Viva Ibarra
Wow. Lots of crazy stuff going on in Ibarra.
First things first. The rooster story. So last time I was in Ibarra I was intrigued and delighted to see that my family had two roosters as pets. I was less thrilled when said roosters proclaimed their exitence with rambunctious deliverences of cockadooldledoos every morning at 4AM. Thus when I returned to Ibarra a week ago I inquired as to the health and well being of the roosters. You can imagine my suprise when my host brother commented, ¨Oh well we are having them for dinner tonight.¨Thus Kane now can chalk up roosters as things that have been processed by my liver. As for the taste? The best way to describe it is that it tasted instinctually like chicken-that is to say that the increased toughness of the meat really made me feel in touch with my early caveman roots directly accessed by way of my forehead to my tastebuds. After finishing my delicious dinner I was super excited about the possibillity of a non 4AM wake up call. Unfortunately our neighbors also have roosters and my exhilaration was very short lived as sure enough 4AM rolled along and viola! COCKAFRICKINGDOODLEDOO.
Speaking of animals, my house in Ibarra runs a regular zoo and I LOVE it. We have two cats, five kittens, and two dogs. The kittens are a month old and very cute. If anyone out there in cyber land cares for some cute little kitties just hop on a flight to quito, travel north until you hit ibarra, turn right at the stop light and look for all the native ecuadorians staring at the weird white dude. We have a little calico one, a gray one, multi'colored wonder, a boring black and white, and then the little runt of the group blackie/shadow/midnight-guess what color he is-who also possesses startling blue eyes. One of our two dogs is a one month old perrito. He is pretty cute aside from the whole unimaginable ability to whine all night. Needless to say I have not been sleeping serenely. He is getting better however with the whining and is very cute. The other harsh reality of Ibarra is the non-existence of hot water for showers. Really tough scene at times. The water also turn off after ten o´clock so I am now accustomed to sneaking in my teeth brushing immediately after dinner.
My host parents in Ibarra are so money. My mom, Ceci, is from Ibarra, and my dad, Sylverio, is from Spain. Aside from good old Washington St. homestyle, and Ally B´s assortment of delights, Ceci´s food is some of the best in the world. Today we had delicious carrot soup as an appetizer, followed by Tilapia like fish served on a bed of rice mixed with lettuce with fresh avocado mixed in. Absolutely D-lish. The fruits, vegetables, and bread in Ecuador is absolutely outstanding-as long as you bust out the Vitalin to prevent a case of the runs. The freshness is amazing and smells are truly amazing. Much much MUCH better food than my seventh grade trip to Costa Rica. during which I returned pale and frail half scaring my whole family.
Ibarra is the frist place I have really seen the hardships of a third world country up close and personal. In the Big City you dont see as much some of the harsh realities. For example, a couple days ago I stopped in a local Papeleria to get some copies done for my classroom. I was greeted by a pleasant young woman and we exchanged pleasantries. After a couple of minutes of easy silence the woman broke into her life story out of nowhere. Basically she had been well off with a great husband and three kids when some bogus medical advice induced severe loss of all her body hair-on her head, eyebrows, crotch, (she´s telling me all of this) Everywhere. So after she loses her mamillian coat, her husband freaks out and kicks her and the kids out of the house. Thus the husband lives in a swanky mansion while she and the kids live above the papeleria in complete poverty. However, Thanks to God her hair miraculously started to grow back and she is now convinced that her husband will receive retribution as he well should. Absolutely some of the strangest, most awe-inspiring, and interesting moments of my life. Imagine walking into a place of business at 8:00 in the morning and hearing such a tale. And the aftermath? After she finished her story she thanked me vigorously for listening with such intentness and gave me a hug and about ten free copies (2 cents per page). The earnestness with which she thanked me for listening struck me as amazing, endearing, and wonderful. In the words of our lovely Minnesota native ¨I am definitely not in Kansas anymore.¨However, I dont find myself scouring the planet for some red shoes. I am definitely having a wonderful time.
This weekend marks the end of the Fiestas De Ibarra. Tomorrow is the Caseria de los Zorros, or ¨Hunting of the Fox,¨that sounds like an awesome time. Basically each year one man (last year´s winner) dresses up as a fox-eye paint, bushy tail, black clothing- the whole nine, and leads a parade through the city streets followed by various Ibarra natives. Everyone is mounted on horseback. After the parade through the streets, and as soon as they hit the countryside, the fox takes off and everyone else-practically the whole town-chase after him on horseback toward a lagoon about 2 miles away. At the lagoon, someone finally catches the zorros and then everybody domes themselves and starts dancing. Should be pretty crazy.
Stay tuned for an update on the caseria, as well as a description of the school I am teaching at, CECAMI. Thanks for reading.
