As always, the days after vacation are always dreadful. But I went into work that next monday with "animo". We were scheduled to start our open houses and present the results of the survey that was given to the first semester students last semester. I arrived to the office to find it closed. With all my keys in my backpack that had disappeared I had no way to get into the office. I went to the nurse who sometimes knows where Eulalia is and she told me that she had ran out saying she had a conference in one of the facultades. So I went to Civil y Mecanica to see what exactly the conference/meeting was about.
Turns out we were starting to give the presentation on the results that day! So I was thrown into the presentation and started out with the results. I think it was better this way because I really had no idea that I was supposed to present, so there was really no way for me to get nervous. I did my schpeal and then a psychologist did a little talk on how the students should have a mission in life and that they are not just another puzzle piece in the the whole scheme of things. That they should over come the pressures to use drugs and alcohol. It was a nice little talk and I think the students understood and all put attention. Then it was Eulalia's turn. I have come to realize that she is not the best with students. She had this whole presentation that was presented to what is called Consejo Universitario. Consejo Universitario or Academico is when all of the Dean's from the different colleges meet to discuss University matters. Anyway she decided to present practically the same presentation to second semester college students that she had presented to old men...this did not go over well. Within the first 15 minutes practically all of the students were distracted with other things and we had completely lost them.
After monday's presentation we did the open house on wednesday with music and various theatre. The students that organized it and did the open house also happened to be part of a christian group here in town. This caused some problems because after awhile it seemed that the focus was mainly about being able to have a healthy lifestyle with God in it. There were many religious references and at one point they prayed with the students!! I was very surprised and upset, so I talked with Eulalia, explaining how this University is what they call LAIKA (separation of church and state) and that everyone does not have the same religion, or any religion at that! She talked to the Students and we came to agreement that it would be a good idea to keep most of the religious statements out of the presentation and focus on promoting a healthy lifestyle with out drugs and alcohol.
Being the first week of presentations I believe that it went really well. Clearly there is a lot to change and I think that with time we will be adapting different things. The students that we are working with to coordinate the open houses are great though and very energetic about helping!
Sunday, April 15, 2012
The Fam comes to Ecuador
As usual the time flies by too fast for me to take some time and write in my blog..then it's so late that I have to take like HOURS in writing everything... The main reason why I've been wanting to write is to update on my Family's VISIT!!! I can't believe that it's almost been a month since they were here. We were all so excited to see each other and then they came and now they are gone.
The trip was really great. They took awhile to get here, due to flight problems but finally arrived on saturday night (instead of saturday evening). We decided to stay until sunday and went to a soccer game in the morning. Ruth of course didn't believe me when I told her that the sun was really strong so she instantly got burnt...she realized hours later. We then left on sunday afternoon for Ambato. We arrived in Ambato around 6ish, took all the luggage out of the car, only to find that my backpack was no where to be found....the weird thing is we were in Chino's car driving back and my backpack had been on my lap the entire time. It somehow was left or stolen in the TWO times that we got out of the car. My keys, Ipod, all debit cards, my Peace Corps cellphone and Id's along with some clothes and all my make-up were gone. That night we were supposed to eat over at Chino's house. I was a complete mess because I had lost practically everything that was super important to me. We luckily cancelled the cards and could really do nothing else that evening. We had dinner and my parents gave the gifts to Chino's family. I believe they all went over really well.
Monday was a day of more chaos for me because I had to run all around the city getting police reports and make phone calls to Peace Corps in regards to the robberies. On top of that my parents wanted to see Ambato. I felt so bad that I had to send them loose on their own in the city, but as good well traveled people they did just fine. Later that afternoon a friend of ours took us to Parque de la familia. It's this large park wayy up on one of the mountains, and has a great view of the city!
Tuesday morning we left for Misahualli. I was so glad to get out of Ambato and have vacation ACTUALLY start. We arrived to the same hostel that I had stayed at with some peace corps friends. It was sooo nice and relaxing. We did two different tours each of the two days we were there. One of the nights we also went into Tena and walked around. There really isn't much in the town itself, kinda hard for me to believe that I lived there years ago.
On Thursday we headed back to Quito because Ruth had to leave us to go back to school... :( :( we arrived on time and were able to go to "La Ronda" for dinner. It was Howard's birthday so we went to this nice restaurant and even had some people sing for him! The funny story of this night was when I left for FIVE minutes to go put money on my phone. I left the family with an idea of what they wanted to order. There were also menu's in english so it didn't appear that they would have any problem ordering the meals. I come back and asked how everything went and they said just fine. When the food comes, it turned out that Mom and Ruth had ordered PIG FOOT. Literally the hoof of a pig. Apparently the translation on the english menu had been wrong and said pig leg instead of foot. They had to order something else....lol
Friday early morning we said goodbye to Ruth, sad but I know that very soon I will be seeing her again. On the way to the Airport I realized that I was not feeling the best. Ya know, one of those, "what did I eat? Im going to pay for this in a couple hours" type of feeling. I was able to go to the airport and say goodbye but once we got back to the apartment I was up practically all night in the bathroom. I ended up staying back all day friday while mom and Howard did a walking tour of the city. I was able to rest and get some books read! It was a nice relaxing time that was much needed.
