This Too Shall Pass...

As I sit in my hammock this morning before it is about 100 degrees outside, I am actually proud of myself for making it two weeks in my site. Considering I have 102 weeks to go, I probably should not revel too much, but since everyday has been a sort of a challenge, I will let myself celebrate just a bit.

I have heard from other volunteers that the trick to surviving is having something to look forward to every month. I saw surviving, not because we are being chased through the jungle by wild animals, or at least most of us are not, but living daily here really is a challenge. Everyday activities that appear to be simple, or at least would be simple in The States have become a complete chore for me here. For example, doing my laundry. While I am incredibly fortunate not to have to go outside and scrub my clothes on a rock here like I did in the Sierra, I now have to face the inconveniences of less than modern technology. So, we have a washing machine. But since I am in the Campo, and indoor plumbing is well, almost only outside, our washing machine hose is connected to nothing and there is no such thing as a spin cycle on this machine. So, to wash clothes I must put the water in by hand with a water hose and then let me clothes wash, and by washing I mean I watch them go around in a circle for about 30 to 40 minutes. After watching my clothes circulate, I have to take them out and put another load into the dirty, soapy water that I just used. After another load I drain all of the water out onto the ground, place my soapy clothes back into the machine and then add more water with the hose. I once again let my clothes circulate for 30 to 40 minutes and then put in the other load after the first set of clothes are finished. Needless to say, this is not the cleanest that my clothes have ever been, but it works…my pants are just a little stiff.

Another recent and relevant example is going to the doctor. I remember being in The States and getting sick, I would call up the doctor’s office, get an appointment, usually that day or at the latest the next, I would drive up in my car, be seen within an hour, go to the drug store, get my meds and be on my happy way. Well, here I live in the campo where the doctors are as sweet as can be, but not always as knowledgeable as you may need them to be. So the Peace Corps has specific clinics, hospitals, and doctors that we are allowed to see. Lucky for me, the nearest clinic or hospital that is approved is two hours away in Guayaquil. So, I have been suffering with this ear infection and in order to go to the doctor I had to take a two-hour bus, and then a $2.00 taxi to the emergency room on Saturday to see a physician. The advantage was that I was seen quickly, the disadvantage was that I had to pay for it and wait to be reimbursed by the Peace Corps after filling out some lengthy forms. Needless to say, I had to make the trip back as well with a horrible fever in a non-air-conditioned bus with people standing up the full length of the aisle for two hours. Thankfully, I had a seat.

Besides being ill, fighting with a washing machine, and having my many run-ins with various creepy crawlers all is not lost here. I spent last week helping out in the subcentro, or clinic, weighing and measuring the local school kids and handing out medicine. I also am learning other skills, one of which is injections, which I plan to keep “learning” for the next two years. I also went way out into the campo with my organization PLAN to help take photos of kids who are a part of their international big brother/big sister program and I had the chance to meet some adorable schools kids. I also spent a day in Guayaquil exploring the big city with my mom and meet up with some other volunteers for lunch and ice cream, so no worries I have still been enjoying myself and learning a ton as well!

Obviously, none of my problems are as grave as many of the people that I am here to hopefully help. These are just examples of adjustment. My host brother’s girlfriend gave me some great advice my first days here, that everything seems really hard and difficult right now, but that in a little while it will all be easy. I believe her; it is just tough to see the future when you are having a hard time getting through the present.

As for my Spanish… it is still a bit weak, but it is getting there. I have a trip to the beach to visit another volunteer to look forward to for this month, so that is covered and as soon as I am able to hear again, I plan to be back in the subcentro full force and hopefully getting things together to begin teaching English as well. I am constantly reminding myself and other volunteers that we have only been here for two weeks, and we have plenty of time to change the world.

*Mande? (What?)*

So, amazingly… and I’m not even sure how, I made it to site with all of my things, all of my things excluding of course the locker full of winter clothes and other unnecessary items I left in Quito. The Journey here was long… and I mean very long. It included packing up all of my things in Puruhantag into three bags, one of which was a small purse, surviving painful goodbyes with my family and the other families in our small town and then loading up two buses with the other volunteers to head to the capital in Quito. Upon arriving in the capital city we disfrutamos, or enjoyed, a nice meal and a trip to the middle of the world, or el mitad del mundo. The best part about this trip was that we actually went to the real middle of the world, and then we found out that the Peace Corps had actually purchased tickets for us to go to the “fake” middle of the world where the nice monument and park are. Needless to say, it was still entertaining, and expensive, but I felt like a super tourist at that point…

After an eventful day at the middle of the world, we spent the next couple of days being briefed about becoming real volunteers and meeting other important American diplomats who are working in Ecuador. Clearly, these talks varied from non-informative to extremely entertaining, but in all seriousness they were all informative, but we had all been lectured to death by this point. In-between our numerous servings of Papa Johns, Burger King, McDonald’s, Sushi, Snow Biz, and any other “American” food we could get out hands on, we actually learned a great deal about the work that is happening in Ecuador and completed various last minute errands.

