That's all she wrote folks!

So I have been back in the States for a little over a month now and have gotten to spend some time with my family as well as see some friends from high school and college. I am slowly but surely starting to readjust and I decided it was about time to write my last Blog entry for this adventure.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't happy to be back in the States and I would also be lying if I said I didn't miss the people of El Retiro and all of my youth and kids in Ecuador. It really is a very unique situation that I decided to put myself in. I put myself into an environment, where I knew I would never truly belong, and then I forced myself to make a life there. But man have I ever gained a lot from doing that.

First things first - Readjustment. It certainly isn't easy, that is for sure. And let me be the first to tell you that they are some things that you think you might have missed, but haven't! For example:

1 - The television and technology: Half of the stuff you watch on TV you kick yourself for being silly enough to waste time watching but then you continue to watch it because it is addicting for some odd reason. And as for technology, I get that it all can be very useful...but I am just not there yet. Don't tweet me, just call me for crying out loud!

2 - All of the different foods: Sometimes not having so many options is actually a good thing...the cereal aisle really is kind of scary! And of course almost everything costs more.

3 - Warm water: As enjoyable it is for showers, I often find myself forgetting to turn the knob from hot to cold or visa-versa as I'm just used to turning the faucet on and getting what you get.

4 - Cars: Driving can be scary sometimes and I have to admit I miss being able to have some drinks and then just all hoping on a bus and getting safely home. Not to mention...traffic can be a major downer and sometimes it is just nice not to have to drive and waste the gas money!

5 - Full length mirrors and air-conditioning: Sometimes you really don't want to see yourself full figured! It is easier/better to see a small portion. And as nice as air-conditioning can be, darn do I ever get cold sitting in church or at the grocery store because they have it cranked up!

And then of course there are those things which you really have missed:

1 - Family and friends: There is nothing that can come close to having people around you who really do understand you and know you.

2 - Being clean: Don't miss the dirt and heat or the fact that I never really felt clean while in Ecuador.

3 - Washer and drying: I can't say that I miss my concrete slab and having to hand wash my clothes at least once or twice a week just so it wouldn't become too overwhelming to do all at once.

4 - Blending in: There are other tall white girls around me and I LOVE it. I really don't like having all the attention on me.

5 - Microwave popcorn: What can I say? I know what I like and I have missed having a microwave for a lot of different things.

I am sure that there is plenty more that I could add to both of the lists. But the bottom line and the point I guess I am making is that I like and dislike things about both the U.S. and Ecuador.

My trip back to Nashville went pretty well with only a few bumps along the way. I had to go through some extra steps because I brought Tito (my cat) back with me, but she is definitely worth it. Although I might not have said that when I had to take her though security with me. In case you might ever need to know, when you take a pet through airport security you have to actually take the pet out of the cage and walk through the metal detector with the pet to the other side as the cage gets sent through the x-ray machine. Tito was not to fond of that and ended up hissing at a security guard as she clawed me up a little. However, I held on tight and made sure we got her back into that cage ASAP.

Otherwise I have just been here in Nashville living with my parents which is helping a lot. And thankfully my mom, who is allergic to cats, is not having any problems with having Tito in the house (Tito is living in my bathroom and bedroom). We are all very happy about that to say the least as I love them both very much :)

I am not sure that I can really articulate what this experience has meant to me. But I can definitely say that without a doubt it has helped shape who I am. It is almost like you do a detox for two years from everything in your life; your friends, your family, your culture, you language...everything. Once you take all of the distractions out of your life, you are left with just yourself. Sometimes that can be a good thing and other times it can be a very hard thing.

Over these past two years I have learned about another culture which has in turn helped me learn more about myself in ways I never thought were possible. El Retiro will always be "mi pueblo" in Ecuador and a part of my heart will always be with those kids and youth. This experience has pushed me both mentally and physically to points which I never thought I would reach. However, sometimes you have to reach those limits to truly know and understand who you are.

Peace Corps is not an easy thing to do at all. But if you are able to stick it out, what you learn from it truly is priceless and it is something that you will take with you for the rest of your life; at least I know I will.

One week from today!

So it is official...I am no longer a PCV but a RPCV! Turned in all of the paperwork, got all of the correct signatures, and I am once again just another U.S. citizen instead of a government employee living in Ecuador...although still having the government passport is rather nice :)

Unfortunately, the office has decided not to send a PCV to replace me at my site as they have decided that my site has too many challenges and issues for anyone in this new Omnibus group to handle. I guess that says something about myself and being able to be successful in my site over the past two years, but it also makes me really sad because the PC development program is supposed to be over 6 years split between three volunteers. I was just the first volunteer which makes me sad for my youth who won't be getting a replacement...but there isn't anything I can do about it so as Forrest Gump would say...that's all I have to say about that.

Otherwise I think I have gone into a sort of numb stage where I can't decide whether I am excited, nervous, scared, sad, happy, or anything at all really! I think this is just because you really feel all of it at once which is such a contradiction for the most part. Overall, I would have to say this is probably the most bipolar I have felt in all of my service with wanting to leave and at the same time not really feeling ready to leave as my life is here at the moment! All apart of the experience I guess.

So tonight I am headed back to my site on my last twelve hour bus ride!!! Can't say that I am going to miss those...but it is bitter sweet to be in Quito one last time.

Once back to site I am going to have about six days to pack all of my stuff up, sell the things I am selling, and give away all of the rest. It will be a fun and exciting time I am sure as emotional at the same time. But I definitely feel ready to get back to my site and start the packing.

This weekend I have my despedida, going away party, with my friends in Machala on Saturday. Then next week Monday I have my despedida with the school where I am currently teaching at and Tuesday and Wednesday I will be at my local school saying goodbye to everyone there. I am sure it will be emotional and there will be a lot of "no te vayas" (don't go), which I have already heard a lot of over this past month, but they will have a lot more meaning this next week I think.

It has been an incredible past two years in so many ways. Another chapter in my book of life as one might say. And I can honestly say that I have learned so much with this experience and I know that I will carry that information and knowledge with me for the rest of my life.

Life is all about change and everything that you do in life will have a lasting effect on who you are. Peace Corps is just another chapter in my life which is, has, and will shape who I am today. Learning to look at life from a different cultures view point is truly amazing and something I will carry with me forever.

Two weeks from today

In exactly one week from today I will no longer be an official PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer) but a RPCV (Returned Peace Corps Volunteer) and exactly two weeks from today I will be in Nashville TN along with my family and my cat from Ecuador, Tito. And to be honest, I don't even know how to let that really sink in!

My life has been here in El Retiro Ecuador for the past TWO years now. For a girl that tends to move around a lot, staying in one place for two years definitely counts for something! It has for sure been a time period that has helped me figure out what I want to do with my life and have a better understanding of others in general.

This past month my work has been coming to a close with me giving my last classes of English as well as my last English review sessions. I also ran another half marathon in Guayaquil which I ran quicker than my last time, but it wasn't near as pleasant.

I have some type of parasite that is for sure. And because of that parasite I can only run for about an hour before I literally get the runs. With this in mind, I managed to run the half marathon in 1:54:12...but it wasn't easy. For the last hour I was in a lot of pain as my parasites were not in the mood to be running. So although I managed to beat my time from the last time I ran...it wasn't nearly as pleasant. The next half marathon I am going to run is in Nashville on September 24th and I am will hopefully not have parasites then and it won't be nearly as unpleasant.

After the race we carried on for a day at the beach in Ecuador to drink rum and coke along with beers and seafood. We decided to go to a more unknown beach area called Ayangue, which was pleasant for the day. Then we went back to Guayaquil to celebrate the 4th with some other PCVs there. All in all, it was pretty nice.

That is really about all that I have been up to. The last month of service is a very unique one where you feel like there is so much to do and at the same time there is so much time just waiting around to head back to the States.

Next week I will head up to Quito to finish with the Peace Corps and then come back to El Retiro for one last week to say my goodbyes. All in all, it is a very emotional time with a lot of things to finish up and get ready to go back to the States.

41 Days and Counting

6-17-11

It is really hard for me to truly understand, much less believe, that I only have 41 more days left here in Ecuador. Time never ceases to amaze me with the mind tricks that is can play.

This past month I have been busy doing a lot of paperwork for the PC and working on tying up loose ends here and there. My work has fallen into a nice schedule where I teach English twice a week in a neighboring town, have my after school review sessions in my town three times a week, and a community bank meeting every other Monday. Those are my main projects at the moment.

I have tried to keep these projects pretty simple and laid-back as I will be leaving in a month. However, I am still working with the teachers that I have made relationships with trying to help them out with whatever I can. This past month especially I worked with the school psychologist to help plan and implement some workshops that she can do with the youth. As it is towards the end of my service, it is nice to have these relationships where I can still do some work and not have to start a new project of my own.

So all in all, I have managed to keep myself busy between my couple of classes and workshops along with working with the teachers. Then in my spare time of course there is the PC paperwork that I have to do before I can leave…and let me tell you, the government LOVES their paperwork.

Amongst surveys on pretty much every aspect of your service we have to write a one page summary of our PC service for the Country Director to sign verifying that we were in the PC, a four to five page report on your community where you live and aspects that could be useful to future volunteers at that site, and a six to ten page report summarizing you two years of service in your community and recommendations of what they need to continuing doing to keep developing…in Spanish. And those are just the main reports that we have to do before we can leave!