On Saturday we left for Ibarra/Otavalo. I had never been to Ibarra so I was excited to see what the city was like. We stayed at a hotel that Peace Corps uses and were given a reduced rate which was nice. That evening I met up with Portia and some other volunteers, it was really good to see people and hear updates on their lives. Sunday we walked around the city and went to one of the lakes nearby.
Monday we went to a really neat AfroEcuadorian community where Portia works. It was in the middle of nowhere. The weather was very very hot with desert like conditions. The woman that we talked with works at the school teaching art and also does some of her own mask and jewelry making. She also works with teen girls in the community making different dresses. Portia helps out with different Youth groups. We made our way back in the afternoon to a old famous ice cream place where they make the ice cream by HAND. They put down ice and hay and then on top have a wooden bowl where they stir ice water with whatever flavor (usually a fruit juice-all natural) into what we call a type of sorbet.
Tuesday we did Otavalo. I had been there the last time I was in Ecuador but I didn't remember it being so pretty! It is a very indigenous community, and very clean and pretty. We walked to some famous, magical tree. The map that we were given was very VERY misleading because the walk was supposed to take around an hour. Well after an hour and half of walking uphill and not finding anything we luckily ran into a taxi. He gave us directions and we decided that it might be easier to just let the guy take us. Thank god he did because it was another 15 minutes to the tree....all up hill. We finally got to the tree, that looked over a different community on another lagoon, very pretty. How we were going to get back we had no idea, walking would take hours....and we had to be back for a tour of surrounding communities... Another taxi was driving by with some people and said that he would take us on his way back down.
We arrived just in time to do a tour of surrounding smaller indigenous communities where different artesian crafts are done. Each community had something a little different. We ended up back in Ibarra around 7ish to eat.
Wednesday we did more touring of the city and saw the different churches. Ibarra is very colonial and there were several different churches and old buildings. We then headed back to Quito that afternoon because mom and Howard were leaving on Thursday morning. We went to eat at this really good italian restaurant and then went back to the apartment to rest. We played a card game which was really nice, to "be family" (as mom would say lol) for the last hours together. We got up early again on Thursday to say goodbye....So weird to think that I won't be seeing my family again for another 9-10 months.
All in all the trip was really great!!! I had a blast showing them around and giving them a look into my life here in Ecuador.
The trip was really great. They took awhile to get here, due to flight problems but finally arrived on saturday night (instead of saturday evening). We decided to stay until sunday and went to a soccer game in the morning. Ruth of course didn't believe me when I told her that the sun was really strong so she instantly got burnt...she realized hours later. We then left on sunday afternoon for Ambato. We arrived in Ambato around 6ish, took all the luggage out of the car, only to find that my backpack was no where to be found....the weird thing is we were in Chino's car driving back and my backpack had been on my lap the entire time. It somehow was left or stolen in the TWO times that we got out of the car. My keys, Ipod, all debit cards, my Peace Corps cellphone and Id's along with some clothes and all my make-up were gone. That night we were supposed to eat over at Chino's house. I was a complete mess because I had lost practically everything that was super important to me. We luckily cancelled the cards and could really do nothing else that evening. We had dinner and my parents gave the gifts to Chino's family. I believe they all went over really well.
Monday was a day of more chaos for me because I had to run all around the city getting police reports and make phone calls to Peace Corps in regards to the robberies. On top of that my parents wanted to see Ambato. I felt so bad that I had to send them loose on their own in the city, but as good well traveled people they did just fine. Later that afternoon a friend of ours took us to Parque de la familia. It's this large park wayy up on one of the mountains, and has a great view of the city!
Tuesday morning we left for Misahualli. I was so glad to get out of Ambato and have vacation ACTUALLY start. We arrived to the same hostel that I had stayed at with some peace corps friends. It was sooo nice and relaxing. We did two different tours each of the two days we were there. One of the nights we also went into Tena and walked around. There really isn't much in the town itself, kinda hard for me to believe that I lived there years ago.
On Thursday we headed back to Quito because Ruth had to leave us to go back to school... :( :( we arrived on time and were able to go to "La Ronda" for dinner. It was Howard's birthday so we went to this nice restaurant and even had some people sing for him! The funny story of this night was when I left for FIVE minutes to go put money on my phone. I left the family with an idea of what they wanted to order. There were also menu's in english so it didn't appear that they would have any problem ordering the meals. I come back and asked how everything went and they said just fine. When the food comes, it turned out that Mom and Ruth had ordered PIG FOOT. Literally the hoof of a pig. Apparently the translation on the english menu had been wrong and said pig leg instead of foot. They had to order something else....lol
Friday early morning we said goodbye to Ruth, sad but I know that very soon I will be seeing her again. On the way to the Airport I realized that I was not feeling the best. Ya know, one of those, "what did I eat? Im going to pay for this in a couple hours" type of feeling. I was able to go to the airport and say goodbye but once we got back to the apartment I was up practically all night in the bathroom. I ended up staying back all day friday while mom and Howard did a walking tour of the city. I was able to rest and get some books read! It was a nice relaxing time that was much needed.
On Saturday we left for Ibarra/Otavalo. I had never been to Ibarra so I was excited to see what the city was like. We stayed at a hotel that Peace Corps uses and were given a reduced rate which was nice. That evening I met up with Portia and some other volunteers, it was really good to see people and hear updates on their lives. Sunday we walked around the city and went to one of the lakes nearby.
