Sorry I haven’t written in awhile. Whoops. I’ve been in my site this past week. It was amazing! My site (I won’t name it for security reasons. But for simplicities sake, let’s call it La Misma.) is close enough to Machala—the big city—that I can easily go there every day if I like. But it has the advantage of being smaller and less dangerous. There is a shopping center, movie theater, gyms, etc. in Machala. The big city is really nice, just not touristy. (We played spot the gringos.) The people are really nice and a lot more open/liberal than in the Sierra. I will try to give a quick rundown of my days there.
Sunday: I arrived in La Misma Sunday morning. The 10 hour bus ride there was miserable. I was stuck sitting next to this very fat man. While he was nice, the bus was hot and he smelled! I did not like him touching me. At one point the bus got so unbearably hot that the fat man started yelling at the bus people to turn on the A.C. and won my appreciation. Why they didn’t turn it on earlier is beyond my comprehension. Of course, once they turned on the A.C. they blasted it and bus then got too cold. I guess one must pick their poison. Fortunately, sometime in the middle of the night a group of people got off and I was able to move to another seat where I could ‘stretch out’ on two whole seats.
Needless to say I was exhausted upon arrival in Machala. The volunteer that I will be replacing picked me up and took me back to her place to drop my stuff off. Her apartment is a nice. It is one large room with a sheet separating the bathroom. She has a balcony which is really cool. I will probably end up living in her place after my required three months with a family. I would love to live in a small house, but apparently there are not a lot/none available within my limited budget. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that something will open up, but her pad is not a bad alternative.
After I dropped my stuff, we returned to Machala and then took a boat to the beach. (All the while I bombarded my volunteer with about a bazillion questions. She was nice enough to answer them all.) We hung out on the beach for the afternoon. It was nice to have some down time. In the evening, we returned and the volunteer showed my how to take a bucket bath. It wasn’t that bad. We also ate fresh salad. That was amazing!!!!!!
Monday: My volunteer (I’m going to call her Sally now) took me to meet my counterpart, Guadalupe. Guadalupe will be the person is will work the most with in La Misma. She was really sweet and younger than me. I think we will get along great. Sally and Guadalupe showed me around La Misma during the day. Then we ate lunch with the family Sally stayed with. I will be staying with a different family. Sally thought it better to living with a more ‘humble’ family as she explained it (aka poorer). I don’t mind the conditions, as long as the family is nice.
In the evening it was Sally’s birthday so we met nearby volunteers and the two other trainees who will be living nearby, Jess and Christy, at an American restaurant. We ordered drinks (the first I have had since arriving in Ecuador) and had a blast. We then went to a few bars but didn’t stay long because Sally was really tired. Honestly, I was tired too so I was grateful to leave. Meeting so many people, constantly smiling, and having to talk in Spanish is exhausting!
Tuesday: On Tuesday Jess, Christy, and I met with the INNFA staff. They were very nice but I got really tired and had to take a nap as soon as we got back. Afterwards, we met up with Guadalupe again and went helped out with Como Planear Mi Vida—an after school program for particularly at risk children. Quick note: School is ‘free’ in Ecuador, but students have to pay for uniforms, supplies, books, etc. This can get expensive and many children can’t afford it. One thing INNFA does is to offer scholarships to families. One of the catches is that the children deemed ‘particularly at risk’—parents are alcoholics, abusive, etc.—have to attend Como Planear Mi Vida. It is pretty fun and I don’t think the kids mind it. One of the things about La Misma is that there are not a whole lot of things to do and the youth get bored. I think this may be an advantage for me because most kids would be more than willing to attend any programs I decide to do.
In the evening, Sally wanted to talk to her parents so I wandered off to find internet. On my way back I noticed a group of youth gathering on a street corner. They beckoned me over and we began to chat. They explained to me that they were about to go dancing and invited me to come with. I told them I was busy that evening with Sally, but would love to another day. They said they meet everyday at 7 (which actually means about 7:45 in Ecuadorian time) and I agreed to come on Wednesday.
Wednesday: On Wednesday I moved in with the family that I will be living with for my first three months in La Misma. They are sweet. The father looks exactly like a latino Fred Flintstone. I kid you not! He does have an annoying habit of repeatedly asking me the same questions and always seems surprised by the answers. He also enjoys watching me intently like I am some strange exotic creature—especially when I eat. Sometimes I felt like the gringa freak show. He does not understand why I don’t like rice. It shocks him. While this does try my patience, I know he means well. He does help out around the hose and cooks. This is very novel for an Ecuadorian man.
