Well my peace corps experience has come down to this. ONE WEEK before I´m back in the bustling country of the United States of America. Nervous-yes, Terrified-not quite, Excited-you could say that. It´s really hard to know exactly how I feel. I don´t think it has set in yet, and probably won´t till I´m a couple months in to being back in the states. I´m trying to stayed focused on enjoying my time here and finishing up the stuff that must get done!
I returned from Argentina on sunday. It was a great trip! So glad that I did it :) So nice to spend time with Hannah and her family, see Pashu and Annie and meet new friends in Buenos Aires. 10 days was probably not long enough, as Argentina is soooo big! I feel as though I got a lot accomplished in the 10 days that I was there.
I took a day to get my stuff organized back here in Ecuador. Since I had left with my stuff all packed into a bedroom upstairs in Chino´s house, I decided to finally organize and pack. I got two suitcases packed and have just one more to do at the end. I am giving away a ton of clothes and hopefully will have room for things to take back from the states from here.
My friend Alvaro was in a car accident two nights ago. Luckily he wasn´t that hurt but it was scary to see him in that state. We arrived at the scene to take care of the car as he was taken to the hospital. After that I had to wait outside because only so many people could be inside. They did tests and scans and found that 4 ribs had been fractured and that there was internal bruising. Im hoping to go visit today. He seems to be doing better but they need to keep monitoring him.
On friday I travel to Quito to do the last of my paperwork for Peace Corps. I have an exit interview at 10:00 A.M. so I´m hoping to get the rest of the stuff done before that. I am in the group of the last volunteers to be here in Ecuador. It´s been great to see what the RPCVs (returned peace corps volunteers) are doing now that they are home. I´m hoping to have a smooth transition home and know that with the support of my family and friends it shouldn´t be to hard :)
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Next Steps....
So as my service comes to an end I've been really busy these last couple days. I was able to get all my stuff out of my apartment. Just have to go pick up the gas tank. They gave me almost all the deposit back and still owe me $30.00 but I'm not going to hold my breath..
All my stuff is now in a room upstairs at Chino's house. In the meantime I've been putting things together for Mike to take, stuff that I'm going to give away and other stuff that I'll throw out. Sadly there isn't a Good Will here so I'll need to find somewhere to give it away. Chino's cousin works at an orphanage, so maybe Ill take the majority of the stuff there.
Had my birthday on Saturday. Chino prepared a surprise party for me on friday night. I had no idea! It was nice to see people. Then on saturday I went out to eat with Chloe, Shannon and Kerry. Crazy to think that I've already completed 24 years of my life and now starting the 25th!!
Went to Sandy's last night with Paige and Kim. It was kinda like a going away party/chat session. Got to see Sandy's daughter who is a couple months old and she's so adorable!!! Paige will be leaving for the States on August 1st and wont come back till the end of August, so I said goodbye to her last night. Kim will be leaving at the end of August, so I'll be able say goodbye in August.
I've packed up what I will take to Argentina. Alvaro's parents sent some stuff with me to give to Pancho, there son that lives there that I will be staying with. So that means that there will be plenty of space for me to buy some stuff :) Im hoping I can find some nice clothes that are cheap! And of course load up on alfajoresssss!!!!!!
Will be coming back with only 10 days left in Ecuador. Can not believe how fast the time hast flown by!!! Excited about starting a new job, integrating back into U.S. life and figuring out future plans :)
All my stuff is now in a room upstairs at Chino's house. In the meantime I've been putting things together for Mike to take, stuff that I'm going to give away and other stuff that I'll throw out. Sadly there isn't a Good Will here so I'll need to find somewhere to give it away. Chino's cousin works at an orphanage, so maybe Ill take the majority of the stuff there.
Had my birthday on Saturday. Chino prepared a surprise party for me on friday night. I had no idea! It was nice to see people. Then on saturday I went out to eat with Chloe, Shannon and Kerry. Crazy to think that I've already completed 24 years of my life and now starting the 25th!!
Went to Sandy's last night with Paige and Kim. It was kinda like a going away party/chat session. Got to see Sandy's daughter who is a couple months old and she's so adorable!!! Paige will be leaving for the States on August 1st and wont come back till the end of August, so I said goodbye to her last night. Kim will be leaving at the end of August, so I'll be able say goodbye in August.
I've packed up what I will take to Argentina. Alvaro's parents sent some stuff with me to give to Pancho, there son that lives there that I will be staying with. So that means that there will be plenty of space for me to buy some stuff :) Im hoping I can find some nice clothes that are cheap! And of course load up on alfajoresssss!!!!!!
Will be coming back with only 10 days left in Ecuador. Can not believe how fast the time hast flown by!!! Excited about starting a new job, integrating back into U.S. life and figuring out future plans :)
Thursday, July 25, 2013
less than a month!
Alright so the big news first of course! I have a job back in the states!!!!! I will be a HIV-Aids case manager working for the Aids Network in Madison. I had two interviews with them and really a great connection with the people that I talked to in the interviews. I think this job will help me grow professionally and personally as I learn new things about being a case manager. This position will really feed my passion for working with and helping people living with HIV-Aids.
I will be moving back to Madison and staying with the lovely rents for as long as I need to adjust and find a place, probably a couple months. Im excited to get back into madison and really explore the city more. I def thought that it would be close to impossible to find a job from here in Ecuador, but it worked! After all that time applying, doing interviews and waiting, I've found something that I think I will not only be great at, but enjoy!!
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Yesterday I went on a paseo (trip) with our DIBESAU office to a place called Nariz del Diablo (Devil's nose) We drove about 2.5 hours to Alausi where the train station was, and then took a train down about 500 meters to the valley of one of the mountains. There we saw a mountain that supposedly looks like the devil's nose (using a LOT of imagination). Apparently the railway was one of the most dangerous train tracks in the world to make because of how it needed to be carved out of the mountain. Over 2500 people died in the 2 year span of making 12 km of tracks. This area also used to be the home of many condors. Sadly after all the explosions and pollution from making the train tracks the condors died or left and there are no longer these birds in the area. The indigenous called this mountain the condor's place. Quite honestly the mountain looks more like a condor head than it does a devil.
After the train ride we had a lovely lunch in the town of Alausi and drove up to the San Pedro monument and took photos of the city etc. On our way back to Ambato we passed the laguna de Colte, which apparently is one of the largest, deepest lagoons in Ecuador. We also went into one of the first churches built in Ecuador (1534)! We arrived back around 7 p.m.
All in all it was a great time to spend together. It was interesting though to see how Ecuadorian adult paseos have some things in common with Ecuadorian college paseos. Alcohol. We left the University at 7 A.M and by 9 A. M people were serving "puro" (moonshine). Then on the way back several people wanted to stop in Riobamba to go out drinking! When we decided to head back straight to Ambato, we had to make a stop so that they could buy beers to drink on the way back to Ambato. It just amazes me that even as adults there always has to be alcohol involved. Now Im not saying that people got completely drunk or anything, but this was a short day trip, is it really necessary that alcohol was involved???
Im starting the process of moving out of my apartment. Trying to see if I can paint my apartment with my own money instead of the landlords taking out an unreasonable amount of my deposit for them to have it painted. It will be the last stresser on my mind. On wednesday I leave for Argentina. I still don't believe that Im going but Im sure once I'm on the plane it will kick in, lol
After Argentina I will have about 10 days left in Ecuador!!! So amazing how fast the time has flown here. Never would have thought a month into site that time would go by this fast.....
I will be moving back to Madison and staying with the lovely rents for as long as I need to adjust and find a place, probably a couple months. Im excited to get back into madison and really explore the city more. I def thought that it would be close to impossible to find a job from here in Ecuador, but it worked! After all that time applying, doing interviews and waiting, I've found something that I think I will not only be great at, but enjoy!!
***********************************
Yesterday I went on a paseo (trip) with our DIBESAU office to a place called Nariz del Diablo (Devil's nose) We drove about 2.5 hours to Alausi where the train station was, and then took a train down about 500 meters to the valley of one of the mountains. There we saw a mountain that supposedly looks like the devil's nose (using a LOT of imagination). Apparently the railway was one of the most dangerous train tracks in the world to make because of how it needed to be carved out of the mountain. Over 2500 people died in the 2 year span of making 12 km of tracks. This area also used to be the home of many condors. Sadly after all the explosions and pollution from making the train tracks the condors died or left and there are no longer these birds in the area. The indigenous called this mountain the condor's place. Quite honestly the mountain looks more like a condor head than it does a devil.
After the train ride we had a lovely lunch in the town of Alausi and drove up to the San Pedro monument and took photos of the city etc. On our way back to Ambato we passed the laguna de Colte, which apparently is one of the largest, deepest lagoons in Ecuador. We also went into one of the first churches built in Ecuador (1534)! We arrived back around 7 p.m.
All in all it was a great time to spend together. It was interesting though to see how Ecuadorian adult paseos have some things in common with Ecuadorian college paseos. Alcohol. We left the University at 7 A.M and by 9 A. M people were serving "puro" (moonshine). Then on the way back several people wanted to stop in Riobamba to go out drinking! When we decided to head back straight to Ambato, we had to make a stop so that they could buy beers to drink on the way back to Ambato. It just amazes me that even as adults there always has to be alcohol involved. Now Im not saying that people got completely drunk or anything, but this was a short day trip, is it really necessary that alcohol was involved???
Im starting the process of moving out of my apartment. Trying to see if I can paint my apartment with my own money instead of the landlords taking out an unreasonable amount of my deposit for them to have it painted. It will be the last stresser on my mind. On wednesday I leave for Argentina. I still don't believe that Im going but Im sure once I'm on the plane it will kick in, lol
After Argentina I will have about 10 days left in Ecuador!!! So amazing how fast the time has flown here. Never would have thought a month into site that time would go by this fast.....
Thursday, July 4, 2013
HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY...I will be eating sushi :)
And it is July. Time is winding down and I am realizing all the things that I still have to do!!!
Next week I travel to Quito to do my medical clearance stuff. Three days of pure fun...not...
Said goodbye to Natalie on tuesday. Had an absolutely great visit with her. So excited to see how her transition to Texas is. The job sounds fascinating and I really think it will help her grow professionally.
The day after she arrived (or rather the day she arrived-bc the flight was delayed until 2 A.M) I had the privilege to receive a group of new volunteers. About 8 of them came to my site for a "tech trip". Each person had to practice giving different charlas in different health areas. I was finally able to meet Courtney, one of the trainees was the person who donated money to our girls group several months ago. It was really nice to meet her and thank her personally.
Two PCT's did cooking charlas. After getting things settled (because oficios were messed up and we didn't have rooms to work in) everything ended up going pretty smoothly.
I have had two interviews, one for a job in D.C and another for Madison. Interesting jobs and great experience for interviewing. As I probably mentioned before I am skeptical in actually getting offers just because I am not available until September, but nonetheless the interviews are great practice. I'll keep at it and probably have to do more job searching after I get home. My lovely parents have offered to give me posada until I can get "integrated", such great parents I have :)
Had a nice going away dinner with Sarah and Shannon as Sarah went back to the states on sunday. We planned that they were going to come and make dinner. 10 minutes into cooking my gas goes out. It was around 7:30 at night and at this time apparently there is not one place that has gas tanks...so I spend an hour running around the neighborhood trying to find one. Finally found a place open by chino's house. Once we got the tank all hooked up I realized that the keys that I grabbed don't work, so had to get the copies from the dueños...ahhh what a night. We turned out having a great homemade italian meal and some good conversations.
Paid my last full month of rent and internet. Planning a trip to Argentina at the end of the month and just trying to enjoy the last bit that I have here in Ecuador. At times terrifying to imagine going back to the states, but then I remember how terrifying it seemed at times to come here. I'm sure I can transition back into the country that I was born and raised, right? lol
Excited to have family time when I get back in August. Also trying to plan on how Chino will factor into U.S.A life.
ah and yes today is fourth of july. Chino and I will be getting sushi to celebrate! yummmm
Next week I travel to Quito to do my medical clearance stuff. Three days of pure fun...not...
