Vacations and New Years

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So after bidding Noah farewell and watching him drive away at the break of dawn in a taxi, I managed to sleep for a few more hours before getting up and meeting Rachel's dear parents. We talked long and hard over tea and then a breakfast of fresh oatmeal and coffee and took some pictures and each other's company until it was time for them to get out of the house and be alone with Rachel and do some site-seeing around Quito and it was time for me to get back to Otavalo...
Once back in Otavalo, I filled my time with cleaning my house, putting things in order and helping my family do a few things so that I would not feel lonely or bored and alone. And once I was done with that and had nothing else to do in the house, I went down to the Radio and the Institute to see al my friends there and just as I was walking in, I got a call from everyone back in Greece! Hearing all their voices warmed me and made me feel very good and not alone, but rather as if they were here with me, laughing and recounting the vacation's adventures. It was only once they hung up that I again felt that they were so far away... But I didn't have too much time to dwell on that becuase it was time to practice our folklorical dances and then I went out for pizza with my dear friends the Perugachi family, and becuae my family left for Quito, I spent the night with them and we spent most of the night talking and giggling. :P
The next day I spent the morning with the Perugachis in the community of Cotama, where the younger girls were playing in a soccer tournament and I played coach :D I wasn't allowed to play becuase the tournament was reserved for indigenous people, but it was very fun to watch! In the early afternoon I was at the Institute continuing with book 5 until Yazid drove Claudia crazy becuase he was hungry and we had to stop. So I walked home and was thinking of lunch ideas when my neighbors invited me over for oven-cooked chicken (which is a delicacy since hardly anyone has an oven!) and which had to be cooked in my oven :P we spent the rest of the afternoon together playing games, relaxing and then when it got dark watching TV. America's next top model dubbed into Spanish! Very amusing! Tamia, the youngest one who wouldn't come near me before now won't leave me alone, but she is so adorable that she doesn't get in the way!
On Sunday we had a devotional at the Insititute and I talked with Doña Mari about plants and gardening and then it was time to get to Iluman for what happened to be our last tournament becuase we lost the match 1-0 (our team was very disorganised and to look at us you wouldn't say we were a team but rather individual players..) But we had fun afterwards watching two other matches with all the girls and an old rich man started flirting with one of them and offered to buy us all lunch! So all of us were naturally happy and had LOADS of fun. IN the evening I went over to my neigbors and they offered me dinner and we played more games and watched more TV and evyone showed me all their christmas presents which they had forgotten to show me the day before. Until we were all wiped out and went off to bed.
Monday was a very relaxed day, which I spent walking around the center and bought a deck of cards and dice for my neighbors as a late christmas present since they so much loved playing Yatzee and watching Noah and I play Rummy. I also made it down to the radio where there is a walnut tree dropping all of its walnuts so I collected a bunch and am now waiting for them to dry out so I can crack them open and eat walnuts! I made it home for a quick lunch ad dropped off all the things I had with me and then it was back down to the institute first for dance practice and then for band practice, both of which were a lot of fun and we did a lot of laughing. When I got home, feeling tired, I knew i still had to visit my neighbors and watch their faces light up with the presents so I did that and then they insisted on playing a few games of both cards and Yatzee and even though they had already eaten, they insisted on feeding me a delicious soup (of course I couldn't say no!)
Tuesday was the day of the 19 day feast and also an early celebration of Fabiola Perugachi's birthday, so she asked me to make my now famous banana bread/cake! So after breakfast with her family in the morning, we spent the late morning shopping for all the ingredients and things that we needed for the feast in the evening. Leaving me with just enough time to return home and actually make the cakes before having to return to the radio to practice our dances for a presentation at the feast and to help with the cooking. The social part of the feast was very eventful (because my anako (the skirt part of the costume) started to fall in the middle of the dance! Luckily my second mom, Rosita, and mother of the Perugachi family jumped in to save me before anything inappropriate was revealed and I completely embarrassed myself! We did a lot of singing, with presentations from three different bands, including ours and lots of good food. Genereally it was a real feast! I spent the night with the Perugachis that night and Eduardo and Orlando stayed the night also so we spent a lot of time talking into the night and laughing until we couldn't keep our eyes open any longer and it we made our ways to separate quarters.
On Wednesday after a yummy breakfast and fresh pineapple tea, I was down at the radio where I was recorded for a program for the radio. All in Spanish of course, and things I did not know before hand so I was surprised when I only had to do two or three trials before Doña Mari and Olgi thought it was good enough. Hearing my voice played back at me afterwards though was funny, I didn't know that was what I sounded like! I helped Fabi Perugachi bring things left over from the night before back to her house and then made it home to relax for a little bit before getting down to the Insititute where we had a meeting for the deepening of new Bahá'ís in the Faith. I have been nominated coordinator of the group and so ran the meeting and made sure that everyone new who would be working with which people, what the pairs would be (becuase we decided that the deepening will always happen in pairs and me as a third, never alone) and also planned the next meeting to study the first deepening topic and practice delivering the information so that it comes naturally and my group won't feel scared or self concious.
