Sunday, November 30, 2008

THANKSGIVING!

I was bummed out that I was going to have to miss my favorite holiday in the US this year. However, I was stoked about the fact that I was going to be able to celebrate it in a new country with a ¨new family¨ and in a manner I never would have imagined...

First of all, there. was. so. much. food. Once everyone had arrived, I looked at the counter and it was absolutely FULL of food...which was so cool because that´s what Thanksgiving is basically all about! There were about 30 of us, a couple of visitors came, but the majority were volunteers. We all crammed into Jason´s apartment in Loja, which looks like a spaceship, and has a personal disco and a beautiful terrace on the roof. We all did the buffet style, serving ourselves stuffing, corn concoctions, thai salads, pasta salads (mine!), turkey!! (hard to find, but well worth the search), cornbread, veggies, an incredible cobbler, and let´s not forget Chris´s contribution---a Barney cake (he has no way of making anything and transporting it, so buying a Barney cake was the best he got...)

So we ate. And ate. And ate. And drank. And danced. It was awesome. Everyone was in such a great mood and we all had a blast. A group of the Bolivian volunteers came, as well. Not sure if you all know, but PC Bolivia was evacuated from country about two months ago because the US Embassy was kicked. Therefore, about 30 volunteers got placed in other countries, Ecuador receiving the largest group of 11 volunteers. So about 6 Bolivians came to Thanksgiving and it was cool getting to know them and hear about their crazy evacuation stories.

Then Friday we all trekked down to Vilcabamba, which is an hour south of Loja. It is absolutely gorgeous, in the valley of the mountains, with great weather. There are a lot of extranjeros there, mostly consisting of old, white hippies. They say the fountain of youth is there, it´s in the water. Didn´t get to try it, but I am definitely going back. We stayed at this incredible hostal, up in the hills. The food was amazing and they even had a pool; it was a great little getaway.

The volunteer in Vilcabamba, Andy, told us of a baile in his barrio last night. So we made chili and had some Pilseners and went over to the baile. Since I am the ¨newbie¨ still, aka FRESHMAN, they like to play little tricks on me or goof around with me. At the baile, I kept getting stuck dancing with these 17-year-old drunks and they just thought that was the funniest thing ever, making no effort whatsoever to save me....Just have to pay my dues I guess.

Oh and the band that was playing, was this music group of women, basically dressed up like pumpkins. They looked like the Ecuadorian Fanta girls; they had this tight orange leotards with an over exaggerated v-neck that oh-so-conveinently displayed their black sexy bras. The butts, don´t even get me started, were baring all...like they were a hair away from being a thong. It was just ridiculous because they were singing in a cement futbol field and they looked like they were coming from the Playboy Mansion or something. Only in Ecuador....

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello. I enjoy reading your blogs. My name is Andre and I was a PCV in the Canton Yantzaza, Parroquia Chicana, from 2003-05. Chicana is a tiny little village about 45 minutes northwest of Yantzaza. You should go visit. It's really beautiful. If you go, tell everyone that Andres says hi, and that I'll be there to visit in February.

I'm going to be in Chicana and Yantzaza in February. I'll look you up.

Later,
Andre
andrerv@hotmail.com

Anonymous said...

Hey! You danced with me when I was 17 and you seemed to enjoy it. Hope summer is treating you well.

Anonymous said...

Corrie, Corrie, Corrie,
I miss you dearly! I love your stories, so keep writin'! I love to brag to my friends that "I have a cousin in the Peace Corps!!!" Be a bien little chica for me and stay away from weird, drunk people. Remember: I took DARE!I know the influences people have and the side effects!! JK. I really miss you. I want to be protective from far away. Send my love to your 'new familia'(and to you of course)!
Love you a million Andes,
Anna Grace