Said goodbye to Natalie on tuesday. Had an absolutely great visit with her. So excited to see how her transition to Texas is. The job sounds fascinating and I really think it will help her grow professionally.
The day after she arrived (or rather the day she arrived-bc the flight was delayed until 2 A.M) I had the privilege to receive a group of new volunteers. About 8 of them came to my site for a "tech trip". Each person had to practice giving different charlas in different health areas. I was finally able to meet Courtney, one of the trainees was the person who donated money to our girls group several months ago. It was really nice to meet her and thank her personally.
Two PCT's did cooking charlas. After getting things settled (because oficios were messed up and we didn't have rooms to work in) everything ended up going pretty smoothly.
I have had two interviews, one for a job in D.C and another for Madison. Interesting jobs and great experience for interviewing. As I probably mentioned before I am skeptical in actually getting offers just because I am not available until September, but nonetheless the interviews are great practice. I'll keep at it and probably have to do more job searching after I get home. My lovely parents have offered to give me posada until I can get "integrated", such great parents I have :)
Had a nice going away dinner with Sarah and Shannon as Sarah went back to the states on sunday. We planned that they were going to come and make dinner. 10 minutes into cooking my gas goes out. It was around 7:30 at night and at this time apparently there is not one place that has gas tanks...so I spend an hour running around the neighborhood trying to find one. Finally found a place open by chino's house. Once we got the tank all hooked up I realized that the keys that I grabbed don't work, so had to get the copies from the dueños...ahhh what a night. We turned out having a great homemade italian meal and some good conversations.
Paid my last full month of rent and internet. Planning a trip to Argentina at the end of the month and just trying to enjoy the last bit that I have here in Ecuador. At times terrifying to imagine going back to the states, but then I remember how terrifying it seemed at times to come here. I'm sure I can transition back into the country that I was born and raised, right? lol
Excited to have family time when I get back in August. Also trying to plan on how Chino will factor into U.S.A life.
ah and yes today is fourth of july. Chino and I will be getting sushi to celebrate! yummmm
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
jobs, jobs and jobs
So I´ve been in the process of looking for, and applying to jobs. I had about a two week span where I spent quite a bit of time on this. I applied to a total of 5 and of those 5 one asked me for an interview, two have passed on my resume to the hiring manager and the others I haven´t heard from.
I had an interview for a job in Washington D.C and it went fairly well. It was my first job interview in a long time. We´ll see what they have to say in about a week. I finally contacted Planned Parenthood because I applied on the 24th of may and according to their website the job is still available and my application materials are active on my profile page. I called the PPH office in madison where the job is being offered. The lady said it would be better to contact Milwaukee where they have their administrative headquarters. So I called Milwaukee, the lady that answered transferred me to an HR person. Well that lady didn´t answer. I did what I could and left my name, why I was calling and my e-mail. All of the people who answered the different phone calls were very nice and the lady that I left my e-mail with actually e-mailed me back! She said that the hiring manager was on vacation and that my resume had been forwarded to her....so who knows, I´ll have to try again next week to see whats up. In that whole time I spent about $3.00 in skype money, which isn´t bad. But it´s def harder to do this job stuff when you are thousands of miles away..I´ll keep at it, but I´m not super hopeful that anything will result in a job offer. The good thing is I´ve had an interview and I hope at least one of the places that passed on my resume will contact me for another. I need the practice!
Time is coming to an end. I have my money to buy my plane ticket but just can´t decide when to leave. It´s become so real now that I have to get my ticket...scary and exciting at the same time! I also may be going to Argentina. Well not maybe, it´s pretty much for sure, I just need to coordinate with Hannah (my friend that I will be visiting there) to fill out my vacation request form. The PC director already approved me traveling internationaly (bc technically it´s not allowed the last three months). So I figure I should go!! I will probably be going the end of July, beginning of August.
The volunteers who said that they would buy some of my stuff as I leave are now saying no because PC apparently has everything they need. Im hoping to maybe find other Americans that are working at the University for another program and see if they are interested. I also need to talk to my landlord family about how we will do the payments for August since I will not be there the whole month...
Other than that it´s really a matter of wrapping stuff up. I have one last project that I´m helping Fernanda with. We did the application of a survey for the Jurisprudencia Facultad on their knowledge of HIV-AIDS. The next step is to see the results and create different trainings-educational sessions on the things that the students did not score high on. After that do the same survey and see how much their knowledge has improved. Im waiting on Fer to send me the presentation so I can edit it.
Natalie comes on Sunday. It has been so hard to get a hold of her to talk and schedule, and even today when we talked she was in the midst of taking down her classroom. It will be good to have her undivided attention when she is here. I think she really needs some vacation, with the process of a new job and moving. She´s really got a lot on her plate and a nice vacation to Ecuador will do her well :)
Chino´s playing on the professional basketball team here from Ambato (Comunikt). He hasn´t been called to play at the majority of the games, but today ¨le convocaron¨ . So hopefully they will put him in for a couple minutes!
Sharon left on saturday. It was sad to see her go and haven´t heard from her since, oh well, such as life. It´s nice though to have Kim here for the summer.
I´ll sign off here! Peace Corps newbies come on monday to do cooking demo with some University students. Im excited to meet them and get to talk to them!
I had an interview for a job in Washington D.C and it went fairly well. It was my first job interview in a long time. We´ll see what they have to say in about a week. I finally contacted Planned Parenthood because I applied on the 24th of may and according to their website the job is still available and my application materials are active on my profile page. I called the PPH office in madison where the job is being offered. The lady said it would be better to contact Milwaukee where they have their administrative headquarters. So I called Milwaukee, the lady that answered transferred me to an HR person. Well that lady didn´t answer. I did what I could and left my name, why I was calling and my e-mail. All of the people who answered the different phone calls were very nice and the lady that I left my e-mail with actually e-mailed me back! She said that the hiring manager was on vacation and that my resume had been forwarded to her....so who knows, I´ll have to try again next week to see whats up. In that whole time I spent about $3.00 in skype money, which isn´t bad. But it´s def harder to do this job stuff when you are thousands of miles away..I´ll keep at it, but I´m not super hopeful that anything will result in a job offer. The good thing is I´ve had an interview and I hope at least one of the places that passed on my resume will contact me for another. I need the practice!
Time is coming to an end. I have my money to buy my plane ticket but just can´t decide when to leave. It´s become so real now that I have to get my ticket...scary and exciting at the same time! I also may be going to Argentina. Well not maybe, it´s pretty much for sure, I just need to coordinate with Hannah (my friend that I will be visiting there) to fill out my vacation request form. The PC director already approved me traveling internationaly (bc technically it´s not allowed the last three months). So I figure I should go!! I will probably be going the end of July, beginning of August.
The volunteers who said that they would buy some of my stuff as I leave are now saying no because PC apparently has everything they need. Im hoping to maybe find other Americans that are working at the University for another program and see if they are interested. I also need to talk to my landlord family about how we will do the payments for August since I will not be there the whole month...
Other than that it´s really a matter of wrapping stuff up. I have one last project that I´m helping Fernanda with. We did the application of a survey for the Jurisprudencia Facultad on their knowledge of HIV-AIDS. The next step is to see the results and create different trainings-educational sessions on the things that the students did not score high on. After that do the same survey and see how much their knowledge has improved. Im waiting on Fer to send me the presentation so I can edit it.
Natalie comes on Sunday. It has been so hard to get a hold of her to talk and schedule, and even today when we talked she was in the midst of taking down her classroom. It will be good to have her undivided attention when she is here. I think she really needs some vacation, with the process of a new job and moving. She´s really got a lot on her plate and a nice vacation to Ecuador will do her well :)
Chino´s playing on the professional basketball team here from Ambato (Comunikt). He hasn´t been called to play at the majority of the games, but today ¨le convocaron¨ . So hopefully they will put him in for a couple minutes!
Sharon left on saturday. It was sad to see her go and haven´t heard from her since, oh well, such as life. It´s nice though to have Kim here for the summer.
I´ll sign off here! Peace Corps newbies come on monday to do cooking demo with some University students. Im excited to meet them and get to talk to them!
Monday, June 3, 2013
June post
It's June. Only two months before I am home. What's going through my head..hmm so many things. Im trying not to let them get the best of me because I want to enjoy what time I have left of Ecuador. I need a job. I need to figure out where my relationship is going with my boyfriend. I need to get rid of my stuff. I need to say my goodbyes.
Life at the University is dwindling down. Im there from time to time to check-in and say hi. Im going to help Fernanda with her thesis project which is apply a survey about what students know in regards to HIV/AIDS, do trainings and then apply another survey and see what they have learned. She chose to go to Quito this week for an international conference. Apparently the certificate that she receives is way more important than finishing her project on time. ohhh certificados...lol
The girls group is coming to an end. We have our final presentation next week. I think they will be ready. We made masks out of pizza boxes and skirts out of old sheets. Last week we painted the scenery. We've had some problems with the Director thinking we took his ladder (from wayyyy back when, when we painted the map). So what did we do in return, we wrote him an oficio. A nice long oficio explaining why it was no longer our responsibility and that we did everything the way we were supposed to. He hasn't mentioned anything yet, so lets hope it worked.
Natalie is coming at the end of June. Im hoping to get a solid conversation with her before she comes so we can plan a little. She is so busy with finishing school and moving and what not. Can't wait to see her in person though :)
Kim comes back this week to stay for the summer! So excited to see her and catch up.
Looking for jobs. Applied to a few places, hoping to get back an e-mail, at least for an interview. Not sure where I will end up, most likely madison, but who knows!
Alright, late now, well only 9:20 but for some reason I feel tired. I feel like I had a story to tell but now doesn't come to mind. If it does I'll write again soon!
Life at the University is dwindling down. Im there from time to time to check-in and say hi. Im going to help Fernanda with her thesis project which is apply a survey about what students know in regards to HIV/AIDS, do trainings and then apply another survey and see what they have learned. She chose to go to Quito this week for an international conference. Apparently the certificate that she receives is way more important than finishing her project on time. ohhh certificados...lol
The girls group is coming to an end. We have our final presentation next week. I think they will be ready. We made masks out of pizza boxes and skirts out of old sheets. Last week we painted the scenery. We've had some problems with the Director thinking we took his ladder (from wayyyy back when, when we painted the map). So what did we do in return, we wrote him an oficio. A nice long oficio explaining why it was no longer our responsibility and that we did everything the way we were supposed to. He hasn't mentioned anything yet, so lets hope it worked.
Natalie is coming at the end of June. Im hoping to get a solid conversation with her before she comes so we can plan a little. She is so busy with finishing school and moving and what not. Can't wait to see her in person though :)
Kim comes back this week to stay for the summer! So excited to see her and catch up.
Looking for jobs. Applied to a few places, hoping to get back an e-mail, at least for an interview. Not sure where I will end up, most likely madison, but who knows!
Alright, late now, well only 9:20 but for some reason I feel tired. I feel like I had a story to tell but now doesn't come to mind. If it does I'll write again soon!
Friday, May 10, 2013
COS (close of service) and getting ready to go home??
I feel like time goes double fast on my blog. I honestly thought it was just a couple weeks ago that I wrote, turns out it's been almost a month...
Well I just arrived back from our COS conference in Tumbaco. In this conference we talked about returning home, all the work that involves finishing a government job. We also had a couple sessions where they gave us some really good resources for job searching, interviews etc.