We have a Close of Service (COS) check list that we have to complete before we can leave the PC and I think the packet in total is about 10 pages. Three pages are the actual checklist of things you need to do or complete before you leave, such as the reports, closing your bank account, extra. The other seven or so are forms that you have to sign before you leave giving PC the right to do x, y, or z and saying that you won’t hold them responsible for x, y, or z. As you can see…I have read these forms very carefully…

Other than the work aspect I have also been busy saying my social goodbyes. I went up to Bucay one weekend for my friend’s belated birthday surprise party. More recently the El Oro cluster went to Jambeli Island one more time for a night together on the beach. All but two of the PCVs of El Oro made it out to Jambeli as well as three World Teach Volunteers from Machala. It was a really relaxing weekend on the beach one last time together which was nice.

We also went on one more day hike to Chilla El Oro where the highest point was 3,900 meters or 12,795 feet. It started to rain for the last 20 minutes of our hike give or take as well. And although the views were beautiful and amazing once again, I have to say that I am over the altitude and rain with hikes. I think the INCA trail was my high point and from there I feel pretty set on my need to hike the Andes…at least for now.

Random points to mention would be that one night when I stayed over at Sarah’s place we found a scorpion in her bed…yes that is right folks, a full grown black scorpion that must have been about 3 to 4 inches when you included the tail thing. Sarah killed it with her shoe as she screamed out die die die over and over again. Needless to say, we didn’t sleep that much that night.

I am also now included in the having amoebas club. They were asymptomatic and living happily inside of me for who knows how long really. The medicine I have to take to get ride of them was not pleasant to say the less. I had to take two horse pills a day for three days and couldn’t drink for two days after completion of the pills. Side affects of this medicine include and are not limited to upset stomach, bloating, constipation, fever, diarrhea, a lack of energy, feeling lethargic, and a metallic taste in your month. All in all, the medicine just resulted in upsetting my amoebas and now I am no longer asymptomatic but definitely still have amoebas. I plan on taking care of them when I go home as it is too much of a hassle to try and get ride of them now knowing that I will probably just get them once again before I am back in the States.
Now it is finally hitting me that I have a little more than a month left here in Ecuador….and I have to be the first to admit that I have mixed feelings. Ecuador has become my home for better or worse, and it will be weird at first to leave it to return back to the States. And yet I know that I am ready to head back to what I know and start to make a life for myself in Nashville. It is a weird mixture of feelings that I don’t even think I can put into words.

Over this next month, besides finishing my paperwork and selling or giving away most of my stuff, I am going to go to Cuenca one more time and we have a half marathon planned for July 3rd in Guayaquil with a trip to the beach attached to that weekend for the 4th of July. It will be one nice last hurrah with some of my PCV friends before we all say our final goodbyes for now.

Starting July 11th we have exams here followed by a week of vacation. Therefore, my last three weeks in country more or less I don’t really have any work as my classes stop. It will be good to have that time to wrap up all of the loose ends as well as start to apply to some jobs back home, and yet I am a little nervous to have that much time sitting around with just all of my thoughts! I am sure it will be a good thing though once it is all said and done as I am sure that I will be busier than I think for sure.

They tell you that the PC experience is the toughest job that you will ever love, which couldn’t be truer in many ways. I have learned so much about myself which I will carry with me for the rest of my life and I know that my youth will carry some of my lessons and memories with them for the rest of their lives.

However, they don’t explain to you how difficult it will be to adjust to your new life when you first arrive and how difficult it will be to leave it when the time comes. The reason they don’t explain this to you, is because they can’t explain it to you; you have to live it.

Over the past two years I have been able to truly see things for a different view point and I have made memories and experiences that will last a lifetime. As a former volunteer once said, my problem is that I am 25 years old and I have already had the experience of a lifetime.

Where to even start...

So needless to say I have been rather busy these past couple of months. With trips here and there along with work starting up again with school, I have found myself busy with little things here and there.

However, I have realized that I need to take the time to update my blog as I do have a lot to say! April was a busy month of school starting again, hikes to Zaruma, Cuneca, and Paccha, a 15km race, as well as the long awaited Machu Picchu trip. All in all, it was a pretty good month.

Towards the start of April I made a couple of little hikes around El Oro and one trip up to Cuenca doing some shopping as well as visiting the Cajas National Park in that area. I started the month with a simple hike around Zaruma to a waterfall area and exploring the city some more. I went with another PCV to visit the PCV that lives in Zaruma and he showed us around the area. The hiking was not very long, but a nice start to a month full of hikes.

After that trip I made a little longer trip with another PCV up to Cuenca Ecuador with the intent of hiking around Cajas National Park for a day as well as having a second day full of shopping in the markets or Cuenca and a couple of towns close by.

The hike around Cajas National Park was incredible. We followed the "pink" hike which went around about five different lakes, through a little forest and of course up and down some mountains. Now besides the fact that the hike is beautiful in itself, you are also up at about 3915 meters, or about 12,845 feet, above sea level. In case you don't know, let me tell you; altitude changes things. Not only does it make the hike harder, but it also makes you feel like you are literally in the clouds.

It was a great hike though which took us about three or four hours in total to make it around the loop. Thankfully as well, the rain put off until we were at the end of the hike and could get the bus back to Cuenca.

The next day we went shopping around two towns outside of Cuenca which are both about an hour away from Cuenca and about 5 minutes from each other. It was nice to go and see these other towns and look around at the shops. The one town is known for their jewelry and even I have to say that there was too much jewelry there to look at! After a while it all started to seem the same and yet you hadn't even visited half of the stores in the town. So needless to say, I spent some money in that town and now have some very nice jewelry to bring back with me to States that I bought at pretty good prices.

All in all, I would have to say it is very hard to go wrong with a trip to Cuenca and the surrounding areas. A great second hike for the month but I much harder one than the first.

Then I got talked into...literally he came to my town and talked me into getting into his car and going on this hike with them...to a hike around Paccha El Oro. At this point, I was pretty sore from all of the hiking I had done over the past couple of weeks as well as preparing for a 15 km race. But I decided last minute to go along with the group to Paccha for a day hike.

However, this day hike turned into something else. We didn't end up starting the hike until around 2pm and the objective was to try to make it to some kind of ruins in the Paccha area. And yet, we never did find ruins. It got to be about 4 or 5pm and we realized that if we didn't turn back soon that it would be dark before we made it back to the car. And of course how could I forget to mention...this hike, is really more like climbing through little streams and mud, or I guess I should say up the mountain side.

With our luck, as we decided to give up on finding the ruins and turn back down the mountain it decided to DOWNPOUR. And I mean buckets here people. To the point where the little streams turned into landslides that we had to walk down and through to get back to the car. After two hours of that...I think it would be fair to say that I was re-thinking my decision to come in the first place!

However, we all made it back to the car safely but completely drenched. Thankful to be back in the dry car we went to stop in at the PCV's house that lives in Paccha to get some dry clothes before heading back...and let me tell you that I look good in men's long-johns and a men's white undershirt!

To add to the fun, the car then would not restart as the electronic key had gotten wet and decided not to start the car. After about 30 minutes of messing around with the key, we finally got the car to start and headed back home to get pizza for dinner. It was quite the adventure that I had never planned to say the least!

Now to the fun part of April which I like to call the hardest thing I have ever done in my life...or at least one of them for sure. We ran a 15 km race in Cuenca Ecuador...this is at 2,560 meters or about 8,399 ft. I live at sea level in the heat of El Oro. So needless to say, I struggled a little with the altitude and never plan on running in altitude EVER again in my life. Been there done that, happy I survived.

All in all, I ran the 15 km in Cuenca at 1:29:41 and was happy to be alive. There were two inclines along the race and I use the world inclines loosely as Cuenca is in the Andes. It was really hard to keep running and breathing and I am happy that I never had to do it again. I guess by the end of it all my lips turned a little blue from the lack of oxygen and the cold weather as it rained on and off during the race. A proud moment for me that I will never repeat again in my life :)

Once we realized that we could run 15 km at 2,560 meters it was time to rest for a week before our trip off to Machu Picchu. Sarah and I traveled by plane from Guayaquil Ecuador to Lima Peru to get a bus from there to Cusco Peru. All in all, it took a good solid two days to travel there as the bus ride took 21 hours.

Then we had one day in Cusco to shop and adjust to the altitude before we started our four day three night hike through the Andes on the INCA trail to Machu Picchu. Cusco was a really nice town with a lot of travelers which was nice for us for a change. It was nice to be able to talk to random people in English and see what brought them to South America.

The hike was absolutely incredible and I don't know how to say it besides that. The INCA trail is really amazing, not an easy thing to do at all, but truly worth every bit of pain. I managed to lose two more toe nails along the trail (for a total of three lost at the moment) and bruise up one of my big toe nails as well as two blisters on the bottom of my shoe - Moral of the story, hiking shoes really are worth it.

But the hike was amazing. The first day was an easy day with some up and down parts and getting to see our first ruins towards the end of the day. The ruins along the trail really are something as there is nothing around them besides the mountains. It was a great weather day as well to start the trail off.

The second day was the hardest day and we knew that it would be. We had the full day to hike up about 1,000 meters or about 3280 feet to the highest point on the trail, called Dead Woman's Pass, at 4215 meters...just about 13,828 feet. Needless to say, it was a long day and very difficult. There were women along the way that sold water and snacks as well. But after Dead Woman's Pass there weren't anymore.

The second day we didn't see any ruins, but it was something just to know that we had made it through the hardest day with our 20lb packs on our backs as well. We were proud of ourselves and ready for the third day.

The third day was the longest distance day of around 17km or walking. It was also the day with the most ruins as we got to see three different ones. I can not even begin to tell you how beautiful all of this was. The ruins are just so high up there hidden in the mountains which in themselves are absolutely amazing. It did start to rain a little which was a bummer in some ways, but then again we felt like we were already up in the clouds so it seemed fitting in some ways too.

