Christmas in Ecuador

At first I want to apologize for being so behind on my blog! I will first make a number of posts on Christmas in Ecuador and later tell about my trip to Cayambe (that was crazy!) and my trip to Otavalo that I had during December as well.

Christmas has been a weird season. First of all it does not feel like December at all here in Ecuador. It is warm and sunny and it doesn't feel like over 4 months have passed by since I arrived in Ecuador (I have been here for over 4 months, how crazy is that?!?). But since the weather is the same every day it does not feel like time passes by. I have also started to notice a type of clockwork in my day:
Waiting on the bus with the same people, having the same bus driver, seeing the same people do the same thing on the way to my project.

Even though I have spent the last two Christmases abroad, this Christmas has been the first Christmas without my (Danish) family.
But luckily I have a great Ecuadorian family.

The day I had the most Christmas (at least the Christmas that looked the most like my normal Christmas), was on the first of December. I had just been to the VASE office to pick up a package (with Christmas presents), whereafter I came home and we decorated the plastic Christmas tree while listening to Christmas music.

But I have now gotten through Christmas with packages from home providing me with just a little bit of Danish Christmas and love my life in Ecuador more than ever, even though I really wanted to go home, just for spending a normal Christmas eve in Denmark. But I had an absolutely awesome Christmas eve that made me feel so blessed to be in Ecuador and be able to spend Christmas with my Ecuadorian family.

Feliz navidad!

Decorating the tree
Vi pynter træet

Til at starte med vil jeg gerne undskylde for hvor håbløst langt bagude jeg er med min blog. De næste par indlæg vil omhandle julen i Ecuador, hvorefter jeg senere vil lave indlæg om min tur til Cayambe (det var viiildt!) og min tur til Otavalo.

Julen har været en lille smule underlig. For det første er det varmt, solrigt og føles ikke som december. Derudover føles det bestemt ikke som om at jeg har tilbragt over 4 måneder i Ecuador (det kan jeg slet ikke forholde mig til). Vejret er ikke rigtig skiftet siden jeg ankom og min dagligdag er begyndt at være som et ur: Jeg venter på bussen med de samme personer, jeg har den samme buschauffør og møder de samme mennesker på vej til mit projekt.

Selvom jeg ikke har været i Danmark for at fejre jul de sidste to år, så var denne juleaften den første uden min (danske) familie. Men i det mindste havde jeg min dejlige ecuadorianske værtsfamilie.

Den mest julede dag var den første december, hvor jeg først havde hentet en pakke hos VASE (der indeholdt julegaver) og da jeg kom hjem igen pyntede jeg et plastikjuletræ sammen med min værtsfamilie. Det var rigtig hyggeligt.

Men jeg kom fint igennem julen, med pakker hjemmefra der kunne give bare en lille smule dansk jul til mig her i Ecuador og selvom jeg virkelig gerne ville have haft muligheden for at tilbringe juleaften derhjemme, så havde jeg en fantastisk oplevelse juleaften og jeg føler mig så heldig for at være i Ecuador og elsker livet hernede mere end nogensinde før.

Feliz navidad!