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?
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Thursday, June 3, 2010
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!
(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!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
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).
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).
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Parents Visit
So I know that I am in need of a blog post...and I really do intend to do one here in about two weeks to update everyone on my life. For now though the update is pretty simple. My parents are here visting me!!! We are spending one week up in the Quito area and then a second week down where I live in the Machala area. Anyways, I will be sure to post a better blog once they have left with all of the details and fun stuff. For now, I am just enjoying my parents visit :)
Sunday, April 4, 2010
An observation of Easter Sunday in Ecuador
So I just thought I would take a quick moment to share what I have seen thus far for Easter Sunday here in Ecuador...well more like one observation that I would like to make.
I don't think that most of them take part in a sunrise service...however, I do believe that most of them take part in a sunrise drink as the men in my town were already at the bar when I went out for my morning run at 8:30am. Leave it to the Ecuadoreans....
I don't think that most of them take part in a sunrise service...however, I do believe that most of them take part in a sunrise drink as the men in my town were already at the bar when I went out for my morning run at 8:30am. Leave it to the Ecuadoreans....
Ecuador wanted to give me a birthday present as well…it was called Dengue Fever
4-3-10
So as my title rather gives the punch line away…these past few weeks, basically the month of March, I have spent with Dengue Fever from a mosquito bite in bed as well as some other health problems. However, before I jump ahead of myself to my Dengue Fever, I should speak a little about my second degree burns that I gave myself from the sun here in Ecuador.
As I mention in my last blog, I went to the beach and got sunburned really badly on my thighs which normally does not see any sunlight. So for that week I struggled around in skirts, watered down my thighs about three times a day with cold water, and tried my best to not irritate my thighs in any way…which can be really hard when you are trying to haul groceries on a bus and people are looking at you funny for not putting them on your lap. Not to mention trying to explain to kids that you cannot play ball with them because you can barely move as it is! All in all, it made for a really long week. Nonetheless, I still decided to trek it up to Quito for the 103 picnic and hang out with some other PCVs that following weekend.
Good old PC though at the time had restricted night travel as in no traveling after 7pm. This makes going up to Quito a two day trip for me because my bus from Machala to Quito is at least twelve hours and almost all of the buses don’t leave until the night time. Not to mention being on a bus all day really is not the most appealing…if it is a twelve hour or more bus trip, it is much better to do at night. So with all of this, I went up northward about five hours to one of my friend PCVs site in Bucay on Wednesday so that we could finish the traveling to Quito on Thursday of about eight more hours. Then we traveled an hour more to the training site of Cayambe for the picnic on Friday morning/afternoon.
However, on the Wednesday before I started traveling I realized that the area around my burned thighs was starting to turn purple like it was a bruise (I think we decided later that this was really one of the early signs of Dengue as I also thing that I got bite on my thigh). At the time, I figured it was just because the swelling from the burn was starting to go down as I only burnt the front part of my thighs really badly, but just to be safe I called the doctor and he said for me to stop in the office on Friday since I was going to be in town.
So I went in Friday morning and that is when he told me I had bad second degree burns on both my thighs and that it was worse than what he thought when I had talked to him. At this point, my thighs had started to blister and in all honesty they were at their worst point with pain and discomfort. You can ask anyone who saw them…they were really bad burns. The worst sunburn I have actually ever had in my life…which says a lot for this really white girl…and hopefully ever will have. So he gave me a load of Tylenol so that I could take that to the max for pain and he gave me a transparent lotion called Caladryl Clear. He also told me that if the pain got worse and the Tylenol did not cover it, to give him a call and he would help me out.
Thankfully, that Caladryl Clear worked miracles for the burns. At first putting it on stung really badly for about a half hour after I put it on. But once I realized how much the lotion was helping the burn heal, it was worth every second of that stinging process and I continued putting it on three times a day.
All in all with the burn story…I sure hope that I have learned my lesson. And if not, I still have some discoloring on my thighs to help remind me. Secondary burns from the sun in Ecuador should have taught me something…or at least the pain and discomfort from it should have! It probably took my legs about three weeks in total to heal from the burns. I also believe that I ended up peeling at least three layers of skin off. I am now left with some discoloring on my thighs but I think that will go away with time.
So you thought that this blog was going to be about Dengue…not second degree sunburns, right? Well that is the fun part for me in the month of March. I was just full of health issues! The picnic went over really well though and it was really nice to get to hang out with other PCVs and the new PCTs. The traveling with the sunburns was definitely…well…an experience…that is one way to put it at least. But I was really glad that I struggled through it and made it up for the picnic and the party bus that Friday night in Quito (they hired a Chiva which is basically a big pick-up type truck with a DJ, lights, and alcohol that drives around for a couple of hours while you dance and drink in the back…about 40 PCVs went). As night travel had then been lifted, I took the night bus home on Saturday and got home Sunday morning.
Onto the birthday gift from Ecuador which I later realized I probably already had even before my trip up to Quito. My birthday was that following Wednesday, March 17th, and I started to get chills and bathroom issues, to put it nicely, that Monday night when I got back from my Quito adventure. I was hoping that it was just something that I ate as I had my English camp to do and I was going to help out with an INFA camp that week from Tuesday until that Friday. So I figured I would hopefully sleep it off and get to work my camps…I was wrong.
Tuesday morning I woke up with a fever of 101 after a night of not really sleeping too much. I also discovered a rash on my butt and on my arm. However, I wanted to really try myself out first and see what I could do before I called the doctors. So I went to my INFA camp and I lasted about two hours before I had to tell them I couldn’t do it and needed to go home. At that point, I had a really bad head ache and body aches. I knew that it could be, and probably was, Dengue as two of my kids have had it this past month. Not to mention the providence where I live, El Oro, has the highest rate of Dengue in Ecuador and it is the rainy season at the moment which equals more mosquitoes. So I finally gave in and called the doctors to tell them that I thought I had Dengue.
The doctor wasn’t very impressed with my 101 degree fever (as dengue fever can get very high), so I took my temperature again and it had gone up to 103 by Tuesday midday. Giving in to the fact that it was Dengue…I then began a long process of many blood tests, fevers, chills, purple colored thighs, body aches and headaches like whoa, eye sensitivity, and rashes. Not to mention, the Dengue diet of not eating because of the loss of appetite.
