Well I have a quick Christmas update. First, feliz navidad! Second, I’m in a funky mood, so forgive me this time. For those of you back in the states I miss you more than you can know this holiday season. I miss everyone/everything so much it hurts to think about missing Christmas. As my first Christmas away from home (and I am bien lejos) this year, I spent most of Christmas Eve feeling pretty sorry for myself and in generally a foul mood. I of course had to keep a half-smile on since I was out with the jovenes (youth group) throwing a Christmas party in one of the little campo towns, but afterwards my host brother saw through it and called me out. We were riding in the back of the camioneta (truck) heading back to my town from the campo. He nodded then said “well we’re your family now” and pointed to all of the jovenes. I laughed and explained that I was really happy with that but that it isn’t even close to the same. He accepted failure and settled to just try to cheer me up. Then I got hit in the face by an overhead branch as we sped through the dirt roads. But after laughing it off, I realized I felt better that he (and all the jovenes as they were listening in) knew I was missing my country and my family – makes them understand what sacrifices I am making by being here (which I know are totally by my own choice so I don’t really have anyone to blame but myself). I’m glad I have adapted the ‘what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger’ attitude regarding my Peace Corps service. I keep telling myself, well if I can make it through insert problem (dengue fever, dancing in front of this crowd, explaining sex to jovenes, and now Christmas away from my family) I know I can make it two years here. And of everything I’ve had to deal with, missing Christmas has been the hardest. I knew running off to hang out with other volunteers would help me ‘forget’ it’s Christmas and therefore not miss it so much, but I decided I wanted to celebrate Christmas normally, even if it meant putting myself through a little pain. So I decided to stay in my site and spend Christmas Eve with my host family. After 6 hours with the jovenes, I came home and showered off the caked dust from riding in the back of a truck on dirt roads for a couple hours. I had told my host mom I would come over after I showered to hang out, but I guess then decided I might need some help getting across the street so they sent the 10 year old girl and the newly bathed and dressed up dog to find me. I told her I’d be over soon and that I was just doing something for a minute. So I made the salad I promised to bring and packed up my computer, hard drive, etc. so I could show them pictures from back in the states (something I’ve been promising my host mom for 4 months and never gotten around to). The way it was described to me, they would all be hanging out, but as it turned out the 2 older boys were sleeping, the younger was running around with friends, and the mom and the 10 yr old girl were watching tv pretty unresponsively. So I got my computer out and played around on the internet for awhile. I had asked the 16 year old about going to church with him so finally around 8 we went. It was a very modern looking church, with a guitar/drum band, a projector with computer, and a very modern looking building. We sat up in the balcony and at first they just sung a few non-christmas songs and I was pretty bummed I signed up for 2 hrs of singing songs I didn’t know. But then they had some kids do a dance, had a little skit, and a few Christmas songs (same music, different words in Spanish so that the meanings of the songs were changed a lot). It was pretty interesting and I was glad I went, even though I wasn’t really following much of it I enjoyed just being in a place to think. Then my host brother handed me a little pamphlet that was stuck in the bible to look at. It was hate propaganda against homosexuals. The usual – “God hates gays and you are going to hell” with references to Sodom and Gomorrah to which my host brother laughed and asked me if I liked. I looked at him and just handed it back and say it was trash, rolling my eyes and said I could explain my viewpoint at a more appropriate time but basically I don’t like churches teaching people to hate others because of differences. Regardless of my religious beliefs, I don’t understand how churches can teach hatred to children, who this comic was obviously directed toward. Anyway we decided to peace out after about an hour and a half because I was hungry and I thought my host mom was joking when she told me we would be eating at midnight, so I was ready to get home and eat something. But when we got home, her and the daughter were sleeping and the brothers said ‘not a joke, we will be eating at midnight’. Bummer I thought, so I ran to my house to get something else and eat a few bites of chocoflakes cereal – mmm. When I got back the host brothers were horsing around and woke up the host mom, so I showed pictures of family/life in the states to the oldest host brother and my host mom. Oh, the dad had returned from AWOL and was sleeping off his day’s activities in the hammock outside. So after they got bored of seeing holidays in the states, pictures of our house and the 4 seasons we have, snow included, we started preparing to eat. As it turns out the midnight rule is more of a general thing, so we ate at 11:45. They carried the daughter to the table and made her pick her head up for a picture, and the host dad stumbled into the bedroom without eating or even acknowledging the presence of people in the house. But the rest of us who were awake enjoyed a yummy dinner of pavo (turkey), lettuce, potatoes, and a cheese crème with a side of chocolate bread and chocolate milk. It was delicious – the turkey was the best I’ve had in a long time (different but not better than how you prepare turkey mom). Then I handed out the little gifts I had for each of them, minus the girl who had gone to bed and the dad who had hopefully made it to the bed. The gifts were little things I had brought from the states to give them when I moved in 4 months ago but never had, so they worked as Christmas presents instead. To the mom I gave a little magnetic fishing game (the one where the fish spin around and open and close their mouths while you try to pick them up via their open mouths). The 24 year old got one of those stretchy squishy ball things with a flashing light inside that lights up when you hit it – to use in the discos because he loves to dance. The 20 year old got a magnetic 3 game set, with chess, checkers, and Parcheesi. The 16 year old got a 1 person jumping elimination game like the ones they have at cracker barrel. The girl got a mini butterfly kite and the host dad got one of the bowls dad made from wood that I brought with me. I also bought them a card that plays I wish you a merry Christmas when you open it, and I wrote them a short note about how glad I have them here. Lastly, the dog got a headband with reindeer antlers with bells, which the 20 year old host brother stole and wore around. They all seemed to love the gifts and it really made me feel happier to give them something and see how excited they were. After the brothers left to go out, the girl somehow woke back up and opened my gift and the gifts from the parents, so us girls (host mom, sister, and me) got to spend some time together before I decided to head home
Though I have surrounded myself with people I have grown close to here, I cant explain how hard today was and tomorrow will probably be. I found myself tearing up over stupid things and just feeling miserably self-pitying for the last few days. And I know it is pretty ridiculous because obviously this is something I chose when I signed up for the Peace Corps, but seeing everyone else here spending time with family, and knowing back home they’re celebrating without me – it’s hard. I feel just like I felt the days leading up to leaving for Ecuador in the first place. I know it will pass, and as far as I’m concerned personally, this will be a huge emotional accomplishment as I have never spent Christmas away from home. But let’s just say I’m glad I will be heading back home for Christmas next year!
So as not to end on a bad note, I am extremely excited for a couple things tomorrow:
• opening my “presents” in the morning. I received several packages from my mom over the last week or so, and I've been saving them in the fridge (so ants don’t get inside and ruin anything) for Christmas morning. Tonight (as it was past midnight) I opened one of the packages and allowed myself to remove one item – an NKU t-shirt.
• I decided as my Christmas present to myself I was going to buy something special for Christmas breakfast (since we do a huge breakfast with family in the states) so I bought some gouda cheese. It was bien caro (expensive) but I have been thinking about it every time I open my fridge for the last week. I also have bacon left over from something I cooked for my host family, and today I went and bought from fruit so I can make a fruit plate. If I feel like it I also could make pancakes with yogurt – so many options!
• Tomorrow morning I also will be able to “spend” Christmas morning with my family in the states thanks to modern technology – aka internet, skype, and a webcam. If all goes according to plan they can turn on the webcam and I can sit and watch everyone open presents, and vice versa with my packages. If the internet is sucking, then I’ll just suffice to talk to everyone and hear about their presents
• Finally, I’m going to meet up with a couple fellow volunteers and have a dinner with them for Christmas. I feel like hanging out with other Americans will be very helpful as we are all missing a lot and understand what we are all going through this time of year.
I am writing this because I wanted to share how I feel about being away from home, and also details of the celebrations here, but alas my blog has turned out pretty so I’m going to sign off and keep an eye out for Santa aka Papa Noel! Merry Christmas to all – Love and Miss you!
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Ok I’m back to give a few more updates!