Finally, on Wednesday, the big day arrived! We were finally sworn-in as Peace Corps Volunteers by the American Ambassador of Ecuador at her beautiful home in Quito. We also enjoyed an amazing last “free” meal of bagels, fruit, and non-instant coffee. Two of our fellow trainees/volunteers gave speeches that were very inspiring and heartfelt. Then we were off to our sites, after numerous crying fits.

Of course I was the first to say a week ago that I would not cry or be that upset when we all left to go to our sites. I repeatedly said that I was ready to go and needed some personal space, etc. etc. Without a doubt, I was the first one to start boohooing when one of my closest friends left in the first car out of town to head to the jungle. She is about 16 or 18 hours away from me, so the tears were definitely warranted. As each car or taxi drove away, I had a similar laughing/crying attack, which was actually pretty hilarious, but obviously sad as well. While I am definitely excited to finally be at my site, the moment we were all separated made this experience as real as I believe it will ever be.

So, we were the last of the group of volunteers that were leaving on Wednesday night to go. We hopped in our taxis around 9:30pm and headed to the bus terminal to leave for a bus to Guayaquil at 11:15pm. As much as I hate night buses, it was probably one of the better experiences I have had thus far, considering I sat by a close friend and was able to sleep for the majority of the ride. After traveling all night we arrived in Guayaquil around 7:30am, I enjoyed one last breakfast of McDonald’s and hopped on a bus to Colimes around 9:00am. I was completely stressed about my luggage underneath the bus, which was enclosed by a tiny bolt and nothing else. Yet, somehow I made it to Colimes with everything in tack, although very dirty, and met my mom at the bus stop!

Last night could not have been anymore like a movie. We hopped in the taximoto which is literally a cart attached to a motorcycle, which is ok to ride since I am not actually on the motorcycle ha. We arrived at the house and I opened all of my bags and realized that I had of course forgotten how much clothing I actually had, which is a good thing since I am not sure how well my clothes are going to hold up for the next two years. We then had lunch, which was rice, carne, or beef, and a green bean salad, which I helped chop up by the way! Already topping almost all of my meals in the Sierra (sorry). After lunch we sat and talked with the women in the community on the porch, and then began the weirdness of the night…

One of the neighbor’s kids comes over to the store to buy a drink while we are all sitting on the porch and proceeded to tell us that there is a dead man in the river. Of course I believe that I have misheard because A. My Spanish is horrible and B. Obviously no one is this calm when a dead man is floating down the river. So, I lean over and ask my mom to translate, AKA repeat the story slower, and she tells me exactly what I thought I heard. So, naturally I’m freaking out, because the same day I arrive so does the dead man in the river. Not exactly the omen you want to be following you around for the next two years. So, of course, since this is the Campo, or the country, everyone decides that this is worth a look. So, we all head down to the river to catch a peak at the dead guy. I, obviously, have made it clear that I do not want to actually see the dead man, but I figured what is a better way to integrate into my community than to head to a general meeting of everyone in town to see the dead man that has washed ashore.

Thankfully, I never saw the poor guy, but I of course heard the stories that he had no face since the fish had already found him. This of course leads into scary story time, which of course leads into me telling stories about New Orleans and haunted cemeteries and such, of which my brothers already knew a bit about since they watch a fair amount of National Geographic, thanks American T.V.

Despues, or after, as if this night had not already been weird enough, the power goes out in the middle of dinner. After living in the Sierra for two months, where often the power AND the water have a tendency of going out, I was not the least bit surprised, yet considering the circumstances with the dead man and my arrival, I was just waiting on something else super weird to occur. Luckily, the power came back on after about 15 minutes and then the fireworks started… signaling the beginning of the fiestas in Colimes. Needless to say, this was a better ending to the night.

After dinner I hung out for awhile and then watched a little bit of a movie with my mom and brother, James and the Giant Peach, which is obviously for kids but I still could not understand it, and then hung up my mosquito net and got ready for bed. I cannot say that this was my best nights sleep after the dead man in the water, power outage, and scary stories, but I definitely did enjoy sleeping in until 10:00am for the first time in a very long time.

