family at the mitad del mundo. The yellow line is (supposedly) the equator!

Rumba and the Campo

Thursday night I had a deeply cultural experience. I went to a Rumba Terapia (rumba therapy) class. Rumba therapy is incredibly popular in Ambato. If you ask someone where a gym is, they will point you to a rumba terapia studio. Rumba is basically a glorified 80's aerobics class with latin style music (merengue, salsa and lots of reggaeton). the room is full with women age 14 to 75 all wearing spandex and sporty tank tops. our instructor is an energetic teenage boy with long hair and a superman t shirt. he bounces back and forth and forward and backward to the music and we all try to keep up with him, hips swaying and hair bouncing. I look incredibly out of place in my mesh shorts and t shirt and white hips that don't quite move with the same rhythm as everyone else. But that class was so much fun. It was actually really hard, too. I worked up a sweat. Next time I will definitely wear spandex, a leotard, and my hair in a side ponytail with a scrunchy and I will fit in better. I could film it and pass it off for a flashdance music video.

I am writing this post from the BEAUTIFUL home of Juan Carlos Fernandez. He is a very good friend of my cousin Melanie. In fact, she is the godmother of their 3 year old son John. Yesterday, I took a bus to Quito and Juan Carlos picked me up. He gathered his family and we headed off to meet some of his friends and family in the campo. Now when I think campo (countryside) I think someone has a cute little farm somewhere outside the city limits and we're going to visit them. oh no. how wrong I am. We drove for about an hour on unpaved roads, bumping along in his little suv to an empty field. Apparently his friend just bought this property out the middle of nowhere. Worse than Bethany, CT, this place is comprised of fields separated by barbed wire fences, lots of cows and lots of cow poop. His friend had not built anything on his newly acquired property. Juan Carlos's friends and family had set up a small tent and were drinking cerveza when we arrived. They ate hornado (roasted pig that for some reason always comes with the pig head) and mote and corn and potatoes and just drank in the field for hours. Then we planted trees around the edge of the property. They made me remember which one was mine and baptise it with water and name it Jessica. hahaha as the afternoon went on, we could see a cold front coming in. It was amazing to watch. Half of the sky was bright and the land looked green and fresh. The other half was covered in dark clouds and the land below just looked brown. It was clear that it was going to pour. We watched the lightning storm roll over us. It was so incredible because there was only nature for miles. The only hint of human existance were the barbed wire fences separating land from homogenous land. I felt like I was on stormwatchers, that nature show that they used to make us watch in science class in junior high. Anyway, we bounced down the unpaved roads in the rain. it was a bit terrifying. especially, since Juan Carlos's friend in the passenger seat of the car in front of us kept getting out of the car to dance over to us and offer beer to our driver. Thank goodness he refused it, but that happened at least five times on our descent into civilization.

We made it back into town and it stopped raining. Juan Carlos showed me around the downtown area of sangolquil (the town that he lives in) and of course we had to see the church, Which was one of the prettier churches that I've seen in this country. Then we headed back to his house and watched a movie (hot chick? it's an adam sandler movie from cerca 1991) and went to bed.

Today, we were supposed to leave at 10 to go to the mitad del mundo (center of the earth) a monument and museum on the actual equator, which I've heard is really cool. Of course it's 10:45 and everyone is still showering and getting ready. oh Ecuadorians.

Melanie, Everyone I've met here asks me about you and your family. As soon as I tell them I'm related to you, they say, oh well then you're family! So you should know that everyone here loves you and cares about you and asks me when you're coming back. plus, it's so nice to see Boston regalia everywhere!!! it's so nice to be able to say that I'm from close to Boston instead of close to New York. No other Ecuadorian knows where Boston is! :) thanks for the great contact. It's nice to have family here!

but she said we were friends, and I was in no position to pass up friends...

I finally went for a real run today! I managed to get on the right bus and get off at the right stop to go to the track. The track is surprisingly nice. I ran 2 miles.. in 24 minutes. I recognize the fact that this is pretty pathetic, but I´m in altitude and I haven´t ran in a few months. So I´m gonna consider this a success. After I had finished jogging, this girl named Silvia came up to me and asked "estas entrenando?" are you training? sure, why not. I said yes. She said, well, you should definitely train with me! ok why not? well, it turns out she´s (almost) an olympic athlete. she qualified for the 2008 olympics for the 300m hurdles, but she tore her achiles before she could compete. Now she´s recovered and has been training for three months. And she thinks I can train with here?!?! Well, she was really nice. We took the bus back to the center together and chatted the whole way back. She seemed really excited to get to know me. It´s so nice to make an Ecuadorian friend who´s not male and not part of my family!! and it will be nice to have a running partner.... even if she´s running laps around me.

weekend in Ambato

This weekend is nice and relaxing. Last night I went out with all of the Worldteach Ambato volunteers to eat shawarma (it was actually really good) and then drink hot wine at a cute little bar in town. It was really nice to relax at the end of the week and listen to a little shakira.