I went into the Machala Clinic, which is about an hour long trip in total with two buses and a little walk, to get tested for Dengue that Tuesday afternoon. Sure enough, the test came back positive for Dengue just in time for my birthday on Wednesday. Needless to say, I spent my birthday in bed with a fever that varied from 101 to 103, severe body aches and headaches, purple colored thighs, no appetite, and only wanting to sleep in quiet. I have to say though, once you have a 103 degree fever, you can definitely tell when it drops down to 101 and be very thankful! It is like night and day and so much better. That is for sure.
I also had to go back in for blood tests Wednesday, Thursday, and that Friday as the doctor wanted to keep track of my platelet count as that is the part that is dangerous with Dengue (if they drop too low you can have internal bleeding and lots of problems). By that Friday I was exhausted from the fever, body aches, headaches, eye sensitivity, not eating, and all of the traveling each day. At that point, it was an effort everyday just to get myself to walk to the bathroom or brush my teeth without passing out. So needless to say, I was very happy when the doctors told me I could take Saturday off and just go in for tests on Sunday as my platelet count was low but staying pretty much the same. I spent the weekend sleeping and just being alive really.
My first week of Dengue…I really didn’t do much of anything but lay in my bed, be alive, and try to have silence as much as I could. Honestly, I didn’t even watch or want to watch a movie or anything. Needless to say, I missed all of my camps too sadly. And I even got Reeses Pieces, Peppermint Patties, and Lafty Taffy for my birthday that I couldn’t even eat or enjoy (those don’t exist down here)! I just wanted sleep and silence which is hard to get most of the time here in Ecuador.
By Sunday I was pretty much done and out. The extra day of rest with Saturday didn’t quite do it for me. After about a week of Dengue and not eating I was spent and could barley do anything without feeling like I was going to pass out. However, by the grace of God I made it into the Clinic to get my blood test; then I passed out. My blood test came back and my platelet count had dropped…I was not happy to say the least as I knew this just meant I was going to have more blood tests and probably pass out some more. I had some issues getting a hold of our PC doctor so I went into town to SKYPE my parents as I knew they were worried and I wanted to talk to them too as we had planned for that Sunday (I had told them that passed Tuesday I thought I had Dengue…so they were in the loop the whole time).
So I dragged my passing out butt to the Internet Café like an idiot to SKYPE my parents. I think I maybe talked to them for about a minute before I realized I was so weak that I couldn’t even keep my head up. Not to mention that I could only hold the test results up to the camera for about five seconds as well (mom understands that stuff…I don’t) before I had to put my arms down. So I sat at the computer for about twenty minutes with my head on the desk trying to decide what to do…I don’t think this was a lot of fun for my parents. As my mom said…all she could think of was that I was going to pass out on her in Ecuador and that she was going to be able to watch me and not be able to do anything about it. And as my father said…you can’t even keep your head up, you can’t make decisions right now, call for help.
Me being me though, it took about twenty minutes of this conversation for me to give in and call the PCV that lives in Machala for help…love you parents! She came to the Internet Café with one of our Ecuadorean friend who has a car and they took my back to the Clinic. My PCV friend also called our doctor for me and helped to better explain my condition and get everything set up at the Clinic (being PCVs our heath is our government’s responsibility, so we have our own Ecuadorean doctors here in country in Quito that we have to call for any health issues).
So on Sunday night I got admitted to the Machala Clinic. As far as Clinics go in a third world country, I would definitely say this was top of the line in that sense. Even by American standards, I would say it was pretty decent. However, the people that put my IV in could use some work. Their first attempt really messed up my wrist to the point where it is still black and blue today. In all honesty…that was the most intense pain I felt in the shortest period with the whole experience! They manage to get it in the second time though in a different spot thank God.
They were then going to send me home Monday afternoon…however my blood tests came back and my platelet count was even lower. So I spent Monday night at the Clinic as well. I had my own room though with some cable TV and air-conditioning…so you couldn’t complain too much. Not to mention, I started to eat some again on Sunday night when I forced some soup down and I managed to eat a little at each meal thereafter. I also had a couple of visitors as my friends slowly started to all learn that I was sick. This was when the fever, chills, body aches, eye sensitivity, purple thighs, and headaches all started to go away and the rashes started to come.
Now the main thing that was a pain in the butt with the rashes is that you can’t sleep much because just when you are about to go to sleep, you start to itch. Or if you are asleep, you will wake up because of the itchiness. Basically…itchy rashes stink to put it nicely and mine lasted for the following full week.
I went home Tuesday as my blood counts were going up and I got to spend Wednesday and Thursday resting in my bed, starting to eat again, and just build back up my strength. This would be the time period when I started to watch many films and TV series that you can buy very cheap down here in this kind of not so legal market. Friday I went in for my final blood test and my counts were way up and I was in the clear.
So that would bring me to this past week. Unfortunately and kind of fortunately this last week was supposed to be my week of rest before school starts next week as I ended up missing my two weeks of camps because of the Dengue. So it has been good to bring myself back up to full charge but on the same point I am ready for some work again as I think I have watched WAY too many films and TV series…one being the whole first season of Lost and probably at least ten movies and reruns of One Tree Hill and Grey’s Anatomy from my parents. I also started running again yesterday which will be really good for me and I still have yet to get myself a table and some chairs; maybe next week!
So in a nutshell…Dengue equals not fun. Chills, fever, severe body aches, severe headaches, purple thighs, eye sensitivity, loss of appetite, becoming extremely weak, passing out, eight blood tests on different days, a very bad IV attempt, a successful IV, and body rashes does not equal a fun two weeks. On the bright side though, they kind of all blur together now in my memory! I guess all of those symptoms together would do that to your memory though.
I also want to thank everyone for all of the birthday wishes and thoughts as well as all of the positive remarks and emails about my experience. They were all very much appreciated even if I was pretty sick at the time. Not to mention those Reeses Pieces, Peppermint Patties, and Lafty Taffy have all come in handy this past week and been fully enjoyed with some still left to enjoy.
I also managed to get an ingrown toenail this past month as well as an ingrown fingernail which I didn’t even know was possible! After my second degree burns and my Dengue experience I also had A LOT of laundry to do by hand which took me two separate days to complete all of for a couple of reasons…one being that there wasn’t enough room on the line for all of my clothes. Another reason is that the soap that I use to wash my clothes I realized doesn’t work too well with my skin when used a lot. So I got soap burns if you will on two of my fingers which took four days to heal up; then I got gloves. I also don’t think that I wore pants for the month of March…partially because of the heat and partially because I couldn’t with my burns. What can I say; this past month I have just had some issues!