On Friday night we went over to the cathedral after misa, or mass, to see the Image of the Virgen. So, those closest to me already know my stance on religion, so this may not seem like an activity I was very excited to participate in, but it is all about integration, right? So, we get to the church and they begin to bring out the Image of the Virgen, to start the parade. Naturally, I ask my mom if I can take a picture, and since I am standing on the side of it, it is not even a good picture, but she says that it is o.k. so I take out my camera to snap a quick picture. About 2.5 seconds after I take the picture, the Virgen falls out of her box and her kneck snaps off and the Baby Jesus in her hand breaks off as well... talk about enough bad omens for one week. And of course this had never happen before I arrived. Si es mi vida....

I am not sure what is planned for the rest of the week, but I plan on lying low and hanging out with everyone until Monday morning. Monday afternoon I have a meeting with the Health Promoters in town and Tuesday I have a meeting at the PLAN office in Santa Lucia. My mom got me out of work at the PLAN office by telling them that I had not arrived yet, so for that I am ever so thankful! I am excited because the big fiestas start next weekend, so that means lots more baile, or dancing, and hopefully a new outfit to wear as well!

I cannot believe that I am finally a real volunteer. I felt like this day would never come, but I actually made it after a year and eight months since I applied! I know that the real challenges are ahead, but I am ready for them, come what may.

~Viva la Costa~

Tiffany (or Estephanie)

Walk Like an Ecuadorian….

Looking back, I honestly cannot believe that we only have one more week of training left and then a few days in the capital city, Quito, and then we will officially swear-in as Peace Corps Volunteers! I can truly say that, at times, it has felt like two years instead of two months, but to actually have made it this far, I believe is an accomplishment in itself. I have heard from almost every volunteer that training is the most difficult part of service, which has definitely been a relief for me. While I really enjoy some aspects of training, it is pretty intense. We work a ton, sleep a little and occasionally have down time, but I believe it has seriously been a rewarding experience and I feel that I am as prepared as I can be to move to my site and begin my service.

This past week we traveled to the province of Manabi on the Coast for our technical trip. Manabi is one province closer to the Coast from Guyas, where I will be living. It is pretty hot there, but it is beautiful and there are fewer mosquitoes than in my site, but they are definitely still there! Basically, tech trip is an opportunity for us to practice giving charlas, or presentations, practice our Spanish, and learn more about what other volunteers around Ecuador are doing. There were four different tech trips, two for the health group and two for the youth and families group. It appears that our trip was the most intense, considering we were up every morning at the latest by 6:00 a.m, but usually 5:30 a.m. to take a bus at least an hour and a half away to give our charlas. Which means we also had to travel back to our hotel and prepare for the next day. One day we traveled six hours to give a charla, and therefore it was our worst. In total we gave 18 charlas… which is pretty impressive considering the highest number of charlas given besides for our group was four. Essentially, we had pleanty of practice!

The theme of our first charla on Monday was HIV/AIDS and we presented it to three groups of high school students. Our first charla was a bit rough, but by the end of it we were rolling. The next day we did a charla for a group of kids in middle school about recycling. It was pretty funny, and definitely reminded me of my friend Hannah, the recycling queen! Yet, I also realized that I am not very informed about recycling, so I definitely need to brush up on that before going to my site.

On Wednesday, we helped out a volunteer with a health event at which all of the women from her town and neighboring towns were offered free pap smears, which is obviously a huge deal in Ecuador. Some of the women there had never had a pap smear and already had numerous children or were older. It was so weird to think of something so simple that most women do every year as something that some women had never even heard of. We had two tables where we gave a quick charla about how to do a self-exam for breasts, which most of the women had never even heard of. The other group did a charla about la Ley Maternidad, or Maternal Law, which provides free healthcare to children under the age of five and for a major part of services related to pregnancy. Many women in this country are not informed that they and their children are eligible for free medical services and it really is an awesome thing. I definitely plan on working with this theme a lot in my site.

Friday, we had the privilege of joining an former Peace Corps language facilitator and counterpart to see what he is working on now and we also gave charlas to two groups of jovenes, or teenagers, about the importance to plan pregnancies and pretty much any other major decision of this sort. Needless to say, this was a bit of a touchy topic, and I can honestly say that this was the most awkward of all of our charlas. First, I felt that we did not have adequate Spanish to discuss a topic that is pretty intense in Ecuador, and I also felt that we needed to have more confianza, or trust, with the group before we just basically began criticizing their way of life. It was definitely pretty intense, but I believe the groups still enjoyed themselves.

On Thursday night, we finally had a break and we had a BBQ and a little fiesta, or party, at a place called La Finca. It was overall pretty awesome. One of the volunteers is a friend of the owner and he hooked up with amazing seafood and pretty much anything else we wanted. It was definitely nice to have a little break after working muy duro (really hard) all week.

