The streets aren't safe

Be careful where you walk

Every time you leave your house, you have to be aware of your surroundings.

Keep an eye on every balcony. Carefully approach each corner.

Because lurking in the shadows is ...... a kid with a water balloon, ready to soak any unsuspecting passerby.

For the last few weeks, my town has been in a state of water war. As the country prepares for the Carnaval fiestas, the kids are gearing up for their favorite holiday tradition. Ecuadorian youth have been saving up their water balloon, silly string, water gun, and egg budgets for months.

The pre-Carnaval rush first caught my attention during the second week of January. I was selling newspaper ads with an eight-year old on our staff. We were leaving his house and walking toward the center, but as we left his front door he said we should go the other direction. This made no sense to me because center was not in that direction. But we walked a few houses down the street and he pulled a bag of water balloon from underneath a piece of heavy machinery. He's not allowed to keep them in the house, so he has to hide them.

Then, as we were walking through town, he pulled a balloon out of the bag and started filling it up on a spicket. He said that he would spend the next month throwing water balloons at girls. I told him that while we are selling ads out focus should be on the ads and that throwing the water balloons at girls could wait until afterwards. He actually contained himself really well until we were a block from his house. He had a balloon in his right hand and saw his neighbor walking down the street. He chose for the stealth approach and splashing it on her back (a preferred strategy in his neighborhood, but you don't see it to often in the center).

In the three weeks that have passed, the water war has only intensified. Kids have been gathering all the loose change they can find to buy necessary armaments.

In our newspaper meeting last week, the girls looked like they were afraid of one of our other staff members. I asked them what the problem was and they told me that he throws eggs at them. At first, I thought that was ridiculous but that was naiveté.

It turns out that our staff member is also a member of an egg-throwing club from one of the neighborhoods in town. They operate one month out of the year and create panic among all the 11-15 year old girls in town.

Yesterday afternoon, more than a week before Carnaval, I was walking through town and it felt like a scene from The Hurt Locker. There was an eerie silence, as if your assailant could be lurking behind any door. Then, you hear a high-pitched scream and realize that two boys on a balcony had dropped a bucket of water on two unsuspecting girls walking below.

As the holiday actually approaches, the kids will continue with the water war but will also mix in some flour with the water attacks to leave a lasting impression. I went to my store yesterday to by flour to make challah and the woman told me that I should stock up on my flour before Carnaval hits and I won´t be able to find it anywhere.