Part of the Family...

Alicia Holzapfel and I with my birthday cake!

Last night was my sixth and final celebration of my 18th birthday... the second one in the form of a Rotary meeting! I went last week as well, but our club was meeting with the original Rotary Club Guayaquil and weren't meeting in our usual restaurant. They sang and were very nice, but this week was the real celebration.

It was the best and worst Rotary meeting I've ever attended. Aside from celebrating my birthday, there was the dinner, of course, and we were offered 2 dishes: Chicken and a vegetable medley, or something they just told me was "traditional Ecuadorean food." So, being my exchange student self, not wanting to say no to their culture, I said "I'd like the traditional Ecuadorean food." Well, about 25 minutes later, the plates were brought in. The chicken and vegetables looked really good, but the other plates smelled and looked even better: meat in a peanut sauce, fried banana, avocado halves, and rice. So I tried it. The meat, which I knew off the bat wasn't chicken, was very salty and almost too gummy to chew. I tried a few bites but didn't really like the texture, so I just enjoyed the rest of the dish and left the rest of the meat there.

After dinner, they told me what the dish was. AFTER dinner. The dish is called "Mondongo", and it's typical of Ecuador. It is, like I'd guessed, prepared in a peanut sauce, and has to be cooked very carefully, or the texture of the meat is almost unchewable. Oh, and the meat? Cow stomach. I excused myself to the bathroom and cleaned my mouth out. My stomach still churns at the thought of it.

After the meal talk, the president of the club stood up with a gift bag in his hand. "It seems we have a birthday girl among us..." he said. He handed the bag to Alicia, my counselor, and she handed the bag to me. Presents? Really?

Inside the bag was an offical Rotary polo shirt, an offical Rotary baseball cap, and a teddy bear, holding a heart pinned with the flag of Guayaquil.

After the presents we had cake: Chocolate cake with chocolate and whipped-cream frosting, covered with a hard chocolate shell! Between picking me out a dreamy all-chocolate cake, and embroidering my name into the hat and shirt so I wouldn't lose them, I'm starting to feel like I have yet aNOTHER set of parents looking out for me! I really feel like a loved part of the Rotary family.