Hasta Luego

I knew this was going to happen, I would get so wrapped up in activities here that our month would fly by and all of a sudden, I would have to figure out away to leave gracefully from my different schools and say goodbye to all the wonderful students I had the privilege of getting to know.

I decided to wrap up both my Spanish lessons and my volunteer position at San Jose this past week, and my CEDEI English class this Monday, as Phil and I need some time to visit both people and places here in Cuenca. As well, we need time to plan our next few adventures (some of which include Riobamba in the North, the Galapagos and a road trip down to Argentina!!).

On the left is a picture of the painting class/workshop were I spent most of my time at San Jose. Saying goodbye last week was bitter sweet. At one point, lines from my thesis were flying through my head as a small trauma was caused when saying goodbye to my good friend, German (in the blue plaid). German, generally, would sit next to me when we were painting and help me understand the conversation or at least try to make me feel a part of it, as I struggled to understand all the Spanish words flying around the active classroom. His warm hug in the morning (don’t worry my fellow teachers, a hug and a kiss is not only customary in this school among all staff and students but pretty much everyone you greet here in Cuenca!!), his understanding smile and our communal laughs over mixing paint colours or whatever will always be appreciated and remembered. Needless to say (and my thesis will confirm this) that the school and experience had a far greater impact on me then I probably did on them, but friendships are real and lasting and I can only feel grateful for the opportunity to get to know German, his fellow classmates (who are all individually amazing, and I could write so much more, but will not bore you at this time with the stories) and their professors in our paint workshop.

I know that Phil and I will stay in contact with our Spanish teacher, Julia, who has been an integral part of our time in Cuenca. Our English lessons with the children in her campo (country) community have also finished. We were able to fit in three classes with them, and Julia and I are looking for a teacher to take over next week. And finally, I will be able to wrap up my CEDEI class a little early when their replacement teacher joins me on Monday for the class/party (after a small quiz- I know, how nice). Here is a picture of a few of my students working on a (fun) reading assignment in the courtyard of the school.

Although our goodbyes have and will be hard as we leave this wonderful city, we have been so lucky to integrate ourselves in different facets of the community. And I really believe that it is not goodbye, but Hasta Luego.

Guitar Fabrication - Complete

On Friday, January 18, I finished building my guitar with Luis Uyaguari. It was an amazing feeling to put the strings on to the guitar and to listen to its first sounds. The guitar is a perfect souvenir to help me remember my time here in Cuenca. The sounds that it makes are full and bright, rich and clean, very warm and strong. This is a beautiful instrument. Mary and I are both excited to have it accompany us during the remainder of our trip and we laugh a little about how it will be transported from town to town. That Friday night when the guitar was finished, Luis and his family invited us over for dinner to celebrate. Uncles, aunts, grandmothers, daughters, nephews, mums, dads, kids, and friends were all there - all of the characters in this guitar making tale. It was a great way to compliment this unique experience. We drank wine and ate an extraordinarily large meal (Mary and I could barely move afterwards) and we all played music late into the evening. I will be visiting Luis randomly throughout our remaining time in Cuenca. I will also be creating a website for him to promote his beautiful guitars to a larger audience. We will remain good friends and both look forward to seeing each other in the future.

Weekend in the Campo

This weekend was the first time that we left the city since arriving in Cuenca on December 1st. On Saturday morning, Mary and I walked to meet Julia (Mary's teacher) and her husband at their house. We had made arrangements to visit their country home and drove for about 20 minutes outside of the city. When we arrived, we were reminded of how much we enjoy the fresh breeze and the calm sounds of the country. Their property was full of gardens and animals, trees and hills. We had a short breakfast (grilled plantains with ground peanuts and corn - costal dish) and we made our way to a small church to visit some children. We had purchased a few school supplies before leaving Cuenca (scissors, paper, markers, glue, etc) to donate during our visit. It was funny when we arrived, we were introduced to a group of parents as the english teachers from Canada and were shown to a small room in the community centre with 15 kids from the local area. The doors closed behind us, the kids stared at us, the two of us looked at each other with big smiles, realizing that we had to put together a lesson plan immediately. We spent 3 hours teaching these children english. We played a variety of games and sang songs; we left feeling very content with our impromtu teaching skills. We spent the rest of the afternoon with Julia and her husband, eating barbeque, listening to music, trading magic tricks and playing futball with some kids. We got a ride back to Cuenca with friend from the country home. That night we enjoyed a lovely dinner with Bob and Dorene from Canada.

This morning (Sunday) we woke up and went to the country home of Luis (my guitar maker) with his wife and son. Luis is from a small town about 40 km outside of Cuenca in a place called San Bartolome. It is a well-known village for guitar fabrication in Ecuador. There are 10 or 12 active guitar makers there. We visited the home where the family tradition began and wandered through the hills to a small farm where a family lived. We had brought some clothes and food. The 27 year-old woman had just had her 5th baby two days ago. The family was very pleasant and I was overwhelmed by their happiness. We spent some time with the kids who were building a pyrotechnical horse for the upcoming carnival in town. We left after a short time and climbed down the hill to the house where Luis grew up. It, at one time, housed eight brothers and sisters, including his mother and father. It may have been slightly bigger than 200 square feet. Afterwards, we climbed a steep hill that overlooked a town called Sigsig and we left around 3:30PM. On the way back to Cuenca, we visited a few small towns and when we were dropped off at our apartment, we thanked Luis and his family for the lovely day. Our weekend in the campo was beautiful. We will likely go back next weekend for another round of spontaneous english teaching.