First, December 1 was World AIDS Day. I teamed up with another organization in my town to do charlas (educational workshops) in one of the colegios (high schools) here. We were planning for Dec 1 and were supposed to have a meeting Monday of the week before to plan the details. As is the style here, I showed up for the meeting but no one else did. So I left the guy a note to say I’d been there and to call me, but didn’t hear anything. Wednesday Nov 25 was the Day against violence against women and families and I had heard from a woman I met on the street that there was going to be a parade and open house. I didn’t know what time it was at but as I was walking around that morning I saw someone from the municipio (mayor’s office) helping a cute little lady set up an information booth in the park. So I passed by and introduced myself. I stood there awkwardly for a few minutes then decided to ask if I could help with anything. She looked at me funny for a few minutes, so I clarified that I could do whatever, hang things, move stuff, etc. So she handed me some ribbon and told me to put it up on the tent edge. While I was hanging ribbons and posters and stuff, we talked and it turns out she is a member of a women’s group that meets on Wednesday mornings. They organize themselves to do crafts and stuff to sell. I haven’t been able to make I to a meeting yet but hopefully will go sometime soon. The parade ended at the park and the mayor and board were there. They had some kids from the schools dancing, a few speeches, and people just mingling. So anyway, I ran into the guy that I was supposed to meet with about World AIDS Day and he explained something came up and he couldn’t be at the office that day. But he had time right after the event was over, so around lunchtime I met him at his office to plan the charlas. I didn’t want to show up to the meeting unprepared so I had drawn up an agenda of possible activities then figured they would want to change them around some. The secretary of education also came and they decided it would be best to do the charla that Friday instead of the following week. I was really glad I had it all planned! They also offered the services of a woman that works in their office who is either or a doctor or a nurse and specialized in HIV/AIDS – perfect! I met with her and showed her what I had planned and she said it looked good, so we decided to meet before the charla Friday to finalize everything. So Friday morning I showed up early and made the posters, then sat around waiting. She said something about us waiting on a car, but I watched as the time we were supposed to start the charla came and went. Then the car we were waiting on arrived and I asked how long it would take to get to the high school – 20 minutes or so. So me, the medica, and the secretary of education piled in the car and drove to the colegio. I didn’t realize that it actually isn’t in my town – it’s out in the campo (country), so by the time we got there we were about 45 minutes late. They also then told me I would be doing 2 charlas and had about 40 minutes for each one (the plan had been 2 groups with an hr and a half each) so I had to make some last minute changes, which involved cutting the charla down to 1 activity. So the first group went pretty well, I was glad I had 2 ecuadorians there helping me but I felt like I did a good job. The kids had fun (it was a team competition with true/false about HIV/AIDS and I gave them all candy at the end). Since I had to cut the activities, the medica suggested we do the other main activity with the next group. Because that activity was more based on the previous activity, it turned out that the second group kinda got jipped. They didn’t get as much information during the activity, so at the end we basically summarized everything else they would have learned if we did both activities. In retrospect, I think we should have just done the same activity with the second group, but live and learn. At least they had fun, and the activity was a little faster, which made the other 2 women happy. So after an hr and a half of talking in Spanish with a bunch of high school kids, I was glad to pile back into the car and be done working for the day!
That was the first World AIDS Day activity I did. We also had planned more charlas for the next Monday but that fell through, so instead I met with the health promoters that work with that organization to plan the World AIDS Day activities. Meanwhile I was trying to round up the people from my organization to get them to participate in the parade – very chaotic to be in charge of getting people informed! I also made posters, interviewed labs and health clinics to get details on how much HIV testing cost/where it was available/etc., and made over 450 red ribbons to hand out with candy during the parade. So World AIDS Day came, and not only did we end up having enough people show up from my organization, but I also got a nurse I had met the week before to join our group in the parade. She and I ran around handing out ribbons and explaining to people that there was going to be free HIV testing in the park – if people in my town didn’t think I was crazy before they definitely do now! It’s okay though, I feel like at least we were trying to inform people. The reason I jumped into prepping for World AIDS Day so ambitiously is because when I was doing community assessments with the health providers I found out that (supposedly) 60% of the population in my town has HIV/AIDS. Now I know that receiving statistics from providers can be quite exaggerated (though I heard around 60% from all of the clinics), but even if this is an overestimate chances are that it’s at least close, which is way more people than I expected. The surveys I’ve done with families and youth also show that there is very little knowledge regarding how you get HIV or even what it is. Anyways I’ve decided that HIV/AIDS education is something I’m really interesting in doing in my town, so I will continue programming even now that World AIDS Day has passed.
As far as work goes, I also set up schedules with the promoters so they would know when they needed to come get me to go to work. Good in theory, not so much in practice. They still don’t remember and I find myself sending a lot of text reminders. It’s frustrating because I want to help them with their work but they are so flaky that it’s hard. And I can talk to the people at my office (who are the ones who requested a volunteer and want me to be doing stuff) and they can talk to the promoters but it doesn’t change anything. Some days it’s just easier mentally to do stuff at my house or go around to other organizations to do interviews than to constantly remind them that I’m supposed to be working with them. I know it sounds kinda dumb since I just have to send a text but 1. Having to text someone every day to remind them is 31 texts a month – not what I want to be wasting my texts/ money on! and 2. By the time I realize they aren’t coming and I have to send the text I'm then sitting at my house pissed off that I had to get up early and have sat around waiting for a couple hours. If I were in the states I could text 5 mins after the person was supposed to arrive but here I usually wait somewhere between 30 minutes and an hour because it’s not normal to be on time (but I have to be ready in case they ARE on time, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to argue my point). The schedule I made should have fixed this as I gave them a list of dates and everything, but apparently not. It really is such a little thing but it makes me feel like I’m a burden on them and that I’m not being productive, which just frustrates me. And really, I hate having to get up at 6:30 to leave at 7:30 when I’m sitting at my house until 9:30 – you all know how much I like to sleep! It’s not a deal-breaker, just something that annoys me about how my work is going right now.
On the other hand, I have kept myself busy doing more independent work and meeting with other organizations, and of course playing around in my new house I also still have the TV that the guy said he was coming to get several weeks ago, so whenever he actually get it I believe my productivity will increase drastically. I also try to spend time with my host family, mostly with the brothers. I went to their house to eat ceviche one day for lunch (since that’s not something I really wanna cook for myself – way too much work!), have watched a couple movies with the brothers, and have been spending LOTS of time with the brothers and their friends (aka the youth group I’m also supposed to be working with). It turns out that I really enjoy their company now that I have a choice whether/when I see the brothers’ friends. The youth group (which I’m going to refer to as the liceo from here on since it takes me awhile to remember “youth group”) has been doing some fundraising to provide Christmas gifts to some kids and have a party with them, so I’ve been helping them out (more like just standing there being the token gringa). They’ve sold chuzos (grilled sausages) a few times and I've just gone and hung out with them while they sold them. Other than the normal annoyances of hanging out with young Ecuadorian men (being asked out etc) they’ve been a lot of fun. I figure if I just ignore the propositions they’ll eventually go away. I don’t really have anything to worry about, they’re harmless and everyone knows I’m “protected” because of my host brothers – they just get annoying sometimes. But when we aren’t talking about me and my dating life, I enjoy getting to know them. It’s also nice just knowing people my age – if only there were more girls in the liceo! I did get invited to a birthday party of one of the guys. Yay for feeling like I have more friends! And all of this because I moved out of the host family’s house – sounds good. Tonight I am going to make mayonnaise for them to sell on the sausages. I don’t really know how but it was safer than letting the boys try to make it, and they think I’m a cooking genius, so hopefully I don’t screw this up! I know the lady last time made it from eggs, lime, oil, and soy milk. I feel like after this experience I won’t want mayo for awhile though, like Ang’s aversion to ranch dressing…
Other than the prospect of making mayo, I’ve been enjoying cooking for myself. I haven’t been making any meat dishes, just eating beans, veggies, fruit, milk, and eggs. Eventually I’ll start buying chicken to cook, but for now I’m happy with the beans and eggs for protein. My favorite new thing is CEREAL! I hadn’t had cereal since being in Ecuador until I moved into my own place, and now that’s pretty much when I want for breakfast every morning. Unfortunately it’s kinda expensive, and the cereal sold in my town is all super-sugary, but until I tire of it I've been eating a CocoPuffs knockoff with skim milk (another thing we never had in my host family’s house!) I also rarely cook with oil, eat mostly veggies, and make my juice without sugar. Overall I see this working out really well for me. The only big problem is that it’s hard to cook some things in small portions. Thankfully my host family is still open to my cooking and also now that I have a freezer I can freeze portions. A few nights ago I made a 5 bean soup (though I only know what 3 of the beans are, the others I just bought because they were in the store) and have been eating portions of that with variations – with cheese crumbles, spinach, peppers, spicy, soupy, etc. It’s basically a base that I just add whatever I feel like. I also made alfredo sauce the other day, which I shared with my host family (and they loved – thanks for sending that seasoning packed grandma!). I had a little leftover so I threw the rest into the bean base, and it made a really yummy mix. However it turns out my stomach can’t handle the bean stuff more than once a day as I found out the hard way, so I ended up freezing a bunch of it so it won’t spoil. I also bought spinach and lettuce (which are both ridiculously cheap!) and have eaten some salads (though it’s risky not cooking them, so I tend to steam them or put them in something to cook). I feel so excited about my freedom of diet, but at the same time I do miss some of the Ecuadorian foods that I can’t make/don’t know where to buy. For example, since I don’t have an oven I can’t make maduros con queso (roasted yellow plantain with cheese on the side), or tortillas (corn tortillas with cheese inside). I just need to get around to asking my family where they bought the tortillas though, since they usually just bought them instead of making them.
