Family Time-Sunday in Quito

Family Time-Sunday in Quito

Sunday, more than any other day of the week is family time. When I say family, I mean grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, parents, kids, grandkids. Family is not just Mom, Dad, Brother, Sister. Sundays are the days when the family unites.

As you might expect, family is extremely important for Ecuadorians. When people find out that I live on my own, I’m not married and that my parents live in the US, they think I’m more than a little weird. “What, you live by yourself! Where are your parents! Oh, you poor, poor thing.” is the typical response I get.

Yesterday, being a Sunday was a great day to experience a typical Sunday in Quito. As I’ve written before, I live just blocks from Parque Carolina-Quito’s equivalent to New York’s Central Park. Green space is really important to me. My apartment complex is ALL concrete…absolutely zero green. So, I have to get out at least a few times a day to nature. For some Quiteños, a Sunday begins with a brisk walk or jog through the park. Some even rise early enough to lay stake to one of the many soccer fields, basketball courts or volleyball courts. 

After the morning exercise, some might reward themselves with a huge fruit salad that the vendors sell in big plastic cups full of cut up pineapple, mango, bananas, watermelon and papaya. Then it’s back home for a shower and a little TV watching. Then they might gather up the family, and go for a car ride to one of the smaller villages, maybe visiting family who has prepared a huge Sunday meal. 

Or others might stay in Quito, choosing to ride bikes on Avenida Amazonas, which is a main city street closed to traffic on Sundays for bicyclists.

During the day the city parks are full of families, watching soccer matches, playing volleyball, running, playing, laughing. Vendors are in full swing-cotton candy, balloons, crafts, meat on a stick, coconut juice, flowers, newspapers, etc. (I just sat for about an hour yesterday, watching all the activity-wonderful people watching).

Evenings, family disperses and then it’s the nuclear family, enjoying a simple meal (perhaps leftovers from lunch or bread, cheese and coffee/tea). Then it’s ready for the work week.