It has been a very long time since I have posted but it is for the wonderful reason of having too much fun rather than the awful reasons of being kidnapped by rascally Colombian guerrillas, contracted some horrible deadly mosquito disease or joining a  cocaine gang.  Fortunately none of those things have happened to me although they would provide interesting blog fodder.  Speaking of fodder I just cooked a very successful Thanksgiving meal for more than 20 aunts, uncles, and cousins.  The menu consisted of cumin glazed carrots, garden salad with homemade garlic butter croutons, cornbread, cinnamon butter, garlic, not soupy garlic mashed potatoes, apple crisp/pie, and a gigantic trough of the most scrumptious cornbread stuffing I have ever tasted.  The only thing I did not cook was the turkey which was delicious and very moist, (probably due to the fact that they actually injected it with a few cup of red wine, basting is for wimps, injecting is the way to go.  The party was actually in honor of my older cousin/sister getting her thesis approved and graduating from grad school but it sufficed as slightly belated Thanksgiving celebration.  I had some lovely conversations about the origins of Thanksgiving with some of my older cousins who perceptively asked whether any Native Americans celebrated Thanksgiving at which point I had to sheepishly respond that I doubted any Native Americans approved very much of the holiday and hastily explain that at this point it was really an excuse for far flung family members to gather around one table rather than an actual celebration of friendliness with native Americans.   They were also very intrigued by the Black Friday concept of which they seemed to know more about than Thanksgiving itself.   It was quite a lively party and while some families left around 9:30 I woke up frequently through out the night until about 3:30 AM to the sound of raucous Ecuadorian laughter. 

            Today I took the bus for the first time all by myself which is not an easy task but I did manage to escape the fate of being sold an overpriced cookbook.  I spend my days now working at the Fundacion Cordillera Tropical, tutoring the younger girl in reading, writing, and English, as well as my own reading, music, and art that I never had time for in high school. 

In closing a couple things that I find interesting, amusing, and or disgusting about Ecuadorian culture. 

1.     1.      People in the backseat and often even people in the front seat don’t wear seatbelts.  Even children as young as one or two years old just stand in the back seat.  And it is not as if Ecuadorians are such good drivers that accidents won’t happen.  They are the craziest drivers I have every seen.   Imagine Boston craziness and take that to the 7^th power.   They are CRAZY!!!!  There just are not rules besides go when you can and honk whenever it seems mildly appropriate, or even when it’s not!

2.     2.   Light switches are lazy and will often refuse to work regardless of whether or not the electricity is working and necessitate multiple identical switches back and forth before actually doing their job.

3.    3.    For some odd reason people here do not seem to see the value in refrigerating things.  When you’re done eating things, they should go back in the fridge, especially when they contain meat and dairy.

4.    4.    Another interesting habit of theirs is putting mayonnaise on…EVERYTHING

First Impressions

I have now been in Cuenca for an entire week and finally have a little time to start this lovely navel gazing play by play of my adventures here.

First the basics.
My home:  In a suburb of Cuenca, Ecuador known as san Joaquin; a mix of impoverished indigenous farmers and wealthy families who protect themselves from the cow herders with 15 foot tall fences and automatic gates.  The house is beautiful though and takes advantage of Cuenca's chronic good weather by having a far higher window to wall ratio than the New England homes I am used to.

Speaking of Weather:  Cuenca seems to be in a continuous Vermont September; the mornings are crisp, but by ten am the sun is high in the sky and the air outside reaches somewhere between 70 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit before sinking down to about 45 or 50 degrees at night.

My Family:  Pablo and Dora are the adorable parents whom I love dearly along with their two daughters Marianela (ten) and Sophia (six) and their angelic niece Maria Isabel (28).  The people here in general are very kind and warm, once they get over the fact that I look like a martian giant with the blond hair and blue eyes.  Both Pablo and dora have many siblings and parents who live nearby so weekends are spent with the extended family eating and making fun of each other.

The Food:  This is always a worry when traveling to distant lands but I have found it to be quite edible as a whole although I miss fresh Vermont Salads.  There is a focus around potatoes and corn but as a result there are many different models and colors that these stables come in.  There is the typical corn on the cob but in Ecuador the kernels are white, pointy and about five or six times larger than in the United States.  They are also far less sweet and juicy but still have a nice flavor.  There is another type of corn which is served off the cob and lathered in some sort of thick creamy paste which is delicious.  They make popcorn but that is more of a Western influence than a cultural heritage but they have their own much healthier, homemade version version of corn nuts which they call maiz sucio (dirty corn).  It does not seem to be actually dirty but it has some herbs which give it that appearance.

What I love:
Mostly everything including:
The fact that I have a new fluffy white dog who doesn't bark and is happy to curl up on my feet while I write my college essays
All the fruits and fruit juices which sneak their way into every meal.
The fact the cows here moo differently from the cows at home
My really cozy bedroom which makes my viola sound amazing
That there is a different soup for lunch every day.
The work I am going to be doing at the Fundacion Cordillera Tropical  (more on that later).
The delicious water that I can drink right out of the tap!

What I don't love:
The Ecuadorian custom of embracing and kissing on the cheek everyone you meet even if you are meeting them for the first time and they are an old man or a very intimidating aunt.
The lack of non starchy vegetables
The meal schedule of breakfast at 7am, lunch at 2pm and dinner at 8.