Quito, Ecuador
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January 1, 1999
Quito, Ecuador |
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So now that you know my pet peeves about the educational system, let's move on to lighter subjects. Last night was New Year's Eve, and I was reminded of two more very Ecua-things. The first is peeing on the street. There is a lack of public bathrooms (a guide book refers to Quito as "the city of 200 churches and 2 bathrooms"), but there is also an overwhelming willingness on the part of men to just whip it out any old place, at any old time. Whenever the urge strikes. I guess it's part of the 'family-feeling' you get here. This is something that you will definitely see a lot of. The other is the lack of babysitting done here. Whenever Mom and Dad go, the kids go. And when it gets late, that the little ones start to fade, they carry them. And carry them. And carry them. How the adults of this country don't have major back problems, I'll never know. In a fiesta-like atmosphere like last night, when everyone was strolling up and down Amazonas (a major avenue) looking at the Años Viejos (I'll explain in a second) and dancing and drinking, there were tons of kids asleep in their mothers' arms or on their fathers' shoulders, slumped over to one side. The indigenous women have got it all figured out - they strap their kids to their backs with a blanket. From about 10 years old, you will see girls with their little siblings bound tightly to their backs. OK, so New Year's Eve, Quito-style. For about a week, people have been making and selling Años Viejos. They are what we would call scarecrows - old clothes stuffed with newspapers and topped with elaborate masks of prolific political figures. On the 31st, they are positioned outside of the house in poses, and at midnight they are all piled together and burned. The symbolism is clear - they are burning the bad of the previous year, and the bad is almost totally blamed on the politicians. At about 12:15 this morning, you could look down from our hill above Quito and see 2 or 3 fires about every block. The place still smells like smoke today! They also set off fireworks - usually unsupervised children - and jump over the bonfire of burning effigies to leave the bad luck of the year behind. You've also supposed to eat 12 grapes and put on yellow underwear at midnight for good luck, but we didn't do that here. The center of the celebration, at least early in the night, is La Avenida Amazonas. All along the street are elaborate scenes depicting the good and bad of the year (with the años viejos) - this year there were tons of Clinton and Lewinsky, lots of references to corruption, and of course lots of references to the peace treaty with Peru - none of them positive. There was one that was the funeral of Ecuador (insinuating that the loss of land to Peru was a mortal wound), one that was two big skeletons shaking hands - insinuating that the peace between Ecuador and Peru is the reason that the economic situation is so bad. At about 10 p.m., I cam home from Amazonas to a raging dance party upstairs. Christian and his friends has also done home, because the actual arrival of the New Year is spent with the family. You can dance and drink all you want with your friends until 10 or 11, but you must be in the house to dar el abrazo at midnight. Upstairs in the apartment of the abuela were about 12 people (grown-ups) and a zillion kids with the furniture pushed against the wall and the music cranked all the way up. Even the abuela was drinking and dancing. At midnight, we stopped dancing, burned the años viejos, hugged, ate an enormous turkey dinner and then went back to dancing. By 3:30 a.m. everyone was hammered, and I finally retired. The party upstairs kept going - even the abuela - until 5 a.m. Needless to say, they are moving slowly and painfully today. I took lots of pictures of all of this, I'll send them to you. It looks like my second session of classes will finish March 19, and I will likely have 3 or 4 weeks off. Make your plans as you will, but plan to be here for at least 10 days - 2 weeks would be better. It's a tiny country, but has a lot to offer. In case you had forgotten the things I had considered doing with you guys, they are the following: a few full days in Quito to see the sights and meet the people, a Friday night and Saturday in Otavalo, a day trip to La Mitad del Mundo (the equator), a few days in Baños soaking in the natural baths (and a possible day-trip into the jungle), a few days in Cuenca (we could fly there from Quito - only ½ hour by plane, but 10 hours in a cold bus!) and lots of dancing! Also, you might want to look up Loja in your book to see if it interests you. I've never been, but it's supposed to be beautiful. OK, I'm outta here. This letter has got to end somewhere! Love, 
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