Carnaval, Christmas, and mucha más

So I haven´t written in awhile. Oops! So, let me start with Carnaval, possibly the worst holiday I´ve ever experienced. For about 6 weeks before the actual event, random people throw water balloons, shoot water guns, and just dump water on whoever they so desire. Please remember that I walk everywhere. Water balloons can hurt. Especially on the back of the head. Bratty kids. So, the actual weekend of Carnaval wasn´t so bad, because I spent it in Ambato and Baños, where water balloons are banned, though I got shot repeatedly with karaoke, which is spray foam, very similar to silly string. This is all well and good unless it gets into your eyes, ears, or mouth, at which point it´s less than pleasant. Ambato had it´s festival of fruits and flowers while we were there, which meant that the streets were packed until 5 a.m. with people drinking and spraying each other with foam and flour (luckily I missed becoming a human cake). Mind you, they started drinking at 9 a.m., so they were bien borracho (really drunk). There was a lot of pee in the streets (New Orleans has nothing on us), and people passed out on the sidewalks. Good times. We (we being myself and 8 volunteers from World Teach, ISIC, and the British Consulate, oh, and a few Ecuadorians), however, did not party with the other locos, but wandered through the festivals, visited the malls, and went to a friend´s house.

Monday of Carnaval (Feb. 27) has to be the epitome of all Ecua-days. We went white water rafting in Baños, and were supposed to be there at 8:30. We left at 9:45, of course. When we finally got there and managed to cram into wetsuits that didn´t fit all that well (the lines on my legs lasted for hours it was so tight), we had training. The two Spanish-speakers who started at the front of the boat couldn´t get the directions right, so me and Adrian, from Ireland, got to be the leads. Good times. The water was pretty high, and there were some awesome rapids, for being only level 3. Adrian fell out at one point, but he didn´t die and we pulled him back in. We were supposed to return at 2:30 or 3:00, which means that we pulled in at 5:00, of course, after driving through a war zone of water balloons that we feared were about to break the van windows. Oh, and the van had to be push started every time. I love this country. We grabbed a chocolate chip cookie at what must be the only restaurant here that makes them, and then ran by the hostel to get our belongings. One of the girls had to wait in line at the ATM, so we headed to a place that had amazing hot dogs, french fries, and burgers...you wouldn´t think they´re hard to make, but you´d be surprised at what you sometimes get here. So, we get to the bus station, looking for a bus back to Ambato, and see a line of about 200 people, which we just knew was where we´d have to wait, and it was, until a bus came by and said it was going to Ambato, at which point a bunch of people mob-rushed it and got on, including ourselves. The only difference with gringos is that we don´t push people holding infants. It´s just not nice. So, we get to Ambato in 2 hours (normally a 45 min. ride), get a taxi to the bus terminal to buy our tickets in advance for Loja, and then on to Adrian´s flat to pick up tickets and apply more deoderant before going to the Carlos Vives concert (mind you, we still haven´t showered from rafting). The concert was awesome, though quite chilly. We ended the night at a small bar that served awesome hot, fruity wine. YUM!!

So, yes, that is Carnaval.

In other news, I spoke with the Red Cross today and I´m going to start supporting them with charlas and capacitacion classes, which should be cool. My jóvenes group at the Patronato is still working out details for what it wants in its own house, which it should hopefully have in a couple of months. My niños at the Centro are still doing well, and I think I actually like some of the little buggers. One of the kids recently put his name and mine in a heart with ¨friends forever¨. I think he has a crush... We´re also doing workshops twice a month with the parents at the centro, and so far they´re going really well. People here are really used to being lectured at, so when we come in with non-formal education (games, groupwork, etc), they really like it. Tomorrow´s was cancelled, though, because the directora broke her leg on a bus stair.

On to past events, like Christmas... Adrian and I went to Montañitas, which is a gorgeous spot of surfing beach with lots of gringos, which means lots of good food...yeah! I then met Mom and Dad in Quito, with the diplomatic pass, of course, and we had an awesome time. We visited the ¨mitad del mundo¨, which is a monument on the equator, and then headed to Loja on a lovely 5:45 a.m. flight (the only one all day). We went to Vilcabamba, though they were a bit bored there. I guess I´ve gotten really used to just hanging out and doing nothing...home could be a real shock! We then headed to Baños and went on a tour of the 6 waterfalls that are on the road down into the Amazon, which are all absolutely gorgeous. At one point they stick a harness on you and you go down a massive ladder and repel around the side of the rock where you can see a rock formation that looks like the face of the devil. Mom and Dad opted out on that little adventure...

In home news, congratulations to Rebecca on her engagement and Kim on her new little one!!

Alright, off to eat leftover curry...I made it for lunch today. See you in May!