A volunteer friend of mine, Kellie from Colorado, had been busy developing a potable water project for a tiny community above her site. She had commissioned the help of Engineers without Borders from Kansas States University (EWB-KSU). (This is the same project I emailed some family and friends about asking for donations. Thank you to everyone who donated!) The project includes replacing the drinking water system for this community and eventually building a new storage tank. The EWB-KSU group came to Ecuador from January 3rd to January 12th to perform the work and assess the future work for the project. I had been in contact with Kellie to help because I wanted to take part in a project that was very close to my interests and also because of my previous construction experience here in Ecuador. I also helped translate and discuss the ever changing problems on a construction project. Several other Peace Corps Volunteers were also going to help. I was happily anticipating this project because I was excited to share my engineering experiences, be a helpful translator, talk to people involved with Engineers without Borders (I wish to join a group when I am in graduate school), and to help an under-served community. Then, the day before I was going to leave for her site, the Peace Corps office asked the volunteers not to go because of a...well, we'll call him a “person of concern”. I don't think I will go into the details of this situation online because I am sure Peace Corps would not appreciate that. But I will say this person was acting a bit nutty and was not Ecuadorian (just to avoid the assumption). A day after they had started working, two volunteers were given permission from the office to help with the project, and I was one of them. I dropped what I had planned for the day and traveled to Kellie's site. Upon arriving I met the 25 or so people from Kansas. Some were associated with the EWB group and some were from a church in Manhattan, Kansas. We ate dinner and prepared for the next day. This community is comprised of 22 indigenous families and is located aside one of the steepest mountainsides I have ever seen. This system runs up and down at least 1,000 feet, purely in elevation change (not counting the horizontal distance). It was crazy to see. Plus the work would include carrying all the materials up to the mountain.

Then early the next morning we started our work. The group had worked the day before and spent most of the previous day digging trenches along the mainline and uncovering the existing system. When we started the next day we dug the lines out to the houses. We also walked around and got to know the system and discussed what would be possible in the short amount of time the group had at the community. Saturday, the following day we laid the mainline pipe as the community continued trenches to their houses. We also walked the hour hike to the natural spring, where their water comes from. This was one of the coolest hikes I have done in a long time. (And there are lots of great hikes in Ecuador). That night they had a meeting where they discussed the project and the problems. We had schematic drawings on a board and everyone was talking and designing. Discussing what could be done this trip, what materials were still needed and the easiest and cheapest way to complete these objectives. Real engineering! Oh, how I miss it!

On Sunday, the group had a travel/rest day. Guess what they did on their “day of rest”…climbed a mountain! Kellie had organized a rented bus to drive everyone up to Chimborazo (the tallest mountain in Ecuador), where we climbed from the first to the second refuge. Yay snow! And hot chocolate! And by the way...that elevation can get you, even when you've been climbing mountainsides at more than 3,200 meters (10,500 ft) at the worksite. Our highest point on Chimborazo was at 16,500 ft. This is also the highest elevation I have been at in real life, with the exception of airplanes. I was actually dizzy. I also hula-hooped up there! We met this Australian girl who brought her hula-hoop. Naturally. That night a local traditional band played for the group and taught some of the traditional dancing steps. A couple of shamans also came and did a prayer for the group. The coolest thing was this 16 stringed Andean guitar (though not actually called a guitar) and the very talented guy who played it. In fact, they were all very good. Monday, was back to work. Each day was getting more and more productive. We had divided into groups (which we had been doing, but it was better defined at this point). One group (my group) was climbing all the way up with a couple community members to discuss the connection to the large existing storage tank. We exposed the pipes and ordered what was needed so we would have it for the next day. The next group was working on replacing the buoy valves in the pressure breaker boxes. And another was laying the pipes to the houses and installing the meters, and another group was laying the rest of the mainline. The final and most important group, made lunch for about 60 people (all volunteers and community members). After my group was done, I did some translating about how and when we would be installing the system. Then we climbed down for lunch....where I received the surprising news that all volunteers who didn't live in that community were required to leave because of this “person of concern”. Damn him. We immediately had to say goodbye, hike down the mountain from the project, and pack our bags and go. This meant I wouldn't see the system turned on, or fully installed. I was really sad about this. All because of some crazy man, that I have never even met, can mess up such an interesting and helpful project. I do appreciate that Peace Corps is paying that close attention to the safety of the volunteers, that really only says good things about them. I am just irritated that I couldn't see it finished out. I really learned a lot from this project and enjoyed working with the KSU group. I loved doing engineering work again and I am looking forward to doing some critical thinking again when I return to the US. The good news is...this won't be my last Engineers without Borders project!The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

So it’s been a while... In November my Mom came to visit for Thanksgiving. We celebrated with my host family. My mom, Lindsay, and I made turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie, sweet potatoes, apple pie, and biscuits. They seemed to really enjoy the food, which I found to be a relief because I didn’t know how they would like it. It was a great experience. My mom, Lindsay, and I traveled to the mountain refuge of Chimborazo, where we had hot chocolate and played in the snow. Then Mom and I visited the ruins of the Canari people at Incapirca, and the Cajas National Park. We met up with a couple of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers who are opening up a café in Cuenca. They have a beautiful house outside of town. My mom flew out of Guayaquil and I only had a quick couple of weeks between my mom leaving and me leaving for the US for Christmas. These couple weeks were full of finalizing my grant reports and my grad school applications. Luckily it was all manageable and now completed. Wahoo! My trip to the US involved a lot of “moving home” activities. I only have about three more months in Ecuador, so I packed two large bags full of things I wanted to take home for good, ie clothes I won’t use, souvenirs, Christmas gifts …and my cat. Nena is now an international traveler. My mom is going to care for her during my final months in the Peace Corps. This is a good thing because I will be traveling and working in other places. Flying with a cat is an interesting experience. She traveled with a friend cat (actually my friend, Lindsay’s cat, Bernardo). We saved money by having them travel together. And we both few into Chicago on the same flight. It worked out well. They shared a crate and got along relatively well. My Nena doesn’t tend to like other animals and got fussy at a couple points. Bernardo howled through American immigration and customs, but behaved well for the rest of the trip. The whole trip included a quick ride in the back of a truck, 5 hour bus to Quito (the capital and airport city), hour long city bus ride, and then many errands to get them approved for travel. Then the 12 hours in lines, planes, and layovers, and then another hour on Chicago’s El. Poor cats. Upon arriving home, I had several errands to run. I was trying to wash all my clothes, visit the bank and go to the Post Office. Turns out I got nothing done this day. If anything will give you reverse culture shock, it would be the post office a week before Christmas. And driving in Chicago was pretty stressful. Plus I was exhausted from my overnight flight. Crazy, frustrating, unproductive day. Steve and I hung out in Springfield for a few days and then visited his family and had a lovely time in Wayne, Pennsylvania. They are wonderful people and everything was excellent. I returned to Springfield to celebrate Christmas with my family. My mom bought a new house while I was in Ecuador and it is strange but nice to see her in a new house. The new house is spacey and has great light. I had a great Christmas break! Now I am preparing to go back to Ecuador…I am pretty sad to be leaving the good US of A. But I will be back soon!! My plans upon return are to work at a friends Engineers without Borders project and to paint a World Map in my town...because my project is over I don't know how I will fill my time! The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

