Feliz Dia de San Valentin!

Okay, so I'm a little behind with this blogging stuff...but long story short, I left my computer charger at my field site the other day and now I'm in my homestay. So, things have been a little bit crazy.

Anyway, I spent the majority of Valentine's Day at my field site, of course. As soon as I walked in the door, I was handed some paint and asked to turn a handful of girls into clowns for some Valentine's Day activity. After that, I spent the morning being treated to a variety of powerpoint presentations, skits, dances, songs, games, and more from all the girls at the house. Their talent is incredible! It was so fun to just sit back and watch them display their special talents. All the social workers and police officers were there, so we got to enjoy the show like one big family of women. So fun. After that we sang together and listened to a new song meant to empower women who have been trafficked. I'm able to eat lunch with the girls, which is wonderful because that means I get to enjoy a free hot meal every day. However, it can be tough to eat there because I'm not entirely sure if the food is prepared for gringos--meaning, all the produce needs to be cleaned correctly and the water must be pure or boiled, not just from the tap. So we'll see how that goes.

After lunch I had lots of time to do my workshop, which was about the United States. I talked about each region of the country and showed lots of pictures while answering the girls' many questions about my country. After that we talked a little bit about similarities and differences between the U.S. and Ecuador. Once I was finished with everything I had prepared, they wanted to hear American music. And to see me dance to American music. So, I put on some itunes and we had a gringa dance party. Overall, the day was really rewarding--I've connected with a number of the girls and some of them couldn't believe I wasn't coming back until Monday. In fact, I even stayed past five, when I'm supposed to leave!


That night I raced home to turn in my graduate school application and quickly change into a skirt for our classy dinner at the boys' apartment. The guys wanted to make us feel special, and they sure did! We encountered rose petals and candles on the stairs up to the apartment and were treated to a three course meal by five dapper young men. After dessert, the evening's entertainment was a choreographed dance by the guys. It was hysterical! They did such a great job of spoiling us for that night. Although of course, I would have loved it even more if it was my own husband who I was sharing a candlelight dinner with!