the feast

     post-temescal, after a day of hardly eating but playing all
     too hard, and now dehydrated from hours in the earth, we were
     starving and thirsting for agua. 

     I put on semi-dry clothes
     (everything here seems to be perpetually damp), and joined in
     the dinner preparation ceremony. baskets of raw veggies sat
     prepared on the table - we carried them over to where a
     neatly round hole had been dug deep into the earth. smaller
     versions of the stones that had created our temescal
     experience were being brought over from the fire, and with
     the antlers, placed lining the bottom of the pit. one at a
     time a vegetable would be called and the student with that
     basket would step forward and place their nourishment into
     the pit... potatoes, carrots, purple sweet potatoes,
     plantains, a pineapple, beets, corn, beans, and others I'm
     sure I cannot remember, topped off with banana leaf-wrapped
     chicken. along with each layer stones were added to the
     edges, creating a fortress of heat around the raw food...
     leaves were used to separate certain layers, and to protect
     the top, allowing for the placement of more fiery rocks. the
     rocks are from the volcanos here, much older and wiser than
     we are, and we glean the knowledge we can from cooking our
     food with their heat. finally water was poured over
     everything and two damp pieces of fabric were stretched over
     the pit and covered with dirt. we gave thanks, passed around
     a basket of flower pedals and each took a handful, sprinkled
     them onto the dirt and made a wish... a lovely ceremony I
     might've found even more lovely had I not been so hungry ;)

     we waited with tea by the fire for an hour or so. the food is
     collected from the pit in pretty much the same manner as it
     is placed, only backwards. we gathered around with empty
     baskets and the whole process was easier than I was
     imaginjng. once all the food was on the table we were served
     a plate containing one or more of everything. I ate it all...
     except for the potatoes, I've never really loved potatoes -
     except the purple and sweet kind. and there was no
     silverware, which made it more awesome. and over dinner we
     all decided the happenings of our mardi gras should all be
     brought back to the states, daily :) espuma and la bombas and
     the country-wide mess making, along with enlightenment in
     mother earth's womb and last but not least, eating meals with
     hands and no utensils!! what an unforgettable day....
  
     back in quito now and it is night the following day. I am
     ready to sleep but the city is so noisy - engines reving,
     horns honking, alarms sounding, dog barking... I miss the
     peace of peguche, where I was lulled to sleep each night by
     crickets, frogs, and the babbling of the brook amongst the
     backdrop of silent mountains... when it comes to white noise,
     I definitely have a preference.