¡Hola a todos! ¿Como le va?
As those of you who’ve lived abroad can attest, every day in another country is a new adventure full of its own challenges and surprises. Last weekend one of the teachers at our school, Mayra, invited us to visit her family. We didn’t have plans, and want to see as much of the country as possible so we went with her to nearby Quevado (about a 5 hour bus ride). We arrived at 2 a.m. and stayed the first night with her sister’s family in town. The next morning we went to the city center where an awesome market is set up all the time. Here we bought some fresh fruit, fresh chicken, flowers, birthday cake and everything we would need for the weekend. We continued on to the family finca (ranch) about an hour away, with 7 of us in the back of the single cab pickup. It was an incredible journey, full of orchards and farms along the way. Mayra’s husband was great and explained to us the many different fruit trees and plants and their uses. When we arrived at the farm we pulled onto a dirt path that wound through the orchard to get to the house. There were several aunts and uncles who lived within 100 yds. It was so amazing to see the simple lifestyle. We also got in on quite a tradition, the whole family gathered for the weekend to celebrate the birthday of her deceased father. There was an altar set up in the middle of the living room with a picture of him, flowers and candles burning the entire weekend. In the afternoon we drove to a nearby field, (fútbol field, but also literally a field) to watch a soccer game. It was great to be surrounded by the community who turned up just to spend the afternoon watching the local teams play. Then we continued into Guayas, the town about 10 min. from the farm to “bathe” in the river. We just waded and swam/played in the water, but other people were actually washing clothes and bathing here. Mayra kept joking that it was “sacred” water because the President stayed here for a few weeks and actually did bathe in the river. I thought that was a pretty cool show of solidarity with the people, can you imagine our President bathing in the river? :) Many of the houses in the country are very simple and do not have running water (where we stayed included). We washed the dishes with water from a bucket and the water just ran outside, but we did have an outhouse and we just used a hose to bathe outside, thank goodness its warm on the coast! We returned home to prepare for the night, all the family was coming for a rosary and celebration of the life of her father. It was really fascinating, we said the rosary at the time he passed away and then ate a full 3 course meal at 10:30p.m. The whole extended family stayed the night and (as we found out in the morning) no one else except us and the kids slept. It was quite impressive how many people fit in our little house. The next day we went to the cemetery to light candles and leave flowers on his grave. We had almost 20 people in the truck this time! We went in the finca to pick some mangos since they are in season right now. We enjoyed watching them hit the branches with a large stick to knock down the fruit and then helping retrieve the mangos. We got as many green ones and ripe ones, but they also eat them green with salt. A little bitter but sweet! We went to take pictures in the orchard a bit later and sort of got lost, thankfully someone came looking for us! haha It was just so peaceful and beautiful there. I loved being in the country, it was a nice change for us, from being scared of our own neighborhood here on the outskirts of the city. But by far the best was being surrounded by such a beautiful, loving family. I felt very at home there; we were welcomed into their homes, thanked for sharing this time with them and kept getting asked when we were going to return. They were amazing.
During the week we found out about a local ballet that was going on in the city and spend the evening watching a traditional folkloric ballet. There were 30 bailarinas and a band playing the traditional music. It was very upbeat and fun to watch with all the brightly colored and glittery costumes. We couldn’t take pictures, which was a shame, but totally enjoyed the dances that have been passed down from many of the different indigenous groups. Our favorite was the dance they did with ribbons tied to the top of a pole; they danced around and wove the ribbons down the pole, then reversed the dance and untangled the whole thing. It sort of reminded me of our elementary school May Pole, only much more precise and synchronized! It was super impressive!
This weekend we traveled to Mindo, about a 2 hour bus ride from the city. We had a blast trying out all the touristy activities! We made some friends from India during our ziplining adventure through the cloud forest (it’s a bit more humid there, b/c of all the clouds and rains almost everyday). Our guides were great and allowed us to zip upside down, in the “superwoman” position and we tried the mariposa (butterfly) upside down with your legs in the air! They also pointed out several species of tucans and birds as we hiked to the next platform. (Mindo is known for its birdwatching and many people come here to see the over 6,000 species). We got to zip 12 different lines through the clouds, rain and trees, it was phenomenal! On our way back a friendly local driver offered us a ride into town in the back of his truck (we are just pros at this now!) haha We made friends with the Germans who were also riding along. It was quite a culturally diverse trip for us! We had to choose between tubing and canyoning and decided to try the latter. It was definitely vale la pena (worth it)! We hiked for longer than the descent of the waterfall, but the trekking was great exercise and full of beautiful views. Across the stream and through a pasture we went, along with our Austrian friends, before getting to the forest where the falls are. We followed our guide up a narrow mountain path through the slippery, mossy rocks and trees to get to the cascadas (waterfalls). I decided to go first and try it out! She explained how to descend and then strapped me into my harness, with my rope tied to a tree, I let myself down. The rocks were super slippery; the best part by far, was the middle of the waterfall, where you were getting pelted in the face with the water and just had to keep descending! We wanted to go to the mariposa farm in the afternoon, another thing Mindo is know for, but it was raining and the butterflies were sleeping. Outside the farm there was a little hummingbird reserve. We just stood and watched in amazement as over probably 30 or more hummingbirds zoomed in and out. They move so fast you could here their wings just buzzing and it was almost impossible to get a picture. I’ve never seen so many in one place before. Simply beautiful. Anyone want to come and visit me?! :)
Well now, you’re all caught up on the Ecuadorian Adventures. Until next time,
Dios te bendiga, (God bless you)
April
Monday, November 23, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Cuenca, Santa Catalina and nuestro barrio
Buenos Días!