School starts back up this Monday and I plan to start running everyday again to try and get myself into better shape and keep off the ten pounds that I lost with my Dengue diet. Dengue is really quite common here though, so I guess it was bound to happen to me at one point or another. The good news is that I now have immunity against the strain that I had…I think there are four strains in total. Most of the people in my community have had Dengue though; normally between the ages of ten and twelve or so. As the locals say, the first time you get it, well that stinks, the second time is even worse, and the third time you die (this is not always true...it is just what the locals say). But don’t worry; I strongly doubt I will get it again! And if I was to get Dengue again, I am pretty sure that the PC would move me to a site where there isn’t Dengue.
So that was the month of March for me…lots of time in my bed and many more once in a life time (hopefully I won’t experience Dengue or second degree burns again) experiences. I also had another first when I bought a new towel and a new sheet because all of mine smelled so bad and I was too weak to do the laundry…got through college without doing that, but not the PC experience! With April here it is a pretty relaxed month as we are just going to start up school again, the after-school help classes, and hopefully a community bank with the INFA mothers. My parents are also coming to visit me from May 8th to the 21st with some time in Quito and some time around my site which is something to definitely look forward to. Let’s just hope that I don’t get sick again!
So as my title rather gives the punch line away…these past few weeks, basically the month of March, I have spent with Dengue Fever from a mosquito bite in bed as well as some other health problems. However, before I jump ahead of myself to my Dengue Fever, I should speak a little about my second degree burns that I gave myself from the sun here in Ecuador.
As I mention in my last blog, I went to the beach and got sunburned really badly on my thighs which normally does not see any sunlight. So for that week I struggled around in skirts, watered down my thighs about three times a day with cold water, and tried my best to not irritate my thighs in any way…which can be really hard when you are trying to haul groceries on a bus and people are looking at you funny for not putting them on your lap. Not to mention trying to explain to kids that you cannot play ball with them because you can barely move as it is! All in all, it made for a really long week. Nonetheless, I still decided to trek it up to Quito for the 103 picnic and hang out with some other PCVs that following weekend.
Good old PC though at the time had restricted night travel as in no traveling after 7pm. This makes going up to Quito a two day trip for me because my bus from Machala to Quito is at least twelve hours and almost all of the buses don’t leave until the night time. Not to mention being on a bus all day really is not the most appealing…if it is a twelve hour or more bus trip, it is much better to do at night. So with all of this, I went up northward about five hours to one of my friend PCVs site in Bucay on Wednesday so that we could finish the traveling to Quito on Thursday of about eight more hours. Then we traveled an hour more to the training site of Cayambe for the picnic on Friday morning/afternoon.
However, on the Wednesday before I started traveling I realized that the area around my burned thighs was starting to turn purple like it was a bruise (I think we decided later that this was really one of the early signs of Dengue as I also thing that I got bite on my thigh). At the time, I figured it was just because the swelling from the burn was starting to go down as I only burnt the front part of my thighs really badly, but just to be safe I called the doctor and he said for me to stop in the office on Friday since I was going to be in town.
So I went in Friday morning and that is when he told me I had bad second degree burns on both my thighs and that it was worse than what he thought when I had talked to him. At this point, my thighs had started to blister and in all honesty they were at their worst point with pain and discomfort. You can ask anyone who saw them…they were really bad burns. The worst sunburn I have actually ever had in my life…which says a lot for this really white girl…and hopefully ever will have. So he gave me a load of Tylenol so that I could take that to the max for pain and he gave me a transparent lotion called Caladryl Clear. He also told me that if the pain got worse and the Tylenol did not cover it, to give him a call and he would help me out.
Thankfully, that Caladryl Clear worked miracles for the burns. At first putting it on stung really badly for about a half hour after I put it on. But once I realized how much the lotion was helping the burn heal, it was worth every second of that stinging process and I continued putting it on three times a day.
All in all with the burn story…I sure hope that I have learned my lesson. And if not, I still have some discoloring on my thighs to help remind me. Secondary burns from the sun in Ecuador should have taught me something…or at least the pain and discomfort from it should have! It probably took my legs about three weeks in total to heal from the burns. I also believe that I ended up peeling at least three layers of skin off. I am now left with some discoloring on my thighs but I think that will go away with time.
So you thought that this blog was going to be about Dengue…not second degree sunburns, right? Well that is the fun part for me in the month of March. I was just full of health issues! The picnic went over really well though and it was really nice to get to hang out with other PCVs and the new PCTs. The traveling with the sunburns was definitely…well…an experience…that is one way to put it at least. But I was really glad that I struggled through it and made it up for the picnic and the party bus that Friday night in Quito (they hired a Chiva which is basically a big pick-up type truck with a DJ, lights, and alcohol that drives around for a couple of hours while you dance and drink in the back…about 40 PCVs went). As night travel had then been lifted, I took the night bus home on Saturday and got home Sunday morning.
Onto the birthday gift from Ecuador which I later realized I probably already had even before my trip up to Quito. My birthday was that following Wednesday, March 17th, and I started to get chills and bathroom issues, to put it nicely, that Monday night when I got back from my Quito adventure. I was hoping that it was just something that I ate as I had my English camp to do and I was going to help out with an INFA camp that week from Tuesday until that Friday. So I figured I would hopefully sleep it off and get to work my camps…I was wrong.
Tuesday morning I woke up with a fever of 101 after a night of not really sleeping too much. I also discovered a rash on my butt and on my arm. However, I wanted to really try myself out first and see what I could do before I called the doctors. So I went to my INFA camp and I lasted about two hours before I had to tell them I couldn’t do it and needed to go home. At that point, I had a really bad head ache and body aches. I knew that it could be, and probably was, Dengue as two of my kids have had it this past month. Not to mention the providence where I live, El Oro, has the highest rate of Dengue in Ecuador and it is the rainy season at the moment which equals more mosquitoes. So I finally gave in and called the doctors to tell them that I thought I had Dengue.
