First, we’ll start with work. I’m still being “patient” as my boss asks me to do everyday because there’s really not much work for me to do and I am beginning to wonder how I ever even got assigned to work with him. I hate that he thinks of me merely as his secretary and would blow him off to find a new counterpart if it weren’t for the fact that I really want to work with his company to help produce and market their future product. He tells me to be patient and that in a few months things will be better and I believe him, until I remember this is Ecuador, a few months can last up to 5 years and I only have two!! But I guess I will take my time to research dehydrated bananas and better prepare myself…
In my lack of work, I have been finding other projects to work on. Last Friday there was a mini-festival for Ecuador’s independence day (it was 10 days late) and I attended it with Melita. After I received a free manicure from the students of the beauty school, Melita introduced me to a friend of hers who is the director of a high school that has a project helping the youth start small businesses. He invited me to help and I was able to meet with the heads of the program on Sunday. They also asked me to teach English at the high school (which I really don’t want to do but I’m starting to think it would at least give me something to do) and I told them I’d rather teach basic business classes or a geography-political science class. But the unfortunate thing is the high school only has classes on Saturday and Sundays, which are days I don’t really want to give up. So I guess we’ll see where this goes…
Today I finally planted my first seeds in my garden. I planted carrots, lettuce and a seed that I forgot what it was. And tomatoes as well but those are in my kitchen and I don’t really have much hope for them. Keep your fingers crossed. Melita had some flowerbeds made cuz that's really about the only way to grow things here and she very kindly let me have two of them. But as I was planting my seeds I noticed the giant ants crawling about and am worried that they are going to be a future nuisance. I have been searching all over Guayaquil and Riobamba to buy worms to start my worm beds but haven’t had any luck. Yesterday Melita told me there’s a place right outside of town that does worm beds and I can just buy some from them. So I guess my project for tomorrow is to find me some worms.
And enough about work, it bores me. This past Wednesday I went to Riobamba to spend time with my friend Ashley. She had found a spa in a little town outside of Riobamba and we set a mission to go and check it out, hoping to receive a nice massage. Turns out, its closed on Wednesday for cleaning and only offered a warm pool for swimming. Minor let down but instead of the spa, Ashley and I treated ourselves to some homemade, fresh fruit ice cream. Delicioooous. On Thursday Ashley went to work and I met up with some other volunteers who live in Riobamba for breakfast. We ate fish soup. I never would’ve thought that I would like to eat a soup with chunks of potato and albacore at 8 in the morning but it is oddly delectable and something that I am starting to crave. Afterwards we went shopping for worms and seeds and sadly didn’t have much luck. Now I know why no one grows their own gardens, its cuz seeds are expensive and lack in variety. But I ended up buying carrots, my friend lettuce and we swapped half for half so I guess it worked out well.
On Thursday Alice, the new volunteer to replace Brooke, arrived. I am slightly jealous that she has such a better work situation than me but I am not jealous that she is just starting. I’m taking my three months advantage and holding it over her head for as long as I can!
Saturday I went and played basketball with a friend of mine and of course I was the only female. I didn’t think it would be a problem until they started fighting over whose team I would play on. Apparently everybody wanted to be on my team because they were afraid to push or touch me. I was actually pretty offended by it but then I was better than about ¾’s of them (this is even after not playing since forever) so I got over it pretty quickly. That evening I took Fernanda and her two cousins to the circus that was in town for the weekend. And by circus they really mean two hours of clowns doing silly jokes and dancing and about 15 minutes of acrobatics, stunts and a hypnotist. It was really good, except for the clowns. Fernanda and her cousins wanted me to go up and get hypnotized but one, I was a little critical of the quality of the hypnotist, two, I was critical as to whether I could really be hypnotized in Spanish and three, I’m glad I didn’t because the last event that the hypnotist made his victims do was “dance sexy” which lead them to dancing and stripping.
On Sunday the family of Alice invited me to come to the pool with them so we spent the afternoon playing soccer, volleyball, swimming, playing cards and eating bbq-ed pig. Now that is what I like to call a Sunday!
This weekend I am heading up to Quito on Friday to go to the main office and get some stuff figured out and then on Saturday I am running another 10k. This one starts at 10pm and goes through the Old Town of Quito and passes by all of the churches. I am pretty excited about it cuz its going to be an incredible view but I am really worried about whether or not I’ll be able to breathe because its about an 6,000 ft change in elevation. I told my friend that I was doing it and that I was afraid of the elevation change and his response was “don’t worry, there’s always medics around”. Thank you Jorge…
Well that's about it from me, I wish I had more exciting news or projects but I am glad to be able to report that it was another good week in Cumanda!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
You know that life is good when you walk outside and are perplexed as to whether you should pull a fresh mandarin, grapefruit or chirimoya off the tree for your breakfast. I’m in the land of bananas and so much more.
