March 10, 2009

My parents are coming soon and I can’t wait!!! In the meantime I’ve been trying to think of common sites/habits of Ecuadorians that they might find odd. Here is what I have come up with so far:

1. Motorcycles and bicycles are not necessarily one-person modes of transportation. It is common to see entire families (including small children) precariously perched on them as they race through town.
2. Helmets… what are those?
3. Mothers have no problems about breast-feeding in public. I think that it is great that women don’t feel like they have to hide this perfectly natural act. Still, it is kinda odd when the child can walk and talk…
4. Most people only use spoons to eat all their meals. Forks and knives are not very common eating utensils.
5. It is best to accept your flaws because Ecuadorians love to continuously point them out to you… in case you hadn’t noticed. Perfect strangers will tell you that you have a new zit, that you are fat/gaining weight, that you look pregnant, etc. This is not considered rude.
6. Ridiculous statements are often put forth as absolute fact. The following list has a few examples of statements that people have told me or my friends. It is rarely worthwhile to dispute this ‘facts.’ a.) Do not put money in your bra because you will get breast cancer. b.) Do not sleep with the fan on you because it will dry out your blood. c.) Don’t drink cold water because it will give you a heart attack. d.)You must be pregnant because you don’t eat hot soup when it is 100˚/ don’t feel well/ did not go running when you have diarrhea.
7. A family can be very poor and live in a house made of reeds, but I guarantee you that it will have a state-of-the art entertainment center.
8. Rice is served with every meal. And I do mean every meal.
9. Why cook/bake/sauté/boil things when you could fry it? So much healthier…
10. There is no real concept of dressing to your body. Nor is there an age limit for certain types of clothing. It is quite common to see girls, teenagers, mothers, and grandmothers wearing the same type of clothing. It is rarely pretty…
11. Lines don’t exist. Neither does the concept of waiting your turn.
12. Most females get pregnant and then married when they are teenagers. At 23, most people find that it strange that I am not married with at least three kids.
13. Ecuadorians always arrive at least an hour late. It is to be expected and one should plan accordingly. Ecuadorians call it ‘la hora ecuadoriana’ (the Ecuadorian hour).
14. The men cheat. Women should expect it and put up with it. Some of the most prominent men even have two entire families. Most people don’t believe it is even biologically possible for a man to be faithful. Women however… well that goes without saying that they are faithful.
15. The men will hoot and holler at passing women… especially if she is a gringa.
16. At parties, instead of giving a person his/her own beer, it is customary for one person to go from guest to guest pouring ‘shots’ of beer into the same glass. The alcohol will kill the germs, right?

FYI... By no means am I trying to Ecua-bash. I love Ecuador and all its idiosyncrasies. These are just differences that I’ve observed.

March 8, 2009

A few weeks ago, two of my fellow volunteers met this American guy who lives in Machala. He is my parents’ age, single with grown kids living in the States, really nice, and very well off. He has been extremely generous to us volunteers and has invited us over to his house several times to hang out and swim in his pool. He has even allowed us the throw a St. Patrick’s Day-themed party this Saturday and invite other volunteers all around the country.

Today we went to his place to make brunch, hang out by the pool and take a few pictures to send to all the volunteers in order to entice them to come to our party on Saturday. I can’t even begin to explain to you how cathartic it is to go to a really nice house and enjoy a few luxuries. Please don’t take this the wrong way, but by joining the Peace Corps I left a lot—family, friends, job, language, culture—but I left my social class too. As much as I love my little house with bucket baths, running water only in the mornings, and an aluminum roof that turns my house into an oven mid-day, I miss the luxuries that came with growing up middle class. I miss things like cable TV, AC, nicely decorated houses, manicured lawns, and WiFi. Every visit there is like a quick trip to the States.

The only downside is that I got really burned by the pool today… but I think I’ll survive!

March 4, 2009

A few days ago I went to visit my host family and my host mother started complaining that her daughter, Michelle, spends all her time in the house watching TV and playing on the computer. I offered to take Michelle to try out a dance class that I used to take. My host mom thought that that was a great idea, so today Michelle, her neighbor, and I went to try out a dance class. I was a great workout and I think they really like it.

On the way home, I, being an idiot, left my wallet on the bus. Idiot, idiot, IDIOT!!! Fortunately, I realized it about 2 minutes after I got off the busy and even more fortunately, I live not too far from the end of the line and was dressed in my workout clothes. I began to chase after the bus and managed to catch it as it was returning. I hopped on the bus and began to search for my wallet. The guy who collects the money for the passage found it! Of course, all the money was gone, but I got my cards back. I lost a little over $20, but the cards were the most valuable…. At least that is what I keep reminding myself. Idiot.

To make myself feel better I watched a movie my friend had lent me. American History X. It was a good movie, but let’s just say I didn’t feel any better. It was depressing!

March 2, 2009

Teaching English

I teach English 2-3 times a week in the summer camp that the Municipio is doing. Today my kids learned the names of the parts of the body. Well, I taught the names of the parts of the body. Who knows what they actually learned.... But they did seem to enjoy it!

March 1, 2009

Here are the highlights of the past few days:

Wednesday: As I entered my bathroom Wednesday morning, about 10 large mosquitoes began to swarm around me, angry that I had dared to enter territory that they so clearly marked as their own. Fed up with my unwanted houseguests, I cleared my morning schedule to subject my bathroom to a rigorous cleaning and eviction. I mixed a good portion of Raid into my soapy water in the hopes of killing any remaining tenants. But unfortunately the mosquitoes weren’t the only ones affected by the fumes. By the time I finished, I was so light-headed that I had to lie down—far away from my bathroom. In the afternoon, however, my efforts were rewarded with a mosquito-free bathroom. My next concern: cancer…

Thursday: Mosquitoes returned. Damn!

In the afternoon, my counterpart and I resumed our meetings with the mothers in the community that with whom we want to form a microempresa (small business). The numbers had dwindled to only four. While my counterpart was disappointed with the turn out, it is always better to have a few participants that are committed, to many that are not. The charla went really well and the mothers left excited and optimistic.

Friday: In the morning I taught English. We learned parts of the body and then played a modified version of ‘Simon Says.’ I then baked muffins as a ‘thank you’ to my counterpart who had agreed to drive me to Machala to pick up some things that are to big and heavy for me to carry on the bus. My counterpart then got caught up at INFA and postponed our trip. I ended up giving the muffins to a neighbor who lets me use her washing machine whenever I want. To that lady I am forever grateful!


Saturday: Saturday was a regular work day to make up for the work missed during Carnival. The librarian and I took a group of kids to the puerto (port) for a boat trip around the Isla de Amor (Island of Love). There wasn’t much to see at all. The kids couldn’t even get off the boat. But it was relaxing and the kids did seem to enjoy it. When I finally got home, I was surprised to realize that I was sunburned for the first time in a long time.

While I was curled up reading in my bedroom yesterday afternoon, I head a large THUD followed by rattling sounds and a secondary THUD as something landed on my roof, rolled off it, and then landed on the ground. This has been happening a lot recently, but I never previously paid attention to what was landing on my roof, always preoccupied by the dirt from my aluminum ceiling that would land on my bed whenever this happened. This time I saw something clearly drop into my ‘garden’ and ran outside to see what it was. My neighbor/ land lady had appeared a few moments before me and was collecting a large green and reddish object. I suddenly realized that HUGE mangos (bigger than I have ever seen in my life) from the tree in my neighbor’s garden that were landing in my roof and causing the racquet. I inquired if I could please have the mango and she promised that I could have any mango that falls in my garden. I think she is now beginning to regret her promise as my refrigerator if rapidly filling with mangos.