Monday we went to a really neat AfroEcuadorian community where Portia works. It was in the middle of nowhere. The weather was very very hot with desert like conditions. The woman that we talked with works at the school teaching art and also does some of her own mask and jewelry making. She also works with teen girls in the community making different dresses. Portia helps out with different Youth groups. We made our way back in the afternoon to a old famous ice cream place where they make the ice cream by HAND. They put down ice and hay and then on top have a wooden bowl where they stir ice water with whatever flavor (usually a fruit juice-all natural) into what we call a type of sorbet.
Tuesday we did Otavalo. I had been there the last time I was in Ecuador but I didn't remember it being so pretty! It is a very indigenous community, and very clean and pretty. We walked to some famous, magical tree. The map that we were given was very VERY misleading because the walk was supposed to take around an hour. Well after an hour and half of walking uphill and not finding anything we luckily ran into a taxi. He gave us directions and we decided that it might be easier to just let the guy take us. Thank god he did because it was another 15 minutes to the tree....all up hill. We finally got to the tree, that looked over a different community on another lagoon, very pretty. How we were going to get back we had no idea, walking would take hours....and we had to be back for a tour of surrounding communities... Another taxi was driving by with some people and said that he would take us on his way back down.
We arrived just in time to do a tour of surrounding smaller indigenous communities where different artesian crafts are done. Each community had something a little different. We ended up back in Ibarra around 7ish to eat.
Wednesday we did more touring of the city and saw the different churches. Ibarra is very colonial and there were several different churches and old buildings. We then headed back to Quito that afternoon because mom and Howard were leaving on Thursday morning. We went to eat at this really good italian restaurant and then went back to the apartment to rest. We played a card game which was really nice, to "be family" (as mom would say lol) for the last hours together. We got up early again on Thursday to say goodbye....So weird to think that I won't be seeing my family again for another 9-10 months.
All in all the trip was really great!!! I had a blast showing them around and giving them a look into my life here in Ecuador.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Dia Internacional de la Mujer...and a robbery..well sort of
Let me start of with saying FELIZ DIA INTERNACIONAL DE LA MUJER..a day late, hehe...Normally in the States I feel that this day isn´t exactly celebrated or even recognized by people. I have to confess I´ve never actually "celebrated" or worked towards any kind of activism on International Women´s day, but this all changed yesterday. It´s been about a week long process. Kim and I put together a few ideas and thought it would be good not only to celebrate women, on their day but promote the equalness of gender as well. As many of you might know people can be a bit machista here and so we decided to stir up tradition a bit.
To be honest I really didn´t think that Int. Women´s day would be that recognized her in Ecuador either. Boy was I wrong. Let´s just say that I received more flowers yesterday than I did on Valentine´s Day. Apparently they use IWD (shortening the words..)to thank all mothers, daughters, tias, abuelas, etc...for having them in their life. They give out flowers and chocolates and say happy day to you...I mean I guess that´s alright, but it seemed to be more a day for the men to use their machista ways to identify women as women-the roles they play in the FAMILY SETTING..what about strong independent women students, single women, lesbians, trans-gender..etc?? this was not at all recognized...
I understand that Ecuador does not have a women´s history like the United States but still I was surprised at how much attention it got...for all of the wrong reasons...you get where I´m going?
Anywho Kim, Paige and I decided that we were going to do a little something and hand made posters, t-shirts and statistics about the inequality (mainly in the work force) to put on suckers. We then passed out differnet flyers and the suckers to ALL of the students. And you won´t believe how many laughs we got, when men, yes MEN too where getting something for IWD. We explained that men can be feminists too, as a way to support equal opportunity in all aspects of life (work, home, social, educational, etc) And that they need to be advocates for change. After some explaining to like EVERY SINGLE MAN I think some of the people got it, and appreciated the gesture.
Because classes just started there aren´t a ton of students on campus. So because March is Women´s History month we are going to do an activity on Monday with students in Kim and Paige´s facultad. We are going to put up a table and have cards that say "Una mujer fuerte es una mujer que...." ( a strong women is a women that...) and then have the kids fill out what they think a strong women is. Hopefully we can get some good ideas, and will post these up around the facultad. Im about to head over and see if we can even get permission. The decano seems pretty conservative about the things that we do, so we´ll see..
Alright on to the next topic. Robberies. So here´s the story. I was waiting for the bus to go to work this afternoon and as the bus pulled up I let two students go ahead of me. I then tried to get on the bus and realized that a man was trying to weazle his way on pushing me as he was going. Then a guy on my right came up from behind and started grabbing my pockets and bag. I started to yell and followed the guy off the bus. He had my bad and I had his arm.. All the while I was screaming and ended up chasing him about a block down. Some stand byers tried to chase them but didn´t succeed. Thank god nothing was stolen. I think my hysterical screaming and running might have spooked them a bit. Who thought a little gringa could be so powerful. Tons of people pulled over to ask if I was ok and came out of their shops. A guy on a motorcycle even offered to take me to the police station or to work. At least there are some good people out there! So Im a little shooken up but besides if anything it´s just a good wake up call that you have to be on your guard 100% of the time here in this lovely pais.. :)
To be honest I really didn´t think that Int. Women´s day would be that recognized her in Ecuador either. Boy was I wrong. Let´s just say that I received more flowers yesterday than I did on Valentine´s Day. Apparently they use IWD (shortening the words..)to thank all mothers, daughters, tias, abuelas, etc...for having them in their life. They give out flowers and chocolates and say happy day to you...I mean I guess that´s alright, but it seemed to be more a day for the men to use their machista ways to identify women as women-the roles they play in the FAMILY SETTING..what about strong independent women students, single women, lesbians, trans-gender..etc?? this was not at all recognized...
