Carnaval Craziness!

Hello, all!

Carnaval craziness at the park in Paute, Ecuador.

It's Carnaval weekend! Carnaval is the first few days that kick off the season of Lent, but really, it's a weekend of shenanigans. For those who choose to "play Carnaval," people throw water, foam, cornstarch, flour, and sometimes eggs at each other. It's a lot of fun to see both young and old joining in on the fun. Cuenca has been pretty calm because most people escaped to warmer climates, either the Amazon or the coast, to celebrate, but I decided to stay in Cuenca to enjoy the downtime. I did go to Paute on Sunday, the first day of Carnaval, to see their parade and celebrate a little bit there. Despite being in the mountains, it was warm and super sunny, a perfect day to get wet. I didn't take many pictures of the parade for fear of my phone getting wet or foamed, but it was super cool. It consisted mostly of traditional and contemporary dance groups, with people spraying water and foam and the parade participants and other crowd members the whole time. After the parade, we ate hornado (a plate of roasted pig with potatoes and mote) and headed to the main park by the river, where all the craziness was. Nobody was left unscathed. Foam was everywhere, many people were armed with water guns, and there were vendors selling buckets so people could refill their guns quickly or pour entire buckets of water on people. There was also a concert going on at one end of the park, but I left in the late afternoon before the night events really kicked in to make sure I could make it back to Cuenca. Overall it was fun to observe and participate, as it was nothing too crazy since everyone had the same expectations. It felt like summer again. I had an absolute blast.

Pre-parade shenanigans in Paute

Teaching has been fairly enjoyable lately. I got my first all-adult class. At first, I was a little hesitant because it ends later than all the other evening intensives and it's the lowest level I've taught, but I'm really enjoying it. The students are such a good group. They all were in the same class together last intensive cycle, so they are pretty comfortable with each other and enjoy speaking practice. They are also self-sufficient, as they help each other out in class and try to solve their confusions amongst themselves, which is a characteristic that hasn't been as prominent in my other classes. Sometimes it makes me feel like I'm not doing my job as a teacher when I don't answer their questions for them, but I do think it's better for them to collectively problem-solve because it lets the students take control of their own education and explore the limits of their understanding. Aside from the time, I think this class is my most ideal class.

As for volunteering, it's been fun! My volunteer schedule changed but they kept me in the same workshops, painting, and FCT, only on different days. They did give me one day at the bakery, so it's been nice to have a little bit of a change in scenery and see what happens in a different workshop. I've only been there one day so far, which was mostly a cleaning day, so I'll have to give future updates about what it's like working in the bakery. The students in the painting workshop have been working on more original paintings so far, and they've been producing some incredible work. I realized that I never showcase any work from the painting workshop, so I'll feature some pieces down at the end of the blog.

That's all I've been up to for now. We have vacations again coming up in a few weeks since the second cycle is ending soon, so stay tuned to see what's going when I have free time! Hopefully, I'll be able to do a bit of traveling!

Chao chao for now!
Jossel Franco



Here are some of the cool paintings by Calasanz students: