Karaoke

It occurred to me that I have yet to describe the wondrous Ecuadorian pastime that is, Karaoke. It´s safe to say that a Karaoke bar can be found on at least every other block throughout Ibarra. When I think of Karaoke in the States, I think of a lot of drunk people making a fool of themselves and loving it. No one takes themselves seriously really…bars have open mic night for that. But here, Karaoke is quite the spectacle. It is where you go to prove yourself, to flaunt your talent. Couples sing ballads longingly to each other, or better yet, they sing duets. Groups of single men, well, in a way its like a mating call or ritual as they try to attract all the single women in the room. Because in Ecuador, there is nothing sexier than a man who can rock it on the Karaoke floor. And groups of women go to enjoy themselves, and show their girlfriends whose boss.

Then in walks the group of gringos. I´ll be honest, Karaoke scared me at first. I would sort of just sit and laugh at how serious people take it. But once that initial humor passed, I started to wonder…what could I be like behind the mic? Then, with a healthy amount of my good friend Tequila (which, I have found, brings out the true performer in all of us) I started to experiment. Now by ¨a healthy amount¨, I mean just enough to lose your inhibitions, but certainly not so much that you have blurred vision or are slurring your words. Then you just become the sloppy gringo who doesn’t take it seriously. And you see, that might just make your audience angry.

Now, I might just call myself a seasoned performer. My friends make the usual requests…Queens ¨Bohemian Rhapsody¨ (which I will only perform as a duet with a fellow volunteer), Whitneys ¨I will always love you¨ (a fan favorite for sure) and on occasion, Coolio´s ¨Gangters Paradise¨. But the great thing about Karaoke, is that when you´re feeling extra artistic, you can tackle songs like ¨Call me¨ and ¨Eye of the tiger¨ like a pro. Most of the time the crowd loves us, other times they´re anxiously waiting for their turn to sing. Either way, Karaoke has given me a new found confidence, and a healthy avenue to release the weeks tension and stress. I will most certainly miss it when I´m gone.

La Fanesca

This past week was Semana Santa. It was quite an enlightening experience to be in a Catholic country during this holiday...where no one has school, no one eats meat (unless they are pagans like me), and the most shocking...there are no Easter bunnies or Cadbury eggs...!?!?

The real star of Semana Santa is La Fanesca. A squash based stew containing 12 grains to honor the 12 disciples...corn, peas, green beans, fava beans, lima beans, red beans, white beans, mellocos, chochos...I´m missing three, but I´m guessing they are just three more types of beans. Then usually some tiny flower balls, avocados, sliced plantains, hard boiled eggs and cheese are thrown in the mix. And of course, most variations are made with some type of fish as well.

Fanesca is delicious. Incredible in fact...for the first 4 or 5 spoon fulls. Then you start to feel heavy, bloated, and ready for nap time. But in an attempt to be respectful you power through it and, at least in my case, suffer through poisonous gas for the rest of the week. And as if one bowl of it wasn’t enough, it’s usually followed by a plate of mashed potatoes, tomatoes, more avocado, and more cheese. Then, a bowl of warm rice and raisin milk for desert. Now I know how to eat...but made it absolutely no where near the rice milk. On more than one occasion, sweating profusely, I removed myself from the table...to sit alone...keeled over until the pain passed. Have you ever felt really full? Its nothing compared to Fanesca full. I ate it four times overall throughout the week. I imagine it will take another one to two weeks for my stomach to forgive me. And thankfully, Fanesca only comes around during Semana Santa.