Rain (Magdalena and Luisa)

        Last night when we were going to bed it started to pour. It poured all through the night and most of the morning. So when we were ready to go to work this morning we decided to take a mototaxi because it was raining a lot. But everyone else in La Merced had also decided to take a mototaxi instead of walking. Every mototaxi was full (normally only 1/4 to 1/3 to the mototaxis have people in them). Also, La Merced has a creek going through it, but are there any bridges? There are two bridges but only one is big enough for mototaxis and neither are big enough for cars. 

        As we headed out on the main street where we normally drive literally across the creek we saw lots and lots of semis, big trucks, and cars stopped on the side of the road. Then we got to see the now wide and fast flowing river that would easily knock a mototaxi off the 15 foot ledge. Not even the semis could go through. So we went over, along with all of the other mototaxis, to the other street that literally goes across the river to cross the bridge. There were already about 30 other mototaxis there waiting to cross the little bridge with the police directing traffic. This river goes right through the middle of town so we asked our host family why there wasn't a bridge that cars could go on. Their resoning was that this only happens about 15 days per year so it wouldn't be worth all the money that goes into building a big bridge. By the time we went home for lunch the river was still too strong for the mototaxis but cars and trucks could go through.

Random Musings on our First Four Days in La Merced (Kent)

We have experienced SOOO much in our first few days in La Merced.  So, I´m going to do this post with random bullet points that are ordered by what ever comes to my mind:

• Because there is no wifi in La Merced, we are unable to download any pictures onto the blog from our iPad.  When we return to Lima in 5 weeks, we will download as many of our La Merced pictures as possible.
• We are volunteering with the Peruvian National Police!  How did that happen?  In the U.S. it´s the parks and recs department that organize rec programs.  Here it´s the PNP.  Right now they run their summer vacation programs (vacaciones útiles), which are all sports, except for our music classes.
• The "vacaciones útiles" (literally "useful vacation") are very well organized, although there are always some glitches at the beginning of starting any program.  Our main glitch was that on the first day of classes (we are teaching 3), our third class had 50 students!  I had told them that my max was 25-30.  The advantage of having 4 of us teaching is that we can split the class into multiple groups.  Magdalena, Luisa and Teresa are all great group leaders, although Teresa´s groups somehow always get her sidetracked with conversation and questions, and then her groups get behind.  It´s really hard for a chaplain/pastor to cut people off and not listen to them. :)
• The majority of our classes are girls between the ages of 6-14.  I think it was kind of marketed that way.  We have them for 90 minutes each.  They are very enthusiastic and participate very well.  It might be because music education was eleminated from the public school curriculum years ago.
• At our initial meeting with our supervisor, tecnico Johnny Alata, he said that parents were wondering why volunteers from the U.S. weren´t teaching any English classes.  I was hesitant to say yes because I thought that four and a half hours of volunteer teaching were enough for one day.  However, Magdalena and Luisa got really excited about the idea and wanted to take charge of the planning.  So, starting Monday we will be teaching one hour of English classes to twenty-five 8-9 year olds (which probably means at least 25 children between the age of 6-14).
• Luis and Rosa are wonderful, hospitable and warm host parents and are great conversationalists.  However, I got "scolded" by Rosa for buying organic, local sugar because it´s very expensive by Peruvian standards.  For U.S. standards it was cheap--a little more than a dollar for a half pound.  
• We´re here in the rainy season.  It´s quite beautiful to be in a place that is surronded by lush green mountains that often have ground cover.  When we take a taxi from our house to town, we have to drive through a river.  All the taxis here are 3-wheeled moto-taxis and many don´t have doors, so when we go through a river we have to put our feet up so we don´t get wet.  This is especially tricky because usually Luisa is on my lap so that we can fit in a 3 person taxi.
• One culture shock here is that pictures of bikini-clad women adverstise nearly everything from organic coffee to car washes to spray paint to tours.
• We are in the coffee capital of Peru, which is a real treat, especially since the main coffee that people in Ecuador drink is Nescafe.  "Misha" coffee, which is named after the Coati animal (related to the raccoon) is billed as being the most expensive coffee in the world because it goes through a very complicated and unusual process.  The coati feeds only on coffee beans but can only digest the outer shell.  The excrement is then collected and the remaining shell is taken off.  Then it´s washed, roasted and processed.  Apparently it´s a very delicious coffee, but we will probably never know.  A very small bag costs approximately $35 U.S. 
• As a contrast, I bought 4 fresh bread rolls this morning for breakfast. The cost was 50 centimos, which comes out to 20 U.S. cents!
• The mayor of La Merced is Mario Jung, who was born in Korea and immigrated as an adult.
• This afternoon we hope to go to the Mariposario (butterfly park) and a small zoo which has regional animals.
• We all love it here in La Merced!  This is a very nice place to spend 5 weeks!  There are also some nice tours that we hope to do on some of our weekends.

On the road again.... (Teresa)

Yes, I like old country songs.....and yes, we were on the road (and winding roads) again last night!  We left Lima last evening at 10:30 on a nice double decker bus to travel to the region of Chanchamayo, in "La Selva Central" which is literally "the central jungle."  We´re in the town of La Merced, so it´s not as wild as it sounds....but it is lush, green and mountainous, and is considered a gateway into the jungle interior.  We arrived at about 7am this morning, waking up to the new surroundings.  It is like going on a mystery trip to travel in the night and cross into another geographic region. It wasn´t so fun when Magdalena and I woke up with stomach sickness in the night, and couldn´t go back to sleep until pills took effect. But, what fun to look around upon arrival and begin to discover this new place.

We were warmly greeted at the small bus station by Luis, our host, who quickly packed our heavy suitcases into a mototaxi and packed our sleepy family into his car taxi (taxi driving is his work).  Within 5 minutes we were greeted at their home by his wife Rosa, who is equally as warm and welcoming as Luis.  They are empty nesters whose adult children live in Lima, and they have much experience hosting university students from the U.S., including Goshen College students.  There home is nestled in a small farm of chickens, fruit trees and countryside, just outside of town.  It is another "tranquilo" place to be, for which we are especially grateful after two weeks in a huge city where we had to guard our children and belongings every moment.

After visiting for a bit with Rosa and Luis, we settled into our rooms just enough to be able to shower and nap until the main meal at 1pm.  Our agreement is that we will have lunches with our hosts, and do breakfast and supper on our own.  They are very happy to share their large kitchen which has a gorgeous view on 3 sides of the countryside and mountains.  We enjoyed chicken, rice, green salad and passion fruit juice, along with more conversation at lunch.  Then we did more unpacking before heading out for a walk to town, a 30 min. walk at a relaxed pace.

After asking for help a couple of times, we located the main plaza around which the town is set.  And, for some reason, we quickly noticed a fair trade coffee and chocolate shop on one corner :)  We had heard that Menno Tea (bottled garden mint tea company founded by former Goshen College students) is sold at a coffee shop here....and sure enough this was the place: Highland Coffee.  (Their plant is outside of town, and we´ll definitely tour that later.)  Today we just enjoyed some Menno Tea, terrific iced coffee, samples of coffee liquor (requested by Kent!) and chocolate covered orange peel (all local products!).

It seems that wifi isn´t available in town, so we found an internet store, and we are each on a computer, catching up on Facebook, email, and the blog.  Next we´ll visit a grocery store to get breakfast and supper supplies before heading back to our new home, likely by way of mototaxi.  Tomorrow morning we´ll meet with the man who directs the police department´s summer children´s programs to finalize plans for our classes that will begin on Thursday.  We look foward to teaching and enjoying music with children again, and in this new setting.  And we look forward to learning more about La Selva Central!

What's in the neighborhood? (Luisa and Magdalena)

A couple of days ago we took a walk on San Juan avenue (the Main Street in the neighborhood) and were surprised with the amount of vendors and small stores. So last night we walked there again but this time we took note pads to write everything down. Here are the results from one side of three blocks:

Stores:
-- 10 pharmacies
-- 9 dentists
-- 7 clothing stores
-- 5 chicken restaurants
-- 5 Chinese (Chifa) restaurants
-- 5 hair salons
-- 5 phone stores
-- 5 bakery's
-- 5 glasses stores
-- 5 gold buyers and sellers
-- 4 convenient stores
-- 3 ice cream stores
-- 3 toy stores
-- 3 photo stores
-- 2 banks
-- 2 pirated video stores
-- 2 shoe stores
-- 2 juice bars
-- 2 office supply stores
-- 2 medical centers
-- 2 casinos
-- 2 dollar/euro/soles changers
-- 1 health food in a bottle store
-- 1 alcohol store
-- 1 orthodontist
-- 1 toy/purse/jewelry store
-- 1 vet
-- 1 pizza place
-- 1 tailor
-- 1 wedding dress store
-- 1 western union
-- 1 Chinese/seviche restaurant
-- 1 perfume and gifts store
-- 1 tour agency
-- 1 Peruvian restaurant
-- 1 craft store
-- 1 Peruvian drinks store