I understand that Ecuador does not have a women´s history like the United States but still I was surprised at how much attention it got...for all of the wrong reasons...you get where I´m going?
Anywho Kim, Paige and I decided that we were going to do a little something and hand made posters, t-shirts and statistics about the inequality (mainly in the work force) to put on suckers. We then passed out differnet flyers and the suckers to ALL of the students. And you won´t believe how many laughs we got, when men, yes MEN too where getting something for IWD. We explained that men can be feminists too, as a way to support equal opportunity in all aspects of life (work, home, social, educational, etc) And that they need to be advocates for change. After some explaining to like EVERY SINGLE MAN I think some of the people got it, and appreciated the gesture.
Because classes just started there aren´t a ton of students on campus. So because March is Women´s History month we are going to do an activity on Monday with students in Kim and Paige´s facultad. We are going to put up a table and have cards that say "Una mujer fuerte es una mujer que...." ( a strong women is a women that...) and then have the kids fill out what they think a strong women is. Hopefully we can get some good ideas, and will post these up around the facultad. Im about to head over and see if we can even get permission. The decano seems pretty conservative about the things that we do, so we´ll see..
Alright on to the next topic. Robberies. So here´s the story. I was waiting for the bus to go to work this afternoon and as the bus pulled up I let two students go ahead of me. I then tried to get on the bus and realized that a man was trying to weazle his way on pushing me as he was going. Then a guy on my right came up from behind and started grabbing my pockets and bag. I started to yell and followed the guy off the bus. He had my bad and I had his arm.. All the while I was screaming and ended up chasing him about a block down. Some stand byers tried to chase them but didn´t succeed. Thank god nothing was stolen. I think my hysterical screaming and running might have spooked them a bit. Who thought a little gringa could be so powerful. Tons of people pulled over to ask if I was ok and came out of their shops. A guy on a motorcycle even offered to take me to the police station or to work. At least there are some good people out there! So Im a little shooken up but besides if anything it´s just a good wake up call that you have to be on your guard 100% of the time here in this lovely pais.. :)
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
2 in a month, not too shabby
Well for those of you who were used to reading my blog like every week and seeing something new, Im sure you have realized that I am not the best at keeping it updated anymore. But as I have said in many other posts I am determined to change that and to start writing more frequently. So here goes the SECOND post for Febrero, wahhooo (baby steps people, baby steps)
Life as an Ambateña: Febuary came and went like every single month has here: FAST. Mal was here, which now, seems like FOREVER AGO....I went to quito with my counterpart on HIV/AIDS. Apparently the Univesity Tecnica de Ambato is part of 8 or 9 Univesities around the country that are collaborating on how to face the HIV/AIDS issue here in Ecuador. Obviously the Universities on the coast have a much higher population of people living with HIV/AIDS but it was neat to meet up, share ideas and have the Ministerio de Salud come talk to us. We had the meeting in the United Nations building, which automatically makes you feel kinda special..hehe
That same day was Chino´s birthday so I rushed back just in time to be part of the party that his family threw for him at his house. It was nice to be surrounded by friends and family (all ecuadorian). I gave him his shirt. For those of you who do not know, Chino is a huge fan of Roger Federer (tennis player) so for his birthday I bought him a very nice (and pricy) Roger Federer shirt. The only reason why I agreed to spend so much was because all of the proceeds go towards his foundation that focuses on supporting children in the "New Brighton" township in Port Elizabeth (South Africa)as well as the "Sululta District" in Ethiopiat So I was able to give a great gift and donate money at the same time! The shirt is red with two white letters "RF". Chino opened the present and as his dad passed by and said, "Raquel Freire?" !!!!!! (Freire is Chino´s last name) luckily it was taken lightly and everyone just laughed...
After Chino´s birthday was the start of CARNIVAL!!! One of the most craziest times here in Ecuador. Ambato´s festivities are called "la fiesta de la flor y la fruta" because we are known for flowers and fruit I guess...lol..anyway carnival started on friday the 17th and ended on tuesday the 21st. During these 5 days there were tons of different musical performances, cultural events, and really fun parties at night. We went out every single night(except monday) to a differnt discoteca that had been created, just for fiestas.
I had some PC friends come visit me from the coast which was really great. My camera was also stolen, which is quite unfortunate because I had so many pictures from carnival, along with pics from when Mal was in Ecuador. So frustrating. Then about 20 minutes later my phone was almost stolen. Pretty ridiculous. The next day we were out to eat with some friends and one of my male ecuadorian friends blackberry was stolen literally right off the table from where we were eating!!! People weren´t joking when they said that the robbers come out to play.
But needless to say it was a great experience, people played with foam, flour, and of course consumed a ton of alcohol. The parade was really neat. The theme was of different countries around the world. Interestingly enough some of these countries were, "Africa", "Hawaii" and "Arabia"...that has got to say something about Ambato´s knowledge/interpretation on what different "countries" and/or cultures around the world means. But there was lots of good music and dancing. Chino´s sister presented in the Colombian group. She did a great job, and looked amazing...too bad I don´t have fotos to post so that you can see...oh well..