We then went with the Perugachis to watch their final soccer game, where they were competing for third and fourth place. It was such an exciting game, we were all jumping all over the place and cheering! They were playing against a team that they had lost against previously and so when they won 4-1 everyone was in the clouds with happiness. Especially since third pricze apart from medals was also 25 or so dollars in cash. We stayed to watch the match for first and second place and then the mothers played, which was very fun, very amusing to watch as one of them was athletic and the rest ducked and moved out of the way of the ball or when they did kick the ball it only moved slightly. We had a lot of fun!
We all then went back home and ate dinner and watched some TV and got ready to go out and welcome in the New Year, but first we had to say goodbye to the old, as here in Ecuador they celebrate "Old Year" or Año Viejo. All around town, they make big dolls out of straw or other materials and dress them up and the men dress up as women acting as viudas and dance in front of all the traffic, sometimes pulling the drivers out to join them. There is blasting music all over the place and so many people but it is a lot fo fun. And then at exactly 12, they burn the dolls, this act symbolising that all the bad things that happened to year before have been burned and forgotten and will not happen again in the new year. We went out dancing with all the youth and my parents until 3 in the morning. I was having lots of fun until I started to get pulled around by drunk guys and some very touchy-feely people who follwed me around a little TOO much! ANd the thing is, here the guys in the group don't step in a defend like all my friends back home, so I was left to fend for myself quite a bit!
After sleeping in until 10 on Thursday, I had just an hour to pack my bags and get ready to leave first for Quito, Which we got to by car with Jorgem Claudia and Yazid and where we bought our bus tickets for the next part of our journey to Loja, in the very south of the country. Becuase our bus wasn't until later in the day, we went and ate lunch at KFC, which was my first experience with KFC ever! Although I would have prefered something less fast-food, I will admit that what I ordered, crispy chicken breast with rice, salad and lentils, was tasty. And while eating and talking and passing the time, who would call but my dear family! It was great to hear their voices and to hear Helen's after such a vary long time also! We talked for quite a while, discussing travle plans, things they would like to do when they come in April and any presents or special things I needed for when my dear Unkla gets back!
After the call we strolled through the park, and got the trolley back to the bus station just in time to buy some snacks and go to the bathroom before boarding our 5 o'clock bus to Loja. The bus was ok, not terribly comfortable but with leg room and reclining chairs and they played two movies so the 13 and a half hour bus ride to Loja was not unbearable, although I cannot say that I got the best night's sleep!
We got into Loja at 6.30, ate some breakfast at the station and made our way to the hotel where first we slept and then showered after the long, tiring and dirty ride. At 9.30 we made our way to the house where the tutoring for the Ruhi books was taking place, of a dear Iranian family. I don't have to add that we ate very tasty and healthy lunches! :D We spent most of the morning eating cookies and drinking tea until all the participants arrived and then after initiating with prayers, we split into groups to study book 5 and book 4 and hold a junior youth class. I was working tutoring book 4 in English, with an American named Hal Larson who is pioneering here in Ecuador and we managed to finish the book on Saturday and start book 6, of which we almost finished the first section. Generally all the studying went very well, and both tutors and participants were very pleased with the progress and the animation and dynamics of the group. While studying we were also the served the delicacys of sugar coated cilantro seeds and baklava (imagine my surprise!) although of course it was nothing near the real Greek thing! :D
On Saturday we cloed the study circles with lots of pictures and sweet goodbyes. One other family took Jorge, Claudia, Yazid and me out for dinner on the town, where we wandered through the center and had a very interesting dinner... We ordered meat plates, but first came an entree of ceviche (a soup like dish) with tostado (a type of cooked maize) and calamari or squid. Then they brought the souvlaki-like (skewer) meat plate which was a mix of two shrimp, sausages and a slice of ham, which came with rice, a bit of salad (salad here is a spoonful...) and lentils. I was surprised to have a mix of meat and seafood but it was delicious! We finished up with dinner just in time to get back to the hotel and check out and get to the bus terminal, from which we departed at 12 midnight for Cuenca. There were absolutely NO tickets direct to Quito until Monday night, and we all had to be back in Otavalo on Monday morning to work at the school so even though Cuenca was farther out of the way, we had to make to detour in order to get back home in time! We got into Cuenca at 5.15 in the morning on Sunday and hung out in the bus terminal for an hour (giving me a good chance to call home and talk to everyone there!) before we made it to Kari, a friend's, house where we slept in until 9.15, giving us just barely enough time to warf down some breakfast and hop in a taxi to the bus statio to board our 10.00 bus to Quito. On the bus I played English teacher, as I had the cutest little girl and her family sitting next to me and asking me tons of questions. I also managed to fit in a nap and the morning passed slowly but surely until it was time for lunch and our bus stopped at a little place at the side of the road where we had 20 minutes to eat, and I tried the traditional Ecuadorian plate of churrasco, which has meat, rice, two fried eggs, and a slice of avocado. Very filling and very tasty! And then we were off again, back on the hot uncomfortable bus... We finally arrived in Quito at 8.00 in the evening and had an hours wait for the people with the car to come and take us back to Otavalo. In that time we nibbled on a little something for dinner and I met Omid, a youth from Peru who had come to visit Otavalo and would be staying with Claudia and Jorge. We ALL slept in the car back to Otavalo, wiped out from travelling and when we got into Otavalo at 10.30 and found that we could not open the trunk of the car where all our bags were, I was so wiped out I did not care that I didn't have any of my things to shower, brush my teeth, brush my hair, deodorant and perfume, it all seemed unnecesary at that moment.
