last week in Playas...

Hello,

To be honest, I don't really know where to start because I haven't been in touch for so long.

Basically, I have a pretty routine life here because I work every day and have students.

The first 2 weeks of August, there was a celebration called Fiesta here in Playas, which is like a village festival. Almost every evening there was a different event, from dance festivals to football competitions, and the popular Reinawahl (beauty queen election of Playas; a pretty primitive thing if you ask me). I only watched the surf competition and on the first day, we rode on a pickup truck through the city and played some samba music to promote our music school.

Other than that, Saturday was my host sister's 15th birthday, which is a big deal here because it marks the coming of age for a girl. A birthday here usually involves setting up chairs in a circle against the walls, with no tables so that everyone can eat with their plate on their lap, leaving more space for dancing since the houses don't have enough capacity for 40 people. A table with a big sugary cake, which rarely tastes good, is used for gifts and as a place for photo shoots. The party went on with loud music until around 4am, and I must have danced salsa for about two hours, or at least tried, haha.

Other than that, I'm currently organizing my final concert for Friday and rehearsing a body percussion piece with my students, which is not easy.

On September 1st, I will be flying to Galapagos for 10 days, and after that, I will be transferring to the project in Olon. I already visited Olon this weekend to check out the new cultural center and the general location. The sea and nature there are much more beautiful than here in Playas, but there are also a lot more tourists, especially because Olon is right next to Montanita. I stayed in Montanita on Saturday night and I have to say, it's pretty crazy what goes on there, haha. Just discos, bars, loud music, everything very colorful, and the streets filled with crazy people. I wouldn't want to live there, but it's definitely a fun place to party, although expensive by Ecuadorian standards.

Anyway, I already know that I will miss Playas and all the cool people and students here!

Since I'm pretty tired and I have to rest my thumb (which I sprained yesterday while playing basketball), I will say goodbye now and hope that some photos will describe my current situation here.

See you soon!

Kisses

Parade through Playas