These past few weeks have been both busy and wonderful. Mom and Dad came and it was so great to spend 10 full days with them in a few parts of Ecuador. We spent a couple of days in Quito just hanging out, then went to the Ambato area where we had some adventures and they got a peak into my life. We spent two days at the foundation in Chibuleo, which was perfect! My parents met all the teachers at the elementary school where I work, my boss and coworkers at the foundation, my Peace Corps boss, and my host family. We had a lot going on with the Day of the Dead celebrations, which was also fun to have them there for. I was so happy to have the chance to share my life in Chibuleo with them – it is hard to share all the realities of things, so now they had the chance to make sense of all that I have told them!
Everyone in Chibuleo was so excited for the visit and talked about it for weeks ahead of time and continue to talk about it weeks later. My parents were a big hit with the kids, my mom teaching the cooking group how to bake brownies and my dad repeatedly pointing out where Colorado is on the huge world map mural. They got to share in my annual visit from my Peace Corps boss and see more of the Peace Corps process, then we had a special lunch for Day of the Dead with guaguas de pan and colada morada, the typical food for the day. My kids and I performed our dance for them, then we spent time hanging out with the host family. I am still so thrilled that they came and my two worlds are a little more intertwined now.
From there, my parents and I went to the beach! We went to Puerto Lopez, but it is after the whale season. We did get to do an incredible bird-watching hike along a river where we saw about 40 species of birds within 2 hours, including one of the rarest endangered hummingbirds of Ecuador! We stayed at a lovely little hostel where we spent time on the balcony by the ocean of laying in the hammocks on the beach. The weather wasn’t hot, but it certainly beat the cold of Chibuleo and the first snow in Colorado!
We spent a few more nights in Quito where we met up with Darcy before my parents headed back to the States. Even though the time flew, the trip was perfect and I had such a great time! I also know that time will continue flying, so I’ll see my parents again before we know it.
Once my parents left, Darcy and I came back to Ambato for election night (whew!), and then spent a few days in Chibuleo. Darcy seemed to really like Chibuleo, got to practice her Spanish a lot with the kids, and everything went really well! My host family was wonderful with all of the visitors, which isn’t surprising because of how sweet they are. They continue to ask me when Darcy will be back, so hopefully we can work something out!
On Saturday we went to a big parade in the city of Latacunga called the “Mama Negra.” It is an annual celebration that basically just showcases the wealthiest people in the city, but they throw a huge fiesta for everyone. The parade lasted for about 4 hours and there were tons of bands, dances with people in traditional attire, elected queens and more. There were tons of groups dressed up with bundles of herbs, sticks and bottles of alcohol who acted as the healers. They selected spectators of the parade, pulled them into the street and did a “traditional cleaning” with some chanting and spitting of alcohol onto the person. Of course being gringas, we were selected many times. The parade was one of the best fiestas I’ve been to so far!
On Sunday I went to my first professional soccer game here with Carlos and his family. It was Macara vs. one of the teams in Quito and it was a lot of fun. Even though Macara lost and they are all die-hard fans, it was still a good time! I hung out in Ambato until Monday evening because Ambato was in fiestas, so there was no work on Monday. There was another parade in Ambato, but I was paraded out after the Mama Negra, so I just watched a little bit on TV.
I am now finally back at work where thing s will settle down and normalize a little bit. I have a lot of work to do, but am excited for it all. After my meeting with my Peace Corps boss, I am going to try to refocus a little bit in the training of teachers rather than only working with the kids. This will hopefully help to try and make some of my programs and lessons more sustainable after I leave. The tricky part is finding people who are interested and want to spend the time working with me. We will see!
Everything else is going really well – my host family continues to be wonderful and I am so happy to live here. I love spending time in Ambato too, getting away and spending time with others. The holidays are coming up and I am looking forward to Thanksgiving with some of my Peace Corps family (even though we are celebrating the Saturday after – I will be bringing REAL pumpkin pie thanks to mom and dad’s gift of canned pumpkin!). Darcy and I will spend Christmas together and New Year’s is always exciting in Ecuador, regardless of where I end up. While I still miss home, the holidays won’t be nearly as lonely this year being surrounded by people I love.
I hope all is well with everyone there!
Un abrazo,
Kerry
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