The four day was the Machu Picchu day arriving through the Sun Gate. We started about 3:40 in the morning to wait at the gate until it opened at 5am. From there we hiked another two hours to the Sun Gate and got to watch the sunrise over Machu Picchu.

After that we walked down to Machu Picchu where we actually had to leave the ruins to drop off our packs and enter again without them. It was really quite the site and I am very thankful that I have had the opportunity to see it. We spent the remainder of day four walking around Machu Picchu until around 2pm where we headed down to Agua Calientes to go to the hot springs...and let me tell you, those were really nice after four days of hiking!

Then we got the train back to Km 82 where a bus picked us up and brought us back into Cusco for the night. The next day we took the 21 hour bus back to Lima and then flew out of Lima the next day to Guayaquil and a bus back to our sites.

It was an amazing trip which I recommend to anyone and everyone. However, it is not easy and they really aren’t joking around when they say you should train some.

So that was my month of April. I have also started back up with working at the schools where I have resorted to teaching English because I simply don't want to fight against it anymore. I am still doing my after school English classes in town as well and the community bank is functioning at the moment.

We also just had our COS conference up in Quito to go over all of the paperwork that we have to do to leave the PC and let me tell you it is just about as much if not more than what we had to do to get in! Got to love the government.

Amazing to think that I have been here for two years and yet incredible to think about how much I have learned as well. I have bought my ticket to return back to the States and will be back in Nashville TN on July 29th 2011.

I am ready to be heading home and yet I know that these memories from the past two years will live in my heart forever and I am very grateful for that.

Flour, water, foam, eggs, beer, and cake

March 23, 2011

One might ask what do these things all have in common. To which I reply, covering me from head to toe and basically just all over this past month. The reason for this is pretty simple as well; it was March, meaning Carnival and my 25th birthday.

For those of you who have been to New Orleans and think you have really experienced the true meaning of Carnival I have just one thing to say to you; you haven’t. The South American countries know the true meaning of Carnival which entails at least a full week of all play and no work as well as an “optional” month of work leading up to that full week.

So what do you do for a month of no real work? That’s easy. You go to beaches, play in any body of water that is close to where you live, have constant water wars even if the people involved in the water war don’t want to take part, shoot foam at any kid that looks at you the wrong way or even slightly looks like he or she might be causing trouble, and put flour all over people’s faces and heads at every party. But above all else, stay up until at least the sun comes up or you pass out from the constant consumption of Pilsner, box wine, or homemade liquor. Or at least that is what everyone did in my little town here in Ecuador.

As for me, I decided to take part in Carnival this year and went to Guaranda in the Sierra, which is known for their Carnival activities and parades. Here in Ecuador it is common for people from the Sierra to come to the Coast and vice-a-versa for Carnival. However, Guaranda is one of the main cities known for the overall Carnival experience. And it just so happens that one of the PCVs from my omnibus lives in Guaranda as well as some World Teach volunteers, so it just made logical sense.

All in all Guaranda was a really fun experience but not one that I will rush back to once again. Between World Teach and Peace Corps there were about 35 or so gringos coming and going from all of the Carnival Activities. Where I stayed we had 12 people between two rooms one night and then 16 people between three rooms the next night with one shared bathroom for all. We became very close really quickly.

In all honestly, it was a lot of fun which included a lot of water wars, foam wars, water balloons, flour, group meals, parades, concerts, and of course Pilsner. Not liking beer made it a little harder for me to enjoy as it was everywhere but little else was found for consumption. I made it work somehow though. And I should mention as well, that buses really do make prime targets for water in the hopes that maybe someone has a window open.

A basic Carnival day consisted of waking up, at the grand hour of nine or ten, and having a group breakfast of eggs, cheese, and tomatoes with bread. Then we would all head off to the daily parade (I swear there was a different parade everyday). The parade would last for at least three hours which would consists of consistent consumption of Pilsner, with water wars and foam wars mixed in between with the random flour being thrown. Once you’ve had your fill of that you continue on to your late lunch or dinner depending on the time and then head out to one of the many concerts that took place around the town. The concerts would go on throughout the night which would be mixed with more foam wars and the water being sprayed turning into beer being sprayed.

Now if you were one of the lucky ones who had someone who really liked you at Carnival you also got an egg smashed on your head at some point throughout the day. Lucky for me, I did not. Then you would retire once the sun came up or you decided that you couldn’t take anymore for that day and needed to go to bed so you could get up and do it all over again the following day.

Like I said, it was a lot of fun but I am glad that experience in my life is over as well. I definitely got my share of water poured down my back as well as foam sprayed all over my body and flour in my hair. And I have got to say, water balloons from more than three stories high should just not be allowed because that feels like a rock being thrown at you. Not to mention that it doesn’t even break on the person that it hits because of the velocity!

All there is left to say for Carnival is the simply Carnival song which you will hear at least fifty times each day: Chicha quiero chichi quiero, trago no trago no. Guapos quiero guapos quiero viejos no viejos no. Que bonito es Canaval!

After the activities of Carnival my 25th birthday was right around the corner. And thankfully for me, the only present I got from Ecuador this year was to not have electricity in the morning on my birthday. But I will take that over Dengue any year!

For my birthday I went out to Chilies with my closest PCV for Happy Hour. Yes that is right ladies and gentlemen, there is an actual Chilies in Machala Ecuador! I am still not really sure why they opened up one here or how successful it will be, as it only opened that week of my birthday, but I guess time will tell on that one.

So we had two for one margaritas and enjoyed some free tortilla chips. A couple of my friends came and joined, Ecuadorean and American, and we had pizza afterwards as the food in Chilies was above our budgets. From there we went over to my Ecuadorean friend’s house in Machala where she had gathered our other friends and there were all there waiting to surprise me. They had completely decorated her apartment with Saint Patrick Day’s and birthday stuff. It was really nice.

Now the tradition in Ecuador for birthdays is to get your face shoved in the cake after you blow out the candles and before the cake is divided up. And sadly for me, I could not escape the tradition. This would be where cake ended up all over my face and maybe even a little up the nose. Thank you Ecuador!

It was a really fun night and ended up with us going out to a dance bar for a little while before returning back to my friend’s apartment and having one more drink as well as some micro waved popcorn and some good conversation before bed. I have to say that my 25th birthday was definitely much more fun than my 24th. Crazy to think that I am now 25! It’s like I should have my life figured out by now or something…ha!

Other than being covered in baking goods and water, I have actually done some work this past month as well. We finished up our summer camps with English and self-esteem. They were both really big hits with the kids and even if they didn’t managed to really learn any of the material I know that those classes will stick with them just because they enjoyed them. They also really loved the album that they each ended up with at the end of the camp. It was more work than I thought it would be, but definitely worth it to see how appreciative they were for all of it.

Now I am in a little lull with camps having ended and waiting for school to start on April 4th. Once school starts up again I will be teaching self-esteem classes as well as after school English help classes with 7th, 8th, and 9th once a week respectively. Not to mention INFA after school Math and Language will start up again as well. Basically I am just going to continue with all of my projects from last school year as they were all successful and I had a relatively full schedule with them all.

Working with my INFA counterpart we have also started up a community bank…or maybe I should really say are in the process of. We have had a couple of meetings but are struggling on really getting people committed as is the way with pretty much everything here in Ecuador. And with a community bank the people need to be committed completely before we start. I really do have faith though that it will work out and it will be a great project to finish with so to say.

So in the next couple of weeks I plan on visiting the Sierra El Oro of Zaruma, where there is a PCV, and doing some hikes while relaxing some in the cool Sierra climate escaping this thing called heat which we have a lot of. Hopefully I will also make my way to Cuenca at some point to shop at some of the artesian shops and maybe get in some hiking. Unfortunately, the PCV that wants to go with me to Cuenca works pretty much every day I don’t and vice-a-versa. So those plans are still up in the air for now. Either way, these next couple of weeks I plan on making some small two or three day trips here and there.

On the 17th of April I have a 15k that I am going to run in Cuenca which I hope will not kill me…I mean, 15k itself is a lot…then add 2530 meters to it! Shortly thereafter Sarah and I have our Manchu Picchu trip the last week of April into the first couple of days in May which is all paid for and set besides hostels. And then we have our COS (close of service) conference that first full week in May up in Quito. Crazy to think that time is so close and yet not hard to believe is some ways as well!

My daily life at the moment consists of running every morning followed by studying GRE words. I am pretty sure that I want to go into teaching when I get back to the States which means that I need to take some tests, apply to some programs, and all that fun jazz to get ready to be teaching by 2012 or 2013. Wow…that is crazy to think about!

All in all, it is really hard to sum up everything that has happened over the past two years or the ways that this experience will stick with me for life. I guess all I really can say is that I am and always will be very grateful for what the Peace Corps has given me and yet I will be content to leave the Peace Corps as well when the time comes. The hardest thing of this experience really has nothing to do with the experience itself, a third world country, a first world country, the time period or anything like that. It is simply change which would have happened if I had joined the PC or not. However, the difference is that change in Peace Corps is magnified with the experience.

550 Days

550 days was the total amount of consecutive days that I spent outside of the United States. Or more simply put a year and a half. However, for some reason it sounds more impressive when you state the amount in days which I realized as I was filling out my custom form when we landed in Miami. It is hard to believe that much time has passed since I started this adventure of mine.

My trip home to the States was really enjoyable and just about the right amount of time. The actual travel to get from El Retiro Ecuador to Nashville TN was about 36 hours once it was all said and done with a twelve hour bus ride and an eight hour layover in Miami. The actual time on an airplane though was only about seven hours spread between two different flights. Not too shabby.

