Tonight Ruby and I's host mum took us to see a theatre performance at the local Teatro Cine, I was super excited about it because I love music and dance which was exactly what it combined and the entry was free. We found out about it through her son who ran the media production for the company and was going to save us seats.
We left around 7.30pm and walked up the street to catch a taxi and here is when the first of the strange but now funny experiences began. We got in an unmarked car with shades in the windows and Mariana told the driver where to go. To clarify, we had been told to ONLY get in taxis which were yellow and had a number on the side of the door. Anyway, it all worked out ok and we got there just fine - it wasn't a fake taxi despite the looks. (Will not be doing that alone or without a local though).
This was when the 'fun' began. We walked towards the entrance gate where there was a group of people outside pushing at the gate and yelling at the security guards to let them in. The gate was closed because the theatre was 'full' and there was a distinct lack of a ticketing system. We joined the mob and followed our host mum (imagine a lovely older lady of about the same height as myself; 5 foot 2) pushing her way to the front. Ruby pulled the gate back and our mum pushed her way through, fighting and pushing against the security guard and the other people trying to get through. All the while, I am trying to keep up and put on a brave face. Thankfully, I kept up and we made it through the chaos running towards the theatre until we were well clear of the guards and we found her son who took us to the seats he had saved.
The theatre performance was really good and was put on by the Ecuador National Company of Dance and the Ecuador National Symphony Orchestra. Following the performance, it was time for another new adventure: taking the bus. We waited for a while before the bus arrived and we hopped on. Luckily, it wasn't a busy bus and seats were aplenty. Buses here are incredibly loud and bumpy, certainly not the place for applying lipstick or trying to sleep. When we got off the bus our host mum took us through a small local park where there were kids playing and a row of vendors selling authentic local food. We had a look at each of the stalls and Mariana bought Ruby and I each an Empanada con Queso and a sweet drink made of corn called Morracho. The only way I could describe 'Morracho' is similar to creamed rice. It was white and creamy with soft chunks of white-coloured corn. It was better with cinammon on top but i'm not sure i'm convinced on the taste. Definitely worth a try though! Also the empanada was delicious!!
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| Morrocho |
I believe the word for the night was "adventure" - even our host mum said to us "it is a night of new adventures" with which I could not agree more. I'll admit at the time it was happening I was rather scared but I certainly did enjoy the night and it is great to laugh about now that it has happened.
That's my interesting story for the week.
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