It had been four years since my last Christmas at home. In 2008 I spent xmas in New Zealand with my good friend Darren, bathing in the heat of the December sun in the beautiful Taupo. In 2009, I had just arrived into Quito a few weeks before when Christmas popped up again. It would be one of two consecutive Christmas days spent in Ecuador as in 2010, I was once more eating Christmas dinner with rice on the side. Now though it was 2011 and I was finally back home to spend it with my family. Although I had missed a Christmas or two I hadn't forgotten the routine, so, at 7am I was up with Maisa and my dad, my sister Amy and Jody too - as we all headed off into town. As tradition proceeds, we first stopped off at Abbey Road, to have our photo taken and write words of love and peace on the famous stretch of wall outside the Abbey Road Studios. We then headed to the Serpentine Lake. It has been a tradition for many a year - when on Christmas morning a bunch of absolute lunatics jump into freezing water for a swim. It's done for charity - so it does have some sense behind it and each year it's filmed for television. It has been my Christmas tradition to come and watch it every year for as far back as I can remember. Maisa found the whole thing interesting but at the same time must have been asking herself why she woke up at 7am on Christmas day to see hairy naked men jump into an icy lake. We continued our adventure by taking a little tour through London, showing Maisa some of the famous sights along the way. When we made it home it was about 10.30am and present opening time. We all sat in a big circle and took turns to open gifts. I think Maisa had more presents than everybody else.
Later on in the day and family started to arrive for Christmas dinner. It is without doubt my favourite meal in all the world and this year it didn't disappoint. I was so happy I even gobbled up some Brussel sprouts too. While we were eating, Maisa was enjoying opening the Christmas crackers with everyone. It is odd to think but in other countries they just don't have such things. Before Maisa had met me she didn't even know what a Christmas cracker was - I think when I first mentioned it she thought it was something edible. Later in the evening and more and more people started to flood into our house. Family and family friends started to come in their masses, so by the end of the night Maisa had met absolutely everyone in my family. There was more food which I'm still not sure how we all managed to fit into our already full bellies - but somehow it was achieved. Later on in the evening was the Christmas Quiz. Hosted by my father, it works by splitting the adults against the so called children - although no-one on either team was younger than 20 as far as I could work out. There were about 20 people or so on each team as a series of rounds see various questions answered. Some of the questions were even given (and had to be answered) in Spanish, which was advantageous to the kids team with Maisa and myself able to speak perfect Spanish......okay, so mine is a little less perfect. Naturally the kid's team won - thanks mainly to my knowledge, and by the end the adults were all coming up to me telling me to go back to Ecuador so it would be a little more fair next time. I can't remember exactly if all those events happened quite as I just described them but the kid's team definately did win - that is for sure.
After touring through most of London, seeing people jump into lakes, opening a million and one presents, eating the most delicious food (non-stop), drinking until our sober senses disappeared, gaining 3 stone and winning the world famous (well, Southgate famous) Christmas Quiz - xmas 2011 had finally come to an end. It was a great day enjoyed by everyone, but for me - it was just amazing to be back home with all my family. That - I won't forget in a long time. As we all collapsed at the end of the day I remember thinking to myself that I will never eat again in my entire life. Twelve hours later at Boxing day lunchtime and I was back on the turkey sandwiches...........I will never learn.
Tuesday, 28 February 2012
Christmas 2011 - Back Home With The Family
Saturday, 25 February 2012
Arriving Back Home - London (England)
In the end, Maisa and I had so much stuff (mainly in souvenirs and presents) that our bags weighed approximately one small elephant each. It was amazing that we only had to take out a few items from each of our bags to get through. When I say take out - I mean transfer stuff from on bag to another bag. I would later learn on this trip how ridiculous these bag regulations really are. Most of the time it's just a case of reshuffling your items, putting something in one bag, taking them out of another, swapping clothes, wearing more clothes.......but in the end, the same result is accomplished - and that is that we would get onto the plane with exactly the same weight as we had before we walked into the airport. This whole game of baggage reshuffle therefore seems a little pointless to me. It's also odd that they don't weigh the people getting onto the plane - if they make such a fuss about a few suitcases. I mean someone weighing 15 stone is allowed the same baggage allowance as someone who is 9 stone - that is the weight equivalent to a fair few pairs of knickers if i'm not mistaken. My solution to this whole fiasco is thus simply to eat as much of your belongings before you travel and just hope they make it out okay at the other end - and when I mean the other end I don't mean your final destination. Well, it's and idea anyway.
