thought id take a bit of time to write about some fun things we do for CELEBRATIONS here in ecuador! not sure how much of this ive written about yet, but many of these things are documented in facebook albums. ps ... check out the ECUADORIAN SONGS at the end of some of these celebrations, for a taste of our music life here!
ENJOY! xoxo isa
paseos! every month or so, tasha and i take the 10 kids at Valdivia who earn the most behavior/attendance points on some sort of field trip. weve taken them to the Puntilla a few times, which is this really really nice area just outside guayaquil. one paseo was to the mcdonalds there for a happy meal and playplace time, another to the parque historico to see the animals and play in the playground. its a great way to reward the kids, and surely fun for us too! we also provide a snack usually, like ice cream or a cheese sandwich. for december, were having a special christmas party in the arbolito retreat house, decorating cookies and watching xmas movies! wahoo!
birthdays! often for birthdays, or if visitors are in town, we head out to a fun dinner in Las Peñas. this is the far end of the new Malecón 2000 boardwalk, in the touristy area of guayaquil. Las Peñas has some baller restaurants and a great hike to the top to see the lighthouse. traditional ecua bdays include a cake shoved in the face, ``penetencias´´ (kind of like pop-a-balloon-and-complete-the-dare-inside), and LOTS of food and dancing! we have been invited to a bunch of neighbors´ celebrations, and of course always celebrate accordingly for an RdC bday!
thanksgiving! first would like to say how precious it is to hear so many people wish me happy thanksgiving, who dont even celebrate it themselves in ecuador! we had a FANTASTIC time at Nuevo Mundo, a school where Mark and Celso teach, for a Thanksgiving dinner with all the RdC volunteers and American friends -- complete with all the food! It was hard to be away, but definitely made for the best with our circumstances.
halloween! again, most ecuas know what it is, even though they dont really celebrate it. like all holidays, we did stuff at valdivia for halloween (masks and brought candy for them to say TRICK OR TREAT!), but nothing too major here.
dia de los muertos! part of a three day holiday, all saints day, all souls day, and cuencas independence day. families go to the cementary to honor the deceased. they also eat colada morada, which is this warm purple smoothie thing, that actually tastes great!
independence days! parades, parades, parades! lots of celebrating in guayaquil on oct 9 and durán oct 16. not too much else to share, other than that all these independence days are super exciting for ecuadorians!
christmas! SO excited for this! weve already started with our rostro company party, where we invited all our staff (6 guards and 3 ASP staffers), plus our bosses, to a HUGE dinner. we made guac, this blended-tuna-mayo dip, chifles (plantain chips), tostitos, mango pineapple salsa, rice and lentils, snickerdoodles (YUM!!!), apple crisp, sugar cookies and more! each house prepared entertainment (see videos on facebook) and we gave each staffer a gift box. all the 20-somethings (us volunteers and the ASP staffers) hung out for a whileee, dancing to the music (we borrowed speakers from the church!). it was so great to inaugurate the rainy season that night by DANCING IN THE RAIN!!! ahh so fun!
christmas eve, we will continue with a morning of reflection for all RdC volunteers. then, most of us will go to a neighbor´s house for dinner and to a mass in their neighborhood. jessie, jenn, megan and i are preparing dinner for about 10-12 of the shelter boys who dont have anywhere to go, which im SO excited for. itll be a day of just hanging out with friends! then were going to the mass in arbolito to see the live nativity, where all the arbo vols (plus a student of mine!) are in the skit! christmas day, when we arent with neighbors, we have the option to go to Damien House, to visit with the patients of Hansens disease. well sing carols and hang out, since most of their families dont visit them for the holidays :( im so excited to do this! then, ALL the vols will go to Sister Annies house (she runs Damien House foundation) for a big Christmas dinner.
as one of my students put, ``when i was younger, i used to think that Christmas was all about gifts. now, i know that it´s about reconciling relationships, being with family and helping others.´´
new year´s! cant wait for this either! weve started making our Año Viejo, a traditional paper mache creation (sometimes stuffed with fireworks, eek! our dog oso hates fireworks, boo) of something you want to burn, to burn away the old year and ring in the new. after celso crashed the red truck, AJS has taken on a paper mache camioneta, with the immense help of our guard Màximo! so exciteddd to be here in the neighborhood for dancing and Año Viejo burning and lots of fun!
great songs:
- danza kuduro (don omar)
- niña bonita (chino y nacho)
- padre nuestro en español
- alma misionera
- eres todo poderoso
- burrito sabanero (a christmas song)
- baile sapito (a birthday party song)
- waka waka and waving flag, from the Mundial, spanish versions! (at EVERY party for sure!)
No comments:
Post a Comment