Overall, I learned during out tech trip that my Spanish needs to improve… drastically, which I think will make giving charlas less intimidating and easier. I also learned that being prepared counts much more here. It is much more difficult to swing a presentation in another language. I am not really sure how I did not figure this out during college, but I am definitely aware of this now!

We returned from our tech trip on Friday extremely exhausted, but I had to rest up for Saturday since I had the privilege to dance in the fiestas with my family again. This time it was even more fun because my entire family was there, including the in-laws who were hosting the majority of it. We left the house to begin dancing a 5:00 p.m. and we danced until 5:00 a.m. in the morning… no lie. It was definitely an experience. We danced and partied so hard that by the morning, everyone had cried at least once. It was honestly amazing, and I can say I have pretty much never felt so welcomed. I even had a fan club of 4 jovenes, which were really cute and fun. I am really excited to see how the fiestas in the Coast are different, and fortunately they start the weekend I arrive, so I will get to experience them first thing!

Basically, the past week has been extremely intense but definitely a great experience! I am ready to knock out this last week of training and enjoy some down time with my favorite people before we all head to our sites! I cannot believe that swear in is so close! I would be lying if I said that I have not had a single doubt throughout training, but I believe just making it through this week has reinforced why I joined the Peace Corps and why I wanted to come here. I think this will honestly be one of the best experiences of my life… the good, the bad, and the occasional ugly. I absolutely feel like I am becoming a little more Ecuadorian everyday…

Viva La Costa!

If I had to describe the Coast in three words they would be Hot, Bacan (the equivalent to fun or cool in the States and Chevere in the Sierra), and Mosquitoes…

AKA it is my new favorite place in Ecuador!

All in all I would say my site visit went perfectly, although the 9-hour overnight bus ride was definitely not the highlight, I am pretty happy that I successfully made it through both the Quito and Guyaquil bus terminals without getting robbed or completely lost, which was most likely due to the fact that I was not traveling alone. Hopefully, that will be the case whenever we leave for our sites after swearing-in as well.

So, I do not have any pictures of my site yet since I was afraid to take my camera with me since the bus terminals are crazy. Plus, I decided I have two years to take pictures, but I will try my best to describe it in words. I am actually living in Puerto Rico, which is across the river from Colimes, where I will mostly be working. Colimes looks a lot like Florida, say maybe Fort Lauderdale…but obviously more beautiful. There are people riding motorcycles, horses, cars, buses, and mototaxis (which are motorcycles attached to a cart) all on the same road…and it can be pretty intense at times. Everything is so green, almost as if someone just painted everything green, it is really beautiful and tranquilo, or calm. It honestly made me miss home a bit, which I think is actually a good thing, because I can definitely see myself living there and loving it for the next two years.

For all of my sweet friends and family from the South, the weather is very similar to our weather around May, but it is a bit cool at night and since it is “summer”, or the dry season, it does not rain…ever. Yet, during the “winter”, or rainy season it is warmer and rains EVERYDAY, so much so that the river floods and I will no longer be able to cross the river on the sugar cane bridge, and I will have to take a canoe to work everyday, which in my opinion is pretty sweet. And yes, I do feel a bit like I will be living in Candyland since there is a bridge made out of sugar cane…

My new family is also pretty awesome. I will be living with a mom and dad, Carolina and Alberto, who are both teachers, so as you can imagine they have already started cracking the learning whip. They have four sons, two of which live in the house, Carlos, who is 23-years old and Beto, who is 15-years old. Junior lives across the river with his wife and adorable baby and the other brother lives in Guyaquil. Carlos also has an amazing girlfriend who runs the family store during the day while everyone else is at school and she lives across the street. She is very sweet and is definitely going to be a great support system. The entire family is a blast and Carolina has already begun to call me the hija, daughter, she never had.

During my site visit I had the opportunity to visit the PLAN Ecuador office, which is my NGO that I will be working with for the next two years. The office is located in Santa Lucia, which is about 40 minutes away by bus. Everyone in the office is very helpful and amable (nice) and the office even has air conditioning and internet…so, as you can imagine I plan on spending a fair amount of time there! I will be helping them out with charlas (or health and nutrition talks) and they also have an international big brother/sister program that will probably help out with as well. I also met my counterpart, Sandra, who is also muy amable and fun. She will be a great resource because she knows all of the current health volunteers in Colimes, in addition to everyone in town, and we will also have monthly meetings at her house.

I had a chance to meet the closest volunteer to me, Mathias, who is a blast and is very helpful. He showed me around his site which is about a 30 minute bus ride and is also where the nearest ATM and internet are, so if once I get to site and I am slow to answer your emails, do not be offended ha. I hung out with a group of the kids that he has been working with and they are so cute and so much fun! I will probably try to continue that youth group after he closes service since these kids are already accustomed to meeting and are excited about learning, etc.