I have two other quips about airport travel these days. The first is security. On this adventure Maisa and I had been interogated, drug tested, screened, had the dogs put on us and made to stand in a box that looks at your body in ways that only your partner should. By the end Maisa and I came out of the airport wondering if we had accidentally committed some criminal offence that we both weren't aware of. The other thing is immigration. Before Maisa and I headed to England, we first stopped off in Miami (USA). Just to be in transit these days you need to enter the country and that means going through immigration. There must have been 20 people in front of us and we were waiting in line for around an hour and a half. You realise why this process takes so long when it is your turn to go through. The man behind the desk asks so many questions that by the end of it all, if he had written everything that I said down on paper - he could have compiled my autobiography!!! At one point he was quizing me about what the longest erupting active volcano in the world was. It was exhausting.
As we had done the hard work in getting through immigration and the fact that we had about 6 hours before our flight to the UK, we thought we would step out into Miami for a wonder........but also to meet up with Maisa's godmother, who was eagerly waiting for us. We would be staying with Maisa's godmother in Miami on our return leg - when we would spend a couple of days in this gloriously sunny part of Florida. For now though, it was a flying visit. The three of us headed down to Bayside, where we stopped off along the harbour for some lunch. It was good for Maisa to catch up with her godmother, as the two of them hadn't seen each other for some time. It was also just nice to be out of an airport for a while. After a few hours though we headed back to Miami International and caught our flight on to Europe. Just 8 and a half hours later.........we landed in Heathrow.
It was strange being back home. Everything all looked familiar but somehow different at the same time. It would take me some days before I got used to it all. The first person we saw was my father, and just an hour later after driving through the streets of London, passing familiar places on the way, I would get the chance to see all my immediate family. It had been just over two years since I last saw them all so naturally I was extremely happy, excited and emotional all at the same time. It was fantastic to see everyone - all still looking as wonderful as ever and I was glad to be spending the next three weeks with them. The next few days, I took Maisa out into London and introduced her to many of my friends. The day after we arrived we went out to Harrods, to look around and to shop with my friend Darren and his girlfriend Jaqui. We also met up with Henry and Grace too, which was great for Maisa to be reunited with her sister after some months apart and which was also nice for me to see my old friend from Ecuador - Henry. We all had a lot to chat about. Grace had been in England for about 5 days already when we arrived so she was already settled in, but Maisa and I were still getting over all the time differences and travelling. We managed to last out the day though.
On the night of Christmas Eve, Maisa and I went to my local pub - The Waggon, with basically all of my friends. This was a tradition that had been taking place every year since the days that we could get into pubs, although I had missed the last four occasions due to travelling and working abroad. Everyone was there and again, naturally, it was fantastic to see everyone. It was great to catch up as best I could, although it was a bit overwhelming at the time, especially for Maisa - who was getting fed drinks all night and in the end conceded into just getting drunk. We stumbled home that night ready for the big day, which was now just a few hours away. It would be my first Christmas at home for four years - and I couldn't wait...................
Friday, 10 February 2012
Planning A Trip Back Home
Since the time that Henry and Grace left Ecuador, the four of us had talked about all meeting up again in England during the Christmas and New Year period. Henry was already back in the UK and I had been talking about returning home for some time now - as it had been two years since my feet were last nestled in the mother-land. Then I thought, why doesn't Maisa come along with me - that way she could meet my family and friends and see London all at the same time. It then followed that Grace should head over from Canada also, so that she could see Henry and meet up with her sister (Maisa), who she wouldn't have seen for three months or so. It would be a perfect reunion......and so, we all started to plan our trip to England.
