December 18, 2008

Today is the 6 month anniversary of my arrival in Ecuador. I celebrated it by washing my clothes in an actual washing machine. A neighbor introduced my to a friend of hers that has a washing machine. I am very happy!

December 17, 2008

So I have a dog… Sort of… Actually, not really… I have no idea.

Ok. So what happened is that I was walking through my site on Monday to invite children to a course of ‘Libros y Arte’ at the library on Tuesday. A few girls happened to run up to me and told me that they found this tiny stray dog and asked me if I wanted to see it. I agreed and they showed me this ratty little dog that fit in the palm of my hand. They told me that their parents wouldn’t let them keep it and asked me if I would. Now I love dogs and have been contemplating getting one. I had a temporary moment of weakness and agreed. As I walked home with this tiny dog in my hand I realized what a big responsibility it was and that I couldn’t possibly handle a dog right now. However, I also knew that I couldn’t abandon the dog. So after a long night caring for the puppy and much chastising from the bf, I decided that the dog could live in my garden and I would care for it as long as it stayed. If it left… so be it.

Unfortunately, the entire neighborhood decided that the dog was definitely mine. Every time the dog ventures out of my yard, practically the entire neighborhood comes running to tell me. I keep telling them that if the dog leaves, fine. I’m not going to chase it down every 5 seconds. They don’t listen! I don’t get it. There are a bazillion stray dogs here, and the dogs that do have homes never actually live there. One old dog constantly sleeps in my yard. No one cares. But every time this dog leaves the vicinity of my yard it is a neighborhood catastrophe. I almost shouted at my neighbor to leave the dog alone.

This is what I get for trying to help a stray pup.

December 15, 2008

Another busy week. My casi-boyfriend (I hate the word boyfriend, but there is really no other word to describe him in the English language) and I got into this ridiculous fight and then made up, I helped paint a mural on a wall outside one of the elementary schools, I made gingerbread without ginger, help another ‘Libros y Arte’ course with the children at the library (we made candle ornaments), and I received two amazing packages from complete strangers (plus the regular amazing packages from my mother).

This past weekend I went to Cayambe to visit my host family for training. I left my site Friday night and took a bus to Quito. Once in Quito, I got lost riding the trolleys for an hour or so (anyone who knows me shouldn’t be surprised). After two trolleys and a bus ride, I finally got myself to the right bus terminal to go to Cayambe. I call it a learning experience. I won’t make that mistake twice!

Once I arrived in Cayambe, the kids immediately wanted to play with me. I was exhausted from such a long trip, but didn’t want to disappoint. We went to the park for a bit and then returned for lunch. After lunch, the kids showed my around some of the stores that had been built since I had left. Then we spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing and trying to keep warm (I was missing the Coast).

The next day, Marcos, Pata, Monica and I drove around the countryside. It was really beautiful, but I would constantly fall asleep and then we would stop at another destination. We stopped by Otavalo—which has this really touristy market—and I bought myself a hammock for my house and several gifts to send to the States. When we finally got back, it was almost time for me to catch a bus to Quito.

Once I arrived in Quito, I—once again—got lost riding the buses (another learning experience) on my way to the PC office. I finally got to the office and spent an hour or so using the ridiculously slow internet and chatting with other PC volunteers who happened to be there. Then it was time to catch another 10-hour bus ride back to Machala. Yippee!!!

December 7, 2008

On Friday one of my Peace Corps friends from training came to visit me for the weekend. It was so wonderful to see her. We spent Friday afternoon walking around my town and visiting the mall. It was great fun to show off my town. Her sight is very rural so it was a shock to her to see how many nearby conveniences I have. It really made me appreciate my site. It also made me realize how drastically different Peace Corps experiences can be. No one can ever foresee what his or her Peace Corps experience will be like. There is so much variety.

In the evening, my friend and I got ready to prepare fajitas when the electricity went out. Hungry and determined, we ended up preparing and eating an amazing meal over candlelight. Very romantic!

The next day we hang around my house until it was time to go to the Machala girl’s photo shoot. One of the Machala volunteers thought it would be hilarious if we took a Christmas photo of all the volunteers in the Machala area hanging off of a motorcycle (since riding on a motorcycle is very forbidden by Peace Corps) to send to the PC office in Quito. It was ridiculously hot out and, of course, only half of the volunteers arrived on time. By the time we were done I halfway melted. Fortunately, immediately after a few of us went to the beach. It’s times like these that I love living in Ecuador. I don’t miss the cold!

In the evening a few people came over to my place and we had a lovely dinner party. I cooked fresh shrimp that I had bought at the beach and then baked cookies in my campo oven. Since I can only make a dozen or so cookies at a time in the campo oven and they take a lot longer to bake, I decided to save the gas needed to cook all the dough and forked over the remainder cookie dough to my guests. Since, after all, the raw dough it the best part anyway, right? Everyone was very appreciative!

My friend left early this morning. It was sad to see her go. I can’t wait till I see everyone from training at reconnect!

Some photos of my new house:

December 1, 2008

I finally officially moved into my new house on Saturday. I can’t describe to you all how much I LOVE IT!!! It is my home, the sanctuary that I dreamt about. It is a place where I can be me: where I can prepare my own food, walk around in my underwear if I so desire (and I desire to do that a lot… it is getting really hot), and… well… be me. It isn’t prefect. There is only water in the morning, my place shares a wall with the owner and I can often hear them when I want to sleep, and the children apparently believe that my house is the latest playground… or a zoo. I friend came over yesterday and a group of children just watched us through the screen door for half an hour. They didn’t say anything. Just watched. I keep reminding myself that the novelty of my living here will quickly wear off. I hope.