It has been another exciting couple of weeks here in Ecuador. We enjoyed another National Holiday to celebrate the independence of the city of Cuenca on Nov. 3. It was especially nice, because we had a 4 day weekend to celebrate el Dia de Difuntos (All Souls Day), in conjunction with the independence day. We took a trip to see the festivities in Cuenca and stayed with the sisters in nearby Zumbahuayco. They run a retreat house about 30 min. from the city, so it was very peaceful, beautiful to be in the country and I loved waking up to see llamas out my window! We had a 2 km trek down a windy dirt road to catch the bus into town, but it was well worth it! We enjoyed the sights in the city: the few museum that were open (during the weekends and feriados most things are closed), seeing the Inca ruins from a distance (also closed haha), many mercados where venders sell art, jewelry, blankets and toys, live music and traditional dancing in the parks and many beautiful churches. We went to mass in the Huge Cathedral on the actual Dia de Difuntos and got to see many people buying flowers and other ornaments to put on the graves of their families and friends. In general, they have a great reverence for the dead and we were excited to get to see the crypt of the Cathedral all decorated with the gifts of the families. It was incredible! We got in on some fireworks to celebrate also, we were about 5 feet from them watching a live dance performance when they set them off! haha A little different from home …
We went to Azogues, a nearby town on our way home to see a few of the sites there and got stuck on the other side of a parade. We tried to cross the street in about 5 different places before people finally let us through, it was a bit of an inconvenience with our huge backpacks … but we made it and got to see another Cathedral and plaza on the other side.
At school we had a small celebration with the kids, which mainly consisted of eating! haha The tradition here is to have Colada Morada (a fruity cider) with Guaguas (bread made in the shape of a child) the colada celebrates the life of the deceased and the guaguas represent new life. The kids loved the treat and I enjoyed learning about the customs.
I started teaching English a few weeks ago to my Kindergartners. It’s a challenge because they can’t read, so we just are working on pronunciation. Which they are actually picking up rather quickly. Thank goodness I don’t have them all at once (we split them for a half hour each group of 14). A few kids have moved up into our level and now we have 28 kids. As you can imagine at 4-5 years old, they don’t have a very long attention span. We are just working on really simple vocabulary for now, sort of following the curriculum they are working on in class. I’m impressed by how well they retain it for the amount of time we spend and how much attention they pay. haha :) Little sponges!
We are diligently trying to see all we can in Quito as it seems every time we go into the city our select museum or place of interest is closed. The weekends are not the best time for tourist activities. We did get to see the Monastery of Santa Catalina (St. Catherine of Sienna) which was incredible. We took the guided tour of the art museum, saw the church from above, climbed the bell tower to see the old city, AND got to see the nuns during the one hour they get to speak a day (they are cloistered so they never leave the convent and actually spend the whole day in silence except 1 hr.). It was really beautiful to witness the simplicity of the life they live and how they choose to serve in this closed community. Next we went to a few more churches because they were open, we feel like when they’re open we have to go because we don’t know if we’ll get another chance! There are so many beautiful, historic churches here, its crazy. In San Sebastian there were many paintings of the founding of the city and historic national events and in the background of each was the Virgin Mary. It was really fascinating to see how intertwined their history and faith is.
Sunday I decided to try to get to know the community a little better so I went with Alex (one of the young sisters who’s a Postulant, just starting the process) to her class for 15-17 year olds. The high schoolers were a nice change and super friendly. Then we walked a few of them home and met their families. In the afternoon I went with another sister, Ale to a college group. These girls were awesome and I was really excited to finally meet some people closer to my age. It’s hard for them to meet with classes and homework, but I’m hoping to get to know them better as the year goes on.
