...best puppet show ever...my students put on a short love story with puppets: "they meet in a dance club on a saturday night, they fall in love, he gives her aids, she's pregnant, and commits suicide...the end."

just posted a bunch of entries....i've been busy as a bee the past month and half, but i finally took some much needed time off to post pix, comments and a short blog of the month of july so please read, look and comment.

my love for you guys orbits the universe twice...besos hasta las estrellas.

--caro

saturday afternoon I gather some kiddos to plant 14 trees (papaya, neem, ruda, caña) with me in the organic garden on school campus…it was a beautiful day!!

radishes, swiss chards, lettuce and cilantro are ready for the picking…mmm, my yummy organics!! this is one of the happiest days of my life :)

inundó el estero de los manglares y nos trajo un ejército de malditos mosquitos.

recognize the beautiful blond?? yep, that's zeus and my counterpart, luis fernando.

this is zeta...a shroom beauty.

and messi...en honor a nuestro gran jugador, me siguió this messy b...

you are ready to marry. (i'm still practicing)Save Now

the month started off in sitio nuevo, where the micro-financing community bank invited me to help-out with the give-away of the new loans to the 30 members…I prepared guarantees, i.o.u.s, payment stubs and other forms…I had no clue what I was doing, it was truly a fun learning experience…while the adults collected their checks I decided to mingle with the children outside…I captured through photographs the wonderful innocence of debt-free lives, when all that matters in the day is playing with friends, street dogs and simply having laughs…do they realize

On u.s. independence day, I decided to begin the organic culinary gardens of the “cabañeras” (trans. beach hut restaurateurs)…I sowed swiss chard, parsely, cilantro, raddish, carrots, lettuce, bell pepper, chamomile, and few sunflower seeds (my signature flower)…we’re all excited to see what will come of this and when…I can’t wait ‘til it’s harvest-time!!

On argentina’s independence day, I gather about 20 students from the high school to film a short video-petition to send to president correa asking for the completion of building a wall around the school for protection reasons…protection from locos wandering into the school, neighbors taking the few resources the schools has such as old rusty garden tools and bamboo sticks, and finally to protect the trees and future veggies will plan to sow someday from the vagabond animals that meander throughout our campus…I’m still working on getting the professor who lend me his camera to give me the tape, I’m still working on getting the video edited, I’m still working on this…hopefully august brings some closure with this mini-project…

3 days before france’s independence day, I take on a new project on Saturdays…I committed to do some consulting work on an 80 hectares ranch in olón, called “el retiro” (trans. the retirement or the retreat both definitions apply)…the owner, an international engineer superstar, has a vast amount of cash, but needs some help with vermi-composting and setting up a greenhouse…this ranch serves also as a lodge with yummy, very posh food, day gateway for horse-back riding, and it’s provides some outdoors educational information –think girl/boy scouts trails, caged-up wild and unusual animals…so, I know the peace corps isn’t about helping those who have the means to progress, but I can’t discriminate help…help is help, and even though the engineer can pay someone to do this work, he asked me for help…I can’t say no, that practically goes against my nature…plus, it’s really nice to be able to work on a project without any human and economic resource obstacles…thus, I consider this to be my “peace crops t.v. reality show” type work, it doesn’t feel real, the people and problems in surrounding areas don’t truly existed beyond “el retiro’s” golden gate.

Later that night, my cell phone went for a swim in my fish soup…bummer, had to cough-up 56 bucks to get a new…water can evaporate from the phone, but not soup…soup’s consistency just makes the phone smelly and sticky and non-operational…just fyi.

le indépendance d’ France, brings my mind back to the much needed attention of my elementary school where i’m also trying to set-up an organic edible garden for the kids…I organized the senior ag high school students, first graders and others, a couple of parents and some good friends to help built a platform and a conduit of pvc pipes in order to bring h2o to the organic huerta…no h2o, no food, no life, simply…so this is really a critical step…it took awhile to complete this step, but I’m happy with the final turnout, plus the amount of high energy, good vibes and everyone’s effort is an important layer for pachamama to ready the home of the new seeds and plants before they arrive.

