The festivities have really been going on for a week now. Starting with the parades and the crowining of the Reina De Quito. However the most important two days of the Ecuadorian Calendar lie with in the 5th and 6th of December. There´s even a street named 6 de Diciembre! The streets are full of VIVA QUITO banners and red and blue flags...(not USA haha, but the colors of Quito). It was an event i was SO excited to take part in.
For me the celebrations started at school, on friday, at seven in the morning. We started by decorating our balconies. Each Class had a competition to see who could decorate the best balcony. Then we all gathered down on tha patio, where there were various yummy treats served, and a band. The band was playing fantastic cultural music and everyone was dancing! it was sooo much fun. However...Zoe and I had no idea how to dance...so we just danced the "Gringo" dance. It was intense...especially since we didn´t really even know how to do that...haha. I think alot of people were curious to see how us foreigners would react to their festivities but when we just went with the flow and even added some of our own taste to it...they seemed to think it was pretty neat! A class mate of zoe´s actually filmed us dancing...it was great! Then we told everyone that next year when the exchange students don´t know what to do...they can show them the dance...and say this is how Gringo´s dance! it was great!
At night the city is alive. We went down to the Old City. Where it was decorated and made to look like the olden days. there was singing, and dancing...and little shops that sold authentic Ecuadorian cosas. This all took place beneath the huge nativity scene that is set up on the hill. The Virgin Mary is up on the hill all the time, but through the festivities they add a huge lit up nativity scene. As you can see behind me and zoe in the pic from my other blog. It was gorgeous. However during the fiestas de Quito, baby Jesus gets replaced by a huge VIVA QUITO sign...
(sorry...my lack of computer skills makes it so that i can´t figure out how to turn this around...whoops...hehe)But behind us is the street Ronda, a street that was decorated for the Festivities!And that is my sister Kimberly and my mom Paty...
Now Comes the funny story...
So part of the festivites and around this time of year the people of Ecuador like to enjoy the cold evenings with a hot cider. It has apple, orange, and other citrusy fruits...it´s served warm, and it smelled really wierd. Anyway...my mom told zoe and I that we just HAD to try it! so we did...well after a few drinks I kept thinking...this tastes really different but...out of respect we kept drinking. Well as we were walking my mom said, "after a few of those, you´ll be so tipsy you won´t know what happened to you..." That´s when we realized...this wierd cider we were drinking...was full of alcohol! Well after that Zoe and I were a giggly mess...and we decided either we´re both really cheep drunks...or it´s a placebo affect...either way it was pretty funny! however when i talked to my mom (in the states) i asked... am i in trouble that i accidently drank alcohol? haha...I learned my lesson, and it was gross!
Zoe and I called it a night a good 6 hours before everyone else...but laying in my bed last night as i listened to the partying going on around me...i didn´t really have a problem with it. This morning as I headed to an activity with my ward the City was so eery...and silent. In a freaky sort of way. I decided I participated in enough of the celebrations and i was glad that at ten this morning my head was clear and i was up and going...tonight the parties are still going on...but for now all i can say is VIVA QUITO, and I am so glad i am here...
Love,
Emily
3 comments:
Em, you're so lucky! I hope you know that. As missionaries we're only able to participate in cultural events to a small extent, especially if they go past our go to bed time. But you have no limit to what you can participate in. ENJOY IT!!!!!
Que Viva! I am impressed that you overcame your hangover to go to a church activity. Ja ja ja. Cual es tu cerveza favorita? Just kidding, Kendell told us you like the hard stuff. Ok I could go on forever. I'm sure it is pretty safe to assume if they say it is a special drink it probably is very "special".
I am still convinced it was a placebo effect :-)
Great blog post. I can't wait to see what all the kids at school tomorrow think of our Gringo dancing. My mom saw my facebook status about how we danced like Gringos, and she said that sounds like something I might need to talk to a therapist about when I am old and needing to talk to a therapist. lol.
See you tomorrow
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