Today I spent the morning enjoying my new house. My counterpart then came over and I showed off my new place. We discussed what we would do this month. She wants me to write another 3-week ‘Libros y Arte’ (Books and Art) class. This time with a Christmas theme. The only problem is that there are no children Christmas books or stories written in Spanish. I spent several hours surfing the internet for Christmas stories posted online, but none of them were any good. I know Christmas isn’t a big deal here… but seriously! I desperately searched the libraries close to my parents in hopes that my mother could scan some books for me. No luck. After several hours I found ‘The Gift of the Magi’ in Spanish and another story that looks passably interesting. Hopefully I can start with them and therefore buy myself a little more time before I have to write the lesson plan for the third and final week. Wish me luck!!!

In the afternoon I baked banana muffins in my new campo oven… which is basically a big pot with a rock in the bottom that I place over the stove to bake. I’m happy to say that it worked! Then later this evening the little girl I’ve been tutoring came over and I helped her with her homework. She can barely subtract but is ‘learning’ long division in school. (I put quotes around learning because I know she isn’t learning anything in her classes.) I broke out the large lima-bean shaped beans that I have and we counted and grouped the beans for several hours. In the end she managed to do all the math herself with me only prompting her with phrases such as “Where do we write the 7?” “What number do we bring down now?” and, my favorite, “Are you sure 7 x 7 = 1? I think you better count how many beans there are.” She eventually got the hang of the concept of division and while she solved the problems I cleaned my house and shaved my legs. All in all, it was a very productive evening!

November 28, 2008

My Thanksgiving was productive to say the least. I spent the entire day working on my house. It is almost finished and looks really nice. Livable even. All I have to do is paint the trim of the bathroom and move everything in. My goal is to move in tomorrow. I don’t think that it should be a problem. After I finish writing this blog I am going to go to Machala to make more purchases. It is costing me a small Peace Corps fortune (which is significantly less than a regular fortune), but it is worth it to turn this place into a home.

In the evening I went to Machala to eat dinner with my fellow volunteers. One of them had cooked a lovely dinner of chicken stuffed with ham, cheese, and spinach, mashed potatoes, and for dessert, apple pie. It was a lot of fun. I must admit, I wasn’t exactly the life of the party. I was so tired that I spent most of the evening sitting there like a zombie. Still, it was fun and nice to do something special for the holiday.

November 26, 2008

I am completely exhausted. Every muscle in my body aches. Even my bones ache. I would kill for a hot bath and a massage. Here is why:

Over the weekend one of my volunteer friends wanted to start painting her apartment. Being the wonderful person that I am ;-) I agreed to help her. 7 hour on Saturday and 6 on Sunday. That’s love! We got a lot done, but I was so tired on Saturday that I decided to bail on my friends who were planning to go dancing. I really wanted to go out, but I was so physically exhausted that I knew I would be 0 fun. Oh… and then on Sunday night the neighbors BLASTED their music until after midnight. I was seriously in tears!

Monday my Peace Corps boss came to check in on us volunteers and approve our housing. She didn’t have very much time; just long enough to peak into the library, approve my house (YAY!!!!!!!!!!!), and take me and another volunteer out for an amazing seafood dinner. It was really great to see her.

So since my house has officially been Okayed, I started to fix it up Tuesday morning. I got there at 9:30 in the morning and didn’t stop until about the same time at night. In the afternoon the same volunteer I helped out stopped by and eventually a group of children discovered where I was living and piled into the house to ‘help’ and hang out. I seriously blinked and my house was suddenly filled with about 10 children. I really hope this is not a sign to come. I would love visitors, but no more than a few at a time. Oh… and not in my room. I girl has to have some privacy!

Today I spent tutoring English, aching all over, and continuing to fix up my place. I am almost done painting it all. Now I just have to scrub/bleach/disinfect EVERYTHING!! Tomorrow I plan on going to the mall and buying just about every disinfected that I can get my hands on. I also need to wash my clothes… God I hurt so much!

Oh… and Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I decided to skip Thanksgiving this year on the basis that I will not be eating my mother’s turkey stuffing—which is the best stuffing EVER—so why even bother celebrating at all? I am fine with it. Thanksgiving has never been a very important holiday to my family. After all, I did spend the last four Thanksgivings working. I did have the opportunity to go to Quito to eat dinner with an embassy family, but Quito is so far away and I am currently concentrating all my energies on fixing up my new home. My goal is to officially move in on Saturday. At this rate, I will make it… but what condition will my body be in?

November 17, 2008

Life has been busy and since I recently lost my flash drive and haven´t been motivated to buy another, my blog writing has slowed.

On Friday I had another ´Libros and Arte´ (Books and Art class). This time seven children showed up. I was very pleased. For the occasion I busted out a witch wig my mother had sent me in one of her random packages for the librarian to wear while she read the story. (Btw… the story is about a witch). The wig was a huge success!!!The children loved it! However… so did the town police officer. He happened to walk into the library while we were reading the story and thought it was so cool that he insisted on wearing the wig around town. Eventually, I got it back. I was so impressed with my mother for thinking of sending the wig to me. I really do get all my creativity from her (cause it definitely doesn´t come from my dad!)

On Saturday I spent the morning helping set up for the library celebration that was to be held that evening. However I was feeling pretty depressed and wasn´t of much use to anyone. I don´t know if it was that I was hitting the five month mark or because Christmas (my absolutely favorite time of year) is coming and I´m not at home, but I was really mopey. I sent a text to one of my Peace Corps friends and she called me up and really made me feel a lot better. It is amazing how fast Peace Corps Volunteers bond. We are each others´ lifelines.