Speaking of food, that brings me to my next point – Christmas! I know that Christmas is going to be a really hard time for me, and I’ve been missing my family a lot in the time leading up to the holiday, but thankfully I've been getting packages and mail to make me feel better And I bought a couple special things to celebrate Christmas morning – gouda cheese and bacon! Both were quite expensive but I decided it would be my Christmas present to myself. I had decided to go to another town for Christmas Eve but I think I’ve changed my mind. My host family celebrates on Christmas Eve with a dinner and though they haven’t invited me since I told them I’m going out of town, I’m sure they would be happy if I joined them. Also the town I was going to go to is about 6.5 hours from here, and I just don’t think I want to be traveling so much for Christmas. Finally, I want to try to find a church to go to on the 24th or 25th, depending on when they have services here. I don’t usually go to church because they’re mostly all catholic and because I try to separate myself from religion (because everyone thinks I'm a missionary), but I feel like going to a Christmas service would really help. Some of the other volunteers are meeting up on Christmas closer to my town but I’m not sure yet if I’m going to go. My host brother also told me that there aren’t many buses and they are really really full right around Christmas (since people are travelling a lot). And if I decide to stay here on Christmas day, I’m going to have my own big breakfast like we always do at home (with pancakes and bacon and gouda cheese) and talk to my family back in the states on skype – this just sounds like a better idea than travelling around in a bus. I also got a couple packages from family in the states and while I couldn’t resist opening and starting the jigsaw puzzle my grandma sent me (thanks grandma!!) I’ve saved the package my mom sent me to open on Christmas morning! And I wasn’t sure if there were sweets in it so just in case I put it in the fridge so the ants couldn’t enjoy my present before me I’m so excited for opening my Christmas presents – all wrapped up in bubble wrap envelops! Cultural note: I asked my host brother what they do for Christmas and he said that on Christmas Eve they just spend time together and eat a dinner, then Christmas day they sometimes go to the city to spend time with other family members. He said they don’t do any gift exchange – just when they were younger and got toys. A lot of families go to church but he said they don’t. Mostly it just seems like they spend time with family, much like what happens in the states as well.
Another event that’s coming up is New Years. Again, I planned to go visit friends but I think I’m going to hang out here with my host brothers and their friends. One of the traditions they do here is people make big figurines called “viejos” (old things) and at midnight they burn them in the streets. They’re made of wood wrapped in paper and painted, and people make all sorts of things. I’ve seen robots, action figures, famous people, aliens, etc. but my host family has a tradition that they make something they want in the next year. For example, a few years ago they were finishing the house they live in, so they made a house for new years. This year I think they’re going to make a car because they want a new car – it’s supposed to be good luck. I plan to help them make the viejo when they get around to it, and have even thought about making one myself (after I see how it’s done we’ll see). Sometimes people also put firecrackers in the viejos so they make lots of noise and are more entertaining. I haven’t brought it up with the liceo yet (because I haven’t decided if I’m willing) but I’m thinking about offering to have a new year’s party here. Since I have a huge yard, we could just have it outside, and I have a perfect place to make a bonfire. I figure we could borrow a grill and make hot dogs and veggies/plantains and maybe even s’mores on the bonfire! I would probably make the house off-limits (the guys can use the bathroom outside so I’d only let the girls in to use the bathroom) and of course I’d lock up all my stuff (I can *probably* trust the youth but I don’t know them well enough yet to really trust them) but with my huge yard I think I could make it work. In reality it would probably just be my host brothers and a few of their close friends I’ve hung out with a lot, but still I think it could be fun. And of course it would be BYOB – I’m too poor The liceo was talking about wanting to have a party but they don’t know where, so I’ll probably talk to my host brothers to see what they think about the idea.
Another thing that’s coming up is that Ang is coming to visit in Jan! I’m so excited! I’ve been planning out what we’re going to do, and I think we’ll be in my site some and at the beach some and in the city some. I’m excited to get to travel around but I’m mostly excited that she’s coming and that I can show someone my life here. I can write and write but it’s so different to experience it and I’m glad I have the opportunity to share it with someone in person When I was working out at the gym today, looking out over my town (my gym’s on the 3rd floor with an open wall so I can see over most of the buildings in my town) I realized that in less than a month Ang would be here and get to experience my life, and how excited I am to get to show her how cool (though not in the traditional sense as it is generally up in the 90s) my town is and my life here. I also realized that’s what I have – I have a life here. It’s a different life than I had back in the states, and of course I miss my friends/family and life in the U.S. a lot, but this has become “normal” to me. Even though it’s limited because of my term as a volunteer, this place is my home for 2 years; this is my work, my life. It was a strange feeling and I can’t really explain it, but that’s the best I can do
Oh and a side note, we still are having power outages. For now they’re just for 4 hours every morning (thankfully not at night anymore). I am hoping that soon they’ll be over as the rainy season is slowly starting and the rivers will eventually have water. For now we just get a little rain some days/nights (an hour or so), but little by little it will pick up until we have rain most of the day/night. I don’t really know what it’s really like, but you all get to experience the anticipation with me as we approach the “rainy season” – something that didn’t really exist back in Kentucky!
Okay I think that’s about all I’ve done/am going to be doing, so I’m gonna sign off. But if I don’t get to talk to you all, have a good Christmas and I miss you all!!