I was just beginning to be proud of myself for keeping a weekly update on my blog and I guess it went to my head because as of late, it seems impossible. Things have been going well which I am happy to report; despite the general sadness that Brooke (the other volunteer) has officially moved out and left. She is now traveling through Peru, Chile and Argentina until the end of September. But I am now the proud owner of a beautiful refrigerator, a full sized bed and a well-stocked kitchen. I am still lacking a table though but the few times I actually eat in my home, I don’t mind eating on the floor.
Brooke left last Saturday which was a day packed full of moving, dread, sadness and a delicious shrimp lunch provided by Brooke for all of our help. On Sunday I made it to Guayaquil on little sleep in order to meet up with some friends and run a 10k. It went well, I finished the race needless to say. Afterwards my friends and I decided to reward ourselves with a quick trip to the beach to visit another volunteer whose site is actually on the beach (jealous). We spent the afternoon lying on the glorious sand, playing in the water, enjoying the plentiful beers that were being brought to us (waiters, on the beach, incredible) and I even came home with a sand dollar! I asked about 7 other beachcombers what they call a sand dollar in Spanish and no one knew.
This past week has been a little different because my counterpart has recently been voted into a local governmental position of Cumanda so now he spends most of his days working in the Government building. Ha which basically means the one thing that I actually did on a daily basis (walking to his house for “work”) is now no longer existent. So I’ve found other ways to fill my time, like working in Melita’s store or spending an afternoon in customs trying to get out a package sent to me. I’ve been dying to start up a garden because right now is the perfect growing season but you wouldn’t believe how hard it is to find seeds here. I went to three different stores here and all of them only had seeds for cilantro and peppers, which obviously grow in surplus here because that's all you can buy. Is it really that hard to grow some carrots??
I just recently finished reading the book Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver which I’m sure most have heard about as it is a very popular book. Despite its slow start, I felt obligated to read it, it defiantly picked up and now I can’t get the characters out of my mind. Anyways, it's a fiction book about a Southern Baptist family that moves to the Congo in the ‘60s as missionaries. One of the main premises discusses how the family is viewed merely because of there white skin and how it effects their potential capabilities. A quote I really enjoyed: “The children who hounded us daily for money and food weren’t dim-witted beggars; they were accustomed to the distribution of excess, and couldn’t fathom why we held ourselves apart.” Not that I am at all comparing Ecuador to the 50-year-old indigenous tribes of the Congo for there are inarguable differences; but with all of the Ecuadorians I have met, they have all left in awe of how willing they are to share. And with my own personal things, I have acted just as the quote says and held what I have apart because it is mine. I have mentally critiqued the culture here for not taking pride and care for their things but maybe that’s where I’m in the wrong for coveting the few things that I do have. However, it also does stretch to other extremes where as it breaks my heart to hear them talk about how incredible, rare and beautiful their Ecuador is but yet don’t think twice about throwing diapers in the rivers, burning everything plastic and not caring for their earth. How do you find a balance of having pride for the things you don’t own without sacrificing the ability to share the things that you do own?
Melita and I made our bi-weekly trip to Guayaquil on Friday to re-stock her store (which is still full, she’s addicted to shopping). I actually gave her some input this trip; I can’t remember what she was buying but it was something I felt that was unnecessary so I asked, “Do you really need these in the store?” She looked at me and said, “Yes.” And then I said no more. Maybe I’ll try again next trip.
I spent this following weekend in Cumanda. It was the festival weekend of another little town close by so I went to the bull fighting and dancing on Saturday evening. Like all the others, these festivals failed to leave me intrigued and in shock that certain events are actually acceptable. Sunday I was invited by a neighbor who raises pigs to go view the pigs in the market and then treated me to roasted pig afterwards. I’ve eaten the roasted pig before and it’s pretty delicious, but I guess after viewing all the other pigs still alive it’s hard to eat roasted pig (with its head still intact) at 8:30 in the morning.
This morning I amazed my boss with my abilities to create a powerpoint presentation. I think I am going to be disappointed in two years and I lose all of these special powers, so I try not to think about it. Today (August 10th) is also Ecuador’s Independence Day so it's a national holiday where no one works. I’m shocked that my boss was working this morning. And also all the schools have vacation for a week. I’m pretty sure they had vacation for a week two weeks ago.
On Thursday of this upcoming week, I’m going to another friend’s site who is a natural resources volunteer and he does a lot with a local natural reserve forest. One of his jobs is training tour guides in English so he needs English-speaking people to come test them out. I gladly signed up for a free tour in a canoe through the mangroves.
