Finally at my Site where I will be for the next two years

August 21 2009, Friday

So to be honest right now…I cannot even really remember the last blog entry that I wrote. And since I am writing this blog entry right now in my bed where I do not actually have the internet, I will try my best to pick up where I think I left off in the blog last time.

First things first, I am an actual sworn in PCV now!!! That is right folks. No more Peace Corps Trainee; I am a fully fledged Peace Corps Volunteer. Finishing up training was a very busy time that was filled with a lot of paper work and a lot of sad goodbyes. Not only to the host family members that we lived with over the past two months, but also to each other as we are now all at our own sites by ourselves.

Finishing up training though went pretty well really. We had a family appreciation day as well the last Saturday that we were there. All of the family members were invited to the Ayora training center where we had lunch and some cultural activities that included a dance and singing. I actually joined the dance group somehow…by accident I think really one day after classes. I thought we were just learning some of the traditional dances for fun; it wasn’t until later that I realized I had actually signed up to dance in front of some 200 people. It actually ended up being kind of fun even though I am sure my dancing was far from perfect.

All of the dances, the ten of us girls in total, dressed up in the traditional dance and then did a little dance to the traditional Sierra song. One of the PCTs told me that her parents got a kick out of the dance just because of Joy and me (the two girls that are about six foot that danced) for the pure fact that we were able to dance in the clothes and look really funny doing it I think. Either way, people seemed to enjoy the “entertainment” and we enjoyed learning how to do it the best we could as well. I did not actually get any pictures of the dance, but I am sure with time that pictures will show up on Facebook. I only got pictures of myself before the dance in the traditional dress which will be up on Facebook at some point. We also had two huge roasted pigs for the lunch meal which was a big hit with everyone. All in all, it was a good day.

That pretty much wrapped up training as the next day we left for Quito with all of our stuff at 8am from Cayambe. It was definitely a bitter-sweet feeling leaving the freezing cold of La Chimba. I will not at all miss the cold weather but I will definitely miss the amazing view; one of the best I have ever seen in my life. Hopefully one day I will revisit that area if for nothing else but to see that view again.

So off we went to Quito where we dropped off our stuff all together in the hostel and then went off to the Mitad Del Mundo (the middle of the world). First we ate at a really nice restaurant on the PC dime which was really good. Then we went to the wrong Mitad Del Mundo as there are actually two in Quito (one I think that is supposed to be the “real” one and the other one is more touristy…and then I also heard someone say that they thought the real zero zero point was up in one of the mountains…long story short, who really knows???) for about ten minutes. Next we went to the one we actually had tickets for which was the touristier one. So I got pictures of me at both of them which I will also put up on Facebook. It was nice and weird at the same time to be doing something that was touristy. Either way, I have now officially been to the middle of the world…both of them in Quito.

The time at the hostel went by rather quickly really. We would all go to the PC office during the day and have our final lectures and sign our final papers…of training only though, I am sure there are plenty more papers to follow over the next two years. During the night we would all hang out at the hostel which was a lot of fun actually as it was a nice time to relax. There was a Papa John’s right down the street as well which had a two for one deal on Tuesday. So we all ditched the hostel food for the night and went and got pizza which was amazing, let me tell you. Definitely worth the whole 4 dollars I had to spend on pizza and breadsticks once all was said and done.

Then came the swear in day, Wednesday August 19th, where we all got to get dressed up, my first time of putting on mascara in two months might I say, and actually feel pretty again. For swearing in we went to the Ambassador’s house in Quito where we had the ceremony. The ceremony was just like any other for the most part except that it was in Spanish and English and of course we were at the Ambassador of the United States house and she gave a speech to us as well. Once the speeches were all done, one from our Trainer Facilitator, one from our Country Director, one from the Ambassador, and two of the PCTs in my group, we then all got to come up one by one and shake the hand of the Ambassador and our Country Director as we got our certificates…and these pictures will also be up on Facebook book. After the ceremony, there were bagels, fruit, coffee, and tea with of course many pictures. We then all went back to the PC office where we waiting for our time to head off to our sites (some people left right after, some left that night, others were leaving the next day). My group actually left at 8pm so we had some time just to relax in Quito. Then the three of us, Sarah, Dana, and me, got on our 10 hours overnight bus trip to head down to El Oro.

