Semana Santa

So as you all know, this past week was Holy Week. For those who observe, Happy Belated Easter! Christ is risen! So, Ecuador is very very Catholic, as are many other Latin American countries, and therefore Holy Week (Semana Santa) is a pretty big deal. Most schools are closed, and there are lots of events going on in the city. On Good Friday, there is an annual procession in the historic center of Quito that starts at 12:00pm (which symbolizes the hour at which Pontius Pilate condemned Jesus to death) and goes until 3:00pm (the time at which Jesus was crucified. The procession consists of purple-hooded, Ku  Klux Klan-looking, penitents (cucoruchos) who show their repentance by carrying heavy crosses, tying chains to their feet, by wearing crowns of thorns on their hand, and by whipping themselves. Thousands of people go to watch, and it was definitely a good experience to go. I only stayed for about 30 minutes, because the procession is pretty repetitive, but I'm glad I went. Here are some pictures from the procession:

I don't know the reason behind the purple hooded robes... 

These crosses looked very heavy -- it took many people to carry some of them.

This guy took on this cross all by himself.

Later that same day, my family & I went to my host mom's cousin house to eat the traditional Fanesca soup. This is a very special soup that is unique to Ecuador. It contains 12 different grains/legumes that have significance in that it represents the 12 disciples of Jesus. There are many different theories about the origin of the soup -- my host mom swears that Jesus and the disciples ate this exact soup. Others say that its origins are indigenous. In fact, my Kichwa teacher told me that the preparation of the Fanesca soup is an indigenous tradition, and it is merely a coincidence that the time when the indigenous first prepared it, is during the time of Holy Week. According to this theory, the indigenous people of Ecuador  received a sign from a bird (don't remember the name of the specific bird) that told them that the grains were ready. Then, the indigenous people used all of the grains to make this soup, as a way to thank the earth for giving them these rich grains. Whatever its origin, Fanesca takes DAYS of preparation because in order to make it, you have to peel each one of the grains, and do other tedious tasks to get the soup just right. Its taste is very rich, and it fills you up with just a small serving. I was fortunate enough to try 2 different versions of the soup -- one on Friday and one on Saturday. The first one I tried had fish in it. Even though the indigenous population of Ecuador never added fish to the soup, the Christian influence on this dish led to the addition of fish (to represent Jesus, I suppose). I don't really like fish, and the taste of the fish pretty much took over the taste of the grains, so the first Fanesca wasn't my favorite. However, I did eat most of it and I could tell that it had a very rich taste. My second Fanesca didn't have fish in it, and therefore I was able to taste the grains better. I liked this one more and it was so rich and so fulfilling. I unfortunately did not take a picture of either Fanesca but here is a Google pic to give you a general sense of what it looks like:

 

As you can see, it is custom to add things into the soup, like plantains, fried dough, cheese, eggs, etc.

On Easter Sunday, I was able to go to a church service with my host mom -- Hallelujah! I haven't been able to go to church once since I've been here, so I was really excited about this. The church is walking distance from our house, and it's an evangelical/Protestant/non-denominational (obviously, I'm not really sure haha) church that has 4 services each Sunday, and each service is packed! I was expecting a church that was very Catholic (as most of the churches here are Catholic or at least have a strong Catholic influence), but the service was surprisingly very similar to some churches I have been to in NYC! The music was upbeat and exciting, there were dancers, song leaders, drummers, guitarists, violinists, etc. The pastor was also really great -- very funny, passionate -- and his sermon was heavily aligned with the Bible. I really enjoyed the service, and I almost understood every part of it! It was definitely a different experience worshipping the Lord in a different language. However, it was great to know that even though worshipping in Spanish in a different country is a little out of my comfort zone, I am still worshipping the same God! I love to experience God working and touching lives outside of the United States! :)