Anyway, after my friend cheered me up it was time to get ready for the town celebration. I got all dressed up because the mayor of Machala was supposedly coming (he ended up sending his second in command) and I had to make a speech. The speech went ok. I didn´t shake as much as I did the first time, but I was still really nervous and struggled with a few words. All in all, I think it went fine. Then two PC friends showed up (although not in time to hear me speak) and I was able to show off my library and introduce them to all the people I have been working with. Unfortunately, some apparently important lady started questioning me why my fellow PCVs haven´t been working in the libraries and raising money in their sites. I was pretty offended on my friends´ behalf. Especially because she had proceeded this interrogation by demanding to know why I hadn´t yet started a theater group (she knows I used to do theater). “I´m sorry lady,” I felt like saying, “I have been busy building this lovely library.” Needless to say, she didn´t really make a good impression on me.

Sunday morning I met up with the previous volunteer´s ex boyfriend who is a really nice guy and teaches English. For Christmas he is required to teach his students five English Christmas songs. Since I love Christmas music, he called exactly the right person. I brought him to the library and played a bunch of Christmas songs for him. He really liked ‘Frosty the Snowman’ and ‘Rudolph’ because they have stories behind them. Apparently no one knows who Rudolph is in Ecuador. I think this is a huge shame.

In the afternoon I had promised a little girl in my site that I would help her with her homework. She is in fifth grade and really struggling because she doesn’t know how to read. I brought her to the library so we could have some privacy (thank goodness I have a key) and proceeded to help her. At first I thought she couldn’t read because she had fallen behind on the fundamentals long ago and no one was available to help her catch up. Soon, however, I realized her problem was a lot more serious. She struggles with letters, had no idea what sound each letter makes, and had a difficult time naming numbers higher than 10. Furthermore, she struggles with recalling information that we went over only a few minutes ago. Homework that should have taken a student 30 minutes to complete took us SIX HOURS!!!! I was really impressed that kept at it. I was ready to quit, but she want to complete it all. Of course I could have made things easier but telling her how to spell words or giving her answers, but that would not have helped her. Near the end, her mother came searching for her (it was really late after all). We talked for a few minutes and I agreed to tutor her daughter as often as she needed it. Our next session in tomorrow, but I’m calling it quits after an hour.

This morning I tutored another girl in English and then helped out my counterpart with a self esteem charla. In the afternoon, during another charla, I got the brilliant idea of starting a ‘Question of the Week’ contest and giving out prizes that my mother has sent me. I spent the majority of the afternoon decorating the box making signs, writing out the instructions, and decorating the box that people will drop their answers into. Winners will be announced this Friday!

November 13, 2008

I am writing this letter from the library in my site. The Municipal finally followed through with their promise and installed internet. Now I have free internet. YAY!!!!

Life is going well. On Tuesday I met with this painter who works for the Municipal of Machala and he agreed to paint the library if I paid for the materials. I requested that he paint it blue with a few murals. The librarian and I (ok… mostly, the librarian… I didn´t know) forgot to run it by the right people and I ended up pissing off the librarian´s boss´s boss. Fortunately, I ran into him and the grocery store and was able (I think) to smooth it over. He agreed to come by the library Wednesday morning (interrupting my English tutoring schedule) to see what the painter had in mind.

Wednesday morning was spent tutoring children in English and sucking up to the librarian´s bosses to make up for my earlier faux pas. Barely any of them brought their English books or homework (why am I not surprised) so I spent the time going over numbers, letters, and the ever important verb: to be. One girl asked me to help her with her long division homework and, to me horror, I find myself trying to teach a girl long division who didn´t even know what 6-5 was. Seriously! Why do teachers let some children get so far behind? It was impossible to do because she didn´t even understand the concept of division. I asked her to divide six pencils into 2 groups and even that was a challenge. Sigh…

Today was spent washing my clothes, tutoring more children, shopping for my new house, and hanging out at the library. The library is currently in chaos. Everyone is getting ready for Saturday. The Municipal is throwing a big celebration to officially present the computers and pianos to my town. The painting is going well. My original vision of a light blue library has gone down the drain. The artist´s creative vision, has taken him over and now it is only murals. Everyone seems happy, though, so I´m letting him go at it. The librarian is ecstatic and won´t stop hitting people—her way of expressing joy… I’m beginning to get bruises. My only request is that there is at least one mural of computers and one of pianos. The artist seems to understand this (although the murals are yet to appear).

Tomorrow I hope to start painting my future home. My host dad and the artist painting the library have agreed to help me. I hope it turns out!!!! Right now about three children are learning over my shoulders and trying to understand this letter (I´m not worried). They are amazed that I can type without looking. Must go now because it is getting kind of distracting.

November 8, 2008

Thursday morning I went, as always, to the library to help with tutoring when I learned:

1. My counterpart didn’t receive my frantic phone calls and texts saying that I wouldn’t be able to tutor on Wednesday like I promised because I was trapped in a protest
2. The librarian didn’t invite the children to my reading course like we had planned because I never showed up to go with her
3. The two men actually did die (the other volunteer saw it on the news and texted me)
4. Some mother in my site savagely beat her 8-year old son and my counterpart had to go take photos of the child to show the police
5. I was to give a computer lesson that day
   

Needless to say, I was a little overwhelmed. It all turned out ok… I guess. I got through it.