I got into Nashville very late at night three days before Christmas which gave me one day to go out and explore the American culture once again as I refused to go out anywhere near the malls on Christmas Eve. Christmas was spent with my family in Nashville with my mom, dad, and brother. It was a lot of fun as always when we get together.

Then the day after Boxing Day I left Nashville to head up North. Over a period of five days I drove from Nashville TN to Cleveland OH, Midland MI, Lima OH, and Sydney OH back down to Nashville just in time to see the ball…or in Nashville’s case the guitar…drop for New Years Eve. In an odd way I really enjoyed all of the driving which was give or take 1500 miles and took about 24 hours. It reminded me of all the driving that I used to do and after not having driven for a year and half it was rather enjoyable to just turn on the radio and sing out loud to songs that were new to me at least. It was also really great to see my friends from back home and worth the drive. However, with this said I was ready to be back in Nashville once it was all said and done.

From there my trip back to the States really entailed two main things – Stupid TV programs and a lot of food with wine and cider to go along with it. I guess you could put some shopping into that mix as well. While I was home I managed to gain ten pounds which was worth every single pound. Plus I managed to lose all of it when I got back to Ecuador so it was a win-win for sure.

I can’t really say that much surprised me when I went back to the States. I mean, the culture between the States and Ecuador is very different and there are different aspects to both cultures which are positive and negative. The one thing I will say is that it really made me realize that for better or worse my life is here in Ecuador at the moment. I have accepted the Ecuadorean culture and embraced it as a part of my life even if there are certain aspects of it which drives me crazy sometimes. So when I went out to a bar I thought it is very odd that people weren’t constantly dancing all of the time or that buying a drink for $5 is normal because you won’t be able to find any drink for under $2 like here in Ecuador.

Once it was time to head back to Ecuador I was ready to get back to my South American home and get back into my daily routine of life. The actual trip back to El Retiro was just about as painful as the one to the States. But this time instead of being greeted by my family I came home to my cat.

My house was pretty much how I had left it with a couple more spiders and cockroaches having moved in. The other new aspect to my house was that a couple of roosters decided to make their new home the three foot space between my house and my neighbor’s walls. And it just so happens that my bed is literally placed on the other side of this wall. Now after careful consideration, I fully believe that I am capable of killing a rooster or a chicken for that matter. A pig, lamb, or cow I am not so sure that I could. But give me a rooster or a chicken and I have enough hatred in me that I really believe I could kill it with no guilt.

You see these roosters, or any rooster for that matter, have no concept of time. That wonderful old saying of having a rooster for an alarm clock is a load of crap. A rooster will crow all day and all night at any time they feel like it. These particular roosters decided it was best to do most of their noise making between the hours of 4 and 7 a.m. I was not very enthusiastic about this at all as one might guess. I have grown used to the noises of living in the Ecuadorean country where there is no such thing as a noise violation, but these roosters were something else.

So for a little over a week I woke up around the hours of 4 or 5 a.m., went up to my roof, and promptly dumped a bucket of water on these roosters to get them to move out of the area between the two walls so I could attempt to go back to sleep. Now the kicker is that my water doesn’t restart in the morning until about 5 a.m. So it got to the point where I filled up the bucket the night before so that I would be sure to have a full bucket to dump on them in the morning hours. Moral to the story, if you have problems with roosters, just dump water on them and they will eventually get the point that they are not wanted there.

Speaking of animals, my cat Tito went into heat while I was back in the States meaning it was time to get her neutered when I got back to Ecuador. This process was more complex than I thought it would be as I thought the hardest part would be getting her calm enough to do the surgery in Machala. The difficult part however was taking care of her the week following the surgery. Never having a dog or cat before, this was definitely another experience for me to caulk up. I am just glad that it is done now though and I don’t have to worry about having kittens or the wrath of her in heat ever again.

Other fun random things that I have seen since I have been back in Ecuador include a monkey tied to a window swing back and forth with a leash around its waist and a dog in a rice bag with only its head showing on a bus. With the monkey I thought it was a mechanical monkey on a string that swayed back and forth. But with a closer look I realized it was an actual live monkey on a six foot string tied to a window. The dog in the rice bag just made me chuckle as he tried to get out of the bag and the owner had to shove him back in and re-tie the string so only his head was out of the bag and he couldn’t run away. Almost as good as a cage I suppose.

Now I am back into the swing of life once again which is really rather slow paced at the moment since it is the “summer” months until April. I am teaching a Basic English summer camp class twice a week as well as a self-esteem class once a week with local youth. Other than that, most of my time is spent running, studying GRE words, going to the markets, cooking, hand-washing clothes, watching movies, and taking naps. I also managed to lose my toe nail again because of running although this time it has decided not to grow back quite right for the time being.

Upcoming events include Carnival at the start of March which basically means that people throw water, eggs, flour, and whatever else they can find at random people walking in the streets. They also take daily trips to which ever river or beach is closest. So this year I think I am going to go to Guaranda which is known from their Carnival activities instead of just getting randomly soaked in the streets. I also have my birthday in March where I am planning on going to Cuenca for a couple of days as long as I don’t get Dengue as a birthday present again.

A definition of Carnival from the PC office: Carnival is a fun time in Ecuador but security risks do increase during this holiday period. Local tradition may include excessive alcohol consumption and water balloon games that can be dangerous and can cause you to be annoyed, so please be patient and avoid confrontation if water or foam is sprayed on your person.

Gotta love it because it is so true.

We are currently in the hot/rainy season which means VERY hot humid weather with more mosquitoes and landslides. I am going to post some pictures on Facebook of the effects of the rain as well. I have decided that Ecuador has two seasons that should be called the hot season and the very hot season because that is all there is where I live.

However, the humidity and heat makes taking afternoon naps apart of your daily schedule as you can’t help but become tired with the excessive heat and sun. And as much as I hate to admit it, I have definitely adapted the concept of “asi es la vida”, “no pasa nada”, and “ya mismo”. Basically it all means, sit back, relax, don’t worry, and I’ll get around to it when I get around to it. It’s a hard life, but someone has to do it.

Once again...this is way overdue!

So I just thought that I would take a quick moment to post a short blog stating that there will be a longer one in the near future yet to come. My trip home to states went very well and was enjoyed by all I do believe. Christmas and New Years with my family were very relaxing and enjoyable. And although it was hard to leave it also felt right to leave as I have realized that my life is here in Ecuador now for better or worse.

I am currently in the months of vacation which means that I am doing the equivalent of summer camps. This also inevitably means that I am teaching some classes of English along with some self-esteem courses. Three times a week I am doing these camps and the rest of the time I spend running, eating correctly (which means often trips to the markets), studying GRE words, and watching movies...it is a hard life...but someone has to do it :)

More soon to come, I promise!

I start my trip to the States tomorrow!

So I just thought I would take a moment to reflect upon the fact that I have been living outside of the States for a year and a half now...and it is finally starting to really hit me! I never really realized how living outside of the States for that amount of time can really change your view point on things.

Tomorrow I start my 36 hour trip, give or take, back to the States to visit for three weeks. I take an over night 12 hour bus up to Quito where my flight to Miami leaves from. Then after a 7 hour layover I fly out from Miami to Nashville arriving around 11pm and getting to my parents house at about midnight. It is really crazy to think that my visit back to the States is finally here!

It is also very strange how weird it seems to be leaving Ecuador, even knowing that I will be coming back. With that said, I can only imagine how it will feel when I leave for good to return to the States. It really is amazing how much we adapt to what is around us and how comfortable we become with what we have now matter if it is really what we want or not. That wonderful word of "change". No matter if it is a good change or a bad change, it most often proves hard to do.

Thanksgiving in the Jungle

Just a quick update for those of you that are still following my blog.

Thanksgiving as you can imagine isn't a holiday here or anywhere else in the world really than the States. So we tend to make our own celebrations here in the PC for events that are just celebrated in the States. For this past Thanksgiving a group of PCVs got together in a city in the Jungle of Ecuadorean, also know as Macas.

The original plan was to raise three turkeys and then kill them all the day before Thanksgiving. However...two turkeys died from causes unknown and one escaped and probably died shortly there after. So we ended up buying two turkeys from Quito and then bringing them out to Macas. It ended up being a great success with lots of food. Everyone pitched in and made a dish to share with the group. There were about 50 people give or take and plenty of food to go around. Pictures have been upload onto Facebook as well.

After cooking all day, we then ate and drank ourselves into a solid sleep. The next day we went white water rafting, filling up two rafts, on one of the rivers in the Jungle. We were told that the river we went down was a 3 to 4 on the white water rafting scale of difficulty. It was a lot of fun...and yes I did manage to be one of the two people that fell out. We had no hope of staying in once we hit that rock. But we were out and back in the raft before we even realized what was going on. A great wrap up to a fun Thanksgiving Jungle trip.

Now I am back in site wrapping up the school year as it comes to an end the start of January and I will be leaving for the States on December 22nd. Needless to say, I am very excited to be visiting the States and getting to spend Christmas and New Years with my family. I will be in the States for a total of three weeks coming back to Ecuador on January the 12th. When I do get back into the States on the 22nd, it will have been a year and a half since I have been there. Sounds absolutely crazy when I put it that way...but then again what about this experience isn't crazy when you think about it?

Galapagos

So I had some spare time at a computer with internet so I decided I really should post a Blog in relation to my Galapagos trip. To put it simply, it was very enjoyable and very much needed.

