Festivities and Activities in December

I've mentioned different events, activities, etc that happened throughout the month of December in my emails or other blog posts, so I figure since I have a bajillion photos, I might as well get them posted up and share some of those stories here and there!

Adam's counterpart organization CASMUL and my counterpart organization INFA were both really busy during the month of December. As social work organization, they were doing a lot of events for the holiday season. One of the campaigns that INFA was organizing was Navidad Sin Mendicidad (which I believe roughly equates to Christmas Without Begging... so essentially trying to eliminate need during Christmas time) so we had a big event to collect food, clothing, gifts, and money. My coworkers had to come in on their day off to hang up posters around town, and we spent an entire day flyering and talking to people.

Every big event needs entertainment and a big stage

As volunteers, we got the XL shirts...hooray for free baggy event t-shirts!

Some of the kids I have worked with in Loja were at the event to help pass out flyers. I was worried for them because they were on stilts and I could just imagine an accident happening

Phillipe and I passing out flyers asking for donations

A parade for another program that Adam's org was putting on

During December we also were invited to a sushi party by Lori, who was a PC volunteer in Loja in the 90's and now lives in Loja with her husband and daughter. We made california rolls with avocados, cucumber, smoked salmon, and green onions. It was totally fun and I think I will be making more at home one of these days, now that I know the ingredients are available in Loja! We had a great time and met a lot of other foreigners who live in Loja. Although we are still trying ever so hard to make some Ecuadorian friends, we won't turn down other kinds of friends either!

Deliciousness!

The beautiful spread...and that is amazing teriyaki chicken in the middle too!

The day after our sushi party, we headed up north about 2 hours to have a fun Chanukah Latke and Housewarming party at Liz's new apartment in San Lucas. Seeing as how I am not Jewish even a little bit, I didn't know that applesauce and latkes go together. I knew they were two delicious things that people eat around this time, but I had no idea that they were served together, so I had the joy of learning something new (and enjoyed listening to Liz and Jason sing songs that they learned growing up!). The made-from-scratch latkes and applesauce were totally fantastic, and even better served alongside the menorah shaped sugar cookies that Liz dished out.

Steven and Jamie peeling and grating the potatoes

Adam's turn to grate!

Jason and Liz frying them up! Yum!

Also in December, we had a Thanksgiving Part 2 celebration. We all had such wonderful Thanksgivings that we decided we needed to eat more! We made a turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and roasted potatoes and Jason made more of his cockaputzy (see Thanksgiving blog post). Jason also made apple cake and a carrot mold. Although carrot mold may not sound appetizing, it was one of the most delicious things that I have ever tasted (Liz renamed it Carrot Deliciousness, because that is exactly what it was). This was on the same day that I got pickpocketed so I was too paranoid to bring my camera. Hence no photos. But I will ask Liz if I can get some from her to post up. Oh, and just so I don't forget, we also had a menorah that night all beautifully lit up because it was the last day of Chanukah. Jason had a wonderful singing voice and sadly I don't have that on video! Lol.

Last thing I will share in this blog post is about the Christmas dinner we made for the kids at the orphanage. During Thanksgiving, Adam and I talked to the kids about the American tradition of Thanksgiving. The kids mentioned that they had never had turkey before (it is a big thing for Christmas...but since it is so expensive it is really for the wealthy) so we thought it would be fun if we made a turkey dinner for them. Adam decided to ask the director if there was a small budget that we could get. To make a long story short, we did get a budget to put the dinner on, but it came with a few strings attached...it wasn't going to be a small intimate dinner but a full on dinner banquet with many special guests, including the Presidenta of CASMUL and the Reina de Loja. We arrived the morning of our dinner to find the turkey frozen solid and the staff at the orphanage unaware that there was a big event that night. But, as Ecuadisasters go, everything turned out well in the end despite the rough start in the morning, the number of unexpected guests, and the fact that the scheduled power outage happened between 5-7pm when dinner was happening. The kids had a great time and loved trying turkey and receiving presents, and the turkey was cooked all the way through and tasted fine!

Tablesetting for the dinner- the kids got the head table!

Adam checking on the turkey

The kids messing around and getting excited before dinner

Photo with the Reina!!