In the afternoon, I decided to make a sign up sheet for English help. I refuse to teach English—I am not equipped to do that nor is it my job, but I have no problem helping children with their homework. The deal is that I will help children one-on-one for half and hour each on Wednesdays in the library. We’ll see how it goes. The librarian and I then went to invite children for my ‘Libros y Arte’ (Books and Art) class. Everyone seemed pretty keen on coming.

Friday morning was my first ‘Libros y Arte’ class. I was really nervous. In the end, only three kids showed up. I was kinda disappointed, but I know that it is normal for people to not show up. I should be happy that three came. Hopefully more will come next week. We’ll see.

This morning I went to a meet my friend online. We hadn’t talked in awhile and it was great to hear her voice. She has recently moved to the D.C. and mentioned to me how hard it was to move to a new city and not have friends nearby that know her with the intimacy that comes with time. I replied that I definitely knew how she felt—only I’m in a country where no one has known me for longer than several months and most people don’t speak my language. She asked me how I deal with it. I responded, “I write a lot of e-mails.”

When I returned to the house today I realized that the people next door are hosting another cockfight tournament. I have to listen to drunken men cheer on roosters ripping each other to bloody shreds for the next two days. Crap!

November 5, 2008

Today sucked. Sorry about the language Mom… but it did.

Yesterday was amazing. In the afternoon I went to Guayaquil for an election party thrown by the US Consulate. It was very fancy. I hadn’t seen such finery in a long time. A lot of really important people were there (besides me, of course)—both Ecuadorian and American. I met the only Ecuadorian gold medal winner, started a big-shot club with the president of channel 8 (his idea, not mine), exchanged phone numbers with the head of the US Embassy security in Ecuador and made him promise to come to Machala and hang out with us, and got invited to go to the Consulate General’s house for Thanksgiving.

The best part of it all, however, was when CNN announced Obama’s victory. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! After the party ended the remaining PCVs and I went to McDonalds to celebrate. We then returned to the hotel where we watched the CNN until we passed out from exhaustion.

Today I woke up and had my first hot shower in over two months. It was amazing!!! Another PCV who is near my site and I then decided to return to Machala together because we both needed to be back in our sites in the afternoon. We paid a little extra and hopped a direct bus so we would get home quicker.

Well… about forty minutes outside of Guayaquil I saw a camioneta (sort of like a pick-up truck) pulled out in front of our bus and … CRASH!!! Everyone in the bus was fine, but the camioneta was not so fortunate. Three people were in the car, including a little girl. I saw the girl and she survived but was pretty banged up. The front passenger and the driver were not so fortunate. I am pretty sure they both died. I didn’t get a good look at them (nor did I want one), they were rushed off pretty quickly.

Eventually all us passengers got off the bus and began to wait for another bus to come for us. That is when things got worse. Apparently this was the second fatal accident in the same week and people living around there got really angry. They decided to start a protest. They refused to let traffic pass and two dump trucks came out of nowhere and dumped piles of dirt on the road. The army suddenly arrived but didn’t do anything and left just as quickly. We ended up being stuck there for hours!

When I finally got back to Machala, I went straight to my dance class. After doing nothing but sitting around all day I needed some exercise. After about an hour I happened to glance out the window when I saw… ANOTHER CRASH! Fortunately this one was only minor… but seriously! I feel a little shell shocked.

November 3, 2008

I just returned from an amazing trip to a small town about four hours northeast of Quito. A large group of us volunteers all got together there for a Halloween bash and a white water rafting competition. On Thursday evening, two other volunteer’s, one of the volunteer’s Ecuadorian ‘man-friend,’ and I took a long (and uncomfortable) overnight bus to Quito. Once we arrived, we met up with two more Ecuadorian friends of the other volunteers, spent a lot of time waiting around for them (I was not impressed), grabbed a bite to eat, bought some drinks for the party, and took an afternoon bus to the site.

It was evening when the six of us finally arrived. After we said our hellos to everyone, us girls piled into the room where the other two Machala girls were staying and started getting ready for the party. Since my costume was so simple, I spent a lot of time helping out the other girls. It turns out that I am very good at putting on fake eyelashes. Who knew? Once the five of us were ready, we made another volunteer run ahead of us and make them play a Spice Girls song for our grand entrance. We were definitely a hit!!!

The next morning, we all struggled out of bed and down to the river where we waited forever for the competition to start. There were eighteen teams in total. The run was only about 2 minutes long with two teams going at a time. Each team was to raft twice. The fifteen teams with the best times would raft a long route the next day. Our team (composed of five girls, the Ecuadorian ‘man-friend,’ and the guide) won both heats. We were really proud of ourselves, especially since we were up against teams full of really strong guys. I guess it turns out being light is an advantage!

Sunday morning we all went back to the river where we, once again, waited forever for the competition to start. This time there were only three heats of five teams. My team was the last heat to go. When our heat was on deck, all the volunteers that were going to race piled into the back of a garbage truck (yes, that is right… and no, I don’t want to think of what was in the truck before us) and drove to where the race was to begin. It was a really beautiful ride through the Amazon until we turned onto a dirt path and had to duck down every five seconds to prevent being whacked by branches. When we arrived at our destination in started to pour. Since there was no shelter, we found some banana leaves and huddled under them together for warmth. It definitely was one of those moments when you wonder ‘How did I get here?’ Fortunately, the torrential rain didn’t last longer than 15 minutes. Eventually, the boats arrived and we all carried them to the starting line.

Well, I am extremely proud that our mostly-female team kicked every other male-dominated team’s ass. We won first place in our heat!!! We screamed ourselves hoarse celebrating. When the winners finally announced the overall winners, we won THIRD PLACE!!! The prize was six t-shirts and $100 between us. YAY!!!