Street Vendors:
-- 15 pirated video vendors
-- 15 general clothes vendors
-- 9 convenient store carts
-- 8 jewelry vendors
-- 8 socks and underwear vendors
-- 4 fried food vendors
-- 4 hat vendors
-- 4 remote control vendors
-- 4 shoe vendors
-- 3 book vendors
-- 3 corn vendors
-- 2 odds and ends vendors (it looked like they just robbed somebody)
-- 2 cell phone case vendors
-- 2 flip flop vendors
-- 2 cigar, shoe polish, batteries, and watches vendors
-- 2 fruit carts
-- 2 ice cream carts
-- 2 finger nail clippers and other finger nail stuff vendors
-- 2 piggy bank vendors
-- 2 toy vendors
-- 2 tiny electric stuff vendors (again it just looked like they had robbed a person)
-- 2 sunglasses vendors
-- 1 man with a basket of homemade cookies
-- 1 shoe polish, shoe laces vendor
-- 1 belts and wallets vendor
-- 1 electronics vendor
-- 1 shirt vendor
-- 1 chicha morada (Peruvian drink made out of purple corn) vendor
-- 1 man collecting recycling
-- 1 woman selling lottery tickets
-- 1 bread and chips vendor
-- 1 chia seeds vendor
-- 1 white board vendor
-- 1 quail eggs vendor
-- 1 leather stuff vendor
-- 1 second hand shoes, pants, and balls vendor
-- 1 hair stuff vendor
-- 1 chocolate bar vendor
-- 1 assorted artisans stuff vendor
-- 1 ice cube tray vendor
-- 1 poster vendor
-- 1 lanyards vendor

Two weeks in Lima (Magdalena and Luisa)

We're in Lima Peru, the biggest city we've ever been in with 10 million people. We've been here for almost two weeks and are getting ready to go to the rainforest on Monday. The first week we went to a Suzuki violin festival.  This week, what we've done so far in Lima:

--We are staying at the Mennonite Brethern church in Lima that we attended last Sunday and we met lots of people. The church is about 40 people and located in a big house.

--On Monday we went to the Malecon which is the downtown area along the ocean. We rented bikes for three hours so we could see get to see everything. We stopped at a nice artisan market where Magdalena bought alpaca yarn to knit a sweater and Luisa bought some colorful flip flops. We biked on a very nice path with trees between the two lanes of a busy main street. We also got a glimpse of a pyramid that was discovered in the middle of Lima but we didn't have time for the tour. We saw nice fountains and nice parks. Also there were lots of hang gliders that were gliding over the beach and over tall buildings and it looked fun but it was really expensive so we didn't do it.

--From Tuesday to Wednesday we went camping with three other families from church. The one family has five kids so there were lots of kids to play with. The camping place was on the beach but the beach was closed the whole time we were there so we just went to the four swimming pools. We played soccer, uno and other games with them and we had a great time. We also made Mac n cheese with tuna for supper which was new to some of them and they all wanted to try some and they loved it.

--On Wednesday evening we went to a concert at the Suzuki festival. The concert was the Latin American orchestra and choir. Each country had their own outfit which was very cool because it made the orchestra and choir very colorful and diverse looking.

--Thursday we went on a tour around town with our friend Willy. He took us to see the historic part of Lima where we got a tour of an old cathedral with catacombs underneath. We also went to the palace where the president lives and we saw the changing of the guards ceremony. We also went up on a very tall hill (in Indiana we would call it a mountain) and we could see a lot of the city and the ocean.

--Today we will go to a museum about the history of Lima. We will go with one or two of the families that we went camping with.

--Tomorrow we will go to the house of a woman from the church for lunch (their main meal) and visiting with her family.

--On Sunday we will attend this church again and then will go to the house of a family we went camping with for lunch with their extended family.

--On Monday we will leave at 10pm to go on an eight hour bus ride to the rainforest where we will be for about a month.

The Suzuki festival (Magdalena)

This past week we spent at the 30th Annual Latin American Suzuki Festival in Lima Peru. It was held at a huge catholic school called Santísimo Nombre de Jesús that was just fifteen minutes away in taxi. The festival went from Tuesday to Friday with a final concert on Saturday. From Tuesday to Friday it was like school, we had a schedule with our classes and where they were. 

Each day everyone would have a private lesson for twenty to forty minutes long where a teacher from somewhere in South America would give you a lesson on the piece of your choice. Also, for fifty minutes, everyone would be in a group class with about ten others that were their level and the teacher would help them with the group songs that everyone would be playing at the final concert. The group lesson were very fun because the teachers loved playing all kinds of games like bowing each other's instruments or walking around on chairs while playing twinkle twinkle. Each day there would also be a play-in where all the 120 violinists went to the gym and played songs from twinkle twinkle all the way up to the Bach double together. And everyone got to pick an elective or two including orchestra, choir, and cajón (a box drum). Then every afternoon there were three recitals and each kid had been assigned to one of these twelve recitals. Here you would perform with an accompanist for your peers.

One night there was a concert that all the violin, cello, recorder, guitar and flute teachers did. They had solos, duets, trios, quartets, etc. up to 12 or 15 people. It was a great concert. On Friday night was the workshop concert where the orchestra, cajones and choir performed. And the festival ended on Saturday night with the final concert where the cellos had their play-in, the recorders had their play-in and then the violins had their play-in.

The festival was a great experience getting to music with violinists from all over South America. Just in my group class alone was a girl from Bolivia, a girl from Colombia, a girl from Peru, six kids from Brazil, me from the US and our teacher from Chile. We also met a family that was there from Canada. 

Festival languages

Kent gave the girls an assignment for the third day of the Suzuki Festival, "initiate a conversation with at least one other student."  Magdalena quickly responded, "Yesterday I tried that with my stand partner in orchestra, but she only speaks Portuguese, she's from Brazil!"  Teresa suggested that Magdalena could start learning Portuguese, but she insisted that her stand partner needs to learn Spanish, since that's what the rest of the continent speaks (except for a few tiny countries on the north coast).  Meanwhile, Luisa has been able to talk with her stand partner, since she's from this city and seems as outgoing as Luisa.

This is the way it is here at this international festival.  Obviously the official language is Spanish.  But there are 25 students who came from Brazil, along with teachers and parents.  Magdalena's first private teacher was from Brazil, but speaks Spanish and English.  Her second private teacher, who was born in Japan and studied under Suzuki, is a Brazilian resident who speaks Japanese, English and a bit of Spanish.  Luisa's private teacher is part of the Colombian contingent, and teaches only in Spanish.  It's certainly true here that music transcends cultures and languages!

How's the Suzuki Festival, so far?

HIGHLIGHTS from the first two days....

Magdalena:  My teachers are fun and helpful.  My group teacher has us play a bunch of games (with instruments and songs) that are fun and challenging.

Luisa:  I like being in the orchestra with Magdalena.


LOWLIGHTS from the first two days.....

Magdalena:  I was super behind in the group class because I don't have all my past songs memorized like others do.

Luisa:  There are only two violas in the festival, so we're combined with cellos for everything.

Happy to be in Lima (Teresa)

We have arrived safe and sound in Lima after many hours of traveling...and we are happy, grateful, and tired!  We began yesterday afternoon, leaving Guayaquil at 2pm on the bus and arrived in Lima today at 6pm.  The longest stop was at the border, entering Peru, where we spent nearly an hour while everyone went through the lines with documents.  Our bus was a luxury 2 level bus, which had bathrooms, wifi, movies, snacks/drinks for sale, and meal service (included in the price).  It worked out very nicely, and we saved lots of mullah compared to flying.  Half way through the trip, Luisa declared that it was nice enough to repeat on our return trip to Ecuador at the end of May.

We really enjoyed seeing the southern coast of Ecuador and the northern coast of Peru.  We were surprised how close the Andes mountains are to the coast, and we saw sand dunes larger than our dunes in Michiana!  It was also very interesting to see crops of bananas, rice, asparagus, grapes, and others we couldn't identify.  The last two hours, just north of Lima, the road was right along the ocean.  Incredible scenery, but made me a bit nervous.  Thankfully, our bus driver didn't drive as speedily as the ones who passed us!

Once in Lima, we followed directions to the Mennonite Brethren church by taxi; 45 minutes winding through this city of 10 million (approximately).  I'm glad I don't have to drive in this traffic.  We were met at the church house by the pastor Ronald, and church members Eliana and Ricardo.  The made us feel right at home, and after showing us around the large house (including space where they worship) we walked to a favorite pizza place to get carry out.  We look forward to getting to know this church group more, including worshipping with them two Sundays.  They've already told us they look forward to us sharing music in the service :)

The Dangers of Living Anywhere (Kent)

One of the fears people have of traveling to far off places is that many places in the world are dangerous.  This is especially true of the western perception of the "developing world."  "Poorer" is often thought of as being "more dangerous."  However, this trip has helped me to realize that everywhere on the world has it's own set of dangers.  Yes, the war zones of this world are extremely dangerous.  Those are the extremes of the one end of the spectrum.  I think it's wrong to assume that the place where we are from (Goshen, Indiana in our case) is automatically on the other end of the safety spectrum.  There are plenty of dangers in Goshen, Indiana, but we are accustomed to them and know how to live with them.

If there was a list called "The Top 10 Safest Places to Live in South America," the island of San Cristobal, which was our home for the first 4 months of our South American journey, would most likely be on this list.  Overall, it's safer than Goshen, Indiana.  The police are the only ones who own guns.  There is an extremely low crime rate.  Parents feel safe letting children roam the town just like "the good old days" in the United States.  There are only two organized sports for children, basketball and soccer, and there are not near the number of injuries we have in the states.  Traffic is very light here and is doesn't go very fast.  There aren't many accidents at all, and when there are accidents they don't involve semis, snow, ice or deer.