First, December 1 was World AIDS Day. I teamed up with another organization in my town to do charlas (educational workshops) in one of the colegios (high schools) here. We were planning for Dec 1 and were supposed to have a meeting Monday of the week before to plan the details. As is the style here, I showed up for the meeting but no one else did. So I left the guy a note to say I’d been there and to call me, but didn’t hear anything. Wednesday Nov 25 was the Day against violence against women and families and I had heard from a woman I met on the street that there was going to be a parade and open house. I didn’t know what time it was at but as I was walking around that morning I saw someone from the municipio (mayor’s office) helping a cute little lady set up an information booth in the park. So I passed by and introduced myself. I stood there awkwardly for a few minutes then decided to ask if I could help with anything. She looked at me funny for a few minutes, so I clarified that I could do whatever, hang things, move stuff, etc. So she handed me some ribbon and told me to put it up on the tent edge. While I was hanging ribbons and posters and stuff, we talked and it turns out she is a member of a women’s group that meets on Wednesday mornings. They organize themselves to do crafts and stuff to sell. I haven’t been able to make I to a meeting yet but hopefully will go sometime soon. The parade ended at the park and the mayor and board were there. They had some kids from the schools dancing, a few speeches, and people just mingling. So anyway, I ran into the guy that I was supposed to meet with about World AIDS Day and he explained something came up and he couldn’t be at the office that day. But he had time right after the event was over, so around lunchtime I met him at his office to plan the charlas. I didn’t want to show up to the meeting unprepared so I had drawn up an agenda of possible activities then figured they would want to change them around some. The secretary of education also came and they decided it would be best to do the charla that Friday instead of the following week. I was really glad I had it all planned! They also offered the services of a woman that works in their office who is either or a doctor or a nurse and specialized in HIV/AIDS – perfect! I met with her and showed her what I had planned and she said it looked good, so we decided to meet before the charla Friday to finalize everything. So Friday morning I showed up early and made the posters, then sat around waiting. She said something about us waiting on a car, but I watched as the time we were supposed to start the charla came and went. Then the car we were waiting on arrived and I asked how long it would take to get to the high school – 20 minutes or so. So me, the medica, and the secretary of education piled in the car and drove to the colegio. I didn’t realize that it actually isn’t in my town – it’s out in the campo (country), so by the time we got there we were about 45 minutes late. They also then told me I would be doing 2 charlas and had about 40 minutes for each one (the plan had been 2 groups with an hr and a half each) so I had to make some last minute changes, which involved cutting the charla down to 1 activity. So the first group went pretty well, I was glad I had 2 ecuadorians there helping me but I felt like I did a good job. The kids had fun (it was a team competition with true/false about HIV/AIDS and I gave them all candy at the end). Since I had to cut the activities, the medica suggested we do the other main activity with the next group. Because that activity was more based on the previous activity, it turned out that the second group kinda got jipped. They didn’t get as much information during the activity, so at the end we basically summarized everything else they would have learned if we did both activities. In retrospect, I think we should have just done the same activity with the second group, but live and learn. At least they had fun, and the activity was a little faster, which made the other 2 women happy. So after an hr and a half of talking in Spanish with a bunch of high school kids, I was glad to pile back into the car and be done working for the day!
That was the first World AIDS Day activity I did. We also had planned more charlas for the next Monday but that fell through, so instead I met with the health promoters that work with that organization to plan the World AIDS Day activities. Meanwhile I was trying to round up the people from my organization to get them to participate in the parade – very chaotic to be in charge of getting people informed! I also made posters, interviewed labs and health clinics to get details on how much HIV testing cost/where it was available/etc., and made over 450 red ribbons to hand out with candy during the parade. So World AIDS Day came, and not only did we end up having enough people show up from my organization, but I also got a nurse I had met the week before to join our group in the parade. She and I ran around handing out ribbons and explaining to people that there was going to be free HIV testing in the park – if people in my town didn’t think I was crazy before they definitely do now! It’s okay though, I feel like at least we were trying to inform people. The reason I jumped into prepping for World AIDS Day so ambitiously is because when I was doing community assessments with the health providers I found out that (supposedly) 60% of the population in my town has HIV/AIDS. Now I know that receiving statistics from providers can be quite exaggerated (though I heard around 60% from all of the clinics), but even if this is an overestimate chances are that it’s at least close, which is way more people than I expected. The surveys I’ve done with families and youth also show that there is very little knowledge regarding how you get HIV or even what it is. Anyways I’ve decided that HIV/AIDS education is something I’m really interesting in doing in my town, so I will continue programming even now that World AIDS Day has passed.
As far as work goes, I also set up schedules with the promoters so they would know when they needed to come get me to go to work. Good in theory, not so much in practice. They still don’t remember and I find myself sending a lot of text reminders. It’s frustrating because I want to help them with their work but they are so flaky that it’s hard. And I can talk to the people at my office (who are the ones who requested a volunteer and want me to be doing stuff) and they can talk to the promoters but it doesn’t change anything. Some days it’s just easier mentally to do stuff at my house or go around to other organizations to do interviews than to constantly remind them that I’m supposed to be working with them. I know it sounds kinda dumb since I just have to send a text but 1. Having to text someone every day to remind them is 31 texts a month – not what I want to be wasting my texts/ money on! and 2. By the time I realize they aren’t coming and I have to send the text I'm then sitting at my house pissed off that I had to get up early and have sat around waiting for a couple hours. If I were in the states I could text 5 mins after the person was supposed to arrive but here I usually wait somewhere between 30 minutes and an hour because it’s not normal to be on time (but I have to be ready in case they ARE on time, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to argue my point). The schedule I made should have fixed this as I gave them a list of dates and everything, but apparently not. It really is such a little thing but it makes me feel like I’m a burden on them and that I’m not being productive, which just frustrates me. And really, I hate having to get up at 6:30 to leave at 7:30 when I’m sitting at my house until 9:30 – you all know how much I like to sleep! It’s not a deal-breaker, just something that annoys me about how my work is going right now.
On the other hand, I have kept myself busy doing more independent work and meeting with other organizations, and of course playing around in my new house I also still have the TV that the guy said he was coming to get several weeks ago, so whenever he actually get it I believe my productivity will increase drastically. I also try to spend time with my host family, mostly with the brothers. I went to their house to eat ceviche one day for lunch (since that’s not something I really wanna cook for myself – way too much work!), have watched a couple movies with the brothers, and have been spending LOTS of time with the brothers and their friends (aka the youth group I’m also supposed to be working with). It turns out that I really enjoy their company now that I have a choice whether/when I see the brothers’ friends. The youth group (which I’m going to refer to as the liceo from here on since it takes me awhile to remember “youth group”) has been doing some fundraising to provide Christmas gifts to some kids and have a party with them, so I’ve been helping them out (more like just standing there being the token gringa). They’ve sold chuzos (grilled sausages) a few times and I've just gone and hung out with them while they sold them. Other than the normal annoyances of hanging out with young Ecuadorian men (being asked out etc) they’ve been a lot of fun. I figure if I just ignore the propositions they’ll eventually go away. I don’t really have anything to worry about, they’re harmless and everyone knows I’m “protected” because of my host brothers – they just get annoying sometimes. But when we aren’t talking about me and my dating life, I enjoy getting to know them. It’s also nice just knowing people my age – if only there were more girls in the liceo! I did get invited to a birthday party of one of the guys. Yay for feeling like I have more friends! And all of this because I moved out of the host family’s house – sounds good. Tonight I am going to make mayonnaise for them to sell on the sausages. I don’t really know how but it was safer than letting the boys try to make it, and they think I’m a cooking genius, so hopefully I don’t screw this up! I know the lady last time made it from eggs, lime, oil, and soy milk. I feel like after this experience I won’t want mayo for awhile though, like Ang’s aversion to ranch dressing…
Other than the prospect of making mayo, I’ve been enjoying cooking for myself. I haven’t been making any meat dishes, just eating beans, veggies, fruit, milk, and eggs. Eventually I’ll start buying chicken to cook, but for now I’m happy with the beans and eggs for protein. My favorite new thing is CEREAL! I hadn’t had cereal since being in Ecuador until I moved into my own place, and now that’s pretty much when I want for breakfast every morning. Unfortunately it’s kinda expensive, and the cereal sold in my town is all super-sugary, but until I tire of it I've been eating a CocoPuffs knockoff with skim milk (another thing we never had in my host family’s house!) I also rarely cook with oil, eat mostly veggies, and make my juice without sugar. Overall I see this working out really well for me. The only big problem is that it’s hard to cook some things in small portions. Thankfully my host family is still open to my cooking and also now that I have a freezer I can freeze portions. A few nights ago I made a 5 bean soup (though I only know what 3 of the beans are, the others I just bought because they were in the store) and have been eating portions of that with variations – with cheese crumbles, spinach, peppers, spicy, soupy, etc. It’s basically a base that I just add whatever I feel like. I also made alfredo sauce the other day, which I shared with my host family (and they loved – thanks for sending that seasoning packed grandma!). I had a little leftover so I threw the rest into the bean base, and it made a really yummy mix. However it turns out my stomach can’t handle the bean stuff more than once a day as I found out the hard way, so I ended up freezing a bunch of it so it won’t spoil. I also bought spinach and lettuce (which are both ridiculously cheap!) and have eaten some salads (though it’s risky not cooking them, so I tend to steam them or put them in something to cook). I feel so excited about my freedom of diet, but at the same time I do miss some of the Ecuadorian foods that I can’t make/don’t know where to buy. For example, since I don’t have an oven I can’t make maduros con queso (roasted yellow plantain with cheese on the side), or tortillas (corn tortillas with cheese inside). I just need to get around to asking my family where they bought the tortillas though, since they usually just bought them instead of making them.