I also visited the Subcentro, which is the local health center in our town. I will most likely be spending a fair amount of time there in addition to the three local high schools and the one elementary school. I had the privilege of introducing myself to the all of the kids at one of the high schools, which was fun/a bit nerve racking since I definitely did not prepare a speech!

So, in general it seems like my work thus far is pretty unstructured. The volunteer before me, Diana, who the entire town of 21,000 people was in love with, has definitely set a high standard for me. Unfortunately, she is already back in the States, but she has been so supportive through email, and I am already feeling better about the few things I was a bit nervous about. I would like to continue most of her projects since they will definitely be a great place to start. It was hilarious when Carolina introduced me as Diana’s replacement because no one believed I was American, until of course they heard my Spanish!

Overall, I spent a lot of time this week lying in a hammock, reading and eating sandia (watermelon). It was definitely nice to have a break from training and having a set schedule everyday. I am excited to get to know everyone at my site and begin my work on the Coast, but this week definitely made me realize how much I will miss the other volunteers in my training group, especially since we have all grown really close. Luckily, there are several volunteers in Guyaquil, where I have to go to receive my mail, and also in other sites within 2-4 hours.

The Sierra definitely feels colder after being on the Coast for a while, but I have missed it all the same. I will definitely be enjoying the next month without mosquitoes before I officially call Colimes home!

Mangos and Mosquito Nets,

Tiffany :D

The news we have all been waiting for...

So, today was the big day! We finally had our sites revealed to us and I am headed to the Coast of Ecuador! I am so incredibly excited! I am about a 85 KM from the largest city in Ecuador, Guayaquil, and about two hours away from the playa (the beach!)! I am so excited! Wait, I believe I may have already said that… ha

My site is located in Colimes, which is a fairly large town (for the Peace Corps anyhow) of a total population of about 21,490 people. I will be working in Public Health with a concentration on nutrition, tropical diseases and parasites, teen pregnancy and sex education. All things that I have a great interest in and am very excited to learn more about and get my hands dirty, so to speak. For all you who are interested, there is running water, phone service, and internet in my town, so everyone should be delighted to hear that! Especially those of you who will be coming to visit *Hint Hint*

Saturday is the big day that we are leaving to go visit our sites! Some of us will be leaving Saturday; while others who have closer sites will be leaving on Sunday. In total, I have 13 hour overnight bus ride... so, that is going to be pretty intense! But we will be traveling through Quito and Guayaquil so maybe we will have the chance to hit up some nice food locations!

The agencies that I will be working with are Plan Ecuador Santa Lucia and NUTRINNFA. With these organizations and my counterpart, who is an Ecuadorian who the Peace Corps has assigned to me, I will be giving presentations about nutrition with high school teachers and also giving presentations regarding themes like sexual and reproductive health to youths in three high schools. I will also be working with the promoters from Plan International/Plan Ecuador in sexual and reproductive health. My secondary projects are to work in technology and communication, which we all know how much I love technology, in high schools and work to create new business ventures. So, basically I have my hands pretty full for the next two years! Needless to say, all of this can change whenever I actually get to my site, even my counterpart and the agencies that I am working with. Overall, I am ecstatic, but I am obviously pretty nervous as we are going through two of the largest bus terminals in Ecuador this weekend in one trip! Also, of course this is my first time to visit my site, so obviously all of this is new and exciting, but also a bit nerve racking.

There is apparently one volunteer that is already there that is pretty close to me that was actually a volunteer in Bolivia before they were evacuated. I hear he is pretty cool, so I am definitely excited to meet him! Also, I am very excited to meet my counterpart and I hope we get along very well, or at least professionally! I believe my host family has four members, but I cannot be sure until I arrive this weekend. My host mom will be meeting me at the bus terminal, so that is a pretty sweet setup. I will be living with her for the first three months at my site, and I will be staying with her for the five day visit at my site this coming week. I am so excited to get some fresh seafood and fruit, and I guess I will have to begin my long journey to love bananas this week as well!

Other than site visits, which have obviously been the major highlight of this week, there was a small disturbance in Cayambe, which is the town we travel through at least twice a week to get to our technical training and general meetings. Here in Ecuador there is a large Indigenous population and they are known to take justice into their own hands when someone from their community commits a crime. Earlier this week three Indigenous teenagers were accused of murdering a camioneta driver (camionetas are like taxis, except they are trucks) and the community wanted the one captured teenager back in order to execute their own form of justice and locate the others who were accused. Obviously, the police did not want to give the suspect back because he has not formally been proven guilty. So, various members of the Indigenous community rioted in the streets of Cayambe yesterday and there was tear gas thrown and other things that were definitely a first experience for me. It was a little scary, but it was also a reality check for many of us who, up until this point, had not really considered that things of this nature happen in Ecuador. Obviously the Peace Corps has an amazing emergency action plan and they were able to get all of us out of harms way without any problems.

