February 2, 2009

After the first 3 or 4 months of service, every new group of Peace Corps volunteers (called an omnibus in Ecuador) gets together for a meeting called ´Reconnect.´The purpose of Reconnect is to discuss how the volunteers' lives are going and what they are doing, and to receive a bit more training. My omnibus’s Reconnect was last week. Last Saturday night I traveled to Quito with the two other volunteers from my omnibus that live near/ in Machala and our counterparts, who were to join us for the first two days of Reconnect. We were put up in a pretty nice hotel. It had hot water and cable. I loved it and spent a lot of my evenings watching TV.

The first few days of Reconnect the counterparts and us volunteers spent a lot of time discussing how to plan projects. It was pretty useful because my counterpart has a tendency to not plan projects thoroughly. After the counterparts left, we discussed how to do our upcoming work reports, how to work/deal with our counterparts, issues/frustrations we face, how to apply for project funding, and lots of other stuff. Although the days were long and I have become used to spending my days as I please, it was overall pretty useful.

Reconnect ended mid-day on Friday. I spent the afternoon running a few errands for my parents (we finally booked our trip to the Galapagos!!!) and then a group of us went to Latacunga—a good-sized city about 1 ½ hours south of Quito. We spent the night at a volunteer’s house and then on Saturday eight of us volunteers got ready to climb Mt. Cotopaxi—a really freakin’ high volcano!!!

The volunteer from Latacunga had arranged our excursion with a local tour agency. They agency provided all the special gear, food, transportation, and the guides. After receiving all the gear we would need in the morning, we left for the mountain’s refuge. It was extremely high and I got a little altitude sickness (not a good sign for the upcoming climb). We spent the evening resting and becoming acclimated to the altitude.

At 1:00 am we began the ascent. We had to begin when it was dark because the sun melts the glacier during the day and it can be dangerous. We were divided into groups of two people per guide and roped together. It was an extremely difficult vertical climb and VERY cold. I’m sad to say that I did not manage to reach the peak. I got about halfway up—about 5,300 meters—when the cold and altitude began to make me sick Apparently, I’m too much of a costeña. I didn’t want to push myself too much and then be unable to descend... and die. The other person in my group was very understanding. She lives on the coast as well, and she too was suffering terribly from the altitude.

Of the eight of us, four people managed to reach the top. Oh well. I had a blast and I am pleased to say that I did not die! Once we all returned to the refuge, we ate and then returned Latacunga. Upon arrival there, I showered quickly at the volunteer’s house, said my good-byes and thank-yous, and then caught a bus for Machala. It was about midnight when I finally arrived in my site and good lord was I exhausted and sore!

I spent most of today visiting people. I was pleased to note that lots of people noticed my absence. That definitely made me feel good. I got my hair cut (about 6 inches). My counterpart and I had a charla planned, but the people forgot to come so we are going to reschedule it for Friday. I also bought food, cleaned my house, washed my clothes, and prepared an English pre-test to evaluate the levels of the students that I am going to teach. Overall, it was a pretty busy day.