Speaking of food, that brings me to my next point – Christmas! I know that Christmas is going to be a really hard time for me, and I’ve been missing my family a lot in the time leading up to the holiday, but thankfully I've been getting packages and mail to make me feel better And I bought a couple special things to celebrate Christmas morning – gouda cheese and bacon! Both were quite expensive but I decided it would be my Christmas present to myself. I had decided to go to another town for Christmas Eve but I think I’ve changed my mind. My host family celebrates on Christmas Eve with a dinner and though they haven’t invited me since I told them I’m going out of town, I’m sure they would be happy if I joined them. Also the town I was going to go to is about 6.5 hours from here, and I just don’t think I want to be traveling so much for Christmas. Finally, I want to try to find a church to go to on the 24th or 25th, depending on when they have services here. I don’t usually go to church because they’re mostly all catholic and because I try to separate myself from religion (because everyone thinks I'm a missionary), but I feel like going to a Christmas service would really help. Some of the other volunteers are meeting up on Christmas closer to my town but I’m not sure yet if I’m going to go. My host brother also told me that there aren’t many buses and they are really really full right around Christmas (since people are travelling a lot). And if I decide to stay here on Christmas day, I’m going to have my own big breakfast like we always do at home (with pancakes and bacon and gouda cheese) and talk to my family back in the states on skype – this just sounds like a better idea than travelling around in a bus. I also got a couple packages from family in the states and while I couldn’t resist opening and starting the jigsaw puzzle my grandma sent me (thanks grandma!!) I’ve saved the package my mom sent me to open on Christmas morning! And I wasn’t sure if there were sweets in it so just in case I put it in the fridge so the ants couldn’t enjoy my present before me I’m so excited for opening my Christmas presents – all wrapped up in bubble wrap envelops! Cultural note: I asked my host brother what they do for Christmas and he said that on Christmas Eve they just spend time together and eat a dinner, then Christmas day they sometimes go to the city to spend time with other family members. He said they don’t do any gift exchange – just when they were younger and got toys. A lot of families go to church but he said they don’t. Mostly it just seems like they spend time with family, much like what happens in the states as well.
Another event that’s coming up is New Years. Again, I planned to go visit friends but I think I’m going to hang out here with my host brothers and their friends. One of the traditions they do here is people make big figurines called “viejos” (old things) and at midnight they burn them in the streets. They’re made of wood wrapped in paper and painted, and people make all sorts of things. I’ve seen robots, action figures, famous people, aliens, etc. but my host family has a tradition that they make something they want in the next year. For example, a few years ago they were finishing the house they live in, so they made a house for new years. This year I think they’re going to make a car because they want a new car – it’s supposed to be good luck. I plan to help them make the viejo when they get around to it, and have even thought about making one myself (after I see how it’s done we’ll see). Sometimes people also put firecrackers in the viejos so they make lots of noise and are more entertaining. I haven’t brought it up with the liceo yet (because I haven’t decided if I’m willing) but I’m thinking about offering to have a new year’s party here. Since I have a huge yard, we could just have it outside, and I have a perfect place to make a bonfire. I figure we could borrow a grill and make hot dogs and veggies/plantains and maybe even s’mores on the bonfire! I would probably make the house off-limits (the guys can use the bathroom outside so I’d only let the girls in to use the bathroom) and of course I’d lock up all my stuff (I can *probably* trust the youth but I don’t know them well enough yet to really trust them) but with my huge yard I think I could make it work. In reality it would probably just be my host brothers and a few of their close friends I’ve hung out with a lot, but still I think it could be fun. And of course it would be BYOB – I’m too poor The liceo was talking about wanting to have a party but they don’t know where, so I’ll probably talk to my host brothers to see what they think about the idea.
Another thing that’s coming up is that Ang is coming to visit in Jan! I’m so excited! I’ve been planning out what we’re going to do, and I think we’ll be in my site some and at the beach some and in the city some. I’m excited to get to travel around but I’m mostly excited that she’s coming and that I can show someone my life here. I can write and write but it’s so different to experience it and I’m glad I have the opportunity to share it with someone in person When I was working out at the gym today, looking out over my town (my gym’s on the 3rd floor with an open wall so I can see over most of the buildings in my town) I realized that in less than a month Ang would be here and get to experience my life, and how excited I am to get to show her how cool (though not in the traditional sense as it is generally up in the 90s) my town is and my life here. I also realized that’s what I have – I have a life here. It’s a different life than I had back in the states, and of course I miss my friends/family and life in the U.S. a lot, but this has become “normal” to me. Even though it’s limited because of my term as a volunteer, this place is my home for 2 years; this is my work, my life. It was a strange feeling and I can’t really explain it, but that’s the best I can do
Oh and a side note, we still are having power outages. For now they’re just for 4 hours every morning (thankfully not at night anymore). I am hoping that soon they’ll be over as the rainy season is slowly starting and the rivers will eventually have water. For now we just get a little rain some days/nights (an hour or so), but little by little it will pick up until we have rain most of the day/night. I don’t really know what it’s really like, but you all get to experience the anticipation with me as we approach the “rainy season” – something that didn’t really exist back in Kentucky!
Okay I think that’s about all I’ve done/am going to be doing, so I’m gonna sign off. But if I don’t get to talk to you all, have a good Christmas and I miss you all!!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
December 6, 2009
I’m writing you from my new house! I moved out of the host family’s house and into my own house this past weekend. It’s very strange and new still, but I know I’ll get used to it soon! Even though sometimes it drove me insane, I am still used to being around the family and the loud presence of jovenes, so having my own place and quiet is a little strange. The landlord lent my his tv for a few days after I moved in because he didn’t feel like moving it so I had cable for a few days. So it was a slow adjustment because I at least had the noise of tv for awhile.
So about my house, it’s really nice. It’s really spacious for one person and has 2 ‘bedrooms’ but one is just empty now since I only need one room. The one that’s empty has a big metal door that’s like a garage door, so at some point I may use that for some purpose. I bought a fridge and a stove-top and my landlord surprised me and let me borrow a hammock, bed, and a gas tank, saving me from having to buy a lot of expensive stuff. I also borrowed a fan from a friend, so I essentially got out of having to buy much stuff! Also my host family gave me a small Christmas tree to use so I can decorate my house :) the house is very secure, and I have all of the keys to all of the doors, which makes me a little nervous that I’m going to lose them. I’m planning on giving 1 copy of the keys to my host family in case I do lock myself out, because the doors lock automatically when I leave. Right now I feel like a janitor because I have 10 keys on my key chain now – doubles of: lock on the gate to get to the house, front door, back door, lock on the water tank, keys to my bedroom (the other bedroom and the bathroom I don’t care around). Other than that the house is really great. It’s strange to have my own place but I'm excited to get to ‘nest’! I’m going to buy wood to make a table, and I made a makeshift closet by hanging a broom handle with cable from the metal supports of the room (which I was really proud of doing so innovatevly!”. However my host family is helping me a lot getting stuff settled in. Today the host dad came and put some nails in the walls for me (apparently just trying to hammer nails into a cement wall makes big cracks in the cement so its better to drill a hole then put the nail in) and said he’ll come back to install towel racks, other nail hangers, and even a real closet and shelf system in the kitchen when I’m ready. Oh and the windows now are just glass without screen, so I’ve been putting screen on the windows/openings to keep the mosquitos down a little (I did buy a fumigator spray today to kill the mosquitos sometimes when I just need a break). He seems pretty excited to be able to help and I’m welcoming the help. If I would have just nailed the nails in without asking him for a hammer I would have big cracks in my wall right now. I have lots of stuff to learn about Ecuadorian housing!