This week we have a day and half of language classes left before we head to our sites! Everyone is very excited and ready to visit our sites! I will update everyone on my adventures as soon as I return!

Peace, Love, and Ecuador

Ciao

Tiffany :D

El Fin De Semana….

This weekend was a free weekend for us to spend time with our families. Obviously, Saturday was the 4^th of July, so I spend some of my free time with some friends in the larger city close to my town. It was my first 4^th of July away from home, so it was pretty interesting. We went to the local German Café (yes, there are German café’s in Ecuador) and had a little American feast. I enjoyed a plate of spaghetti and some chocolate ice cream… not so bad for a 4^th of July out of the States.

We had our actual 4^th of July celebration on Friday with Peace Corps Staff, Co-Trainers, language facilitators, and current volunteers who are our big brothers and big sisters. My big brother is Nick, who happens to also be a Co-Trainer, so we are already pretty close as you may imagine. The other volunteers were great and they were a wealth of information and definitely eased many of the fears I have had thus far. They are also amazing cooks! We had hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, real green salad, guacamole, chips, and cake just to name a bit of the awesome feast they prepared for us. I honestly forgot that we were in Ecuador for a minute!

We also had a futbol, or soccer, tournament between communities, the staff and the co-trainers. Our team amazingly made it to the championship game, but we were, unfortunately, defeated by another community that had a pretty awesome chant, and needless to say an amazing team. I was also the reiña, or queen of my community, which was interesting to say the least. It was pretty fun, but it definitely reinforced why I have never been a contestant in a beauty competition!

Today, Sunday, I went into the larger city to watch the fiestas and dancers with my family. It was pretty fun! There were tons of people though, which can sometimes be a bit dangerous, but probably not any more risky than Mardi Gras in America. I am excited to begin week three of training, especially since we will be one week closer to finding out our sites! The anticipation is almost unbearable!

Hasta Luego!

Tiffa :D

A Day in the Life Of a Peace Corps Trainee

So, if you have not figured it out yet, I am not officially a Peace Corps Volunteer. I am actually still only a trainee. In the Peace Corps, there is about a three-month training period, which varies from country to country, in which you learn cultural, language, and technical skills. So, this being my second week in country, I am still in training until mid-August.

I am sure everyone is wondering what exactly it is that I am doing on a daily basis, so I thought I would give everyone a rundown of a typical day in the life of a Peace Corps Ecuador Trainee:

6:00 a.m. – I wake up and have breakfast with my Madre and whomever else in the family is awake since my Madre has to leave for work at 6:30 a.m. and this is the best way to insure I eat breakfast every morning. After breakfast I finish of my laundry if I have any (which I do outside, with a bucket, a little bag of detergent, a bar of soap, a brush, and FREEZING cold water), shower (with lukewarm water which feels amazing at this point) and then get dressed for the day.

7:00 a.m. or 7:30 a.m. - Depending on the day, we (me and the other three volunteers in my town) either get on the bus to go to a small town about an hour away from where we live for our technical sessions or group activities, which I will explain in more detail later. On other days we stay in our small community and have language lessons from 8:00 a.m. until about 12:30 p.m.

12:30 p.m. – We have a break for lunch which we either go to a restaurant (or other people have begun to bring their lunches, but I am personally taking advantage of the fact that there are restaurants during training, my favorite of which being the pizza parlor and the Chinese restaurant) or if we are in our community we eat lunch at two other volunteers’ home where we have our language lessons. Their Madre cooks really well, but I am still adjusting to eating so many vegetables…

1:30 p.m. (or 2:00 p.m. if we are lucky) – We return to our Spanish lessons on some days and other days we have our technical sessions both of which last until 4:30 p.m.

So, basically we are back in high school (as many Peace Corps Volunteers, or PCVS, had already prepared us for), which is not necessarily a bad thing, it is very structured, but I believe it helps our days go by pretty quickly, but we are definitely exhausted after class. There is usually a little time before dark to do a little laundry, run to the Internet Café or the grocery store for a bit, or grab a snack before heading home.

7:30 p.m. – My family has dinner, which is often a bowl of soup with a chicken, rice and potatoes. Other times we rice and some sort of meat like chicken, fish, or beef. Wednesday night we had fried shrimp, salad, and rice… needless to say I was ecstatic! It was almost as good as the shrimp my Grandma makes at home… almost. The shrimp were actually pretty awesome and fresh. *Quick fact: shrimp are actually one of the major exports of Ecuador!