I went on an 8 day 7 night cruise trip with my Auntie Alex, Uncle Andy, and Alex's brother Richard all from England. This managed to cause some confusion as people didn't really understand what a 24 year old female from the states, who could speak Spanish, was doing with three people from England who were not her parents. Needless to say, it took some explaining as to how we all got grouped together and why I was able to speak Spanish and know the Ecuadorean culture. I also think that at least once or twice people thought I was British or that they were actually from the States. We do know how to keep it interesting us Parkers.

The cruise was broken up into two groups if you will, with some people only doing a 4d 3n or 5d 4n and us, along with two others, doing the full 8d 7n. On the first leg of the trip we had 12 guest total on the boat and on the second leg we had 13. It was very interesting to meet everyone from the different parts of the world. All in all, we had Americans, British, Russian, German, Irish, Finnish, and Swedish to mention a few.

A general overview of the trip would be snorkeling, dingo rides, walks along the beaches, sea lions, lava fields, sea turtles, birds or many kinds, penguins, sting rays, blue footed boobies of course, sharks, giant tortoises, sun sets, sun rises, and a lot of beautiful scenery. Our days were complete from 7am until 7pm and were fully enjoyable looking at and observing all of the wild life. We made many trips on and off the boat daily to different beaches, lava fields, ports, dingo rides, or to go snorkeling.

Highlights for me definitely include swimming with a penguin, sea turtles, sting rays, sea lions, and even some reef sharks. And when I say swimming here, I really do mean swimming with them. The sea turtles, sting rays, and reef sharks were aplenty along with many different types of fish (thank goodness though the sharks stayed at the bottom...and yes I may have screamed into my snorkel a couple of times). The penguin we happened to find while he was eating so he really did just swim around us for a while which was probably one of my favorite parts. And of course the sea lions I think thought we were there to play with them as they would come right up to you and then at the last second switch course away so they wouldn't actually hit you.

The wildlife and scenery of the Galapagos is really beautiful and lives up to the standard that they say. And we were also there during the baby sea lion seasons...adorable for sure. However, I also really enjoyed spending some time with my Aunt, Uncle, and Richard. It was really nice to go out all day and enjoy the Islands and then be able to come back to the boat and have some good conversation accompanied with wine of course.

I was even allowed to drive the boat at one point...and I really do mean I drove it for about 45 minutes from one cove to a port. Why they decided to let me drive the $2 million catamaran boat I am still not sure, but oh well! It is a lot harder than you would think though to actually keep the silly compass on the mark that you need to. And once we got to the port the captain told me to head towards the red light on the shore line. So I headed towards the one that I saw but I didn't think that was right as it wasn't by the town. I then came to find out that the red light I saw was actually for the airport...my bad...but I did manage to find the right blinking red light to go towards!

The one thing that I do have to mention about the Galapagos is that although it is a part of Ecuador, it is not the Ecuador I live in at all! With such heavy influences of truism, it really does change the culture and way of life. You can almost always find someone who speaks English, all of the prices have about a 100% increase, and things in general are cleaner and nicer. The Galapagos are still Ecuador, but it is definitely not the Ecuador that I know.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable trip including microwave popcorn, hot showers, good food and wine, amazing scenery and wildlife, and some great people. As my Uncle said, I am sure this is something that we all will remember for a very long time.

P.S. I will post pictures up on Facebook when I can! I took a ton so I have to go through them and decide which ones to upload at some point.

Half marathon, police riot, and a gun fight

October 22, 2010

Once again I find myself at a loss as to how I should start this blog entry. It is crazy to think that I have now lived here in Ecuador for 16 months and even crazier when I realize that it will have been a year and half since I have been in the States when I come home to visit over Christmas. Nevertheless, this is the life that I have chosen at the moment.

A couple of updates on my life would be that I ran my first half marathon. 21 kilometers, a little over 13 miles, in 2:04:54 averaging 9:37 minute miles. Not too shabby at all if I do say so myself. However, I did manage to loss a toenail in the process and had to do no physical activity for the following week because of the abuse that I put my body through. I never really was one to hold myself back even if my body might have wanted to at times. All in all, it is another thing that I can cross off my list. I would love to say this inspired me to do a full marathon, but I still stick to the fact that you have to be slightly insane to run for almost four hours.

We also had our mid-service meeting up in Quito with the rest of my 102 Omnibus. It was definitely a PC milestone making it to mid-service and it was really nice to get to see everyone again as well. It never ceases to amaze me how different each and everyone’s PC experience is. Especially here in Ecuador where you can drive up the road 10 kilometers and discover what seems to be a completely different culture at times. Ecuador truly is very diverse for the size of this country.

To make things interesting, while we were up in Quito the Ecuadorean police decided to protest against our current president; Correa. It seems like we have a national strike here in this country about once a month either because of the indigenous, teachers, or transportation not agreeing on something. In some ways it is almost comical because the strikes tend to accomplish very little and yet they keep having them. So we all got locked in our hostel for the day, completely safe but we could hear everything going on outside.

With this particular strike it became rather dangerous because the police decided to “take the day off” so to say. In other words, it was a dream for any thief. Many banks got robbed as well as some stores and everything was pretty much closed for the day. The day concluded with a 45 minute gun fight at the police hospital in Quito between the Ecuadorean military (in favor of Correa) and the Ecuadorean police as Correa was “being kept against his will” at the hospital after being treated for tear gas poisoning. I think the death count was up to about six the last I knew with about forty injured – All police and military. The following day, of course, everything went back to normal.

Latin America countries are famous for their use of tear gas, machismo, and strikes. Ecuador proved this that day with the President telling the people striking against him, “Si quieres matarme, matame! Aqui yo estoy!” while being tear gased. This translates to, “if you want to kill me, kill me! Here I am”. Once again, this country never ceases to amaze me. Although I would have to say the real amazing part was how quickly everything returned to normal. The military were in control for the following week and then everything went back to normal.

Other than that, I do have to say I am in love…with my cat Tito. That is one thing I am completely sure of. I am also pretty sure that I am not completely able to articulate myself in English properly anymore. Sometimes I find myself not being able to remember a word in English and I tend to speak in a sort of Spanglish. I mean, my spelling was bad before I came to the PC, but now it is horrible. I guess that is the price you pay when you try to learn another language!

In the upcoming…well days really now…I am going on a weeklong cruise to the Galapagos Islands with my Uncle Andy, Auntie Alex, and her brother from England. I am very excited to be able to spend some time with them as well as see the beautiful Islands that I have heard so much about. It will also be really nice to take a couple of weeks of vacation to escape everything. And then before I realize it, Christmas will be here and it will be time for my vacation back to the States.

I would love to be able to tell you that I absolutely love this experience; but that would be a lie. I love what I am learning from this experience, but man can it ever be hard at times. There is really no way to explain the hardships of being a PCV, but after living here for sixteen months I can certainly feel the effects of them. Feeling so disconnected from pretty much everyone as you don’t completely fit in the community you live in, I will always be the weird Gringa, and things back home have changed without you there. It is a feeling that I don’t think you can replicate any other way. Now the great thing about this crappy feeling is how much you learn about yourself and the world in the process. It really is true that sometimes clarity comes to you in your hardest moments. And for that I am very grateful.

Quick Update

There really is not too much new to report, but I figured that I would post a quick blog for the month of September. Crazy to believe that it is already September and that at this time next year I will be back in the States!

This month is the start of the random trips and vacations so to say. At the start of this week the organization Ecuadent came back to my area to do a dental mission. So I helped them with translation which was very rewarding as was the medical mission back in February. We saw 837 patients over about 5 days - cleaning, sealants, florid, fillings, and pullings. It was a busy week, but well worth it. I learned a lot about dental care, but I am happy to say that I did not see any births this time around at the hospital! However, pulling teeth involves more blood than any of the stuff that I saw during the medical mission...and the kids are awake the whole time. So that was definitely another once in a lifetime experience. Or at least I hope I don't have to get any teeth pulled eventually!

Other than that, I have a lot of paperwork due this month for the PC office and we also have our mid-service workshop, medical, and dental check-ups at the end of this month up in Quito for a week. And as silly as it sounds, leaving site for a week now takes some work to prepare for! You have to inform everyone and cancel all of your classes, and now, I have to find someone to take care of my cat for the week! I am sure that the mid-service workshop and seeing everyone will be well worth while, but it will also be a lot to do I am sure.

On a final note, I have also posted up some more pictures on my Facebook account of my recent trips and of course my cat Tito.

So that is pretty much this month short and sweet for you :)

Way overdue...I know :)

August 16, 2010

August…wow does that ever seem hard to believe at times. It was a year ago this month when I swore in as a PCV and moved to my little town in the middle of the banana fields that I now know as my home. Time really does play tricks on you to say the least.

I have to say though, as I approach my one year mark of being in site (August 20, 2010 is my actual one year mark in El Retiro with one year two months in country), it is amazing to think how far I have come and how much I have learned. And yet at the same time it is amazing to think how much more I have yet to go through! My Omnibus started with 45 people and are now down to 34 due to many different reasons ranging from just not being able to happy here, health problems or issues, and deciding from a site relocation or early terminating. Our group has now graduated to being “Juniors” as well as the new group of PCVs swear-in this week.

So what am I up to with my one year mark quickly approaching you might ask? Well in all honesty, not much has changed since my last blog update. My work is my work which I have happy with, as I love working with the kids and youth, but I tend to be frustrated with as sustainable development is a very difficult thing to achieve. I am still teaching at my local school with three classes a week for 7th, 8th, and 9th grade as well as doing after school English review classes for those same grades once a week.