Well, it’s been awhile since I last updated. For one thing, we don’t have consistent power. There is a nationwide power shortage so the government has been doing scheduled power cuts twice a day. Here ours is out in the morning from 8am until 10 or 1030, then in the evening from 5 until 7 or 8. Every year the rivers run dry, which is where they generate most of their energy, so during the months before the rainy season starts there are always power cuts. Its annoying at times, but that is how it is here. One thing I think is pretty dumb though is that in the big city the street signals are connected to the same power source and they don’t have a backup generator to provide power during the cuts. They cut the power there during the mid afternoon, while people are out having lunch or driving home from work. So they have cops directing traffic at all of the intersections because the lights don’t work. It seems pretty inefficient, but I guess they cant prevent it.
Another issue that’s going on right now is that with the droughts there isn’t enough food in the fields for the cows so the cows are really skinny and not giving off very much milk. Therefore, the price of cheese made in the coastal region has doubled in the last month. Milk from the sierra is just as cheap because they have plenty of grass for the cows, but the milk is brought here pasteurized so people here cant make cheese from that milk. Apparently this isn’t a regular thing though – this year is the first time its happened.
A few weekends ago I went with my host family out to a farm in the campo (country). It’s the farm of my host dad’s family, but none of his family lives on the farm. They have a family that they pay to work the land and a house for visitors. So we went and stayed in the visitors house. My host parents, host sister, and about 15 relatives and I all climbed into a camioneta to get to the house, which is really far back on bad roads. It was a little scary getting to the farm but once we got there it was soo interesting! Near the farm we tried to cross over a small creek, but it turns out the small creek was a bit deeper and mushier than the driver realized. Sooo we got stuck. First the men got out and tried to push, then they put rocks underneath the tires to try to help. Tires still spinning we decided that everyone should unload, so we all climbed out to reduce the weight. Then after watching the men struggle without progress, the women decided to help. After a few tries I was the only woman still helping, while the others took pictures of the efforts. Finally we got the truck unstuck but I apparently was holding/pushing wrong because I didn’t have a good hold once it starting moving. I made a split-second decision to keep pushing even though I knew I wouldn’t make it out of the muck unscathed, which resulted in the truck getting out and me on my knees in the 8 inch deep mud. I tried to get up a couple times and failed, just falling back down (which my host mom got on video) until one of the guys came and helped me up. Everyone fussed over the fact that my pants and shoes were covered in goop, but I told them I’d rather just wait to deal with it til we got to the farm, so I just rinsed me hands off in water pool of the creek (with 3 of the men standing around just in case I needed help or fell into the creek). Everyone laughed at me for only bringing 1 pair of jeans until I pointed out it was only an overnight trip, at which point they still laughed because I was covered in mud. It was a dirty experience but at least it seemed to be my initiation into the extended family. It broke the ice between us and seemed to show them I’m out there to help and make an effort, that I’m no different from them just because I’m from the U.S. So anyway, after the creek extravaganza we headed on our way to the farm!
When we got there my host dad took me around the woods to show me the various fruit trees – including orange, coconut, plantain, plum, banana, lime, guanabana, and papaya trees. He knows how much I love coconuts so he used a long cane to knock the rest of the coconuts off the 75 ft tree which was a really interesting process. He started by putting the end of the cane near the tree then hoisted the cane up like a high jumper until he had it upright. Then he twisted and hit the coconut until it fell. It sounds really easy but my super-strong host dad had trouble controlling the cane so one of his nephews who looks like a line-backer came by and help him. I sat by and took pictures (I offered to help but both of us knew it wouldn’t be much help haha) So anyway, we collected various fruits and it was truly one of the most interesting experiences I’ve had here in Ecuador – an experience I couldn’t get in the U.S.! After going on our walk, we went back and had lunch. Afterward, we went down to the river to “bathe” which I translated as swim but actually meant bathe, as in soap, shampoo, etc. That was a real “I’m actually in the Peace Corps” experience, but it was actually pretty fun. The water was a huge relief from the heat and I learned to wash my body under my clothes which was pretty awkward. I spent a good amount of time in the water enjoying the freshness and company of the host family. Then we went up and had dinner. After dinner there is of course no power, so the sun went down and we sat around talking over candles. I didn’t last long though and went to bed pretty early. The next morning at 5am my host mom burst into my room and excitedly told me that the monkey was singing and I needed to get up to hear it. Even though I’d gone to bed early I wasn’t ready to get up yet, so I just laid there in the bed and listened for about 20 minutes until I fell back asleep. It was a very monkey-from-the-zoo singing, but really neat to be hearing. The monkey lives a little ways from the house we were staying in, so naturally the next day when I got up they told me we were going for a hike to find the monkey. I was pretty excited, not only to look for the monkey and see my first in the wild monkey (there is a little baby pet monkey chained to a sign on a roof in my town that I pass by sometimes, and he comes out and jumps around when I pass – so cool!) but to just check out more of the wilderness of the campo. So we prepared to head out, which involved putting jeans on and tucking them into my socks to keep the millions of little red ticks from getting inside my clothes. We walked and walked through the forest, and passed the monkey’s habitat area without a sighting (sad face). After a long hike we arrived at a small cane house and rested for a few minutes before heading down to the creek bed. There wasn’t much water as it’s the dry season, but I imagine it is gorgeous during the rainy season. There was a cascade of rocks and boulders followed by a short bed then a 50 ft dropoff that would make a beautiful waterfall. While they played around I spotted a really pretty and huge tree that I could easily climb and relax on. When they finally noticed me up there I was taking pictures of them, then one of the relatives came and took my camera to get pictures of me on the awesome tree. Eventually the host dad went down to the waterfall edge and climbed down so he could get a picture of all of us on the ledge from below. I can only imagine how cool the waterfall is during the rainy season! After awhile we headed back up to the little cane house and my host dad made a fire to smoke the ticks off our clothes and the termites of the cane house. Then we headed back on the long hike towards the house. After we got there I decided to go out into the forest and gather some oranges and limes for everyone to take back home. I picked enough to fill a big bucket then when I got back to the house my host family was leaving for another walk so I tagged along. This one involved crossing a stream on rocks in my tennis shoes then hiking through a very arid environment until we reached a really pretty riverbed. I decided not to swim because I was in my normal clothes and shoes, and walking back in wet clothes wouldn’t be fun, but the host family got in. After I’d had my fill of the scenery I decided to go back because I was feeling very dehydrated. When I reached the stream I saw a beautiful butterfly that I think was a monarch. I tried to get a picture but it flew away just before the picture took. This time crossing the stream in my tennis shoes on little rock steps didn’t work out and I ended up with a very wet right foot. But it was ok because when I got back I just laid the shoes out to dry and went to bathe in the river again. This time everyone came and went from the river and I stayed longer, and ended up getting to bathe without clothes, which was much neater than with clothes on under the hot sun :) It was such a relaxing and natural feeling bathing in this fresh and clean stream – amazing! I rejoined the family at the house for lunch after awhile then we prepared to leave. Of course the camioneta was running on Ecua-time so it was a couple hours late, but I passed this time playing with the little boy that lived on the farm. He was so cute and different from the kids in my town because they are very isolated living on the farm. Initially he was really afraid of my differentness and shy, just watching me from a few feet away. But after awhile I finally got him talking and we made drawing with the corn kernels and played some hide and seek games. I went back upstairs into the house for awhile because I needed a little break from entertaining him and when I got back he had collected a bunch more corn kernels to play with – it was soo cute! Finally as the camioneta arrived I was trying to pull a splinter out of his foot, which ended up being pretty unsuccessful unfortunately, but he was so cute pretending it didn’t hurt yet flinching when I touched it with the tweezers. When we drove away he was sitting on the ground watching us leave, waving, with a puzzling look on his face. It was a very cool experience, and probably the closest thing I will have to interacting with the indigenous people here in the coast region. After a long but pretty trip back in the camioneta, we arrived at the car just as the sun had set and headed back to my town.
