Feliz Año Nuevo everyone! Classes have just resumed at the Universidad Nacional de Loja after a two week break. The month of December was full of planning for the students' Christmas program and dinners and parties to celebrate the holidays.
The university is still chaotic. There are not enough professors to cover all the classes, the administration is not taking the action it is supposed to, and students are protesting because they do not have class. The English department where I work is less affected by this than other departments. It is only lacking two professors, so the other professors can cover the classes for the most part. However, the senior students are without a thesis advisor, and they are most affected by this. The upheaval does not affect me personally very much. I still attend classes and run the English club, but the students and my fellow teachers are understandably stressed. The senior students participated in a big protest to get a thesis advisor on the day of the Christmas program, so it did not go as well as I would have hoped.
The first week of the school break, I went home to spend Christmas with my family. It was so good to see everyone and to eat the food I had been craving. Albeit brief, I had a good week participating in family traditions and seeing decorations all over Franklin and Nashville. I came back to Loja feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.
I came back to Loja in time for New Year's, or Año Viejo, which is a very big celebration in Ecuador. Some of the extended family of my host family came in for the weekend, and I made several new friends. Per tradition, we made an año viejo, a man made out of balled newspaper. This dummy represents all the bad things from the old year. It took all afternoon to ball the newspaper and then we made him in the form of my host brother, wearing the clothes he had worn when he was in the accident, and even put the dummy's arm in a sling. We printed a picture of his face for the dummy's face. At midnight on New Year's Eve, we burned the año viejo, filled with newspaper and small fireworks. Everyone is then supposed to jump over the fire twelve times for twelve good months in the next year. Symbolically, you jump over the bad old year and into a good, fresh start to the new year.
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| My extended Loja family together for New Years. |
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| Making the año viejo |
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| The finished project, Carlos as año viejo. |
During the afternoon of New Year's Eve, young men dress up as viudas (widows) and stop cars in the street. They ask for money to let the cars pass, and then the driver asks for something in return, usually a dance. So, they dance in front of the cars and have a good time with friends all afternoon and into the evening. It was very entertaining helping my host brother and his friend dress as widows and then watching them perform in the street. I think I would have found this very strange and even scary if my host brother had not been a part of it and explained it to me.
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| Me and my host brother (sister) as a viuda. |
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| My host brother and his friends stopping traffic as viudas |
At midnight, fireworks went off around the city and everyone started burning their año viejos in the street. It felt like the whole city was outside at the same time, celebrating. I met some of the neighbors burning their año viejo next to us. I am afraid of fire, but I did eventually jump over the año viejo and it was awesome! Definitely an adrenaline rush. I have been thinking about how I, as an American, am so much more timid than the Ecuadorians. If a man dressed as a woman stopped my car when I was driving, I would have kept the window up, avoided eye contact, and kept driving. Ecuadorians, however, laugh in good fun and give them a quarter. In the United States, jumping over a bonfire filled with fireworks would be highly discouraged because it is dangerous. In Ecuador, this is a fun risk and a tradition the whole family participates in every year. I am so glad I got to participate in this holiday here. I don't think New Years is celebrated quite like this anywhere else in the world. It was also an invaluable opportunity to spend time with my Loja family and to engage further with the community in the city. Ecuadorians seem a lot more comfortable reaching out to and interacting with strangers and acquaintances, which is something I can learn from them.
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| Burning the año viejo with fireworks inside |
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| Me jumping over the año viejo and into a new year! |
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| I went with some of the extended family from out of town to look at Loja's Christmas lights. |
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| Loja family |
Here's to a new year of trying new things and stepping outside my comfort zone!