It was really great seeing the other volunteers. Of the 61 that arrived in June 2011, we are now a group of 45 volunteers. So fun to hear everyone's plans. Everyone is really over all over the board in terms of plans. A couple staying, one getting married to an Ecuadorian, many going back to work, some going back to do more school. Our health group made a card and printed out some fotos for our program manager and Bibi, who was the training leader for us and now has moved to being the head trainer for all of peace corps ecuador. There were tears, many of joy and agradecimiento (thankfullnes??) After that everyone went to an italian place that served us all you can eat pizza, pretty good. Parmer, our country director gave us certificates and after a group of us went out in cumbaya to go dancing. We had the place to ourselves seeing as it was wednesday, except for a few creepers, but lets be honest, that just adds to the ecua-ness of the night :)
Sharon and I then left on thursday around 4:30 AM to head back to Ambato for our girls group. Ahh the things we do for these girls! We assigned them their parts for our final performance of the little red hen and practiced the dance over, and over and OVER. They are picking it up and as we start meeting twice a week I think things will really move along.
Today Sharon and I met to cut out the fabric for the little skirts we are going to make for the contra dance and so im hoping to drop off the stuff so Chino's grandma can sew together the elastic, etc..
I am leaving tomorrow for Santo Domingo to help out in a brigade. This will be my second year with them and Im excited to see who they've brought in terms of a medical team. After Santo Domingo things hopefully will go back to normal. A couple days a week at the University, two days a week with the girls and preparing for my departure from ecuador.
Still hot here, hope home is getting warmer, but isn't too hot and humid when I get back :)
Well I just arrived back from our COS conference in Tumbaco. In this conference we talked about returning home, all the work that involves finishing a government job. We also had a couple sessions where they gave us some really good resources for job searching, interviews etc.
It was really great seeing the other volunteers. Of the 61 that arrived in June 2011, we are now a group of 45 volunteers. So fun to hear everyone's plans. Everyone is really over all over the board in terms of plans. A couple staying, one getting married to an Ecuadorian, many going back to work, some going back to do more school. Our health group made a card and printed out some fotos for our program manager and Bibi, who was the training leader for us and now has moved to being the head trainer for all of peace corps ecuador. There were tears, many of joy and agradecimiento (thankfullnes??) After that everyone went to an italian place that served us all you can eat pizza, pretty good. Parmer, our country director gave us certificates and after a group of us went out in cumbaya to go dancing. We had the place to ourselves seeing as it was wednesday, except for a few creepers, but lets be honest, that just adds to the ecua-ness of the night :)
Sharon and I then left on thursday around 4:30 AM to head back to Ambato for our girls group. Ahh the things we do for these girls! We assigned them their parts for our final performance of the little red hen and practiced the dance over, and over and OVER. They are picking it up and as we start meeting twice a week I think things will really move along.
Today Sharon and I met to cut out the fabric for the little skirts we are going to make for the contra dance and so im hoping to drop off the stuff so Chino's grandma can sew together the elastic, etc..
I am leaving tomorrow for Santo Domingo to help out in a brigade. This will be my second year with them and Im excited to see who they've brought in terms of a medical team. After Santo Domingo things hopefully will go back to normal. A couple days a week at the University, two days a week with the girls and preparing for my departure from ecuador.
Still hot here, hope home is getting warmer, but isn't too hot and humid when I get back :)
Friday, April 19, 2013
My Ecua week,,,
So this week was FULL of ecua events...by this I mean cultural things that of course only happen in good ole' Ecuador.
Lets start with MONDAY:
So today was the big day to reveal the new cafeteria that the University had been scrambling, at last minute to finish. The administer is a graduate and friend of Fernanda's from Riobamba. I arrived at 9:30 thinking the inauguration was going to be at 10. Found out it was at noon. Good for them because they were no where near ready to open the place up for the public. Things being up on windows, pictures being put up and people cleaning floors. as I've probably mentioned before, Ecuador is all about looking good, but not always thinking about being practical. Example: The floor had been re-tiled and looked wonderful! The only problem, the two colors were white/creme and brown. One, a light color, and another a dark color. Both colors which show dirt and dust very easily. So as much as we swept and mopped everything still looked dirty. The cooks were ready with the food around 12:15 and we had the grand ribbon cutting by the president. Many of the Dean's showed up and they even brought in a PRIEST to bless the event. You know me and separation of church and state..we prayed and everything, ayyy. The food was great though!
They also explained the new system. Students and faculty would have to buy a card ($2.50) and then had the option of buying lunch plans or individual meals. This amount would go onto the card and as you get meals it gets deducted from the card, simple right? Well not so much. In the afternoon the cafeteria was open for people to buy cards. 1-when you get your card, you have to go to the OTHER campus to pay (not ideal for students who have class all day) 2-the prices aren't that cheap. We heard many comments of how the students weren't going to bother and would rather go off campus to eat. The faculty seemed more interested and some bought cards that afternoon. The other problem was that the system was down and no one had thought to check to see if it worked and no one knew how to fix it..lets hope in the next coming weeks more people decide to buy the cards. The bar looks great and the food is great, but the logistics and practicality were not thought through at all and now someone is going to have to suffer those consequences, will it be the cafeteria, the university or the students themselves who won't enjoy the luxury of having this bar??
WEDNESDAY:
This was a big day because Fer and I had our health fair. It was flawless because we had been planning about a month in advance and everything was ready to go the day of. There was a fluke with tents but somehow things came through and the University gave us theirs for the morning. We lost power for a bit on one side of the tents but besides that it was great! Gorgeous weather, super sunny, I burnt my part (on my head), which is the worst...but I think everyone was impressed. Too bad our compañeros can't learn that planning actually pays off.
That afternoon they had a session for the staff, and faculty that completed 25 years at the University, those that were going to be retiring and then the top students of the classes. Chino was at the top of his class for the english department. This "session solemne" which is a formal way for saying diploma hand-out was to start at 5 pm. I was at the University all day so when I got done, I went down to the auditorium and found his mom and grandmother waiting by the door. Even though the session was to start at 5 they weren't going to open the doors till 5. At about 10 till 5 people started filling the entrance and as soon as the doors opened we were hurdled like cattle squishing and pushing to get through one doorway (later they realized that it would be a good idea to open both doors). The auditorium isn't that big and between the 25 yr people, the retirees and the students that left about maybe 50 seats for family etc. People rushed to get seats, luckily we got seats for all 6 family members that came to the session. On top of this the faculty and students had to find their seats with their picture. For what, I have no idea because they were not called up in order or seating. As they went up they entered one side of the stage and had to find their diploma that had been handed to one of the deans. Then they shook hands with the rest of the deans and the president and exited off the SAME side of the entrance. This led to lots of congestion and took probably twice as long as it would've if they had their diplomas handed to them in the beginning and exited off the other side of the stage. Afterwards there was a great presentation of a guitarist that had been playing for 75 years!!!
FRIDAY:
My week ended with a meeting with all of DIBESAU. Now Wed was one Sesion Solemne and Thursday was the other Sesion Solemne that is bigger with like 600 guests (mainly staff) and then a fiesta afterwards. The next day (usually a friday) the University is closed because everyone is hungover (or as they call it dia del servidor). We of course had not met yet to talk about the presentations that start on Monday (Monday we start the talks on sex health, mouth hygiene, and prevention of breast and cervical cancer). So as Sonia loves to do, we were going to have this meeting LAST MINUTE. Everyone from the office had to come into work. We were supposed to start the meeting at 9. Everyone was at the office by 9:10 and Sonia came rolling in at 9:40. Personally I find this very disrespectful. If you call a meeting at a certain time, everyone is expected to be there. I don't care if you are the freakin pope, be there on time! But it's Ecuador, and because she is the director she can pretty much do whatever she wants and no one says anything. So we were in our meeting from 9:45 till about noon. At the end we find out that the oficios that we had done to get sent out had not been sent out and now were short 5 projectors for the presentations on Monday. No one was working today so there was no way to really do anything..ayyy. We have three in our office, Fer is going to ask a friend for one, and then we will have to get our butts in gear to find three more for the afternoon. Sometimes I find myself wondering if maybe they like the stress...why do something so last minute and have to scramble to get it done in time.. who knows. But Im sure everything will work out on monday.
All in all it was a week full of Ecuaness. Yup it's now a word, I'm hoping to patent it before leaving. All of this happened at a University, which is supposedly class A, whatever that means. Where people are supposed to work at a professional level, but at times this gets left behind, or really just doesn't exist. For me it's great after almost 2 years, to see the light realize that these are cultural things that aren't going to change any time soon. For some reason they work here, and although I may not agree with them I have learned to accept them and not try to adapt too many things that will get me into trouble at home!!!
In other news Peace Corps called and wants the University and possibly the school to be site for a tech trip! That means that the new health group will come and practice charlas that they have worked on in training with the students! Exciting. On thursday I go to the training center for a meeting and to help the spanish professors prepare for a test.
Alright have a good weekend all!
Lets start with MONDAY:
So today was the big day to reveal the new cafeteria that the University had been scrambling, at last minute to finish. The administer is a graduate and friend of Fernanda's from Riobamba. I arrived at 9:30 thinking the inauguration was going to be at 10. Found out it was at noon. Good for them because they were no where near ready to open the place up for the public. Things being up on windows, pictures being put up and people cleaning floors. as I've probably mentioned before, Ecuador is all about looking good, but not always thinking about being practical. Example: The floor had been re-tiled and looked wonderful! The only problem, the two colors were white/creme and brown. One, a light color, and another a dark color. Both colors which show dirt and dust very easily. So as much as we swept and mopped everything still looked dirty. The cooks were ready with the food around 12:15 and we had the grand ribbon cutting by the president. Many of the Dean's showed up and they even brought in a PRIEST to bless the event. You know me and separation of church and state..we prayed and everything, ayyy. The food was great though!
They also explained the new system. Students and faculty would have to buy a card ($2.50) and then had the option of buying lunch plans or individual meals. This amount would go onto the card and as you get meals it gets deducted from the card, simple right? Well not so much. In the afternoon the cafeteria was open for people to buy cards. 1-when you get your card, you have to go to the OTHER campus to pay (not ideal for students who have class all day) 2-the prices aren't that cheap. We heard many comments of how the students weren't going to bother and would rather go off campus to eat. The faculty seemed more interested and some bought cards that afternoon. The other problem was that the system was down and no one had thought to check to see if it worked and no one knew how to fix it..lets hope in the next coming weeks more people decide to buy the cards. The bar looks great and the food is great, but the logistics and practicality were not thought through at all and now someone is going to have to suffer those consequences, will it be the cafeteria, the university or the students themselves who won't enjoy the luxury of having this bar??
WEDNESDAY:
This was a big day because Fer and I had our health fair. It was flawless because we had been planning about a month in advance and everything was ready to go the day of. There was a fluke with tents but somehow things came through and the University gave us theirs for the morning. We lost power for a bit on one side of the tents but besides that it was great! Gorgeous weather, super sunny, I burnt my part (on my head), which is the worst...but I think everyone was impressed. Too bad our compañeros can't learn that planning actually pays off.
That afternoon they had a session for the staff, and faculty that completed 25 years at the University, those that were going to be retiring and then the top students of the classes. Chino was at the top of his class for the english department. This "session solemne" which is a formal way for saying diploma hand-out was to start at 5 pm. I was at the University all day so when I got done, I went down to the auditorium and found his mom and grandmother waiting by the door. Even though the session was to start at 5 they weren't going to open the doors till 5. At about 10 till 5 people started filling the entrance and as soon as the doors opened we were hurdled like cattle squishing and pushing to get through one doorway (later they realized that it would be a good idea to open both doors). The auditorium isn't that big and between the 25 yr people, the retirees and the students that left about maybe 50 seats for family etc. People rushed to get seats, luckily we got seats for all 6 family members that came to the session. On top of this the faculty and students had to find their seats with their picture. For what, I have no idea because they were not called up in order or seating. As they went up they entered one side of the stage and had to find their diploma that had been handed to one of the deans. Then they shook hands with the rest of the deans and the president and exited off the SAME side of the entrance. This led to lots of congestion and took probably twice as long as it would've if they had their diplomas handed to them in the beginning and exited off the other side of the stage. Afterwards there was a great presentation of a guitarist that had been playing for 75 years!!!