Thankfully, everything on our trip went relatively well. I say this because we were a group of three Gringos with lots of luggage…this equals a big target for theft around here. But as I said, thankfully everything went well in that sense. As for actually getting from point A directly to point B I had some issues. The bus that we take goes down to Machala and then keeps heading south. My barrio, El Retiro, is further south on the Pan-American Highway. So I thought that the bus would just go right by my barrio. In reality, it took a different side road so it didn’t go by my barrio but straight to Santa Rosa on the Pan-American. Now thankfully again, we had actually made this same type of mistake last time and therefore I knew that there was a bus that went back towards Machala which would for sure go by El Retiro.

Now the sad/bad part of this story is that the drivers of the Panamericana line decided to drop me off at the roundabout with two suite cases, my backpack, and my purse instead of actually going a little out of their way to drop me off in town. So I was left at the roundabout with all of my luggage not really 100% sure which way to go. Oh yeah, and did I mention that it was raining slightly…thankfully, not a whole lot, but enough to make it count. So after I forced myself not to cry because I knew all that would do would be attracted any one that might want to rob me, I began collecting all of my stuff and myself together and started the trek towards Santa Rosa where I knew there was a bus.

Besides sweating a lot and getting really muddy while avoid catcalls from the males in the street, I did pretty well. I only had to go about a half mile in towards town and then I found a bus that was heading to Machala and thankfully they put my luggage in the actually bus with me so that I knew it would be safe. Once on that bus, I recognized where El Retiro was pretty easily and got off there. There it was just about another half of a mile walk to my house where I will be staying for the next three months. So I arrived to the house, all sweaty and muddy where my host family asked me what happened and I just told them it was okay, it was good exercise for me. Really, I am just really proud of myself for not breaking down and crying when I got left at the roundabout!

So yesterday, Thursday, was my first official day as a Peace Corps Volunteer at my site and man oh man did it all hit me. Between the language, the culture, and my purpose for being here, the next two years are definitely going to be challenging. I have settled in though into my room with all of my stuff and the fact that my host family has the restaurant next door is really nice and it is something that I am going to really enjoy. Today was another relaxing day where I just stayed in the house and the restaurant really and “talked” with the kids and the customers. I say “talked” because my language still has a ways to go. However, they do have two TVs here; one in the house and one in the restaurant which I am sure will help out my Spanish as well.

I still have yet to met up with my counterpart as he has been busy these past couple of days. I am sure though once I talk with him I will get a better feel of what I am going to be doing here as he is really my support system here in the barrio. I think that for the first month or so I am just going to follow him around with INFA and see how things work. Once I get a better feel, I then get to do surveys around the barrio to see what people think of their barrio and the things that they want changed. It’s called the CAT tools that I have to use to assess the neighborhood and see where I can help. And of course it is for my own knowledge as well. We have to complete these tools with in the first three or four months here and have a full report down up for our Reconnect session in Spanish. Yes…the PC does give you assignments to complete. It should be a good thing though, just something that I have yet to figure out completely how I am going to go about doing.

My first “real” assignment here though is just to introduce myself to the community as well as the Peace Corps as I am the first volunteer. This in itself will be something that will take time. All in all, everything right now is just a lot. That I guess is the easiest way to put it. It is a lot to be on your own in a society that you do not understand, or fit into at all, with a language that you cannot really speak. Not to mention that you want to help develop this place, but you know that is something that takes a lot of time and it is something that you might never see the results of anyhow, if people even accept you at all. All in all, it is just a lot for a person to take it. And I am sure that over the next two years, I will encounter a lot of different things that will include many ups and downs. I mean heck, I think that I have ups and downs hourly at this point! The PC experience is definitely a one of a kind thing that is going to push me to limits I never knew I had and teach me things that I could never imagine; both in good ways and bad ways. Hopefully I will just be able to keep my sanity along the way…even if I only had a little to start with 