Alright so my number one fan and I think the only person reading this, my mom, asked me to talk about our Thanksgiving aka Dia de Gracias. Now, I’m sure all of you have this picture of two or three of us sitting on a dirt floor, eating pita shells wrapped in beans or rather beans wrapped in pita shells (the first would just be messy and pointless), dreaming of our lives back in the good ole US of A that were filled with Turkey and stuffing, football and watching Dad fall asleep on the couch. Well as a matter of fact we were able to cover all of these bases which even included yours truly filling the shoes of my father by falling asleep on the couch later in the night. The party turned out to be a great success with approx. 30 volunteers travelling from all over the country to meet in Loja. 
Unfortunately we weren’t able to watch any football on Thanksgiving day so mid-afternoon, before the feast, we all headed to Loja’s futbol stadium and organized a little pick up game of Omnibus 99 vs. some 97ers, Bolivians (aka former Peace Corps Bolivia volunteers who were expedited due to the civil war there, now we refer to them just as Bolivians) and Omnibus 100ers.
After football we all retired to the homes of the Loja volunteers to raid their kitchens and make all of our assigned dishes for the Turkey day potluck at our friend Jason’s “Space Station” apartment. The turkey, well turkey cutlets were cooked by our own resident chef (yes I said that correctly) and we stuffed our faces with the usual mashed potatoes, veggies and stuffing while we took in the beautiful view of the Loja skyline.
After dinner, and a brief nap on my part, we enjoyed all the benefits Jason’s house was equipped with. These included a huge rooftop deck and a mini night club in which we were able to dance off our Turkey comas.
The following day we all recovered a little bit from the previous nights party by heading to the river in my site, San Pedro de Vilcabamba. Then pretty much most of the volunteers headed to the famed Hosteleria Izshkaluma for a night of relaxation and for massages they had booked the following day. That’s right, massages in the Peace Corps, I never thought I would be saying that.
That night all of the volunteers came back to my site and we had a huge Chili feast in my tiny little apartment and then we headed to a dance that was going on due to the fiestas happening in my site (there are pretty much always fiestas in either my site or one of the towns nearby).
The next morning everyone started to gear up for their long trips home, some had to spend almost 30 hrs in a bus and travel to the exact opposite end of the country.
I have to say that the long weekend was a great success and that having all my new Peace Corps friends here for my first Thanksgiving in Ecuador made for a memorable event and all being together really helped us cope with the fact we were thousands of miles away from our families and loved ones for the holiday.
Unfortunately we weren’t able to watch any football on Thanksgiving day so mid-afternoon, before the feast, we all headed to Loja’s futbol stadium and organized a little pick up game of Omnibus 99 vs. some 97ers, Bolivians (aka former Peace Corps Bolivia volunteers who were expedited due to the civil war there, now we refer to them just as Bolivians) and Omnibus 100ers.
After football we all retired to the homes of the Loja volunteers to raid their kitchens and make all of our assigned dishes for the Turkey day potluck at our friend Jason’s “Space Station” apartment. The turkey, well turkey cutlets were cooked by our own resident chef (yes I said that correctly) and we stuffed our faces with the usual mashed potatoes, veggies and stuffing while we took in the beautiful view of the Loja skyline.
After dinner, and a brief nap on my part, we enjoyed all the benefits Jason’s house was equipped with. These included a huge rooftop deck and a mini night club in which we were able to dance off our Turkey comas.
The following day we all recovered a little bit from the previous nights party by heading to the river in my site, San Pedro de Vilcabamba. Then pretty much most of the volunteers headed to the famed Hosteleria Izshkaluma for a night of relaxation and for massages they had booked the following day. That’s right, massages in the Peace Corps, I never thought I would be saying that.
That night all of the volunteers came back to my site and we had a huge Chili feast in my tiny little apartment and then we headed to a dance that was going on due to the fiestas happening in my site (there are pretty much always fiestas in either my site or one of the towns nearby).
The next morning everyone started to gear up for their long trips home, some had to spend almost 30 hrs in a bus and travel to the exact opposite end of the country.
I have to say that the long weekend was a great success and that having all my new Peace Corps friends here for my first Thanksgiving in Ecuador made for a memorable event and all being together really helped us cope with the fact we were thousands of miles away from our families and loved ones for the holiday.
5 comments:
liGood grief, if I were 20 years younger...better make that 30 years, I'd sign up today! Sounds like Thanksgiving was a true highlight.
Love, Mom
I'll second your mom's idea! Thanks for sharing your recounting of what sounds like a truly memorable Thanksgiving.
30 hour bus rides... whoa! That almost as long as it takes to make a connecting flight through Newark!
George
and here I was worried about you guys for thanksgiving, thanks for posting pictures so that the other moms and dads who don't get pictures get to see that their kids too are still alive and in one piece....Happy Holidays!
Chris Gallup's mom
Your father's footsteps? Really, I don't know that you can pass your narcolepsy off on pops :0)
Miss you lots! The other Andy is actually making more often appearances these days, makes me think of you every time!!
Much love,
Christie
Hey Hood just caught up on your blog. Looks like a ton of work and fun.
T
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