It was a busy time for me. Not only were we all planning a big trip but I had a lot of work on at that time. While I was playing with volcano data, I went out to the field to help install a seismic monitoring station and was asked to do a presentation at the end of November, on explosive activity at Tungurahua Volcano in the 2010 year. It was strange, because exactly a year earlier, similarly I was presenting - that time at a nationwide conference in front of 200 people. During that conference, Tungurahua started to go off for the third time since I had been there. Skip forward exactly one year and it felt like life was repeating itself. This time I presented at a conference held at the university where I work. It was a smaller affair, as about 50 people came to see me talk, but, once again Tungurahua started to erupt. It's funny how life goes round in cycles sometimes.
When Tungurahua started to erupt one more time, it really added to my work-load. Not only that but it was disrupting my holidays too. A planned trip to Banos was cut very short as we entered the town and found it to be unrecognisable. It was raining ash as we arrived and people were walking around with gas masks on like we had just entered some post nuclear war scene. It was a real mess.
With all these things going on - planning a trip back to England was taking some time and a lot of work. Normally when a Brit travels the world they are usually let into any country of their choosing with relative ease - especially as a tourist. For this reason, you often don't think about travel visas too often. For an Ecuadorian trying to get into England however - it's a whole different ball game. Just to visit the UK is a real nightmare and we found out just how bad it really was. So, to get a simple tourist visa for the UK, an Ecuadorian first has to go online and fill out a hefty application form. You pay for it ($125) and then book a biometric appointment. This involves heading down to the British Embassy where they take your photo and fingerprint details and a lot more of your money ($192 more). You then have to provide a ton of documents to show you have money to support yourself, that you have assets, flight details and accommodation in the UK, as well as a sponsor. Then all these details get sent to Colombia where they process your visa. In the end - it took about 3 weeks for the process and around ($360) just for Maisa to obtain a 6 month tourist visa. It was all approved in the end - so I guess it was worth it. Luckily for Maisa, she already had a visa for the U.S., because the only flights back to England from Ecuador go either through the U.S., Spain or the Netherlands which means you also need a visa for one of those countries too, just to be in transit. This world is an insane place sometimes!!!
So with Maisa's approved visa, the purchasing of flights and all plans put into action, we were almost ready to go. The last problem - was me. My visa for Ecuador was running out and I had to get it renewed before I left or I wouldn't be allowed back into the country on my return. In Ecuador, these things always get done last minute and this was no different. After a lot of paperwork, a lot of money and a lot of hair loss, I ended up getting my visa too. Grace also got her document to travel to the UK and with everyone ready, the excitement started to set in. So the plan was - Maisa and I would leave Ecuador for England, via Miami. We would spend 18 days in my home-town (London) - before we would head back to Miami for two more days and finally onto Quito for our return. It was all (finally) planned.
During the last week before our trip - we were basically ready to go. We did do some last minute shopping however. Maisa and her family (and myself of course), all headed up to Otavalo Market to buy clothes, souvenirs, and basically everything you can think of made from alpaca. Maisa even purchased a funny hat, that looked like she had some sort of beaver attached to her head. Nevertheless, before we knew what was going on - our time had come. With our bags packed, our passports finally in check and Maisa's animal hat...............we were off!!!
Thursday, 9 February 2012
Trips, Trips, Trips!!!
Very shortly after my 28th Birthday - two very sad things happened. The first was that my good friend Henry had to leave Ecuador once and for all. He had extended his trip just to stay - not specifically for me (maybe 20% or so) - but mainly because he started to date my girlfriend's sister - Grace. They hit it off pretty well and as such, Henry stayed for as long as he possibly could - just to spend a bit more time with her. We were good mates - we had spent 4 months hanging out, went to Peru together and got through seasons 1-6 of Curb Your Enthusiasm. We ultimately had some last meals out, said some sad goodbyes and then - he was gone. The second sad thing that happened was that a few weeks later Grace left too - she went off to study English in Canada. It wasn't fully planned yet so at the time we didn't actually know it - but in just a few months - we would all be reunited again - so it wasn't all that bad in the end.
