Weekly House Meeting

So, we recently started having weekly house meetings on Mondays, led by Carolina Bueno, our house Director. Each week we have "homework" in pairs, in which we have to do some activity throughout the week to get to know one another. This week we had to write and sing a song or recite a poem in our pairs. I was paired up with Javie. Chris was paired up with Oscar. Irene, our librarian, was paired up with Esteban. It was a good time! You really had to be there to get the full effect! Chris and Oscar ended up winning the competition...$4 each for coffee ( which, here, could get you 2+ cups...yet another advantage of living in a country that is not monopolized by Starbucks :) It's been a small house this week. Charlie, Seth, Anna and Jon all went to Washington DC for the National Prayer Breakfast. So, Chris and I held down the fort here. We had a great week with the guys. We had some really good conversations and fun hang out time, watching Tropic Thunder, Kung Fu Panda and about a gabillion soccer games. Everyone really worked well together, helping each other balance the workload. The guys did a great job putting on our weekly "kids club". This week was Daniel and the Lion's Den. Chris was the King Darius. It was a hit! Also, this past weekend we went up to the "Panecillo". The Panecillo is a huge statue of the Virgin Panecillo who seperates the Northern part of Quito from the Southern part. It gives a great view of the city. We went up with some friends, Jose Luis his wife Carolina and their daughter Julia. Carolina is the grandaugther of ex President of Ecuador, Sixto Duran, and the daughter of Alicia Duran, who started Casa Victoria. Chris and I are really excited about this week...my mom arrives on Thursday night and will spend 6 days here in the house. Next Thursday, we'll all go to Lima, Peru to hang out on the beach for a week!!! Oh, how I miss the beach! From Lima we'll go straight to Argentina! It's finally here! Chris and I have really been looking forward to this part of the trip. We'll spend a full month there...meeting family of friends, hopefully going to a River Plate game, and eating lots and lots and lots and lots of STEAK and equally drinking amazingly good and cheap wine! Are we excited....oh, yes!!!!! Stay tuned... *Attached is a picture of a group of us gals that meets weekly for lunch: Carolina Mateos (at the far end of the table on the right), Daniela Borja (wearing the pink top), Ana Eshleman (wearing glasses), our guest of the week Beth Ann (who was visiting from New York) (sitting across from Carolina), and me*

The Happiest Place on Earth

So before we get into what we think the happiest place on earth is...let me just tell you...Ecuador has outdone the Americans when it comes to oatmeal. I dont know what it is...there is not much to it: a dash of nutmeg, a healthy dose of cinnamon, a bit of whole oats, and lots of WHOLE milk. Forget the 2%, it doesn't exist here...and rightfully so! Our lives have changed with the freedom of drinking whole milk. It has turned oatmeal from a blan, diet food to a sought after dessert-like meal! Wow...

Now, for our last adventure. Last Sunday, the entire house (9 people) went to a village called 235 about 5 hours from Quito in bus. The significane of village 235 is that it is the home of our very dear friend Lenin ( 3rd picture down). Lenin is an Afro Ecuadorian in his early twenties who lived in Casa Victoria for about a year and grew up in this village before moving out to Quito to study and work. Lenin's village is made entirely of family members.

To get to this village you need two buses. The first drops you off in Ibarra where the second picks you up to take you the last hour and a half to the middle of the Andes mountains. There isn't much to mark this bus "stop"...a little gravel, a small white house, and lots of greenery. So, you hop off the bus, literally, or they may take off while you have one foot in and one out.

You walk down and through the mountain trail, about 15 minutes. After about 8 minutes you come to a roaring river that looks a little like something out of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. You say your prayers and cross the manmade bridge which has collapsed twice ( restored by the locals and some fellow Casa Victorians). Forgetting about the shaky bridge, you stand in the middle and take in the breathless scenery of green, green, and more green. As you continue on your trek, you stop to say hi to some of the local villagers sitting in front of thier houses, as well as the many many chickens and pigs along the way.

Finally, you arrive. There is a decent sized home on your right, where Lenin's immediate family lives (mom, dad, brother...there are 11 siblings in total but the others have moved) a school classroom in front of you, a few houses behind that, a slabe of cement used to play futbol on, a small chapel at the top of the incline, and a couple more classrooms.

Lenin's mom came out to greet us upon our arrival, squeezing each of us as if we were her own...not 10 seconds later the kids came out. That was one of the most amazing parts. The children, all cousins, were the most energetic, joyful, rambunxious (sp?)kids ever! They were all soooo beautiful with double the personality to match. The older ones, for the most part, looked after the younger ones...that is, if they weren't launching water balloons at them! The village was full of energy and life and beautiful smiles. Beth Ann, a friend of Charlie Beck's from New York, came along with us and brought lots of Snickers and Reeses Peanut Butter Cups to give to the kids...they lasted maybe 30 seconds!

Lenin's mom cooked us Gringos a feast...to start: Chicken head and foot soup ( it is something else to see a little mohawk poking out of your soup); main course: a HUGE plate of rice, potatos, and fried chicken ( keep in mind this fried chicken was probably alive just the day before!); for dessert: fruit in a syrup. The Gringos ate alone at the table with Lenin. In thier culture, they cook you the food and serve you while they stay and eat in the kitchen. We've tried to undo this but have been unsuccessful.

In order to work off all that food, we all had a dance party in one of the classrooms. Charlie Beck started it off with some MJ until it later turned into a spanish music variety. The traditional music here is Bachata... slightly less complicated than salsa but not easy. Surprisingly enough, the Gringos were up and dancing every single song while the kids watched in awe ( I don't think it was a good kind of awe either ;). A few hours into the dancing, grandma came out. Grandma was a 5'6 lady with her gray hair in a tight bun, who could move better than anyone on that floor. She entered the room with a large green bottle FULL of water on her head (!!!)...from the moment she entered she didn't stop dancing. It was all hips...that bottle did not move. It was incredible. So much fun!

Later, we went to bed, stinky and sweaty and still very full. All us Casa Victorians stayed in one of the classrooms on what started off as air mattresses and ended up as just a plastic layer on the tile floor. It made for a very funny, restless night! 4am the rooster crows....6am the rooster crows....and on and on.

We left the next afternoon after another hearty meal of fried yuca (which is a very common potato like vegetable), rice, chicken and potatos....at 11am :) Lenin kissed his family goodbye and told his mom "no llores" ( don't cry). It was very, very sweet. And, we were off.

...one of the best Casa V trips yet!

P.S.
Sorry for the photo layout....still can't figure out how to post them in a logical sequence!

Siete Cascadas

This past weekend we went to Ibarra to hang out with Daniela Borja and her family. It was her younger sister's, Cristina, 18th birthday. The 18th birthday here is really the coming of age...what the 21st birthday is for us North Americans. While Cristina and her friends all hung out and listened to Jack Johnson, us "oldies" watched movies.

The next day, we took a drive to the "Siete Cascadas" (7 Waterfalls), just slightly west of Ibarra, towards the coast. It's amazing how everything changes once you leave the Sierra and head towards the Coast. The climate goes from dry to very humid; the leaves change from your average green to vibrant yellows, oranges and reds; tropical fruits grow in abundance, the insects get larger and more populous; the mountains are more green and populated by more trees, even the people are different....they have different accents (they speak very fast)and the women from the coast are famous for thier latin "curves".

When the Borja's said we were going to the 7 waterfalls, we pictured a scenic drive with some stops along the way to take some pictures......that was not the case. We stopped off at a local tourist shop and picked up some rain boots, and hiked up and down through a rain forest type atmosphere for about 3 hours. It was sooo beautiful. A little muddy and messy but beautiful. We ended up only going to 3 of the 4 waterfalls just for the sake of time. To do all 7 means a FULL day. We ate bannanas picked off the trees, which were the most amazingly sweet and delicious bannanas ever! The boys did thier thing and jumped off the rocks surrounding the waterfalls(the picture below is Chris jumping). The girls chilled (literally) in the ice cold water. There was one very scary moment in which Rafael Sr. (Daniela's dad) was climbing the flat faced rock to get to the top so he could jump....well, a minute later we saw him lose his grip and fall, back first, into the water below. It was soooo scary...none of us knew if there were rocks at the bottom of that drop or not. But, luckily, he was okay. A little freaked out and scratched up but okay. From that point on I held on to Chris a little tighter before he attempted his jumps!
We had a great time. Probably one of our favorite days here so far. It was sooooo nice to be out of the city, out of the noise and congestion and just enjoy God's BEAUTIFUL creation.