FRIDAY:
My week ended with a meeting with all of DIBESAU. Now Wed was one Sesion Solemne and Thursday was the other Sesion Solemne that is bigger with like 600 guests (mainly staff) and then a fiesta afterwards. The next day (usually a friday) the University is closed because everyone is hungover (or as they call it dia del servidor). We of course had not met yet to talk about the presentations that start on Monday (Monday we start the talks on sex health, mouth hygiene, and prevention of breast and cervical cancer). So as Sonia loves to do, we were going to have this meeting LAST MINUTE. Everyone from the office had to come into work. We were supposed to start the meeting at 9. Everyone was at the office by 9:10 and Sonia came rolling in at 9:40. Personally I find this very disrespectful. If you call a meeting at a certain time, everyone is expected to be there. I don't care if you are the freakin pope, be there on time! But it's Ecuador, and because she is the director she can pretty much do whatever she wants and no one says anything. So we were in our meeting from 9:45 till about noon. At the end we find out that the oficios that we had done to get sent out had not been sent out and now were short 5 projectors for the presentations on Monday. No one was working today so there was no way to really do anything..ayyy. We have three in our office, Fer is going to ask a friend for one, and then we will have to get our butts in gear to find three more for the afternoon. Sometimes I find myself wondering if maybe they like the stress...why do something so last minute and have to scramble to get it done in time.. who knows. But Im sure everything will work out on monday.
All in all it was a week full of Ecuaness. Yup it's now a word, I'm hoping to patent it before leaving. All of this happened at a University, which is supposedly class A, whatever that means. Where people are supposed to work at a professional level, but at times this gets left behind, or really just doesn't exist. For me it's great after almost 2 years, to see the light realize that these are cultural things that aren't going to change any time soon. For some reason they work here, and although I may not agree with them I have learned to accept them and not try to adapt too many things that will get me into trouble at home!!!
In other news Peace Corps called and wants the University and possibly the school to be site for a tech trip! That means that the new health group will come and practice charlas that they have worked on in training with the students! Exciting. On thursday I go to the training center for a meeting and to help the spanish professors prepare for a test.
Alright have a good weekend all!
Monday, April 8, 2013
April, and the months begin to fly by
So much to write but I will try to write the most important stuff.
Annie came and it was amazing! Such a great time to be with friends from the states. The new airport is a pain in the ass but it all worked out and I hope she liked the little bit of ecuador that she saw!
Working with the girls on creating some other small projects before the school year ends. It is going to be hard to leave them in June when school ends. We so hope that Bianca, the ecuadorian that is working with us, can keep working with the girls. Sadly there will be no volunteers in Ambato next year, from none of the programs. The closest one will be in Chibuleo, and sounds like they will have a lot of work to do, so can't count on a volunteer to take the reins. We believe in Bianca and she has shared with us that she will continue, but is worried about getting the respect that we receive as foreigners in the school. We are going to have a meeting with the director to lay everything out on the table and I think they will be supportive.
Im finishing up at the University. Planning ANOTHER health fair (I know, I know I agreed to never do another one, how do they convince me to do these things?!?!?!) for next week and then finishing up with doing sex-ed charlas at the University. I think it will be a nice transition out of the University. As of right now we don't have carpas or the coliseo to use, so hoping we can get Fer's Universty to help us. It's amazing how stuff falls apart right at almost the last minute, BUT at the last second everything works out ;). The most important thing that I've learned here is to be patient and that things seem to work out. After several visitors I now realize how up-tight and stressed americans can be about little things that here people don't worry about. I still have my moments, where I freak out, but in general I feel that I've adapted to being more relaxed, not sure how that's going to work out for me when I return :/
Having so many different wave's of emotions about finishing my 27 months here in Ecuador. It has gone by so incredibly fast and at times I can't imagine leaving this place. Sometimes I get excited and sometimes I am so sad. Im sure August will be the worst emotional rollar-coaster.
Have had some future PCV's contact me about questions after reading my blog, yayyyy people read my blog. Love answering questions and am so jealous of those who will be coming in May. This has been the most amazing life changing experience!!
Getting ready for Nat in June!!!!
On another note I had an American friend here in Ambato in one of the public hospitals. She ended up going to the hospital that I told her NOT to go to. I went to visit and for the first time encountered free third-world health care. All tests and stay were free but every medicine, etc. she had to pay for. No toilet paper, no cups to take pills, horrible sanitation, def eye opening. Ecuador has free health care, although it may not be up to par with private hospitals it's something right? After two days of really not knowing anything she went to a private hospital in Quito where the care was much better. Thank god for Peace Corps and "Peace Corps Insurance"!!
Annie came and it was amazing! Such a great time to be with friends from the states. The new airport is a pain in the ass but it all worked out and I hope she liked the little bit of ecuador that she saw!
Working with the girls on creating some other small projects before the school year ends. It is going to be hard to leave them in June when school ends. We so hope that Bianca, the ecuadorian that is working with us, can keep working with the girls. Sadly there will be no volunteers in Ambato next year, from none of the programs. The closest one will be in Chibuleo, and sounds like they will have a lot of work to do, so can't count on a volunteer to take the reins. We believe in Bianca and she has shared with us that she will continue, but is worried about getting the respect that we receive as foreigners in the school. We are going to have a meeting with the director to lay everything out on the table and I think they will be supportive.
Im finishing up at the University. Planning ANOTHER health fair (I know, I know I agreed to never do another one, how do they convince me to do these things?!?!?!) for next week and then finishing up with doing sex-ed charlas at the University. I think it will be a nice transition out of the University. As of right now we don't have carpas or the coliseo to use, so hoping we can get Fer's Universty to help us. It's amazing how stuff falls apart right at almost the last minute, BUT at the last second everything works out ;). The most important thing that I've learned here is to be patient and that things seem to work out. After several visitors I now realize how up-tight and stressed americans can be about little things that here people don't worry about. I still have my moments, where I freak out, but in general I feel that I've adapted to being more relaxed, not sure how that's going to work out for me when I return :/
Having so many different wave's of emotions about finishing my 27 months here in Ecuador. It has gone by so incredibly fast and at times I can't imagine leaving this place. Sometimes I get excited and sometimes I am so sad. Im sure August will be the worst emotional rollar-coaster.
Have had some future PCV's contact me about questions after reading my blog, yayyyy people read my blog. Love answering questions and am so jealous of those who will be coming in May. This has been the most amazing life changing experience!!
Getting ready for Nat in June!!!!
On another note I had an American friend here in Ambato in one of the public hospitals. She ended up going to the hospital that I told her NOT to go to. I went to visit and for the first time encountered free third-world health care. All tests and stay were free but every medicine, etc. she had to pay for. No toilet paper, no cups to take pills, horrible sanitation, def eye opening. Ecuador has free health care, although it may not be up to par with private hospitals it's something right? After two days of really not knowing anything she went to a private hospital in Quito where the care was much better. Thank god for Peace Corps and "Peace Corps Insurance"!!
Monday, March 18, 2013
ahh the joys of washing laundry, BY HAND!!!
So Annie will be arriving in two days, wow TWO DAYS!!! Like always I left my laundry for the last minute and had this ginormous pile in my bedroom. Instead of sending it all to the laundry lady I decided to sort out things that I could wash by hand and that would dry fast enough for wednesday morning.
I ended up washing 12 shirts, 2 pairs of jeans, 5 sports bras and 7 pairs of socks. Now I know in comparison to my fellow PCV friends who live in the boonies this is nothing because some have to do ALL of their laundry by hand (I def respect you for it), but I was quite happy with myself having washed so much in about an hour and a half. I found out that someone who washes peoples laundry by hand (la lavandera) gets a dollar for each 15 pieces that they wash. ONE DOLLAR PER 15 PIECES. I was half dead after doing just that little bit, and imagine I would´ve only earned about $2.00!!!
I hung everything except the jeans inside because the dog lives outside and I don´t like having dog hair or smell to my freshly HAND WASHED clothes...After hanging everything up there was just no room for the jeans so they were sent outside on the line. I tried to wring out as much water as I could but since my bathroom is like 95% tile I didn´t mind having everything drip-dry. I then went to drop off my laundry and do some errands and when I got back home I realized that all of these clothes were not going to dry in this tiny bathroom and that I needed to hang stuff out around the whole apartment. The only problem was that everything was STILL dripping. (clearly I never do laundry by hand and therefore don´t have proper wringing strategies....)
So I did what anyone would do who doesn´t have a clothes dryer...I got out the hair dryer. I remember my dad used to use the hair dryer to get damp clothes to dry quicker, and would even warm up my clothes on those frigid winter mornings by running the hair dryer over them. It´s like a hand held clothes dryer (that uses a lot of energy and heats up really quick :-/ ..) And as I stood there drying the ends of my shirts so that they wouldn't drip as much I thought about what had happened yesterday evening.
Mayra (Chino´s sister) had an internship with her mom these past couple months and would be returning to regular classes on monday. Her mom had put ALL of her school socks (yes there are specific ones that she has to wear to class) to wash and they wouldn´t be dry by the next morning. They realized this at about 6 pm and decided that the next best plan would be to go out and look for a pair to buy, after all socks only cost about .80 cents/pair. Seeing as it was 6 pm on a Sunday everything was closing or didn´t sell the socks that she needed. So when we went to the Aunts house I mentioned how she should just use a hair dryer. She only needed one pair of socks, and with a hair dryer it would take 10 minutes max to get them dry. She acknowledged my advice but didn´t seem convinced, lol. Instead she ended up asking Mayra´s aunt if any of the cousins had white socks that Mayra could use for class the next morning. Sure enough they found a pair and the problem was solved.
It´s interesting how something so simple ends up being different among cultures and who knows maybe it´s not necessarily a culture thing but more a question of personal choice. At home, we would´ve just thrown the socks in the clothes dryer. Here I would have just gotten the hair dryer. Instead they turned to family members to share a pair of socks. :) :)
I ended up washing 12 shirts, 2 pairs of jeans, 5 sports bras and 7 pairs of socks. Now I know in comparison to my fellow PCV friends who live in the boonies this is nothing because some have to do ALL of their laundry by hand (I def respect you for it), but I was quite happy with myself having washed so much in about an hour and a half. I found out that someone who washes peoples laundry by hand (la lavandera) gets a dollar for each 15 pieces that they wash. ONE DOLLAR PER 15 PIECES. I was half dead after doing just that little bit, and imagine I would´ve only earned about $2.00!!!
I hung everything except the jeans inside because the dog lives outside and I don´t like having dog hair or smell to my freshly HAND WASHED clothes...After hanging everything up there was just no room for the jeans so they were sent outside on the line. I tried to wring out as much water as I could but since my bathroom is like 95% tile I didn´t mind having everything drip-dry. I then went to drop off my laundry and do some errands and when I got back home I realized that all of these clothes were not going to dry in this tiny bathroom and that I needed to hang stuff out around the whole apartment. The only problem was that everything was STILL dripping. (clearly I never do laundry by hand and therefore don´t have proper wringing strategies....)
So I did what anyone would do who doesn´t have a clothes dryer...I got out the hair dryer. I remember my dad used to use the hair dryer to get damp clothes to dry quicker, and would even warm up my clothes on those frigid winter mornings by running the hair dryer over them. It´s like a hand held clothes dryer (that uses a lot of energy and heats up really quick :-/ ..) And as I stood there drying the ends of my shirts so that they wouldn't drip as much I thought about what had happened yesterday evening.
Mayra (Chino´s sister) had an internship with her mom these past couple months and would be returning to regular classes on monday. Her mom had put ALL of her school socks (yes there are specific ones that she has to wear to class) to wash and they wouldn´t be dry by the next morning. They realized this at about 6 pm and decided that the next best plan would be to go out and look for a pair to buy, after all socks only cost about .80 cents/pair. Seeing as it was 6 pm on a Sunday everything was closing or didn´t sell the socks that she needed. So when we went to the Aunts house I mentioned how she should just use a hair dryer. She only needed one pair of socks, and with a hair dryer it would take 10 minutes max to get them dry. She acknowledged my advice but didn´t seem convinced, lol. Instead she ended up asking Mayra´s aunt if any of the cousins had white socks that Mayra could use for class the next morning. Sure enough they found a pair and the problem was solved.