A few days before the 3:35 a.m. 5.6 earthquake we had here, I introduce myself to the last institution in the village, upse (universidad pública de santa elena, the provincial university annex)… the departments at this university are only agriculture and tourism…an ag student asked if I could give a short talk about the importance of organic farming and its components, so I agreed and went, but before I could find him and his class, I found the director of the u…he immediately gave a schedule to teach freshmen and juniors on Fridays and Saturdays, “but…but…but…”, I kept on saying, “I’m not a professor”…I need to learn and practice, not teach…I can share information but not teach it…I need to prove my knowledge through experimentation before it can become a fact in my mind…I am the students’ peer not their governess…ufa!! How am I’m going to get out of this one?? I know!! I will stall…that is what i’m doing until I see how my gardens grow, mature and develop (maybe 3 to 5 months) and once I have some real hands-on experience of the area I will stand in front of the class and become a sharer of my facts.

The penultimate week, the lunar eclipse announces that schools’ are out on mini-vacations…the last day before the break, the high schoolers ask me to teach them sex ed, the professors and principal ask the same of me…no one’s been hired for that position yet, and the girls in 9th grades with their first boyfriends are getting hitched and ditching school…the request was not only important, it was also truly urgent, so weighing the pros and cons, the can I and can’t I, came into play and the result was, straightforwardly, i have to do it…so, I take that mini-vacation to prep the classes for the second trimester, 12 weeks… I start with the seniors (3 classes, totaling 60 students) who will be leaving early to finish the school year with internships, then I’ll continue with the other higher grades and work my way down for the rest of the year…I completely submerged myself the entire week reading up on sex, looking up sex ed pix, preparing presentations and games…and, of course, I deliberately worked on relaxation techniques to calm my nerves and high strung anxiety…I felt ready.

Monday bloody Monday starts the week with a small accident…I take the senior ag students to the ranch where I do consulting on Saturdays and where they will do part of their internships…as we ride standing on the bed of a pick-up truck we head-up to the main area of the ranch when all of a sudden, the sharp turn and slippery floor has me grabbing onto a piece of metal thing from the truck and trying to support my 7 students falling on me from falling off of the truck…my strength wasn’t good enough though, 3 kids fly off the truck onto the ground, no major damage, some scratches, and aches, and a crooked finger…as I scream to the driver thinking the worst has happened, we stop, and I run over to the kids and for about 2 minutes without taking a breathe I see them laying on the ground laughing and making jokes… at that moment, I knew my kids were ok, I take my first breathe and let the adrenaline that was fueling my body simmer down…everyone was ok, my finger however is another story for it is still crooked from the incident, and I starting to think it might actually be broken…the x-ray will tell…how exciting my first ever possible broken bone!! Yey for peace corps scars!!

that same Monday was also the first day of my sex ed classes…I start with the history of the conceptions of sexuality throughout time and societies….the kids are so not digging this, but they ask for more once the hour is up…that’s a good sign, right?? I promised them more entertaining lectures in the coming weeks…as of today, august 12th, I’m on my 3rd week of classes and the kids love it!! We talk, laugh and question everything together…respect is the only rule I have in the classroom, all are well behaved except for the ag kids for they’ve known me the longest so they see me as a peer, respect only urges them to make knotty jokes more vocal…I just hope something gets through their head…we’ll see, only time will tell.

so, after celebrating in Guayaquil Aquila’s pre-birthday and Diane’s departure from PC Ecuador until 4 am on Saturday…I take the 1 o’clock bus back to manglaralto, and arrive to my buddy’s 40th cumple bash…delish food, yummy caipiriñas and dancing to the rhythm of the music for another 7 plus hours, I get home from my party extravaganzas completely exhausted…I throw my tired body onto the bed and with the intention of sleeping until noon I close my eyes…5 minutes pass when I start to hear my host family loudly waking-up…doors slamming, bathroom water running through the drains, deep voices muttering words in the dark…and a car’s honking announcing someone’s arrival…but, WTF???!!!!! IT’S 3:30 A.M.!!!!!! Tonight out all nights, my host fam decides to slaughter their 300-kilo pig…did they have a sudden attack of the midnight munchies and find nothing else to eat around the house?? No…is it someone’s birthday, baptism, retirement or any other sort of celebratory event that was forgotten and now was the time to make up for it?? No… then what was the reason behind getting up so f’in early to slaughter the piggy??…well, after much deliberation, my pooped cabeza finally figure it out…they did this to simply to kill temptation…see, my town received a group of evangelicals last month who would come-in knocking door-to-door to “teach” people how to interpret the bible…once they passed some oral exams, the fortunate ones would then be baptized in the ocean at dusk…my host family was amongst these fortunate ones…then the group left, and my host fam began questioning what to do with the pig they’ve been feeding in the backyard for the past year…the original idea was to have a feast on new years’, but now with their new path, eating a piggy is completely out of the question…so, let’s kill temptation…they called some guys up to do the deed in exchange for some vino and a pound each of the piggy meat…my host dad chopped up Eloy into many little pieces and by 5:50 A.M. the work was done…my drained self thought, well the nightmare is over, hopefully now I can sleep, but no…6 A.M. hits and so are the neighbors at the door asking to buy a piece of the animal who once was named Eloy…one by one people from all around town come to the house to find a bargain, $2/lb of Eloy…it’s 11:25 and I can’t take it anymore…I step out of my room and head across the street looking for some much deserved peace and quiet…I order my encebollado (chuchaqui soup) and ask the lady to hold the meat. from the land where the river meets the sea, and the house pets are doomed to the sharpness of a blade…i salute you all with my dull dagger which i only use to carve. sending heaps of peace & love, --caro “may the force be with you”