There are also two kids in the family: Michelle and Dario. Dario is a very sweet and shy lanky sixteen year old boy. Michelle is a very pretty and sweet 13- year old. Brother and sister are very close and call each other ñeño/a. I look forward to getting to know them better. My only real complaint is that I don’t sleep well there. The walls don’t reach the ceiling so I can hear everything in the house and the chickens and dogs outside make a huge racket all night. I suppose I will have to get used to this… and move out as soon as possible. I like the family, but I miss my freedom!
In the evening I went to meet up with the group of youth. It was amazing! Apparently, about 30 of them get together every evening to learn hip hop. They hired an instructor and everything. They are very good! I had no idea what I was doing, but I did my best to keep up and everyone had a good laugh at my expense. They told me that they are going to perform during the town fiesta on Saturday.
Thursday: On Thursday Guadalupe and I spent the day running around and inviting youth to movie night on Friday. We then went into town and bought the movie Thirteen—an American film about two girls who make a lot of bad decisions. Afterwards, she took me to the military pool where we got in free because her father is in the army. (Did I mention that La Misma is right next to a military headquarters?) We then bonded over swimming, gossip, and boys. Some things are universal.
In the evening I met up with the youth again. For some reason we were unable to use the room we had used the previous day, so they took me to some roof where they planned to practice. However, for some it didn’t work out and we simply spent several hours chatting. I showed them one of my mind reading tricks (choose a number, double it, add __, etc.) and they were very impressed. I eventually got tired and two of the youth walked me him. All in all, it was a great day!
Friday: I had the majority of today to myself since I didn’t have to meet Guadalupe until 5. I went for a run in the morning. Then Jess and Christy came over and we went to see Jess’s barrio and then to Machala to buy bus tickets home. I then left them to go home to eat lunch and my family once again gave me way too much food.
In the afternoon, I decided to wander over to the library to hang out with the librarian. The librarian is this eccentric older lady who marches to the beat of her own drum. She does what she wants and doesn’t give a hoot about social norms. She spends her whole day doing arts and crafts and is always thrilled to show them off. I think she is amazing! At the library, she read to me for awhile until some children showed up. The children and I then had an impromptu story time in which I would read one page and they would read the other. It was great fun!
In the evening, we had the youth movie night. Guadalupe used a projector to show the film, but couldn’t figure out how to flip the image. We ended up flipping the projector. She also forgot speakers, so it was hard to hear (especially for me). After the film we discussed some of the girl’s decisions and want they did wrong. I think Guadalupe has a great idea going, but it just needs to be... jazzed up a bit. They more fun you make it, the more deep discussions you can have without scaring off the youth.
After movie night I spent some time with Sally and we brainstormed how to explain to my host father why I simply cannot eat rice. We decided that Sally should tell them after I leave that although I said I don’t like rice, I really can’t eat rice because I have a bad reaction and I was too embarrassed to tell them earlier.
As I was leaving, I spotted the youth dancing again and dragged Sally to go watch. I must admit, I felt slightly proud of my bad-ass integrating skills. I had only been there a week and I was able to show Sally something about her community! I know I am going to have a great two years here!
Saturday: In the morning Sally took me to Machala and showed me one of the gyms. After I worked out I went back to La Misma and spent the next several hours reading. In the evening was the annual fiesta of La Misma and I was invited to be in their parade!!! I marched along with Selena and the other town ‘authorities.’ It was a lot of fun! After the parade I had to say goodbye to La Misma and head to Machala for my bus ride home. I can’t wait to return. To be honest, the only thing I am looking forward to in Cayambe is my host family. I must admit, I really missed them!
Sunday: After a long bus ride home, we arrived in Quito. Not really wanting to head strait to Cayambe, Jess, Christy, and I head for the mall. It was like stepping into a portal to the United States. It was great to wander around and feel like we were back in the US. In the afternoon we saw I move and I totally forgot what country I was in.
I arrived back in Cayambe in the evening exhausted and disgusting. I showered and then went straight to bed. Traveling, not sleeping, and climbing 5 some thousand meters in one day can ware a girl out. Today: We didn’t have class until the 1:30 so I spent the morning watching another bootleg movie and reading. Class consisted of planning a charla to give to the health program. (Our training group is divided into two programs:Youth and Families and Health.) After class I went for a nice run and then talked to my parents. Somehow I though it was an hour earlier than it actually was and was late to our skype date. Oops
e Christmas came early. So many new things!!! It was fun to go through the stuff I packed-- some stuff was really genious and others... what was I thinking?