However, there are other dangers, and we have learned how to live with them.  Whether you are swimming in Lake Michigan or the Pacific Ocean, you need to be careful with waves and currents. Most sea creatures are not harmful to humans, including the sharks here.  Only the sting rays are dangerous, and if you don't get too close to them and you stay out of their way, there's no problem.  Centipedes are one of the more dangerous land animals in the Galapagos.  They are much bigger and longer than their North American cousins, and their bite will give you a fever for a few days.   Adult male sea lions can be very dangerous, but everyone knows to stay away from these beasts.  There is only one adult male per group, so usually there is just one  per beach.  Human-made structures don't have the same standards and codes as we are used to, which can be dangerous.  A number of the National Park railings and boardwalks are missing some pieces.  A large section of overhang at the brand new airport recently broke off and fell on someone, sending them to the hospital.  And then there's electrical wiring, which is often sticking out of things and looks a bit haphazard.

Hot showers here are luxuries and we are not assuming we will have these everywhere we go in Ecuador and Peru.  Our shower (see picture) consisted of a long pipe coming out of the wall about 18-24 inches.  On the end of the pipe is a shower head, which has wires coming out of it and are taped to the pipe.  These wires are what heats the water.  When I first saw this set-up, it looked quite haphazard, but then I got used to it, because things that would not pass inspection in the US are everywhere.  Then one morning as I was taking a nice hot shower there was a pop and an explosive noise.  Teresa, who was at the sink started yelling "Stop!  Stop! Stop!"  I was in my own world, shampooing my hair and enjoying my hot shower and didn't really want to be bothered, but being the obedient husband that I am,  I looked up to see that the shower head was on fire, and had a flame of about six inches high!  I quickly turned the water off.  The flame became smaller, but was still there, so I blew it out.

So, there I was naked, wet and with shampoo in my hair.  Do I cry for help and have our whole host family examine the situation while I am wrapped in the shower curtain?  Awkward!  Should I try to rinse my head off in the sink?  No, the sink is too small and my head is too big.  Then I remembered that on the shower head you can turn on or off the hot shower, although it wasn't  exactly clear to me which way was off.  I did my best guess and turned on the water.  I was right!  Cold water came out and I quickly rinsed off with cold water.  I got dressed and ready for the day and then went out to tell Yolanda, the matriarch, what happened.  Yolanda's eyes got big and concerned as I told her what happened, and then she burst out laughing! She said that Pepe will fix it later.  By the time we came home for lunch, a new shower head with new wires was installed, although some of the other remaining parts are still black from the fire.

We don't always know what dangers lie ahead of us.  However, we know to take precautions--especially when traveling.  The Ecuadoran Government actually hands out a Safety Guide pamphlet to everyone entering the country.  After all, it is in their best interest that tourists have a good experience.  It covers things like how to identify  licensed taxis, tour guides and tour agencies, drinking water, and ATM safety.  On our 26 hour bus ride from Guayaquil to Lima that we will take today, we've been told that we should not get off the bus (safety reasons) until we arrive.  Once we get to our destinations, we will be in places where we will be connected with our hosts, which makes a big difference.  Being part of a community and being connected to local people, like we will be most of the time, is really key.  It's like the t-shirt I used to have:  "Guns don't protect people.  People do."

Horsing Around on New Year's Eve (Teresa)

Picture an afternoon in the green, rocky hills on a tropical island....a perfect mix of sun and a refreshing breeze. You and a few others set off to a horse farm where able guides will match you with a gentle animal for an afternoon of horse-back riding, hiking along hilltops where tortoises roam free, and viewing breath-taking vistas of the island, coastline, and ocean.

Now you almost have a complete picture of what we did on the afternoon of New Year's Eve.  The weather was perfect; not too hot, cooler than the port town where we live, and the rain had ceased after steady nighttime showers.  The mosquitos and flies had been enlivened by the recent rains, but we had put on long pants, sleeves, and substantial repellant.  Our group included the two German volunteers from our house, Kassandra and Isabel, Magdalena, Luisa and me.  The guides were attentive and skilled with the horses, hiking along with us (leading the horses of Magdalena and Luisa), up and over rocky, verdant hills until we reached the plateau where they own another piece of land.  There we left our horses tied, and while they rested we hiked together, stopping to take it the views.

Cloud cover came and went as we picked out sights we now recognize:  the grand Leon Dormido (the large rocks where Kent went with a group for deep-water snorkeling);  the lovely, little Sea Lion Island where all of us had visited (and snorkeled) on our boat trip a few months ago; the port and town which we've called home for nearly 4 months; picturesque sandy and rocky beaches, some we've visited and some not; and Frigate Hill that we've enjoyed hiking many times.  From this point we could easily identify where the rains fall more and less often by the colors of vegetation.  We could also easily see the covering of invasive guava trees just below the plateau.

Our guide, and farm owner, explained that the area where we were standing had also been taken over by introduced guava trees and raspberry bushes.  When he bought the land from the parks department it was with the understanding that he would undertake a reforestation project, like that of the park property nearby.  This farmer, along with a crew of international volunteers, has cleared this plateau of guava and raspberries, and has re-planted thousands of young scalesia trees.  Some are already four feet tall, now growing quickly in the rainy season.  Because of the reforestation project, this area is a perfect habitat for the native tortoises to thrive, and we spotted two of them (approximately 7 & 20 yrs old) resting in the afternoon sun.

The only part of the idyllic picture I painted in the first paragraph that didn't happen was the hope for a gentle animal to ride.  Well, several of us had a gentle horses to carry them up and down the hills.  But my horse and Luisa's horse weren't!  They actually were nervous, rowdy, or just full macho horses.  I don't know the correct term since, as we told the guides at the start, only Isabel was a knowledgeable and experienced horse-rider; the rest of us were not.  They put Luisa on hers because of it's smaller stature.  I'm not sure how I lucked out with mine!  When the horses were in line and walking along one by one, we did alright.  But when my horse was too close to any other, or saw other male horses in the pasture along the road, he made quite a fuss, even rearing up, and scaring the crap out of me several times!  When we all reached the top of the hill, and Luisa's horse came near to mine, they both went nuts, nearly throwing us from their backs, and knocking over the younger of our two guides.  The owner soon got them under control, and Luisa and I dismounted safely, though we were certainly shaken.

When it was time to mount our horses again, I first asked what other tips they could give us for handling our horses.  They reiterated what they had told us on the way up, but didn't give me much comfort for my return trip.  The one guide did give me some comfort by escorting Luisa's horse again on the way down.  My horse probably sensed my nervousness, because on the return trip he didn't want to go!  I had to repeatedly put my heels in his sides ("harder!" the guides told me) to keep him moving at all.  And the owner (trying to help?) repeatedly commented on what a "fun" ("divertido" in spanish) horse I had.  He also said my horse was tired of carrying too much weight.  Was he really commenting on my weight?  Was this comment appropriate, in any culture?!  I just really wanted to get back to our starting point and get back on my own two feet!  I considered dismounting and leading the horse rather than riding, but who knows what this crazy horse would've done with me in front of him!

Finally, as we neared the starting point, I could breath a sigh of relief.  And just then, I heard Magdalena and Luisa both let out a holler.  Magdalena's horse (Luisa watching from behind) got spooked by something and reared up, nearing tossing Magdalena.  She stayed on, and again, the guide got the horse under control quickly.  But, at that point we were all ready to dismount and put this experience behind us.  Who's idea had this been anyhow, for all of us with no or very little experience with horses, to take this trek?!  We all managed to to dismount with no more problems, to say "thank you", and pay what we owned our guides.  With nerves on edge we returned to the safety of a taxi, and headed back to town.

But there was more adventure to be had before we reached home.  At the edge of town, two young men, dressed up as women in black mourning clothes and carrying baby dolls, ran into the road, blocking our taxi from passing.  These "viudas" (widows) are a common tradition here on New Year's Eve, which we had heard about but not yet witnessed.  Now we had!  They were quite a sight, but also quite playful as they danced around and hollered until someone from the car would give them a few coins, then they would allow up to pass.  We were all laughing by the time we reached our house; nearly forgetting our earlier brushes with danger, we were ready for the festivities of the evening and night to come.  A wild and crazy New Year's Eve, and it was only 5pm..... a bit too much excitement for me!!

Leaving San Cristóbal (Magdalena)

Just an update to say that we left San Cristóbal today. We flew for and hour and a half to Guayaquil, the city we were in for our first week, and we will be in a hostal for two nights before taking our 26 hour bus ride down to Lima, Peru.