INFA fired my counterpart but his replacement is a 26 year old female, Yomaira, who I believe will be a good replacement. So with INFA I am helping out with an after school math and language course once a week as well as a program called “Aventura de la Vida” (self-esteem and what not) once a week. The last thing of work that I have recently picked up is teaching at the equivalent of an elementary school, in the neighboring town of Recreo, once a week for grades kindergarten to 6th grade where we are doing a project called “Mi Propio Album” (my personal album) for the kids to have and look back at when they get older. My final project to update you all on is one with the parents actually. “Escuela para Padres” (school for parents) I do with the school Psychologist, where we try to hold a meeting once a month give or take, to help teach parents how to help their children grow and develop.

So that would be my work in a nutshell. Definitely keeping myself busy, but sometimes struggling with the real importance of what I am doing and how successful I am truly being. However, when I do take a step back I realize that in a given week I am working with about 150 to 175 kids and youth and about 20 adults/teachers not counting the new program of “Escuela para Padres” where we probably get about 40 parents each meeting once a month. So you can’t fault me for trying, that’s for sure!

Other than work, my main update is that I now have a kitten named Tito. My host mother sent over her errand boy to my house one day last week with a rice bag. And inside that rice bag was a poor little kitten scared to death. He told me that if I did not take the kitten they were going to kill it…and they would have, not a doubt in my mind. So I decided to take him and I have already fallen in love with the silly thing. He pounces on everything, scratches my hands, chews on the electric cords when I am not looking, thinks my legs are climbing posts, wants to play all the time while only sleeping for periods of two or three hours at a time, and meows at the smell of shrimp and chicken like he is starving although he is nowhere near it; but he is all mine.

Other highlights in my life would include what I like to think of as an all new low. A got wolf-whistled at…what’s new you might say…but it was by a parrot. Which then proceeded to say “corre corre, hola” (run run, hello) after he whistled at me. I actually had to take a double look at the parrot to make sure I was really seeing what I thought I was.

Another wonder of Ecuadorean life would be the way they give complements. I guess I should also mention that here saying, he’s the little fat guy over there, or she is the little thin girl over there, is completely acceptable and really expected. As for me, I have lost some weight since when I first came to my town. To which people say to me, “What happened to you”! To which I reply, “What do you mean”. “You are so thin”, they say (which leaving it at that would be fine and good). But they continue with, “When you first got here you were so fat”! End of conversation and out goes the feel good feeling that you started with.

Health wise I am still doing pretty well. Right now is our “winter” if you will with it being cold (to which I realized I now think the low 70s are cold…I know I am in trouble when I get back home!) and I did manage to get a bit of the Flu. I am almost completely over it though, thank goodness, as it lasted for almost a week and a half where I spent a lot of time close to a toilet. Other than that though, I am still doing pretty well in regards to health. My electronics though are struggling with the heat, humidity, and dust. My IPOD dock has managed to die and my computer is struggling at times. As my Dad will you tell, it is the Ecuadorean dengue, dust, mosquitoes, heat, pollution, kill your electronic illness. Oh well, such is life; could be MUCH worse.

A big part of the second year is vacation time as well. Most PCVs start feeling at ease with their projects and have more time to travel in their second year than their first. For me, upcoming vacations include a trip to the Galapagos Islands, with my Uncle Andy and Auntie Alex, at the end of October into the beginning of November, a trip in May of 2011 to hike the INCA trail in Peru with another PCV Sarah, and my favorite, a trip back to the States December 22nd to January 12th (ticket has been bought and everything). So mark your calendars at home! I am sure that there will be other small trips here and there in-between all of that, but those are the main ones.

There are probably a million and one other little things and stories that I could tell. But in all honesty, life is just life here. It is hard sometimes, but not in the ways that you necessarily think it would be. You miss the little things mainly, which are not even the little things that you think you would miss. You begin to realize what life is really about and what is important to you. It still amazes me how much you can learn about yourself and life when you remove yourself from your culture, your language, your friends, and your family.

This next year I am sure will be very challenging in many different ways than my first year was. And although I do not believe that I will learn as much from my second year as I did from my first, I think that it might prove to be even harder to get through. If there is one thing that I have learned while being here, it is that I love my culture and my language and that I miss them both. Although I have learned to appreciate the Ecuadorean culture and the differences between our two cultures, I would have to pick the American culture over the Ecuadorean just about every time.

I know that this experience is once in a life time and one that I will cherish forever. For that, I cannot be anything but grateful for every day that I have here. However, at the same time I cannot help but dream about being home in the States with my culture, my language, my friends, and my family.

A vignette of my experience so far

As I walk to school, down the one main road in my town which literally resides in the middle of banana fields, I find myself wondering how I got here. However, once I get to the school and see the faces of all three hundred kids who know my name and come up to greet me with hugs and kisses, I am reminded of how. Teaching classes on self-esteem, values, goals, aspirations, stereotypes, relationships, and sexuality is a constant struggle as the things I say seem to go through one ear and out the other most of the time. In spite of this, I see daily changes in the kids that I work with simply because I am their friend.

In one of the first months in my community I remember my host mom laughing at me because she said that my only friends were kids ages six to sixteen. And now after living here for almost a year, I would have to say that I am privileged to say they are my friends as I have learned as much from them as they have from me. My classes and workshops have successes as well as failures with many frustrations along the way. However, what gives meaning to my service are not the classes that I teach, it is the kids in those classes that I interact with every day.

It really is true what they say about this experience; it is a one of a kind experience that will push you mentally, physically, and emotionally in ways that you never thought of or thought would be possible. Some days you will feel bipolar and wonder why you are here and why you can’t leave at the same time. You will find yourself counting down the time you have left and then you won’t be able to decide if that amount is too short or too long. I know that when I leave here I will feel joy to be returning back to my family and culture and yet sadness to be leaving my kids and culture that I have learned so much about and come to love.

¿Where does the time go?

Wednesday, June 23

Wow, it is kind of hard to believe that June is actually almost over with already! The whole concept of time here has yet to cease to amaze me as it seems to go by so slowly during the day and yet once the month is almost over you are left wondering where the month went. Another one of the many mysteries of the Peace Corps life I suppose.

The visit with my parents was very enjoyable and a nice break from life in Ecuador in some ways. Highlights for me were definitely sleeping in air-conditioning under covers, multiple hot showers where you do not sweat after them, eating good food and not worrying about the price because everything seemed cheap to my parents, Christmas in May as my parents brought me two suitcases full of goodies from home, microwave popcorn…yes this does make the top of my list, don’t judge me…and of course spending time with my parents and speaking in English. However, I do not suspect that they will be coming back here anytime soon as the only real reason they came to begin with was because of me. I am planning on going home for 21 days (the max vacation time you can take at one time) over Christmas this year and into New Years. Although I did enjoy seeing the differences with these two holidays last year by staying in Ecuador, I much prefer to be home for them with my family and friends.

So where does that leave me now you might ask. That would be a pretty good question. The last couple of months my counterpart has been struggling with his job and this past week INFA fired him. So my work with INFA has been very minimal lately. The new representative of INFA in my community just started work this past Monday. However, she is completely new to INFA as an organization so she has a lot to learn on her own before she starts working with me on projects. This basically leaves me with my work at the local school teaching 7th to 9th grade once a week with weekly after school English review classes for each grade as well. Of course I throw in trips to the river with the kids every once and a while too. Surprisingly though, I have managed to keep myself somewhat busy with random errands and trips…not to mention I am to the point now in my service where “la hora Ecuatoriana” seems normal and right. If I don’t have time for my afternoon nap…or glass of wine at times…my day just doesn’t seem quite right. Not to mention I think I have replaced the concept of having to go into the office every day with making myself go running every morning to get me out of bed. So far though, I can’t really complain about this aspect…however I do foresee myself complaining about not being able to do this once I return back to the States.

All in all though, I am still pretty content with my work. Sustainable development, one of the three main goals of the PC, is a phrase that all of the PCVs discuss time and time again as it really does seem impossible to achieve sometimes being a foreigner living in a different culture. However for myself personally, I know what is keeping me in the PC are the kids that I see every day in my community. To make it through the full PC service, you have to find that one thing that makes it all worth it to you; for me that is the kids.

In one of the first months in my community I remember my host mom laughing at me…one of the many times…because she was saying that my only friends were kids ages six to about sixteen. And now after living here for almost a year, I would have to say that I am glad they are my “friends” as I seem to fit in better with them than I do with the people who are my own age as all of the women have a kid or two at least and all of the men just want to drink and sleep with me. So between what I have to pick from, I will choose the kids any day, anytime.

Now as to the funny aspects of the PC life, I guess I should mention a couple of things here. One being that I have now lived in Ecuador for a full year…and that still amazes me. It also helps me realize just how much I have come to accept life here as it is. Some things, such as fitting seven people on one motorcycle or constantly throwing the trash on the ground or out the window, will always make me shake my head. However, living in constant dirt where when you wash your clothes (by hand may I remind you) the water is guaranteed to turn black before you are done or being so immune to the cat calls and whistles that you don’t even flinch anymore when someone yells out at you, I have strangely adapted to. Another thing that I have adapted to is the simplicity of life. The great part about this is that you enjoy the simple things in life so much more such as a warm shower or walking around in a clean park.

With all of that said, I have to admit that at the age of 24 I never thought that I would willingly take a pair of child-proof blue school scissors and use them to cut my own hair after getting my hair cut the day before at a salon. I don’t know why, but for some reason the Ecuadoreans really do believe that a slight mullet cut on a Caucasian woman looks really good…and I strongly disagree. However, I was pleasantly surprise with the end result after about an hour of me cutting off the back part of my mullet. I just woke up that day and said that’s it; I’ve had enough of this semi-mullet crap. Then I literally pulled the back part of my hair together and hacked off a good couple of inches. The funny part of the story is that I never even touched the front part of my hair as it was already cut really short. All I did was even out the back part of my hair to make it as short as the front already was. The end result is that I now have really short hair, but at least it is not a mullet. And I must proudly add, I did a pretty darn good job at making it all even considering I cut it myself with the help of a couple of mirrors.

