Great run with Anyel through the park.
The best omelet I've ever made myself. Onions, mushrooms, sharp cheddar cheese, fresh tomatoes, green onions, ham, bit of pepper, bit of salt... mmmmmm.
Haircut--$6, and exactly what I wanted. Lots of layers, but I kept the length so it'll continue to grow out. Probably the lowest maintenance hairstyle I've ever had.
I walked to Laura's to drink tea and watch the end of a Bourne movie, and to get HARRY POTTER! A girl in our group bought it here, and we've passed it around the group. I'm number 4 to be reading it, and I'm loving it.
Friday night we met Cris Lanas, great young woman who was in my tour group in las Galápagos, at the Coffee Tree before we went to Mo Vida to dance the night away. Her birthday is Monday, and she invited a bunch of friends to go dancing on Friday to celebrate. Needless to say, I had a great time!
SATURDAY:
We woke up early to take advantage of a full day in La Merced, which is a little rural part of Ecuador to the north of Quito. Michita, Marcelo's sister, turned 55 on Saturday, so the whole Cevallos crew was at their country home in La Merced. It's an absolutely beautiful place with avocado trees, a great big cement outdoor oven, beautiful gardening, and a neat view of the rural country.
I met all but one of Marcelo's siblings, and just about all of the extended cousins and nieces and nephews were there.
I spent the first hour or so talking to Grandpa Jorge about US history--he gave me a lesson on the abolitionists (I didn't dare tell him that I've taken a class on the 20s and 30s), and then made me guess the ages of everyone that arrived. He's one of my favorite people here.
The next couple of hours were spent cooking with Diana, Lupe, Grandma Michita, and a couple of the cousins. We made empanadas, guacamole, sausage with pig intestines, and then I went back outside to watch the men cook the rest of the pig.
There's a very similar machismo cooking rule here--the women are inside cooking while the men are outside with the meat and the barbeque and the beer. Funny. So, naturally, I spent the rest of the time outside with the men!
There were some family members with guitars and love for music, so we hooked up an amp and a microphone and had a private serenade! It was great to hear some of the "classics" in spanish, and really fun to see people spontaneously break into song or dance.
I ate way too much, but had a great time speaking spanish all day and meeting some new family. There were three generations of friendly people with great humor and lots of family pride. I'm now offically introduced as a sister or daughter, instead of an exchange student from the US. And I like it.
No comments:
Post a Comment