Carnaval

Once a year Latin Americans set aside four days to celebrate one of the most bizarre yet completely necessary holidays I have ever experienced. Carnaval (not to be confused with a carnival, there are no Ferris Wheels or petting zoos) gives the whole family the opportunity to get outside, hit up the beach, and more importantly, throw buckets of water on any target moving slowly enough to get hit. The holiday lasts for four days and consists of eggs, Silly String, foam, dye, and Super Soakers. School and work are cancelled as loved ones, acquaintances, and even complete strangers take advantage of the opportunity to cover each other in whatever Carnaval-appropriate substance they can get their hands on. Hitting someone with one of the above substances during Carnaval is fittingly called, "playing" and during these four days you can either play, or you can get played.

I think that Carnaval is fantastic for a variety of reasons; the most important being that it gives you the opportunity to chuck a water balloon at anybody within the range of your throwing arm. In Carnaval there are no "off limits," "timeouts," or "olly olly oxen frees." If you are breathing you are fair game and will before long be hit with something that is more than likely difficult to remove from clothing. I think it’s a great concept. Is that the little boy that keeps stealing mangoes off of your tree? Crack an egg on his head. He probably won’t stop stealing the mangoes, but you will feel somewhat better about the situation. Is your boss constantly hassling you about showing up late for work? Late is a matter of perspective. Explain this to him by pelting him with a water balloon. Since its Carnaval he’ll have no choice but to laugh about it. The old woman next door keeps on pestering you about keeping your donkey out of her vegetable garden. You say: "Hey! Sorry about that!" You mean: "My donkey and I will see YOU at Carnaval." Did that baby look at you sideways...?

The holiday started on Saturday, and by Monday afternoon I had had enough playing for awhile. I decided to buy some chicken and spend a quiet, dry afternoon alone in my apartment. I went and got the chicken and a 3 liter bottle of my favorite Sunny-D-like drink and started to head home on my bike. Town was full of traffic because of the holiday and consequently the road back to my house was pretty backed-up. I took advantage of being on the bike by weaving around traffic when I was hit with a bucket of water. I looked up to see two little boys in the bed of the truck next to me laughing hysterically. Dripping wet, my first concern was the chicken. I was about to open the bag to make sure it hadn´t gotten wet when I was hit by a second bucket of water. I looked up at the boys who were now rolling with laughter in the back of truck. That’s the thing about Carnaval, even though everybody knows what to expect, hitting someone carrying chicken on their bike with a bucket of water never gets less funny. In fact, it gets funnier.

The fun, however, does not end when the sun goes down. At night towns turn into huge dance parties with people celebrating the holiday in the streets until dawn (or so I’ve heard). There are live bands, food, booze and dancing to be enjoyed while not completely letting your guard down because there is still the chance that some child out past his bedtime may take advantage by spraying you with Silly String. Everything goes. Someone once decided though, that four days of this craziness is enough. Though the holiday technically continues through Tuesday night, by Monday night things are pretty much winding down. I personally wasn’t ready for the party to end but I guess the rest of the country was so I had to go with it. I am already preparing for next year as the mental image of the two little boys in the back of the truck has been burned into my memory. I already have the water ballons, camouflage, and Silly String that I need for my revenge. Now if I could just get my hands on a truck...

There are some other things I would like to talk about:

• Kid’s hoops start this Saturday. You know that old lame plastic basketball collecting dust in your garage? The children of Ecuador and I want it. Deflate and send this way por favor. Each basketball sent is good for a voucher AND with only 247 vouchers you are eligible for a free trip to Ecuador! (a little something I am trying out)

• My 24th birthday was great. I was in Quito and some sweet PCV friends took me out for dinner and drinks. Thanks for all the bday love!

• Two girls from France have come to San Vicente for 4 months to work for the foundation and earn their masters in NGO fundraising. It’s a sweet deal because what we want to do really compliment each other. They are helping me get the ball rolling with a lot of projects and I am really excited about the work that we will do together while they are here.

• My friend Tatiana (12) and I applied for a scholarship to help cover her school supplies etc. for the coming school year and got one! Score!

• It has been brought to my attention that I have been miscounting the months the entire time that I have been here. I realized this when I texted "happy 9 month anniversary!" to a friend and she texted back that we had only been here for 8. Whatever. Time is all perspective, right?

• I have completely cricket-proofed my house and haven’t seen one in here for about 2 weeks now. I appreciate all of the thoughts and prayers.

• Two weeks ago I fell in a gutter and scraped my leg. I have made a full recovery.

• There have been no new pics lately because my camera drowned on New Years. Not to worry because Mom and Dad have come to the rescue once again. New pics coming soon!

• I can not get enough love from home. Thanks for thinking about me and stay in touch!