One thing I feel a little guilty, but that’s not really the right word - maybe self-conscious, about is that no matter how hard I try to be just another person here I am always treated as if I'm above everyone on the pecking order. For example, normally the father would be served food first in a traditional Ecuadorian family, but with me I am always served first, whether I’m in my host families house or in a guest’s house. I also am always given my own bed when we’ve been on vacations even though usually 2-3 people are sharing beds (which I am secretly grateful for because I've never liked sharing a bed with another person). It’s just strange to receive special treatment all the time. I don’t know if it’s because of my skin color/nationality or because of respect for my decision to move to Ecuador and work and live with the people here, but I tell myself it’s the latter to help me feel better. It is very strange to move from being a majority as a white woman to be in the states to being a “rich and powerful” minority here, receiving respect and privileges just for things I cannot change, how I was born to be. I sympathize with the white men in peace corps, who receive more special treatment than white women because they are basically at the top of the social order in Ecuador. Nonetheless, I am sometimes grateful for the special treatment when it keeps me from having to deal with things I’m uncomfortable with even though normally it just annoys me. And there’s your reflection for this post :)
Another random note, my host mother from the sierra called me the other day. When I picked up my phone and saw it was here I was really confused and wondered if I had put someone else’s number on her name because I couldn’t imagine her calling me. Then I had a little panicky feeling and wondered if something bad had happened to someone in the family. I answered it and kept waiting for some sort of news – good or bad. But news never came, she just asked how things were going and what I was doing, then when I was coming to visit, and abruptly said goodbye and hung up. I used to think about them all the time, but to be honest I hadn’t thought about them in awhile since I've gotten used to being here, but now the longing to see them is back again. I feel such a desire to see them, especially the kids, and the feelings of missing them are back stronger than ever. They were the first Ecuadorians I really got to know and I feel like they are a huge part of my experience in Peace Corps. So many days spent with them, and though the number of days isn’t that many relative to my life, they make up a huge part of my transition process. I’m also a little surprised that they were thinking about me enough to call, especially when I know they don’t have a lot of money and every call costs. But anyway, I told her the next time I was in Quito I was planning to visit and that I miss them a lot, and I hope I conveyed that I really do miss them. I am really hoping for a reason that I have to go to Quito so I can go see them, even though I said I wouldn’t be back until August probably.
Ok I’m gonna sign off but I plan to do another update soon including:
- World AIDS Day activities
- Work update
- More details about MY NEW HOUSE! :)
Check out these pics on facebook with work stuff and my new house!
Work pics:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2042449&id=46900557&l=bdf6e800e4
My first house (who would've thought it would be in Ecuador!) http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2042592&id=46900557&l=c3158e48ca
I’m writing you from my new house! I moved out of the host family’s house and into my own house this past weekend. It’s very strange and new still, but I know I’ll get used to it soon! Even though sometimes it drove me insane, I am still used to being around the family and the loud presence of jovenes, so having my own place and quiet is a little strange. The landlord lent my his tv for a few days after I moved in because he didn’t feel like moving it so I had cable for a few days. So it was a slow adjustment because I at least had the noise of tv for awhile.
So about my house, it’s really nice. It’s really spacious for one person and has 2 ‘bedrooms’ but one is just empty now since I only need one room. The one that’s empty has a big metal door that’s like a garage door, so at some point I may use that for some purpose. I bought a fridge and a stove-top and my landlord surprised me and let me borrow a hammock, bed, and a gas tank, saving me from having to buy a lot of expensive stuff. I also borrowed a fan from a friend, so I essentially got out of having to buy much stuff! Also my host family gave me a small Christmas tree to use so I can decorate my house :) the house is very secure, and I have all of the keys to all of the doors, which makes me a little nervous that I’m going to lose them. I’m planning on giving 1 copy of the keys to my host family in case I do lock myself out, because the doors lock automatically when I leave. Right now I feel like a janitor because I have 10 keys on my key chain now – doubles of: lock on the gate to get to the house, front door, back door, lock on the water tank, keys to my bedroom (the other bedroom and the bathroom I don’t care around). Other than that the house is really great. It’s strange to have my own place but I'm excited to get to ‘nest’! I’m going to buy wood to make a table, and I made a makeshift closet by hanging a broom handle with cable from the metal supports of the room (which I was really proud of doing so innovatevly!”. However my host family is helping me a lot getting stuff settled in. Today the host dad came and put some nails in the walls for me (apparently just trying to hammer nails into a cement wall makes big cracks in the cement so its better to drill a hole then put the nail in) and said he’ll come back to install towel racks, other nail hangers, and even a real closet and shelf system in the kitchen when I’m ready. Oh and the windows now are just glass without screen, so I’ve been putting screen on the windows/openings to keep the mosquitos down a little (I did buy a fumigator spray today to kill the mosquitos sometimes when I just need a break). He seems pretty excited to be able to help and I’m welcoming the help. If I would have just nailed the nails in without asking him for a hammer I would have big cracks in my wall right now. I have lots of stuff to learn about Ecuadorian housing!
Well, it’s been awhile since I last updated. For one thing, we don’t have consistent power. There is a nationwide power shortage so the government has been doing scheduled power cuts twice a day. Here ours is out in the morning from 8am until 10 or 1030, then in the evening from 5 until 7 or 8. Every year the rivers run dry, which is where they generate most of their energy, so during the months before the rainy season starts there are always power cuts. Its annoying at times, but that is how it is here. One thing I think is pretty dumb though is that in the big city the street signals are connected to the same power source and they don’t have a backup generator to provide power during the cuts. They cut the power there during the mid afternoon, while people are out having lunch or driving home from work. So they have cops directing traffic at all of the intersections because the lights don’t work. It seems pretty inefficient, but I guess they cant prevent it.
Another issue that’s going on right now is that with the droughts there isn’t enough food in the fields for the cows so the cows are really skinny and not giving off very much milk. Therefore, the price of cheese made in the coastal region has doubled in the last month. Milk from the sierra is just as cheap because they have plenty of grass for the cows, but the milk is brought here pasteurized so people here cant make cheese from that milk. Apparently this isn’t a regular thing though – this year is the first time its happened.
A few weekends ago I went with my host family out to a farm in the campo (country). It’s the farm of my host dad’s family, but none of his family lives on the farm. They have a family that they pay to work the land and a house for visitors. So we went and stayed in the visitors house. My host parents, host sister, and about 15 relatives and I all climbed into a camioneta to get to the house, which is really far back on bad roads. It was a little scary getting to the farm but once we got there it was soo interesting! Near the farm we tried to cross over a small creek, but it turns out the small creek was a bit deeper and mushier than the driver realized. Sooo we got stuck. First the men got out and tried to push, then they put rocks underneath the tires to try to help. Tires still spinning we decided that everyone should unload, so we all climbed out to reduce the weight. Then after watching the men struggle without progress, the women decided to help. After a few tries I was the only woman still helping, while the others took pictures of the efforts. Finally we got the truck unstuck but I apparently was holding/pushing wrong because I didn’t have a good hold once it starting moving. I made a split-second decision to keep pushing even though I knew I wouldn’t make it out of the muck unscathed, which resulted in the truck getting out and me on my knees in the 8 inch deep mud. I tried to get up a couple times and failed, just falling back down (which my host mom got on video) until one of the guys came and helped me up. Everyone fussed over the fact that my pants and shoes were covered in goop, but I told them I’d rather just wait to deal with it til we got to the farm, so I just rinsed me hands off in water pool of the creek (with 3 of the men standing around just in case I needed help or fell into the creek). Everyone laughed at me for only bringing 1 pair of jeans until I pointed out it was only an overnight trip, at which point they still laughed because I was covered in mud. It was a dirty experience but at least it seemed to be my initiation into the extended family. It broke the ice between us and seemed to show them I’m out there to help and make an effort, that I’m no different from them just because I’m from the U.S. So anyway, after the creek extravaganza we headed on our way to the farm!
