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.