Dear blog readers…good news…My Project is done!!! Whoot woot. After over six months of work, we have reconstructed 300 meters of canal, buried 40 meters of PVC, fixed the leaking reservoir tank, and built a sedimentation tank. I am most proud of the sedimentation tank, because the planning and design was my own and it proved to be the hardest part of the project, due to lack of participation from the community members and the misunderstanding of its purpose. The project numbers: Total cost: $6,611.12 Cost and percent of donations from local governments: $3,873.17 and 59% Cost and percent from USAID: $1,043.88 and 16% (thanks taxpayers!) Cost and percent from the association of farmers: $630 and 10% (not including labor donations), $1,694 and 26% (including) Cost of a “peon” laborer for a day (no sh*t, that’s what they call them): 7 dollars with lunch, or $8 Bags of cement used: 193 Cost of a bag of cement: $6.76 Gallon of gas: $2.10 Renting a concrete mixer for a day: $40 Man-days of work: 210 (not including me) Completing a peace Corps Project: priceless…(Sorry I couldn’t help the cliché) I still have to complete a “Completion report” for USAID/Peace Corps. But reports and paperwork seem kinda fun after construction. The only problem is internet…it seems harder and harder to come by. And what is the deal with my power and water always going out recently? I thought these things should improve with time not get worse… I am also in the midst of graduate school applications. It is difficult from here. Graduate programs want you to have a relationship with a professor and have chosen an adviser before you even send in an application. Of course from Ecuador, this is impossible. Emails are impersonal when you know they receive hundreds. Steve (my boyfriend) and I are making plans to live in the same city when I return. After two years of very llong distance it is necessary. He just started a job in Minneapolis and I am doing my darndest to get accepted to University of Minnesota. That’s right, I want to be a Golden Gopher. It was either that or a Badger. Which is my second choice, Univeristy of Wisconsin-Madison. Not the coolest mascots, but I am excited about either school. My Mom will be arriving Tuesday night for her third visit, and fifth loved-one-visit (yes, I am spoiled). We will be preparing a Thanksgiving Dinner for my host family and for a few straggling volunteers who show up. We also plan to visit the town of Cuenca (my favorite city in Ecuador). Only two short weeks after that I will be flying to the states for Christmas! I am beyond excited. It will be busy though. The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

So I have had a rough morning and I thought of writing this blog. I awoke expecting to start my possibly last week of construction. Exciting right? Wrong…No one showed up to work that day. That was OK because I had one more thing to finish before we could start work. Something I thought would be simple but, alas, it is Ecuador. Sometimes the things that seem so simple are the opposite. I miss Google maps…I’ll explain…I must mention that my town is full of metal working shops. These shops do everything from make guns (what they are famous for in my region), mechanic work on cars, making iron bars for windows (which everyone has), gates, doors, fences, and anything else you can think of made of metal. On the sedimentation tank we are building we are putting in a valve to empty the tank when it needs cleaned. First we needed a pipe to pass through a meter wide section of dirt. Finding a 2” iron pipe was hard enough, but I did it. And people in my town said that I can have grooves cut into the end of the pipe so the valve can be screwed on. Simple right? I just have to find a metal worker who can do that. Since my town has five of these shops, I took the meter and a half pipe home once I bought it (from the nearest capital city). When I had first asked them about the pipe and grooves they said “I don’t have it”, what I thought they meant, was that they don’t have the pipe. No one mentioned you have to have a certain machine to cut grooves for 2” pipes. They could only do 1” or ½” pipes. My nearest large town was the same. So I had to go to the nearest large city (the capital again) and after being pointed in various directions and asking about twenty (20!) people and two bus rides and 2 miles of walking, all with a 20 pound pipe. All that and no luck. I finally went back to the place I bought it from and they helped me. I should have ignored every suggestion given to me by an Ecuadorian and trusted my gut. Ugh…so my point. I miss Google maps and phone numbers. In the states I could have googled what I was looking for then called if I wanted to confirm availability, prices, times, whatever. Here you just ask people on the street for directions. From the same shop I got two different prices on two different days. I also miss driving. Carrying a backpack, groceries, and a heavy pipe all on a bus and then a truck (I have to ride in the back of a truck to get to my house). How nice it is to go from one place to another without transfers. Washing machines and dryers. Glorious machines really. For a year and a half I have been washing my clothes by hand. I am SSOOO tired of it. Stuff never feels clean. The first thing I will do when I come home is dump everything into a washing machine. Ummm...The glorious dryer sheet smell. Internet. I don’t have internet in my house. This means I am traveling everytime I need to do anything online. This is especially difficult when applying for graduate schools. Also reliable internet. I am currently typing this in a coffee shop that usually has internet but at this moment…it doesn’t work. Living "comfortably", what I mean by this is that right now I am living "poor”. Obviously this is part of the deal of Peace Corps. You can’t go to a rural community in a third world country and live like a king. Everyone will hate you and want money from you. One of my first lessons to my community was that I don’t make more than people there and they shouldn’t charge me more. Which means...No TV, no laundry, no internet, no new clothes, no excessive use of electricity (meaning hot-hot showers and my little space heater) …even cheese is a luxury. Easy Food…double edged sword there. I know that not having the temptation of “easy food” is good for my health. However, I miss being able to have Jimmy John’s delivered, or microwave a piece of left over pizza. My most simple meal here is sautéing veggies and boiling noodles and then tossing in tuna. On lazy evenings, I just make popcorn for dinner…and not the microwavable kind. Set prices. I am always on the look out for people trying to scam me out of money. A few cents here, a dollar there. Most people in this country are very honest and don’t do that. But occasionly you'll find a lady in the market charging you more and giving you the ugly veggies. Same with hardware stores, there is one hardware store I refuse to go because when I go with Ecuadorians I get one price, if I ask by myself I get another, much higher price. when I complained, she simply walked away from me and refused me service. Now I refuse hers. Things I don’t miss… Processed/hormone-injected meat. It's au natural here. (Although, campo pig still creeps me out, some story about Trigo-something-something…a parasite that eats at your brain…) No ‘routine.’ I love having different things to do each day. I don’t know if I could happily go back to 40+ hours a week in one place. ‘Spring everyday’. The weather here is a dream. Mountain views. True…I didn’t get away from the corn…but I did get away from the flat.The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

