Flower Shows and Salsa Dance!

I can’t believe another week has gone by already! The time is starting to fly by, especially when we have plans over the long weekends. It’s so hard to believe that it’s already the middle of February, especially when it’s so sunny and warm during the day (sorry, Boston & NJ!)

Last weekend, Eddie landed a gig at a café in Quito, so we all went to watch him play and sing. We had a great crowd to support him and he did a phenomenal job! He even performed a few songs that he was learned in Spanish since being here. On Friday, I explored the Artisan Market in Quito a bit. Many of the booths had the same products that we saw at Otavalo a few weeks ago, but this market is much more organized and much closer to where I live. On a Friday afternoon, the market was crawling with Quiteños an tourists alike. I’ll definitely be going back!

On Saturday, a few of us went to an Orchid exhibit at Parque Itchimbia, which is near the colonial center of Quito. The park is pretty high up, so it had a fantastic view of the city. The orchid exhibit was absolutely beautiful! We waited about an hour to get in, but it was well worth it. The flowers were prizewinners from all over South America and the world. I think this is a biannual exhibit that will next be on display in Singapore in 2011.

The view from the park


One of many prizewinning exhibits




I’ve celebrated three more birthdays in the past two weeks – two for members of the extended host family and one for Brianna from BC. The family parties are really fun. Since almost the entire extended family lives in the building, it’s really easy to get everyone together, and they love to celebrate! On Tuesday night, we celebrated the birthday of Maqui’s sister, who flew in that day from her home in California. They arranged for a musical group to come and sing and play music, so everyone was singing and dancing well into the night.

Last night, I went to my first salsa lesson! Eddie arranged for a salsa teacher to give us 8 lessons over the course of the next four weeks in his home. The steps are basic and I think that by the end, we will definitely be able to hold our own at the salsa club we’ve been going to. Today I bought a CD of salsa music so I can learn the ritmo! Music and DVD copyright laws must not be as strict (or just not enforced) here, because every block or so there is another store that sells CDs and DVDs for $1-2 a piece. They have almost every movie you can imagine (even some that are still in theatres…), and the quality isn’t always great, but they work!

Classes are finally starting to pick up. This week I had my first exam and an in class presentation and I have another exam and paper next week. (It seems to me that many of the Ecuadorian students aren’t quite as concerned with attendance as others, and much less so than even the laziest BC students. I can’t figure out why that is – attendance is part of the grade for every class I am in!) Today in my Children’s Lit class, we had a guest speaker who is a sociologist born and raised in Quito. She talked to us about the patriarchal family systems that are ingrained into this culture and how females’ role in home has changed in the last 4 decades. She was a very dynamic speaker and has done some very interesting work and definitely presented some unique insights into Quiteño culture that I would not get otherwise. My host family definitely does not fit the stereotypical patriarchal mold, so I was interested to hear the sociologist perspective, as well as that of other students in class.

This weekend, we are spending two nights with an indigenous community about three hours outside of Quito, in the mountains. I am very intrigued to see another face of Ecuador and experience what is sure to be a very different way of living. Supposedly, we will be spending Saturday, El Día de amor y amistad, helping clean up a school! More stories to come!

Happy Valentine’s Day! Abrazos y Besos :)