Today, I went with my host sisters and some of their friends to parque de la familia, a park at the top of quisapincha hill outside of the city. I was so excited to see wide open spaces. and of course I brought a frisbee so I was a happy camper. However, it turns out that my host sisters and their friends were terrified of my frisbee. I tossed it towards them and they would shreek and back away. ´"doesn´t it hurt your hands?" omg. Thank god Kat (a volunteer from Texas) was there to throw with me, I would have been so dissapointed.

We returned to my house to eat lunch and swim in our pool. yes we have a pool. i´m pretty sure I´m the only worldteach volunteer ever, to have a pool in my host family´s house. So we relaxed the pool/hot tub all afternoon. I love weekends.

Another reason to celebrate is the fact that I´m writing this email FROM MY HOME!!! we now have INTERNET in our house!!! ahhhhhhhhh this is the most exciting thing since the rice I had for lunch today (and the day before and the day before) I can now update my blog without paying 90 cents an hour. (i realize it doesnt sound like that much, but when you´re American and you feel the need to check your email... and talk to your boyfriend... as much as I do, it adds up) so hopefully this means i´ll be able to blog more often. Shavuah Tov!

i figured out how to put pictures up!

the previous post contains pictures!! so exciting!
the first one is a shot of the market on sat. morning in Riobamba. They sell fruit in baskets like that, and there were just so many colors, I had to take a picture.

the second one is me and my friends at a bar at the Ecuador-Uruguay futbol game which we lost. but don´t we look snazzy in our jerseys?

the third pic is of me about to eat cuy (whole fried guinnea pig!). my host sisters thougt it was weird that we keep them as pets in the us. they thought it would be hilarious if i gave him a kiss. so i did.

and finally, the last one is a picture of the view of ambato from my room. the volcano tungurahua is usually covered in clouds. it´s just to the right of the palm tree and too the left of that big hill that´s not covered in clouds. enjoy!

I can put up pictures!!!

Long Weekend in Riobamba!

This past weekend we had Friday off because of the independence day of Guayaquil. So my and my friend Lauren took the opportunity to travel to Riobamba to visit some other worldteachers who are living there. It was only an hour bus ride away! We stayed in a really cute hotel near the train station. That first night, Lauren and I went over to our friend Shelly´s house. Her host dad and his family and friends invited us over to drink agua ardiente quemado. Let me explain. Agua ardiente is a very strong alcohol made from sugar cane. Quemado means burnt. So we would mix the alcohol with some spices (that pretty much looked like pot pourri to me)in a stone bowl. then we would light the mixture on fire and stir in some sugar. when you turned off the light, the blue flame looked almost mystical. When the mixture is "quemada" enough, you blow it out, and add some freshly squeezed orange juice. The shots were pretty strong, but not impossible. Then shelly´s host dad put on some columbian traditional music and we danced for a few hours. He gave us a toast that was so heartwarming. He thanked us for coming to Ecuador because we were helping to teach him that we are all citizens of the world. It was really sweet. It made me really happy to be here.

Once we had taken enough shots of quemado, we went to the discoteca to dance the night away. There, my friend Lauren met a boy named Carlos who turned out to be a great find. Carlos is a professional tennis player who lived in Miami for most of his life. We pretty much spent the rest of the weekend with Carlos and his friends. They drove us Penipe, a small town that was once destroyed by the volcano Tungurahua that has amazing corn and cheese tortillas cooked on volcanic rock. They also took us to a bar that was closed to the public (but they of course had connections) to watch the Ecuador-Uruguay futbol game. It was a devastating game. We lost 2-1. We scored the first goal, and while we were still celebrating (I got sprayed with beer) Uruguay scored also. It was a serious aguafiestas (buzz kill). Then they scored on a penalty kick after the ref failed to call a handball violation on uruguay. It was a terrible loss. If we had won, we would have gone to the world cup for sure. Now we probably won´t go... But it´s ok, we still went out dancing that night anyway.

Lauren and I also went to the market on saturday morning. We saw clothing and handicrafts in one market, and we walked down the steet a bit to the food market. This is the most interesting. There are chickens and other unidentifiable meats hanging from kiosks. There are pieces of pigs chopped up tables, always with the head proudly displayed with something in it´s mouth. There were cuyes (guinea pigs) and rabbits split open down the middle so that buyers can inspect their insides. They looked more like animals for disection and research than for eating. The vibrant colors of all the fruits and veggies of the market assault you from all sides. There are women selling havas (beans) while nursing their kids. There are children with snotty noses walking around selling candies or fruits. The market is a crazy bustling place with more germs than any American mom would dare to imagine. It was definitely an experience. Don´t worry, I didn´t buy any dead animals there, or eat any of the fruit.

Our weekend in Riobamba was a much needed break from teaching, and it was great to see our friends from orientation! Plus we were lucky enough to meet some Ecuadorian guides for the weekend. I´d say the trip was a great success! Now it´s back to teaching at 7 am. ew.

family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten...