It´s interesting how something so simple ends up being different among cultures and who knows maybe it´s not necessarily a culture thing but more a question of personal choice. At home, we would´ve just thrown the socks in the clothes dryer. Here I would have just gotten the hair dryer. Instead they turned to family members to share a pair of socks. :) :)
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
a new etapa
So after two months I figured it was time to dust off the blog and write a new entry! I believe that I have reached a new "etapa" (stage) in my PC life. I believe that my PC is not just an experience anymore, obviously it's my life and most importantly another home. This is all very hard to explain, but I think that as I hit my 5 month marker (as in 5 months left till end of service) I realize that the idea of going "home" kind of scares me. Where is home? I struggled with this question as my parents divorced and I began to live in two different places with each parent. I have now come to accept that home is where you have loved ones around you, where you are supported and are able to grow. I feel so lucky to have created another/different type of home here in Ecuador and will be very very sad to leave it. That said I have only 5 MONTHS!!! The emotions running through me are all over the place.
"Work": I have stepped back some from the University and decided to dedicate more time to job hunting and the school where we have the girls group. Sharon and I are going to start a focus group and try to get a better idea of who the students are and what they have/dont get from their school. Our idea is to start a mentor program, and perhaps english club. Sadly we only have about 3 months and we hope that a new volunteer will be coming into the area so that they can keep working on what we started but I believe those chances are low.
At the University I am on a final project that is a continuation of the World Aids Day event we did back in December. After three months (which I guess for Ecua time would be right on time) we are doing our follow up with sex-ed trainings in the classrooms. Fernanda and I are in charge of coordinating and organizing the schedule for not only the sex ed trainings, but also, dental hygiene and prevention for breast and cervical cancer for the doctors to give to the whole University (18.000 students). We are about half way done and I will be so relieved when the schedules are approved. We are supposed to start going into the classrooms by the end of April, lets hope everything goes as planned.
For our girls group we are starting to work on our final presentation which will be the "Little Red Hen" (in english) and then some contra dancing along with some songs in english. Our hope is that the girls can memorize the script (it's really REALLY repetitive) but we'll see. We have a great group this semester. About 8 of the girls from last semester and 10 new girls are part of the group. I am having a blast working with them and doing the planning for each week.
Dad and Tracy came to visit in February. It was a great time. This was their first trip outside of the States and I think they enjoyed themselves. I had a great time showing them around. We were in Quito, the jungle, Cuenca and Ambato!
Alright I think that's good enough for a short update. I'll be writing more frequently. After all, these are the final months to write about this amazing life changing experience ;)
"Work": I have stepped back some from the University and decided to dedicate more time to job hunting and the school where we have the girls group. Sharon and I are going to start a focus group and try to get a better idea of who the students are and what they have/dont get from their school. Our idea is to start a mentor program, and perhaps english club. Sadly we only have about 3 months and we hope that a new volunteer will be coming into the area so that they can keep working on what we started but I believe those chances are low.
At the University I am on a final project that is a continuation of the World Aids Day event we did back in December. After three months (which I guess for Ecua time would be right on time) we are doing our follow up with sex-ed trainings in the classrooms. Fernanda and I are in charge of coordinating and organizing the schedule for not only the sex ed trainings, but also, dental hygiene and prevention for breast and cervical cancer for the doctors to give to the whole University (18.000 students). We are about half way done and I will be so relieved when the schedules are approved. We are supposed to start going into the classrooms by the end of April, lets hope everything goes as planned.
For our girls group we are starting to work on our final presentation which will be the "Little Red Hen" (in english) and then some contra dancing along with some songs in english. Our hope is that the girls can memorize the script (it's really REALLY repetitive) but we'll see. We have a great group this semester. About 8 of the girls from last semester and 10 new girls are part of the group. I am having a blast working with them and doing the planning for each week.
Dad and Tracy came to visit in February. It was a great time. This was their first trip outside of the States and I think they enjoyed themselves. I had a great time showing them around. We were in Quito, the jungle, Cuenca and Ambato!
Alright I think that's good enough for a short update. I'll be writing more frequently. After all, these are the final months to write about this amazing life changing experience ;)
Friday, January 4, 2013
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
My parents left Quito at midnight on Saturday. So I went with them to the airport, we said our goodbyes and then I stayed over at the Hotel. Sunday there was only, Alan (the guy from Inglaterra) and I left. His flight left Sunday in the evening. So we had breakfast together and chatted about the trip. I went back up to the room, packed and headed back to Ambato.
It was surreal being back "on land". I was somewhat ready to be back in Ambato. Not looking forward to spending New Years without the boyfriend, but he was off in the states having a great time. On New years eve I hung out with Hannah the whole day. We did a late breakfast and then walked literally all around Ambato. Then later that day I went back to my house to grab some stuff.
Let me go back in time just a bit to mention that when I arrived on Sunday the front gate was locked with a key. The landlords had put the lock on but had not given out keys. Well turns out, while I was gone they turned in keys..!!!!! Lucky up until when I was with Hannah I was able to get in through the garage gates.
So when Hannah and I went to my house everything was closed up. I tried jumping the gate but it proved to be a bit tricky, so I decided to just go back to Hannah´s and figure out what exactly to do!! We went back to her house and tried calling the house, but no one answered. I needed to get back to my house and change, shower to get ready for the midnight dinner with Chino´s family!!!
I went to my house around 6 hoping that someone had left a door open...no luck. So I climbed up the gate and some how was able to get over! I got into my house and about 20 minutes later the daughter came home, so I ran outside to ask for the key! All was well once I had a way to get in and out of my apartment, lol
I talked to dad on Skype and said happy new year, and then got ready to go over to Chino´s. Here in Ecuador, like I think I mentioned last year, they have many traditions for the New Year. The one is making paper mache figures and burning them at midnight, in hopes to get rid of everything that happened the previous year and start out fresh for the new year. They also do this thing where guys dress up as girls and ask for money in the street. It´s not as sketchy as it sounds lol. What they do is literally dress as women and dance in front of the cars, approach people (mainly other males) and usually get about 5 cents in return. Therefore you really can´t get anywhere in a car on New Years Eve because there are Viudas EVERYWHERE!!!
Here in Ambato they do a competition for the best Viuda presentation and the best Viejo presentation. So in the main road "Cevallos", different people bring there life size Viejos, and the Viudas do different dances, etc. We went down to look at it all around 10:30. The street was soooo packed, I couldn´t believe how busy the street was!!
We walked back up to the house and slowly by slowly family members started to arrive. We ate our 12 grapes right before midnight (with 12 wishes) and then at midnight said Happy New Year. Here there is no counting down, so it´s pretty much like everyone is asking "is it midnight, is it midnight??" and then when everyone agress it´s close to midnight you hear fire works going off and there are fires EVERYWHERE from the people burning their viejos! People run around the block with suitcases hoping for a year of travel, and other have on different colors of underware for different "good luck charms".
After ringing in the new year everyone sits down and has a dinner with the family. Chino´s aunt read the "Testamento del Viejo", which is where she acts as an old person that is reading off her will, but in a sarcastic way, making fun of different family members, it was HILARIOUS!!!
About an hour later begins the parties. All the old people go to sleep and the young people go out to party. It was so weird not being with Chino but it was good to have friends to be with. At the end (around 3:30 AM) we FINALLY ended up at a party and stayed till about 4:30. I then went to Hannah´s to sleep and woke up about 8:30 to go home and sleep in my bed. After a full night of NO ALCOHOL I woke up with a horrible "Chuchaqui Seco" which means dry hangover, like a hangover with out drinking, lol. So I pretty much spent all of Tuesday sleeping lol.
Wednesday Chino came back! And Thursday real life started again. Now it´s finally friday!!! Another week, of the new year! Who knows what this new year will bring but I am very optimistic :) :)
Christmas in the Galapagos
Welcome 2013! I feel as though it is going to be a great year, with many ups and downs, as I will be finishing my Peace Corps Service and hopefully starting another great adventure!
I left the office on the 20th to go to Quito and receive my parents that night on midnight. It´s amazing how many times I´ve been at this airport, but once again I was there waiting, watching as their flight once again was delayed....ugh...Luckily it was not as delayed as the other time and arrived about an hour and half later.
We went back to the hotel and had all of Friday to be in Quito. Friday night was the de-briefing with our tour group. Were were a group of 16; another family of four from Oregon (daughter 10 and son 14), a family of three (son, 20) from Chicago, a couple from California, a couple from Finland, and a guy from England. It was a really good group and we had a lot of fun.
I´ll give you a little overview of what we did at each of the islands.
SATURDAY:
We arrived to Santa Cruz island and walked to the hotel. Saw sea lions basking in the sun, in the afternoon we rode up to the highlands and then biked down to a loberia, where new sea lion pups had just been born, they are adorable animals and so fun to watch in the water. We biked back into town and had dinner.
SUNDAY:
We went for our first snorkeling adventure. The water is absolutely beautiful and the life under the water is even more. Mom had her first encounter with a snorkel, and lets just say it didn´t go well, she tried though, bless her heart :) The snorkeling was great, we swam with sea lions, saw many different colors of fish and even a turtle! The second snorkeling was by this rock formation called Kicker Rock. There we swam with sharks...well not exactly with them, but they were not too far below, and also saw sting rays!
We had lunch on the boat and set for a beach to have some free time.
MONDAY:
We took a somewhat rocky TWO HOUR boat ride to Floreana, one of the least inhabited (by people) islands. We had a really nice hike in the highlands and learned a little bit about the history of the first people that arrived. The beach that our hotel was on had black sand, very pretty!
TUESDAY:
We headed yet again to another Island called Isabela. Our tour guide was from here and had much to be proud of. This was probably my favorite island. A small beach community, not as developed as Santa Cruz or San Cristobal, but has more people than Floreana. We started off with a walk through different mangroves and volcano landscapes. We ended up at the Giant Tortoise Breeding Center and saw these huge turtles and then the itty bitty ones that had just been born. In the afternoon we had free to walk the beautiful beaches. Fine, white sand and crystal clear turqoise water.
WEDNESDAY:
This day we did some snorkeling and saw the galapagos penguin! Such a cute little animal. Mom did her best at yet another effort of snorkeling but alas decided to stay inland. After this we went to see the sharks and walk around on some volcananic landscape. They had told us that we were not going to have bathrooms until the afternoon, and even though we were all concious of this we still had to pee by mid morning. So they said the only bathroom we would have is the water. About four of us lowered ourselves into the water from the small dock. Poor Ruth on her way up cut her knee. It bled profusely, thank god the guide had a first aid kit. We went to see tortoises mating and sharks trying to rest, while little fish moved them out of their area!
On the way back into town we took about an hour to do some kayaking, which was really fun!
THURSDAY:
Mom´s Birthday, and the big hike day. We hiked around Sierra Negra Volcano, that last errupted in 2005. Sadly it was very foggy and kinda rainy so we could not see the crater. We then arrived to miles and miles of lava fields and at the top a breathtaking view of the island and ocean! By the time we got back everyone was drenched and muddy. We all cleaned up and had a lovely Birthday Dinner for Mom and did some dancing, I think she was content :)
FRIDAY:
We traveled to the last Island, Santa Cruz. This is the most populated Island and the most developed. It´s a very nice Island but very touristy and Im glad we only stayed for one day. Right when we arrived we dropped off our stuff at the hotel and went straight to the Charles Darwin Station, saw where lonely George lived. We also saw different land lizards that were very colorful in yellow and orange. In the afternoon we walked to Tortuga Bay. When you first arrive you find a beach with super white sand, crashing waves and lots of people, then you have to walk practically the whole beach and arrive to this little hidden place where the water is calm, almost like a pool. It wasn´t that deep, which made it warmer! So pleasant. Mom and I went to the Beach and Howard and Ruth stayed back...