Some strange sites that I have seen recently have been bags of trash floating down the river, as that is how some people choose to get rid of their trash. Yet that isn’t the part that really surprised me as trash being thrown wherever whenever is pretty normal here. The part that amazed me was that the kids were playing in the river when the trash came by and instead of jumping out of realizing just how disgusting it was, they ended up using the bags of trash as water float toys…I was actually speechless and really rather grossed out. I guess I forget sometimes just how easily amused kids can be.

I am not sure when I got to this point, but I can honestly say that I am really just used to life here. You are reminded almost daily about the cultural differences, but the day-to-day life you adapt to before you even realize that you are. Although I think I might be partially deaf when I return to the States, as they listen to music and movies at the top level possible all of the time and blow out your ear drums, I know that all of this will have been worthwhile.

The main thing that I have learned from this experience is what is important to me. It really is amazing just how much your culture, friends, and family all affect who you are and how you make the decisions that you do in life without you even realizing it. In my opinion, learning what is truly important to you is a hard thing to do. That is something though that I feel I have achieved with my PC experience and for that I am very grateful. Another thing that I have realized is that I love my own culture. I have a huge amount of respect for different cultures and ways of thinking. However, when push comes to show I will pick my own culture just about every time.

After a year in country and ten months into my two year service, I have learned a lot about so many different things. On the other hand, I am not really sure how much more I have to “learn” in the upcoming year. I do not doubt that I will have many more experiences and make many more memories, but what I have come here to learn I believe that I already have. With that said, by completing my two years of service I know that I will gain a great amount of respect within myself for that accomplishment. Not to mention that with all that this experience has given me, I owe it to the people in my community and this country to fulfill my commitment to them.

The Peace Corps experience really is just that; a once in a lifetime experience. Then again, isn’t life just that as well?

Dad's Blog Post

May 26, 2010

(So I was going to add in my comments to his blog as well...but for those of you that know my dad the blog speaks for itself and therefore I have decided not to add in any comments besides this one...only my father...love ya!)

Hepatitis A & B, malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever, tetanus, altitude sickness, multiple uses for bottled water, ear plugs, suntan lotion, DEET mosquito spray, fresh fruit and vegetable cleaners, and enemas are some of the considerations for before, during, and after a trip to Ecuador. They are not all necessary to survive…..but better safe than sorry.

A little larger than the UK, Ecuador has a diversified culture, climate, and geography. People range from the natives of the Oriente Amazon Basin to those of the Andes, from growing city centers of the big capital city of Quito to a banana and shrimp center and port city of Machala, from smaller communities than El Retiro to Columbian and Peruvian border towns, from the Galapagos Islands to immigrant attracting cities like Cuenca to name a few. Each seems to have their personal history, story, and sometimes their own language and traditional dress code. The Incan and Spanish heritages are very evident even though they were relatively short lived periods. One can choose between burning up on the coastal plain or suffering a degree of oxygen deprivation in the cooler mountains. Four seasons are replaced with two, wet or dry, which due to a large dependency on hydro electric power can affect the politics, civil demonstrations, and power outages as well as the number of mosquitoes. Active and extinct volcanoes overlook Quito, snow covered mountains virtually sit on the Equator, jungles lie on one side of the Andes while Pacific coastal plains are on the other. Although only there a short time, I believe we probably saw more sides to Ecuador than many Ecuadorians will see in their lifetime.

Internal transportation is mostly accommodated by air, bus, coach, trams, taxis, cars, pickup trucks, motorbikes and bicycles. Air travel is definitely upscale for which in my shorts I felt underdressed. Buses are frequent and cheap with their price options apparently varying with the amount of graffiti, safety, and number of armed guards aboard. Quito trams can be packed like Japanese subway trains making great locations to meet pick pocketers which I had the pleasure to encounter and from which I hope some local is benefitting from improved vision that the cheap pair of spectacles afforded me. As packed as they can be there always seems space for just a few more ladies carrying the equivalent of a portable farm on their back. Taxis seem very affordable for foreign visitors with a willingness to cram as many people and overstuff as much as a small vehicle permits. Want more space? Then just see how high you can stack stuff on the flat bed of a pickup, or how many families you can cram in it and on it. Three on a motorbike? - No problem! Cars are European small sized with all the common world brands including Skoda (which I have not thought of for years!), DYK (KIA?), and Chevrolet on cars I did not know they even made. The roads are not bad in general if you remember the speed bumps that occur from time to time, the military and police check points, toll booths in certain areas, low flying agricultural sprayers, traffic lights and speed limits which may be thought of as optional, and my favorite….roundabouts!

The cities are littered, noisy and very active for most hours of the day. The locals hustle and bustle about their business giving the foreigners a quizzical look as they pass or even take the opportunity to practice their English which may range from a word or two they think they have picked up to what they learned when they illegally lived in New Mexico or New Jersey for three years. Quito as a Capital city has its fair share of English speakers, but good luck elsewhere at non-tourist sites where sun reddened white skin is a novelty. Small towns like El Retiro are littered, quieter, have their own pace, street animals such as dogs, chickens, roosters, and cats with people walking around or sitting in the front of their homes escaping the increased heat inside. Children are very evident, and are often seen in their school uniforms. Although there are areas as in all countries you have to be on your guard, people of all ages seemed very friendly to me particularly as my Spanish is practically non-existent. Perhaps it was Lesley’s conversational Spanish, or the fact she really did live where she does, or that they knew her, or simply my smile, wave, or “Buenos” which was reciprocated.

Food was good for me but then again I was a tourist eating for the most part at non-typical places. Fruit was plentiful and in many guises and forms I did not have a clue about. Shrimp were cheap and tasty. Fish came in two varieties – from the rivers or from the sea. The baked goods were good and meat was cooked to my liking i.e. overcooked. ‘Aqua’ in bottles or bags was readily available and often refreshingly cold. Chicken and rice were common when you did not want to experiment and many experiences where available if you did including ceviche. Fried foods were indeed prevalent and although the country can produce many vegetables unless they were potatoes they rarely appeared in the meals.

Litter was everywhere except inside the buses which had signs “Do not throw litter in the bus” which apparently is interpreted as an encouragement to throw it out of the window. This is not to say civic pride is not important, it is just not measured by the amount of trash lying around but perhaps rather by the number of cock fighting rings, or indoor soccer fields (which are outdoor), or the number of statues and memorials and actual working fountains, or the number of Cathedrals you can get around a public square etc. The people may be missing a lot of what ‘we’ take for granted, but cell phones and internet cafes are not amongst them and I believe this connection with each other and the information age will have a marked effect upon their future.

On another note, I have always enjoyed what I considered representative music of Latin South America from pan flutes to Sergio Mendes and Brazil 66, but I was totally unprepared for the bombardment of Reggaeton which seems to be required by law to be played in taxis and busses at decibel levels that would be heard above my gasoline 2 stroke lawnmower. If I was not already partially deaf before my trip I would be by my return. I think I should look to invest in the stock of an Ecuadorian hearing aid company particularly as their currency is the US dollar.

Otavalo, Huaquillas, Cuenca, and Machala all have classic open air street markets we visited that included specialty areas selling traditional local artisan goods, clothes, electronics, jewelry, fresh meat ( I mean carve it from the animal right there) , fish, seafood, poultry ,produce, flowers, currency exchange by men with suitcases, and much more. They even seemed to group the stores selling similar items together for your convenience. Bartering here is the name of the game unless you, as someone who sticks out like a sore thumb because of your race, height, inept Spanish etc., do not wish to play and therefore pay full price telling yourself that back home it would be considered cheap. Tipping is generally rare in Ecuador which once embraced is strangely enjoyable to us foreigners as it appears to us that people do their job without expecting extra compensation. A more realistic way of looking at this is that the taxi driver and street vendor will often start you at a price which is way more than accommodates a 10-15% tip.

What is the Peace Corps and what are they doing in countries like Ecuador? Why would anyone want to be a PCV? These are questions I have discussed with Lesley on several occasions. There are several ‘stock’ answers, but they always seem to be just a part of it. We enjoyed meeting several PCV’s and had a very pleasant visit to the head Quito office. The office is about trying to achieve the commendable goals of the Peace Corps in an acceptable prescribed non-political manner by training, vetting, placing, supporting, and monitoring volunteers in areas of the country they have identified may benefit developmentally in areas such as social, education, business, agriculture etc. That is not what I call an easy task. The Volunteers wind up in a Country not of their choosing, in a culture and language very foreign to most of them, trying to get involved and ‘develop’ a local community perhaps alongside other local organizations. That is not what I personally call a desirable task, but it does seem to attract many even if it does not retain them all. Enthusiasm, goodwill, dreams, and ideals are easier to extinguish than maintain and promote.

So, what counts as success? There are some obvious success stories and legacies, but perhaps most success is less obvious but just as real. The PCV’s expose themselves to a real life personal test of growth and development all of their own. They may not use the word ‘enjoy’ to describe their experience but prefer to use ‘value’. Even the failures do not diminish the success of trying to make such a positive difference. Such an experience as this will help them know who they are, what they value, and probably help them and us in our future. Foundations of buildings are generally hidden below ground for more apparent structures to be built upon and all PCV’s help lay a foundation on which good things can be built. You certainly have my respect and I wish you all well.

