Welcome to the first blog of the new year! Crazy how fast time has passed, I am nowhere ready for this adventure to end. 

December was one of my favorite months here in Ecuador. I had most of the month off and enjoyed having a break from teaching. Emily left early December to visit her best friend in Florida and then her family in Ohio. After being together for five months it was hard to separate from her. It was hard not having her around and I missed her so much. Although she was gone and I was here by myself for the holidays I had great fun thanks to El Arenal, the Palacios family, friends and the traditions of Ecuador. 

Christmas in Cuenca

El Arenal at the beginning of the month held an event to celebrate the coming of Christmas with all of the parents and kids of the organization. It was a day to celebrate as a family and enjoy the presence of each other. The parents and the kids participated in multiple games throughout the day and won various prices. The kids, which are split up into various groups depending on their grade and age,  were asked by the director to prepare a performance. During the “ Fiesta Navideña” each group performed their act and I was lucky enough to have been asked to participate with Group 3. As a group, we prepared a traditional dance and performed in front of all the parents and kids. I loved being included and enjoyed being able to dance with the kids of the Fundación and share such a special moment. What I loved the most was meeting the parents of the kids and seeing so many happy faces.  

With two of my favorite sisters of El Arenal 

Group 1 performing for the Fiesta Navidena 

Kids of El Arenal and their Christmas gifts

On Christmas Eve I was fortunate enough to participate in El Pase del Nino, a  traditional Ecuadorian Christmas parade in honor of baby Jesus. El Pase del Nino is meant to portray the journey of Mary and Joseph to the town of Bethlehem. In Cuenca, the parade begins in Parque San Sebastian and ends in Parque San Blas. Throughout the parade, you can hear multiple bands playing traditional music and see many individuals dressed in traditional clothing and customs to represent biblical characters such as angels and the three wise men. I dressed as a traditional Cuencana woman and danced along to traditional music. All of this would not have been possible without the kindness of the Palacios family who asked if I wanted to be part of this special tradition. They as a family rented all of the traditional clothing and gathered a group of 80 individuals to participate in the parade. They also hired a band that played traditional music throughout the whole parade. I loved learning about this tradition and witnessing so much beauty and culture. 

The Palacios family and I 

All 80 members of Cotopaxi

Dressed as a traditional Cuencana

Christmas Eve, I spent with the Palacios family who shared their home and traditions with me. In the afternoon, family members from Quito and Guayaquil arrived at their home and we enjoyed a very good meal together. We then proceeded to gather in their living room and recite some prayers and wish each other many blessings.  Next came one of my favorite parts of Christmas, opening presents! It was so exciting to see what each family member received and witness so many happy faces, gratitude and love each one had for one another. I can not thank the Palacios family enough for including me in their traditions and for making me feel like one of their own. I loved spending such an important holiday like Christmas with such a wonderful family. 

The Palacios family Christmas tree 

At Christmas, I spent time with my friends from Colombia and Venezuela. I had some very good tamales from Colombia that were like nothing I have had before. They were so big and delicious. I also had Venezuelan tamales called Hayacas which were also very good. Ecuadorian tamales are also very great and I felt fortunate to have had the opportunity to have different variations of tamales. I must admit though I was sad during Christmas. I missed my family so much, both the ones in the United States and El Salvador. Although I was away from my own family I felt blessed to be loved by so many people here in Ecuador which made my Christmas very special. 

Hayacas

Colombian Tamale 

Emily returned on December 30th and words can not describe how happy I was. We spent New Year’s Eve together and celebrated the Holiday along with our Venezuelan and Colombian friends. We began the night by enjoying a meal together, which let me tell you, it was very delicious. Then we headed out to the streets in which you could see many individuals celebrating the old year that is ending and letting go of bad things. One tradition is to burn Monigotes, which are statues that are made from paper mache or old clothes and oftentimes are of family members and politicians.  The Monigotes are burned to get rid of the bad energy or memory of that individual. Right at midnight, you could hear so many fireworks going off all over the city and illuminating it with so many colors. Right at midnight many individuals, including myself, call their relatives to wish them a happy new year and many blessings. It was hard to be away from my loved ones on such a special occasion but I am glad that here in Ecuador I have found my own family. 

New Years Eve meal 

Monigote of Lenin Moreno 

Venezuelan and Colombian friends

December as mentioned was one of my favorite months and a month that allowed me to be extremely grateful. Grateful for the experience I have been granted and for the individuals who have entered my life and have made it better. A huge thank you to Mark and Linda for this experience. Wishing you all a Happy New Year and thank you for reading. 

Greetings from Ecuador!!! After traveling to the U.S. during our December break to spend Christmas with my family, I have finally returned to start the new cycle at CEDEI.  December was definitely a great month, but it sure feels good to be back.

Just after finishing our first cycle with CEDEI, I headed to Guayaquil to fly out.  As I was sitting waiting to board my flight to Fort Lauderdale, a wave of emotion came over me.  Although airports aren’t exactly the pinnacle of accurate cultural representation of a place, I noticed small details that I realized soon would not be present in my daily life as they had been every day for the past five months.  From alpaca sweaters and empanadas to soccer on every T.V. and a constant buzzing of Spanish conversation and announcements, in that moment I was sharply aware of how many small pieces of life here had become so normal to me. I started crying, realizing how much I was going to miss it all being my norm, and thinking about how much I was going to miss Jhoseline, as we hadn’t spent a single day apart since the day we met in the Cleveland airport to embark on this journey together. Of course, though, I knew that this trip was only a vacation, and that I would be returning soon. 