The other day, I discovered that Ecuadorians have a very different sense of family than we do. I sort of had an idea of this previously, but now, living with a close family, I really see it. Yesterday, my host mom, Marcia, asked me if I had spoken with my parents lately. I said I had. She said, if any of my daughters ever left me for a year, I don´t know what I would do. I then tried to explain that I think that idea of family is a bit different in the US. Just because I´m away from my parents doesn´t mean that I love them any less. (right, mom and dad?) She said, "yes I think that´s true. My brother lives in Italy, and when he left, it was so sad for our family." and she started crying! Right then and there! The thought, first of her daughters growing up and leaving the house, and second of her brother living in Italy was enough to bring her to tears. The idea of not being surrounded by her family, is heartbreaking to her. For clarification, the rest of her 5 siblings and their children all live within walking distance and they come over for lunch every day. Her daughters will definitely not be leaving the house until the day they get married. Could you imagine living like that in the US? Parents, I do love you very much, but I´d go nuts. and YOU´d go nuts! It´s just a different idea of what family means. Personally, I´m ok with our American culture. I´m fine with leaving the house at age 18 and being independent. (Funny, that was one of our vocabulary words, and it was the hardest to explain to my class, because none of my students are independent by American standards) But I´m very glad that I´m being exposed to different ways of living. This is why I feel so lucky to be accepted into this new family, because I know what family means to them. So being accepted as one of them comes with serious benefits in a country where I am considered alone because I´m here without any family. It also means that my host mom piles food on my plate and complains when I don´t finish it all. "You´re eating less and less!" and I think to myself, it´s because you people eat heapings of rice for lunch and dinner! but I´ll take it if that´s what it means to part of this family.

I almost forgot...

check out Ecuador in the news!!

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/10/02/ecuador.violence/index.html

This protest is supposed to be nationwide, but since I haven´t been traveling outside of Ambato I haven´t felt it at all. Actually, I did see one demonstration. It was just a bunch of people chanting in Spanish carrying a red flag. I just stayed away from it. You can read all about Correa and the reforms he´s trying to put into the education system and natual resource management in the article.. I won´t bore you with politics.

My first encounter with my new toilet bowl...

I got sick for the first time since I´ve been here yesterday. And no, I was not chuchaki (hung over). I don´t what I ate that didn´t agree with me or if I was simply dehydrated... but I felt like death for about half and hour, and then I puked and felt much better. So far, I´ve either had a great immune system or just been lucky. so many of the other volunteers were sick within the first week of getting to Ecuador. My stomach decided to wait until I was with my permanent host family. My poor host mom, Marcia, was so worried about me. She made me tea and made me drink it in bed, with all the covers. My host sisters too were very worried. They made sure I knew to get them in the middle of the night if there were any problems. They´re very sweet. Hopefully, I won´t get sick again for a while.

In other news, my class took their first quiz today. They whined and complained about it and asked me to give to them tomorrow. They said they spent the whole weekend studying. bullshit. I´m sure they did fine and I highly doubt they were studying all weekend.

I´m going to head home. I think I´ll start taking salsa dance lessons on wednesday.... just in case my stomach is not 100% better. ciao!

Animalitos!

I am no longer homeless! I have found a lovely family to live with. I have four host sisters, the youngest of which is 9 (turning 10 on sunday) and the oldest is 21. Dad works at a credit institution and mom runs the family business which includes running the reception hall which is the bottom floor of our house, and charging clients to use our INDOOR POOL on the weekends. The pool and the reception hall make up the bottom floor of the house. The second floor has a small kitchen, all 6 bedrooms and living room with a TV and a couch. Dad enjoys cock fighting in his spare time so we have some roosters that live in our house and love to crow when I wake up at 5:30 every morning. we also have songbirds in a little cage outside. Our dog, Fiona, recently gave birth to 6 adorable puppies, and I have not seen but I am told that we have rabbits and tilapia. I know for a fact we have cui (guinnea pigs) because I ate one for dinner last night. Cui is a delicacy here and they usually only make it for special occasions. Last night was special because it was my first time trying it. It was ok. It kinda tasted like chicken, but a bit chewier. It was difficult to eat (psychologically) because they basically fry the animal whole. When it is served on your plate, it still looks like a guinnea pig! You know, the one you had as a pet when you were little! My host sisters were making fun of me because I was really bad at getting the meat off the bone. It was an interesting experience, but cui is certainly not my new favorite dish.

I have seen lots of other animals around Ambato, which is odd to me because it is definitely a city! Yesterday, I saw a man herding 6 large white ducks and their baby ducklings down the street past a cell phone store and a bank. Today I saw the milkman. He walks a long the city streets with his 4 goats squirting milk into anyone´s glasses who wants to buy it! You can always tell when the milkman has come by because there are goat droppings everywhere. I finally managed to go for a run around my new neighborhood the other day and I ran past 3 cows. (It was a pathetic 15 minute run, I´m still not used to the alititude and my neighborhood is very hilly) I also saw hummingbirds on my run! They´re small and green with a very long tail. So pretty.

On monday, my class has their first quiz. I hope their ready! Have a nice weekend everyone!