The doctor wasn’t very impressed with my 101 degree fever (as dengue fever can get very high), so I took my temperature again and it had gone up to 103 by Tuesday midday. Giving in to the fact that it was Dengue…I then began a long process of many blood tests, fevers, chills, purple colored thighs, body aches and headaches like whoa, eye sensitivity, and rashes. Not to mention, the Dengue diet of not eating because of the loss of appetite.
I went into the Machala Clinic, which is about an hour long trip in total with two buses and a little walk, to get tested for Dengue that Tuesday afternoon. Sure enough, the test came back positive for Dengue just in time for my birthday on Wednesday. Needless to say, I spent my birthday in bed with a fever that varied from 101 to 103, severe body aches and headaches, purple colored thighs, no appetite, and only wanting to sleep in quiet. I have to say though, once you have a 103 degree fever, you can definitely tell when it drops down to 101 and be very thankful! It is like night and day and so much better. That is for sure.
I also had to go back in for blood tests Wednesday, Thursday, and that Friday as the doctor wanted to keep track of my platelet count as that is the part that is dangerous with Dengue (if they drop too low you can have internal bleeding and lots of problems). By that Friday I was exhausted from the fever, body aches, headaches, eye sensitivity, not eating, and all of the traveling each day. At that point, it was an effort everyday just to get myself to walk to the bathroom or brush my teeth without passing out. So needless to say, I was very happy when the doctors told me I could take Saturday off and just go in for tests on Sunday as my platelet count was low but staying pretty much the same. I spent the weekend sleeping and just being alive really.
My first week of Dengue…I really didn’t do much of anything but lay in my bed, be alive, and try to have silence as much as I could. Honestly, I didn’t even watch or want to watch a movie or anything. Needless to say, I missed all of my camps too sadly. And I even got Reeses Pieces, Peppermint Patties, and Lafty Taffy for my birthday that I couldn’t even eat or enjoy (those don’t exist down here)! I just wanted sleep and silence which is hard to get most of the time here in Ecuador.
By Sunday I was pretty much done and out. The extra day of rest with Saturday didn’t quite do it for me. After about a week of Dengue and not eating I was spent and could barley do anything without feeling like I was going to pass out. However, by the grace of God I made it into the Clinic to get my blood test; then I passed out. My blood test came back and my platelet count had dropped…I was not happy to say the least as I knew this just meant I was going to have more blood tests and probably pass out some more. I had some issues getting a hold of our PC doctor so I went into town to SKYPE my parents as I knew they were worried and I wanted to talk to them too as we had planned for that Sunday (I had told them that passed Tuesday I thought I had Dengue…so they were in the loop the whole time).
So I dragged my passing out butt to the Internet Café like an idiot to SKYPE my parents. I think I maybe talked to them for about a minute before I realized I was so weak that I couldn’t even keep my head up. Not to mention that I could only hold the test results up to the camera for about five seconds as well (mom understands that stuff…I don’t) before I had to put my arms down. So I sat at the computer for about twenty minutes with my head on the desk trying to decide what to do…I don’t think this was a lot of fun for my parents. As my mom said…all she could think of was that I was going to pass out on her in Ecuador and that she was going to be able to watch me and not be able to do anything about it. And as my father said…you can’t even keep your head up, you can’t make decisions right now, call for help.
Me being me though, it took about twenty minutes of this conversation for me to give in and call the PCV that lives in Machala for help…love you parents! She came to the Internet Café with one of our Ecuadorean friend who has a car and they took my back to the Clinic. My PCV friend also called our doctor for me and helped to better explain my condition and get everything set up at the Clinic (being PCVs our heath is our government’s responsibility, so we have our own Ecuadorean doctors here in country in Quito that we have to call for any health issues).
So on Sunday night I got admitted to the Machala Clinic. As far as Clinics go in a third world country, I would definitely say this was top of the line in that sense. Even by American standards, I would say it was pretty decent. However, the people that put my IV in could use some work. Their first attempt really messed up my wrist to the point where it is still black and blue today. In all honesty…that was the most intense pain I felt in the shortest period with the whole experience! They manage to get it in the second time though in a different spot thank God.
They were then going to send me home Monday afternoon…however my blood tests came back and my platelet count was even lower. So I spent Monday night at the Clinic as well. I had my own room though with some cable TV and air-conditioning…so you couldn’t complain too much. Not to mention, I started to eat some again on Sunday night when I forced some soup down and I managed to eat a little at each meal thereafter. I also had a couple of visitors as my friends slowly started to all learn that I was sick. This was when the fever, chills, body aches, eye sensitivity, purple thighs, and headaches all started to go away and the rashes started to come.
Now the main thing that was a pain in the butt with the rashes is that you can’t sleep much because just when you are about to go to sleep, you start to itch. Or if you are asleep, you will wake up because of the itchiness. Basically…itchy rashes stink to put it nicely and mine lasted for the following full week.
I went home Tuesday as my blood counts were going up and I got to spend Wednesday and Thursday resting in my bed, starting to eat again, and just build back up my strength. This would be the time period when I started to watch many films and TV series that you can buy very cheap down here in this kind of not so legal market. Friday I went in for my final blood test and my counts were way up and I was in the clear.
So that would bring me to this past week. Unfortunately and kind of fortunately this last week was supposed to be my week of rest before school starts next week as I ended up missing my two weeks of camps because of the Dengue. So it has been good to bring myself back up to full charge but on the same point I am ready for some work again as I think I have watched WAY too many films and TV series…one being the whole first season of Lost and probably at least ten movies and reruns of One Tree Hill and Grey’s Anatomy from my parents. I also started running again yesterday which will be really good for me and I still have yet to get myself a table and some chairs; maybe next week!
So in a nutshell…Dengue equals not fun. Chills, fever, severe body aches, severe headaches, purple thighs, eye sensitivity, loss of appetite, becoming extremely weak, passing out, eight blood tests on different days, a very bad IV attempt, a successful IV, and body rashes does not equal a fun two weeks. On the bright side though, they kind of all blur together now in my memory! I guess all of those symptoms together would do that to your memory though.
I also want to thank everyone for all of the birthday wishes and thoughts as well as all of the positive remarks and emails about my experience. They were all very much appreciated even if I was pretty sick at the time. Not to mention those Reeses Pieces, Peppermint Patties, and Lafty Taffy have all come in handy this past week and been fully enjoyed with some still left to enjoy.