Once we divided up the prize money and said our goodbyes we raced back to the hostel to shower, change, pack and catch bus to Quito. Once we arrived in Quito we had enough time to stuff our faces with Mongolian BBQ before we had to catch another long (and uncomfortable) overnight bus ride back to our sites.

October 30, 2008

Yesterday I spent the morning washing my clothes (not fun!!). After I finished, I went to the internet for awhile until I received a text message from a woman in the community saying she had found me a house. I went to check it out. It is a fixer-up, but I like it. It desperately needs to be scrubbed and painted, but I think it could be livable. It has a little garden, which I like. And I already know some of the neighbors. It is also attached to the owners’ house, but is completely separate. I like this because I can have my privacy, but also be close by people if I need anyone. A quick bang on the wall and people will come running to help me. I’m going to go talk to the owner again today to discuss the details. Keep you fingers crossed for me!

In the afternoon, I walked through Machala looking for paint stores and a small little table for the library. I want to paint the library with some of the leftover money that the previous volunteer raised. I am thinking of having it painted light blue with Carolina blue accents. Gotta bring a little UNC to Ecuador!!
After dance class, a few of us volunteers in the area met up at one of the house and we made cupcakes and brownies, watched a Spice Girls DVD (to get inspired for Halloween), and had a dance party. I felt like a teenager at a slumber party again. It was sooo much fun!!

October 27, 2008

This past week has blown by so quickly that I think I have whiplash. I will do my best to recap. Wednesday I spent the afternoon with a friend who had offered to help me write out and practice exactly what I was going to say for the speech I had to deliver in front of my site on Friday. After we finished, he offered to show me around Machala a bit. He took me to the best (and only) bookstore is in Machala (people seriously don’t read here), and then to the pier. I had a lot of fun until I got a phone call saying that the computers were being delivered to my site’s library and I had to be there immediately with the other half of the payment. I made him drive me straight to the bank and then my site where I hit the ground running as soon as I was in view of my house. I felt bad for being rude, but I didn’t really have a choice.

That evening, after dance class I went to another volunteer’s house where we gossiped and she taught me the Soulja Boy dance. She and another volunteer know a choreographed dance that includes those steps and I was thinking of performing it with them for the cultural night. I wanted to share a little of American culture and we all know that it doesn’t get more authentic than Soulja Boy!!!

Thursday was spent getting ready for and carrying out the final dance rehearsal with the children. The rehearsal went alright, but I got a little frustrated because we had to take a five minute break after every run-through of the three minute song. The children were ‘tired.’ Sigh.

I spent Friday morning shopping in Machala with a fellow volunteer. We wandered around the market looking for things for our Halloween costumes. Five of us girls in the Machala area are going to be the Spice Girls. I am going to be Sporty Spice. I love this because it means I get to wear athletic clothes and tennis shoes. Eas-z!

In the afternoon, I returned to my site to help set up for our big cultural night. The entire shindig went down pretty well. I was really nervous when I had to speak and my hands wouldn’t stop shaking. Everyone says I did great. The children danced pretty well. I had to sit in front of them giving them directions, but overall, I’m really proud of them. They really are great kids! I decided not to dance with the other volunteers. We didn’t have time to practice much and… I admit… I chickened out. I would like to preserve a bit of dignity.

My friend and I then went out for drinks and a burger. It was great fun to complain about our frustrations, gossip about our lives, and celebrate our successes over rounds of strawberry daiquiris and beer.

Saturday morning was spent apartment searching (not much luck) and belt-buying (success!). In the afternoon I met up with my Ecuadorian friend and he introduced me to a friend of his who lives in my site and knows everything. She took us around to see a few more apartments. Nothing seemed like home, but at least I have a few more options.

My friend and I then decided to go see some nearby waterfalls. They were pretty remote and it took about an hour of off-roading to get there. Once we finally arrived, we spent about an hour wandering around the falls until we realized that it was really dark and raining. There was no way we could get back to the main road. Too risky. For the second time since I’ve arrived in Ecuador I found myself stranded in the middle of nowhere. Fortunately (or unfortunately… you decide), the two of us managed to rent a cabin. It had no electricity, running water, and one flee infested bed (I’ve got the marks to prove it). It was kinda awkward at first… neither of us intended to wind up there! Luckily, he was a perfect gentleman and we ended up talking for hours.

We returned home the next afternoon. As soon as I got home I showered and assessed my body for damage. It didn’t look great. After a quick phone call to the nurses and pit stop at the pharmacy, I went to the shopping mall to meet up with my PC friends and use the internet. We had a blast together. Finally, I’m starting to get close to them!!!

October 22, 2008 (3:30 am)

Can’t sleep again so I will write about what I did yesterday. It was a day very full and exhausting. In the morning, my counterpart and I had another dance practice with the kids for the cultural night. It went… alright. I’m still nervous about it. The girls are pretty good… the boys need work. After practice, my counterpart and I went around to find the children who failed to show up and make sure that they will come on Thursday for the final rehearsal. It didn’t take long, and once we finished I begged my counterpart to take me to find the owner of the house I want to rent. We failed to find her, but we did find out that another family has already agreed to rent it. I was (and still am) devastated. It was my home (to be)!!! I have a month to find a home. Cross your fingers for me!!!

My counterpart and I then went to Machala to find outfits for the girls to wear for the dance. We walked around the market but didn’t have much luck. My counterpart is stuck in the office all of today, so it is up to me to go back and see what I can find. Once I returned to my site, I wandered around and questioned people about available apartments/houses. I didn’t have much time, but several people gave me some suggestions that I will try to follow up on today.