New Years celebration on San Cristóbal (Magdalena)

A couple nights ago we had a great New Years celebration. We started off in the afternoon by decorating the patio to create a display for the muñecos. Pablo was entering the competition this year and the judges would come by the house later to judge. Then our family, Ashanti, Diana, Kassandra and Isabel went to the malecón to look at the other muñecos. When we got back to the house the judges had already come and gone so Pablo put the muñecos in the back of the truck to display and most of us got in and we went around town showing off the muñecos. When we got back (at 10:30) we had supper. After that we still had an hour to waste. Everyone was tired but as it got closer to midnight everyone became more excited and became more alive. When it was about twenty 'till we all headed out on he street with the muñecos and put them on the rocks across the street. Luisa and Ashanti decided they were going to run around the block with suitcases which signifies good luck with lots of good travel in the new year. Then when it was midnight lots of fireworks went off down the road and we lit the muñecos with lots of gasoline. Then we all gave New Years hugs and went to the park in the middle of town where most of the people on the island were gathered along with lots of tourists (mostly Brazilian). And lining the edges of the park were lots of beer vendors. We danced to the music of the band for a while. Then our host family went home and our family went for a little walk around the park where we happened upon a drunk volunteer that we knew and he wanted to talk to us for a while. Being a sheltered Mennonite child, I hadn't ever talked to a drunk person before. It was funny. He kept bending over really far (more than someone who is over 6' 6" needs to) to talk to my mom. He asked us a couple times what part of the US we are from and he talked about how he lives in the part of Germany that is really close to the Czech border and in Czech they have really dangerous fireworks that can burn off half your arm. Then after we had been talking to him for a while he leaned over and said in my moms ear, "I'm sorry but I have to pee." Then we went on a pointless walk around town which didn't make any sense because nothing is open at 1:30 in the morning. So my dad and Luisa went home and my mom and I went back to the party and stayed for a half an hour more before walking home.

New Year's Traditions and Superstitions in Ecuador (Kent and Teresa)

As the new year approaches, I've been hearing Pablo (from our host family) talk a lot about what colors to wear and what colors not to wear, especially when the midnight clock strikes twelve on New Year's Day.

Yellow--if you want financial prosperity in the new year, you should wear a yellow shirt.  Many women, I am told but have no way of confirming this, also wear yellow underwear.

Red--to have lots of love in the new year, you should wear a red shirt and/or wear red underwear.

Blue and White--if you want peace and harmony in the new year, you should wear a blue shirt.

Black and Dark Purple--These are the two colors to be avoided because that's what you wear when family dies.  If you wear one of these colors, someone in your family will die in the new year.

Other New Year's traditions/superstitions:

If you want to travel a lot in the new year, at midnight you should run around the block with a suitcase.

To fulfill all of your dreams in the new year you should eat twelve grapes (one for each month).

If you put a dollar bill (or any other denomination of paper money) in your shoe, you will have financial prosperity in the new year.

Probably the most celebrated New Year's tradition is that of the Año Viejo muñeco (doll/effigy of the old year).  Pablo has been busily constructing two huge figures out of bamboo, wood scraps, plastic scraps, cardboard, tape and paper mâché.  His effigies this year will represent the rival soccer teams Barcelona and (his team) EMELEC.  The idea of the Año Viejo tradition is that you make an effigy representing someone that you love or that you hate, and then you burn the effigy to welcome the New Year.  The idea is that you burn the bad of the old year and start the new with a blank slate.  If you create an effigy of someone you love, it is an honor for them to be burned and it's supposed to bring that person good luck in the next year.  Many in this town will line one of the main streets with their creations, and before burning them they will "beat all of the bad" out of them.  Then everyone burns their effigies together, followed by a big party in a downtown park.  Happy New Year!

The Gingerbread House (Luisa)

A week before Christmas Ashanti told us she wanted to make a gingerbread house. We had never made a gingerbread house from scratch, we had always bought a pre-made gingerbread house from the farmer's market and just decorated it. But we decided it would be fun to try. We found a recipe on line but thought that it was too small to share with everybody so we decided to do a one and a half recipe. So we went to the store and bought the stuff to make it. 

The Sunday before Christmas we made the dough and then put it in the fridge to set. And then on Wednesday, Christmas Eve, we rolled out the dough, cut the pieces and put it in the oven. As we took the pieces out of the oven and set them out to cool some of the bigger pieces broke but we knew that we could just use frosting to fix them later. Then we made the frosting. We put in the eggs and powdered sugar and mixed it up. But we decided it was too hard. So we put in a few more eggs but then it was too soft so we put in some more sugar also. Then we put it in baggies and put it in the fridge. 

On Christmas Day we decided the gingerbread walls weren't dry enough and Ashanti decided she didn't want to work on the project anymore so Magdalena and I used frosting on a few to glue them together. Later that day we decided that they weren't going to harden just sitting out so we put them back in the oven. We took them out of the oven and they were harder so we thought it was going to be fine. We let them set again until Friday and we went to glue them together and one of the roof parts broke. So we glued the roof back together and put together the walls. They stayed up fine. But later that day as we were getting ready to put the roof on we realized that the walls were starting to fall over. So we put a wooden skewer to hold them up. We decided that the roof was too big and heavy and wasn't going to stay on the house so we decided to decorate it separately and not put it on. We decorated the house with the help of our friend Diana and set it out for people to see and to eat. And we figured out why people usually make houses in a smaller size rather than bigger.

Sports in Ecuador (Kent)

As in many countries around the world, soccer (fútbol) is the number one sport in Ecuador.  The second most popular sport is probably basketball, and both males and females play.  The third most popular sport would probably be volleyball, although it is mostly played by men in a 3 on 3 games with a soccer ball instead of a volleyball.  All towns have their own soccer field/stadium, basketball courts/gymnasium, and a volleyball court.  Although our town is only about 5,000 people, it has a large soccer stadium, a large gymnasium, and various parks with volleyball courts and basketball/soccer combination courts.   Other recreational activities that are popular with locals on our island are skateboarding, surfing, body boarding, snorkeling, aerobics, running/jogging, and walking.

As far as popularity, however, soccer is much, much, much, much more popular than anything else.  Males and females of all ages wear soccer jerseys, although many more men and boys play soccer than girls.  Organized soccer starts young for boys, and you can see them walking the streets in packs after practices/games all dressed up with matching jerseys, shorts and socks, just like the professionals.

Ecuador's professional league has 12 teams and is of a pretty high caliber.  The next caliber higher would be the European leagues, which are seen as the best in the world.  Similar to  baseball in the United States, there are professional "minor leagues" for soccer.  Besides the 12 "A" league teams, there is a "B" league and a "C" league.  What's different in Ecuador, however, is that a team can get promoted or demoted from one league to another when the season is over.  The two worst teams in the "A" league get demoted to the "B" league, and the two best teams in the "B" league get to move up to the "A" league.  The same happens with the B and the C leagues.  There is even a "South American" cup where all the professional teams from all of the South American leagues play in a tournament to see who is the best.

It is common to see flags, banners, murals and even whole buildings promoting people's favorite professional soccer teams.  (see pictures)  The closest and most familiar big city to the Galápagos Islands is Guayaquil, which is Ecuador's biggest city.  There are also a number of people from the island who have lived or studied in Guayaquil.  So, it is no surprise that the two most popular teams on the island are from Guayaquil.

These two teams are "Barcelona" and "EMELEC."  I've asked people around here why there is a team named Barcelona in Ecuador, and no one is quite sure.  It probably has to do with the fact that it is a very popular team in Spain.  "EMELEC" is the Ecuadoran electric company and also has a professional basketball team as well.  Barcelona is yellow and EMELEC is blue.  They are often the two best teams in Ecuador and they are very fierce rivals.  When either team is playing, nearly everyone in town has the TV on.  Restaurants, bars, stores and shops all have it on, and many draw large crowds on those nights.  One small shop regularly has 30-40 people bunched outside on the sidewalk and street all glued to the TV.  You can tell whenever there is a goal because you can hear cheering throughout town.

EMELEC and Barcelona were in the 2 game finals this year, and they were last year as well.  EMELEC won last year and as the days led up to this year's finals, more and more banners and jerseys were seen around town.  On the days of the finals, lots and lots of people were sporting their team's jersey.  The rivalry is so intense that during the tournament the fans from both Guayaquil teams can't even be in the stadium during the same time or else fights will break out.  So, the first game of the finals was held at the Barcelona stadium, and only Barcelona fans were allowed in.  The EMELEC stadium, however was also full of EMELEC fans watching the game on the big screen.  The second game was at the EMELEC stadium and only EMELEC fans were allowed in, and the Barcelona fans watched on the big screen TVs in their stadium.  I asked my host brother Pablo how they keep the opposing team's fans from entering the stadium.  He said that to be allowed entry into the stadium, you have to be wearing that team's jersey.  No fans from the other team would want to be seen in the other team's jersey.

The first game of the finals was in the Barcelona stadium, and it ended as a 1-1 tie.  EMELEC actually was leading most of the game, and Barcelona scored late in the game.  Because EMELEC had no fans at the game, it was actually seen as a victory to tie Barcelona on their home field and it gave them an advantage heading into the game at the EMELEC stadium.  Although I didn't watch much of the other games, I didn't want to miss the final game on Sunday, December 20.  I camped out with Pablo in the living room to watch the game, both clad in EMELEC blue.  I decided to root for EMELEC for several very important reasons:  1) I like the color blue much more than the color yellow, and 2) I like to root for the team that has the smaller fan base.

There were two brothers in the starting line-up, one that played for EMELEC and one that played for Barcelona, and they actually had to guard each other in the game.  Within the first minutes, the Barcelona brother fouled the EMELEC brother and received a yellow (warning) card.  Then, still early in the first half, the Barcelona brother fouled his brother again.  This time it was much harder and the EMELEC brother had to be carried off the field in a stretcher.  This resulted in a red card, which meant that he was not only ejected from the game, but Barcelona had to play the rest of the game with 10 players instead of 11.  The police had to surround and escort the Barcelona brother off the field so as to protect him from the EMELEC fans.