Ahh yes to continue the story about Ruth´s leg. A couple days before Ruth had hit her leg while peeing in the ocean, well turns out that the anti-bacterial liquid that the guide drenched her led with had completely taken off the sunscreen, soooo she happened to get an awful awful burn on her leg, that turned into a swollen leg and foot and various blisters on her leg!!! So she stayed back to keep her foot up and hope that the swelling would go down.
Once mom and I got back from the walk to Tortuga Bay we took a strole through town and looked in the different shops to see what to buy. I didn´t get anything but they bought different things for people back home.
That night we had our final dinner together as a group on Galapagos and Saturday headed back to Quito. The flight had been moved up so we were not able to get to the higlands of Santa Cruz. The drive was enough, about an hour ride from the port to where we needed to take a ferry to the airport. We drove through everything, forest, dessert, rain, and sun. The ferry ride was about 10 minutes and in no time we arrived to the airport. This little thing in the middle of nowhere. When we arrived the airport there weren´t really any people, but by the time we were closer to our flight time, it was PACKED. We got on the plane and said goodbye to the lovely Galapagos!!!
Saturday we arrived back at the hotel and had a couple hours to kill so I showed Mom, Howard, and Ruth a nice little store that has different gifts from fair trade places around Ecuador. We had a dinner in Quito together, the majority were there, others decided to go into the oldtown.
All in all I would totally recommend for other to visit the Galapagos. It can be pricy but is sooooo worth the experience. So many different things to see and do!
Alright I´ll continue the rest of my vacation on another post.
I left the office on the 20th to go to Quito and receive my parents that night on midnight. It´s amazing how many times I´ve been at this airport, but once again I was there waiting, watching as their flight once again was delayed....ugh...Luckily it was not as delayed as the other time and arrived about an hour and half later.
We went back to the hotel and had all of Friday to be in Quito. Friday night was the de-briefing with our tour group. Were were a group of 16; another family of four from Oregon (daughter 10 and son 14), a family of three (son, 20) from Chicago, a couple from California, a couple from Finland, and a guy from England. It was a really good group and we had a lot of fun.
I´ll give you a little overview of what we did at each of the islands.
SATURDAY:
We arrived to Santa Cruz island and walked to the hotel. Saw sea lions basking in the sun, in the afternoon we rode up to the highlands and then biked down to a loberia, where new sea lion pups had just been born, they are adorable animals and so fun to watch in the water. We biked back into town and had dinner.
SUNDAY:
We went for our first snorkeling adventure. The water is absolutely beautiful and the life under the water is even more. Mom had her first encounter with a snorkel, and lets just say it didn´t go well, she tried though, bless her heart :) The snorkeling was great, we swam with sea lions, saw many different colors of fish and even a turtle! The second snorkeling was by this rock formation called Kicker Rock. There we swam with sharks...well not exactly with them, but they were not too far below, and also saw sting rays!
We had lunch on the boat and set for a beach to have some free time.
MONDAY:
We took a somewhat rocky TWO HOUR boat ride to Floreana, one of the least inhabited (by people) islands. We had a really nice hike in the highlands and learned a little bit about the history of the first people that arrived. The beach that our hotel was on had black sand, very pretty!
TUESDAY:
We headed yet again to another Island called Isabela. Our tour guide was from here and had much to be proud of. This was probably my favorite island. A small beach community, not as developed as Santa Cruz or San Cristobal, but has more people than Floreana. We started off with a walk through different mangroves and volcano landscapes. We ended up at the Giant Tortoise Breeding Center and saw these huge turtles and then the itty bitty ones that had just been born. In the afternoon we had free to walk the beautiful beaches. Fine, white sand and crystal clear turqoise water.
WEDNESDAY:
This day we did some snorkeling and saw the galapagos penguin! Such a cute little animal. Mom did her best at yet another effort of snorkeling but alas decided to stay inland. After this we went to see the sharks and walk around on some volcananic landscape. They had told us that we were not going to have bathrooms until the afternoon, and even though we were all concious of this we still had to pee by mid morning. So they said the only bathroom we would have is the water. About four of us lowered ourselves into the water from the small dock. Poor Ruth on her way up cut her knee. It bled profusely, thank god the guide had a first aid kit. We went to see tortoises mating and sharks trying to rest, while little fish moved them out of their area!
On the way back into town we took about an hour to do some kayaking, which was really fun!
THURSDAY:
Mom´s Birthday, and the big hike day. We hiked around Sierra Negra Volcano, that last errupted in 2005. Sadly it was very foggy and kinda rainy so we could not see the crater. We then arrived to miles and miles of lava fields and at the top a breathtaking view of the island and ocean! By the time we got back everyone was drenched and muddy. We all cleaned up and had a lovely Birthday Dinner for Mom and did some dancing, I think she was content :)
FRIDAY:
We traveled to the last Island, Santa Cruz. This is the most populated Island and the most developed. It´s a very nice Island but very touristy and Im glad we only stayed for one day. Right when we arrived we dropped off our stuff at the hotel and went straight to the Charles Darwin Station, saw where lonely George lived. We also saw different land lizards that were very colorful in yellow and orange. In the afternoon we walked to Tortuga Bay. When you first arrive you find a beach with super white sand, crashing waves and lots of people, then you have to walk practically the whole beach and arrive to this little hidden place where the water is calm, almost like a pool. It wasn´t that deep, which made it warmer! So pleasant. Mom and I went to the Beach and Howard and Ruth stayed back...
Ahh yes to continue the story about Ruth´s leg. A couple days before Ruth had hit her leg while peeing in the ocean, well turns out that the anti-bacterial liquid that the guide drenched her led with had completely taken off the sunscreen, soooo she happened to get an awful awful burn on her leg, that turned into a swollen leg and foot and various blisters on her leg!!! So she stayed back to keep her foot up and hope that the swelling would go down.
Once mom and I got back from the walk to Tortuga Bay we took a strole through town and looked in the different shops to see what to buy. I didn´t get anything but they bought different things for people back home.
That night we had our final dinner together as a group on Galapagos and Saturday headed back to Quito. The flight had been moved up so we were not able to get to the higlands of Santa Cruz. The drive was enough, about an hour ride from the port to where we needed to take a ferry to the airport. We drove through everything, forest, dessert, rain, and sun. The ferry ride was about 10 minutes and in no time we arrived to the airport. This little thing in the middle of nowhere. When we arrived the airport there weren´t really any people, but by the time we were closer to our flight time, it was PACKED. We got on the plane and said goodbye to the lovely Galapagos!!!
Saturday we arrived back at the hotel and had a couple hours to kill so I showed Mom, Howard, and Ruth a nice little store that has different gifts from fair trade places around Ecuador. We had a dinner in Quito together, the majority were there, others decided to go into the oldtown.
All in all I would totally recommend for other to visit the Galapagos. It can be pricy but is sooooo worth the experience. So many different things to see and do!
Alright I´ll continue the rest of my vacation on another post.
Monday, December 17, 2012
aaaaand the volcano is erruping..again...
Well it's monday. I am anxiously awaiting wednesday, when I will begin to prepare for my trip to Quito to get my parents on thursday and then leave for los galapagos!!!
So yesterday was an exciting day. I woke up to a text from Chino, who left for the states last week, asking me if I had been outside yet, and to be careful when I did. What had my boyfriend heard, thousands of miles away that I hadn't??? Turns out the Volcano Tungurahua started erupting on Friday. Instead of a light dusting of snow, I woke up to a dusting of Volcanic ash!! Yeah not that exciting.
From what Peace Corps had told us, if this happens it is vital to take necessary measures to protect not only your nose, but eyes, skin and hair from this fine element, that looks like fine fine black sand. My landlord came out and swept it up like it was nothing. Later in the afternoon I went to Chino's to hang out with his family, and it honestly didn't look like anything had happened, just seemed as though the city was kinda dusty. The air seemed clear, and as usual IT WAS HOT!!
This morning it didn't seem to have changed much until after lunch. Here at the office of DIBESAU we are up kinda on a hill and there is a lot of wind. On a clear day you can see the volcano Tungurahua pretty clear. This afternoon has turned into a haze, the air is kinda thick and started to smell funny. All around the mountains are blurry with the invasion of this ash. I can't imagine how they got over 6 inches back in 2006...!!
So I've decided that if it stays like this until tomorrow I will have to get out the face mask and...well I don't have sunglasses but maybe a hat, because apparently it's really harmful to hair...It's so funny how ecuadorians just go about their daily business like nothing is happening..!
I just hope nothing interferes with my travel to Quito on Thursday!
Alright I'll keep updating on the volcano, here is a post form the BBC today, enjoy!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-20763495
So yesterday was an exciting day. I woke up to a text from Chino, who left for the states last week, asking me if I had been outside yet, and to be careful when I did. What had my boyfriend heard, thousands of miles away that I hadn't??? Turns out the Volcano Tungurahua started erupting on Friday. Instead of a light dusting of snow, I woke up to a dusting of Volcanic ash!! Yeah not that exciting.
From what Peace Corps had told us, if this happens it is vital to take necessary measures to protect not only your nose, but eyes, skin and hair from this fine element, that looks like fine fine black sand. My landlord came out and swept it up like it was nothing. Later in the afternoon I went to Chino's to hang out with his family, and it honestly didn't look like anything had happened, just seemed as though the city was kinda dusty. The air seemed clear, and as usual IT WAS HOT!!
This morning it didn't seem to have changed much until after lunch. Here at the office of DIBESAU we are up kinda on a hill and there is a lot of wind. On a clear day you can see the volcano Tungurahua pretty clear. This afternoon has turned into a haze, the air is kinda thick and started to smell funny. All around the mountains are blurry with the invasion of this ash. I can't imagine how they got over 6 inches back in 2006...!!
So I've decided that if it stays like this until tomorrow I will have to get out the face mask and...well I don't have sunglasses but maybe a hat, because apparently it's really harmful to hair...It's so funny how ecuadorians just go about their daily business like nothing is happening..!
I just hope nothing interferes with my travel to Quito on Thursday!
Alright I'll keep updating on the volcano, here is a post form the BBC today, enjoy!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-20763495
Friday, December 14, 2012
Girls Presentation Recap-Friday 7th
So Friday was also a big day. Early morning Sharon, Bianca and I met at the school to get things in order for the Theater groups presentation. I brought Chino who ended up being a life savor, moving big furniture and cleaning up odds and ends for the auditorio. We moved desks, cleaned floors and decorated for the big night.
We hung up stars and snowflakes that the girls had made, and taped up the scenery that they painted. At the end it finally looked like this magical place, with lights and all! The Director came in at about 12:30 and said that there would be a class coming in to watch a movie...great...Sharon refused to leave, knowing that if she was no there to keep the students in line they would not leave the auditorium how they had found it. I went back home to get ready and then headed to the school around 5.
This girls arrived all nervous and excited for their big performance at 5:30. We gave them bread, a banana and water so that they would have some food in their stomach's. I guess on the invitation we had put that the show would start at 6:30. We did this because almost everyone is late here, so we thought if we put 6:30 everyone would arrive at 7. Well let's just, for the first time EVER here in Ecuador, people showed up ON TIME!!
Everyone was in the auditorium by 6:45 so we decided to start early. Everything went great. It was so much fun seeing the girls perform and I think they had a blast! At the end we gave each of the girls their certificates and said something special about each one.
All in all it was a great closing to an amazing semester, working with these girls! We are going to continue with this group and maybe add a couple new girls if they are interested. It just seems so hard to have to start over a brand new group, and these girls have grown so much!
We hung up stars and snowflakes that the girls had made, and taped up the scenery that they painted. At the end it finally looked like this magical place, with lights and all! The Director came in at about 12:30 and said that there would be a class coming in to watch a movie...great...Sharon refused to leave, knowing that if she was no there to keep the students in line they would not leave the auditorium how they had found it. I went back home to get ready and then headed to the school around 5.