Work wise, I feel as though I am at a transition stage. Eulalia and I threw around some ideas today and it looks like we will be doing the "lavado de manos" program with students who are studying to be teachers in schools. This way they can be trained to go out and replicate what they learn (hopefully). I also want to do the world map with some tourism students that Paige (fullbright volunteer) and I have been working with. On top of that we are looking at doing more promotion of the addictions and mental health program and combining safe sex practices with that. I am also in contact with Adam, another PCV living in Patate (community outside of Ambato) on possibly doing something together. It seems as though these PC goals will be met sooner or later, lol...just gotta remember that everything takes time!!!
Alright, enough for now. Counting down the days till I see the lovely faces of Rut Rut, Sally Bowers, and Howard Fenton....
18 DAYSSSSS!!!!!
chau :)
Life as an Ambateña: Febuary came and went like every single month has here: FAST. Mal was here, which now, seems like FOREVER AGO....I went to quito with my counterpart on HIV/AIDS. Apparently the Univesity Tecnica de Ambato is part of 8 or 9 Univesities around the country that are collaborating on how to face the HIV/AIDS issue here in Ecuador. Obviously the Universities on the coast have a much higher population of people living with HIV/AIDS but it was neat to meet up, share ideas and have the Ministerio de Salud come talk to us. We had the meeting in the United Nations building, which automatically makes you feel kinda special..hehe
That same day was Chino´s birthday so I rushed back just in time to be part of the party that his family threw for him at his house. It was nice to be surrounded by friends and family (all ecuadorian). I gave him his shirt. For those of you who do not know, Chino is a huge fan of Roger Federer (tennis player) so for his birthday I bought him a very nice (and pricy) Roger Federer shirt. The only reason why I agreed to spend so much was because all of the proceeds go towards his foundation that focuses on supporting children in the "New Brighton" township in Port Elizabeth (South Africa)as well as the "Sululta District" in Ethiopiat So I was able to give a great gift and donate money at the same time! The shirt is red with two white letters "RF". Chino opened the present and as his dad passed by and said, "Raquel Freire?" !!!!!! (Freire is Chino´s last name) luckily it was taken lightly and everyone just laughed...
After Chino´s birthday was the start of CARNIVAL!!! One of the most craziest times here in Ecuador. Ambato´s festivities are called "la fiesta de la flor y la fruta" because we are known for flowers and fruit I guess...lol..anyway carnival started on friday the 17th and ended on tuesday the 21st. During these 5 days there were tons of different musical performances, cultural events, and really fun parties at night. We went out every single night(except monday) to a differnt discoteca that had been created, just for fiestas.
I had some PC friends come visit me from the coast which was really great. My camera was also stolen, which is quite unfortunate because I had so many pictures from carnival, along with pics from when Mal was in Ecuador. So frustrating. Then about 20 minutes later my phone was almost stolen. Pretty ridiculous. The next day we were out to eat with some friends and one of my male ecuadorian friends blackberry was stolen literally right off the table from where we were eating!!! People weren´t joking when they said that the robbers come out to play.
But needless to say it was a great experience, people played with foam, flour, and of course consumed a ton of alcohol. The parade was really neat. The theme was of different countries around the world. Interestingly enough some of these countries were, "Africa", "Hawaii" and "Arabia"...that has got to say something about Ambato´s knowledge/interpretation on what different "countries" and/or cultures around the world means. But there was lots of good music and dancing. Chino´s sister presented in the Colombian group. She did a great job, and looked amazing...too bad I don´t have fotos to post so that you can see...oh well..
Work wise, I feel as though I am at a transition stage. Eulalia and I threw around some ideas today and it looks like we will be doing the "lavado de manos" program with students who are studying to be teachers in schools. This way they can be trained to go out and replicate what they learn (hopefully). I also want to do the world map with some tourism students that Paige (fullbright volunteer) and I have been working with. On top of that we are looking at doing more promotion of the addictions and mental health program and combining safe sex practices with that. I am also in contact with Adam, another PCV living in Patate (community outside of Ambato) on possibly doing something together. It seems as though these PC goals will be met sooner or later, lol...just gotta remember that everything takes time!!!
Alright, enough for now. Counting down the days till I see the lovely faces of Rut Rut, Sally Bowers, and Howard Fenton....
18 DAYSSSSS!!!!!
chau :)
Monday, February 13, 2012
Feb. 13th
Exactly a month ago I wrote an entry, what happens to the time?!? seriously....Back at work today after having a great 10 days with one of my good friends from college. It was really interesting to realize that many of the things I see as day to day activities are considered very different back in the states. I guess that means that I´ve become some what integrated. Reflecting on these past 8 months there have been very many ups and downs...mainly ups to be honest, but also lots of "getting used to" cultural differences.
My new goal for this next semester is to get more active within the student body. I want to work first hand with students and hopefully get different groups on campus started. I haven´t done any charlas on my own yet and I feel that after all that training we received back in the summer I should put some of it to work, right? I have an opportunity to go into a school and do handwashing workshops with kids so hopefully I can schedule a meeting with the rector of the school to get that started!
My family comes will be here in about a month. It seems like forever ago that we were planning for them to come down and now I am actually going to be seeing them :) Im hoping they will enjoy their time here and can put their spanish skills to work because translating really does get tiring after awhile.
