It’s the end of October and I have less than 7 weeks left in the Peace Corps… wow. I can remember getting to Ecuador and while it seems like such a short time ago, but I also feel that it was so long ago because of how much I have changed and adapted since then. So here I am trying to start processing that I’m leaving in a relatively short time. Right now it seems hard to imagine leaving my life here – my work, friends, my host family, and even my house with all the plantain and mango trees I have planted. Of course I’m excited for many things, including seeing long-lost friends and family, hot water, considerably fewer bugs, having my own means of transportation, etc. but it will definitely be a big adjustment. I am planning to take Dali with me now though, so at least I won’t have to deal with leaving her behind. I still have mixed emotions about it, as I think it will be an adjustment for her as she’s never been in weather cooler than 70 degrees and we’ll be arriving in December. And I know she will miss my host family and their dogs. But I also think that she will be happier with me, and if I leave her she will be sad at least for a long time. Plus I worry about her getting hit by a car and not getting the type of care she’s accustomed to (I pamper her a lot). So I don’t know what’s best for her, or if it’s responsible of me to take her with me when I don’t know what I’ll be doing a year from now or where I’ll be (hopefully in grad school somewhere!) …
Well to catch you up on what I’ve been up to since I last posted… I’ve been back in Ecuador since the end of August and have been doing better medically. My stomach has either adjusted more or I’m being more careful (I do think twice about buying just anything off the street now, though I refuse to give up some of my favorite foods) but I haven’t really had stomach problems. I did however cut my hand last week and had to get stitches. I was making dinner for my host brother Joao, as a “thank you” for always helping me and being a good friend, and I made spicy enchiladas. Well, since the host parents were gone that day, the host sister came over too, but she doesn’t like spicy food so I decided to heat up some lasagna for her that I had frozen. The lasagna wasn’t very good because it was dry and lacking sauce, but I had a container of frozen sauce too, so I was just going to add some sauce to make it better. I heated some up and we ate, then Najabi wanted more, so I went to get more lasagna and more sauce out. The way I got the sauce out was using my kitchen knife to scrape it out, like putting the point in the center and twisting it. Well, I had just sharpened my knife that day and the knife slipped and cut through the sauce, the side of the container, and into my palm. I know, pretty stupid and avoidable, and no, I was not drinking (though I had made a Gin and Tonic for me and Joao so he could try it)… It was pretty deep and bleeding a lot, and I ran to the kitchen and washed it off and let the blood drip down the sink. I called for Joao and he came in and told me I was definitely going to need stitches (I was just staring at it at the time) and I told him to bring me my medical kit and cell phone. I used an antiseptic wash to clean it, and then put gauze on it and called the Peace Corps doctor. She told me to go to the ER at the health center in my site, and Joao and I hopped in a moto-taxi and went. There they looked at it, cleaned it, and stitched it up. I almost passed out when they were injecting the anesthetic, as they stick the needle in the wound then poke around inside in about 8 directions injecting the anesthetic. I started sweating profusely, felt nauseous, then very dizzy, and thought it was a reaction to the anesthetic so then panicked more, but I told them I didn’t feel good and they had me lay down and after a few minutes it passed. They put me on a vigorous antibiotic regimen and I had a lot of nausea from the antibiotics for the week I was on them, and they likely killed off whatever natural antibiotics my stomach had regrown, but I’m off them now! Yesterday I went to Guayaquil because the Peace Corps doctor was there doing checkups and stuff, and she took out the stitches. I once again felt sick/dizzy/etc. but it wasn’t as bad as the first time and I didn’t have to lie down. She had a bit of a hard time getting them out because the scissors were big, so my hand is really sore today again. The cut is still pretty open, but dad said not to worry about the scarring and that the important stuff underneath is probably healed. But still I’m trying to immobilize it and have had it wrapped with an ace bandage since last night. So another week and hopefully I’ll be as good as new :) and I’m definitely going to be careful with my knife, and not try to cut through frozen stuff anymore!
I have spent most of my time in the last month and a half studying for the GREs. I had the psychology one the 15th in Quito, so I did all of my medical evaluations then. I got a clean bill of health – no cavities, no parasites, etc. The psychology GRE took me a little by surprise, which is bad considering I did 6 practice tests in preparation. I did a practice test the day before the exam and did pretty well and got a score I would certainly be satisfied with. Then the real test had more lengthy and complex questions and I don’t feel very confident in my score. But I was glad it was over and was completely exhausted. Then the 22nd I had the Revised General GRE test. I’ve focused more on the Psychology GRE than the General one, as the Psychology one clearly requires more specific and detailed knowledge, but spent the last weeks splitting time equally between the two materials. And the night before the exam I stayed at a friend’s house in Guayaquil, who was also taking the test, so we spent the whole day reviewing math and cramming the “top GRE words” list. I feel like the test went okay, except I did very poorly on the writing part. The paper test is more difficult for the writing section because you can’t go back and add things or change order, and also I am much quicker at typing than hand-writing. But I do prefer the paper version of the math and verbal sections, so I guess that balances it out. Anyway, I felt good about the math, ok about the verbal, and bad about the writing. I’ll find out when I get my score in 6 weeks! At least it’s over :)
As far as work goes, I’ve been doing less than usual. The new volunteer has started taking over several of the programs, and I’ve been doing some side projects outside of the high school. I finally found use for all of the children’s books I brought from the states – I started a literacy program in a very small elementary school about 35 minutes outside of my town. A friend is a teacher there, and since I only have a few books I wanted to go to a small school (all of the schools in my town are pretty big). I also have the environmental educational club up and running and they are planning a big event in the colegio to raise awareness and educate their peers. We are going to do a recycling competition between all of the classes and the winner will get their classroom repainted with an environmental mural. They also want to do a used clothing drive to donate to a small town for Christmas. First is the competition, then in December we’ll do the other project. Before I leave I still want to do an Ecuador map in the colegio too, but I’m hoping that will be done in the next few weeks. We’re also planning a big event for World AIDS Day with the health center. I went today and talked to a friend that works there, and she introduced me to the chair of the committee that’s planning the event (or, will be planning the event ya mismo!). We talked about the event and I’m going to participate with the kids from the colegio again this year. We’ll be part of the parade and have an informative stand in the open house in the park, and I’ll probably get the students to dress up like clowns or something fun again. I hope I can get the same youth as last year to participate again – I had a great time with it last year! Then on Friday Dec 2 we’re going to do another event in the high school since the students can’t attend the public event on Thursday. We’re going to have music and little skits and an informational booth. The Centro de salud is going to have several informational booths and also a clinic to do the rapid HIV tests for those that want to. I’m not sure how it will go over with the students, but I’m hoping it will be well received. We’re also going to do an HIV awareness mural either before or the day of the event in the colegio. Then after World AIDS day on Dec 1, I’ll only have another week before I head to Quito to sign my paperwork. After I do my Close of Service I’ll be returning to my site to get Dali, my bags, etc. and flying out of Guayaquil on the 18th. Hard to believe it! I’m excited that I’ll be here for World AIDS Day, as that’s been one of my favorite events over the last 2 years.
Okay, I’m gonna get off here because my hand is really hurting now. And I should do some work stuff or grad school stuff :) I’ll try to write again soon about how the final projects are going and what I’m doing to finish things up here.