This girls arrived all nervous and excited for their big performance at 5:30. We gave them bread, a banana and water so that they would have some food in their stomach's. I guess on the invitation we had put that the show would start at 6:30. We did this because almost everyone is late here, so we thought if we put 6:30 everyone would arrive at 7. Well let's just, for the first time EVER here in Ecuador, people showed up ON TIME!!
Everyone was in the auditorium by 6:45 so we decided to start early. Everything went great. It was so much fun seeing the girls perform and I think they had a blast! At the end we gave each of the girls their certificates and said something special about each one.
All in all it was a great closing to an amazing semester, working with these girls! We are going to continue with this group and maybe add a couple new girls if they are interested. It just seems so hard to have to start over a brand new group, and these girls have grown so much!
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Quite a successful day if I do say so myself :) :)
Let me set the stage for what we were dealing with just about 24 hours ago...It was around 2:30 in the afternoon. Everyone that was invited to the event had confirmed, tents were being put up and everything seemed to be somewhat in order, (as much in order as it could be because really ANYTHING can happen at the last minute). The only thing that we were missing were the 200 certificates to be signed by Sonia, the director.
We had talked with her about doing a certificate with the name written by hand because not all of the institutions had turned in their lists of who would be participating. She gave us the ok, so wednesday I WROTE OUT 200 NAMES BY HAND on the certificates!!!!! They looked great, on this nice certificate paper, printed in color and all that jazz.
Then at 2:30 we got the message that literally made all of the work seem to come crashing down. Sonia wrote to Fernanda, saying that the certificates looked awful and that they needed to be done with the names typed on the computer because there was no way that we could hand out the certificates with names written out by hand.....mmmm WHAT!?!?
I told Fernanda it was ridiculous and of course she agreed, so we went to talk to Sonia in person. I explained to her that usually when you get something hand written it is more personal than just typed up on the computer and that it would be really hard to do all of them over because it had taken over a day to get them signed and what not....after all the event was in LESS THAN 24 HOURS!!!!
She responded by telling me that this was my point of view and that the University does everything of great quality blah blah blah and that people will take the certificate and remember the event and if it's written by hand they will think less of the University...Have you started to think she is crazy...?? ok good :)
There was no way around it, either we changed them, or she would not turn in the certificates. And because this country IS SO OBSESSED with their certificates, it would have not been fair to tell these professional institutions that we were no longer going to give the certificates..so we went back to the office and printed out new certificates....
Were they of better quality, ABSOLUTELY NOT...sadly they were printed out in this shiny blue paper, in black because all the color tinta had been used up....but Im sure everyone was happier because their names were typed...right??
So I left work on Thursday around 7 pm...completely exhausted from the day, but hopeful that friday would turn out well..
So today was one of the most important days that I've had here in Ecuador in terms of work. After planning for over 2.5 months we finally had our event for World Aid's Day, at the University. Everyone but one group showed up to present in their stands. There were University kids and high school kids that came to see the different tents!! I am proud to say that Fernanda and I did a superb job with carefully planning and executing our goal of a Mass Event on Campus, along with launching our sexual health program "Por Mil Motivos". The two of us really could not have done it without each other, lol. Seeing as we were really the only two behind the project and MINIMAL from our co-workers at the University. I think we really did surprise them, see young people can do great things!! Although I do have to say this will be the FIRST and LAST time that I do an event like this at the University.
Ecuadorian behaviors and culture were highly reflected in this whole process. From the very beginning I learned that you have to be 100% behind people making sure that they get done what has to get done. You can't trust people to take responsibility for their part, as small as it may be. Anything that the authority says goes, no matter how much blood and sweat you've put into the work, and there is no room for discussion. Sadly people do not seem to rebel..haha Those would be the negatives. The positive of this experience is Fernanda, the girl that I worked on with the project. She truly is the hope for the behavior change that needs to happen. In Peace Corps we talk about change at a local small level and I am glad to know and see that Fernanda is on that path to being a positive influence in what at times seems like the scum of it all. My job here is to support her and empower her to be more affirmative and push for what she believes...Times ticking, only 8 months left!!!
We had talked with her about doing a certificate with the name written by hand because not all of the institutions had turned in their lists of who would be participating. She gave us the ok, so wednesday I WROTE OUT 200 NAMES BY HAND on the certificates!!!!! They looked great, on this nice certificate paper, printed in color and all that jazz.
Then at 2:30 we got the message that literally made all of the work seem to come crashing down. Sonia wrote to Fernanda, saying that the certificates looked awful and that they needed to be done with the names typed on the computer because there was no way that we could hand out the certificates with names written out by hand.....mmmm WHAT!?!?
I told Fernanda it was ridiculous and of course she agreed, so we went to talk to Sonia in person. I explained to her that usually when you get something hand written it is more personal than just typed up on the computer and that it would be really hard to do all of them over because it had taken over a day to get them signed and what not....after all the event was in LESS THAN 24 HOURS!!!!
She responded by telling me that this was my point of view and that the University does everything of great quality blah blah blah and that people will take the certificate and remember the event and if it's written by hand they will think less of the University...Have you started to think she is crazy...?? ok good :)
There was no way around it, either we changed them, or she would not turn in the certificates. And because this country IS SO OBSESSED with their certificates, it would have not been fair to tell these professional institutions that we were no longer going to give the certificates..so we went back to the office and printed out new certificates....
Were they of better quality, ABSOLUTELY NOT...sadly they were printed out in this shiny blue paper, in black because all the color tinta had been used up....but Im sure everyone was happier because their names were typed...right??
So I left work on Thursday around 7 pm...completely exhausted from the day, but hopeful that friday would turn out well..
So today was one of the most important days that I've had here in Ecuador in terms of work. After planning for over 2.5 months we finally had our event for World Aid's Day, at the University. Everyone but one group showed up to present in their stands. There were University kids and high school kids that came to see the different tents!! I am proud to say that Fernanda and I did a superb job with carefully planning and executing our goal of a Mass Event on Campus, along with launching our sexual health program "Por Mil Motivos". The two of us really could not have done it without each other, lol. Seeing as we were really the only two behind the project and MINIMAL from our co-workers at the University. I think we really did surprise them, see young people can do great things!! Although I do have to say this will be the FIRST and LAST time that I do an event like this at the University.
Ecuadorian behaviors and culture were highly reflected in this whole process. From the very beginning I learned that you have to be 100% behind people making sure that they get done what has to get done. You can't trust people to take responsibility for their part, as small as it may be. Anything that the authority says goes, no matter how much blood and sweat you've put into the work, and there is no room for discussion. Sadly people do not seem to rebel..haha Those would be the negatives. The positive of this experience is Fernanda, the girl that I worked on with the project. She truly is the hope for the behavior change that needs to happen. In Peace Corps we talk about change at a local small level and I am glad to know and see that Fernanda is on that path to being a positive influence in what at times seems like the scum of it all. My job here is to support her and empower her to be more affirmative and push for what she believes...Times ticking, only 8 months left!!!
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
There was a gusano in my refri....what?!?!
Happy December to Everyone!
I was cooking stir fry today for lunch and opened my fridge to grab the soy sauce, and as I lifted the bottle, this goopy thing was stuck to the bottom of it. As I looked closer it was one of those gross, fat worms that I think live in your vegetables when you don't wash them well....and let me tell you I DO wash my vegetables very well before putting them away. Needless to say it was disgusting and made me wonder how long it had been in there!!
In other news, the countdown has started for the arrival of my rents, (mom, howard and ruthie). They come on the 19th, or 20th..hmm I guess I'll have to check on those dates. I've been trying to play christmas music, but it's just not the same without cold weather and snow, lol
This week is quickly coming to an end!!! Which is a good thing and a bad thing. We have an event on Thursday at the University for World Aids Day. There will be about 200 people just participating, and then a ton (hopefully) attending...gulp. There are still oficios to be turned in and certificados to be made..ahhhhh!!! Why do Ecuadorians do EVERYTHING at the last minute....ugh..
Then Friday, Sharon and I have our final presentation with the girls group that we have been working with. I think Im more excited for this presentation than the one at the University. We are trying do something really special, both for the girls and their parents. With the girls, we've made snowflakes, and stars that we are going to hang from the ceiling. We are making gingerbread cookies to give the parents afterwards and are making luminaries going up the stairs to the Auditorio...although turns out paper bags with square bottoms are harder to find here than you would think!
On top of it all, Peace Corps has decided to be a complete pain in the butt and do visits. The one visit will be combined with assisting the event at the University, which will be fun to have some volunteers come. The other one will be tomorrow with one of the Doctors...what more do they need to talk about!??!?! Just seems so silly that now, a YEAR AND FOUR MONTHS of being in site they now decide to do all of these visits, instead of, oh ya know, the first 9 months, lol...hopefully they will take our feedback and fix this for future groups.
Alright time to run to the University! I'll write hopefully at the end of the week to update on how the events went!
I was cooking stir fry today for lunch and opened my fridge to grab the soy sauce, and as I lifted the bottle, this goopy thing was stuck to the bottom of it. As I looked closer it was one of those gross, fat worms that I think live in your vegetables when you don't wash them well....and let me tell you I DO wash my vegetables very well before putting them away. Needless to say it was disgusting and made me wonder how long it had been in there!!
In other news, the countdown has started for the arrival of my rents, (mom, howard and ruthie). They come on the 19th, or 20th..hmm I guess I'll have to check on those dates. I've been trying to play christmas music, but it's just not the same without cold weather and snow, lol
This week is quickly coming to an end!!! Which is a good thing and a bad thing. We have an event on Thursday at the University for World Aids Day. There will be about 200 people just participating, and then a ton (hopefully) attending...gulp. There are still oficios to be turned in and certificados to be made..ahhhhh!!! Why do Ecuadorians do EVERYTHING at the last minute....ugh..
Then Friday, Sharon and I have our final presentation with the girls group that we have been working with. I think Im more excited for this presentation than the one at the University. We are trying do something really special, both for the girls and their parents. With the girls, we've made snowflakes, and stars that we are going to hang from the ceiling. We are making gingerbread cookies to give the parents afterwards and are making luminaries going up the stairs to the Auditorio...although turns out paper bags with square bottoms are harder to find here than you would think!
On top of it all, Peace Corps has decided to be a complete pain in the butt and do visits. The one visit will be combined with assisting the event at the University, which will be fun to have some volunteers come. The other one will be tomorrow with one of the Doctors...what more do they need to talk about!??!?! Just seems so silly that now, a YEAR AND FOUR MONTHS of being in site they now decide to do all of these visits, instead of, oh ya know, the first 9 months, lol...hopefully they will take our feedback and fix this for future groups.
Alright time to run to the University! I'll write hopefully at the end of the week to update on how the events went!
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Never putting curtains up in Ecuador AGAIN.....
So I had curtains made by Hannah (argentina). The curtains that have been in my apartment for the last oh, year were just to big and drape like...AND you could most def see through them. I went on the quest for tela (fabric) and found this really nice color (olive green color) . My friend Hannah studied design in school and made her own curtains that turned out pretty cool so I asked her to make mine. After waiting about 2 weeks (this girl is super busy with work) she finally sat down and did them, so tonight I put them up! They turned out pretty cool, the only problem with curtains here is they have these needle/clip like things that you have to put into the fabric in order to hang them up. So it took me almost an HOUR to put up THREE curtains, haha but quite the experience of finger pricking and trying to line up these clips into the curtains. All in all I have the new curtains up and they are better than the old lady ones that I had before!
This past weekend was thanksgiving and I decided to stay here in Ambato. We had an inauguration for the new gym classes and other health fitness classes that Bienestar will be giving to students in the morning. It was a great time, dancing bailoterapia, and seeing so many students turn out for the event. I hope as many AND MORE turn out for our event next week!