After Henry and Grace left - life continued as normal really. Work kept me busy during the week and Maisa kept me busy during the weekend. Towards the end of the year, between October and December Ecuador has its made rush of holidays and festivals. That meant two good things - time off work and trips away. Over the next three months I would head off to a number of exotic places for some very relaxing fun.
The first trip - Maisa and myself, Maisa's mum and little Domi all headed off to Papallacta. It's only an hour and a half drive and you're soon at the small town made famous for its geothermal hot pools. Naturally heated from nearby volcanoes - Papallacta is the perfect place for a Quiteno to escape the city and sit in hot water for the day. We spent our time relaxing in the morning and then eating in the afternoon - it doesn't get too much better than that.
For the founding of Quito festival, which takes place at the beginning of December - Maisa and the family, plus myself, all took a trip down to Tena. I had been to Tena before - a small town on the edge of the Amazon. It's a brilliant place to get away and take in the jungle vibe. We quickly found a perfect river, in a perfect climate - so that all we wanted to do was get straight into the cool water and go for a swim - which is exactly what we did - it was perfect. In the middle of the river was a huge rock - which Maisa and I swam to and clambered up on. We lay on that rock for about an hour - just talking about how amazing life was. The only downside wouldn't hit me until later however, when I would realise that my entire body had been fried to a crisp.
We later headed onto Banos too, which was a few hours drive from Tena - and where the Coello's have a family holiday home. Unfortunately we didn't stop there for too long, for reasons beyond our control - an erupting volcano emitting gas and ash all over the place. That's usually a holiday killer.
During those months Maisa and I also travelled south to Latacunga to see some of Maisa's family, we headed north to Otavalo - to check out the market and naturally to buy many of the things they sold, and we also spent some time in Quito - where we went to a big event, as Maisa's aunt and uncle renewed their vows and essentially had another wedding party.
All in all Maisa and I had done a number of great trips away, both near and far - and we did all that with my work as busy as ever as Tungurahua Volcano decided to go off one more time and also, while we were planning an even bigger trip away................
Tuesday, 11 October 2011
Ecuadorian Life - A Country Of Culture, Peculiarities & Cultural Peculiarities
I know I have blogged about this before but it really is an extraordinary thing to observe. Most of us all learn to walk at a young age and usually the average person manages it quite comfortably for the rest of their lives. Ecuadorians however, are different. Firstly, they walk so unbelievably slowly it actually defies normal belief. I am sure on one occassion I walked past someone who was making their way to the same bank as myself. A week later when collecting money out again I walked past that same person still wearing the same clothes as the week before and still heading to the bank. For this poor Ecuadorian, they hadn't yet made the first round - I had essentially lapped them. Secondly, they find it immensely difficult to walk down the road in a straight line. With not a sole around them they feel it is necessary to swerve across the pavement in some sort of snake like motion. This generally leads to me getting very frustrated that I can't get around them, or me bumping into them at some point during the overtaking procedure. I have since started a "carry a compass while walking" scheme, where I hand out free compasses to those who cannot move forward in a straight line!!! Consequently, over the past 6 months, profits from compass sales within Ecuador have risen by 200%. Now, I know I have explained Ecuadorian walking habits before, but, here's the thing - I have now figured out why this slow walking culture has evolved. Just last Thursday it was, as I took my daily route to work - there, all of a sudden, like a bolt of lightning out of the sky - it hit me. It was a revelation, my scientific brain had finally realised why and how Ecuadorians walk so slowly. So world - here it is.................................
Ecuadorians actually don't move at all. They are 100% stationary at all times. Their feet hover just slightly above the ground. The distance is so small that to the ordinary observer it looks like they are resting on the surface of the Earth just like everyone else. But, their not. As they hover in the exact same position above our planet, they then wait for the Earth's rotation beneath their feet to eventually bring places (say the park, the bank, their house), to them. The movement of their legs in a back and forth like motion is purely for visual effect. In this theory, the slow rotation of the Earth is the key to getting an Ecuadorian where they want to go (or should I say - bringing the location they want to go to, to them) and thus tragically - they actually have no control over their speed. The science behind it is flawless and anyone who says otherwise should first read the Penguin book of basic physics. As well, because this now takes the blame away from the poor locals here in this country, I don't actually mind so much anymore. I thought they were walking like that just to wind me up - but its really not their fault. Now I stroll down the streets of Quito with a spring in my step and a frustration-free life. Unfortunately, it now saddens me everytime I see an Ecuadorian taking 7 days to get to the local bank!!!