My apartment is doing well and I´ve developed a schedule for coming home every day for lunch and then walking or taking the bus back to work in the afternoon. It prooves to be much more cost affective than eating out every day. I´m trying to get a running schedule down after work and then going to spend time with Chino and his family. I usually end up eating dinner with them at their house.
The weather has been mild. Technically we are in winter, which means lots of rain, but really here in Ambato it doesnt rain a ton. It will rain every day but either in the morning or in the afternoon. So you know if you wake up with rain, the afternoon will be sunny or vice versa. Im hoping as we move into March the weather will get better for when my fam comes. When my friend was here she was really surprised at how cold Ecuador was, haha.
Alright, they just cleaned the floors in my office and Im about to pass out from the fumes so Im gonna go get some fresh air!!
Sending love to whoever reads these posts, lol
My new goal for this next semester is to get more active within the student body. I want to work first hand with students and hopefully get different groups on campus started. I haven´t done any charlas on my own yet and I feel that after all that training we received back in the summer I should put some of it to work, right? I have an opportunity to go into a school and do handwashing workshops with kids so hopefully I can schedule a meeting with the rector of the school to get that started!
My family comes will be here in about a month. It seems like forever ago that we were planning for them to come down and now I am actually going to be seeing them :) Im hoping they will enjoy their time here and can put their spanish skills to work because translating really does get tiring after awhile.
My apartment is doing well and I´ve developed a schedule for coming home every day for lunch and then walking or taking the bus back to work in the afternoon. It prooves to be much more cost affective than eating out every day. I´m trying to get a running schedule down after work and then going to spend time with Chino and his family. I usually end up eating dinner with them at their house.
The weather has been mild. Technically we are in winter, which means lots of rain, but really here in Ambato it doesnt rain a ton. It will rain every day but either in the morning or in the afternoon. So you know if you wake up with rain, the afternoon will be sunny or vice versa. Im hoping as we move into March the weather will get better for when my fam comes. When my friend was here she was really surprised at how cold Ecuador was, haha.
Alright, they just cleaned the floors in my office and Im about to pass out from the fumes so Im gonna go get some fresh air!!
Sending love to whoever reads these posts, lol
Friday, January 13, 2012
Friday the 13th
Im not really sure where the idea and superstition of Friday the 13th came about but I wonder what weird things will go down tonight. Today Jalel from the programam Vele Vele Vele will be coming to our University to promote "El primer Encuentro de la Juventud Universitaria por una UTA Saludable" (1st encounter of University youth for a healthier UTA) After all the work I´ve been doing in applying the surveys with addictions and mental health, we finally have results and will be launching the program today with an actor from the television. Im not sure if he´s very famous but he is well known around Ecuador.
Yesterday I ventured to the other campus to do the last of the surveys. I was driven in a University car to the Agronomia Campus where they focus just on veterinary and agricultural studies. The campus is literaly in the middle of no where. Well not exactly nowhere no where but on the way it seemed really far away from Ambato. The whole way there I was thinking about the St. Paul Campus in Minnesota and how beautiful it is. And to be honest I was kinda surprised when we arrived. It is a very green campus and there are lots of flowers and plants. The landscape is really beautiful.
I arrived to the facultad to find the Decano. He was already on edge because I was late (totally NOT my fault) and then was surprised to see me instead of Eulalia. She was supposed to come with me but at last minute had a meeting with the Rector and other people to take a picture for the paper for the event today. Of course I couldnt be there because I had to do the survey...such as life...
So the Decano took me up to the computer labs, there were only two. I went into the first and gave them the link...it didnt work...great...There was no reason why it shouldn´t work, I had done it so many times before...I tried to log onto the account but of course the internet was really slow. So I decided to go into the other lab and see if it worked for them. As I was writing I realized that in the first classroom I had left out ONE LETTER. I quickly returned and fixed it and it worked, thank god. I have no idea what the Decano thought of me but whatever, it worked and the students were able to do the survey. Because of the internet being so slow there were some glitches but for the most part everyone completed it. I was taken back to the Huachi campus and did some more promoting for the program today.
So along with our program there is an international festival and folckor dance going on. What we decided to do is put the two together and make a big program...we´ll see how it works out. This cultural festival is free and it turns out that they posted something in the paper about it being free. In turn our program is charging 50 cents. It´s for a good cause, the 50 cents goes towards the different volunteer programs here at the University (there aren´t that many....) So students saw that the event that takes place at the same time as ours is free and started complaining about how they had to pay. Luckily the money is going for a really good cause and I hope that the majority of people realize this..
I have to go get food for 100 people so I should get going. Wish us luck!!! And then it´s the weekend, YAY!!!
abrazos para todos
Yesterday I ventured to the other campus to do the last of the surveys. I was driven in a University car to the Agronomia Campus where they focus just on veterinary and agricultural studies. The campus is literaly in the middle of no where. Well not exactly nowhere no where but on the way it seemed really far away from Ambato. The whole way there I was thinking about the St. Paul Campus in Minnesota and how beautiful it is. And to be honest I was kinda surprised when we arrived. It is a very green campus and there are lots of flowers and plants. The landscape is really beautiful.
I arrived to the facultad to find the Decano. He was already on edge because I was late (totally NOT my fault) and then was surprised to see me instead of Eulalia. She was supposed to come with me but at last minute had a meeting with the Rector and other people to take a picture for the paper for the event today. Of course I couldnt be there because I had to do the survey...such as life...
So the Decano took me up to the computer labs, there were only two. I went into the first and gave them the link...it didnt work...great...There was no reason why it shouldn´t work, I had done it so many times before...I tried to log onto the account but of course the internet was really slow. So I decided to go into the other lab and see if it worked for them. As I was writing I realized that in the first classroom I had left out ONE LETTER. I quickly returned and fixed it and it worked, thank god. I have no idea what the Decano thought of me but whatever, it worked and the students were able to do the survey. Because of the internet being so slow there were some glitches but for the most part everyone completed it. I was taken back to the Huachi campus and did some more promoting for the program today.
So along with our program there is an international festival and folckor dance going on. What we decided to do is put the two together and make a big program...we´ll see how it works out. This cultural festival is free and it turns out that they posted something in the paper about it being free. In turn our program is charging 50 cents. It´s for a good cause, the 50 cents goes towards the different volunteer programs here at the University (there aren´t that many....) So students saw that the event that takes place at the same time as ours is free and started complaining about how they had to pay. Luckily the money is going for a really good cause and I hope that the majority of people realize this..
I have to go get food for 100 people so I should get going. Wish us luck!!! And then it´s the weekend, YAY!!!
abrazos para todos
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Bienvenidos a 2012
As usual I start this blog not really knowing where to start because Im SO BEHIND....Anywho I´ll talk mainly about winter vacation. Christmas came and went. Like I said in my previous blog it wasn´t quite like home but it was Christmas. Here everyone "celebrates" on Christmas Eve and like a good integrated volunteer I waited to buy my gifts until Christmas Eve (everyone procrastinates here). Chino helped me some but it was still really hard to but things for his family. What do you buy a family that has given you everything (non-materialistic speaking)? To me, there was nothing materialistic I could buy that compared to what they have given me over the past couple months. Plus everything mediocre or nice is SUPER expensive. I did find some things without going too over my budget.
We ate dinner around midnight, Turkey with potatoes, salad, and tomales (which are not at all like the tomales in mexico....I like mexico´s better..shh..). After dinner-around 1 AM we opened presents. I had the most, haha because my lovely family from the states sent me some :) From chino´s family I got a nice alpaca sweater, earings from Cuenca and a nice bag (my other one was falling apart-literally), Paige got me a nice belt and Kim made chocolates! We all went to sleep around 2 AM. On the actual Christmas Day nothing christmasy was done. I went and hung out with some friends and we pretty much chilled all day...
On tuesday December 27th I went to Tena with Paige, Ponce, Chino, a Professor from the University and her husband. The professor has family in Tena so we had a house to stay in, which was nice. The first day it rained practically all day. We arrived to a finca (farm) of a family member and they made us fresh chicken soup. Fresh meaning that they butchered the chicken a couple minutes before our arrival. We picked fresh fruit from trees and watched the river. The Uncle also explained to us how the moon patterns have to do with when there is good weather and when there is not.
On wednesday we went to visit some lagoons and walk around a bit in the jungle and then in the afternoon we did this cave hike. Probably the coolest thing I´ve ever done here in Ecuador! I wish I could take my family there when they come but I dont think we are going to the jungle..oh well. It was pitch black and all we had were head lamps. We had to wade through water, looked bats and saw all these different cave structures. At the cave place there was a pool with a water slide. I was trying to be all cool and show everyone how to go fast down the slide (on your back with it arched) and as I picked up speed going down I almost slid out!!! Kinda scary, not gonna lie, lol
Thursday morning we saw a waterfall that I had already seen the last time I was there and went to Misahualli. There were no monkeys..sad...but the food we had was REALLY GOOD. I can´t even begin to explain the heat. So hot and humid!!
Let´s jump to New Years...
New years was another experience that one can only have here in this country, if that makes sense....lol. Two important things, Año Viejos y Viudas.
Año Viejos:
These are like paper mache objects, people, animals that people make for the new year. At midnight they are burnt, representing the fact that 2011 is in the past and to start 2012 fresh and new.
Viudas: men dressed as women asking for money in the street (at least during new years that´s what it means)
So on New Years Eve Day Chino, Paige and I went to walk on the main drag (calle Cevallos) to see all the different viejos. Most people do the different movie characters of the previous year so there were the smirfs, captain america, ice age and shrek characters. Others did soccer fans. I´ll post pictures so you know what I´m talking about. There was an exposition of the viejos and a competition for the best. The winner was given 1500 dollars!
After downtown we went to Ficoa, another part of town to look at others. Here there were more viudas. They were EVERYWHERE. Like I said they are usually men, dressed as women and have a rope across the road and won´t let you pass till you give them money, usually it´s like 2 or 3 cents. They dance on the car and try to open the door to harrass whatever man is in the car. Pretty hilarious.
Around 11:30 we headed back to Chino´s to ring in the New Year. There was no countdown but we did eat grapes (you are supposed to eat 12 and make 12 wishes). There are a ton of other superstitions too. For example you are to wear red underwear to have luck in love, green or yellow for luck with money and then you are recommended to run around the block once with a suitcase for good luck in traveling in the new year. At around 12 everyone said happy new year and we all hugged. Then we went outside to watch fire works and people burn their viejos. There were fires everywhere!! We ate around 12:30. The meal was very much like the one from christmas, turkey, tomales, corn, potatoes, but very very delicious. Then at 1 AM we went out to celebrate. We went to this new club in town. It was fun, I didnt get to sleep till 7 AM the next morning. The latest I´ve ever been out on New Years.