Another huge bright side was that my first stop in the U.S. was Orlando, to visit my best friend Paige for her birthday! We have spent every birthday together since we met our freshman year of college at Ohio State, so I was extremely grateful that we could be together for another one.  What an incredible feeling it was for us to pick right back up as we were after spending so long apart! I couldn’t think of a better “welcome back” to the country than spending a week with my best friend and her family, some of the best people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. Now that we have graduated it was so cool to see the life that she has built for herself in a new place. Even though it was Paige's birthday, I felt spoiled too! We got to spend time together at the parks and even got to volunteer at a welcome event at Magic Kingdom for families of fallen soldiers, hosted by Gary Sinise.Our time together went way too fast, as it always does, but we know that no matter how much time or how many miles come between us, we can rest assured that we will always have each other. 

Paige and me before graduating!

Splash Mountain- one of our favorites

Couldn't be more grateful for our time together

Magic Kingdom at Christmas

After a week in Florida that felt like the blink of an eye, I was finally on my way back to Ohio! My family all picked me up at the airport, and I couldn’t get to them quick enough.  I cried (of course) and got lots of hugs. Both of my parents recently moved to Columbus, so it was great to see how they’ve adjusted to the change (although for me it meant couch surfing for a couple of weeks)! My sister just started high school there and my brother is in his second year at Ohio State, so checking in with them was something I couldn’t wait to do! We had a wonderful Christmas and got to do all of our Christmas traditions, like decorating, baking, listening to our favorite Christmas songs, going to see lights, and fitting in as many Christmas movies as possible! Christmas is a very special time for all of us in my family, so I felt very grateful to have been able to spend the time with them- I couldn’t imagine it any other way!

Meeting the newest member of the family, Max

Sister hugs at the airport

The loves of my life!

Christmas traditions with Dad!

Beautiful Mama

After having lived in the U.S. my whole life, I didn’t expect to experience much culture shock upon arriving, but I was wrong! It took way more adjusting, both mentally and physically, than I anticipated.  My body was totally breaking down- I got a cold, my mouth became irritated, and my stomach didn’t do well with the food change. I had to readjust to eating 2-3 large meals a day, whereas here I tend to eat one large meal and other smaller snacks as necessary.  The pace of life in the two places is very different, so being back in Columbus was a bit overwhelming at first! Finally- it was so hard to remember that you can actually flush toilet paper in the U.S.- for so long I was constantly looking for the little trashcan in the bathroom until I remembered! Overall, of course, it wasn’t a large adjustment to return after 5 months, and I was always with friends and family helping me out, so it was more interesting than it was painful! Most of all, I missed hearing Spanish music and language, especially the Spanglish (with a few Quichua borrow words) that Jhoseline and I are used to speaking in the house. 

I got back on December 30th, just in time to spend New Years with Jhoseline and our friends.  I couldn’t wait to get back to see everyone! The feeling of going out and seeing so many people I know, having a warm reception back into a community I had just entered 5 short months ago, was extremely special.  Though I have traveled before, it was really the first time in my life I was coming back to an established place, life, and community that would still be there for me, rather than just visiting. Though only for a year, this experience has an element of permanence that continues to allow us to create truly meaningful bonds with people and to get to know the country in ways we never could have otherwise. 

Jhoseline even decorated the house for the day I got back! It was so sweet, you already know I cried!

On the 31st we cooked dinner with a friend and some of their family, and went out to the street to enjoy the festivities after. There were fireworks popping off everywhere around us, and at exactly midnight people were burning their Años Viejos, or dolls reminiscent of a scarecrow, representing undesirable things from the old year that will be left there as we transition into the new one. It is also said to be good luck to jump over them as they burn! Some people wear costumes and others dress as widows and dance as cars pass in the street.  It was definitely my favorite New Year yet, and in that moment at midnight exactly I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the opportunity to be here, and for the chance to get to know the community and its traditions. I continue to be in awe of its beauty! 

Example of an Año Viejo from google!

At exactly midnight, another common thread was people calling the loved ones that they could not be with for the holidays.  This year after having had the great pleasure of meeting many people from different backgrounds I was sharply aware of the reality that many people were unable to spend Christmas with parents, siblings, or children because of the quest for a better life.  For this reason, the magnitude of my privilege- having the financial ability to fly between continents during a month of unpaid vacation, an identity that is often allowed to pass freely through borders, and the privilege to be living apart from my family as a personal adventure rather than out of necessity- is not lost on me.  I continue to be grateful every day for this experience, and especially to Mark and Linda for choosing me for this grant. December was interesting because though at first it pained me to leave Ecuador for vacations, I became more aware of just how much it has become a part of me- and how, in some small way, through the connections I have been able to build- me a part of it. I look forward to the next few months of this experience with a renewed awareness of all of it has been thus far and an openness for what it will continue to be. 

If you made it this far, thank you for reading! Until next month!