Tuesday, January 13, 2009

A continuación,

Sooooo, this weekend (on Saturday night, after going to the Centro historico) we all went to Lumbisí again for a beauty pageant! Some of the people who live with host families in Lumbisí had heard about it, and their families told them to bring all of us to the fiesta. They were choosing the 'Reina de Lumbisí' or the Queen of the town for 2009. When I told my host family where I was going they told me to come home with a crown :)

There were 5 girls competing, and they had different events like answering questions (all about religion, to which we had no idea what the answers were), 2 different dances (one to popular music and one traditional), and formal wear and traditional clothing. Between the events there were performances and music playing. Our friend that we met the day before, Zak, is a music major and is just studying at our university independently, from Hawaii! He just met us while we were walking around and wanted someone to hang out with. We invited him to come to the Centro historico and to Lumbisi. So, in Lumbisi they had him get up on stage and sing and play guitar in front of the whole town! It was great. We were so glad we met him :) hah. Also, we just call him Hawaii because there was already another Zack in our group from Penn State.

Here's a video:

So after they announced the queen (Jesse something) there was a big party/dance. We all tried a new drink too called guayusa. It was really good! It's a hot tea made with an herb from the rainforest, and you get a pitcher-like thing for everyone to share with little dixie cups.

That's all for Saturday, then on Sunday I slept in, did some reading, and then I went to church with my family at 6pm. I should have taken a picture of the girls all dressed up for church in their dresses :) I'm sure I'll get another chance, they go every week, and I'll join them whenever I'm not on an excursion or have far too much homework. Church was very nice, mass was shorter than in the U.S., and the prayers confused me a little because I sort of knew them, and was trying to translate and listen really fast, or say it in my head in english. I just gave up after a little while, but i think I'll get a hang of the spanish versions in a few months :P

After church the whole family (and I mean the WHOLE family, aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins) came over to the house for a bunch of bread, cheese, cake, and coffee. I just talked with many of them (Yolanda's brother's and sisters for the most part, I believe) and then went upstairs to skype and read for homework.

Now I'm in my first real week of classes! They've all been great, and I actually switched out of my Politics class and into Andean Archaeology, which was suggested to me by a woman who works in the Anthropology department at U of I. There's only 6 students in that new class, and we get to go on a few excursions, which is really exciting.

I'm the only gringa in my Marketing class, but it doesnt seem too hard, so that should be fun :) so far we've watched a video and talked about some basic marketing concepts. My Problemas Sociales en Ecuador class is pretty big, with a decent amount of international students, but our professor is really great, and it's been interesting so far too. My aerobics class doesnt actually start until Thursday, and we're going on an excursion this weekend with the Illinois group to an indigenous village, staying overnight there, and then going to Baños on Sunday.

Sunday is also the twin girls' birthday! Ivana and Martina turn 3! I'll try to take pictures when i get back from my trip of them too :) And bring back presents, hehe. Alright, I think I've written enough for now! Hasta luego!

2 comments:

liz. said...

That all soounds sooo cool!

1. How did your friend exactly get up there? that is so ballsy of him to perform!!!

2. Aerobics class? I heard those are hard because all the terminology is in Spanish and gets confusing. FAST! But if there is anyone who can do it, it you! ;0)

3. Sounds like you are having an awesome time! Like a traditional Ecuadorian experience! C'mon, nothing more Latin American than a beauty pagent! Congrats Jesse!

Slavin said...

Hey! Glad I got to hear from you today! Just getting settled into the apartment and all that. Sorry things were kinda hectic when you called, wish I could have talked to you more.

Getting down here was a little bit nuts. I was counting on being able to use the Trans Am to take care of stuff early, but apparently -15 is a little too cold for its tastes. Then once I got my duffle in Jimmy's car, there was no way it was gonna fit much more of my stuff, let alone groceries, so I had to abandon a bunch of things. Ah well.

Anyhow, the trip down here went quick. No speed traps and few accidents to slow down traffic. Was kinda weird coming back after nobody had been here for a month. Not as cold as I expected, but our sizable mess was still runing things at full force. Big cleaning project ahead!

I'm looking forward to seeing pictures from your trip, I hope a few of them are of you! Have fun! Love you lots, and I'm really excited to see you over break. Try not to see everything cool before I get there!