this kid in the terminal of guayaquil had no clue what his t-shirt meant...but the message is golden :)

el gatito volador, nuevo amiguito de 5 cinco años...cada vez más jovencitos son mis acompoañantes, che...

fri 5-jun

día del medio ambiente

dia del medio ambiente, con desfiles escolares corando la carretera y gritos de “viva la tierra, viva!!” hoy me convocaron de la comunidad de libertador bolivar a celebrar con ellos este día…presidentes y miembros de varias fundaciones nacionales e internacionales dieron unas palabras inspiradoras a la audiencia presente bajo un cielo gris…me pidieron q me siente su lado y yo con mucho gusto acepté sin saber q esperaban q tambien comparta unas palabras con el forum…el mc me entregó el micrófono y lo único q se ocurrió fue decir: “la vida es una sola…cuidémosla con amor…gracias por tenerme aquí con uds”…y con eso se concluyó las festividades matutinas.

wed 4-jun

el tractor amarillo

el lunes 20 de mayo hablando con don tomás en su cabaña sobre los proyectos del cole y las necesidades q tenemos para poder completarlos, una de las cuales es un tractor con pala para mover montañas de tierra q la nueva construcción dejó amontonada toda por un costado de la cancha…bueno, les comento q este viernes 22 de mayo es el día del árbol y el ministerio de medio ambiente ha tenido la gentileza de donarnos unos 440 árboles para los chicos y un sector que queremos plantarlos es justamente todo alrededor de la cancha de fútbol, por eso la necesidad de un tractor con pala…volviendo al tema con don tomás, estamos charlando y yo rascándome el cerebro para encontrar la forma de preparar este terreno para recibir los arbolitos cuando mirando hacia el noroeste veo venir un tractor enorme por la playa!! wow!! “lo q es el poder de la mente” pensé…fui corriendo hacia el tractor y le pedí al conductor de esa majestuosa maquina el favor de venir al cole y ayudarnos antes del viernes…él, amablemente acepta la tarea con la condición de cumplirla solo después de su laburo con agua sanitarias en una comunidad cercana…15 días mas tarde, llega el tractor amarillo.

…el proyecto “adoptemos un arbol” igual se hizo con mucho éxito y poca organización…las cosas que deben pasar suceden tal cual deben de ocurrir…la lección que aprendí de esto es q a veces hay que cederle al universo el control y todo se solucionará. summary:pix of kids are from el día del árbol (the day of the tree), may 22, were we received aover 400 trees to plant in order to promote reforestation on campus...the tractor that we needed before that day in order to clear out some of the area arrived 15 days later...no worries, trees were succesfully planted, soil has been leveled and cleared....all is good.