I have been told that my last blog had a “wrapping things up” feel to it. It kind of did. I am going through a bit of senioritis here... My project begins the final stage of construction tomorrow. That means I will have a couple weeks of being super busy. I am no longer excited to be working on the project, I am just ready to be done. I will be explaining this below...Sorry if it has a "ranting" feel to it... It is funny how some of the worst days in Ecuador are also some of the best. Two days in the last couple weeks qualify. These are the days we completed the most on the project but I spent the day fuming. My big frustrations aren’t always language or time, I have gotten strangely used to those problems. However the culture is what still gets to me. The worst part is being the only woman working with many old, sexist Ecuadorian men. (Who think you should be cooking them lunch…and tell you that…)Most days I only work with 4 or 5 men. That is fine. We share ideas, I teach things, they teach things. It is the days when there are a ton of men, that is when they decide I must not know what I am doing. The other day I showed up to a minga that no one told me about. There were about 20 people, a back hoe, a concrete mixer and no one leading the show. I am good at knowing what needs to be done and at verbalizing it…usually. Here, people will not listen to me, partly because I have an accent and partly because I am a woman. I spent the day whispering in the ears of the “leaders” about what needs to be done, so they would act like it was their idea and direct other people. Many other little tasks I saw that needed to be done, I was running around crazily doing. Even though I designed the project and know every inch of it, instead of asking what the plan is, they continue to change the plans without asking (many of these things can’t be changed because of USAID rules). I have to run around a give orders that we have to pay all the money back to USAID if they build it that way and we have to stick to the original plan. With the mixer, we were making good quality concrete. The chemicals we were using and the help of the mixer, meant we could use less water than we normally do (when we make it by hand), it also meant that the concrete would dry faster. When lunch time came around they left a ton of wet concrete just lying there, instead of taking a half hour to make sure it was level and finished. I spent my lunch hour finishing and wetting and covering the concrete with plastic. When they came back, everyone acted like the good quality concrete was a bad thing because it dried quicker…grrr…I am also run down by the daily blaming events…I am usually the one who takes blame, because I am one of the few people taking any responsibility for the project and the funds. However, everyone seems to overlook how the design, materials, and budget have been right-on. True, I didn’t know how many days to book the construction managers…I took the advice of people here because I admittedly have never done this before. I also knew I would be even more incorrect because of this country's scheduling skills and hand done labor. I get reminded by the president of the group everyday how I was wrong about something I admittedly asked him for help on. Ecuadorians can be particularly bad at taking responsibility. It can be compared via language…. Americans use the phrase “my bad” or "my fault" when a mistake is made. To say “I dropped the fork” in Spanish, you would translate “The fork dropped itself”. Of course, it couldn’t be a person’s fault…it is the fork’s. People avoid leadership positions in the community because that is where the responsibility falls. I do try to check my attitude. I know that I live in a different country with different customs, and I have to respect them. In most situations, I don't have a problem with this. However, discrimination because I am a woman is not OK to me. And that is where most of my frustration lies these days, because of the type of work I am doing. I have talked to new volunteers and their enthusiasm is high,…I am just not mentally there anymore. I have to remind myself to not be a downer when talking to them. I even met a guy who is here volunteering with another organization and he is in the process of applying to Peace Corps. I tell him it is a great organization…as long as you have realistic expectations...and know you probably won't be happy with your situation, most people aren't. Saying that, I knew what to expect. I am really fortunate. I have a grant and a project and a community that wants to better itself. I am glad to have done Peace Corps, I love my community and most of the people I work with. But I CAN'T WAIT to work in the States again.The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