I also managed to get an ingrown toenail this past month as well as an ingrown fingernail which I didn’t even know was possible! After my second degree burns and my Dengue experience I also had A LOT of laundry to do by hand which took me two separate days to complete all of for a couple of reasons…one being that there wasn’t enough room on the line for all of my clothes. Another reason is that the soap that I use to wash my clothes I realized doesn’t work too well with my skin when used a lot. So I got soap burns if you will on two of my fingers which took four days to heal up; then I got gloves. I also don’t think that I wore pants for the month of March…partially because of the heat and partially because I couldn’t with my burns. What can I say; this past month I have just had some issues!
School starts back up this Monday and I plan to start running everyday again to try and get myself into better shape and keep off the ten pounds that I lost with my Dengue diet. Dengue is really quite common here though, so I guess it was bound to happen to me at one point or another. The good news is that I now have immunity against the strain that I had…I think there are four strains in total. Most of the people in my community have had Dengue though; normally between the ages of ten and twelve or so. As the locals say, the first time you get it, well that stinks, the second time is even worse, and the third time you die (this is not always true...it is just what the locals say). But don’t worry; I strongly doubt I will get it again! And if I was to get Dengue again, I am pretty sure that the PC would move me to a site where there isn’t Dengue.
So that was the month of March for me…lots of time in my bed and many more once in a life time (hopefully I won’t experience Dengue or second degree burns again) experiences. I also had another first when I bought a new towel and a new sheet because all of mine smelled so bad and I was too weak to do the laundry…got through college without doing that, but not the PC experience! With April here it is a pretty relaxed month as we are just going to start up school again, the after-school help classes, and hopefully a community bank with the INFA mothers. My parents are also coming to visit me from May 8th to the 21st with some time in Quito and some time around my site which is something to definitely look forward to. Let’s just hope that I don’t get sick again!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Get Ready For Long One!
3-9-10
Holy Moly it is already March! That still seems really odd to me as I couldn’t even believe that Christmas was here as well as the New Year. Time here really is an odd thing; it seems to go slowly because you know how long of a time you are going to be here for and yet at the same time it is hard to believe how fast it goes by sometimes. But I can certainly say that this little girl has manage to keep herself busy these past couple of months which has helped the time go by faster as well.
Let’s see…I know that it has been ages since my last blog and I think when I left off I was still teaching at the school as the school year wound up. Everything with the classes went off fine and the school year ended the last week of January with exams. All in all, I felt that my classes where a good start and I definitely have ideas of what I am going to try and do with them next year. It is kind of funny really, because as Youth and Family volunteers, people usually either end up loving working with the schools or hating it. Most in all honesty that I know of hate it because it is a real challenge to keep in control a classroom of Ecuadorean kids who know that you are not grading them and also know that you do not fully know the language. For myself however, I have always proved to be an odd person, and I really enjoy it. It is definitely challenging with keeping the kids in control, but I think it is “vale la pena” as they say down here. Anyways, I am pretty sure that the school will ask me back again next year and I will be teaching in Colegio (7th, 8th, and 9th grade) once a week again. School starts up again the first week in April though, so I have some more time yet to figure all of that out.
So the “summer” months came…although they still call this season winter even though I am not really sure why because school is out and these are the hotter months…but anyways, the summer months have been some busy ones for me.
For starters, I now live in my own apartment! This took a lot more effort than I thought it would. I moved into my “studio apartment” the last week in January and first part of February right when school was ending. It took me a good week to purchase my bed, a cook top, gas tank, wardrobe, and all of the other random things that you need when you first move into your own place. Not to mention, one of the first things I wanted…and for my sanity needed…to do was paint the walls. Let me tell you…painting is not an easy thing much less when the weather is in the 90s with no air conditioning. It took me more or less three full days of painting to finish it all. I decided just to wear the same clothes everyday to make less laundry and man oh man did those ever smell by the end.
I also had to make many bus trips loaded up with things from Machala to El Retiro. For the larger items though, one of my Ecuadorean friends with a truck helped me haul them from Machala to El Retiro which was a great help. Once again though, I would have to say it was all vale la pena…but oh what a pain it certainly was! Pictures are up on Facebook as well now of my finished apartment. The one thing I am still lacking is a table and chairs but I am looking to go and get those sometime next week with the help of another PCV and another Ecuadorean friend as a birthday present from my parents :).
Once I finally got settled into my apartment I was off to a close by town, Pasaje, to help an American Organization called Ecuadent with one of their missions. They are an NGO based in Maryland and they do about two medical and dental missions to Ecuador each year. The founder of the organization was born in Ecuador and then moved to the States. They had contacted us and asked for help with translating as most of the doctors, nurses, and dentists do not speak Spanish. This experienced ended up being a once in a lifetime experience in itself and I am very happy that I was able to be a part of it. The medical mission was the first week and then the dental mission was supposed to come the following week. However, as most of you might remember, this time in February was when the snow was really bad back home. Because of the snow, the dental mission actually had to be canceled because the flights just did not work out. That was unfortunate, but the medical mission was amazing nonetheless.
We were able to perform 53 surgeries and 56 procedures over the week as three were done just with local anesthetic. Now for those of you that know me and my family, my mom is a nurse…and that did not get passed on to me. But man oh man did I ever learn a lot about it all that week and it was really interesting.
The first day was triage day where they evaluated everyone who came in. There were three plastic surgeons and one intern there and they were focusing on youth with cleft lips, cleft palates, burns/scare revisions, extra toes, extra fingers, and any other deformity that they thought they could help with. The first day I worked with Doctor Mike translating for him and this was his first mission as well…and I have to say I saw things that day that before then I had only seen in photos or poster signs…but seeing them right there with living people is a completely different ball game. I saw multiple scare burns from hot water, oil, and even chemicals. Not to mention the cleft lips and palates are unbelievable in themselves.
It was a very long day and a very hard day. But what made it hard was not the fact that it was long, but rather the fact that about 50% of the people that you saw you could not help for one reason or another. Some people had illnesses that the plastic surgeons could not operate on because the procedures took longer than a week or multiple surgeries to fix and others had illnesses that needed a specialist such as an orthopedic or neurological doctor to fix. This was really hard for us because the doctors would tell us they couldn’t help them and then it would be our job to explain it to the Ecuadoreans…that was hard because basically all of them could not afford to go and pay a specialist to fix their child’s problem. In other words, their children would have to continuing on living with these major disabilities.