wed 3-jun

el buen comer y eco-rincón

el buen comer y eco-rincón, es el nombre q le di a una serie de proyectos q tengo en asociación con los chicos de 5to y 6to del colegio…los proyectos son para promover huertas orgánicas escolares y mini parques…ya tenemos dos interesados, las escuelitas de manglaralto y la de mont…es un hermoso trabajo cooperativo porque mientras yo estoy asesorando a los chicos con diapositivas en power point y presentaciones profesionales, ellos a la vez me ayudan hacer huertas orgánicas y promover la restauración de pachamama, un verdadero win-win situation…ahora el truco es q tenemos q hacer q los padres de familias de los chicos de 6to, 7mo y 8vo grado de las escuelas se enamoren del proyecto porque son ellos los q tienen q aportar los recursos materiales y asegurar el mantenimiento de estas para q sea exitosa y sustentable…hoy tuvimos nuestra reunión en la escuelita de manglaralto, estaban todos los padres y con nuestra energía ansiosa de ver la reacción de ellos dimos la presentación…en 25 mins terminamos nuestra parte y esperamos a ver la respuesta…el silencio invadió la sala por un largo minuto hasta q uno de los padres, alzo la mano y dijo bueno, yo trabajo con el ministerio de medio ambiente y puedo conseguir algunas semillas y arbolitos…otro ofreció sus herramientas para empezar a preparar el terreno…”wow!! ok”, dije, bueno vamos todos a ver donde la vamos a hacer…y así salimos los 51 cuerpos al jardín de la escuela y empezamos a compartir nuestra visión…fue hermoso.

el próximo martes tendremos nuestra primera minga, “una cerquita para mi huertita”…to be continued.

mon 1-jun el día del niño...uno de los días más importantes del año decidí invitar a mis dos amiguitas, ariana y yuliana, a almorzar...para digerir la rica comida y los jugos de frutas que nos habíamos tomado fuimos después a la playa por un rato, nos tomamos unos heladitos y jugamos nunca juego de cartas preferido, el burro...nunca olviden de su niño interior.

sat 23-may

fiesta en manglaralto!!

como ustedes sabrán tengo 29 años, y durante 365 días estará mi querido saturno haciendo su retorno, la q significa q es un tiempo de constante cambios internos y destinatario…el 23 de diciembre es mi cumpleaños y desde q cumplí mis dulces 29, el 23 de cada mes presenta un evento significativo…por ejemplo, el 23 de enero recibí el paquete de mi viaje al ecuador; el 23 de febrero tomé el vuelo a washington dc, despidiendo momentáneamente de mi familia, amigos, laburo y mi “zona de comfort” por dos años; el 23 de marzo, el cuerpo de paz me designa a mi primer sitio, eugenio espejos de cajas –un desastre total pero que gracias a eso hoy estoy exactamente adonde debo de estar, aquí en manglaralto, lo cual me fue confirmado el 23 de abril…y llegamos a hoy, sábado 23 de mayo, hice mi presentación formal y colectiva a la comunidad de sitio nuevo, luego di mi primera charla sobre huertas orgánicamente culinaria a los cabañeros, dueños de los restaurantes de la playa de acá, lo cual produjo una chispita en algunos…pero el gran evento del día es el inicio de una semana de fiestas, celebrando el 186to año de la parroquialización de manglaralto…la comunidad nominará unas jóvenes ejemplar para luego representarnos ante las otras comunidades de la parroquia, de ahí saldrá una reina de la parroquia que competirá contra las otras reinas parroquiales de la provincia y luego compiten nacionalmente para así después elegir la miss ecuador…nunca fui una entusiasta de concursos de belleza y mucho menos de toda aquella competencia inicua, pero en ecuador este evento anual es importantísimo porque inyecta en la gente un sentimiento de fraternidad y por un instante esta noche todos se olvidarán de los dilemas cotidianos q los atormenta durante el día…bueno, hoy 23 de mayo, los miembros de la junta de toda la comunidad, me eligió para ser una de las tres integrantes del jurado, lo cual es un gran honor, no por el evento en si, sino porque es una pequeña demostración como de iniciación por mi integración a la comunidad… hoy yo me convertí en manglaraltense.

fellow canadien university students arrived to help me out for two-days in the reforestation project at the high school and clean-up of the elementary schoolof manglarlato.

long live canada!!

acá les presento a vicente...ecologista, dos mangueño original, compañero artesano de tagua de asaprot ...y habilidoso total con las manos. un sombrero orgánico, que solo cuesta una hoja de la palma para que quedes re-fashion!!

esto es la tagua...una semilla de un árbol típico de la región...la semilla se puede cocinar para preparar postres y también se utiliza para crear bellas cositas artesanales...esto es el marfil vegetal.

lugar: campo del colegio fiscal técnico de manglaralto, mi lugar de trabajoevento: arrando la tierra de pastos secos y preparándolo para plantar arbolitoshecho: soy malísima manejando cualquier tipo de vehículo con cambios

sat 16-may

lugar: playa de la entrada, provincia santa elena

evento: concurso gastronómico y artesanl costeño