Project Photos!The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

“… it takes the time-stones of events to give a memory past dimension. Eventlessness collapses time.” - John Steinbeck I ran across this quote in the book I just finished called “Travels with Charley” by John Stienbeck. In this book he studies Americans, America, and his random thoughts while driving across the country. This particular line, hit me. My “adult” life so far has been sections of two to four year experiences…college, jobs, Peace Corps… and living in several places, never less than a year but never more than two. I like this. When I think back to travels, experiences, or life events, I think of where I was living or what work I was doing at the time. I have been fortunate and have had a life rich of experiences, and I am only 26. The fear of “eventlessness” is one thing that pushes me towards my next goal in life. I want to accomplish something…what that is, I don’t yet know. But by doing things like the Peace Corps, I hope to find out. Part of me just thinks that if I keep achieving goals I will one day be satisfied, but the sensible part of me knows that my previous achievements don't make me feel better, they just make me go after something else. While I am getting one of the most rewarding life experiences available, I wish time by. This is always in my nature. I look for the next thing. But here it is done with more free time to just think about...well...everything. While I wish time to go by I wonder if I made my life more eventful here, I would be happier. But part of me just wishes time to go fast so I make it home sooner to see the people most important to me. However, in Steinbeck’s quote, he says nothing of eventlessness making time seem to go faster, just that eventlessness makes it harder to remember. Ecuador has given me experiences and memories that will never go away…The smell of Eucalyptus, the rolling mountains, the hee-hawing sounds of donkeys bouncing down the valley. I will also never have time like this again to travel in my life. I really think Americans should have more down-time and appreciate the people in our lives versus an obligatory weekly, monthly, or yearly visit. And when “together time” is doing homework or yardwork on the weekends it seems like something is out of place.Time management is one of the hardest things for PCVs to master. We are given so much free time with no guidance. Everything is self-motivated and for most, progress is undefined. I am lucky in this aspect. My project has clear goals and measures of progress. However, at times I am not so motivated to visit my neighbors when I know I should. I knew going into Peace Corps that integration would be a huge challenge for me. In that respect just making it in a community for two years will be a goal reached. I have heard that it says in the Peace Corps families handbook not to ask your Peace Corps volunteer what they are doing when they come back. This makes sense. Two years in a different culture changes you. And questions like this can easily overwhelm. We expect the culture shock when we arrive in a new country but you never expect it returning to your own. But it happens to every volunteer. You become so accustomed to your new life that the States is like one giant rat-race. American food makes you sick. People just aren’t very friendly. And what’s with all this “stuff” we accumulate? What’s funny is that I have seen this already in myself…On my trip home last Christmas, on the cruise I took with my mom, when I eat at McDonalds, and with people visiting me. During the cruise, I noticed that the Ecuadorian staff were at times easier to get along with than the (mostly) American guests. Walking down a hallway or street in Ecuador, you greet everyone. At one point on the cruise I passed an American girl in the hallway that I had spoken to the previous night and she didn’t acknowledge my presence. But I greeted every staff member with a "Buenos ___" and "Como estas?" and genuine smile and they responded with a “Hey, she get’s us” conversation. I felt the coldness described by Ecuadorians about Americans. I have an idea of what I will do when I return home. But I am a planner. I plan to apply to graduate schools in the next month or so. The goal is for a Water Resources Management program or something similar. I have learned that I chose well, or just plain got lucky, with my career choice out of college. I love engineering and I think I am wired up just right for the work. In particular, I enjoy the water and drainage aspects. However, I wish to know more on the subject. And not the engineering side of things but the geographical, legal, social, environmental sides of things...which is why I chose Water Resources as a grad program. While I finish up my projects, I look forward to my Christmas visit to the States. Then I return to Ecuador and my program ends in March/April. And at that point I don't know if I will be back in Chicago or not. My new sense of "tranquilidad" makes it not seem so important. And my new sense of "familia" makes me want to be with the people I love. Maybe my new sense of time is right on. The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

The blog is undergoing some aesthetic renovations. Please be patience while I make your reading experience, well...different. Just FYI, I may change the background photo from time to time. Or maybe not. I like this one...We'll see.The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

I am not sure what to write this time... My days are more repetitive and don't seem blog worthy. But I know that my life here is interesting to those who still tune in...otherwise, I'm sure you would stop :)So while you are all sweltering in the ridiculous heat of the midwest this summer...believe it or not, I miss it. Yes, the weather is beautiful here. But it feels like time has frozen because for a year and a half, it has not changed. No winter clothes/summer clothes. No storms. I like the changes that come with the seasons. But I am glad that I trained for a marathon here versus the US this summer. Yikes. I really can't wait to come back...I think I will super happy for a whole year of 'newish' experiences.It is "summer" here. Which really just means "no rain", as I may have mentioned before a phrase frequently said, directly translates as "There is a lot of winter this week" really means "There has been a lot of rain this week". No rain means harvest season. Just like my lovely home state, my lovely host state grows a lot, A LOT, of corn...and wheat.This photo is a minga working together to harvest wheat.A couple weeks ago I went to the "Poor Man's Galapagos" or Isla de la Plata (which means Island of Money, Island of Silver, or Island of Booby Poop...the booby poop looks silver). On the way there, our boat passed through the migratory area of the humpback whales. We saw many of them jump, it was pretty cool. On the island you can find many of the bird species that live on the Galapagos. Blue footed boobies, red footed boobies, masked boobies, frigate birds (the ones with the red balloon on their throat), and tropic birds. Albatrosses and sea lions too, but I don't think we saw any. The island isn't volcanic like the Galapagos and doesn't have some of the coolest animals of the archipelago... Basically, if you can afford it, go to the real islands, otherwise the blue-footed booby dance is worth the $40 dollar, 2 hour boat ride.The humpback dance....The blue-footed booby dance...Can you see the silver/poop?

So this last week was Ecuador’s Independence Day (Wednesday, August 10th). This is also the birthday of my counterpart. I had agreed to teaching him use 'the internet' and how to use my laptop this day, because he wants it when I leave. I also bought some cake mix and some cream cheese and such to make frosting. (People in my town usually just buy cakes, because they don’t cook with ovens.) As I arrived at his house I found out his middle daughter was in labor and his granddaughter would be born on his birthday. Nyjah Rafaela (like Ni-ya). Cute. He was very excited and computer lessons were out of the question. So we talked about the politics of our two countries, why the US’s economy is so bad, and such. I made the cake with his youngest daughter and her friend. Rafael was so excited about the desert...and his granddaughter. I think he had a good day. This weekend there were fiestas in town because of the holiday. Much was like the US…fireworks, bouncy castles, concerts, arcades, beer, and such. However, the fireworks here, unlike the states, are lit at a very close proximity to people. In fact, at times they are lit from a paper cow they have on their back (called Vaca Loca, or 'crazy cow') and people dance around with fireworks shooting off. Castilla....