Between the home field advantage and having one more player on the field, it is not surprising that EMELEC won the game pretty soundly, 3-0. They now have the bragging rights of being the best team in the country.  Although I did not go out on the town to see the celebrations, I could hear the shouting and the honking from our house.  Pablo and his daughter Ashanti were jumping for joy and shouting as well when the game was done.  He took various pictures of the TV screen showing the score and the celebrations and immediately posted them on Facebook for all to see EMELEC, Ecuador's 2014 professional soccer champions.

Mennonites have more fun! And other comparisons... (Teresa)

Recently, as we left church after our third mass of the week, Magdalena said "I don't get Catholics; at least Mennonites have fun at church!"  After some laughter, I had to delve more into that comment.  Magdalena explained further, "we have social time, there are ways for others to be involved in the worship service, we don't listen to one man talk the whole time, we have good singing, and we have things for children to do like children's time and Sunday school."  It has been a challenge for Magdalena, and all of us, for this Catholic parish to be our primary worshipping community during these 3 1/2 months.  But I'm glad for her to experience a different way of doing church.  It's also helpful for all of us to realize what we appreciate about Faith Mennonite our home church!

Comparisons of here and home have been a big part of our experience away, thus far.  We aim to be open to new ways and ideas, but we can't help but compare and contrast the cultures and the differences between our "sabbatical life" and our "normal life."   The good thing is, we are finding plenty that we really enjoy here, and at the same time plenty that we miss from home.  For instance, we certainly love spending lots of time outdoors and in nature, always planning the next warm weather adventure, like kayaking, snorkeling, or bicycling.  But, Magdalena has also been talking quite a bit about snow to us and to local folks.  She might be romanticizing it a bit, but she really has missed Indiana fall and now winter.  Recently the girls and I realized that we were all feeling as if we are waiting for fall to come, then we realize it's not coming, and we missed it!  The four seasons seem to be in our bones.

It has been very special to get to know this very small island and population.  No matter what event we go to, we are recognized and we have people to talk with, often children or teachers from the preschool.  Last weekend went to a party (the "Wild Baptism Party"!) in an area of town that we hadn't been to before.  I was nervous, assuming that Kent would be playing in the band, and the girls and I would stand around not knowing what to do.  It was a delight when we stepped out of the taxi and immediately saw a few children playing on the street that we know from the preschool and who were excited to greet us.  Later a mom was excited to meet the "musician family" who had taught her son so many fun songs that he now sings at home.  Her son (a five year old) immediately began singing one of our songs, Diez Deditos (Ten Little Fingers), and she joined right in singing with him!

It's also been lots of fun to share more of daily life with our daughters.  At our best, we can really bring out good things in each other!  (And when we're not at our best, there are learnings to be embraced, right?!)  Recently, when we did our bike ride together, Luisa was passing me on a long, steep incline, leaving me at the back of our group.  As she slowly passed, she spurred me on, "it's not such a bad hill, you got it girl!!"  That gave me a laugh and an extra boost of energy.  Similarly, Magdalena kept me going when she and I needed to paddle hard in our kayak last Saturday.  At one point, I was groaning with the sense that we weren't making any headway against the current.  She responded with a hearty, "calm down, Mom, and keep paddling!"  We soon found ourselves moving ahead and into to calmer waters.  Great lessons from my daughters on keeping on with the hard task at hand!!

Obviously, when I compare "normal life" to "sabbatical life" there's really no comparison; it's like comparing apples to papayas!  But I have to say that I absolutely love having fewer responsibilities:  not having to answer any telephones; doing an embarrassingly small amount of housework; no committee meetings to attend; and generally having a very small circle of involvements.  And it's delightful having plenty of time and space to do as I please:  sit and watch the sunset; take a walk as the sun sets; take frequent naps; read novels; write; walk slowly (I think I've slowed my general pace since we've been here); waste time without feeling (too) guilty; drink coffee slowly; study Spanish grammar; watch people and other animals; or go on another adventure with my family!

And, as we compare, we think ahead to the next phase of our year away.  There are a number of reasons we are glad to have had our Galapagos time as the first part of our year.  It's been fairly structured since we are working through a volunteer organization, and are living with a host family.  This structure has helped all of us in the process of learning and adapting to the culture and language.  This was a good place for our girls to take Spanish lessons, especially for Luisa to jump start her learning.  This will be the most expensive part of our trip because of the extra costs of island life; when most everything must be imported, food and supplies are generally twice the cost on the mainland.  We are definitely looking forward to lower costs in Peru and the Ecuadoran mainland.  Also, now that we are preparing to go to Lima, we realize what a shock it will be to go from the tranquil island life to the big city!  (Two weeks there will likely be enough before heading to smaller cities.)  It has been wonderful for our girls to have so much freedom here, and for all of us to easily walk from place to place.

Comparisons.  Apples to papayas, cross-country skiing to snorkeling, small city of Goshen to small island town San Cristobal, Goshen Mennonites to Ecuadoran Catholics.  Can't really compare!  But....we do....and discover lovely experiences all around.

Christmas party at school (Magdalena)

On the Tuesday before Christmas we had our Christmas program that we had been preparing for with the kids for weeks. Each class had their own song (from somewhere around the world) and the whole school sang Feliz Navidad and Navidad (Jingle Bells tune) together. The day before we were supposed to have a big dress rehearsal with costumes, but since the stage didn't arrive until 10 and it didn't get finished until 11 we didn't have much time left so they didn't use their full costumes.

We arrived at the school after 8 on the big day because the program was supposed to start 9. The whole performance area was very decorated and each classroom had lots of decorations of their own. The head teacher told us that she, her husband, another teacher and her husband had all stayed there until 2 o'clock in the morning decorating. But it looked great! Kent and Luisa went around giving out the gifts that we had made for the teachers (a CD with all the songs we had sung with them and a book with the lyrics). And the 4-year-old teachers (no, the teachers weren't 4) gave us a present. Then we waited around for the program to start.

The program started long after 9, probably 9:30 and it started with one of the teachers singing a Christmas song karaoke style, which is how they like to sing. Then the kids did their songs. We started off with "Ho Ho Ho," a song from the US that has a simple circle dance that one of the kindergarten classes did. After that was "Campana Sobre Campana," a Latin American Christmas Carol that one of the 3-year-old classes did with motions. Next was a simple African song, "Sing Noel," that a 3-year-old class did with a simple little dance. Then "Zumba Zumba," a song from Spain that my dad normally does in the US in English; a kindergarten class did this song with a simple circle dance. Next was "Mi Burrito Sabanero," a Latin American Christmas Carol that a 3-year-old class did with motions. Then was "Noche De Paz" (Silent Night), which a 4-year-old class did with motions. After that was "La Piñata," a Mexican song that one of the kindergarten classes did a circle dance with. Then the last class did "Paz Y Libertad" which isn't a Christmas song but it was nice anyway; a 4-year-old class did this with scarves. Then our family sang "Joy To the World" a Capella and we finished with "Navidad" and "Feliz Navidad."

After the program all the kids headed to their classrooms along with their parents. We were invited by one of the teachers to go to her classroom but the head teacher also told us that each teacher was expecting us. So we went to the first room and ate some fish balls and chicken balls with sauce and she gave us a present from all the kindergarten teachers. Then we went to the next room where they were having a whole meal with big pieces of meat and lots of rice and the teacher wanted to give us all a meal but we insisted on only taking two meals. Then we went to the next classroom where they were having a birthday party along with a Christmas party and they gave us pop and candy. Then, in the next room, we had pop and we were given a basket of candy. And the next room was also having a full meal so we got two more meals and another basket of candy with balloons. And the next classroom we got cake and jell-o and pop. And the next room we got more cake and more pop. And by the time we got to the last room, their party was done and all the kids and all the parents had already left but he teacher had saved us some cake and had a present for us. We talked with her for a little bit and then we went back to the performance area and helped to clean up.

I got a cardboard box and started picking up all the trash. Some people we taking the covers off the chairs and stacking them. Others were taking down the tents that had saved us when it rained. And others were taking apart the stage and the decorations. With the help from the volunteers and teachers we finished around 1. Then we went to the school office and wondered if we would have to take a taxi home because of all the presents and food we had been given but we managed to carry it all. And when we got home we showed our host family what we had been given and they were very impressed.

Merry Christmas Eve (Teresa)

"The Christmas story is not about how blessed it is to be givers but about how essential it is to see ourselves as receivers. We prefer to think of ourselves as givers—powerful, competent, self-sufficient, capable people whose goodness motivates us to employ some of our power, competence and gifts to benefit the less fortunate. Which is a direct contradiction of the biblical account of the first Christmas. There we are portrayed not as the givers we wish we were but as the receivers we are."

(From: William Willimon in The Christian Century)


Dear friends and family who continue to follow our sabbatical adventures,

I share this quote with you because it is especially meaningful to me during this year of receiving SO MUCH!  We are learning to more truly be "the receivers we are."  May we all be open and delighted to receive the Peace of Christ today and every day.

Merry Christmas Eve, and abrazos fuertes (big hugs) from our family to yours!