On an equally important observational topic, quite some time ago I went to a concert. It was held in the Plaza del Toros and involved traditional South American music, with bands from both Ecuador and Colombia. Even the rain couldn't stop the party from exploding, with the whole stadium dancing to famous songs for the entire night. Since living in Ecuador for nearly two years now, I knew many of the tunes emminating from the giant speakers. Its funny how you come to a country and after a while, its sort of natural to listen and dance to a type of music that is never even heard of back home. That really is one amazing thing about Ecuador - people here love music and love to dance to that music. For me - a lot of it is so new. Salsa, Merengue, Reggaeton - these are types of music I really didn't know existed before coming here, and now, I even know some basic steps!!! In some ways its a shame that music of this nature, like other traditional music from around the world isn't more integrated into our lives at home - instead of being completely inundated with pop and R'n'B!!! The concert was a great experience and despite its length (over 5 hours), was thoroughly enjoyable.
There are many other cultural peculiarities that you find living in another country like Ecuador. Everyday something pops up that you are completely baffled by. Here are a few others I have noticed:
Bus behaviour: buses don't stop very often, in fact - they rarely stop at all. They usually just slow down enough so that you are able to jump (literally) on and off them. If you mess this up you can be in real trouble. I recently saw a man lose his grip whilst hanging off a moving bus that was turning a corner and he ended up falling out and rolling into the middle of the road. About 50 people watched the now bleeding man as he shouted at the bus, which just carried on its way, almost as though it was saying 'well you know the rules - we don't stop for anyone'. It must have really hurt!!! When you are on the bus though, behaviour is equally baffling. People don't stay in the same seat. Its like the chair they were given is never quite good enough. As soon as someone gets up, there is always somebody up and out, to grab the new spot, even though they already had a perfectly good seat to begin with. Then someone else will get up and go for their old seat. Its like musical chairs!!! The moving into and out of the seats is completely random as far as I can tell - or at least, I haven't yet worked out why some plastic sitting moulds are move appealing than others. It's bizarre.
Street urinating: it doesn't matter if its day or night, no matter how many people are around, or if they are drunk or not - there is always someone weeing somewhere on a nearby street at all times. The street I live on is particularly prone to street urinating practices. I suppose that its a urinating hotspot - so that people come from all over town, to gather, like some sort of social event............and then wee all over the place!!! Im going to ask the Ecuadorian gavernment if they can stop the production of beaurocratic forms and instead build more toilets. Often on the street I live, are also random locals who end up sleeping on the pavement, with their face straight down into the cold concrete. Nobody ever asks if these people are okay, and it ends up that you just step over random Ecuadorians from time to time as though they were old dirty laundry that you had forgotten to clear from your bedroom floor.
Personal space issues: in England, people, no matter how crowded the place is will always try and give you some personal space - like there is some form of invisible force field around you that people cannot enter. In Ecuador, people go the complete opposite way. Its like when they walk past you they want to knock into you, touch you, fall over your feet or cough in your face. On some occassions I have even thought about filing for harassment but then I thought how many documents I would have to fill in to do this and thus quickly brushed the idea away.
The elevator: I don't think people have worked out the elevator here (or 'lift' as we say in England), quite yet. I say this because 99% of the time that I try to exit one, 99% of people will be barging their way into it before anyone has got out. Its almost as though they feel that they must get into it NOW, or it may not appear for a decade or so. It doesn't matter how many people are already in the lift, trying to get out of it, as soon as those doors open - an army full of people are marching to get their spot.
