Ñaño’s Visit

So my ñaño is my brother, Brennan. I have called him Ñaño since I studied abroad in the Spring of 2008. My host family always would ask me about my Ñaño, so when I got home I started always calling him that. Anyway, after anxiously anticipating his arrival all holiday season, Sunday night, December 27th at 1:30am, Bren began his Ecuadorian adventure.

Brennan slept in late on Monday and then we eventually got up and went over to la Mitad del Mundo…the equator monument museum. We went to the “real equator” museum, which was my first time so it was interesting and cool. They do a bunch of demonstrations and such which is fun. Then we went to the mall, bought bus tickets, and by midnight we were on the bus to the beach! Of course Bren was really excited about this one, but hey, you’ve got to relish every moment. By 6:30am we were taking a nap in the hostel and then heading out to Atacames beach. Brennan, Laura, and I mainly just enjoyed hanging out on the beach, drinking lots of batidos (fruit milkshakes), and dancing the night away! Oh and playing lots of Cuarenta (Forty), an awesome Ecuadorian card game.

After 2 full days on the beach, we took another over night bus back to Quito in order to ring in the New Year here! Once again we napped for the morning then ventured out to the movie store to by some pirated films before heading over to a friend, Cristina Gomez’s house. We took a couple buses and got to see a lot of the city with all the viudas (men dressed up as women begging for money - it’s tradition here) and all the dolls ready to be burned for later. (A lot of people make stuffed dolls representing some person or thing that the doll’s owner wants to forget about or burn away to start fresh the New Year. Then at midnight there are big bonfires of the dolls in the streets.) Anyway, we got to the Gomez’s just in time to have dinner and have a couple drinks. Then we all went down to the center of their neighborhood in the South of Quito to dance and hang out. At midnight, all the dolls were burned and everyone tried to eat 12 grapes in 12 seconds for good luck….I took pictures of it all instead and only got 3 grapes down! We ended up staying out dancing until around 3am - all of us “kids,” but also Mr. and Mrs. Gomez (he’s one of the original working boys and a director at the CMT) and also Cristina’s grandpa! It was a lot of fun. We then all crashed in their house for the night and got up and left as soon as buses were going again.

With only a week to travel, Brennan and I were off again. Right from the Gomez’s we headed to the bus station in order to catch a bus to Baños. Being January 1st, a lot of buses weren’t running so we had to go through another town and then join this group of people begging a bus to take us to Baños. Despite the bit of difficulty and being exhausted, Ñaño and I made it there for $3.50 by 3:30pm and with no big problems. We were starving though as we still hadn’t eaten all day, so we dropped off our stuff at the hostel and got food. Not wanting to miss anything, we also did the hike up to the Virgin of Agua Santa and then Brennan joined in on some basketball in the park for a little while. Needless to say we were very tired by the end of the day though, so we went to a bar for a little while to see the end of the Rose Bowl and then were in bed by about 10pm!

Saturday we rode bikes to the waterfalls…my third time this year, but still so enjoyable! It is absolutely gorgeous, and with Bren we stopped at every waterfall to get a picture! At Machay, a huge waterfall, we both got totally soaked, but it was so worth it and so cool. We got home exhausted and then took showers and took our time getting ready to go. Then we had an amazing steak dinner at this cute French restaurant, that I also went to with Mom and Dad, and once again heading home to play some cards. Another action packed day and a quiet night, followed by another morning where we got up to do another hike up the cross before heading home. (We definitely got out exercise in!) The bus ride home was smooth with great scenery, not a cloud in the sky so we could see the snow covered mountains!

Monday morning school started back up again and now with Brennan here to experience it all. Brennan didn’t skip out on a class in his week and a half of shadowing, so I was pretty impressed. We had especially fun with the little guys in La Marin. Brennan made a “mejor amigo” (best friend) in a week with a 5 year old named Oscar. I don’t think Oscar will stop asking about him for a while. So adorable (see picture on the side). Brennan also loved the bakery classes and made some more amigos there. I really love these adults a lot too; they are so genuine and nice to talk with. We’ve also had students from Le Moyne College in New York and Loyola Marymount University in California visiting here all week, so a lot of them have been shadowing me around too. It’s definitely been busy, but cool to see other people connecting with the Center kids and opening their eyes and hearts to a totally new culture and way of life. (And showing me how much I really love short term missions…hmmm) I’ve loved all the questions, most of which I don’t have answers to, and being stimulated again into thinking about what I am doing here and also the injustice which leads to the Working Boys’ Center’s existence. (aka the fact that almost all of my students have to work out on the streets and therefore need to be able to only go to school for a half day and get all their basic needs provided for)

Last weekend once again Brennan and I didn’t stop to rest….we’re young! We got up early Saturday morning and went to Mindo, the cloud forest about 2 hours away. We were planning on staying the night, but decided to pack it all in to a day. We did a zip line canopy tour which was fun and walked the long path to get there. Then after eating a late lunch, we rented an ATV for the last hour before taking a bus back to Quito. So fun! I definitely need some practice driving, but Bren did a good job and after it started raining we got SO dirty riding back on the very muddy path. We snuck into a bathroom to change our clothes though and put the dirty ones inside out so they would let us on the bus! I can’t wait to go back and do it again. We didn’t even get home that late and had time to hang out with some of the visitors and relax a bit.

Then Sunday, we had another jammed pack day of seeing all the historical sites of Quito with my Ecuadorian sisters, Diana and Jenny (and Ernesto and Cynthia). We went to the wax museum, the “ghetto” goods market, the Panacillo, the big cathedral, and walked a lot! We also had a delicious lunch and big ice cream cones too! After which, we of course had to go to their house so Maria Luisa could serve us dinner and make sure we left with full tummies. I absolutely love this family - they are a big reason that I came back to live in this country. They are so genuine, giving, and honestly care for me like I’m one of their own. I’m glad my brother got to meet them for a little bit too.

Brennan’s visit concluded with more classes and hanging out with all the little friends he had made. A highlight was on Tuesday when only 2 of my first grade boys showed up on time for class. We decided to take them over to the mall to reward them for this. This was Oscar’s first time ever going there and Elvis’s second. They were so adorable and amazed. The escalator and elevator were such novelties and they almost couldn’t eat their food just watching the elevator. When we finally got on, Oscar just kept saying “que miedo” (how scary), but in a happy, loving it way! There is nothing better than seeing such joy in small things.

I don’t think I have spent so much time with my brother in years, but it was great to have him here and to have him experience a little bit of my Ecua life. I think he truly learned what “cada dia, una aventura” means as even with the routine I have, no day is alike. It will be good for me to really get organized now again for a little bit, and then I can’t wait for Mom and Dad to be here in March! I love having visitors…and you know you can stay here for free! So come! :)

Love you all!
God bless,
Taylor