This week I started teaching Ale English, she’s really funny and it’s actually helping me probably more than she knows. Its going better with her than the kids, you know the motivation and being able to read and write helps a little! :) I’m excited to finally be able to feel like I’m using the training I have as a teacher.
Hope to hear from you soon.
Un abrazo grande,
April
P.S. I´m not sure what´s exactly going on, but we keep getting the electricity shut off in the p.m. ... it´s led to some candlelit Masses, some adventures in our house with my rechargable flashlight etc. I know I´m strange but its sort of fun ... except when I plan to use the internet and the electricity is out!
It has been another exciting couple of weeks here in Ecuador. We enjoyed another National Holiday to celebrate the independence of the city of Cuenca on Nov. 3. It was especially nice, because we had a 4 day weekend to celebrate el Dia de Difuntos (All Souls Day), in conjunction with the independence day. We took a trip to see the festivities in Cuenca and stayed with the sisters in nearby Zumbahuayco. They run a retreat house about 30 min. from the city, so it was very peaceful, beautiful to be in the country and I loved waking up to see llamas out my window! We had a 2 km trek down a windy dirt road to catch the bus into town, but it was well worth it! We enjoyed the sights in the city: the few museum that were open (during the weekends and feriados most things are closed), seeing the Inca ruins from a distance (also closed haha), many mercados where venders sell art, jewelry, blankets and toys, live music and traditional dancing in the parks and many beautiful churches. We went to mass in the Huge Cathedral on the actual Dia de Difuntos and got to see many people buying flowers and other ornaments to put on the graves of their families and friends. In general, they have a great reverence for the dead and we were excited to get to see the crypt of the Cathedral all decorated with the gifts of the families. It was incredible! We got in on some fireworks to celebrate also, we were about 5 feet from them watching a live dance performance when they set them off! haha A little different from home …
We went to Azogues, a nearby town on our way home to see a few of the sites there and got stuck on the other side of a parade. We tried to cross the street in about 5 different places before people finally let us through, it was a bit of an inconvenience with our huge backpacks … but we made it and got to see another Cathedral and plaza on the other side.
At school we had a small celebration with the kids, which mainly consisted of eating! haha The tradition here is to have Colada Morada (a fruity cider) with Guaguas (bread made in the shape of a child) the colada celebrates the life of the deceased and the guaguas represent new life. The kids loved the treat and I enjoyed learning about the customs.
I started teaching English a few weeks ago to my Kindergartners. It’s a challenge because they can’t read, so we just are working on pronunciation. Which they are actually picking up rather quickly. Thank goodness I don’t have them all at once (we split them for a half hour each group of 14). A few kids have moved up into our level and now we have 28 kids. As you can imagine at 4-5 years old, they don’t have a very long attention span. We are just working on really simple vocabulary for now, sort of following the curriculum they are working on in class. I’m impressed by how well they retain it for the amount of time we spend and how much attention they pay. haha :) Little sponges!
We are diligently trying to see all we can in Quito as it seems every time we go into the city our select museum or place of interest is closed. The weekends are not the best time for tourist activities. We did get to see the Monastery of Santa Catalina (St. Catherine of Sienna) which was incredible. We took the guided tour of the art museum, saw the church from above, climbed the bell tower to see the old city, AND got to see the nuns during the one hour they get to speak a day (they are cloistered so they never leave the convent and actually spend the whole day in silence except 1 hr.). It was really beautiful to witness the simplicity of the life they live and how they choose to serve in this closed community. Next we went to a few more churches because they were open, we feel like when they’re open we have to go because we don’t know if we’ll get another chance! There are so many beautiful, historic churches here, its crazy. In San Sebastian there were many paintings of the founding of the city and historic national events and in the background of each was the Virgin Mary. It was really fascinating to see how intertwined their history and faith is.
Sunday I decided to try to get to know the community a little better so I went with Alex (one of the young sisters who’s a Postulant, just starting the process) to her class for 15-17 year olds. The high schoolers were a nice change and super friendly. Then we walked a few of them home and met their families. In the afternoon I went with another sister, Ale to a college group. These girls were awesome and I was really excited to finally meet some people closer to my age. It’s hard for them to meet with classes and homework, but I’m hoping to get to know them better as the year goes on.
This week I started teaching Ale English, she’s really funny and it’s actually helping me probably more than she knows. Its going better with her than the kids, you know the motivation and being able to read and write helps a little! :) I’m excited to finally be able to feel like I’m using the training I have as a teacher.
Hope to hear from you soon.
Un abrazo grande,
April
P.S. I´m not sure what´s exactly going on, but we keep getting the electricity shut off in the p.m. ... it´s led to some candlelit Masses, some adventures in our house with my rechargable flashlight etc. I know I´m strange but its sort of fun ... except when I plan to use the internet and the electricity is out!
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