It´s not goodbye, it´s hasta luego.

Okay, this is it. The HECUA CILA Fall 2007 term has oficialy ended. On Thursday, the other students and I gathered at a couple different houses to prepare a goodbye dinner. Me made some pretty delicious enchiladas and chili, but without a doubt, the star of the evening was the Concha y Toro wine. We all met at our program director, Martha´s house along with our host families to enjoy the food. We also received pretty cool T-shirts we had designed as a rememberance of the program. They´re bright green, in the style of the flags you´ll find all over Quito supporting la Alianza País (Correa´s party.) They´re obnoxious, but great.

Following the little fiesta, we dispersed to our homes to put the finishing touches on our final independent study projects.

The next day (Friday) is when things really started to get crazy. I had my last morning at my internship. They thanked me for my work and gave me a super sweet Evo Morales T shirt. It wasn´t too sad, because it´s hard to get attached to people when you´re just doing data entry for them...

Following lunch, I walked to the HECUA office one last time to hand in my final document to Martha. We hung out and chatted for a while. I´m for sure going to miss her and the rest of the HECUA staff--they´re pretty cool ladies.

Since Friday was the official end of the program, students are starting to head home as early as Saturday. So Friday night was spent going through round 1 of goodbyes and hasta luegos. In a fashion true to how we have enjoyed Quito´s nightlife in the past 3 months, it involved cheap falaffal, cheap beer, cheap cocktails, and maybe too much salsa and reggaetón for our own good.

The next few days (as in my FINAL THREE) will be mix of last minute shopping, welcoming home my host sister from Costa Rica, packing, confirming flight plans, more goodbyes, and probably one last Pilsener.

It´s pretty amazing how I´ve spent a good part of this trip longing for airport hugs and reunions, to the point where my heart would skip a beat out of absolute excitment. Now, there´s still beats being skipped, but mixed with an overwhelming feeling of "uhh, really, like, I really have to leave?"

Yeah, it´s complicated.

My plan is to do one last entry (probably on Monday.) All I can say now, is I´ll see you very, very, very soon.

Baths.

I´ve just spent what was perhaps the best weekend yet in Ecuador.

The city: Baños
The group: Me, Nate, Anna, Marge, Sumo, Becca
The dates: Friday-Sunday
Highlights: A good amount of garlic bread, biking 60 Kms (that´ll be about 40 miles) through the Andes to a town called Puyo (which offically counts as the Amazon region,) sucking on sugar cane, a nightime ride on what was more or less an open-air party bus to hopefully catch a glimpse of a nearby erupting volcano (no such luck, but there was a great view of the city and some pretty delcious Canelazo-a warm cinnomon drink with caña-sugar cane alcohol, however, it´s different than rum,) soaking in natural thermal baths with a pretty spectacular view of the mountains, and bridge jumping--differnt from bungee jumping because rather than using a bungee cord, you use a regular cord or more or less swing like a pendulum (pretty sweet, pretty scary.)

So, obviously, a good time.

Alao, we´re down to 8 days, guys. Really.

El Panecillo and why Germania couldn´t go.

First, after several complaints, my last entry has been edited with some translations. Sometimes I forget that not everyone knows what a llapingacho is.

Last night was awesome and funny.

My host mom, dad, brother, and I went to Panecillo (that would be an external link.) I went there during the day within a week of arriving in Quito, but I´d heard that it´s beautiful at night. You´re on top of a hill and you can see the entire city and all it´s lights. Being as it´s chirstmastime, there were giant (kind of gaudy) wisemen and stable animals accompanying La Virgen. Also, seeing it is Fiestas de Quito (celebrating the Spanish foundation of the city) there where games, food, and a general air of festivity.

It was incredibly beautiful.

The funny part was that while my host dad, and brother and I were walking around, my host mom sat in the car with a portable television watching her Zorro (an Ecuadorian soap opera of sorts.) She kind of apologized by exclaiming "La esclavitud! La esclavitud!" (The slavery!) In reference to her being a slave to night time television, I guess.

Then we had pizza. Choclo pizza. Pizza with corn on it. I have never had anything more delicious.

¡Viva Quito!

Imbabura: an oil bath, tomarillos, and some christmas shopping.

Saturday marked the end of our final HECUA coordinated field trip. This time around, we boarded a bus and drove north to Imbabura province to the cities of Otavalo and Cotacahi.

Green. Mountains. Lakes. Beautiful.

First stop: a clinic where Western medicine and Traditional medicine collide. A highligt (but also a lowlight) includes experiencing a traditional cleansing performed by an Indigenous man who had learned the trade from his grandfather at the age of 3. This cleansing involved plants, and oil. So much oil. Oil on my face, neck, arms, and hair. oil in my hair. So much. Cleansing, but still kind of messy.

From there, visits to a an artesian couple who have been spinning wool and making beautiful scarves, blankets, etc together for 30 years. Then to a andean instrument workshop where I tried to play Take On Me with panpipes the whole time.

Both nights where spent with Indigenous families in La Comunidad de Morochos. Everytime I tried to help with dinner or breakfast, my host mom just told me to siga no más (go ahead,) sit down at that table, and eat my delicious food. New favourite: warm tomarillos (small, sweet tomato-like fruit) for breakfast. Awesommmmmmme.


One could consider the Fería de Otavalo to be the main event of this trip. Imagine a giant plaza and it´s surrounding streets packed with people selling everything from hammocks, to sweaters to jewelery, to pipes, to grilled corn. Then imagine it being packed with people. Um, mom, I´m just saying, don´t worry about getting any alpaca blankets anytime soon.

Other highlights include being able to sit in on La Asamblea de Cotacachi,(more or less the community´s decision-making body,) a boat ride around a crater lake, cuy (that would be guinea pig,) and some really good llampingachos (cheese and potato all mixed together and fried.)

Today is the 2 week marker, I´m in the middle of Fiestas de Quito, and wrapping up final papers and exams. Oh man, exciting.

Look for updates on Fiestas de Quito and the complimentary Quitu Raymi within the week.