NYE Ecua Style

Happy 2011 Everyone!

I can't believe that it's 2011 and that for all but 19 days, we've spent that whole year living in Ecuador. 2010 was a really great, really rewarding, really teaching, and really challenging year. I learned a ton about myself, about Ryan, about a new culture, about love and friendship and about growing up. And honestly, I'm so excited for 2011. We have a lot to see and do here in Ecuador, then we'll be home in IL for 4 months and then off to some place else to do everything all over again. How could I not be excited?



As for what we did last night... Well NYE in Ecuador is quite different than NYE in the USA. Here, it's a family holiday, until Midnight at least. Ryan and I went with Sarah and Corine to Amazonas to see these puppet things. They were quite strange, to be honest. There were a lot of people just walking up and down Amazonas in herds. It was, well, Ecuadorian.

Then Ryan and I came back to our place. Ryan fed Chuki and got our stuff together, while I napped. I'm still feeling like crap, thank you Elliott. We went over to Sarah and Corine's around 8 or so and had a little party with the girls and Christine and Patricio. (You may remember Christine from a few months back. She was my running buddy. She's come back to Ecuador for holiday!)

Anyways, I went to bed around 9pm and they woke me up around 10:30. We watched all of the fireworks being lit off by the neighbors. Then around 11:45 we made our way outside to light on fire a puppet that we had made (by we, I mean Sarah and Corine). Now everyone makes a puppet, you almost have to. And everyone goes out in the street to light it on fire at midnight. So we did to. Then when the puppet is smoldering you have to jump over it. Interesting. There were also people who ran around the block with full backpacks, as part of some tradition.

We also broke out some bottles of cheap champagne on the street. We took photos. We jumped over the puppet. We watched fireworks on every single side of us. We lit sparklers and fireworks, of our own. We sang Auld Lang Syne in a circle with our hands crossed, like they do in Britain. And we kissed. I believe we covered all present traditions.

Then we went back inside. 2011 was rung in with great friends, good conversations, and (for everyone else) decent beverages! I fell back asleep around 1 and then we hopped in a taxi around 2:30 to come home.

It was a great NYE! Relaxed, full of laughter and friendship and silly fun! I hope everyone else had a fantastic and fun filled NYE as well!

MULUB,
Taylor