In the afternoon, instead of Adventura de la Vida, my counterpart, the other volunteers in the area, the other people who work for INNFA, and about fifty kids went to a nearby river to go swimming. We took four vehicles and somehow managed to fit about 20 kids in each vehicle. Let’s just say that it wasn’t exactly the safest way to travel. Once we got to the river I was dragged into the water where I spent the next two hours splashing about in the river with at least 10 kids hanging off my neck and another 10 shouting for my attention. It was exhausting. I didn’t have much time to rest, however. By the time I finally returned to my site, it was time to go to Machala for my aerobic dance class. My friends and I stayed for two classes because we hadn’t gone yesterday. By the time it ended I was about ready to fall asleep standing up. I have no idea why I can’t sleep now.

October 21, 2008 (morning)

Saturday morning my counterpart and I returned to Machala to buy more things for the library. We were supposed to buy a file cabinet, metal shelves, two bulletin boards, and two posters that the previous volunteer had made. We did not have very good luck. First, the posters were made so long ago (January), that the company had thrown them out and did not even have a record of the designs. Then the store that the volunteer had the bulletin boards priced at didn’t have the right material to make them and didn’t know when (or if) it would arrive. Finally, the prices for the file cabinet and metal shelves skyrocketed since the other volunteer had gotten her estimate. Disappointed and frustrated, we decided to talk to a few people over the weekend to see if they knew of some other stores that might sell us the things wee needed for cheaper.

That day was my host sister’s birthday and I had promised her that we would make a cake together. We selected a recipe and were writing a list of the ingredients that we needed to buy when her mom franticly beckoned me over and said she had already secretly ordered a cake. Trapped, I decided to tell my host sister that I had forgotten to buy the pan we needed for her cake. Was it ok if we baked cookies instead? She agreed, and we settled on chocolate chip cookies. Not to brag or anything… but those cookies were AMAZING!!! They were probably the best chocolate chip cookies I had ever made (and I’ve made quite a few). Everyone was very impressed. That evening, the neighbors came over and everyone sat around, ate (my cookies), and talked. It was very pleasant, but near the end of the evening I was ready for everyone to leave so I could sleep.

On Sunday, my host family left early to visit my host mother’s parents. They invited me, but I ducked out because I wanted to go to the shopping center to talk to my parents. I spent several hours there and then returned to read some Newsweeks the Peace Corps had sent me, go for a long run, and watch a few bootleg movies. I have dubbed Sundays my ‘American days’ for doing my ‘American activities.’

Yesterday I had to go to Guayaquil to get a document notarized at the American Consulate. Guayaquil is the biggest (and most dangerous) city in Ecuador. It is about 3- 3/12 hours north of Machala. Since my appointment was at 8:30 in the morning, a fellow volunteer who wanted to accompany me and I left my site around 5:00 am in the morning. Traffic was kinda bad and we arrived and the Consulate an hour late. Since everyone else was Ecuadorians trying to get visas, I waved my passport around and got to the front of the line. One I was thoroughly searched twice I was allowed to go upstairs were the Office for American Services was located. The lady who helped me was very nice and we ended up chatting for awhile. She asked me if I had voted, and since I have not yet received my absentee ballot yet, she told me that she could give me an emergency ballot. They were sending all the ballots out the following day, so I had come just in time. I thanked her and took two ballots (one for my friend) and left. We then went to an Internet café where I could scan the document for my parents and do a quick Internet search on the congressional candidates. My friend and I then returned to the Consulate (where we had to go through security twice again) and gave the lady our votes. I have officially done my American duty.

Once we were finished with the Consulate, my friend and I hopped on a bus and went to the mall to wander around in ‘American land.’ I ended up buying a mini glue gun, a mattress pad, and I muffin tin. Some people were giving away free haircuts (and I desperately needed one), so I, feeling brave, decided to let them at me. I turned out pretty well! We then went to meet up with two other volunteers who are serving in Guayaquil and went to this amazing sushi restaurant where we stuffed our faces with cheap sushi. Afterwards, the four of us walked around for a few hours and talked about our sites until it was time to catch the bus back to my site.

When I finally got back to my site, I was about 40 minutes late for this meeting about the computers that I am buying. I had to race to the meeting and then was forced to sit in silence for two hours while everyone talked about everything, but the computers. It was a little frustrating and I was hot, dirty, smelly, starving, and exhausted. I was so relieved when it was over that I almost cried. I couldn’t get home fast enough!

October 17, 2008

Today was extremely eventful day for me and, as a result, my entire site. The previous volunteer in my site raised over $2,700 through Peace Corps Partnerships to buy three computers, a printer, toner, desks, bulletin boards, fans, and book shelves for the town’s library. The money, unfortunately, didn’t come in until after she returned to the States. The money was therefore deposited into my bank account and I was placed in charge of completing her project. I wanted to wait a few weeks for the community to get to know me before I dropped a few Gs, and today I finally started buying the material. My counterpart, the librarian, and I went to Machala this morning to purchase the computers. I can’t really explain it, but I was really scared and first. As in, all I wanted to do is run and hide. I have been given a huge amount of responsibility for a project that really isn’t mine and I don’t want to screw it up. Fortunately, my counterpart was, as always, amazing and did most of the negotiating while I whispered exactly what we needed (the previous volunteer left good instructions) and how much each should cost. We were lucky and convinced the guy to give us a HUGE discount that was a lot less than the money budgeted. (Hey… the guy was facing two young women buying computers for ‘the children’… he never stood a chance!) Once we agreed on a price, I agreed to come back in the afternoon to make the first cash payment. (Yes, I am actually bought three computers with cash… it was NOT fun.) We then went on to buy the desks and fans.