8:30 p.m.- I usually start getting ready for bed. I know, it is insanely early, but I am usually worn out mentally and physically by then and the rest of my family is usually headed to bed as well. I may read for a while, rearrange my ipod playlist, watch las noticias, or the news, study Spanish for a bit, or play a few games of Snood. After this, it is usually lights out and I get ready to do it all over again the next day!

This year volunteers have Saturday and Sunday off which is a nice addition to the schedule in my opinion. For the next few weeks we will be spending the weekends at home, so we will have plenty of free time to hang out and see what it is like to actually have some unscheduled time, which I am definitely excited about.

As far as technical and language training go, they are both pretty self-explanatory, but for the sake of understanding I will explain. Technical training is the training that we receive in our specific area. For example my area is Health, or Salud, so I obviously receive technical training in the areas of child and maternal health, sexual and reproductive health, and environmental health. In addition to learning more about the specific topics, we also learn hands-on skills in which we will be able to teach the people in our sites about these topics through Charlas, or short informative talks, puppets shows, and other techniques of this manner. Our language training consists of typical language training in addition to learning vocabulary and common phrases that are specific to Ecuador and even more specific to the areas in which many of us will be placed for site. Our language facilitators also work with us on vocabulary tailored to our specific areas like Health and Youth and Families, or Jovenes y Familias.

Another frequent question I have encountered is “How is the weather?” Well, it is actually pretty chilly here in the morning and at night. I would hate to through out an exact temperature without being certain but I would say it is in the low sixties at night and in the morning. During the day it can get as warm as 70 degrees or at least to the point that you are warm in a long-sleeve shirt and long pants. I am actually enjoying the break from the 100-degree weather in Mobile, but I do miss the warm at times. The nice part is that there are definitely less insects in the Sierra, and if you know me, then you know just how happy that makes me. J

So, that pretty much covers a day in the life of a Peace Corps Trainee. If you have any more specific questions, feel free to email me! Peace Corps Trainees love email!

All my Love,

Tiffa :D

La Bomba

This weekend was definitely the best time I have had thus far in Ecuador! I will start with this weekend since it is the most exciting:

On Friday we traveled to Mascarillas, which is an Afro-Ecuadorian community near Otro Valo, which is North of Cayambe. It is actually warmer there since it is in a valley and the sun is very strong, but it was definitely nice to enjoy 75-80 degree weather instead of the 50-degree weather to which we are still becoming accustomed.

As soon as we arrived early Friday morning the activities began. We watched a short DVD that gave the detailed history of the people of Mascarillas. They were slaves brought over from Africa that were shipwrecked off the coast and then preceded to travel north and they are now in this valley, which is significantly far from the Coast where most of the other Afro-Ecuadorians reside. The name of the town literally means “the best” which I thought was pretty neat. The people there are incredibly kind and gracias. They are definitely amazing dancers and have some of the best jugadores de futbol (Soccer Players) in the entire country. We had the privilege to watch and play with some of the young local soccer players in the community gym. We also had the pleasure of learning and watching the beautiful women of Mascarillas dance “La Bomba”, which is a type of music and dance that is characteristic of the Afro-Ecuadorian community. The children there were also adorable and I am not sure who was having more fun, us or them!

In general, it was an amazing weekend and I honestly could not have asked for a better time. My favorite activity, besides dancing of course, was hiking down to the river. Although I complained the entire time about the mosquitoes, which were eating me for breakfast, lunch and dinner, I thoroughly enjoyed our little nature hike. When we finally arrived at the river it was very beautiful and it reminded me of just how much I miss the Mobile Bay and the beaches as well. While it was impossible to swim in the river due to the numerous piedras, or rocks, (plus it was freezing!) it was definitely refreshing to stick my sandy, mosquito bitten feet and legs in the water.

Another interesting fact about the people of Mascarillas is that they are amazing artists. The town is known for its masks and other arts and crafts. One of the ladies from Mascarillas demonstrated how to make a clay mask. Obviously, it looked easy whenever she was working on her mask, but when it was our turn it was definitely much more difficult than it had appeared. My mask was very sad. And when I say that it was sad, I do not mean that it had an unhappy face… it was just plain sad. I am obviously not very artistic with clay, but it was fun to play with anyway.

That night Jennifer (one of the many volunteers named Jennifer in our group) and I stayed with a local family with four children, one hijo (son) and three hijas (daughters) in a huge house in the center of the town. To be honest the bed that we had for the night was incredibly comfortable… almost as comfortable as my bed at home I the States! This is worth mentioning because most of the beds in Ecuador do not have much support… it is often like sleeping on a stack of wood, but it definitely beats sleeping on the cold floor! I did not have a chance to try out the shower to see if there was hot water, but I imagine that there was not any considering there were two washing stations outside for just this one house and that water was freezing… but it was refreshing after much time in the heat.