The blunt truth is as much as I have learned about Ecuador; the only reason I went or would return is my family…thanks Lesley! No amount of photographs, SKYPEING, book or blog reading can impart the experience of being there, and that is certainly not the same as living there. It is a unique, vibrant, growing third world country and may be desirable for many, but not this particular individual as it breaks the pact I made a long time ago with the sun which has the capacity to burn me on a cloudy day if it so wishes.

As it has been duly noted by Janet and Lesley that whilst in Ecuador I said on more than one occasion “Leave me alone, I am happy!” ….and having seen the amount of impromptu soccer games in the schools and towns on any reasonably flat piece of available land (often bounded by precipitous drops or busy roads) together with several very good looking soccer stadiums I will conclude as a complement to Ecuador by saying I will be rooting for them in most International soccer games…..as they don’t play England too often!

Mom's Blog (with some Lesley comments)

A blog entry by my Mom with some of my comments placed in with italics:

May 25, 2010

Yes, as Lesley so succinctly put it in her last, short blog entry, her parents went to Ecuador to visit her after her absence of 11 months. One of her final brainstorms during our visit was that we write the blog entry this time instead of her. I really think it was just a stroke of luck that she thought of suggesting this as a parting assignment for her parents. As if visiting Ecuador wasn’t enough for us to do!! Anyway, whatever her motive, we have risen to the challenge and have decided that each of us will write about our experiences and thoughts. I will go first and John’s impressions will follow shortly in another entry.

What can you say about seeing your daughter for the first time in such a long time? We arrived late in the evening in Quito and were so glad to see Lesley in the throng of people outside of immigration waiting for us. She stood out with her height and pale color and was a sight for sore eyes. After traveling almost 5 hours from Atlanta it is amazing to know the time is the same in Ecuador as in Nashville. We didn’t have to contend with jet lag at all. She quickly led us out of the airport and we were approached by taxi drivers hoping these three foreigners needed a lift somewhere. The first amazing thing that happened was Lesley talking like a native and making sure she negotiated the rate and the safety with the cabbie (The real rate being $4, the taxi wanting to charge me $6 and me settling on $5 only to have my father give the cabbie $7 as he tipped which they don’t do here…love you dad…and so did the cabbie!). I think it surprised him she could speak Spanish so well! All the way to the hotel she continued to converse with him without a hitch (I was trying to prove to the cabbie that he could not just rob us…). I just sat back in amazement in the back seat so very grateful she knew what to do and how to handle the situation. Don’t ever go to Ecuador without someone who speaks conversational Spanish at a minimum. You are an obvious physical target and simply have to have someone who understands what is being said!

The altitude in Quito smacks you right in the face the minute you arrive. It is much higher than Denver and takes a while to get used to for sure. We spent the next week there seeing the sites around the city including several spots claiming to be the exact site of the equator, Old Town, the Peace Corps headquarters, one of the major shopping centers in Quito and, of course, going to Papa John’s so Lesley could have some pizza (which mom ended up enjoying just about as much as I did!). We saw one MacDonald’s as well as a couple of Burger Kings (adult males were actually wearing the crowns they give you) and lots and lots of KFC places. The Ecuadorians certainly love their chicken and KFC is making the most of it (but no biscuits or Mac-n-cheese…just rice and beans). We went to the Super Maxi (like a Meijer’s or Super Wal-Mart) and compared prices looking at some very different fruits and vegetables. A couple of bottles of wine were purchased too just to double check for comparison reasons! We traveled up the gondola one day and saw the city down in the valley below. The Andes Mountains ring the city with planes coming out of the sky and landing right in the middle of it all. They are building a new airport that was suppose to already be completed, but taking into account Ecuadorian timing (la hora Ecuatoriana), it might get done in another couple of years. We could just see some of the snow covered peaks of a couple of the volcanoes that are still active. I think one of them showered Quito with a thin covering of ash in the early 2000s.

We traveled out of the city twice on bus trips further north into the country where Lesley had her first couple of months of training. Our first trip was to Otavalo where there is an artisan market. It is even higher elevation there and the trip took about 2 hours. There was an indigenous uprising during this time (some sort of issue with who controls the water supply, i.e. the indigenous or the current government) and the trip back took about 3 hours because the main road was blocked as part of the protest and the police were rerouting everyone through a town with very small streets. You can’t describe the ability of the bus drivers to negotiate the terrain! They did show Air Force One in Spanish during the trip! We learned several days later that another group had tried to make the trip the day after we did and they were unsuccessful due to the conflict. We consider ourselves lucky to have made it to see the area. It is surprisingly stark and looks a lot like the arid southwest of the US without all of the colors you see in New Mexico. We had some very good trout for lunch there (they get it from their streams and it is on a lot of menus).

We headed north again on another day and went to Cayambe (the Peace Corps training site where Lesley spent two months) and on up to the actual village where Lesley stayed with a family for her first two months. We meet her host Mom and the sister who lives there too. It was really nice to see and experience the actual places where Lesley had been. Let me tell you that pictures don’t begin to truly represent the experience. You have to be there to actually get a sense of what they went through during training. This part of the north was quite different from the other being greener and plusher with lots of flowers growing throughout the region for export throughout the world (busiest times of the year being Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day…go figure). This is the area (according to the book) that is known for its bread and bakeries so we tried some of the fare. We had to select our items while the flies were sniffing them too……..I wouldn’t go there just to sample the breads!

Next we flew to the Machala area where Lesley is assigned. Two to three hour bus trips are tolerable, but it takes 12 hours to get from Quito to Machala and I wasn’t about to do one of those trips (always best to do overnight if possible…a little fyi just in case you need to know some day). So we acted like the rich Americans they took us to be and flew down to the south very close to the Peruvian border. Lesley made the trip with us and is now spoiled with flying, but will take the bus in the future because the PCV is poor and she would rather spend her few dollars on Magnum ice cream bars than plane tickets (sadly…I agree. Ten dollars compared to ninety for the flight adds up)! What a difference a one hour makes in the topography and the climate of a country. We could see the banana fields and the multiple shrimp farms on our approach to the area. And as we deplaned the humidity hit you smack in the face. Quito was sunny, dry, mountainous and quite comfortable (all though Lesley kept complaining of it being cold…only for part of the time…!) and Machala was humid, hot (33 degrees Centigrade upon arrival (91 F) and very flat.

The next day we went to see Lesley’s place where we stored our valuables until our departure. She feels very safe in her barrio and I am grateful. Most of the stores, businesses, hotels, etc in Machala have armed guards; even some of the buses do too, so it is reassuring to know that she feels OK. Again pictures cannot describe the extent of the experience. It is hot, dirty (my feet have never been so dirty each night after walking during the day…baby wipes work wonders for this right next to my bed) with lots of loud music, buses and noise, noise, noise. Her barrio is much quieter except for the drunken men and the rooster! Ask her about the rock she threw at him once (I missed…but there is always next time)!

We had one more bus trip to Cuenca for a couple of days which is back in the Sierra with altitude issues again (which we forgot about until we started to drink wine the first night up there…wine and altitude equals a fun outcome), but nicer weather for sure. It reminded us of a city in Europe and we saw more gringos there than any place else. We even talked to one couple from Florida and another from Las Vegas who were either retiring there or thinking of doing that because of the low cost of living. Not my choice for sure, but different strokes for different folks. We stayed at a very nice bed and breakfast place which I would highly recommend if you ever visit!

We spent the last couple of days back in El Oro. We meet two other PCVs down at the Peru border and had a meal with them. Lesley gets together with them a couple of times a month for support, wine and food. They appreciated the parents buying the meal and actually spending time coming to see where they are and what their environment is like. The country director actually closed one of the sites while we were there and one of the PCVs will be relocated due to the harshness of the area……….just goes to illustrate the actual realities of the PCVs in El Oro. We also treated a couple more PCVs that live closer to Machala to pizza (they really miss pizza) and got to meet them. Chrissy is the person who saved Lesley from fainting at the internet café during her dengue fever experience and took her to the clinic for safe keeping. It was great to be able to meet them all and spend a little bit of time with them trying to make their experience a bit more tolerable for one evening.

All in all it was a great trip. It was wonderful to see Lesley and to spend so much time with her. She enjoyed the air conditioning, sleeping with a sheet and the hot showers she had while she stayed with us at the hotels (and microwave popcorn…oh how I have missed you microwave popcorn…). We bought her a larger fan (it would have been the first thing on my list the first day I arrived), a couple of chairs (she actually has a place to sit down now other than her bed…I have my hammock too!-just plastic ones, but they will do), several bottles of wine for future consumption and stocked her up with some of the more expensive items from the local grocery that she is too poor to buy like sauce mixes for her beloved pasta dishes. We met lots of the kids at the school along with several of the teachers, the school principle and the superintendent too. They all love her and told us it was an honor to have her as part of their school in El Retiro. Lesley might post a couple of the pictures we took of all the children swarming us at the school yard (already on facebook). We ate at her host parents’ restaurant and met several members of the family where she spent several months. I agree with her though that it is much better to have a place of her own.

I could go on and on, but I want to send this to Lesley so she can get it posted. I am sure she will eventually add her own thoughts and impressions of our visit (already am cause I am that good). So much happened in such a short time there are lots of experiences that could be shared. Let’s just end this by saying I don’t think either of us got any diseases from the trip (although we are still taking the malaria drugs for another 4 weeks to make sure) and Ecuador and the Ecuadorian people are beautiful and gracious, but I wouldn’t exactly call this a vacation destination for any of our friends or for a return trip for us either! I am glad I went though, to experience just a small bit of what Lesley is living for these two years. I only have love and admiration for her and her efforts. She is a stronger, braver woman than I was at her age. We love you sweetie!!!!!!!!! (What can I say mom…I kind of like you guys too and am glad that you came).