Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Santa Rosa!

So my mother and I went to my sister's house (Patricia Maria) Saturday afternoon. I met a second cousin Carolina and I played some Star Wars Battlefront with Sebastian. We ate some delicious cheesey mashed potatoes, salad, hot dogs filled with cheese, and a kind of gelatinous pineapple cake. I ran out with Cesar (uncle) who took me to the house of Meche (a girl from my class). There were about 13 other classmates with us, and we loaded up on a little bus and took off for Santa Rosa!

We got to the town - everyone calls it a tiny pueblo (bigger in size but not in population than Machala) - and went to Demi's house. We walked around the town because nothing had started yet, and we got some ice cream (like a popsicle) - I got peach that had real peach chunks in it! We hopped in the bed of Demi's dad's truck and headed across town to eat. I had some carne de res, menestra (a soupy bean mixture), rice, choclo, maduros (a type of banana), and sugar cane. We went back to Demi's house and killed some time - subtly everyone got prepared for the night (some showering and soaking up in cologne and changing shirts) but I wasn't really aware of this ritual so I just hung around.

We went out to the streets, heading to the concert, and they were packed with vendors and people. Around the stage was a fence with limited seating. Somehow Demi's dad got us in (we had to squeeze through like 50 people all pushing against the fence to get in), and got us some chairs (not enough for all of us). I think my mom threatened my classmates so that they'd watch out for me because the whole night they were saying "Where's Logan" and "Logan hold on to us"and such. Since there were only like 6 seats, the boys just sat on the ground, waiting for the concert. Demi's dad was getting us some more chairs, but some workers wanted us (who didn't have chairs) to move, despite our explanation that we had chairs coming. Eventually the police came over and escorted us to the side of the fence (I was just laughing through all this - not aloud of course). Demi's dad finally came and handed us some chairs over the fence. We put the seats pretty close and near the edge of the stage (about 5 feet from it). First came on was a singer doing covers of Spanish songs - I think they just pulled him off the street to waste some time. Then came on a band, and were just what you'd expect from a teenage band - the singer kept on holding the mic out to the crowd as if they were going to sing. Then Makano, the main act, came on. The music was reggaeton and some of his songs were pretty catchy. We were moving to the beat, and everyone was singing the first song "Te Amo" with him. There were fireworks on the stage and people were trying to reach up to touch him. There was a little girl on someone's shoulders and she was holding some money in her hand. Makano took it and passed the exchange off casually as a little handshake. Later he pulled the girl on the stage, and she sang a little bit. We tried to leave early but, unfortunately, got stuck; fortunately the last song was "Te Amo" again and there was a crazy girl who ran on stage and clasped Makano. We left, being crushed again and carrying our chairs out. We kind of made a "congo line" to get out of there together.

We went back to Demi's house and just chilled for a little bit (the others prepared themselves again). They set up a stereo on the terrace, and we all headed up there (this was about at 1 am). They brought up some chips, juice, beer, and pina coladas. Don't worry, Mom, I didn't drink, but man, did the other boys. The other boys usually drink and smoke - neither of which appeal to Pedro and me - so I hung with Pedro. We danced, and they taught me some dances! I learned the Salsa and the Bachata. It was pretty funny by the end (around 4 am) when they were pretty "soaped." One classmate kept on talking to me about the Bachata, repeating the four steps. He also kept on saying "Wolverine" when around me. Another kept doing Michael Jackson moves. We got ready for bed (eventually - we had to care for the boys). One guy was pretty funny because he got really serious (usually he's just does whatever), telling us to be quiet and get to sleep and monitoring us. It was also funny because they sometimes spoke to me in their English. We finally went to sleep (or at least I did).

We woke up and ate some ceviche (supposed to alleviate hangovers I've heard) with tostados (little corn kernals), popcorn, and limes. We got ready and hopped in the truck bed. We headed to a bull fight, but it didn't start until 2 pm, so we went to watch a motorcross. We watched a little, talked, and ate. I tried some pastel de pollo (a croissant with a little bit of chicken, onions, lime juice, and mayonnaise), which was pretty good. They called it their "McDonald's." We left back to the house then went out walking. We went to a grocery store (my first one in South America!) and it was crazy because every single brand was completely different. They also had a ton of fruit and some I didn't know. They made some tacos and we ate. We headed back on the bus, and I got a taxi home.

2 comments:

  1. Haha! I'm glad your new friends are looking out for you, little boy. You seem to really have the hook ups for the concerts and such! I'm also glad you're not getting inebriated. Good on ya!

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  2. Your American mother is proud of you- always remember that it is better to be of sound mind rather than to be lost in a foreign country.

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