So those were pretty much the highlights from vacation. Monday the 2nd was declared a national holiday because everyone was going to still be hungover from sunday. In reality I think people just used it as another day to drink. I´ve never seen so many inebriated people in my life!
Started back at work yesterday, trying to get in the results from the survey that we´ve (mainly ME) have been applying to the first years here at the University. Im still working on applying it to one of the biggest colleges on our campus. Other than that just living the life, enjoying everyday and counting down the days till MALLORY DARST comes to visit! (Feb 2-12) Then for my parents to come :) :) (March) Then we will almost be in April, then it will be summer and before I know it I´ll already be half way through my service, CRAZYYYYY!!!
Alright I think that´s enough for now. Apologies for the bad english, everyone knows I struggled with it in the States and now, as many of you can probably tell it´s going down hill fast, lol..
Much love <3
We ate dinner around midnight, Turkey with potatoes, salad, and tomales (which are not at all like the tomales in mexico....I like mexico´s better..shh..). After dinner-around 1 AM we opened presents. I had the most, haha because my lovely family from the states sent me some :) From chino´s family I got a nice alpaca sweater, earings from Cuenca and a nice bag (my other one was falling apart-literally), Paige got me a nice belt and Kim made chocolates! We all went to sleep around 2 AM. On the actual Christmas Day nothing christmasy was done. I went and hung out with some friends and we pretty much chilled all day...
On tuesday December 27th I went to Tena with Paige, Ponce, Chino, a Professor from the University and her husband. The professor has family in Tena so we had a house to stay in, which was nice. The first day it rained practically all day. We arrived to a finca (farm) of a family member and they made us fresh chicken soup. Fresh meaning that they butchered the chicken a couple minutes before our arrival. We picked fresh fruit from trees and watched the river. The Uncle also explained to us how the moon patterns have to do with when there is good weather and when there is not.
On wednesday we went to visit some lagoons and walk around a bit in the jungle and then in the afternoon we did this cave hike. Probably the coolest thing I´ve ever done here in Ecuador! I wish I could take my family there when they come but I dont think we are going to the jungle..oh well. It was pitch black and all we had were head lamps. We had to wade through water, looked bats and saw all these different cave structures. At the cave place there was a pool with a water slide. I was trying to be all cool and show everyone how to go fast down the slide (on your back with it arched) and as I picked up speed going down I almost slid out!!! Kinda scary, not gonna lie, lol
Thursday morning we saw a waterfall that I had already seen the last time I was there and went to Misahualli. There were no monkeys..sad...but the food we had was REALLY GOOD. I can´t even begin to explain the heat. So hot and humid!!
Let´s jump to New Years...
New years was another experience that one can only have here in this country, if that makes sense....lol. Two important things, Año Viejos y Viudas.
Año Viejos:
These are like paper mache objects, people, animals that people make for the new year. At midnight they are burnt, representing the fact that 2011 is in the past and to start 2012 fresh and new.
Viudas: men dressed as women asking for money in the street (at least during new years that´s what it means)
So on New Years Eve Day Chino, Paige and I went to walk on the main drag (calle Cevallos) to see all the different viejos. Most people do the different movie characters of the previous year so there were the smirfs, captain america, ice age and shrek characters. Others did soccer fans. I´ll post pictures so you know what I´m talking about. There was an exposition of the viejos and a competition for the best. The winner was given 1500 dollars!
After downtown we went to Ficoa, another part of town to look at others. Here there were more viudas. They were EVERYWHERE. Like I said they are usually men, dressed as women and have a rope across the road and won´t let you pass till you give them money, usually it´s like 2 or 3 cents. They dance on the car and try to open the door to harrass whatever man is in the car. Pretty hilarious.
Around 11:30 we headed back to Chino´s to ring in the New Year. There was no countdown but we did eat grapes (you are supposed to eat 12 and make 12 wishes). There are a ton of other superstitions too. For example you are to wear red underwear to have luck in love, green or yellow for luck with money and then you are recommended to run around the block once with a suitcase for good luck in traveling in the new year. At around 12 everyone said happy new year and we all hugged. Then we went outside to watch fire works and people burn their viejos. There were fires everywhere!! We ate around 12:30. The meal was very much like the one from christmas, turkey, tomales, corn, potatoes, but very very delicious. Then at 1 AM we went out to celebrate. We went to this new club in town. It was fun, I didnt get to sleep till 7 AM the next morning. The latest I´ve ever been out on New Years.
So those were pretty much the highlights from vacation. Monday the 2nd was declared a national holiday because everyone was going to still be hungover from sunday. In reality I think people just used it as another day to drink. I´ve never seen so many inebriated people in my life!
Started back at work yesterday, trying to get in the results from the survey that we´ve (mainly ME) have been applying to the first years here at the University. Im still working on applying it to one of the biggest colleges on our campus. Other than that just living the life, enjoying everyday and counting down the days till MALLORY DARST comes to visit! (Feb 2-12) Then for my parents to come :) :) (March) Then we will almost be in April, then it will be summer and before I know it I´ll already be half way through my service, CRAZYYYYY!!!
Alright I think that´s enough for now. Apologies for the bad english, everyone knows I struggled with it in the States and now, as many of you can probably tell it´s going down hill fast, lol..
Much love <3
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