¡Feliz Carnaval!

Happy Carnaval, Everyone!  Carnaval here is, more or less, Mardi Gras, only way more awesome than it is in most of the United States.  Pretty much everyone here goes on vacation – the cities are deserted and the beaches are crowded.  The majority of the people in my program went to Atacames for the long weekend.  We stayed at a delightful hostel a hop, skip, and a jump from the beach and spent our days playing in the water, lounging on the sand, and walking along the shore collecting shells.  Our nights were generally spent walking around the town near the beach getting into espuma battles with whoever tried to spray us.  During Carnaval, carrying a can of espuma around with you is almost a requirement.  Everyone participates and no one avoids being covered with water, espuma, and all manner of other things.  We had a wonderful time relaxing, exploring, and just being together.  This is a completely awesome holiday and we need to have this in the United States!

Highlights from this Week:

• Monday – I talked with María about volunteering and a few things I should or could do in the future.  I’m especially excited about a few ideas for working with FEVI because it sounds like we have lots of stuff to do to help the community in Lumbisí.  Javi, Kirstie, Tara, and I taught our first English class for jóvenes (teens) this afternoon.  We pretty much talked about and taught whatever the kids wanted to learn and they were wonderfully (and somewhat surprisingly, at least to me) enthusiastic and happily worked with us on vocabulary, pronunciation, and whatever else we were doing.
• Tuesday – ¡Feliz Día del Amor y la Amistad!  Happy Valentine’s Day!  We pretty much celebrated all day by learning about the history of Saint Valentine in my conversation class, celebrating with our Study Abroad program at Corfú (an ice cream shop near the school), making Valentines during our first EFL (English as a Foreign Language) class for niños (children), and giving out lots of Valentines.  Also, we celebrated Danielle’s Birthday as part of our gathering at Corfú.  Today was just a wonderful day of friendship!
• Wednesday – When I volunteered at Muñequitos this morning, I was surprised at the quantity of tears shed.  I guess it’s just not a good day to be 3- or 4-years old…  Or, maybe, we just need to work on our spatial awareness and not walk in front of the swings…I guess children this age tend to do that…
• Thursday – I met my USFQ Conversation Club partner, Javi, today.  He is very nice and his English is at about the same level as my Spanish, so I felt quite comfortable talking with him.  He even taught me a few words in Quichua, which was so neat!  He seems nice and I think I’ll enjoy talking with him throughout the semester.
• Saturday – Greetings from Atacames!  We got here early this morning and pretty much just crashed as soon as we arrived.  Later, we went swimming in the ocean and Kirstie and I walked along the beach collecting shells.  We also explored the town a bit to find useful locations, like the bank (definitely good to know where there’s a reliable ATM).  We watched the Sun set on the beach and walked through the streets a bit, listening to the constant popular music playing from all the shops and bars.
• Sunday – Paige and I went to find the bank again this morning and I was delighted to learn, upon arriving at 8:20 at the church right next to the bank, that Mass was at 8:30, so we went to that.  We spent most of the day hanging out at the beach and just relaxing.  There seems to be an increasing number of people spraying each other (and us) with water and foam…hmm…must be Carnaval!  We also celebrated Danielle’s 21^st Birthday (we celebrated earlier in the week, but this is her real Birthday) by going to dinner, presenting her with a mini tres leches cake, singing Happy Birthday, and going to a bar for her first U.S. official drink.  We listened to music, played cards, and danced, and just thoroughly enjoyed the day.
• Monday – All four of the people in our room in the hostel slept in until 9:30, which doesn’t seem like breaking news, except that’s the longest I’ve slept in since I got to Ecuador.  I walked along the beach shore with Paige and played in the waves with Carolyn, Zack, and Tara.  We walked around town getting in espuma battles with whoever had a can or water gun and wanted to play.  Upon returning to the hostel, we attacked each other with whatever espuma we had left and ended up taking pictures of each other covered in espuma.
• Tuesday – We wished Yolanda, the owner of our hostel, well and went to the bus stop for our long ride home.  This was a fantastic weekend.  ¡Feliz Carnaval!

Random Notes:

• Join the USFQ Conversation Club.  It’s a great way to make Ecuadorian friends, practice your Spanish, and become more culturally aware.  Many people who’ve been in this program before stay friends with their conversation partners long after the semester is over so, if you have time (which you really should), do it!  The people in charge of it will send you an email asking if you want to sign up, so no need to freak out trying to find it.  They tend to send emails about a lot of clubs, especially the ones international students really care about.
• Batidos are, basically, really good smoothies with some of the best fruit you’ve tasted in your life.  They’re made with fruit, milk, ice, vanilla, and I have no idea what else, but they’re really good.  If you want particularly good ones in Atacames, I would recommend Café Tío Julio.
• Assuming you’ve been in the country long enough to not instantly get sick from the street food (I would wait at least a month), try the fruit they sell on the beach.  Again, it’s some of the best you’ve ever had.
• If you’re looking for a hostel in Atacames, try the Chill Inn.  It’s a very nice hostel and the lady in charge, Yolanda, is so nice and really wants to make your stay pleasant.
• During Carnaval, espuma (foam) is an absolute necessity.  You will be sprayed many times, so don’t wear clothes that are too nice and do have tons of fun spraying them back!
• Never go anywhere alone, partially for safety reasons and mostly just because friends make everything more fun.