So, as you can see - I could probably write a 100 page thesis on such cultural differences. Sixty pages would probably be on queing habits (or lack of queing habits here) and Im not just saying that because Im English (and thus a master of standing in line).................in this part of the world, the man with the biggest gob usually comes out on top. Of course I am sure such oddities would present themselves to an Ecuadorian in England too. Many will come to our country and be like "god, why are these people so fussy about standing in a line" or "why does everyone walk so fast here - these people need to chill out!!!"That sort of thing you know. And so, I think I will end my tales of cultural & peculiar differences for now, not least because I need at least a couple more pages to get through them all, but also I am writing this siting next to a window and outside a man is in full view - weeing up a lamp-post!!!
Turning 28 Years Old
It doesn't seem that long ago that I was celebrating my 27th birthday here in Ecuador. Last year I spent a crazy night on a Chiva Bus and don't really remember much of what happened after that. Now, a whole year has passed and thats a scary thought. The older I get though the less bothered I am about getting there. What I mean by that is, before I wanted to celebrate each 18th of September in style - going out, doing things big, usually drinking too much. Last years mayhem sort of happened by chance. I would have happily taken a few quiet drinks in a bar and be done with it, but, at that time - I had a big group of friends who loved to party, and that particular weekend was one where many people were leaving the city for good. As such, last year became a birthday and multiple-leaving event all in one, and hence a night that turned into chaos. This year was almost the same. Maisa's sister, Grace, was soon to be leaving for Canada to study English and my good friend Henry was returning back home to England. However, with Grace's Canadian visa not turning up on time and Henry leaving some days after my birthday, it turned out that I would have the day all to myself. As such, this years 18th of September passed far more smoothly - and I was still as happy as ever.
Firstly, I awoke at Maisa's house to the entire family walking in and singing happy birthday to me while holding a birthday cake with a big 28 on it. It's lucky I am a big strong man - because otherwise I would have looked at that 28, realised how old I am now and then burst into tears. The cake was delicious. I spent the entire weekend with Maisa and her family, as well as Henry. On two of the evenings Maisa, myself, Maisa's sisters and Henry, plus a few friends went out for meals and then some drinks. Maisa treated me and everyone in fact, to both events, which was very nice of her. We also found out that there was a fun-fair going on in town. They don't happen very often in Ecuador and this was the last weekend before it moved on to some other South-American country. As such, we all headed over to smash each other with bumper cars and ride rollercoasters that made us all feel positively sick. I think behaving as childish as possible was the perfect remedy of turning another year older.
I had never seen a fun-fair like this before. I mean they had all the things a fun-fair in England has but everything looked somewhat more dangerous here. They had one ride that didn't have safety bars on it and people were being thrown all over the place. Maisa told me that that is how it was supposed to be and yes everyone usually comes off with some form of injury. Maisa's sister, Jessy, ended up spraining her arm on the bumper cars. Welcome to Ecuador!!!
It was a nice weekend, and a good birthday too. Im glad its over for another year though and I can now finally carry on with normal day-to-day life. Just a final note: As I get older I really do feel I am getting more wise with each passing year. For example, it was soon after my birthday, whilst walking down a normal street in Ecuador that I finally figured it out. It came to me in a flash of brilliance and it should be commended by something prestigious like a Nobel Prize, because finally I did it, I figured out why Ecuadorians - have a problem with walking...............................
Vacation Over - A Return To Quito Life
So after my ten day trip across Ecuador, into Peru and back again, my Quito life resumed once more. I have now been living in Ecuador for one year and nine months. It seems like time has gone much faster than when I went travelling before - maybe because I have mainly stayed in one spot and gone through the daily work routine. When I think about all the things I have done here though - the things I have been through, the experiences I have had, the people I have met and the friends I have made - it does seem to be an awful lot!!!