However, after that day, we got to be the good news bringers for the most part. We had surgeries Monday to Thursday and the days were packed with backups and walk-ins for when people did not show up. Most days lasted about twelve hours. I ended up helping put in the IVs in and checking in the kids in the morning which was also an experience in itself. Kids don’t really like it when you tell them that this is going to sting like a bee…not to mention that I used to be one of those kids, so I kind of get it. We had one father who actually had to lie on his daughter, but all in all, we got them all in. And surprisingly for me, the nurses told me that in their opinion the Ecuadorean kids were easier than American kids…I guess that makes sense though as I am sure some of these Ecuadorean kids have been through a lot more than the American kids. We tended to be done checking everyone in and getting in the IVs by about eleven or noon and we would then go down to the PACU and surgery area…this is also where our lunch and the food was. The rest of the day I spent helping kids into surgery, getting their parents to the PACU after surgery, and checking in with the kids after their surgeries. Basically, I helped out where ever they needed a translator – There tended to be about three or four people translating every day.
In between all of this, we got to hang out with about 40 Americans and I think this is when I fully realized I am now socially awkward in both cultures. It took a little while to get used to being around Americans again! It also made me really realize how poor we are while we were fretting over a $1.50 drinking (because I can buy a full meal for that!) while the plastic surgeons had no problem buying us a couple. Not to mention the plastic surgeons make what we make in a year in a little less than a week.
Also, at the hospital we were able to stand in on a couple of surgeries…which would never be allowed in the States…but as one person said, the hospital we worked in here would be closed down in ten minutes if it was back in the states. But here, it will run for years yet to come. However, I decided not to watch a cleft lip or palate surgery…I opted to see a couple of scare revisions and a cyst removal from a girl that actually lives in my neighborhood. Really interesting.
I also experienced another big first for me in my life…I saw multiple people give birth…and it has affected me…for life. Ecuadoreans are good at getting pregnant and the hospital was in full function while we were there and the birth room was right by us. The first woman I saw gave birth to twins…and you try to just walk by and ignore it, but the door is wide open and the screaming you can hear everywhere! Not to mention they had a problem with the second twin that was born so they asked one of our baby doctors to help with the baby and I got called in as the translator…and I got to see it all whether I wanted to or not. I have to say…I had no idea that the placenta is basically the size of a second baby that comes out afterwards…I think my exact words might have been something along the lines of,” What the heck is that thing!”, as the placenta came out and went into the trash. All in all, it was the experience of a lifetime for sure and I know now that when I do have kids, I want drugs…lots and lots of drugs.
Although I was outside of my neighborhood for a good week working with the mission, some people in my town knew what I was doing because the mission was in the newspaper as well as on the TV News. And somehow or another, my picture was included in the newspaper article as well as on the TV program. Here is the link to the newspaper article if you care to read it translate:
http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sl=es&tl=en&u=http://www.diariocorreo.com.ec/archivo/2010/02/08/hoy-inician-operaciones-gratuitas-a-ninos-pobres&rurl=translate.google.com&usg=ALkJrhiFidIVkP4VafdMqSgPRmWwP_16Aw
I probably could write at least another page about that mission and my experience. Instead though, I will just leave it as I feel very blessed and lucky to have been a part of it. I will forever remember my experiences from that week and the people that I met; both the Americans and the Ecuadoreans. The organization hopes to come back again around the same time next year and I hope that I can help them out once more. It really is amazing what people can do when they all come together to help one another.
So after that, I was beat and I got sick. Nothing really bad though thankfully, just a cold that didn’t want to leave. So I spent the following week after the mission mainly in bed trying to get better. I also got caught up on about three weeks of way overdue laundry…you have to remember this is all by hand…and things that I needed to do around and with my apartment. And of course, more PCV paperwork that was due…love the government paperwork!
Towards the end of February the easy way to describe what I did is to say one word; paint. We had two different projects that we did both that took a week respectfully. The first one was a fight against trash project where we tried to clean up some of the trash, which is everywhere in general, and put up signs and trash cans in the neighborhood. The signs the kids all painted and I painted the trash cans. All of this had messages like, don’t throw trash, or, take care of your neighborhood. Then on Friday we went out and put all of these signs up in the streets as well as the trash cans. This project proved to be very frustrating for me because I quickly realized that throwing trash on the ground or wherever for them is not only normal and accepted but a custom. To change this is going to take a very long time with many failures before having full success.
The second paint project was to draw and paint a map of the world. Sounds easy…but after putting at least 25 to 30 hours of physical labor into it, you will think differently. I can definitely say that I put blood, sweat, and tears into this project once it was all said and done. Mainly because the little kids of 6 to 10 just want to paint anything and everything and I was not having that by the end of the week on my nicely drawn map. All in all though, it turned out pretty well and I have heard a couple of people with positive responses on the map and the mural that we painted next to it. It was also really cool to see once the little kids realized, wow, Ecuador really is very, very tiny compared to the world. So once again, this project became a pain in my side and back…my whole body really…literally…but it was worth it in the end. I will put up some pictures of both the trash signs and the world map and mural on Facebook once I have the time as well so you all can see them.
I am also helping out with a summer camp that the school is putting on with kids ages 6 to 12 or so with English classes as well as another little project that I am going to have them do called “Mi Propio Album”. I have classes with them Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for about two hours doing this. Overall, the camp started towards the end of February and will end the last week of March…about a month and a half in total. The kids do really enjoy it though which makes it worth the while.
I also made another classic mistake that I like to make repeatedly for some reason…I went to the beach in Ecuador. You think that I would have learned by now that with the English influence and red head gene in my family that I shouldn’t try to sunbath. But I just couldn’t help myself! And now I am paying the price as my legs are completely fried and I can barely walk…not to mention I do not think I could put on pants right now even if you paid me. So with this being my third really bad burn in my eight months of living in Ecuador, I hope that I have learned so that this can be my last.
This week, I plan on heading up to Quito to a BBQ with the new kids of Agriculture and Natural Resources Omnibus 103…that is right…it is time for a new group of PCVs here in Ecuador! It is kind of funny, but as my one fellow PCV 102er here said, it is kind of like we are going to be sophomores now. I never really thought I would be back to being a freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior…but if you think about it; it really is kind of true here in PC Ecuador! And I have to admit, it feels good to know that you are moving along and up the ladder of Peace Corps getting out of that lovely freshman stage.
