christmas unwrapped

• I attended the midnight service at the basilica here in Quito only to find that Ecuadorian midnight services may include but are not limited to a real live burro carrying Mary down the aisle and Baby Jesus appearing to tightrope walk down from the choir loft while fireworks go off behind him.
  
• Everyone here goes crazy for those Italian panettone cakes at Christmas but the one I had was more like a glorified fruitcake, only more like a real cake and pretty dry.
• In case you should tire of the traditional turkey or ham for Christmas dinner, they sell suckling pig down here that you can have instead. Biology class, anyone?
• I purchased what appeared to be "A Christmas Story" at the dodgy dvd shop only to pop it in Christmas Eve and find that instead of Ralphie, I was now watching some Norweigian/Swedish/Russian movie about the history of Christmas.
  
• A Christmas away from loved ones can still be merry with the company of a friend, a good meal, a movie, and a cup of Christmas cheer.
  

it seems appropriate

The sun is shining, the grass is green
The orange and palm trees sway,
There's never been such a day
in Quito E-C-U-A,
But it's December the 24th
and I am thinking of folks up north
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
May your days be merry and bright
and may all your Christmases be white!

deck the halls

Today Tobey and I decided to participate in a little Christmas spirit by setting up a tree. I am a big fan of real trees, and a real tree is much more economical for someone like me who is only going to be here for a few Christmases. I made the trek across the street to the park, where they were selling cut trees. The selection wasn't your typical variety--I think I ended up with something more like an overgrown shrub, rather than a fir or pine. I quickly chose a tree and a base (not the regular red metal stand, but a large wooden box) and they loaded up the tree and drove it and me home. It took a little coaxing to get it into the elevator, and then I had to use the bread knife to saw a few limbs off the bottom to get it to fit, but it came together beautifully in the end. Tobey showed his approval by climbing it before I could even finish decorating.Even in a foreign country, I think it turned out quite nicely! And now I am sitting in my living room, enjoying the scent of a real live tree!

a stroll down memory lane

I have recently discovered the glories of YouTube. I have been using a variety of websites to keep up with US television shows--some more copyright-friendly than others--and I stumbled across the wealth of movies on YouTube. I have watched both Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea on YouTube (I was sick this weekend and had nothing better to do) and last night I caught up on my one of my Christmas favorites: A Charlie Brown Christmas. As I searched a little further for the more obscure Christmas shows I loved as a kid, I was extremely surprised to find this clip:
My sister and I loved Jim Henson's The Christmas Toy, and once had a video of it we had taped off of tv. These exact same commercials ran during that program. I can't believe someone actually thought to put them online. It's definitely a trip back in time, and pretty cool to watch. Next up on my YouTube agenda? Finding some Rankin & Bass programs (i.e. Rudolph) and maybe watching clips from my favorite childhood tv show, KIDS Incorporated.

christmastime is here?

I am finding my Christmas spirit to be especially lacking this year. Living in a virtually seasonless climate, where it is between 60-70 degrees everyday, I am having a very difficult time remembering that it is almost Christmas. There are plenty of reminders around me--the malls here have been decorated for a solid two months now--but none of these things fit my definition of what typically makes up the Christmas season. I keep telling myself that I need to put up a tree and play some music, but I really feel unmotivated to do so. It's not that I'm looking for snow--growing up in southern Indiana, white Christmases were a rare occurance. A nip in the air, though, might help, as would the temporary disappearance of all the palm trees outside my window.

surprise visitor

This morning, as I sat at my desk in my classroom drinking tea, I noticed something black crawling across the floor. A closer (but not too close) investigation proved my hunch to be correct: I had a rather large black scorpion in my classroom. It was probably 4 inches from claw to tail. Thankfully, I had stored a few old pots in the closet for students to use as percussion instruments, and so I threw one over the scorpion and ran outside. I found one of the school workers and explained to him what I had in my room, and he very calmly walked in, scraped it up with a trowel and a handbroom, and left as though it was nothing. I, on the other hand, looked twice before stepping foot in my classroom for the rest of the day.

peru

Rather than staying in Quito and tolerating the bullfights, excessive drinking, and chivas running round the clock (party buses that play loud music and drive past my apartment), I decided to use my four-day weekend to my advantage and get out of the country. Thursday morning I flew to Guayaquil, the largest city in Ecuador located southwest of Quito, and then took a 6-7 hour bus ride across the border into Mancora, Peru. This small surf town has been featured by the New York Times as one of the best surf beaches, and just general beach, in the world. It's in the middle of nowhere, and it's a royal pain in the rear to reach, but it was one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever visited, rivaling many beaches in Hawaii. Some of my co-workers and I rented a house and a bungalow on top of a hill that had the most beautiful view.
The main source of transportation in Mancora is motorcycle-driven rickshaws. We used these a lot for getting around the town and helping to make our walk back up the hill not so tiring.We grilled dinner Saturday night on the barbecue at the main house, including huge shrimp that were caught fresh that morning. We had more than enough food and were able to share our dinner with the local family that lived in an adjacent bungalow and were caretakers for the house. That made us feel pretty good, too. It was a nice end to the trip, and then we packed up the next morning, and after 8 hours on a bus and a half hour flight, I was finally home again in Quito.

less is not more

When I moved here to Ecuador, I stressed very much over the small amount of things that I could bring with me, namely in terms of wardrobe. I wasn't sure of the climate, of the school dress code, etc, and those of you who know me know that my old closet was very deep (albeit because I never threw anything out and was still wearing clothes from high school!) As we do not have a change of seasons here, I am finding that the few clothes that I brought are wearing out rather quickly because I am wearing them all the time. Seriously, I've put holes in three sweaters since I've been here. I had thought that maybe it would be easier to get dressed in the mornings with fewer clothes, but no. At this rate I will have nothing to wear in a few months!

lindo mindo

We went to Mindo (mean-dough) this weekend for a little getaway, as one of the teachers at my school owns an inn there and was going to have a Thanksgiving dinner. Mindo is a small town in the cloud forest, which is similar to the rain forest except the elevation is too high to have all the rain and humidity. We went zip-lining--yes, yours truly who is afraid of heights went zip-lining and had a blast! I promise to have a pic of that soon--my friend has them on her camera. The next day we went to a butterfly/orchid/hummingbird garden, where we saw at least twenty hummingbirds and more beautiful butterflies than I have ever seen. We leave Thursday for the beach in Peru, so more pics will follow soon!