Once we finished, my counterpart and I had to race back to my site for a meeting with parents to discuss the outfits that the children should wear when they dance for the cultural night. I had figured that since these are children from families so poor that they can’t pay for the uniforms, notebooks, pencils, exam fees, etc. that their children need to go to school (the total adds up to about $100 a year), they probably couldn’t pay approx. $12 for an outfit for one 3-min. dance. I forgot, however, to factor in how important these dance performances are in my site. No one wants to wear a costume that consists of simply an old white shirt and black bottoms if every other group has cool matching outfits. I can understand that. The parents agreed to spend the money for matching black dance leotards. More power to them!

When I was finally finished for they day, I went to the university with my host family. I hadn’t been in awhile because they usually go on Fridays, and I have been very busy these past weeks. One of the students mentioned that he was going to be doing some traveling through Peru and Argentina and I got really excited because I know those places pretty well. We ended up talking for several hours while I recommended lots of things to see and do. He was grateful and I was happy because I felt useful and smart. Sometimes I feel like people think that because I don’t speak great Spanish, I’m not exactly bright. I do know some things!

October 17, 2008 (freakin’ early in the morning)

It is 5 am and I can’t sleep so I figured I would write a journal entry. Thursday morning I was awakened with a call from my parents. I am having a bit of a problem in the States that they are trying to resolve for me. Although the problem sucks, it was really nice to hear from my parents first thing in the morning. Between my cell phone and skype I am fortunate enough to be able to communicate with them almost as often as I did when I was living in the United States. It helps a lot with homesickness. I couldn’t imagine serving as a Peace Corps volunteer before Internet or cell phones. I don’t think I would have been able to do that.

Every Thursday morning my counterpart and I tutor children in the library. Usually I can’t do much because my Spanish isn’t perfect. Math, yes, English, of course, but language arts… not so much. This time several of the children needed help in English so I had a great time helping them. One of the little girls comes to tutoring a lot so I know her pretty well. She is very sweet and bright, but struggles a lot in her classes. She is (I think) in fifth grade, but doesn’t know how to read. It is a common problem. Children get behind for whatever reason when they are really young and miss out on the basics. They are therefore forever struggling and will never catch up. They begin to think that they simply aren’t smart and give up. Teachers can’t give them the help they need because they are too busy with 40-50 other students to give them individual attention. Their parents probably had a similar experience and so therefore can’t help. I’m beginning to think that I will make the biggest impact if I single out one or two children and simply focus lots of my attention on them. Invite them to my place (when I have one) for ‘learning activities’ and make learning fun! Bake cookies and have them read the recipe to me, break out all the crayons, markers, etc. that my mother sent me and incorporate them in my lessons, take them to the park and read books. Send me ideas if you have them.

Yesterday morning I tried to teach the little girl when to use ‘a’ vs. ‘an.’ As I tried to explain the seemingly easy concept, I realized that she didn’t know the difference between a vowel and a consonant. Further investigation revealed that she didn’t know the difference between a capital and a lower case letter. Teaching her how to pluralize words was like pushing a boulder of a mountain. But let me tell you one thing, when she finally figured out that the plural form of boy is boys and body is bodies, I was so ecstatic that I did a dance. This made her laugh, so I consistently repeated an increasingly exaggerated performance every time she got an answer right. She really is bright… she just isn’t used to succeeding.

After tutoring, my counterpart and I went to investigate the house that I am interested in. I finally got up the courage to peak inside and… I am in love. It has pretty tile!!! Sophisticated tile. And rooms (plural!). And a little kitchen area. It doesn’t have water… but the owner is fixing it up and putting in water because she wants to rent it out. YAYAY!!! My counterpart and I left our number with this person who knows her and hopefully, hopefully, I can convince her to rent it to me starting in December. I hope, I hope, I hope, I HOPE!!!!! This place could become a home. I can see myself being happy there. I can see myself being successful there.

In the afternoon, my counterpart and I had our second dance class with the group of children who will dance at the cultural night. They are getting better. It is far from perfect… but I have hope that they won’t make total fools of themselves. I brought my camera and video taped them so they could see themselves. They liked that.

When the dance class ended I went to Machala to pick up another package from my fabulous mother (She sent me UNO!), meet up with another volunteer to give her back her mailbox key, and head to my dance class. My counterpart, another lady and friend from INNFA, and a fellow volunteer all take this aerobics dance class together and none of them showed up today. I ended up being the only student. The instructor ended up giving me a private salsa lesson, which was really fun! I was kinda disappointed once other students started to show up and my lesson had to end.

After my dance class, I had to sprint back to my site for a town meeting. It was really frustrating because I couldn’t understand probably 90% of what people said. The room had bad acoustics, all the windows were open so there was a lot of noise and distractions, and the meeting lasted forever! I couldn’t concentrate.

Well it is 6:20 now and I am yawning away. Must go back to sleep because I have another big day today.

October 16, 2008

Another eventful day as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Today my counterpart gave out the second half of the scholarships and I spent the morning trying to help her out. I really wasn’t doing much so I asked her if I could duck out early because I had a few things I needed to do. There is this house that I have my eye on for my future home. It says for sale and I only want to rent, but I am hoping that my counterpart and I can contact that owners and convince them to rent to me. I also haven’t actually looked inside… so to be honest I don’t know much about the house. But as long as it has a bathroom, electricity, and plumbing I will be happy. I know whatever place I get will require me to fix the place up. That is ok. I’m looking forward to making my place a home, my little oasis. I like the place because it is a house and not an apartment, it has a place for me to hang up a hammock outside where I can sit and read, and there is a place where I can start a garden. It is also in a pretty good part of town—safe and a few minutes from the central park. Cross your fingers for me!