Guitar Fabrication - Day 11

Today was the eleventh day working with Luis. The time has flown by and we have been following a fairly regular schedule. I usually arrive at his house at 8:30AM. We work until 1:00PM and then eat almuerzo (lunch) with the family. Gladys, Luis' wife, prepares a different soup, a meal with rice, meat and vegetables, and fresh fruit juice everyday. At 1:30PM we finish lunch and Luis takes a 1/2 hour siesta. I usually sit in the kitchen with Gladys and talk about many things for that 1/2 hour. What Canada is like for example, or what sort of things can be seen in the nearby National Park called Cajas, or why Ecuadorians use certain idioms in spanish. I enjoy my time with the family, they make me feel very at home. When Luis wakes up, we usually work until 4:30PM or so and I walk back down the hillside to our apartment. We have made lots of progress since my last write-up. As you can see in the picture, the guitar has been assembled (neck, sides, top, and bottom). Luis does not use any machines, everything is done by hand, and the assembly process is incredible. It requires tremendous patience and skill. Luis could do it with his eyes closed (38 years of experience). I am constantly impressed by his ability. Over the next week, we will be working on the bridge (where the strings are held on the soundboard) and the fretboard (where the strings are played). This portion of the fabrication process must be very precise in order for the guitar to have integrity. Yesterday, a friend of Luis' stopped by to measure my guitar. He is going to make a custom case for me. I am very excited for my guitar to be completed; I will however be quite sad when I say goodbye to Luis and his family.

My Schools

Life in Cuenca continues to treat us well, with opportunities to learn, experience new cultures and become involved with the community around every corner. This is especially true for me this week, as my daily routine has become whole. I have gotten myself involved with three different schools (I know big surprise). In the mornings, I am volunteering at an amazing school for children and adults with developmental disabilities. It reminds me of L’Arche communities, but within a school type format. The students take a variety of classes, many of which focus in the arts, but also math, reading, writing and an amazing baking class. They then sell their art and baked goods. I still have a lot to learn and figure out about how it all works, but for now I am busy trying to communicate and figure out where I am supposed to be and how I can be of some use.

I then head to Amauta, to continue my Spanish lessons with Julia, who is great and amazingly patient with me. I have a couple hours off to have lunch, do my homework and prepare for my third school, which is a paying job at CEDEI, a large English and Spanish school here in Cuenca. Right now, I am just teaching one English class for 75 minutes each day, to a group of five teenagers who are at an intermediate English level. I am enjoying the opportunity to use some of my teacher training and actually find it the easiest of the three (so far).

Phil continues to work on his guitar. The guitar is looking absolutely amazing - I guess I should have known we couldn’t be without a beautiful instrument for too long!

¡Feliz 2008!

We had a wonderful new year's day and a very interesting new year's eve. Our day involved lots of walking, and hanging out with Luis and his family in the guitar shop, which included an amazing jam session of Latin American music.

And now I will attempt to describe the evening activities (please see pictures for clarification and detail).
Traditionally, our New Years´ Eves involve family and friends, champagne and kisses at midnight. We typically reflect on the past year, and make resolutions to ensure a good new year. Similarly in Cuenca, people partake in rituals to guarantee a prosperous new year, from wearing new underwear, to eating 12 grapes for 12 wishes, to lighting different coloured candles that represent different good fortunes, to walking in and out of their homes with suitcases to ensure travel in the new year.

And the most interesting ritual, and the one that we most enjoyed, was the burning of the "años viejos"("old years"). These, are stuffed dummies constructed with paper, sawdust, wood and firecrackers that typically represent something significant that happened in the past year, which their creators wish to forget. These characters can be as simple as a small scarecrow with a mask and a name, to elaborate scenes with multiple characters, objects and messages. Some characters represented personal sorrow, while others were quite political in nature.. Around the old town, which is where we spent our night wondering around with some very attractive masks on, there were over 50 monuments. Throughout the night, mostly at midnight, they were set on fire, to music, dancing and drinking. We brought in the new year watching a scene that included the heads of Hugo Chavez (which Phil had the opportunity to wear, see picture), and the King and President of Spain explode to fireworks (which Phil helped to ignite). We then headed to another square that had turned their burning into a full on dance party of all ages, which we of course joined in on. We slowly made our way back to the apartment, knowing that the bar downstairs would be in full swing. The party lasted until 7 the next morning, but somehow we were able to catch a few zzz and had a very nice new year's day, which included Phil's famous egg's Benedict for brunch on the rooftop terrace. So far all of our rituals for a good new year have paid-off! We hope that your new year's eve celebrations were also a “blast”, and that the new year brings you peace and happiness.

Happy New Year (and happy birthday, mom)!!!