Back in Baños, Ecuador although this time I´m doing anything but backpacking. I arrived with 2 suitcases, found a beautiful apartment a little outside of the center and am keeping myself extremely busy. When I first arrived I spent the month of December playing all over the mountains with my friends. My birthday was spent swimming below waterfall Machay, swimming in my birthday suit, dancing in the streets til the wee morning, drinking a local liquor called ¨callo de gallina¨which is sweet and cost 25 centavos! Then Christmas away from my family for the first time was different. I was invited to Oscars home and his family killed their prize cuyes (guinea pig)
and chicken for the feast. Then for Chirstmas Day, I was invited the the Vargas Family to help cook in the kitchen, to learn to prepare traditional food and we feasted all night until 2 am then everyone went out dancing. Then there was New Years Eve here as well. What the locals do is every barrio (neighborhood in the city) builds a monigote (puppet) that can be a parody of something bad that occurred in the recent year...that represents all the bad things you want to put behind whether its death of a loved one, heartbreak,robbery, regret,whatever and at midnght EVERYONE kisses eachother, says Feliz Año and drags the monigotes out into the street like criminals and burns them litterally burning all the bad energy of 2008 to begin all over again with a clean slate.
Then I began my new year by throwing my demons into the fire as well and am feeling ready for a beautiful 2009. My days in Ecuador are spent volunteering at a Childrens Foundation. We have art projects, teach them to read, offer free English classes, play games, and just hang out by providing a place where they can get out of the house and not in front of the TV and find ways to be creative. I love my kids. I also volunteer at the local hospital trying to get certified in medical spanish. All the nurses and doctors are all confused as to why im doing this since im not a med. student. I say, ¨to hopefully have a job back in the states translating¨. WHo knows. And in my free time, I go climbing with Oscar and his friends, biking, and at night I have a group of really cool guys I hang out with that love to play pool.
Tomorrow i start a new job up on the mnt at this really fancy resort doing marketing or something.
Ive met all my neighbors and am meeting more people in the community every day. They treat me dfferently when they realize im not just passing through. DOwn below is Oscars tio with his mama pig about to go into labor. Ive got pics of the little puercos onthe next blog.
My friend, Jacqelyn
Cooking up local delicacies for Christmas Feast. Fried dough then topped with homemade syrup
Butterfly refuge above waterfall Machay
Alexis, Jose y Elian from the Fundacion
the little puercos are born
Back in Baños, Ecuador although this time I´m doing anything but backpacking. I arrived with 2 suitcases, found a beautiful apartment a little outside of the center and am keeping myself extremely busy. When I first arrived I spent the month of December playing all over the mountains with my friends. My birthday was spent swimming below waterfall Machay, swimming in my birthday suit, dancing in the streets til the wee morning, drinking a local liquor called ¨callo de gallina¨which is sweet and cost 25 centavos! Then Christmas away from my family for the first time was different. I was invited to Oscars home and his family killed their prize cuyes (guinea pig)
Then I began my new year by throwing my demons into the fire as well and am feeling ready for a beautiful 2009. My days in Ecuador are spent volunteering at a Childrens Foundation. We have art projects, teach them to read, offer free English classes, play games, and just hang out by providing a place where they can get out of the house and not in front of the TV and find ways to be creative. I love my kids. I also volunteer at the local hospital trying to get certified in medical spanish. All the nurses and doctors are all confused as to why im doing this since im not a med. student. I say, ¨to hopefully have a job back in the states translating¨. WHo knows. And in my free time, I go climbing with Oscar and his friends, biking, and at night I have a group of really cool guys I hang out with that love to play pool.