On Saturday we had the pleasure to go out and see the hombres (men) of the town working to make compost, which they sell for profit. It takes about eight months before the compost is actually ready to be bagged and ready to sell. I am not sure how profitable the compost is, but it seems to be working well, but it takes so much time to produce, but this is apparently why it is of much better quality than the compost we make in the States. Even though it was a Saturday, the men of the town were working hard. Later we learned about the local herbal medicine practices that cured the common cold, breathing problems, etc. The women of Mascarillas also showed us how to do trensas, or braids, which are definitely in style in Mascarillas and really all over Ecuador. After a packed day we headed back to Cayambe after lunch and then back to each of our towns.

Yesterday was also really fun. I have the opportunity to dance in the local Desfiles, or parades, in which is the larger town across the street from our town. I wore the traditional dress, which was beautiful, but also pretty tight since I am significantly larger than most of the women here. I even had to buy the largest size of shoes that the store carried since my feet are so huge! We danced form 10:00 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. in the rain and in the sunshine. It was pretty awesome and since it was fiesta of course there was vino, liquor, and cerveza involved, which is also always a good time! My madre, y mi sobrino (nephew), y yo danced together. The rest of the family came out for moral support, which was also nice. There were tons of groups and tons of people who came out to watch. We probably walked at least five miles, but it was definitely worth it! Needless to say my feet and my legs were incredibly achy last night and I went to sleep immediately after dinner, which meant I missed out on the fiestas, or parties, last night, which I hear were pretty fun as well!

Fue un fin de semana muy especial! (It was a very special weekend!)

Everything back in my pueblo, or town, is going well (minus the mean wild dogs in the calle, or street). My family is great and I am having an awesome time. Training is still going well and I am definitely learning a ton everyday. At times I feel like my brain may explode, but I definitely need to cram more vocabulary and other information in there before it does. Technical training is going well also, the sessions are long, but they are definitely very informative. Our language facilitator, Fernanda is really awesome and she makes our language classes really fun. Also all of the staff for our grupo de salud (health group) are awesome as well. Overall todo esta tranquillo! (Everything is calm/good).

I will hopefully post every Sunday or Monday, so stay tuned for my next adventures! I miss you all! Send email (or even snail mail ha) :D

Tiffa

Don't mind me.... I'm just here for the next two months...

So, I don't have a ton of time to write, but my family is fantastic! I have a mom, a grandfather, two sisters, a niece, a nephew, an aunt, a cousin and a brother in law who all live with us all of the time. Our house is nice and I have my own room with a television! So, far nothing to complain about! The food is pretty good, tons of papas (potatoes) and arroz (rice), both of which I enjoy...in moderation, but they are both obviously about to become a staple of my diet.

Last night I had the privilege to enjoy some cui, which is guinea pig... needless to say it was interesting, but definitely not the worst food I have ever had. It was like chicken, but tougher. It's difficult to explain, I guess you would just have to try it for yourself ;).

Overall, I believe I'm pretty much over my home sickness...while I love you all very much, I am adjusting fairly well. Right now we are living in a small town north of Quito. And by small, I mean it makes Mobile look like New York...which definitely has its pluses and minuses.... but overall more pluses! The weather is nice, I mean it beats 100 degrees in Mobile, but it is really cold at night. The people here are all very nice and I am excited to learn more Spanish and more about the culture of Ecuador.

Hopefully I can update often and soon! Please email (grimets@gmail.com) me if you would like my address or phone number.

Ciao!

Tiffany

Finally made it to Miami!

So, I finally made it to Miami! I have so many emotions it has been crazy, but overall I am mostly excited! Staging went well and I have already learned so much! I've meet so many great people and I believe this is going to be as amazing as we hoped it would be. 

I am definitely nervous about meeting my host family, the food, and especially the crime, but I guess no where is really truly safe.  I am trying my best to keep a positive attitude and hope that all of the stories I have heard are rare occasions instead of the norm. 

I will post my address and phone number as soon as I have them.  For now the best way to contact me is by email at grimets@gmail.com. 

I miss everyone so much! The plane ride from Mobile to Atlanta was pretty difficult, but I am feeling a million times better now that I am in Miami with everyone else.  There are 45 of us and so far no one has "peaced out" ;) and hopefully it will remain that way!

Tomorrow is going to be a long and emotional day, but I know things will begin to come together as soon as we are in country.  We still have so much more to learn, but I am definitely feeling much more confident than I was before.   I am very hopeful and excited for the future!

Hasta Luego!