The Wild Baptism Party (Kent)

December 20 was a day I was looking forward to for several weeks.  "Grupo Kjuyay," the indigenous band I've been playing with, had a "post-baptism party gig," and they invited me to play with them!  I felt very honored to be included, even though they wanted me to play the electronic drum set.  Getting ready for this gig meant we practiced 3-4 times a week the last couple of weeks.  The majority of men in the group hail from the indigenous mountain community of Salasaca, which has a very tight knit community on our island.  One of the band members, Manuel, was to be the godfather of this baby.

Practices are usually at 7:00 p.m. (which means starting sometime before 8:00 p.m.) and are held at the Salasaca community center, not too far from our house. It took me several weeks of hearing a kena (Andean flute) in the distance before I got the courage to interrupt their practice and introduce myself.  I'm sure I was the first gringo to ever approach them during a practice and I know that I was a curious and odd sight.  Out of nowhere comes this tall (by indigenous standards I am tall) white guy with a backpack that has a ukelele (which hadn't seen before), a recorder, 2 kenas and a charango (small Andean string instrument). . .  and of course a nose flute.  They got a kick out of the things I kept pulling out of my backpack.  I asked if anyone gave churango or kena lessons.  They invited me to their practices, but also wanted someone to teach them how to play bass.  I've probably played with them at least 10-12 times in the past 2 months.  I've played a combination of charango, electric bass, guitar and the electronic drum set.  One night, when not many people showed up, they taught me how to play "The Sound of Silence" on the kena.

Having someone play the electronic drum set for the baptism gig was important to them because they wanted their music to be dance music.  Although I play a variety of percussion instruments and have experimented a bit on the acoustic drum set, I have never considered myself a drummer.  However, everything is relative, and it was apparent that my limited experience with the drums was more than anyone else had.  It also helped that I've played with some pretty great drummers during the pasts 30 years, and have learned a lot from watching and playing with them.  Last week they said that I was the best drummer they've ever had! I have felt very welcomed by these musicians and a sense that even though we come from very different cultures, we are all part of some sort of "world musician club."  The fact that my main instrument groups are strings, simple winds (recorders, nose flute) and percussion also made me feel at home because those are exactly the same instrument groups that they play.

Most of the guys in "Grupo Kjuyay" are multi-instrumentalists as well.  The group is very fluid.  Although there were usually 5-6 people at practice, the pool of people in the group is more like 10.  Every evening there seemed to be a different combination of guys, and what instruments each person played was based on who was present and what was needed at the time.  Sometimes we practiced with a (very loud) sound system and sometimes we had an acoustic set-up.  If there was a sound system, I would play either drum set or electric bass.  If we had the acoustic set-up, I would play the guitar or the charango.  All the guys floated from one instrument to another depending on our set-up and personnel.  Twice the police came to tell the band to turn down the volume (practices are always held outside).

The guys in the band told me that the gig would start around 9:00 p.m. and that there would lots of food, dancing and drinking.  The idea was that we would play until 2:00 a.m. or until people were too drunk to do anything, which I thought was an exaggeration.  Our whole family was invited and we were told to come hungry.  Our host family also told us some things about the Salasaca parties as well.  They said that they are very generous with their food and can be pushy with offering beer.

On the night of the party our family was picked up at 9:15 p.m. by one of the band members who's also a taxi driver.  We arrived at the party, which was held at the baby's family's house, which actually included two buildings, neither of which was finished.  There was a larger house and a smaller building, both of which were pretty simple cinder block buildings without the final smooth cement coating and paint job.  We were welcomed by Manuel, the band member/god father, who invited Luisa and me to sit with him, the other godfather and about 10 others in the small building.  Magdalena and Teresa sat in the small dirt courtyard, along with others.  Folks visited with each other in their native language, Quechua, but were also happy to visit with us in Spanish.  Manuel and his wife were wearing traditional indigenous clothing, as were some others.  For men this means a special white pants and shirt set with a black poncho on top.  For women, it's a traditional white blouse, black wrap-around skirt, colorful belt, and special jewelry.

First course was a large bowl of delicious chicken soup, including a large piece of chicken.  Second course was a large plate of rice, potato salad (potatoes, apples, carrots and peas), and an even larger piece of chicken.  I watched to see if others were finishing their chicken plate because it was way more than I could eat.   I was relieved to see that people were being handed "take home bags."  (The leftover chicken would be enough to feed our household the next day for supper.)  Small shots of wine were served with the meal, but the cold beer didn't appear until towards the end of the meal.  I have never been a beer drinker.  Actually, I have never been a drinker.  As a late teen/young adult it was for moral reasons, but as I got older, I realized that I didn't like the taste and I didn't have a need to drink, even though I was not morally opposed to it.  I don't normally have a problem being with other drinkers as long as they are not pushy with their alcohol.  I was offered a bottle of Pilsener beer (the primary beer in Ecuador) at supper and I declined, even though it offended the server.  I did have a little shot of wine, though.

Around 10:00 p.m. we started playing music.  An older guy invited Teresa to the dirt dance floor, and soon a few others joined.  Full crates of beer bottles emerged.  People were pouring beer into small cups and were offering it all around.  Manuel's role as godfather trumped his playing in the band.  One of his responsibilities was to make sure everyone was drinking, especially the people in the band.  There were no breaks in our set list because the rhythm keeps going in between songs.  So, Manuel would come along with a beer bottle and a cup and make each of us drink a whole cup full, even if that meant pouring beer into our mouths while we played.  I refused as many times as I could.  Once I told him to put the cup onto the floor for me, where I knew it would get knocked over.  The more people drank, the more dancing there was and the more animated it got.

Teresa and the girls headed home around 11:00.  The band played until around 11:15-11:30.  We stopped and started putting instruments into our cases.  The next thing on the agenda was more drinking and more dancing--this time with a DJ and recorded music.  I tried to be a wall flower, but soon I was pushed onto the dance floor and one of the band members made me dance with his wife.  "It's our custom!" he said.  People came up to my dance partner and made her drink, even though she tried to refuse.  She didn't look very happy; I'm not sure if because she had to dance with this tall white stranger or if she didn't want to drink.  I was forced to take a cup, and when they weren't looking, I dumped it on the ground.  But that didn't always work, especially with Manuel.  "Come on!  Just a little drink!  It's our custom!"

The pushiness with the beer was making me rather uneasy.  It seemed like the goal of this party was to make everyone drunk.  Even so, I miraculously escaped only consuming a total of two small plastic cups of beer the whole evening.  I thought it was a good time to leave, so I started saying good bye to the band guys.  Manuel said that I couldn't go yet because we still had more playing to do.  So, I went out to the street away from the dance floor, which had 20-30 people.  The street was lined with 30-50 spectators and/or party goers.  Sometime after midnight, they cut the huge cake and offered it to everyone in the vicinity.  As long as I was in the street and out of the "dance/party zone," I seemed to be safe from beer pushers.  Then the most drunk guy of the party came up to me and motioned me to drink.  I wasn't sure if he was deaf or was just so drunk that he couldn't speak.  He just made lots of motions and acted very disapprovingly when I turned down his drink offer.  He then attempted to pour my cup of beer back into his bottle, spilling most of it onto himself.

After I ate my cake, two guys who were sitting in chairs not too far from the dance floor gestured for me to sit with them.  They offered me some beer, but were not pushy.  They seemed more interested in conversation, which I welcomed.  These guys were brothers who were neighbors of the "party house," but were not part of the Salasaca community.  One of them said that he was the president of the neighborhood association.  At least that's what I thought he said.  It was very hard to hear and to talk with the extremely loud dance music.  By the end of the evening I had unknowingly yelled myself hoarse.  The brothers said that the party would probably go until 6:00 a.m., but that many people would continue to drink throughout the day.

At about 12:45 a.m. it was time to play music again.  Things were not as organized as before.  The singing was really off pitch and I had to work hard at keeping everyone together tempo-wise.  There were 3 drunk spectators standing directly in front of me.  They were either cheering me on or simply staring at me.  The bathroom was right next to us, and there was a very steady stream (no pun intended) of people going in and out of the bathroom.  The men usually did not close the door.  One man was taking too long, so another man walked in and peed in the tub.  One man couldn't even wait to go into the bathroom so he peed on the wall.  By the way it smelled around there, I don't think he was the first.

The more drunk people got, the more uncomfortable I became.  When our set was done around 1:15, I was ready to leave.  Luckily, when I told Manuel I was leaving, he seemed to understand.  He said some very kind things to me like how happy he was that I was there and had played with the band.  He also realized that he was too drunk to drive me home.  I was more than happy to walk home.  No one was fit to drive and the party was going as strong as ever.

In reflecting on this experience with other locals, it was clear that this kind of party is the norm in the Salasaca community.  Although their "party culture" is one thing that I don't understand and was very uncomfortable for me, I have really enjoyed playing music with these guys.  They have been very welcoming to me and eager to exchange musical knowledge.  They are very talented musicians who take their music seriously and are passionate about keeping their music alive.

Kayaking (Magdalena)

On Saturday morning we four went kayaking. We got to the rental place after 9 and we got the kayaks. The guy there told us that we only needed to pay $10 per kayak per hour instead of $15 because we have been here so long, and are volunteers. Once we were out on the water we didn't really know where to go because if you leave the bay the ocean gets rough. So we went to the one end of the bay and then came back and went to the other end. We saw probably 10 blue footed boobies near the end of the bay and then we started to get sucked out and had to work really hard to get back. Then we went to the middle of the bay again and then it had been a little over an hour and we paddled to one of the beaches and got out. When we were getting out of the kayaks the waves splashed our backs a lot. After we returned the kayaks and such, we went downtown and got popsicles.

