Going with the flow

The wedding
Saturday night was the wedding I had mentioned before. The wedding was for a couple of the church that has been together for years but decided to make their relationship and family official through matrimony. Well, the wedding was considered a success in typical Ecuadorian fashion.

The ceremony was scheduled to begin at 8. There were about 6 guests seated by 8. Gradually, more and more trickled in, but the bride was yet to arrive. So, while we waited, we passed the time by singing a few songs, just like every other wedding you’ve ever attended.

Around 9:30, the bride and her wedding party pulled up. The anticipation of the arrival of the bride was through the roof. Just the thought that the bride was actually outside the door caused my host dad to jump start the play button on the boom-box which began to play the traditional song to march the bride down the aisle. However, the recording my host dad had found was only a 15 second clip of the song. 15 seconds was not nearly enough time for the bride to enter the church. There was nothing else to do but hit the repeat button. 15 seconds later…still no bride…repeat.

With each repeat of the song, the guests held up their cameras ready to capture the first picture. The cameraman held up his camera to record the entrance on film, but still, no bride. 5 repeats of “here comes the bride” later, the bride entered the door. The whole scene was incredibly comical. I can say I have never seen such a prolonged beginning to a ceremony. The other half of the guest arrived to the ceremony after the vows had been said! And that was only the beginning…

The ceremony was followed by a reception back at the house of the bride and groom. I was showed to a seat next to the bride and groom at what appeared to be the head table. Strewn about the tables were candies, hand made by the bride the day before. Everyone sat, mingled, ate candy, and offered their best wishes to the bride and groom. There was a large, metallic, fake cake on the center table. I had no idea how important the traditional presence of a large, tiered wedding cake is across all cultures. We never ate cake, just took pictures with the bride and groom next to the fake cake with the, also traditional, figurine of the bride and groom on top.

Time passed, and I took the whole experience in. Nearing midnight, I was expecting that we were about ready to go, when the women began carrying dinner plates into the house. I asked what the plates were for and, of course, was told they were for dinner. How could I expect to be invited into an Ecuadorian’s home for a grand party and not be served a home cooked meal!? After eating a meal comparable to Thanksgiving Day and trying to catch the bride’s bouquet out in the street, we were ready to leave. Empty handed? Never! Each guest left with their own figure of a bride and groom cake topper and a box with a piece of fruit bread, also homemade by the bride for her guests on her wedding day. The wedding was so different than any you could imagine, but still a wedding all the same.

Ecua-napped
Ecua-napping is yet another term I have learned to understand since I have been in Ecuador. It is common to take off with the family for the day as one of their own and have no idea as to when you will return. Some volunteer friends of mine have been Ecua-napped for whole days at a time, taken out of the city to spend the day with extended family and such. I experienced a more minor napping on Sunday afternoon.

My host parents told me they were going to go to the mall to do some grocery shopping. The malls here have Wal-mart like stores within in them. I told them I was up for a Sunday afternoon trip to the mall, and so we went.

Well, I thought, just a little grocery shopping and then we’ll come back, in time for me to get some lesson planning time in. We left Alfonso, my host dad, in the food court with his new HP laptop. It’s his latest pride and joy and you’re able to connect to wireless Internet in the new shopping mall (the pride and joy of citizens of Machala). While he played around on his new computer, Lourdes, my host mom, and I strolled the aisles of the grocery store. We strolled forever, up and down every aisle…”for the exercise” my mom said.

Two hours later we left the grocery store. My host sister and her husband live right next to the mall and my parents never pass up a chance to see their daughter, which they manage to avoid doing every day of the week. We were going to stop by just for a few minutes, enough time for me to get a tour of the house. A few minutes turned in to over an hour long visit! After leaving Marietta’s house, my parents asked if I minded making a quick stop at a friend’s house.

I am never falling for the “quick stop” line again. I have already been fooled by this idea, but played right into their hands again. Our quick stop evolved into a dinner invitation. Lucky for us, we came by just in time for a crab dinner! Crab is extremely cheap here on the coast, so it was not the first time I had eaten it. Three hours of visiting, eating, and visiting some more, my parents decided it was time to come home. I was exhausted and went straight to bed. Needless to say, my lesson plans are suffering this week!

I don’t know how they do it. My parents are night owls. They are extremely involved in their church’s activities. They are out every night of the week. Sometimes I hear them come home, other times I’m asleep. They must not go to bed until 1am and they awake at 5am every morning!

Going to Cuenca for the weekend. Cuenca is supposed to be a beautiful historic city located in the highlands. Time to get away from the heat and humidity of Machala for a few days. This weekend there are festivals throughout the city celebrating Cuenca´s independence from Spain. That means no work Monday for me!

Happy Birthday Laura! I was so happy to speak to each and every one of you at the good ol´ family birthday dinner last night. My host sister and her husband, the ones who got the introductions via camera, were incredibly excited. They are on a mission to help find me a camera to set up on the computer here! She thinks they´re not too expensive. Hope not. Technology here tends to be double the price of what it is at home. I love you all and can´t wait to family Skype again! Next birthday...? Gramma?