In the afternoon I went to Machala with the town librarian to talk to the boss guy about the town meeting. He wasn’t there, but another lady was. I had met this lady before and had a really bad first impression, but I warmed up to her during our second meeting. She is no-nonsense and I can respect that. We both kind of brushed aside the librarian (who, while good-intentioned, has a tendency to be very flighty) and got down to business. We decided to have a formal meeting on Monday to discuss the new town computers and then have a celebration/inauguration for them on the Wednesday. I will have to make all sorts of formal speeches—which terrifies me. But hey, I make a fool of myself everyday so I should be used to it… right?

In the evening, my host sister and I made snickerdoodles. My counterpart wants to make and sell cookies with the youth for the cultural night as a fundraiser for a holiday party. She thought cinnamon cookies would be a cool idea because they don’t exist here. Since I promised the children that I would make cookies for them if they showed up on time for the next dance practice, I figured I would try out the snickerdoodle recipe and kill two birds with one stone. I was a little worried because I couldn’t find any cream of tartar, but I was able to adjust the recipe a bit and they turned out fine. My host sister really loves to help me bake and makes me translate all the recipes into Spanish.

Tonight Ecuador played Venezuela in soccer and lost. It was a real tragedy. The country is in mourning.

October 13, 2008

Today I went with my counterpart to visit families and remind them that INNFA will be paying the second half of the becas (scholarships) on Wednesday. Then we planned out the sex ed charla that we are going to give to the local elementary school. While we were doing that the librarian called to tell us that the head of the cultural house in Machala wants to meet with the leaders of the community to discuss the computers that I am going to buy for the library on October 24th. He was quite adamant that it should be that day… which, unfortunately, happens to be the same night as the cultural night we are planning in my site. My counterpart and I had to explain to the librarian that we can’t change the date of the cultural night. If this head of the cultural house wants to get involved (and I have no idea why) we will have to have it another day. So I have to go to Machala tomorrow and explain to that I’m not going to jump through his hoops. After all, he can hold the meeting until I buy the computers.

In the afternoon my counterpart wasn’t feeling well so we canceled our afternoon activities and I decided/was forced out of necessity to wash my clothes. I really hate washing my clothes because it takes FOREVER!!! We don’t have a washing machine… or a ringer… or anything technical. I go outside to the old wooden picnic table that has a piece of metal on top and use a baggie of detergent, a bar of soap, a scrub brush, several buckets, and a garbage can full of water and wash all my clothes. By the time I’m finished, I am completely soaked and the clothes I’m wearing are filthy. It is NOT a fun process. I really miss washing machines.

Once I finally finished, I went to Machala to pick up another fabulous package from my mother. She sent me lots of cute things—sequins, cookie cutters, coloring books, my favorite type of gum, etc. I then went to my dance class and was very excited to find that the good instructor was teaching today. It was a great workout and lots of fun! When I got back to my site I picked up some ingredients to make my mother’s delicious banana bread. Unfortunately, walnuts are really expensive here, so I had to nix them. Although the sides of the loaf burned, it was still delicious.

October 12, 2008

I’m beginning to realize that I can calculate my homesickness like an equation. There is a direct correlation between the number of hours I spend doing ‘American’ activities each day and how homesick I feel. Typical activities include hanging out with only volunteers, watching movies in English, reading English books, running, going to the Internet, writing e-mails/blogs, and going to the mall to use the WIFI. I call it Kaitlyn’s Corollary of Homesickness. Don’t be surprised if this equation starts showing up in the textbooks… and remember, I thought of it first!

AA (American activities) / 24 (hours in a day) x 100 = percentage of homesickness

I allow myself one or two hours of each day as ‘healthy hours,’ but my count has gone up in the past few days. Granted, it’s been the weekend so I haven’t had anything to do but amuse myself and it is natural that I would choose activities that I enjoy, but I am beginning to realize that the more time I spend doing these familiar activities, the more homesick I become. It is a slippery slope.

October 8, 2008

First of all: Happy 25^th Mom and Dad! That is a big milestone! I’m very glad you got married and had Curtis and I. Thanks!

Today was a very busy day. In the morning Guadalupe and I made up a dance that we are going to teach twelve children so that they can perform for the cultural night in my site on October 24^th. I am very excited about this night. Especially, because I am actually contributing something!!! The children are going to perform a dance that I (with Guadalupe’s help) made up AND I am going teach the youth how to bake cookies and they are going to sell them that night. I think it will be very successful!

Once we were finished choreographing our dance I went home and finally finished writing the lesson plan for a three-week class that I hope to run in November. The class is entitled Libros y Arte (Books and Art). I am hoping to start getting children excited about reading. Each week we are going to read two chapters of a book and then do a fun art project to go along with the book. After several of these types of classes my hope is to eventually drop the art part and turn it into a reading program in which the children will start read on their own.

In the afternoon I went to the city for and aerobic dance class. Guadalupe and I signed up for a month of classes. There are two instructors. One is really good and gives us a great workout. The other… not so much. Today the instructor we don’t like so much was there and spent a good 40 minutes of the hour-long class talking. I wanted to scream ‘Shut-up! We don’t care,’ but of course had to hold my tongue. The instructor we liked was teaching the next class so we decided to stay for a second class. Fortunately, by the end of that hour Guadalupe and I were both satisfyingly exhausted!