Kane
First things first. The rooster story. So last time I was in Ibarra I was intrigued and delighted to see that my family had two roosters as pets. I was less thrilled when said roosters proclaimed their exitence with rambunctious deliverences of cockadooldledoos every morning at 4AM. Thus when I returned to Ibarra a week ago I inquired as to the health and well being of the roosters. You can imagine my suprise when my host brother commented, ¨Oh well we are having them for dinner tonight.¨Thus Kane now can chalk up roosters as things that have been processed by my liver. As for the taste? The best way to describe it is that it tasted instinctually like chicken-that is to say that the increased toughness of the meat really made me feel in touch with my early caveman roots directly accessed by way of my forehead to my tastebuds. After finishing my delicious dinner I was super excited about the possibillity of a non 4AM wake up call. Unfortunately our neighbors also have roosters and my exhilaration was very short lived as sure enough 4AM rolled along and viola! COCKAFRICKINGDOODLEDOO.
Speaking of animals, my house in Ibarra runs a regular zoo and I LOVE it. We have two cats, five kittens, and two dogs. The kittens are a month old and very cute. If anyone out there in cyber land cares for some cute little kitties just hop on a flight to quito, travel north until you hit ibarra, turn right at the stop light and look for all the native ecuadorians staring at the weird white dude. We have a little calico one, a gray one, multi'colored wonder, a boring black and white, and then the little runt of the group blackie/shadow/midnight-guess what color he is-who also possesses startling blue eyes. One of our two dogs is a one month old perrito. He is pretty cute aside from the whole unimaginable ability to whine all night. Needless to say I have not been sleeping serenely. He is getting better however with the whining and is very cute. The other harsh reality of Ibarra is the non-existence of hot water for showers. Really tough scene at times. The water also turn off after ten o´clock so I am now accustomed to sneaking in my teeth brushing immediately after dinner.
My host parents in Ibarra are so money. My mom, Ceci, is from Ibarra, and my dad, Sylverio, is from Spain. Aside from good old Washington St. homestyle, and Ally B´s assortment of delights, Ceci´s food is some of the best in the world. Today we had delicious carrot soup as an appetizer, followed by Tilapia like fish served on a bed of rice mixed with lettuce with fresh avocado mixed in. Absolutely D-lish. The fruits, vegetables, and bread in Ecuador is absolutely outstanding-as long as you bust out the Vitalin to prevent a case of the runs. The freshness is amazing and smells are truly amazing. Much much MUCH better food than my seventh grade trip to Costa Rica. during which I returned pale and frail half scaring my whole family.
Ibarra is the frist place I have really seen the hardships of a third world country up close and personal. In the Big City you dont see as much some of the harsh realities. For example, a couple days ago I stopped in a local Papeleria to get some copies done for my classroom. I was greeted by a pleasant young woman and we exchanged pleasantries. After a couple of minutes of easy silence the woman broke into her life story out of nowhere. Basically she had been well off with a great husband and three kids when some bogus medical advice induced severe loss of all her body hair-on her head, eyebrows, crotch, (she´s telling me all of this) Everywhere. So after she loses her mamillian coat, her husband freaks out and kicks her and the kids out of the house. Thus the husband lives in a swanky mansion while she and the kids live above the papeleria in complete poverty. However, Thanks to God her hair miraculously started to grow back and she is now convinced that her husband will receive retribution as he well should. Absolutely some of the strangest, most awe-inspiring, and interesting moments of my life. Imagine walking into a place of business at 8:00 in the morning and hearing such a tale. And the aftermath? After she finished her story she thanked me vigorously for listening with such intentness and gave me a hug and about ten free copies (2 cents per page). The earnestness with which she thanked me for listening struck me as amazing, endearing, and wonderful. In the words of our lovely Minnesota native ¨I am definitely not in Kansas anymore.¨However, I dont find myself scouring the planet for some red shoes. I am definitely having a wonderful time.
This weekend marks the end of the Fiestas De Ibarra. Tomorrow is the Caseria de los Zorros, or ¨Hunting of the Fox,¨that sounds like an awesome time. Basically each year one man (last year´s winner) dresses up as a fox-eye paint, bushy tail, black clothing- the whole nine, and leads a parade through the city streets followed by various Ibarra natives. Everyone is mounted on horseback. After the parade through the streets, and as soon as they hit the countryside, the fox takes off and everyone else-practically the whole town-chase after him on horseback toward a lagoon about 2 miles away. At the lagoon, someone finally catches the zorros and then everybody domes themselves and starts dancing. Should be pretty crazy.
Stay tuned for an update on the caseria, as well as a description of the school I am teaching at, CECAMI. Thanks for reading.
Kane
posted by ecuadortraveler at 2:23 PM
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