The period of time just around the Peru trip was generally filled with birthdays, parties and birthday parties. Just before we left for our ten day adventure, it was Maisa's sisters (Grace's) 20th Birthday. We went to a very swanky hotel for a buffet lunch before heading up the large hill (El Panecillo) that sits in the historic old town of Quito and where on top, is a giant statue of the Virgin Mary. It is a landmark within the city and at the summit you get fantastic 360 degree views of the entire area. I had been up here once before but a long time ago, so it was nice to get another look with Henry, Maisa and all her family. In the evening there was a huge party set up in Maisa's house, complete with DJ, a lot of food and also a flow of Mojitos (which were constructed by Henry and myself). On the same day - it was actually Maisa's other sisters (Jessy's) birthday too. She turned 15 which is quite a big deal in Ecuador so her birthday was pushed forward about a month for a very special event.
Just two weeks after our Peru trip, Maisa's dad celebrated a business venture. He was opening a petrol station and for the inauguration he decided to hold a big party on site. Under a giant tent, around 150 people were treated to a three course meal, a huge band playing typical South American music and a lot of whiskey. Before everyone got drunk there were speeches and the cutting of ribbon. Then, with everyone dressed up in all their fancy clothes we all drank and danced the night away. By the end, some where too intoxicated to stand. I even had to carry a few out of the venue. I however, was still in control of all my faculties by the time the clock struck 3am and the party came to a close. It was a great event, even with the staff of the party trying to steal some belongings of Maisa's aunt and uncle who had come over from Venezuela. I found most of their things buried under a big pile of table-cloths at the end of the night where some of the staff had hidden the things for easy pickings later. Everything made it back to their rightfull owners except a camera which disappeared altogether. Its sad that at such an expensive event, some staff would still try their luck and steal from the guests. Maisa's dad ended up leaving his party shouting the word "rats" to the staff members!!! All in all though it didn't detract from a great night enjoyed by everyone.
Just one week later and it was Jessy's birthday. Maisa's sister was turning 15 years and well, it was one of the biggest parties I have ever seen - especially for a 15 year birthday. The event was more like a wedding only there was no bride and groom. The planning of this party took months and all four sisters had special dresses made for the occasion. The men were suited and booted too. The event first started in their nearby church (I told you - it was just like a wedding). There was a small service, with a band playing, lots of singing and praying......and maybe like a gallon of holy water being thrown around to bless everyone. I have never been to a service like this before. I'm not the most religious person in the world, but I respect everyones decision to choose in what they believe. To everyone else here, the service was quite normal as most people are Catholic in this country. For me the whole thing was a little strange. Religion is a funny business, with all the little rituals and specific acts which must be followed at the exact time and to the exact specifications. Its almost like the person who invented religion had some form of severe OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). It was still very interesting to see though.
Afterwards, everyone headed to the Sheraton Hotel. The party must of housed around 150 people, most of which were Jessy's friends and the rest, family. Two groups had come all the way from Venezuela. There was first a reception with drinks and two very weird looking clowns, dressed all in gold and whos job was to welcome you into the room. They scared the living hell out of three-year old Domi and to be honest, me a little as well. The party was held in a huge room full of round tables and large screens on the walls. The family walked into the room surrounded by music and everyone clapped. Jessy came last. Then there were some speeches by Marcelo, Maisa and Grace. They laid a chair in the middle of the room so Jessy could sit down and her Mum came in with her shoes and put them on her feet, like some sort of Cinderella reenaction. Then a movie was played on the big screens showing photos of Jessy through her life, before she had a 'first dance' with a male friend of hers in front of everyone. Later, we sat down to a three course meal with Champagne. There was a buffet dinner for the kids.
During the night there were two bands playing different types of music and a DJ, who generally played songs aimed at the youngsters. The dancing and drinking went on well into the night and we all only stopped once to sing happy birthday as a giant cake was wheeled onto the dance-floor. It was a pretty amazing party and everyone had a good time all round. I remember thinking that my 15th birthday was quite different. If my memory serves me right, my friends and I spent the entire night trying to sneak into a pub in my local (North London) area, just to get an alcoholic beverage, and the only clowns involved were the behaviour of my friends. Still, each to their own.
During those weeks, it had been the birthday of Grace and Jessy, Domi and Marcelo (most of the Coello family basically) but also of someone else. The most special birthday of all the birthdays was coming up. There had only ever been 27 of these fantastic events to occur in all the world, but 28 was just around the corner.................