At these fiestas, we thought we were sitting at a safe distance from the fireworks. We were taking photos of the “castilla” or castle of fireworks, when I noticed this basket of fireworks about 15 feet in front of us. We were sitting on concrete steps and behind us was an 8 foot wall. Then during the finale (there were already a ton of fireworks going of about 100 feet in front of us) a guy ran up and lit this basket of fireworks and gave us no warning…Then there were sparks all around us, and loud bangs. And there was no where to go without getting closer to the basket of fire. We were sitting against a wall huddled in a corner until it ended. Terrifying.The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

So back to work…I walk the mile to the irrigation canal which the farmers have been working on since I left. 12 days later the wheat is more golden-green than blue-green and the corn is dry and yellow. I wouldn’t have noticed if I hadn’t just come back from vacation. Before I left we excavated the canal and the sedimentation tank and had just started pouring the canal. (RECAP: The project is a $6,000 improvement to their irrigation system that was built more than 20 years ago. We are rebuilding ~300 meters of the canal, resurface the floor of the large storage tank and constructing a new sedimentation tank. Funds come from three levels of local governments, the association of farmers and USAID. USAID is only supporting about 15% of the project, the rest of the money is local.) Upon my return, they had completed about 75 meters of the canal, but work was slow and moral was low, very low. However, some good news…after dealing with the canton (county, but smaller) office to get very little donated materials, I had just about given up on government offices here. Last Friday I went to the provincial office (kinda like a state, but smaller). I had solicited materials from the provincial office and then they came out for an engineering inspection and offered more than I had originally asked for. When I went in to ask about the donation, they said, “Oh sure, come back Wednesday and pick up $1600 worth of materials.” When I was expecting them to say, “Oh sure, but we can only give you half of what we originally agreed upon and you need to go to _____ office to get a signature, only to go to 5 other offices to get stamps and copies and other signatures and then wait several days/weeks/months for approval…” Instead we just received our largest donation. Wahoo!....Now the farmers just need to get motivated. My Peace Corps boss (the agriculture program manager) came to visit my site and to see how things are going. He is also on the board for the USAID-SPA grants. (That is the United States Agency for International Development – Small Project Assistance grants. That type of grant is specifically for Peace Corps volunteers.) Back to my boss…Engineero Nelson Oleas visited my site and we discussed the project and its issues. He is a great speaker and gets along with everyone, and he was able to motivate everyone back into project mode. He also did the same for me. It was nice to get a pat on the back and be told I am doing a good job. It happens rarely in the Peace Corps.Mixing concrete...no concrete mixer trucks here...at least not in Asuncion.Building the form boards...they are naturally very green here. I don't have to worry about much runoff, because they don't waste water, they reuse nails, and stakes and spacers are made out of Eucalyptus branches (which are invasive and waterhogs anyway).The final product...

Here I go on a tangent about names… Ingenierita (in-hen-year-EE-ta) is my new pseudo name. It means “little engineera” and not like “little” as in size or age but said with affection…I assume. They don't use sarcasm here, so I am probably OK. I don’t think they get my name. (Even though my name is rather easy for Spanish speakers compared to the Heathers, Lindsays, Beths, and so on.) It is just spelled different; I spell my name “Lia” on any document here. Sometimes I will get the Star Wars pronunciation “Leia”. Other times I get “Lily” or “Lilia” like Lil-leah. And “Smith” is easy enough, everyone has heard of that name, even here. However, everyone pronounces it “esmit”. Oh and the fact that my mom’s last name is my middle name throws everyone for a loop. (In Spanish speaking cultures names always go like this “First name” “Middle name” “Father’s last name” “Mother’s last name”.) My name would then be Leah Anderson Smith Anderson. Whoooaaaa…nobody gets how this can be. My counterpart always calls me “Leah Smith Anderson”. It just sounds weird. Also…quick note…dogs. Dogs names almost always seem to be American sounding. Barney, Beethoven (name and also the name of the breed we call St. Bernard), Buddy, and my favorite, Espike. These names clearly come from movies. And frequently word that start in “s” in English (ie. Scorpion) in Spanish becomes “escorpion”. And Spanish speakers pronounce many English names that start in “s” with an “e” first. Also in the land of Bolivar (my province). My near and dear friend, Deanna (Colorado), is extending her service in Ecuador an extra year and transferring to Loja. A city far, far away. She has been my closest volunteer since I got here. She is in the group ahead of me, which means she has been here 8 months longer than me. So she has also been a great mentor. Sad. Happy trails Deanna. The cycle continues and there are two new volunteers coming to Bolivar. Tom (San Fran) and Alex (Illinois) will be here permanently as of late August. They will both be in Guaranda and are both in the Youth and Families Program. Alex went to SIUE. Crazy. The only other SIUE-PCV I have ever met (or heard of) and he is one of my new closest volunteers. This is as crazy as a former coworker (who sat next to me) from Chicago, who was also placed in Ecuador with Peace Corps. Small world. The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

Cuzco...............................Carrie and I flew from Lima to Cuzco, because it is 25 hours in bus and 1 hr 15 minutes in plane. Nuf said. We arrived on the 100th anniversary of the re-discovery of Machu Picchu. And they were fiesta-ing. Parades and concerts and local art and people people and more people. While in the main square, Carrie and I are straining our necks to see the parade when we look up at this restaurant with a balcony with some empty seats. We go check it out and order a couple drinks with the best seat in the house. Somehow we end up on Australia’s Today Show, because sitting on both sides of us were some Aussies drinking on the balcony too and they started cheering when they saw the film crew. (Funny because a few days before we were approached by Peru’s "60 Minutes" to talk about Peruvian art while in the Modern Art Museum. We let Carrie BS through that one.) Carrie and I made dinner reservations there as well and watched the concerts and fireworks from the balcony. TIP: It is very cold there, suggestion for anyone who visits: bring winter coats, hats, gloves, and scarves, unless you plan on buying some because they do have great alpaca stuff.

