Today mostly consisted of a 6 hour bus ride from Otavalo to Cuenca where I slept most of the time as we passed through steep mountains and curvy roads. It wasn't until we got to CEDEI center, the school at which I will be attending, that I became really nervous. I was nervous for several reasons. First, my host family spoke barely any english. Second, I thought that I was going to have a roommate staying with me but I will not have one. Finally, I knew I was in for a bit of a culture shock.
My host mom was announced to me and accepted me with open arms, saying "Hola, mucho gusto" then giving me a small kiss on my right cheek. I then met my host dad, Alejandro. Our ride to my home stay house was a little confusing. I began to notice that I couldn't in fact understand a lot of spanish. Both my host mom and host dad do not speak English, just small words here and there. Once settled in the house however, I then met their youngest daughter, Silviana. She's in her mid twenties and is able to speak some English, I have to admit it was a big relief.
We made our way to a town where their family lives about half an hour away where we would be celebrating New Years. I met endless amounts of people. Uncles, aunts, cousins, etc. They all knew in advance who I was and tried their best to communicate with me. I could smell delicious scents of meat and vegetables cooking and all night I heard Spanish music blasting. After eating a massive meal, we took a family picture and all the cousins (about 12) and I went to explore the city. We all sat on the edge of the back of a trunk, this was our seat for about an hour and a half. Wind and small rain drops hitting my face every know and then as we traveled through the city seeing all the other dummy/dolls.These would be set on fire or attached to fireworks and set off at midnight. It's been a tradition of theirs for a long time.
Towards the end of the night, I danced with the whole family, ate desert and enjoyed a cup of coffee, and got to see their fire be made with the dolls. I noticed that they are certainly collectivistic because of their interaction between family members and the way they celebrate together all night with hardly any use of technology to distract them. All the cousins were very comfortable with one another, all the sisters and brothers laughed and danced together, and they made me feel apart of the family as much as they could. One of the cousins brought around a platter of shots every 15 minutes or so. At first I was hesitant because it was rather large, containing whiskey and coca-cola mixed together. They could see I was hesitant but reassured me that it was okay and all the cousins and uncles toasted many times as part of their excitment and celebration for the New Years. In the end I toasted with them a few times and enjoyed watching some of them drunkenly sing karaokee. By the time we made our way back home, it was 2 in the morning and I was exhausted.
However, I have to admit that I felt the most homesick that I ever have before. I've studied abroad a longer amount of time and did not feel the loneliness that I felt on New Years Eve. Perhaps it was the fact that I was away from my family for the first time on this holiday, or because I wasn't used to how hard it would be to express myself through words, or because I felt like an outsider looking in. It could've been all of the above and most likely was because I felt really alone for some of the night. I started missing all the things and people I would usually have this time of year and honestly wanted to go home. I thought this would shake off after a good night's sleep and told myself to keep an open mind.
