Thursday-Friday August 9-10, 2012

Thursday August 9/12 update

No news.  Hung around today and prepared for the graduation ceremony for tomorrow.  I admit to being nervous about going.   I may be the only white face in the crowd.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.

Friday August 10/12 update

Today is a national holiday in Ecuador so most things are closed.  I have been trying to find out about any celebrations today but so far have been unsuccessful.

I spent all day finishing preparations for the grad ceremony and watching the Olympics. 

I called Jorge Beltran (the fellow that built our home) to ask if I could stop by to drop off the gift for his daughter around 8pm and he said to come sooner than that.  Their home is only about a mile away so I decided to walk.   I arrived there about 7:40 and they were still doing their final preparations so I waited.   I was going to continue to walk to the hall, about another mile, but they insisted that I wait and go with them.

Jorge and son Matteo were loading up the SUV and pickup with all sorts of supplies and many cases of liquor.  That was when I found out that this celebration wasn’t for a bunch of graduates, but that it was just a private party for Gabriela alone.

Jorge and Matteo went off in the pickup to buy more snacks while I went with Martha and Gabriela in the SUV.  The hall was beautifully decorated in white and pink and the caterers and DJ were all in place.  I was immediately taken to Table #1 to be seated with the family, specifically Martha’s brother that has just come from the USA and speaks good English.  That was a good surprise. 

I managed to get individual shots of their family before guests began arriving but never managed to get shots all of them as a group except at the beginning of the following video of the evening,

http://youtu.be/7WjYGIbS_-k

I finally got to meet Jorge’s eldest son and family, including the two grandsons.  Jorge and Martha were just so proud and happy to have everyone here.   They were so nervous and worried that the crowd was late in arriving but Martha’s brother reminded them that “Ecuador time” dictates a fashionably late arrival.  There were folks coming in as late as 10:30, well after the speeches and lunch were done.   I noted nobody was bringing gifts and wondered if I had missed a donation drop-off for the tiny envelope that was included in the invitation.

As suspected, I was the only white face in this crowd and was suitably proud that I had been considered enough of a friend to have been included, and to be seated prominently with the family.

The family speeches were emotional and heartfelt with the pride of Jorge and Martha clearly showing, and the humbleness and gratitude of Gabriela pouring forth as she struggled not to cry.

I was thoroughly impressed with the DJ once the music started as he had a ton of lovely instrumental music.  Martha’s brother’s oldest son was reluctant to dance at first, but when he got up he sure put on a hip-shaking show.  The music was mostly in the form of long 15-minute tracks of frenetic music and yet the tables were virtually empty and the dance floor was packed.   It was a good thing that they had anticipated this and allowed for a huge dance floor.  The Latinos love to party, and party they did!!   I am certain they would be continuing until daylight.

I quietly slipped out about 12:45 and collapsed in bed upon arrival.   I awoke about 3 hours later and began downloading the videos and photos, then catnapped another two hours while that process unfolded.  Then I began the YouTube upload and catnapped another two hours for that long process.

That was today’s excitement.   Please see all photos at souvenircuenca.blogspot.com.  Hugs to all.