If you haven’t heard…to get to Machu Picchu from Cuzco is a bit of a hassle. You have to buy train tickets well in advance because that is how they restrict the number of people to the area. The only way in or out is this 3 to 4 hour train or a 4 day hike. You have to buy your entrance ticket ahead of time, because they don’t sell them at the entrance. And the 30 min bus ride to the entrance is $15 each way. (Which is highway robbery to a PCV, where buses are usually a dollar per hour.)I found this article today on cnn.com. http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/07/21/machu.picchu.tips/index.html?&hpt=hp_c2Aguas Calientes............................... After one night in Cuzco we took an early train to Aguas Calientes. And got there around 10am. We decided to take the middle class train there and the backpacker one back. The only difference is the level of service and the seats and tables. (For example, leather seats there, cloth seats back, cloth napkins there, paper napkins back, English speaking staff there, Spanish speaking staff back.) We found a good hostal and ate some bad Mexican food. We enjoyed the beautiful, little, overpriced town and ate and drank and had a merry-ole time.

Machu Picchu............................... The next morning we woke up at 3:30 am to get in line, even though the buses don’t leave until 5:30 am. The first 400 people get tickets to go up to Wayna Picchu (the pointy tall mountain right behind the city). We estimated the number of people and thought we were fine. Then we got to the real entrance and we were definitely not in the first four hundred. But it was confusing…lines for the climb or just the main entrance...who knows…its chaos. Then we realize that we miss the cut off by about 20 people. Oh well. We can climb to other scenic points. We find a guide and join up with a mother-daughter pair from Colombia. The tour was in Spanish, which is better, because the guides are more chatty in their own language. Our guide was great, she gave us a 3 hour tour, and let us take ten million photos. She also gave us the little hint that if you wait by the entrance to Wayna Picchu at 10am, you can get let in when people don’t show up (the cutoff is 11 am). So we did. And we got in. YAY! More on that later. We were some of the first people in the site that morning. It is amazing. The most beautiful place I have seen on this planet. The landscape is unbelievable and then add the engineering and mystery and history. It is a place where you get vertigo from just standing there. Incredible. In this photo we are watching the sun come over the city, or maybe just taking a photo to look like we sat there and watched. Truth is...we were on a tour and couldn't hold them up. Nerd note on the engineering: I heard on a PBS special that 60% of the city is built underground, in foundations, drainage and erosion control. Drainage is usually the last major infrastructural piece considered when planning and designing a city. Early cities frequently lacked critical levels of infrastructure, and it is sad that in third world countries some of the basics are still not provided. The levels go like this: first, the more important things…roads (people have to move materials to build houses and to get from place to place), then drinking water (can’t make it too long without that), then sanitary systems (it starts to smell and diseases become an issue), then finally drainage (because it takes time for rainwater to do its damage). My bias showing…drainage design requires planning ahead for rare events and observing over time the affects of erosion, it also requires the ability to understand long term cost analysis. For the Incas to build such a sophisticated system shows incredible foresight. Maybe it helps that the Incas worshipped the Earth, water, and sun. They paid attention. Modern day Ecuador doesn’t even consider drainage or erosion control in their construction (not even in simple bathroom designs). Oh...and the Incas did all this without the wheel or iron tools. We also got to walk around and play on our own for a while. It is amazing how much is not roped off. Only the major temples were restricted. And we got yelled at for trying to walk in a grassy area where the llamas grazed. Whoops.

Then we climbed to the top of Wayna Pichhu. This is a very steep trail and it was frightening at times. The views are beautiful. There is a residence built by the Incas at the top. They believe this was either a guard-post or a spiritual leader's house. The stairs to get there are four inches deep (where your foot would go) and a foot tall. Sometimes there is nothing to hold onto. They have installed ropes for the tourists. What is funny about this, is that you just sign a book saying your check in/check out time at the entrance and that is it. In the States they would require a legal document swearing not to sue if you, say, fall off the mountain. I can't imagine what it would be like on a rainy day. Yikes. But awesome. This photo is looking down at the city from the top of Wayna Picchu.

Fun fact: The only Qhechua/Quichua word you will find in English vocabulary is "jerky"...Like the meat, not the attitude. Quechua/Quichua are the indigenous languages in Peru/Ecuador, respectively, a modern version of the language the Incas would have spoken. They are still widely spoken in both countries. Carrie lives in a Quichua speaking community and she could communicate in Quechua in Peru, though the words were slightly different.

Trip home...............................

We said our goodbyes to Machu Picchu and then caught our bus (30 min), then our train (3 hrs 30 mins), to a cab (45 min). We found a place to sleep in Cuzco only to catch a plane early in the morning (1hr 15 min), then meet our bus in the afternoon (27 hrs....yes hours), then another bus to our sites (3.5 hours for me).

Upon arrival in my site (10 pm), I never turned on my lights in my house, just went straight to bed. I didn't want people to know I was home yet. Then I didn't play music or open my door for the whole next day. I slept and read and washed clothes and unpacked. And then magically appeared for work the following day.

Photos...............................

Cuzco and fiestas

Train and Aguas Calientes

Machu Picchu and Wayna PicchuThe contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

Arrival………………..

My PC besties Lindsay (Indiana) and Carrie (NYC) came over to my house Thursday night (June 30th) and made me a cake for my early birthday.

We left for Peru at 4:00 in the morning and arrived in Guayaquil, then we caught a 8 hour bus to Tumbes, Peru (the first large city across the border). The border crossing was very easy as long as you take a bus that goes all the way through to another city. We just got off the bus on the Ecuador side, waited in line, stamp stamp, then rode 10 more minutes to the Peru side, waited in line, stamp stamp, and got back on the bus. Then from Tumbes we caught a bus to Pacasmayo, an 11 hour ride and this is also where we slept. This ride was terrible because we were woken up 6 times by police searching the bus and checkpoints. After leaving my site at 4am on Friday we arrived in Pacasmayo at 8am on Saturday.

Pacasmayo……………

Saturday was full of race day prep. Course reviews, pasta dinners, packet pickups. And it was my birthday! I turned 25 in Ecuador and 26 in Peru!

Sunday was the big day! 26.2 miles! Four Peace Corps Ecuador Volunteers ran in the various races. Two of us did the full marathon. Many Peace Corps Peru Volunteers ran as well. It was fun to meet PCVs from another country.