Tradition of Las Novenas (Teresa)

The nine evenings of "Las Novenas" are celebrated here and throughout Latin America.  This tradition, with some similarities to the Las Posadas tradition in Mexico (that we experienced in south Texas), is a reenactment of the pilgrimage of Mary and Joseph in their search for lodging.  Each evening a mass is held, children are chosen to portray the Christmas story characters, and then the children (dressed as Mary and Joseph, shepherds, angels, etc.) lead the procession from the church to the location of the party.  As the group processes a priest leads the group in singing Christmas carols. Before the party begins, Mary and Joseph place the baby Jesus in the nativity, and then all enjoy hot chocolate, sandwiches, and bags of candies (for children).

Each evening local businesses take turns hosting the Holy Family and the party for the community.  Banks, schools, stores, public services, all join in to host these festivities.  This hosting is called "El Pase del Niño" (Passing of the Child) as they actually pass a baby Jesus doll from place to place each evening.  The idea being that every place and every person must be prepared for the arrival of Jesus.

Our family was involved in "Las Novenas" for two evenings in a row.  Ashanti was asked to be Mary, and Luisa asked to be a shepherdess for both nights; last night's party was hosted by the bank where Ashanti's aunt works, and tonight's hosted by the electric company where Pablo and Yolanda work.  There is much beauty in this tradition and the sense of communal preparations for the arrival of Jesus.  It's also lots of fun for the whole family, unless the fighting for candy gets out of hand!  Because we're so accustomed to keeping church traditions separate from the secular realm, the idea of businesses "Passing the Child" and hosting a church party is foreign to us.  But since the culture here is still predominately Catholic (though this is changing) this combination seems to work.  At the same time I've heard some critics among local residents, pointing out that some folks only show up at church once a year, when their organization is hosting the party for Las Novenas.  Yes, there are always complex issues to think about.  And yes, we join in preparing our hearts and homes for the coming of Emmanuel, God with us, in every part of life!

Our Schedule For Our Last Weeks, Holiday Weeks, On The Island (Magdalena)

Monday, Dec. 15--Kent had indigenous band practice and the police came because they were too loud at 10pm.

Tuesday, Dec. 16--Kent had indigenous band practice and the police came because they were too loud at 8:45pm (which is when nobody is sleeping).

Wednesday, Dec. 17--Our family went to the Novenas (see separate description) mass at 7pm.  Ashanti was Mary and Luisa was a shepardess because it was being hosted by the bank that Ashanti's aunt works for. After the mass everyone went to the bank where there was a long line of kids and teens waiting for the candy, sandwiches and hot chocolate.

Thursday, Dec. 18--Kent has indigenous band practice in the evening. The rest of us will go to the Novenas mass where Ashanti will be Mary again because it's being hosted by the electric company which her dad and grandma work for. After the mass we will all walk to the electric company for candy, sandwiches and hot chocolate.

Friday, Dec. 19--At the office there will be a class for the volunteers on how to make empanadas at 9am which Magdalena and Luisa will skip class for and Kent and Teresa will meet them after class is done. In the evening Kent will have indigenous band practice.

Saturday, Dec. 20--At 6pm the whole household will go to the mass which includes Ashanti's first communion and confirmation.  Aterward Kent and the indigenous band will play at a baby's baptism party until the wee hours of the morning.

Sunday, Dec. 21--Either Saturday or Sunday morning our family will go kayaking.

Monday, Dec. 22--In the morning the entire preschool will have their dress rehearsal for their Christmas concert. At 8pm we will have a Christmas concert in front of the CD store that we recorded at. The owner insisted we perform for his 5-year-old daughter and her friends.

Tuesday, Dec. 23--In the morning the preschool will have their Christmas party that includes the concert that we've been helping them prepare for. This is the last day of school before Christmas and all the schools will have parties and performances.  In the evening all of the volunteers in our program will be treated to a Christmas meal in a restaurant.

Wednesday, Dec. 24--Christmas Eve! We will have a big dinner all together at home and then probably go to a mass.

Thursday, Dec. 25--Christmas! We don't have any plans but we will probably be doing normal Christmas stuff like playing outside in the snow, having stockings hung on the fireplace and singing hymns.

Friday, Dec. 26--We will go to a workshop at the office to make paper mâché dummies that we will then burn in the downtown on New Year's Eve. (This project will continue until we've finished our "muñecos.")  We will make them look like someone real and then write their will, which needs to rhyme.  We've been told that people display their dummies and wills outside their houses a few days ahead to get judged. The winner gets a $500 award.

Wednesday, Dec. 31--New Year's Eve! The whole town will gather downtown to burn their dummies after giving them a beating. The meaning of the beating and burning tradition is to burn and beat everything bad that happened in the old year, and start the new year with a clean slate.

Thursday, Jan. 1--New Year's Day!

Friday, Jan. 2--We boogie on out of this joint.

Biking to El Junco (Luisa)

          Yesterday morning we left the house at 8:30 and went to the Malecon to a bike shop to rent bikes to bike up to El Junco, the crater lake. When we got to the shop it wasn't open yet so we walked along the Malecon to see if there were any other places to rent bikes. As we were walking along we found one store that rents bikes but they only had one bike. So we decided that we would just go back to the other store and wait for it to open. On our way back we realized that we only had ten dollars and that wasn't enough so daddy went back to the house to get more money. When we got back to the store they were just starting to open up so we picked out bikes and helmets and when daddy got back with the money we paid and started up.
          After about 10-15 minutes I heard "Oh shoot" from behind me and knew that mama got hurt so I turned around and went back a little ways to where she was. Sure enough her chain had fallen off and she put it back on but in the process she cut her thumb. Magdalena and daddy came back also and by then mama said she felt lightheaded. So she drank some water and rested. After about five minutes she wasn't feeling better so she told us just to continue on with out her and she would stay and rest more.
          We biked for about five more minutes and then realized that mama was coming up so we stopped and waited for her. When she caught up to us we started up again all together. After a little while it started raining and I was worried that we weren't going to make it to El Junco. But when we got to the cemetery close to El Progreso it stopped raining so we took a break and had a snack. Then it was time to get back on our bikes and keep riding. Pretty soon we were in El Progreso and we stopped at a little store to get drinks because by then our water was almost gone, then back to the bikes again.
         After a total of about four hours of going up we were at El Junco. When we got there we were so excited because it was extremely clear and we were able to see the wind mills, which we had seen a sign for there but had never been able to see because of fog. When we got to the top we were able to see the whole lake! So we walked down the other side to get a closer look.  Unfortunately by the time we got down to the bottom a cloud had covered the lake and we could only see half of it. So we walked back up to the top again and of course then it was clear again. We walked back down to our bikes, had a snack, and got back on our bikes to go back down.
          It took us about 15 minutes to get back to El Progreso and when we got there we went to a look out over the island.  Since it was a clear day we were able to see all of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, 5 fingers, and Kicker Rock. Then we were back on our bikes and coasting back to town. When we got back to the bike shop it was a little after 2:00. So we walked home, ate lunch, and took showers. We were all really tired afterwards but we all thought it was worth it also.

Kent's Speaking Problems (Magdalena)

A couple weeks after we had returned from our trip to Isabela, my dad was talking about all the "stupid tourists" that were there. He was talking about the French couple that had put volcanic rocks in their backpack after being told not to and about the Russian family who pushed a sea turtle while snorkeling and who also petted an iguana. We were then talking with our host family about a punishment that there should be for tourists that mess with the wildlife. My dad's idea was that the tourists should pet a really spiny sea urchin or impregnate a cactus. The word for impregnate in Spanish is embaraza and the word for hug is abraza. He meant to say they should hug the cactus. And now Ashanti won't let him forget it. :D

Kent's Trip to Leon Dormido/Kicker Rock

On Sunday, December 7, most of my family and some of our host family were going to the highlands to go horseback riding.  I did not want to go horseback riding, so I scheduled a snorkeling trip to Kicker Rock (also known as "Leon Dormido" which in Spanish means "sleeping lion").  We had gone once with our host family in their fishing boat, but we had decided that the waters were too rough and murky to snorkel.  I wanted to return there so that I could go snorkeling with sharks, which is the main attraction there.  Sunday morning our family got a call from the horse farm saying that it had been raining a lot in the hills, and there was a lot of mud on the trails.  So much so that they were worried that the horses might slip.  The horse trip was cancelled, but the snorkeling trip was still on.  I tried to convince Magdalena to go, but she wanted to stay at home.

This would be my fourth (and last) snorkeling trip where I paid money for someone to take us out to a place where we wouldn't otherwise be able to go.  Most of the time I/we walk to La Loberia (Sea Lion Beach) and go snorkeling there.  When the tide is low, it's pretty great snorkeling. Snorkeling is my current favorite "sport" and I have the goal of snorkeling as many times as I can during our last month here.  Luisa is into it too.  During the last week the two of us have walked the mile + to La Loberia just to snorkel.

