Duelo

[periwinklepanda]

        I was all set to post some open letters, particularly to the man in charge of security at the U.S. embassy, but it will have to wait.  This morning during breakfast my host mom told me that the mother of Eugenia, one of the directors of my program, passed away and that there would be a mass for her in the afternoon.  Apparently the word had been spread because when I arrived at the funeral home (miraculously on time, despite Quito's public transportation and my own faulty sense of direction) I ran into Megan and her host mom.  There were two other girls from the program there, as well as Francis, who works at ACLAS; even our old salsa teacher showed up.  The mass was really very nice, and I am always comforted after going to church, even if it isn't in my first language.  In fact, that just reminds me that the word "catholic" means "universal."
    It is always odd to attend memorial services for people that you never really knew, and as consequence, I honestly did not feel much pain.  It wasn't until Eugenia stood up afterward to speak, her voice cracking with emotion, that I wanted to cry.  I suppose it is as the priest said, that the mass is more for those who remain than for the deceased.  He said he was sure that Eugenia (mother and daughter shared the same name) had passed on to heaven and didn't need prayers, but that the family did.  So please keep Eugenia, Fernando, and the rest of their family in your thoughts and prayers if you can.