AND WE’RE OFF….The race began on the boardwalk of Pacasmayo and up a rather large hill and onto a rocky dirt road and then to an asphalt road, which was straight but moderately hilly for 6 km. It was was pure desert to the left and to the right with large sand dunes giving the only sense of irregularity. The 5k and 10k runners turned around at there respective points along that long straight asphalt road. Then the rest of us arrived at a town called Jequetepeque (Heck-uh-ta-peck-ay). A number of the residents were outside cheering on the runners. The 21k-ers (or half marathoners) turned around. The few marathoners left (there were only 38 registered runners and only 8 were women) continued on through a dirt road with some vegetation on the sides for a few kms and then more straight desert…so much so that the road was where ever the drivers decided to drive because there was nothing in the way. We ran to the next town called Hauscar. It looked like a wild-west ghost town. There we turned around and ran back through the desert and the town with a funny name and then the boring asphalt road. Now this was my first “oh-shit-this-sucks” moment. Yes it was boring, straight, and asphalt but also windy as hell. The other problem that was sleeping on the bus two nights before made my knees ache terribly. This was my 21k-26k breakdown, I had not yet gotten to the town of Pacasmayo where my friends were waiting with painkillers and Gu and moral support. But I was over half way. Quitting crossed my mind…but not seriously. So I finally arrive in Pacasmayo (28k) just after the top two guys are finishing…I get my boost and go on for the final third of the race. I see another PCV Ecuador friend, Christina (Seattle), who had just finished the half marathon, and get this…she runs with me for several kilometers. She lets me draft off of her (the wind is coming right off the water and is fierce). What a great girl!! Then she goes to try to cheer on her boyfriend (who is finishing up the full marathon) but misses him because she was helping me.

I keep trudging on for what many consider the worst part of the course. It is literally 50 feet from the ocean but is sandy, rocky, and of course, windy. I walked here. I was rather spent and that part sucked. Then I get to a point where I run up a sand dune and am now running on a hard-packed sandy cliff overlooking the ocean. Beautiful. The last part was misconceiving because I wasn’t sure how far it was to the next town…it was a lot further then I had imagined. But I got to it, a small, cute town called El Milagro (meaning “the miracle”) which was empty of life with the exception of a table of drunken men playing cards. Here I turned around for the final leg of the race which was still 5 miles (8k) or so. Finally on a bit of a runners high I ran the last part in really good spirits and at a faster pace. The last two kilometers were very difficult because I had been thinking “I am almost done…” for 5 miles. But then it happened…the last turn, the police sirens going, all downhill, and the finish line…and I was done!

The weather was exactly what I would choose if I could pick the weather to run a marathon in…minus the wind. It was 65 degrees, no humidity, and sunny. My fellow PCVs all finished their races and did very well. Joe (Connecticut) who also ran the marathon, finished 5th in the men’s race, in just under 4 hours. And I finished 6th out of 8, with a time of 5 hours 15 minutes.

Chan Chan………………

The day after the race, we ventured to a nearby town called Trujillo. Here were some beautiful ruins. We caught this quick little tour that would take us to Huaca Arco Iris and the city of Chan Chan. I had seen Chan Chan on one of those MSN lists, that read something like “The Top Things to See Before They Disappear”. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chan_Chan Then we caught a really nice night bus to Lima. Now when I say really nice, I mean…double decker, seats that lay nearly flat, two bathrooms, bus attendants that served food and drinks, wifi and a “business center”, and TVs with good movies (not showing a single van Dam movie).

Lima…………………….

Lima is a huge city…and cold. Coming from Ecuador, just about the only thing that affects your weather is your altitude. Lima, being at sea level, we assumed would be warm, but this was not the case. In the city we tried to see some museums and some historical stuff…and we kind of did, in between the shopping. We visited the Presidential Palace, an old church with catacombs and the coolest, oldest library I have ever seen, then we visited a modern art museum. Then we bought jeans and shoes and starbucks. Ecuador has expensive, crappy clothes and Peru has really cheap, good-quality clothes. A shopping spree after a year and a half in a third world country isn’t that bad….right? We met up with a cousin of Lindsay's who lives in Lima and ate at Tony Roma's and I drank a Guinness. Good stuff.

Photos...............................