New Years in Cuenca, Ecuador

New Years in Cuenca was a blast! Chris and I went with Daniela and her family. It was a rough 6 hour drive up and down through the Andes mountains ( and when I say "up and down" I mean UP and DOWN)at an average speed of 45 mph. It was quite an experience...Ecuadorians have no fear on the road...quite the opposite from us Americans. They enjoy passing each other just as the road begins to curve and they cannot see the oncoming traffic ahead of them...it's amazing! Finally, I had to go to sleep just to avoid a panick attack!
New Years Eve was a very fun night. We went to Daniela's uncle house in the country (about 20 min outside of the city of Cuenca). Everyone got dressed up, which is the tradition. I was Pompies from the spanish show "El Chavo" and Chris was una "cura" (priest). It was great! Kinda felt like Halloween. After midnight the guys lit fireworks in celebration while the women yelled at thier husbands for lighting them too close to the house. Chris practiced his soccer with a younger cousin who just returned from playing in Brazil...so he had some new moves to show off.
New Years Day continued the celebration on another uncle's ranch. The afternoon began rather slowly as many were recovering from "chuchaqui" (hangover). We played fusball (which I kicked Chris's butt in, 10 to 6!!!!)roasted a "chancho" (pig) for lunch...I made the mistake of asking for the white meat. Not only did they laugh at me but they ignored me and gave me a slab of dark meat. Picky people like me have NO place here....you take what you get. Chris is much better at this than I am. So, after a large meal we all sat around and listened to a singer they hired for the evening. The singing eventually turned into a DJ wich then called for a community cup of rum and coke to be passed around to anyone old enough to hold it. Chris and I tried to refuse...they weren't having it...no surprise there!!
We spent the next couple nights touring Cuenca, which is a very quaint and calm little city. It's known for it's beautiful churches and cobblestone streets. It much calmer than Quito. Less hustle and bustle and a little safer.
On our way home we stopped off at the Inca ruins. It was really cool. Nothing like Machu Pichu but cool nonetheless. After talking our way out of paying the $6 "extranjero" (foreigner) fee and paying the $2 local fee, we went on a self guided tour. It was interesting to see everything from one of thier temples to thier irrigation "system". It's amazing to think how far back those ruins go.
Our trip to Cuenca concluded with a quick drive through the city of Ambato, where our family lived for a while. It was cool to get to see the streets my grandparents, aunts and uncles roamed at one point.
This week we are back at Casa V taking it pretty easy. The holidays are over and things seem to be settling a bit. Chris is back in Spanish school working on his preterites. Tonight he went to play indoor soccer with the guys in the house, which he loves. I met with the mom's group I'm leading here at the house this past Wedneday which turned out to be really good! 5 moms came, which is a lot...it is soooo hard for the moms to take any time out for themselves when they have so many other things calling for thier attention (kids, work, husbands, house chores, etc.). It's a luxury for them to be able to come hang out with other women for an hour every week. This weekend we are going to a 40th birthday party and hopefully getting some time alone to just hang out.

Christmas

We had a great Christmas! Monday and Tuesday we hosted a special kids vacation school with some volunteers from "Ecuador Mi Pais" (a non profit organization). The kids did lots of arts and crafts, sang songs, colored, played games, etc. On Tuesday, the 23rd, the kids put on a Christmas play of the Christmas story to celebrate the "Novena" ( a traditional Christmas celebration celebrated each night,9 days before Christmas).During the Novena the kids sing Christmas songs and read Christmas stories, etc. That same afternoon a Monk from the local church visited with the kids to share the purpose of Christmas and together we all sang traditional Christmas songs. It was really a fun time with the kids. They LOVE to sing...it was soooo adorable! You'll notice in the pictures an adorable little boy in the very front with glasses, sitting in front of an adult with a striped sweatshirt.....his name is Johan...he is my favorite! Shhhhhh! Johan was on to me because I kept taking pictures of him and by the end he would walk right up to my camera and ask to look inside so he could see my pictures...it was so cute!

That morning Esteban, Ivan, Oscar, and Javie all opened thier Christmas presents before everyone went thier seperate ways. The big finale was a house soccer ball. The guys love to play soccer and up until now have been borrowing the neighborhood baker's (Edwin) ball. Now they have thier own! They actually all went out just today for the first time to play a 2 hour game of futbol!

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day we spent with Daniela Borja and her family. It was really, really great to get to be part of the traditional Ecuadorian Christmas. On Christmas Eve (Noche Buena) we went to her aunt and uncle's house and ate lots of good food like turkey, mote ( which is hominey), salad, rice, and rilleno de pabo
(more turkey) and to top it off some yummy alfajores( sandwhich cookies filled with dulce de leche), which I (Angela) made for the first time!!

The 26th was really cool because we went about 2 hours outside of Quito to Daniela's uncle's hacienda. It was super relaxing and so pretty....we ate some delicious steak, sat by the warm fire, and just enjoyed the peacefulness of the house. It was great to get some time outside of the city.