It is also a really surreal feeling at times too…I have been living in Ecuador now for eight months. Sometimes that still makes my head spin with all that I have done and all that I have learned. Not to mention that is the longest I have been out of the States for. The funny thing is I still have eighteen more to go with many more memories yet to make and milestones of the PCV experience to go through. It really is so true what they say about this experience; it is an experience that is one of a kind that will push you mentally, physically, and emotionally in ways that you never even thought of or thought would be possible. Not even to mention it will completely change the way you look at the world as everything in your daily life will change. I think the most surprising thing for me is how what you think you can handle and deal with changes along the way…some things are easier to handle then what you thought they would be while others are harder. Either way, you know deep down inside yourself if you will be determined enough, hardcore enough, weird enough, or in my case, stubborn enough to make it to the end.
Holy Moly it is already March! That still seems really odd to me as I couldn’t even believe that Christmas was here as well as the New Year. Time here really is an odd thing; it seems to go slowly because you know how long of a time you are going to be here for and yet at the same time it is hard to believe how fast it goes by sometimes. But I can certainly say that this little girl has manage to keep herself busy these past couple of months which has helped the time go by faster as well.
Let’s see…I know that it has been ages since my last blog and I think when I left off I was still teaching at the school as the school year wound up. Everything with the classes went off fine and the school year ended the last week of January with exams. All in all, I felt that my classes where a good start and I definitely have ideas of what I am going to try and do with them next year. It is kind of funny really, because as Youth and Family volunteers, people usually either end up loving working with the schools or hating it. Most in all honesty that I know of hate it because it is a real challenge to keep in control a classroom of Ecuadorean kids who know that you are not grading them and also know that you do not fully know the language. For myself however, I have always proved to be an odd person, and I really enjoy it. It is definitely challenging with keeping the kids in control, but I think it is “vale la pena” as they say down here. Anyways, I am pretty sure that the school will ask me back again next year and I will be teaching in Colegio (7th, 8th, and 9th grade) once a week again. School starts up again the first week in April though, so I have some more time yet to figure all of that out.
So the “summer” months came…although they still call this season winter even though I am not really sure why because school is out and these are the hotter months…but anyways, the summer months have been some busy ones for me.
For starters, I now live in my own apartment! This took a lot more effort than I thought it would. I moved into my “studio apartment” the last week in January and first part of February right when school was ending. It took me a good week to purchase my bed, a cook top, gas tank, wardrobe, and all of the other random things that you need when you first move into your own place. Not to mention, one of the first things I wanted…and for my sanity needed…to do was paint the walls. Let me tell you…painting is not an easy thing much less when the weather is in the 90s with no air conditioning. It took me more or less three full days of painting to finish it all. I decided just to wear the same clothes everyday to make less laundry and man oh man did those ever smell by the end.
I also had to make many bus trips loaded up with things from Machala to El Retiro. For the larger items though, one of my Ecuadorean friends with a truck helped me haul them from Machala to El Retiro which was a great help. Once again though, I would have to say it was all vale la pena…but oh what a pain it certainly was! Pictures are up on Facebook as well now of my finished apartment. The one thing I am still lacking is a table and chairs but I am looking to go and get those sometime next week with the help of another PCV and another Ecuadorean friend as a birthday present from my parents :).
Once I finally got settled into my apartment I was off to a close by town, Pasaje, to help an American Organization called Ecuadent with one of their missions. They are an NGO based in Maryland and they do about two medical and dental missions to Ecuador each year. The founder of the organization was born in Ecuador and then moved to the States. They had contacted us and asked for help with translating as most of the doctors, nurses, and dentists do not speak Spanish. This experienced ended up being a once in a lifetime experience in itself and I am very happy that I was able to be a part of it. The medical mission was the first week and then the dental mission was supposed to come the following week. However, as most of you might remember, this time in February was when the snow was really bad back home. Because of the snow, the dental mission actually had to be canceled because the flights just did not work out. That was unfortunate, but the medical mission was amazing nonetheless.
We were able to perform 53 surgeries and 56 procedures over the week as three were done just with local anesthetic. Now for those of you that know me and my family, my mom is a nurse…and that did not get passed on to me. But man oh man did I ever learn a lot about it all that week and it was really interesting.
The first day was triage day where they evaluated everyone who came in. There were three plastic surgeons and one intern there and they were focusing on youth with cleft lips, cleft palates, burns/scare revisions, extra toes, extra fingers, and any other deformity that they thought they could help with. The first day I worked with Doctor Mike translating for him and this was his first mission as well…and I have to say I saw things that day that before then I had only seen in photos or poster signs…but seeing them right there with living people is a completely different ball game. I saw multiple scare burns from hot water, oil, and even chemicals. Not to mention the cleft lips and palates are unbelievable in themselves.
It was a very long day and a very hard day. But what made it hard was not the fact that it was long, but rather the fact that about 50% of the people that you saw you could not help for one reason or another. Some people had illnesses that the plastic surgeons could not operate on because the procedures took longer than a week or multiple surgeries to fix and others had illnesses that needed a specialist such as an orthopedic or neurological doctor to fix. This was really hard for us because the doctors would tell us they couldn’t help them and then it would be our job to explain it to the Ecuadoreans…that was hard because basically all of them could not afford to go and pay a specialist to fix their child’s problem. In other words, their children would have to continuing on living with these major disabilities.
However, after that day, we got to be the good news bringers for the most part. We had surgeries Monday to Thursday and the days were packed with backups and walk-ins for when people did not show up. Most days lasted about twelve hours. I ended up helping put in the IVs in and checking in the kids in the morning which was also an experience in itself. Kids don’t really like it when you tell them that this is going to sting like a bee…not to mention that I used to be one of those kids, so I kind of get it. We had one father who actually had to lie on his daughter, but all in all, we got them all in. And surprisingly for me, the nurses told me that in their opinion the Ecuadorean kids were easier than American kids…I guess that makes sense though as I am sure some of these Ecuadorean kids have been through a lot more than the American kids. We tended to be done checking everyone in and getting in the IVs by about eleven or noon and we would then go down to the PACU and surgery area…this is also where our lunch and the food was. The rest of the day I spent helping kids into surgery, getting their parents to the PACU after surgery, and checking in with the kids after their surgeries. Basically, I helped out where ever they needed a translator – There tended to be about three or four people translating every day.
