School Holidays

School holidays have begun here in Santo Domingo.  The old school year has finished and the new one is set to begin in May.  The weeks of relaxation stretch out as the torrential rainy season storms do their worst and children play in the muddy puddles.  Time passes slowly as the children play carefree with their neighbours.  

At least that is how the holidays will appear to some children.  Others have failed to pass their end of year exams, so they have to continue attending classes for another month.  They have to go one hour a day for each subject they have failed in for revision.  At the end of the month they will face retakes, as they are given another opportunity to increase their grades.  If they fail they will have to retake the whole school year. 

Other children do not have the luxury of play.  They are needed by their families to help with the work to put food on the table.  Marcos is ten years old and a little scrap of a boy.  These school holidays will resemble his weekends and previous holidays, seeing him helping his father to pack bananas ready for transportation.  Marcos has five younger brothers and sisters.  His mother is mentally unwell.  His father is in his seventies.  Marcos has to help earn money so that there is food for the family to eat. 

This year ten of the sponsored children look forward to the holidays with great excitement.  These ten have won participation in a course of their choice during the vacations.  When told of their prize all ten immediately knew what they would like to learn.  They had just never had the opportunity to pursue any extra-curricular activities before.  I like to think of them catching the bus to their keyboard, swimming, dance, first-aid and hair dressing classes, imagining their delight.  I cannot wait to hear them recount their experiences. 

Carneval

The last four days have been full of water and foam splashing around in all directions.  This is Carneval Santo Domingo, Ecuador style.  My daughters seem to be permanently soaked and covered in foam.  They are a menance with the foam cans.  The rivers are full to over flowing with people enjoying water fights.  We cannot get out along our road because of the queues of traffic coming out our way to the rivers.  It is happy mayhem. 

The festival originates in pagan festivals to pagan gods, but was renamed Carneval in the time of the Spanish Conquistadores, meaning "No more meat".  It was a time to enjoy all excesses before the lent fast.  Today Carneval is a time for families to have fun.  Tomorrow the Catholics will celebrate Ash Wednesday then life will continue as usual. 

In other parts of Ecuador there are brightly  coloured parades with traditional dancing, flowers and fruit displays.  Many people head to  the beaches to play in the sea.  Families gather buckets and hose pipes and stand outside their houses spraying the passing cars with water.  Water balloons may catch you unawares. 

Ecuadoreans are amazed when I tell them we do not celebrate Carneval in Britain, until they think a little and imagine everything covered in snow.  Water fights in the cold would not work so well.  In the interests of cultural exchange I am contemplating cooking the extended family some pancakes for tea.  (They are at present all getting wet in the river.)  I wonder what they will make of crepes a la lemon and sugar.  I fear it may seem a little tame in the face of the local exuberance.