Hello all!! Posting the blog a bit late this month! We have been absolutely swamped, and I’m just now able to take a minute to reflect on everything that happened in February.

This was definitely one of the most eventful months thus far!  One of the first significant events for us was Valentine's Day, or Día de San Valentin.  Although I’m still living the single life, it was a great day to celebrate other important relationships in my life!  During classes at CEDEI, I allowed extra time to create Valentines written in English. Both my classes of niños and teenagers really enjoyed it, and even gave me some! I gave one to all of my students too.  After, we went to dinner with some friends. It was so nice to have a day that reinforced some of the important connections that I’ve made that impact my life daily. I was definitely feeling warm and loved!

Cards from my students!

More cards from my students :)

Another one of our favorite days in February was a day we got to celebrate the accomplishments of one of our good friends, Moni.  She just graduated from University with a degree in Clinical Psychology, and we were lucky to attend her graduation party. It was great to celebrate her, meet some of her friends, and see her awesome family again.  We are so proud of her accomplishments! If you’re reading, congrats again Moni!

We are so grateful to know Moni and her family!

By far the biggest event in February was Carnaval. Before living in Ecuador, I didn’t understand the scope of Carnaval since we don’t have it in the United States.  I thought it was maybe something in Brazil, but didn’t know much about it. I quickly found out that it is a holiday celebrated all over the world in February. Many people used the large break from school or work to travel, but we stayed here in Cuenca to see how Carnaval is celebrated in our home.  There are many traditions associated with this holiday, and we became very familiar with most of them. For example, “playing carnaval” includes getting your friends as wet as possible by throwing water, water balloons, or even using water guns. People also spray this “foam,” called “karaoka” at each other- which can be really fun, but dangerous if it gets in your eye!  People also tend to throw other things, such as MAICENA and paint at each other. My first experience of this was playing Carnaval with the kids at Calazans. I always left with the songs stuck in my head for the rest of the day! We had a day just dedicated to Carnaval, and played lots of water games. Of course, the kids (and teachers) tried their best to get me the most, and I wasn’t mad about it! I was so grateful that my first experience with the holiday was with them, and that we were all able to enjoy it together.  We had so much fun! I also got to try a food that is traditional for Carnaval, called Mote Pata, which is corn (mote) with meat. On the first official day of Carnaval there was a huge event in the plaza right by our house, the Plaza San Francisco. There was live music and the plaza and surrounding streets were full of people playing Caranaval. We got absolutely destroyed by everything from the foam and water to paint and Maicena. By the end we were almost unrecognizable! The event finished with fireworks and a finale of the live music, and we went home to finally take a nice hot shower. I definitely had fun at this event (as a once a year type of thing)! We thought maybe the water throwing would die down from there- but we were so wrong.  All of Carnaval includes events like these, and even walking down the street isn’t safe! One day, I was walking down the street eating a piece of bread, and someone driving by in a car threw a water balloon at me, knocking my bread out of my hand! We had heard some horror stories about people playing with frozen water balloons or balloons filled with animal blood, but luckily we didn’t have any bad experiences like that- it was all in good fun! We took the chance to go to some other similar events here in Cuenca, as well as rest up for the coming week- something we cherish because our schedule is normally so busy. It was so wonderful to be here in Ecuador for something so culturally significant and to experience it firsthand with people I love.  Although I wouldn’t love getting water thrown at me in the street all the time, I really enjoyed Carnaval here in Cuenca.

One of the students at Calazans trying to get me! (Notice the foam in his hand)

Ready for the festivities at Calazans!

Mote Pata

Jhoseline and me- the aftermath of the event in La Plaza San Francisco!

Otherwise, things are pretty normal here in our lives!  My regular classes are coming to an end for this cycle, meaning I am just about to finish my second cycle of teaching! It is crazy how much of a routine I have found in teaching, and how much I have come to enjoy it although I never thought this would be the path for me.  My ninos classes finished their final projects (puppets) and had a class party on the last day! My 102 class of teenagers also wrapped up, and we had a party as we reviewed for the final exam. I’ll definitely be glad for a bit of a break, but I’ll miss all of my students from this cycle so much! It also means that I have quite a bit of grading to do as the cycle comes to an end.

Final Project- Puppets!

In Calazans things are also going well! I have been doing a lot of helping to add details to art projects that students are working on.  Although I always loved painting, I struggled conceptually with what I would want to paint. Now I am loving that I can use something I love in a helpful and productive way to enhance the artwork of the students.  I have come to a point where I can usually recognize what students have done without their names because I can recognize their individual techniques. Collaborating with them is one of my favorite things I have ever done! I love that my relationship with all of the students continues to get stronger- for example, after missing one day from being sick, I came back to a million questions and statements like: “Where were you???” and “We missed you!!!” I of course replied that I missed them too! 

The process of one of the art projects I am working with a student on!

As we are getting March underway, I continue to be extremely grateful for my life here in Cuenca.  Now it has been about a year since the interview and selection process for this grant, something that is so surreal to think about! Every month here proves to be richer, and I can’t wait to see how my life here will continue to evolve.  If you’ve read this far, thank you! Until next month!