In between all of this, we got to hang out with about 40 Americans and I think this is when I fully realized I am now socially awkward in both cultures. It took a little while to get used to being around Americans again! It also made me really realize how poor we are while we were fretting over a $1.50 drinking (because I can buy a full meal for that!) while the plastic surgeons had no problem buying us a couple. Not to mention the plastic surgeons make what we make in a year in a little less than a week.
Also, at the hospital we were able to stand in on a couple of surgeries…which would never be allowed in the States…but as one person said, the hospital we worked in here would be closed down in ten minutes if it was back in the states. But here, it will run for years yet to come. However, I decided not to watch a cleft lip or palate surgery…I opted to see a couple of scare revisions and a cyst removal from a girl that actually lives in my neighborhood. Really interesting.
I also experienced another big first for me in my life…I saw multiple people give birth…and it has affected me…for life. Ecuadoreans are good at getting pregnant and the hospital was in full function while we were there and the birth room was right by us. The first woman I saw gave birth to twins…and you try to just walk by and ignore it, but the door is wide open and the screaming you can hear everywhere! Not to mention they had a problem with the second twin that was born so they asked one of our baby doctors to help with the baby and I got called in as the translator…and I got to see it all whether I wanted to or not. I have to say…I had no idea that the placenta is basically the size of a second baby that comes out afterwards…I think my exact words might have been something along the lines of,” What the heck is that thing!”, as the placenta came out and went into the trash. All in all, it was the experience of a lifetime for sure and I know now that when I do have kids, I want drugs…lots and lots of drugs.
Although I was outside of my neighborhood for a good week working with the mission, some people in my town knew what I was doing because the mission was in the newspaper as well as on the TV News. And somehow or another, my picture was included in the newspaper article as well as on the TV program. Here is the link to the newspaper article if you care to read it translate:
http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sl=es&tl=en&u=http://www.diariocorreo.com.ec/archivo/2010/02/08/hoy-inician-operaciones-gratuitas-a-ninos-pobres&rurl=translate.google.com&usg=ALkJrhiFidIVkP4VafdMqSgPRmWwP_16Aw
I probably could write at least another page about that mission and my experience. Instead though, I will just leave it as I feel very blessed and lucky to have been a part of it. I will forever remember my experiences from that week and the people that I met; both the Americans and the Ecuadoreans. The organization hopes to come back again around the same time next year and I hope that I can help them out once more. It really is amazing what people can do when they all come together to help one another.
So after that, I was beat and I got sick. Nothing really bad though thankfully, just a cold that didn’t want to leave. So I spent the following week after the mission mainly in bed trying to get better. I also got caught up on about three weeks of way overdue laundry…you have to remember this is all by hand…and things that I needed to do around and with my apartment. And of course, more PCV paperwork that was due…love the government paperwork!
Towards the end of February the easy way to describe what I did is to say one word; paint. We had two different projects that we did both that took a week respectfully. The first one was a fight against trash project where we tried to clean up some of the trash, which is everywhere in general, and put up signs and trash cans in the neighborhood. The signs the kids all painted and I painted the trash cans. All of this had messages like, don’t throw trash, or, take care of your neighborhood. Then on Friday we went out and put all of these signs up in the streets as well as the trash cans. This project proved to be very frustrating for me because I quickly realized that throwing trash on the ground or wherever for them is not only normal and accepted but a custom. To change this is going to take a very long time with many failures before having full success.
The second paint project was to draw and paint a map of the world. Sounds easy…but after putting at least 25 to 30 hours of physical labor into it, you will think differently. I can definitely say that I put blood, sweat, and tears into this project once it was all said and done. Mainly because the little kids of 6 to 10 just want to paint anything and everything and I was not having that by the end of the week on my nicely drawn map. All in all though, it turned out pretty well and I have heard a couple of people with positive responses on the map and the mural that we painted next to it. It was also really cool to see once the little kids realized, wow, Ecuador really is very, very tiny compared to the world. So once again, this project became a pain in my side and back…my whole body really…literally…but it was worth it in the end. I will put up some pictures of both the trash signs and the world map and mural on Facebook once I have the time as well so you all can see them.
I am also helping out with a summer camp that the school is putting on with kids ages 6 to 12 or so with English classes as well as another little project that I am going to have them do called “Mi Propio Album”. I have classes with them Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for about two hours doing this. Overall, the camp started towards the end of February and will end the last week of March…about a month and a half in total. The kids do really enjoy it though which makes it worth the while.
I also made another classic mistake that I like to make repeatedly for some reason…I went to the beach in Ecuador. You think that I would have learned by now that with the English influence and red head gene in my family that I shouldn’t try to sunbath. But I just couldn’t help myself! And now I am paying the price as my legs are completely fried and I can barely walk…not to mention I do not think I could put on pants right now even if you paid me. So with this being my third really bad burn in my eight months of living in Ecuador, I hope that I have learned so that this can be my last.
This week, I plan on heading up to Quito to a BBQ with the new kids of Agriculture and Natural Resources Omnibus 103…that is right…it is time for a new group of PCVs here in Ecuador! It is kind of funny, but as my one fellow PCV 102er here said, it is kind of like we are going to be sophomores now. I never really thought I would be back to being a freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior…but if you think about it; it really is kind of true here in PC Ecuador! And I have to admit, it feels good to know that you are moving along and up the ladder of Peace Corps getting out of that lovely freshman stage.
It is also a really surreal feeling at times too…I have been living in Ecuador now for eight months. Sometimes that still makes my head spin with all that I have done and all that I have learned. Not to mention that is the longest I have been out of the States for. The funny thing is I still have eighteen more to go with many more memories yet to make and milestones of the PCV experience to go through. It really is so true what they say about this experience; it is an experience that is one of a kind that will push you mentally, physically, and emotionally in ways that you never even thought of or thought would be possible. Not even to mention it will completely change the way you look at the world as everything in your daily life will change. I think the most surprising thing for me is how what you think you can handle and deal with changes along the way…some things are easier to handle then what you thought they would be while others are harder. Either way, you know deep down inside yourself if you will be determined enough, hardcore enough, weird enough, or in my case, stubborn enough to make it to the end.
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