Homestay weekend.

I'm sitting here in Sweet and Coffee after field, ready to update you about this past weekend with my host family. On Saturday I went for a run around the park, which was really nice but hard with the hills. No matter where you go in Quito, you are going up or down a hill (or so it seems). Thankfully the altitude doesn't bother me, otherwise I'd really be struggling!

Once I got back I was able to use the morning to prepare the next English lesson and Tuesday's workshop on stress management (last week we did goal-setting and Internet safety). We went to my host aunt and uncle's house for a lunch of fanesca, a traditional Ecuadorian soup eaten only during Lent. The soup has a ton of stuff in it, including six grains (Ecuadorians love their grains), a hard boiled egg, a little empanada, plantain, beans, potatoes, and salted dried fish. It's pretty good, but different because the grains and beans aren't really cooked all the way. Here's a picture:

After fanesca we had dessert and enjoyed each other's company for a long time. I've learned that Ecuadorians relax by spending a lot of time together as a family, and that it's pretty much expected that there will be a lot of family time every weekend. I think this is a super great custom that we need more of in the States; however, it can be really draining for me. I'm spending the whole day hanging out with a family I don't know all that well and there are a bunch of people speaking Spanish, often all at once. It's easier to speak Spanish in smaller groups, but when there are several conversations going it's exhausting. We stayed there for something like six hours. Needless to say, I was so tired!

But family time wasn't over! We had planned to go to a different host aunt's house to celebrate her daughter's birthday at 7:30pm, but that turned into after 8:30pm. Time just doesn't really matter in this family. I'm told a time, but we never do anything until an hour and a half or two hours later. Everybody knows and has agreed upon the time, but for some reason nobody gets around to honoring it. So that's been another cultural challenge for me, as I never know what's going on and when we'll be back. Anyway, we celebrated with coffee, cheese (with caramel on it--Ecuadorians eat cheese like it's a dessert, and even put it in their hot chocolate. And folks, I really don't even like the cheese here!), bread, and cake. 

On Sunday I found out that morning that we were going fishing with the grandkids. So, we piled in the car and headed back out to the country. This time we climbed in elevation, so it was cold and windy! But so, so beautiful. We enjoyed the llamas (who make sounds like birds! Who knew?) for awhile before the kids got to fishing trucha, which is a little fish whose name I don't know in English. Once they had caught enough, we had a small lunch of choclo with cheese, habas (beans, including lima beans), and little empanadas. After that we headed back to Quito with a gorgeous view to enjoy. Life in the country is so fascinating--people just live out by themselves, farming a few crops way up on a mountain. A lot of the fields are planted on such steep mountainsides that you wonder how people work them. There's laundry hanging to dry on the fence that holds the donkeys, horses and cows. So simple--so different from Quito and life in the States.

On the way back we took a detour through the new airport, which was moved after I got here. It's a lot farther than the old one, but supposedly safer because it's not situated smack in the middle of Quito. Sunday evening didn't consist of any plans, thank goodness--I needed some alone time and time to skype before starting another week. So there you have it! Less than a week left in my homestay now. Crazy!