Rhianna Banana

"Baby I´m going to have to give you up for Lent"

Last weekend was Carnaval, the holiday before Lent. Now we are in Lent, which will end the day I return to the U.S. (the day before Easter). So, instead of giving something up for Lent, I will be giving up something after Lent, ie. my life here in Ecuador. I know the song lyric above from the Steve Poltz song “Give You Up For Lent” doesn’t really make sense for my situation, but I wanted to use it anyway =)

People play Carnaval here for up to a month before Ash Wednesday (the official start of Lent). Playing Carnaval means attacking strangers, family, and friends with water, foam, eggs, flour, or ink. In Ambato, the only thing they throw is flowers, which sounds very pleasant and nice. I’ve never been there, but I plan to go on one of my future Carnaval visits to Ecuador. My friend Maggie told me that in her Andean community, her friends were playing Carnaval with pig’s blood. That just brings up images of Carrie and Blade and Lord of the Flies. For the Carnaval party, they slaughter a pig, drain the blood, and then apparently fling it at each other. Maggie saw one older lady smear pig blood and guts on the face of another lady. Gross!

Last year, I hid in my house for 4 days during Carnaval because I didn’t want to get drenched and dirty, and I knew I would stick out as a target because I am an American female. Also, I was rather depressed at the time. But this year, I had so much fun playing with everybody! There is just something inherently amusing about seeing another person (or even yourself) getting unexpectedly drenched in water. Perhaps this is why I love snowball fights.

Megan and Lindsay were very excited about going up to Atacames, a popular beach town, for the Carnaval festivities this year. Also, one of Lindsay’s favorite bands, Aventura, was performing in Esmeraldas and we already had tickets. I was a little wary about dealing with a crowded beach scene, but I figured this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, so I better go.

We went to the concert on the first night. I thought it was just alright because I don’t really like Aventura. They’re like a really cheesy boy band from New York City and the Dominican Republic. All of their songs sound the same to me. The concert was supposed to start at 8pm, but they didn’t show up until 11pm. By that time, I was so sleepy. The girls were really into it, and were dancing to every song. Calvin and I just sat behind them, and I was really struggling to stay awake. I felt like Calvin and I were the parents sitting amongst all those screaming teenage fans.

The next day, we went to the beach and went dancing, which was fun. But partying that late into the night was exhausting me, plus I had made plans to spend part of Carnaval with my friends in La Asuncion. So I left on Sunday and returned to my site.

On Tuesday, I met up with Leonor, Lucy, Belkis, and their family and friends for a trip to la playita, a river recreational area near Santo Domingo. Since it was the last day of Carnaval and the weather was beautiful and sunny, la playita was super crowded. Everyone was attacking everyone else with water, spray foam cans, and ink. The pool was packed, and people were running around trying to throw other people into the pool. Music was blaring, people were dancing, and every now and then, someone would dump a bucket of water on everyone standing near. It was insane, and I had no desire to go into that pool. Leonor’s brother really wanted to toss me into the pool, but I cleverly thwarted his attempts. I think people were a little hesitant about attacking me, since I was the only gringa and they didn’t know how I would react. The kids had no qualms though, so I got ink all over my face and was soaked numerous times. It was so much fun! I think I want to visit Ecuador during Carnaval in the future. Pierre never got to experience it, so we’ll have to plan our next trip around the Carnaval festivities.

Even leaving la playita was an experience. We had all ridden out there in the back of a pick up truck. Some of the lucky few got to ride in the cab with the driver. But the rest of us were sitting ducks. It was open war between all the vehicles on the road and anyone standing on the side of the road. People were flinging water balloons at us, tossing buckets of water, and shooting us with super soakers. One water balloon splatted me right on the arm, thoroughly drenching me. The guy driving our truck would slow up or speed down to try to avoid some people. The worst was when we had to slow down for speed bumps. That’s where people would hang out, waiting for their next victims. It reminded me of one of those water rides at amusement parks, where the main fun is just seeing who is going to get wet.

Unfortunately, something really scary happened on our drive home. There were three little kids with us, Belkis, the son of one of Leonor’s friends, and Belkis’ cousin, who is about 4 or 5 years old. Belkis cousin (I don’t remember his name) was standing in the front of the bed of the pick up truck, facing forward. As we were driving rather quickly on one of the main roads, another truck passed us, and someone in that truck threw a whole bucket of water at us. The water hit Belkis’ cousin full in the stomach, and he got the wind knocked out of him. He yelped a little and then just collapsed. The people near him caught him before he fell. He had passed out completely. His dad and the other people nearby worked quickly to try to revive him. His mom was moaning and it was all really frightening. He was out for about 30 seconds or more. The kid came to, and was really upset and started crying. Poor thing. It made me wonder how many injuries happen during Carnaval.

I think it is pretty dangerous to be throwing things at other people at high velocities, like when you’re in a car. Or what if something hits you when you’re on a motorcycle? (Like Jack Black’s character in Anchorman when he is driving over the Coronado bridge.) Most people here don’t wear helmets.

We made it back to Santo Domingo safely, and then I went to meet Trent for our election party! Trent and I made plans to have an election party in Santo Domingo for Super Tuesday. Pierre made the observation that my friends and I use any excuse to get together and have a party. It is true that we did celebrate Megan’s birthday, Carnaval, and Super Tuesday all in the span of one week. And we already have plans for Valentine’s Day. But we didn’t celebrate Groundhog Day, the SuperBowl, or Chinese New Year, so there!

Before our election party, Trent and I decided to buy some snacks, preferably ones that would fit our theme. Maybe some donkey and elephant cookies, or red, white and blue snacks. It was still Carnaval, so I wore my raincoat. Trent was skeptical, and went out with no water protection. We were crossing a street and just as we stepped up on the curb, someone on a balcony above dumped some water on us. I was nice and dry under my rain coat while Trent was soaked. Hee hee! I figured there would be one final attack before the day was done, even though it was dark and drizzling.

Election parties with Trent means that he stays up really late watching CNN en espanol and I try to sneakily change the channel when he’s in the bathroom or not looking. I usually fall asleep early on and Trent wakes me up for any big news. This party was the same, although I think I fell asleep earlier than last time because I was so exhausted from the Carnaval festivities.

Oh, one final thing. Pierre just moved into OUR new apartment in Queens, and one of the first things he told me about the place is that it has “running water and electricity”. Sounds great to me! Pierre took a video of our place and put the youtube link on his blog. The video reminds me of the Continental skit on SNL with Christopher Walken. Please note the first room Pierre shows us, the closet, aka Pierre’s room. I need the rest of the space for my bedroom, study, dance studio, etc. =)

posted by Unknown @ Friday, February 08, 2008