Then later that afternoon, about 8 of us got together at the Economista's house to cook an Argentinian/American Thanksgiving. We grilled all the meat and then had green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and deviled eggs. It was such nice time to be with "family" and friends here in Ecuador. I said the "prayer" (yup that's right mom) and got teary eyed thinking about my family all together at home, enjoying their meals. Next year I will be celebrating with them :)
Lets see what else has been going on. We are finishing up all the planning that we need for the event December 6th at the University. We have all of the institutions confirmed and now need to figure out a way to get certificates printed for all 100 participants...there is no budget whatsoever for this event, well I mean there was but all the money was used up to print out the materials for our sexual health campaign "Por mil motivos"...sooo we have to figure out how we are going to do it..
The girls group is coming along nicely and they look like they will be ready to present next friday. Crazy to think all of this planning and hard work, both by us as leaders and by the girls, all comes down to a half an hour presentation!!! But none the less it will be a blast to have the parents see what we have been working on.
On another not so positive note, there was a suicide this last week, a student of the University. The student was the son of a secretary at the University and, because Ambato is such a small city, Chino's family knew the guy pretty well. His youngest brother is Mayra's age and the oldest was a compañero of Chino in school. Apparently he was a very very intelligent guy, had written 3 books, all containing material about suicides, etc and in the last one, had reached out for help. He only sent it through e-mail to three close friends, none of whom took the time to read it over before he decided to take his own life.
Chino and I went to the wake. The saddest thing I have ever seen. I had had interactions with the mother because of her connection at the University. I just can't imagine what it would be like to lose your own child. Makes you really think about the important things in life, and how we dwell on such little things, that in retrospect do not have as much impact on us in the long run...
Gotta live each day and be happy for what we have!!!
Alright hope Thanksgiving was splended for all of you who are reading my blog...there are people out there reading besides my mom and howard right?? haha
buenas noches!
This past weekend was thanksgiving and I decided to stay here in Ambato. We had an inauguration for the new gym classes and other health fitness classes that Bienestar will be giving to students in the morning. It was a great time, dancing bailoterapia, and seeing so many students turn out for the event. I hope as many AND MORE turn out for our event next week!
Then later that afternoon, about 8 of us got together at the Economista's house to cook an Argentinian/American Thanksgiving. We grilled all the meat and then had green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and deviled eggs. It was such nice time to be with "family" and friends here in Ecuador. I said the "prayer" (yup that's right mom) and got teary eyed thinking about my family all together at home, enjoying their meals. Next year I will be celebrating with them :)
Lets see what else has been going on. We are finishing up all the planning that we need for the event December 6th at the University. We have all of the institutions confirmed and now need to figure out a way to get certificates printed for all 100 participants...there is no budget whatsoever for this event, well I mean there was but all the money was used up to print out the materials for our sexual health campaign "Por mil motivos"...sooo we have to figure out how we are going to do it..
The girls group is coming along nicely and they look like they will be ready to present next friday. Crazy to think all of this planning and hard work, both by us as leaders and by the girls, all comes down to a half an hour presentation!!! But none the less it will be a blast to have the parents see what we have been working on.
On another not so positive note, there was a suicide this last week, a student of the University. The student was the son of a secretary at the University and, because Ambato is such a small city, Chino's family knew the guy pretty well. His youngest brother is Mayra's age and the oldest was a compañero of Chino in school. Apparently he was a very very intelligent guy, had written 3 books, all containing material about suicides, etc and in the last one, had reached out for help. He only sent it through e-mail to three close friends, none of whom took the time to read it over before he decided to take his own life.
Chino and I went to the wake. The saddest thing I have ever seen. I had had interactions with the mother because of her connection at the University. I just can't imagine what it would be like to lose your own child. Makes you really think about the important things in life, and how we dwell on such little things, that in retrospect do not have as much impact on us in the long run...
Gotta live each day and be happy for what we have!!!
Alright hope Thanksgiving was splended for all of you who are reading my blog...there are people out there reading besides my mom and howard right?? haha
buenas noches!
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Christmas is just around the corner...wait, but what about THANKSGIVING?!?!
So here in Ecuador, as Im sure in the states, everyone is getting ready for Christmas. Stores have their santas and trees for sale. The only difference I think, is that here, families have already begun putting up their christmas trees!!!! Chino´s family put their tree up this weekend. Last year I helped, but this year had some other things to do. So Chino´s mom and grandma put up the tree, just the two of them. They decorated it very nice with bows, and different muñecos. No homemade ornaments, and no lights (i think those were too old). Makes me miss decorating the christmas tree at home. Every year we put up the tree together. My sister and I would usually complain about having to find and bring the heavy tubs but once we got going it was so fun to see the different ornaments that we had and talk about where they were made, bought, or who had given us as a gift. In a way it makes me excited to think about that fact that next year I will be sure to be home and help put up BOTH trees (mom and dad´s)
Well the most anticipated event of the fall is over. I took the GRE on saturday November 17th. It was hard. That´s pretty much all I can say, haha. I started studying around August, and by the end had done several practice exams and was feeling, for the most part, pretty confident. The test was at the Fullbright Office in Quito. Chino went with me, bless his heart, on friday and we stayed at his aunts house. We arrived and did a test run to Fullbright, then had dinner. I got a good nights rest, and ate a good breakfast. Everything was in order. I arrived at the testing center on time to check in and find my seat. The writing section wasn´t that hard. The reading comprhension had it´s challenging parts and the math was ok. Luckily the scores are based on the number of questions you answer right, so lets hope I guessed well!
These next weeks are going to fly because Im working both at the University and with the girls group on semi-big events. At the University we are prepping for our WAD (World Aids Day) event Dec. 6th. For the girls group we are doing our final presentation Dec. 7th. After that I can wait tranquila for the 20th to role around to see my rents and go to THE GALAPAGOS!!!!! Wahooooo
Not sure what to do for Thanksgiving....PCV´s are meeting in Guaranda, I went last year which was pretty fun. I also think that we will do something here in Ambato, so it´s probably going to be a matter of choosing one over the other...Plus we have the lanzamiento of the rumbaterapia, pilates, and yoga on that saturday that I would really like to be at.
Alright, enough of an update for now. Until next time, Happy Turkey Day and Black Friday, Madrugan temprano y compran muchooooo (get up early and buy lots!)
Well the most anticipated event of the fall is over. I took the GRE on saturday November 17th. It was hard. That´s pretty much all I can say, haha. I started studying around August, and by the end had done several practice exams and was feeling, for the most part, pretty confident. The test was at the Fullbright Office in Quito. Chino went with me, bless his heart, on friday and we stayed at his aunts house. We arrived and did a test run to Fullbright, then had dinner. I got a good nights rest, and ate a good breakfast. Everything was in order. I arrived at the testing center on time to check in and find my seat. The writing section wasn´t that hard. The reading comprhension had it´s challenging parts and the math was ok. Luckily the scores are based on the number of questions you answer right, so lets hope I guessed well!
These next weeks are going to fly because Im working both at the University and with the girls group on semi-big events. At the University we are prepping for our WAD (World Aids Day) event Dec. 6th. For the girls group we are doing our final presentation Dec. 7th. After that I can wait tranquila for the 20th to role around to see my rents and go to THE GALAPAGOS!!!!! Wahooooo
Not sure what to do for Thanksgiving....PCV´s are meeting in Guaranda, I went last year which was pretty fun. I also think that we will do something here in Ambato, so it´s probably going to be a matter of choosing one over the other...Plus we have the lanzamiento of the rumbaterapia, pilates, and yoga on that saturday that I would really like to be at.
Alright, enough of an update for now. Until next time, Happy Turkey Day and Black Friday, Madrugan temprano y compran muchooooo (get up early and buy lots!)
Thursday, November 8, 2012
November starts out with a bang!
Well Im happy to say that I can start this blog saying that we have Obama for another four years!! I had a great time at another PCV's house, where we streamed the results live on her computer and used a projector from work to watch it like on the big screen..ahh the peace corps life. Sadly Romney took too long to admit his loss and so I couldn't stay awake to see Obama, but I watched the next day!
It's so funny because everyone here asks who people vote for. Im pretty used to it by now, talking super open about my political views, and even getting weird looks when I talk about how yes homosexuals SHOULD have the right to get married...lol hopefully I don't get back to the states and start asking people who they are going to vote for.. :-/
I arrived from Cuenca this last sunday. We had a three day weekend, partly because of the Cuenca fiestas (and also because of the Guayaquil ones..what can i say, they love their fiestas). Chino and I drove down to Cuenca on friday morning (let me be specific we left at 4:30 AM!!!!!) thinking there would be traffic. Well there was like no traffic because we arrived in Cuenca around10:30 AM, only took us 5 hours, which was pretty good. We checked into a hostel recommended to us by some other volunteers, super lindo :) We dropped off the car and walked to the Centro.
The military were preparing for a welcome ceremony for the President. We then walked around the center and in the evening took a tour of the city in one of those double decker buses. Yeah, not such a good idea because the cables that they do have hanging around in Cuenca were super low and would've clotheslined us if we hadn't ducked, haha. But all in all it was a nice tour. We traveled up the top of one of the mountains and were able to look over the whole city!
We went to eat at one of the restaurants down by the river, and then walked around the area that has different bars, restaurants and discotecas. We were too tired to go out out and decided to walk back to the hostel around 11. We stopped by the main park to watch a "teatro de la calle" (street theater). It was pretty funny!
The next morning we tried to wake up to go to the park and see the program for the president. It was supposed to start at 9 and we arrived around 9:25, thinking it wouldn't really start on time (because NOTHING starts on time here). Well turns out they had started and ENDED, haha. BUT-we saw the presidents party flags and a bunch of people along the street, so we crossed and realized that the president was in one of the buildings talking. We waited right outside the building where he was and were able to see him and many other political figures come out!!! It was so neat the passion that the people have for their president. We got some pretty good fotos, I'll try to put them up on facebook. The closest I've ever been to a president!
In the afternoon we went to the National Park close to Cuenca. Really gorgeous countryside and such fresh air. We stopped by a little family restaurant in this ANCIENT house and had habas, choclo con queso and caldo de gallo, y locro de papa...YUM!!
We came back to the hostel and slept, completely exhausted from all the walking we had done in the past two days! We didn't end up waking up till 10 PM and went out to eat at this middle eastern estaurant. I had Ginger chicken, so good! Then since we had taken like a 3 hour nap we decided to see what night life there was. We ended up going into the first clubs that looked like it had people. It was really inside was a pretty good size, with different rooms decorated, and really good music!
Cuenca is absolutely beautiful. It is very clean and organized. Even though they were in their fiestas and every night there were a lot of people, it wasn't like partying out of control and seemed really safe to walk back to the hostal at night.
Sunday we woke up and ate breakfast then got the car and headed to some ruinas de Ingapirca that were supposed to be on the way back. Well lets just say that they were a bit farther than we thought..haha We did about a hour guided tour and then walked down to this inca face that is on the side of the mountain. They aren't sure if is natural of man made, but pretty incredible-looks like an Incan....it started to rain towards the end of the tour, so by the time we got to the car we were completely empapados!!
We then made our 5 hour drive back through the mountains to the querido Ambato. We hit really bad rain and hail getting into Riobamba but were in Ambato by about 9-10 PM.
Monday was back to work. We are doing a lot of preparing for our World Aids Event on December 6th. I also did a nutrition conference for some 500 students on tuesday!! I think they really liked my presentation..pretty interactive, well as interactive as a presentation can be for 250 students (one group in the morning, one in the afternoon)!!!
Sharon, Bianca and I are preparing with our girls group for our final presentation that will be on December 6th or 7th as well! So many good things going on this semester, it makes it harder to image how I will ever leave this place. I've completely lost count on how long I've been here. People ask me and I tell them over a year...Over a year, wow!
Monday is another feriado, Ambato's independence day. So there will be a parade of some sort and it looks like PC will be visiting me....so we'll see!!
Chauuuuuu
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