So last weekend was really enjoyable, especially since it was so long. I met up with Eden, Aubrey, and some of their students for our second English Club gathering on Friday evening. I think it was a success yet again. Then Aubrey's students invited us to an invitation-only club opening just a block or two from my neighborhood. The club is called "Milk," in English, and all the staff members were wearing "got milk?" t-shirts. Talk about copyright violations (and that definitely wasn't the first I've seen around town...)! So we went there for a little bit, but I was pretty tired and headed home early.
Then on Saturday I took a "paseo" with Eden, Aubrey, and six of my students to a student's uncle's house o
utside of the town of Patate. His uncle has a farm house with a gorgeous view of the mountains, the river, and Volcán Tungurahua. We had such a great Saturday afternoon! My students brought TONS of food and they spent the morning in the kitchen preparing it all. Then we had a huge BBQ with steaks and sausages...it was incredible. So we just spent the day chit-chatting and listening to music, and of course indulging in the delicious food as well. The crazy weather added even more charm to the afternoon. It was very sunny when we arrived, but a huge rain storm moved in (thankfully right after we finished BBQing), and we were all trapped indoors while the rain was pouring outside. And then the rain let up right when it was time to return to Ambato! So it was definitely a fun afternoon, and I loved getting to know my students better in such a relaxed, informal setting. Saturday evening the ladies and I headed to Supermaxi to research Thanksgiving ingredients and to buy food for my American meal that I had planned for my host family on Sunday. After an entirely too-long stay in the store (we seem to always get sucked in there), the gals came back and we had a relaxing girls' night in my house just watching TV and hanging out.I work up early on Sunday and starting preparing my American meal for my family right away. My host mom was so excited about the idea of me cooking for everyone. She and Maria helped me in the kitchen all morning, cutting fruits and vegetables and getting everything ready. I definitely am not much of a cook, but I must say I was pretty impressed with everything when lunch was ready! We had fruit salad, a veggie salad, French bread, chicken pot pie, and peanut butter cookies for dessert. It was so interesting being watched as I was preparing everything. First of all, baking barely exists here in Ecuador. It's impossible to find cookies or brownies in any bakeries in town, they only have tons of bread selections and cakes. So because of this, not only did I have to buy a cookie tray, but no one in my family really knew how to use the oven. They had also never before seen peanut butter (!!!!!) or croutons. Everyone was so fascinated with both at the table, I couldn't help but to chuckle to myself. They had also never before had raw broccoli! I chopped some up and put it in the salad, and they really liked it. I was very proud of them because they didn't think they could survive a meal without rice, and sure enough they did. I think they all really enjoyed the meal, and the cultural experience that accompanied it. And it was so fun for me to bring a little bit of the States to our dining room table. Wait till they see our Thanksgiving feast next week though...they don't know the amazing American food they have to look forward to!
On Monday I didn't have classes because of Ambato's Independence Day. Every city in Ecuador seems to have its own independence celebration, and Ecuadorians sure do know how to party. Ambato's independence festivities, though, aren't all that big though (they save their energy for the HUGE Ambato festival in February for Mardi Gras). So this past Monday they had a parade in the morning down one of the main streets downtown, and it's a big honor for high school kids to march in the parade. People stake out seats early in the morning, but in my opinion there really isn't that much to see. After watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV as a kid, watching high school kids marching in band uniforms isn't all that exhilarating. But it is nice that the entire city comes out to support the students, and it is so apparent that Ambateños really have such deep-seated pride in their city. I actually only saw the end of the parade and the students getting back on their school buses, but I must say I did enjoy the extra day off from class!
In other news this past week, Eden has fleas. Yes, fleas. I would have tried to spare her some pride by not publishing this fact, but she has such a good sense of humor that she encouraged me to note it in my blog. Poor thing, she has all these funny little red bumps all over her and it was our mission this past week to accurately diagnose her. Eden is now an expert on fleas after all her research. We thought it might have been scabies or some allergic reaction, but after intense studying, discussion, and analysis, we all agree that she does in fact have fleas. This could be a result of a few factors- we slept on the floor in Cuenca, the dog in her house just had puppies, or fleas possibly could have jumped onto her as she was walking past some of the many stray farel dogs who roam throughout Ambato. I guess we'll never know. But man, if I were a flea, I would not want to go up against Eden- she is one tough cookie. She immediately took on military-like defense tactics to protect herself. She washed all her clothes and sheets, bug sprayed everything in her room millions of times, and best yet, she sleeps in her "bug suit," complete with socks pulled over her pants, hood over her head, and her shirt tucked into her pants with a belt so that it doesn't come un-tucked over night. All her valiant efforts have seemed to pay off though, and she has been flea-free for a few days now. Congrats Eden!
Finally, last night had some excitement of its own. My host brother Marcelo joined me for my evening class because he had off a few days this week from his university. It was so fun having him as a student for a few hours. He seemed to really enjoy the class, and though he has taken many English classes, he said he learned some new words and expressions. Then, later when we were home, we had a tremor! I was going to use the word "earthquake," but I know Eden, the quasi-geologist of the group, would greatly disapprove:) It had a magnitude of 6.7 and it was about 75 miles below the earth near the border of Ecuador and Peru. It lasted about 35 seconds. The whole house was shaking and the lamps were swinging, but it really wasn't all that strong. It just felt like I was sitting in one of those Brookstone vibrating chairs at the mall. But after the earthquake in Chile a few days ago, I was definitely a bit frightened. As far as the news goes, it doesn't seem like it caused much damage throughout the country and no injuries to be heard of thus far. But last night proved yet again that here in Ecuador you have to always be ready for the unexpected!
That's about all I have to report for now. I am off to meet my friend Mark from Santa Elena in Quito tomorrow, and we're going to take a trip with his old host family to Otavalo. I was in Otavalo and the indigenous villages surrounding it with my ASB trip last year, so I'm excited to go back! Eden's boyfriend David arrives tomorrow for his second visit, so it will be fun to have him here for Thanksgiving next week (he's also bringing us some American ingredients that don't exist here). Aubrey is heading up the Thanksgiving festivities here in Ambato, and by all her planning so far, I think we are in for a real treat. Lastly, this Sunday Dan and I might go to our director's house in the country, so we shall see! Have a great weekend everyone and and very happy Thanksgiving next week. Enjoy the time with your families and watch some football for me! xoxo
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