When we got there my host dad took me around the woods to show me the various fruit trees – including orange, coconut, plantain, plum, banana, lime, guanabana, and papaya trees. He knows how much I love coconuts so he used a long cane to knock the rest of the coconuts off the 75 ft tree which was a really interesting process. He started by putting the end of the cane near the tree then hoisted the cane up like a high jumper until he had it upright. Then he twisted and hit the coconut until it fell. It sounds really easy but my super-strong host dad had trouble controlling the cane so one of his nephews who looks like a line-backer came by and help him. I sat by and took pictures (I offered to help but both of us knew it wouldn’t be much help haha) So anyway, we collected various fruits and it was truly one of the most interesting experiences I’ve had here in Ecuador – an experience I couldn’t get in the U.S.! After going on our walk, we went back and had lunch. Afterward, we went down to the river to “bathe” which I translated as swim but actually meant bathe, as in soap, shampoo, etc. That was a real “I’m actually in the Peace Corps” experience, but it was actually pretty fun. The water was a huge relief from the heat and I learned to wash my body under my clothes which was pretty awkward. I spent a good amount of time in the water enjoying the freshness and company of the host family. Then we went up and had dinner. After dinner there is of course no power, so the sun went down and we sat around talking over candles. I didn’t last long though and went to bed pretty early. The next morning at 5am my host mom burst into my room and excitedly told me that the monkey was singing and I needed to get up to hear it. Even though I’d gone to bed early I wasn’t ready to get up yet, so I just laid there in the bed and listened for about 20 minutes until I fell back asleep. It was a very monkey-from-the-zoo singing, but really neat to be hearing. The monkey lives a little ways from the house we were staying in, so naturally the next day when I got up they told me we were going for a hike to find the monkey. I was pretty excited, not only to look for the monkey and see my first in the wild monkey (there is a little baby pet monkey chained to a sign on a roof in my town that I pass by sometimes, and he comes out and jumps around when I pass – so cool!) but to just check out more of the wilderness of the campo. So we prepared to head out, which involved putting jeans on and tucking them into my socks to keep the millions of little red ticks from getting inside my clothes. We walked and walked through the forest, and passed the monkey’s habitat area without a sighting (sad face). After a long hike we arrived at a small cane house and rested for a few minutes before heading down to the creek bed. There wasn’t much water as it’s the dry season, but I imagine it is gorgeous during the rainy season. There was a cascade of rocks and boulders followed by a short bed then a 50 ft dropoff that would make a beautiful waterfall. While they played around I spotted a really pretty and huge tree that I could easily climb and relax on. When they finally noticed me up there I was taking pictures of them, then one of the relatives came and took my camera to get pictures of me on the awesome tree. Eventually the host dad went down to the waterfall edge and climbed down so he could get a picture of all of us on the ledge from below. I can only imagine how cool the waterfall is during the rainy season! After awhile we headed back up to the little cane house and my host dad made a fire to smoke the ticks off our clothes and the termites of the cane house. Then we headed back on the long hike towards the house. After we got there I decided to go out into the forest and gather some oranges and limes for everyone to take back home. I picked enough to fill a big bucket then when I got back to the house my host family was leaving for another walk so I tagged along. This one involved crossing a stream on rocks in my tennis shoes then hiking through a very arid environment until we reached a really pretty riverbed. I decided not to swim because I was in my normal clothes and shoes, and walking back in wet clothes wouldn’t be fun, but the host family got in. After I’d had my fill of the scenery I decided to go back because I was feeling very dehydrated. When I reached the stream I saw a beautiful butterfly that I think was a monarch. I tried to get a picture but it flew away just before the picture took. This time crossing the stream in my tennis shoes on little rock steps didn’t work out and I ended up with a very wet right foot. But it was ok because when I got back I just laid the shoes out to dry and went to bathe in the river again. This time everyone came and went from the river and I stayed longer, and ended up getting to bathe without clothes, which was much neater than with clothes on under the hot sun :) It was such a relaxing and natural feeling bathing in this fresh and clean stream – amazing! I rejoined the family at the house for lunch after awhile then we prepared to leave. Of course the camioneta was running on Ecua-time so it was a couple hours late, but I passed this time playing with the little boy that lived on the farm. He was so cute and different from the kids in my town because they are very isolated living on the farm. Initially he was really afraid of my differentness and shy, just watching me from a few feet away. But after awhile I finally got him talking and we made drawing with the corn kernels and played some hide and seek games. I went back upstairs into the house for awhile because I needed a little break from entertaining him and when I got back he had collected a bunch more corn kernels to play with – it was soo cute! Finally as the camioneta arrived I was trying to pull a splinter out of his foot, which ended up being pretty unsuccessful unfortunately, but he was so cute pretending it didn’t hurt yet flinching when I touched it with the tweezers. When we drove away he was sitting on the ground watching us leave, waving, with a puzzling look on his face. It was a very cool experience, and probably the closest thing I will have to interacting with the indigenous people here in the coast region. After a long but pretty trip back in the camioneta, we arrived at the car just as the sun had set and headed back to my town.
One thing I feel a little guilty, but that’s not really the right word - maybe self-conscious, about is that no matter how hard I try to be just another person here I am always treated as if I'm above everyone on the pecking order. For example, normally the father would be served food first in a traditional Ecuadorian family, but with me I am always served first, whether I’m in my host families house or in a guest’s house. I also am always given my own bed when we’ve been on vacations even though usually 2-3 people are sharing beds (which I am secretly grateful for because I've never liked sharing a bed with another person). It’s just strange to receive special treatment all the time. I don’t know if it’s because of my skin color/nationality or because of respect for my decision to move to Ecuador and work and live with the people here, but I tell myself it’s the latter to help me feel better. It is very strange to move from being a majority as a white woman to be in the states to being a “rich and powerful” minority here, receiving respect and privileges just for things I cannot change, how I was born to be. I sympathize with the white men in peace corps, who receive more special treatment than white women because they are basically at the top of the social order in Ecuador. Nonetheless, I am sometimes grateful for the special treatment when it keeps me from having to deal with things I’m uncomfortable with even though normally it just annoys me. And there’s your reflection for this post :)
Another random note, my host mother from the sierra called me the other day. When I picked up my phone and saw it was here I was really confused and wondered if I had put someone else’s number on her name because I couldn’t imagine her calling me. Then I had a little panicky feeling and wondered if something bad had happened to someone in the family. I answered it and kept waiting for some sort of news – good or bad. But news never came, she just asked how things were going and what I was doing, then when I was coming to visit, and abruptly said goodbye and hung up. I used to think about them all the time, but to be honest I hadn’t thought about them in awhile since I've gotten used to being here, but now the longing to see them is back again. I feel such a desire to see them, especially the kids, and the feelings of missing them are back stronger than ever. They were the first Ecuadorians I really got to know and I feel like they are a huge part of my experience in Peace Corps. So many days spent with them, and though the number of days isn’t that many relative to my life, they make up a huge part of my transition process. I’m also a little surprised that they were thinking about me enough to call, especially when I know they don’t have a lot of money and every call costs. But anyway, I told her the next time I was in Quito I was planning to visit and that I miss them a lot, and I hope I conveyed that I really do miss them. I am really hoping for a reason that I have to go to Quito so I can go see them, even though I said I wouldn’t be back until August probably.
Ok I’m gonna sign off but I plan to do another update soon including:
- World AIDS Day activities
- Work update
- More details about MY NEW HOUSE! :)
Check out these pics on facebook with work stuff and my new house!
Work pics:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2042449&id=46900557&l=bdf6e800e4
My first house (who would've thought it would be in Ecuador!) http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2042592&id=46900557&l=c3158e48ca
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