Welp, that's about it from here. I hope all is well and I hope you all enjoyed your Ecuadorian Independence Day!!
I was just beginning to be proud of myself for keeping a weekly update on my blog and I guess it went to my head because as of late, it seems impossible. Things have been going well which I am happy to report; despite the general sadness that Brooke (the other volunteer) has officially moved out and left. She is now traveling through Peru, Chile and Argentina until the end of September. But I am now the proud owner of a beautiful refrigerator, a full sized bed and a well-stocked kitchen. I am still lacking a table though but the few times I actually eat in my home, I don’t mind eating on the floor.
Brooke left last Saturday which was a day packed full of moving, dread, sadness and a delicious shrimp lunch provided by Brooke for all of our help. On Sunday I made it to Guayaquil on little sleep in order to meet up with some friends and run a 10k. It went well, I finished the race needless to say. Afterwards my friends and I decided to reward ourselves with a quick trip to the beach to visit another volunteer whose site is actually on the beach (jealous). We spent the afternoon lying on the glorious sand, playing in the water, enjoying the plentiful beers that were being brought to us (waiters, on the beach, incredible) and I even came home with a sand dollar! I asked about 7 other beachcombers what they call a sand dollar in Spanish and no one knew.
This past week has been a little different because my counterpart has recently been voted into a local governmental position of Cumanda so now he spends most of his days working in the Government building. Ha which basically means the one thing that I actually did on a daily basis (walking to his house for “work”) is now no longer existent. So I’ve found other ways to fill my time, like working in Melita’s store or spending an afternoon in customs trying to get out a package sent to me. I’ve been dying to start up a garden because right now is the perfect growing season but you wouldn’t believe how hard it is to find seeds here. I went to three different stores here and all of them only had seeds for cilantro and peppers, which obviously grow in surplus here because that's all you can buy. Is it really that hard to grow some carrots??
I just recently finished reading the book Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver which I’m sure most have heard about as it is a very popular book. Despite its slow start, I felt obligated to read it, it defiantly picked up and now I can’t get the characters out of my mind. Anyways, it's a fiction book about a Southern Baptist family that moves to the Congo in the ‘60s as missionaries. One of the main premises discusses how the family is viewed merely because of there white skin and how it effects their potential capabilities. A quote I really enjoyed: “The children who hounded us daily for money and food weren’t dim-witted beggars; they were accustomed to the distribution of excess, and couldn’t fathom why we held ourselves apart.” Not that I am at all comparing Ecuador to the 50-year-old indigenous tribes of the Congo for there are inarguable differences; but with all of the Ecuadorians I have met, they have all left in awe of how willing they are to share. And with my own personal things, I have acted just as the quote says and held what I have apart because it is mine. I have mentally critiqued the culture here for not taking pride and care for their things but maybe that’s where I’m in the wrong for coveting the few things that I do have. However, it also does stretch to other extremes where as it breaks my heart to hear them talk about how incredible, rare and beautiful their Ecuador is but yet don’t think twice about throwing diapers in the rivers, burning everything plastic and not caring for their earth. How do you find a balance of having pride for the things you don’t own without sacrificing the ability to share the things that you do own?
Melita and I made our bi-weekly trip to Guayaquil on Friday to re-stock her store (which is still full, she’s addicted to shopping). I actually gave her some input this trip; I can’t remember what she was buying but it was something I felt that was unnecessary so I asked, “Do you really need these in the store?” She looked at me and said, “Yes.” And then I said no more. Maybe I’ll try again next trip.
I spent this following weekend in Cumanda. It was the festival weekend of another little town close by so I went to the bull fighting and dancing on Saturday evening. Like all the others, these festivals failed to leave me intrigued and in shock that certain events are actually acceptable. Sunday I was invited by a neighbor who raises pigs to go view the pigs in the market and then treated me to roasted pig afterwards. I’ve eaten the roasted pig before and it’s pretty delicious, but I guess after viewing all the other pigs still alive it’s hard to eat roasted pig (with its head still intact) at 8:30 in the morning.
This morning I amazed my boss with my abilities to create a powerpoint presentation. I think I am going to be disappointed in two years and I lose all of these special powers, so I try not to think about it. Today (August 10th) is also Ecuador’s Independence Day so it's a national holiday where no one works. I’m shocked that my boss was working this morning. And also all the schools have vacation for a week. I’m pretty sure they had vacation for a week two weeks ago.
On Thursday of this upcoming week, I’m going to another friend’s site who is a natural resources volunteer and he does a lot with a local natural reserve forest. One of his jobs is training tour guides in English so he needs English-speaking people to come test them out. I gladly signed up for a free tour in a canoe through the mangroves.
Welp, that's about it from here. I hope all is well and I hope you all enjoyed your Ecuadorian Independence Day!!
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