Ashen

Today is Ash Wednesday. 

like many catholic countries, carnaval is a big deal.  they play saturday through tuesday, by throwing paint, water, mud, flour, basically anything they can think of on people walking past.  you´re supposed to only play with people you know who say it´s ok, but…it happens.  I played with the Valdivia kids on Monday and Abrahan and Eduardo yesterday and my clothes from those two days are ruined.  Abrahan and Eduardo use spray paint (my leg is still red) and Abrahan picked us up and rolled us in muddy gross Arbolito puddles.  playing with the kids was fun cause I´m so much taller than them I could just run through the crowd and pour water on their heads without them getting me back, hehe.  good times. 

we went to ash wednesday mass this morning.  because everything has been closed the past two days for carnaval, today is like a monday and Abrahan was going to get mail and bananas so I left money and the car key with the guard before I left for mass.  mass was nice, though as per usual hardly anyone went up for communion and then EVERYONE went up for ashes, which was interesting.  also, everyone wanted to get their ashes from Padre and not from the other guy, so when they started there was a mad rush to be first in line for Padre.  Melissa and I went to the other guy and had hardly any wait at all.  however, after we got our ashes and were back in the pew praying, Melissa spotted Abrahan hanging around outside looking for me.  I didn´t take the cell phone to mass, of course, but I could see him outside trying to call me.  We were of course on the opposite side of the church to him, so he had to walk through mass with everyone praying and staring at him to come sit behind me and ask me how many bananas to buy.  Melissa and I tried not to laugh at how ridiculous it was.

chicken feet

Melissa and I help out at the local soup kitchen at lunch time whenever we have time.  we serve food and do dishes, and then afterwards we eat whatever is left over from serving lunch.  Usually the ladies that work there tend to save the best parts of the chicken or extra rice or something for the five of us that work there so while Melissa and I at times feel guilty we appreciate being included. 

they´ve recently had an income problem so the food has been a bit simpler, which we don´t mind.  the women are very good cooks and we´ve learned quite a bit from them.  However, on friday of this week they made chicken soup from the feet and innards.  the soup itself was very good, however neither Melissa nor I are gizzard fans. 

They taught us how to eat chicken feet.  I got into a bit of an argument with one of the ladies because I swore that the thing she was telling me to eat wasn´t meat (it wasn´t) and she said it was.  we take the skin off, she says, it´s carne.  I picked off what I could find, but it was not much.  they also gave Melissa the liver, which neither of us like so I refused to help her by eating it.  they also served us this part of the chicken which is an organ that assists with grinding up the grain the chicken eats?  I don´t remember the name in english or spanish, but everyone here thinks it´s tan rico (except melissa and me).  Melissa had three of these things and I had two.  she shoved her´s off on the husband of one of the women, along with her liver and then I told her that she had to eat at least one, just to try it, so I gave her one of mine and forced her to eat it.  I ate mine too.  I´m just not a fan.  it´s chewy and a bit slimy and not with the best flavor.  Melissa and I preferred the big hunks of celery that they don´t eat here but put in soup for seasoning and then throw out.  celery is not common here.  it was tasty. 

the ladies at the soup kitchen think we´re nuts.  but in a good way.  at they appreciate the way we will at least try new things, even if we don´t like them.

vacay!

Paul came to visit me!  we went to quito. 

we went to the guayasamin museum and the capilla del hombre.  we went to the equator (both).  we went to otavalo.  we went into every church we could find.  we rode the teleferiqo.  we stayed in a nice hostel with a kitchen so we could cook and have fridge space and save lots of money.  we did pretty much everything I wanted to do in Quito.  and were well rested, though paul does not think that vacation requires getting up at 7am so you can be there when stuff opens and avoid lines.  I think he´d like going on vacation with cali.  it was fun. 

I´m excited for mom and dad and paul to come in may and see my life here.  I think it´ll be fun.

futbol vs football

yesterday, as you may or may not know, was the superbowl.  I didn´t know until thursday, when our visitor from the states who was here to give us a retreat this weekend asked if we could be home from the beach in time to see it.  we were. 

we went to a sports bar in a fancy mall in guayaquil to watch the game.  we were there for over four hours and each purchased only a drink and a dessert (some people even shared their dessert) and generally confused the staff by asking for crayons and coloring pages and yelling loudly at the tv in english.  they were not unhappy when the game ended. 

Emelec, a guayaquil futbol team, had a game at the same time, as did some argentinian team, so for the first half we listened to the sound from the futbol while watching the football.  an interesting experience.  we asked the staff three times to change the sound so we could hear springsteen play and they eventually caved, success!  our visitor from the states is from pittsburgh, so it was a totally successful evening.  it was as fun as a superbowl can be when you don´t have nachos.