- -Que viva el año nuevo!!!!

Hola amigos!! We just wanted to wish you all the best most awesomest super duper chevere 2009!!!! We´re sure this year will bring all of you wonderful people luck, hope, love, money and travel…..or at least it will for us! Haha let us explain… Here in Ecuador el año nuevo is filled with traditions that assure plenty of awe-inspiring things to come in the upcoming year. Here are some examples/a summary of our last day of 2008(which by the way was an excellent year)… The madness began as we were driving back to Lucia´s house from the airport. The roads, sidewalks and cars were covered with “Años Viejos”. Años Viejos are stuffed lifesized figurines that every family buys/makes to burn at midnight on the 31rst of December, “to destroy by fire” (haha looked that one up in word synonyms) all the bad things that have happened to you on the year…
Along our journey we also were stopped my sexy “widows” asking for money to burry their dead husbands, symbolic of the year that passed. The widows were simply cross dressers hoping to make an extra buck out of an old tradition. Haha and one of the skimpily dressed widows begged Hilde´s brother to stay with her…AWKWARD!

From there we went to Lucia´s house to prepare our costumes for the big party… Her mother had kindly bought us both a pair of yellow panties to bring us loads of money in the upcoming year (hope it works!). haha so on new years it is rather boring to picture everyone in their underwear….seems how everyone is wearing yellow hoping to win the lottery (or some are wearing red for love!) We quickly started thinking what we could wear to cover our cute (and hopefully lucky) panties! Hilde wanted to be the abominable snowman, but considering the weather… she would have cooked inside and been dead before the new year…. From there, we searched the closet and found a makeshift wonder woman outfit for Hilde, and out of a bag hidden in the back of her closet Luci found her UNITARD making her color woman!!!! (from Willamette dance concert… I think you might remember this skin tight painted beauty).
So with our yellow underwear and customs to jumpstart the new year we headed to the party with Luci’s lovely family. As we entered the party the dance floor was filled with characters from the past and the present. We rocked the floor for a couple of hours and then got ready to receive the New Year. We killed the music and listened on the radio to the same bellowing voiced guy who has counted down the new year for the past 50 years.
As the countdown began, everyone counted out 12 grapes, lit candles, grabbed suitcases and matches to light the fireworks, and headed outside. As the clock struck twelve, we lit the Año Viejo and jumped over as it burned asking for our dreams to come true. People then shoved the grapes in their mouths, one for every month and asking for wishes to be granted. The candles were lit to bring love, hope, and money for everyone. At the same time, people were running around with suitcases to guarantee travels in the next year. As fireworks exploded in the sky, everyone hugged each other thankful that they shared this night together and wishing a good year. Then we ate a lot, sang, and dance a bit more. When the family party ended at around 3 am, we decided to go to a nightclub with some more friends… as we walked into the nightclub we realized (too late) that were the only people still in costume. A couple of people asked Luci if she worked there and if that was why she was soooo dressed up and another man kindly asked to remove her wig while they were dancing… she of course declined.
We hope you understood all of that...it was a light night and we are still suffering the side effects...
Feliz año nuevo!!! We miss you all this much =================== and more...!

BESOS
Lucia y Hilde