feliz navidad a todos
feliz navidad y año nuevo! we had a very busy last few weeks finishing up our work with CENIT, packing up and leaving our house and then going to the country with the Oñas for 4 nights and the 5 days of celebration. it was a Christmas very different from anything we have ever experienced. we left on the 23rd and i rode in the back of the truck with Jessie and Josh for a very bumpy 4 hours. we got there and went to Isinlivi, the town nearby and watched the selection of the new queen of Isinlivi, and the former queen Diana (neice of Clever, the father of the Oña family) hand over her title. the queen of the festivals reigns all year and does service projects for the children and elders of the surrounding area. after this ceremony was the first of 5 days of dances, a type called banda that is from here in Ecuador, it is an extremely loud music played by live bands, i found a lot of similarities to a marching band with the trombones and trumpets, and the bass which was the loudest of all. the sound systems that were not very good did not help with the way too loud sound. on the 24th al woke up early and helped slaughter the pig they had been raising to eat for christmas. he has an entirely new perspective on meat now and says that all meat eaters should have to pass this rite. i slept with earplugs and did not wake up until they were torching the pig later. i helped too and we all ate fried pork and mote for lunch. it was very good because it was so fresh. later in the evening we went to isinlivi for the 11pm Mass followed by a procession in which everyone held a candle as we walked in a group up to el calvario which is a nearby hill. there were dancers in costume including Daniel and Esteven, the boys of the Oña family. there were fireworks and when we reached the top of the hill we rested a moment and everyone was playing with sparklers. we all processed down the hill again and back to the church. then there was another dance which we did not attend but rested in the back of the truck until the bus left with our friends at 3am. jessie, andy and josh left for peru via Latacunga and Guayaquil at 3am and we were sad to see them go. we worked and lived with Jessie 4 months and grew close to her. she gave us each a bracelet she made with the colors of ecuador to remember our time here.
on the 25th we all woke up very late and went up to isinlivi for an entire day of dancing. by this time we were quite tired and our heads hurt so we rested a while in the truck but then it rained so we stayed inside and did not dance. i do not like much banda because the dance does not require much skill, it is just shuffling your feet with a partner facing you. i prefer salsa.
on the 26th we went up to isinlivi again for the toros (bulls) where there were competitions among the men of the town who could torrear (bullfight) better by untying the ribbon from the head of the bull. this was quite interesting to me and i was happy that they did not kill any of the cows, just anger them. the prize for getting the ribbon was 2 bottles of whiskey and a grilled pigs head mounted on a brightly colored rug.
on the 27th we washed the sheets by hand and packed up and drove by isinlivi on the way out for another day of bulls in which al went inside and did a few minutes of getting a little close to the bulls then running for cover up the fence like most of the men.
i enjoyed talking with and spending the time with all the family members that were there of Clever and Pati. and the bugs were biting me more than ever, i have dozons of bites on my ankles that thankfully do not itch anymore.
on sunday night we returned to Quito again and stayed 2 nights with the Oñas at their house. on monday we went to the centro historico for the last time to walk the plazas and buy a few last minute things that are plentiful in Quito but in the smaller towns not so much. we ate lunch at Don Jimmys in Mercado Central which is Als favorite place to eat in Quito with the sea bass and shrimp ceviche. we made it back to the Oñas in time to help prepare a turkey and stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy and rice. i told them a traditional turkey meal in the states does not include rice but the culture of eating rice with every meal here is too strong so we ate our turkey with mashed potatoes and rice verde which was made with spinich. we invited family members of the Oñas over and 25 people enjoyed a wonderful turkey good bye dinner with us. i played the guitar and we all sang christmas carols in spanish, al and i sang some of the same in english while they all listened fascinated. we toasted with wine (sweet for everyone else and dry for me) and Clever gave a few words about how it was a Christmas dinner and also a good bye dinner for us. they asked Al and I to say a few words and we thanked all of them for their welcoming us and their generosity. their grandmother was there and stayed the night and there were no more beds so they asked if i was ok sleeping in the same bed with her, a smaller twin bed. i agreed and thought it would be a rather sleepless night but it turned out to be fine. this morning we woke up early, ate left overs for breakfast and Clever drove us to the bus terminal where we had another sad good bye. i am sad to leave Quito, we have many friends there and so many good memories. but we will return, either before or for the big party for Katis 15th birthday (quinciñera) that is in 9 years. we hopefully can return before then though.
we arrived in Guayaquil today later this afternoon and made our way to the hotel. what luxury! we never stay in hotels. in a few hours we will go to the airport to receive Als sisters and then we are going in the jaccuzi with them and tomorrow we are off to the coast! Puerto Lopez here we come…
Happy New year everyone!
Tags: Guayaquil
annieandal
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