The Bathing

Before I get started I want you to know that here in my new town of Fundochamba it’s as hot as fire. And, unfortunately, when the sun decides to let its presence be known, which is every waking hour of the day, it’s as if another life form is landing their star cruiser with all their other-worldly flood lights on as bright as they can make them. In other words, the sun is blinding.

You should also know that I write to you 18 pounds lighter than when I left the United States – The Biggest Loser ain’t got nothin’ on me!

However, before I arrived in Fundochamba I had to bid farewell to my wonderful host family in the mountains. The two months with them were wonderful and I am indebted to them for helping me integrate more fully into the Ecuadorian culture. They sent me off in true Ecuador fashion with a guinea pig feast, fried to a golden crisp. For all you curious pet owners, the guinea pig (or “cuy” as it is called here) is every bit as delicious as you hoped it wouldn’t be. The meat is rich and full of taste but almost not quite worth the effort it takes to get the puny amount of meat off of the bones. It’s a delicacy here so I’ll overlook its flaws and endorse the use of its waste as a nitrogen rich fertilizer and its meat as tasty and unique to the Andean culture. Cuy!

There is also another custom around these parts and it happens when Easter rolls around. Now, I’m not Catholic but I decided to participate in the annual family bathing anyway. Let me explain. Apparently, in generations past, the people of Cariacu would trudge to the local creek at midnight on the eve of Pasqua (Easter) to bathe themselves of the past year’s bad deeds. According to custom, the more bad deeds done the more buckets of water are poured over your shoulder. Remember, this is high up in the sierra of the Andes mountains in the middle of the night. In short, the air is freezing and so is the water. Many people of the community have moved beyond their ancestral practices and don’t participate in the annual bathing. My host family, however, continues to make the trek along with a few other families. And so, as a newly christened member of the Campues-Guagan familia, I made the trek, too. It really is quite a genuine and distinctive experience and I, being the first American to participate, was a sight to see. The entire population, having already bathed themselves, waited patiently for the snow-white American to brave the water and weather and get wet. So, I stripped down to my boxers and stepped in…and it was cold…and I only lasted one shoulder throw of water. Did I mention it was freezing cold? My host mother, however, got giddy and bathed bare-breasted for all to see. We now have something in common: we both bathed topless. Once I made my exit so did the rest of the community. They had only stayed to gawk at the brilliantly white gringo – or to watch an old woman go streaking.

Now, the real life of a Peace Corps Volunteer begins; and it begins right-smack-dab in the middle of nowhere perched atop a beautiful mountain near the Peruvian border. It is here, in Fundochamba, where the mosquitoes bite incessantly and leave large red scabs as evidence of their new found blood source. Hopefully, it won’t last long. For those of you interested, my heart has been stolen once again by the fabulously delicious and always refreshing glass-bottled coke. Unfortunately, the acne returned and so I had to slow my sugar intake. The break-up surely won’t last that long…

South America