On this particular trip, our snorkeling boat had just 5 passengers, the captain, the first mate, and our Galapagos National Park certified tour guide.  Leon Dormido trips usually include another location as well, and ours was a beach called "Playa Manglecito" (Little Mangrove Beach).  At the beach we could hike, tan, hang out, or go snorkeling.  After a brief hike to explore the beach, I headed to the water with my snorkeling gear.  The snorkeling was similar to La Loberia.  It was shallow with lots of rocks covered with marine algae and plants, which both the fish and turtles like.  What made this "snorkel" special was that I saw a beautiful hawksbill turtle.  The most common sea turtle to see in the waters around San Cristobal is the green sea turtle.  This was only the second time that I saw a hawksbill turtle close up.  It has a orangish-brownish shell, and  is smaller than the green turtles.  I also saw some large, (1 1/2-2 feet long) colorful tropical fish.  Some were orange and others were multi-colored with a shimmery florescent sort of sparkle.  For both large fish and sea turtles, my strategy is to follow them at a safe distance until I either lose them, I see something else interesting, or I simply am ready to move onto something else.

Lunch often seems to taste better on snorkeling trips.  I probably snorkeled 45 minutes or so, which takes more energy than I realize.  On the boat we ate a delicious lunch of fried fish (wahoo), sweet plantain, rice and salad.  After lunch we headed to Leon Dormido, which we could see already from our beach.  From a distance and at the right angle, the rock does indeed look like a sleeping lion.  Leon Dormido is actually small when you consider it to be an island, but is humungous when you think of it terms of a rock that is jutting out of the middle of the ocean.  When the sun shines on Kicker Rock, it almost sparkles.  Made of lava rock, it has many large white spots--due to the vast number of sea birds that nest there and poop on it--which is typical of all the coastal Galapagos rock formations.

Close up, Leon Dormido is quite impressive.  It actually has two sections, which are separated by about 50-75 feet.  It looks as if God took a steak knife and cut the rock into two sections.  It was near this space that we were dropped off.  Unlike my other snorkeling adventures, this one was in deep water.  After jumping off the boat and into the ocean, I looked around to see nothing but water.  However, after getting adjusted to my surroundings and as we approached the space between the two rocks, we started seeing good-sized fish and then Galapagos sharks!  All the sharks in the Galapagos waters are said to be not dangerous to humans.  The Galapagos sharks can get up to 12 feet long, but most of the ones we saw were probably no longer than 8 ft.  Looking below me, I could see at least 10 sharks at once, gracefully swimming at least 6-10 feet below me.  They didn't seem to be phased by our group at all.  At one point, directly below us were two large eagle rays!

Besides the sharks and rays, we were also greeted by fish of all sizes, shapes and colors.  Under water, the surface of Leon Dormido is teaming with life.  Sea urchins in crevices, sea stars, corals, water plants, fish . . .  Leon Dormido's under water surfaces are a living mural.  As we swam besides the walls, the "mural" changed.  It was the most diverse snorkeling I've experienced yet.  At one point we hovered above a school of thousands of silver-black fish.  One guy in our group was very good at diving deep.  He'd dive right down through the middle of them and they would part for him.  The hole would then close up, and soon after he'd pop right through the fish, who would again part for him.  At another time something dove down out of nowhere.  It was a diving blue-footed booby.  I've often seen them flying over head and then dive straight into the water, but this was the first time I got to see what it looked like below water.  The booby went down some 20-30 feet below the surface.

Towards the end of our time in the water, my hands were numb and I was getting tired.  But at the same time, I didn't want to get out of the water.  It's such a magical place below the water's surface and I could swim around the under water walls of Leon Dormido again and again and still see new things.  Writing about it helps preserve the memory of such an incredible experience.

What's next? (Teresa)

Some of you have asked....and the time has come to look ahead.  I've thoroughly enjoyed these months on the island, living (for the most part) in the moment, and having a much simplified schedule.  (The sun and surf are great, too!)  These aspects are some of what I was craving for this sabbatical time.  But, the time always comes when we have to do some planning for the future, and so I've been working on the details of our upcoming months in Peru (January through May).

It is hard to believe that we only have 3 1/2 weeks remaining here on San Cristobal.  It's especially hard to get through my head that it is nearly time for Christmas and a new year!   Without cold weather, and in a place where the temperature is increasing in this time of the year, my body and mind just aren't feeling Christmas-y.  The fact that we are singing Christmas songs every day with the children helps to orient me.  We four are all looking forward to experiencing Christmas and New Years traditions here.

Soon after, on January 2, it will be time to say "goodbye" to this unique place and new friends.....and we'll fly back to the Ecuador mainland, and then board a bus in Guayaquil to go all of the way to Lima, Peru, a 26 hour ride, more or less (most likely more!).  The deadline we want to meet in Lima is to arrive in time for the annual South American Suzuki Festival.  And because of the lovely ways that God provides for us......through the connections of church family....we will have lodging in Lima in a house owned by a Mennonite Brethren church.

The new, revised schedule for the remaining months is as follows....and as always, is subject to adjustments!

Jan 2:  flight from San Cristobal to Guayaquil, spend two nights

Jan 4-5:  bus from Guayaquil to Lima
Jan 6-17:  Suzuki Festival and sight-seeing in Lima

Jan 18:  bus to La Merced, northeast of Lima, where the mountains and rainforest meet
Jan 18-Feb 20:  teaching music in a municipal summer program for children; staying with friends of friends in a one floor apartment (noon meals shared, others on our own)

Feb 21-23:  travel back to Lima and then to Cusco (by plane)
Feb 23-end of May:  near Cusco at La Promesa, a Mennonite school; helping with a new music program, teaching/tutoring English;  Magdalena and Luisa will attend school; housing isn't confirmed yet

Late May-late June:  return to Ecuador; visit the Ross Richer family in the Amazon region

Late June:  return to the good ole USA

A song in the grocery store (Teresa)

Often when we are trying to locate a particular item we go from store to store asking and looking around.  Most stores are quite small, the size of a small convenience store,  but somehow carry a surprising variety of items.  If we check enough stores we'll eventually find the item we need -- a water bottle, mozerella, or hair conditioner.

One day recently I was looking around for fresh papaya and wandered into a grocery store I hadn't visited before.  After not seeing any fresh produce I looked around, curious as to what canned fruits they carry.  As I looked over the shelves, I heard a low voice and the tune of a familiar preschool song.  I looked around, but saw no one; the song must've been in my head.  I continued to look around the store and again heard a clear, soft voice singing, "pon, pon, pon, pon, pon-y,  pon, pon el dedito el la manita."  (Translation:  put, put, put, put, put-y, put, put your little finger in your little hand). What a sweet voice; it was not in my head but I still couldn't locate it.

I walked up to the counter to pay for a few items, and the owner greeted me with a smile.  He motioned to his young son who was on the floor behind the counter, also smiling.  The father explained that his son had identified me as his music teacher.  At this point the boy was too shy to sing but now I knew whose sweet voice I had heard earlier.  What a delight to hear "our" songs being enjoyed beyond the classroom!

Las Loritas, The Parrots (Teresa)

Yes, we have parrots in our house.  They are in the form of Luisa and Ashanti, who are very similar in their love of talking....on and on....about most anything....especially when they are supposed to be eating!  Luisa first earned this nickname at the dinner table a few weeks ago once she became comfortable enough with Spanish to begin joking, teasing, and generally having a good conversational time.  Our housekeeper was the first to call her "La Lorita" but we all thought it very appropriate so it stuck.  Soon, Luisa and Ashanti were engaging in continuous dialogue and banter, such that that they are together known as "Las Loritas"!  (Sure wish we had the wifi capacity to post videos!) Parents are entertained, but also have begun to set some deadlines for eating.....like "whomever is the last to finish the meal gets to wash all of the dishes," and there are lots to wash with this big group!

Christmas is in the air (Magdalena)

With Christmas being just a few weeks away we are preparing both at school and at home. At school we have started singing Christmas songs. Each class has their own song that will be shared at the Christmas program.  We also have two Christmas songs that the whole preschool will sing together:  Feliz Navidad (bilingual) and Hoy es Navidad (a version of Jingle Bells in Spanish).  A few of the songs that we are singing are new to our family including Campana Sobre Campana and Mi Burrito Sabanero (both Ecuadorean/Latin Amercian).  These songs are each sung by three year old classes. Campana Sobre Campana is about Christmas bells, bells in Bethlehem, and singing angels. Mi Burrito Sabanero is about a donkey that carries a child to see baby Jesus, about the long way to Bethlehem, and singing with a guitar while the donkey keeps trotting.  (For fun, google this song to listen to many versions and remixes!  It's very catchy!) We made jingle bell bracelets to go along with the songs and they work well.  Every class will have some kind of hat that the teachers or parents will make to go along with their song. Also every classroom has a Christmas tree (most are full sized) and most rooms have lots of decorations such as Santa heads, candy canes and other American-looking stuff.

Last week Luisa and I helped Ashanti and Yolanda decorate the tree at our house. They had so many ornaments that we kept thinking we were done but then they would bring another box. We didn't end up putting them all on. Also Yolanda loves Christmas decorations so we got all of the decorations out and put most of the on the coffee table in the middle of the living room. The table is big but is full of decor. Every house has a tree in their front window and ours even has music. There are lots of Christmas lights downtown and stars on the light posts. Today Kassandra and Isabel made sugar cookies in the shapes of Christmas trees, Santas, snowmen and bells.  (We helped, too.)  There is no snow here but I think Santa will still come.