However, the next morning I woke up NEEDing all of those things and was without them! I went to school that day feeling very stinky and unclean... IN school I helped Eli and Marlene in the bar make empanadas, which was a lot of fun. The bar is always a happy place, filled with action and laughter where one can not help but be positively affected! In the afternoon I tutored book 2 and then we went to Morales Chupa where I held a children's class with Eduardo (the kids were so adorable! and even though at first they were shy, by the end of the class they were all fighting over who would hold my hand and be next to me) By the time we got back to Otavalo, the trunk of the car had been opened and my bag removed so I made it home and had a nice cleansing and deodorising shower which left me feeling very good!
Tuesday was a special day in school, mostly because the elementary students had classes normally, but the highschool students had the day off, and only a few had to come to school with their parents to talk about improving bad grades or bad behaviour and even recieve the bad news that a few of them were being kicked out of the school. These meetings (for which all the teachers were present) carried on from 7.30 until 3.00 in the afternoon, so all the teachers left feeling tired and hungry for their homes. It was a stressful day having to deliver the bad news, witness students and parents crying and in the case of the students that were kicked out of school, see the shock of the parents and how some of them had no idea what their kid was up to. It was a hard day to get through... We also received two new students, two girls from Oregon who I had the pleasure to show around the school. IN the afternoon we were supposed to have dance practice becuase on the 10th we would have a big presentation and competition in th center of Otavalo. However the organizer is out of the country and the presentation seems to have been called off so all our dancing has been put on halt and instead we played soccer at the Institute and then went out all together with the youth for pizza. I spent the evening keeping Omid company while he waited for Claudia and Jorge who were in an LSA meeting and for someone the age of 19, he knows so much about the faith and he is so positive and active, it is contagious so we were laughing a lot and sharing stories about pretty much everything, ranging from serious to silly.
Wednesday was a hard day for the two American girls, mostly becuase their parents do know spanish but they themselves do not so especially the older one in 8th grade was very frustrated and thinking about friends at home and started crying towards the end of the day so I had to talk to her, console her and be a spiritual support for her until she settles into the rhythm of things. I also started to tutor book 4 to Paolo, my fellow English teacher, in our free periods in school and he had so many questions, it was great to see him interested in the faith and searching for answers to his questions. After school I studies book 5 with Omid (this time I was the participant!), and then he started to teach me how to play the guitar and I started to learn the chords for the Spanish version of Blessed, so at least when I come back I can present something! WE sang a lot together and recorded (becuase we were at the Radio) the songs and then Omid fiddled around with some of the controls and before setting it to play, admitted to me that he had no idea what he was doing! So we had a laughing fit when the result was chipmunk voices and the sound like that from the bottom of a well... It was the most hilarious thing! After listening to the new JY animators program on the radio, we left for home and Jose Luis (my dad) and I spent our time first fixing my light in the bathroom, becuase while NOah was here the light switch in the bathroom stopped working, and then changing the interior of my toilet so that I do not have a leaky, runny and noisy toilet anymore! Today in school things were less eventful, the new girls starting to settle in and understanding more of both the language and not feeling as vulnerable or different. I did a lot of moving around and getting their books, bus passes, and being as supportive as possible when ever I saw them and doing a bit of translating for the students who wanted to ask them so many questions. After school (that is now...) I have been having a quiet afternoon and then at 3.30 have arranged to keep studying book 5 with Omid and play some more music, learn a few more chords. So that is all that I have been up to lately! I miss you all, and hope that you are all doing well!

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Photos

Hal Larson
Sudying book 4