Border Crossing, Pacamayo, and Marathon

Huaca Arco Iris, Chan Chan, and Trujillo

Buses and Lima

The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

So next weekend I am running a marathon in Peru. I have been planning this for a while and have been training for about 4 months. Check out the website: www.maratoninternacionanldepacasmayo.com Pretty huh? The race is in a small village called Pacasmayo in Northern Peru along the coast. Only 18 hours away… :) I am traveling to Machu Picchu after the race (another 24 hours on a bus). I am really excited… My next blog will talk about this. There are 5 volunteers from Ecuador traveling to Peru to run in the races. We are making t-shirts for the race. The back says “campo running (v.) – The act of running up and down the most beautiful hillsides in Ecuador while dodging dogs, livestock and drunks and continuously answering the question – "Where are you going?"." There are three ways I can (inaccurately) measure my running distances. The first way is just by time (for example, I know I run a mile in 9 minutes, I can run for 27 min hence 3 miles...but as I run further and further those times lag and it is less predictable), second is my Nike + Ipod thing…which is terrible (only works on some roads and not others) and is out of battery after 6 months (my mom mailed me a replacement chip 6 weeks ago..I am still waiting for it), and the final way is by using the scale on my topo maps. See the video… The roads I run on are mostly dirt or rock. Cobblestones are frequently used in towns and asphalt is used on the main inter-city roads. I don’t tend to run on the asphalt roads unless I have to, they have heavy traffic and usually have a ton of potholes which makes the already dangerous drivers swerve, the larger trucks and buses emit a ton of nasty black exhaust. The smaller country roads may be dusty and hilly, but they are incredibly beautiful. And I am far more likely to pass livestock than have a car pass me.Training in my site is relatively easy for me, compared to other peoples' towns. I do feel safe, and I have many options of roads to run (4 run-able roads leaving my town and they split after a few miles to more options). I would go crazy if I had to run the same road everyday. Another great advantage is that I am training at 9,500 feet and will be running the marathon at 50 feet. There are many differences in running in Ecuador versus Illinois. First is the obvious altitude, second is the hills and mountains. I really love running on hills. Which is funny...because I despised them in Illinois. Hills here reach grades of 20% (really steep) and at times I will run uphill for two miles before I get a downhill break. Of course, this is very difficult, but when you get to the top and get to coast down for a little while, it makes running really fun. Another thing is the vistas, I will look out at rolling mountains and wheat fields, in Illinois it is either flat corn fields (central Illinois) or endless crowded blocks (Chicago). Chicago does have the really beautiful lake...that I miss.People generally do not run long distances. Many will for soccer practice, but would never just go out and run several miles. On-road and off-road biking is really common among Ecuadorians, they have a beautiful country for it too. I do think I have introduced long distance running to my town. When they ask about it I compare it to Ecuador's only gold medalist, Jefferson Perez, who is a speed walker and national hero. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_Perez Then I quickly explain that I am not that good and just do it for fun. Many kids have now taken to running with me for short distances and a couple grown men have tried to show me up by running past me (really fast) - one in his dress/work clothes and shoes.The one thing I can't run without is my Ipod...and "This American Life" episodes. http://www.thisamericanlife.org/ Music sometimes can make a long run feel like forever because the run is broken up into 3 minute songs. On my last long run, which was supposed to be 20 miles...I ran for 3 hours and 45 minutes (with plenty of walking thrown in...my goal is to finish... not achieve a specific time). During this run I listened to 3 hour long episodes of "This American Life" which somehow seems to transport you to another place and you forget that you are running at all. The great thing about running is that when you learn to let your mind go and stop thinking about the act, it is very relaxing and inspirational. (During running I tend to think out solutions to problems with my projects and even think about improving my Spanish and what to write on my next blog. Needless to say, I have been planning this blog for a while.) At one point, I was listening to a story about small Georgian towns, where the interviewers were asking people who the most memorable person in town was. One minute a 90 year old woman with a strong southern drawl was recounting her memories of FDR visiting her father's store during the Prohibition, then I would look up and see the snow-capped Chimborazo in the distance and realize that I am, in fact, running in the Andes mountains on a rural dirt road in Ecuador passing a llama...Sweet.

The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

I am going to try something new. I have taken short video clips (easier for posting) of my house. This way instead of writing about a "campo stove" you can see what one actually looks like!

Before I came to Peace Corps I was super interested in what volunteers houses were like. I couldn't wait to have my own little "home" in another country. Whelp...Here it is!

The first is from outside my house...

Living Room...

Kitchen...

Bathroom...

Bedroom...

The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

Pictures from Steve's visit...

Pictures from my site and nearby locales

Pictures from our volcano hikeThe contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

Dear readers of this blog, thanks for still following :) ...and random people who find it on PeaceCorpsJournals.com, welcome. I am continuing with the tradition of having my visitors write a blog entry. And my latest visitor was my boyfriend, Steve, here is his post...

2011 has been very busy for me, but when the opportunity to visit Leah came up, I didn’t waste a minute. The interesting part about my trip is that I planned the dates, booked my flights and landed in Ecuador...and Leah had no idea about any of it. That’s right folks…. I surprised her!!!

I reached out to Lindsay, a near and dear PCV to Leah, and coordinated my trip dates, devised a cover story to get Leah & Lindsay into Quito (the city I flew into) and learned enough Spanish so I could tell the taxi driver at the airport to take me to the Plaza de las Americas (a mall/movie theater in Quito). Lindsay came through big time by convincing Leah that they needed to go see a movie on the same night I flew in. When the girls got to Plaza de las Americas, I was secretly waiting for them to arrive. I watched Leah walk in (in fact, she walked right by me... I felt like a super, sneaky spy as I hide behind a sign and waited for the right moment. Then I walked up, tapped Leah on the shoulder, handed her a card that she made last Christmas and said hello. (I planned 3 or 4 clever surprises, but when I saw her I got so excited that I kind of ran/walked over to her. HAHAHA) Leah turned around and looked at me, then at the card, then to Lindsay, then to me again, then the card again and then her eyes finally settled on me. After 3 or 4 seconds (which felt like an eternity) she threw her arms me and gave me a super sized hug. Leah was in complete disbelief and speechless for the next 20 minutes. It wasn’t until we all sat down for dinner that it really hit her because she couldn’t stop smiling and giggling. It was great.

We packed a lot into my 10 day trip. We spent the first few days at her site where I met the craziest little cat in the Southern hemisphere named Mooshoo (hi...Leah here...her name is really Nena, but the Quichwa word for cat is Mishee...Steve turned that into Mooshoo...if we get another cat, he wants to name it Pork...here's Steve again). I saw the irrigation tank and walked the canal with her local team. After hearing so much about it, it was cool to see the scope of the project and walk the difficult terrain. They have their work cut out for them! We took a day trip to Salinas where I climbed over 1000 steps (ouch), saw my first salt mine, ate chocolate fresh from a chocolate factory and shopped at Ecuadorian style homeopathic store. Leah actually bought skin cream made from snails slime. No thanks and YUCK!

We spent another day with Rafael and his wonderful family. They took us to a beautiful church called the Sanctuary of the Virgen of Guayco that is a replicate of a cathedral in Rome. The cathedral was built low in a valley and is surrounded by rolling hills and thick foliage. The workmanship that went into this cathedral was amazing.

Later we enjoyed a scenic drive through their nearby towns on roads meant only for 4x4 vehicles. After smacking my head against the roof of the truck several times, I thought this is nuts… but then I realized that this normal here. It was kind of fun. We ended the evening with coffee and panini sandwiches at their house. These cheese filled snacks were so delicious that I could have eaten 7 of them! Rafael and Conchita were excellent hosts and truly made me feel at home.

My next stop was the Cotopaxi national park where we hiked to the top on a dormant volcano named Ruminahui (Roo-men-yow-ee). The scenery was beautiful, the trail was steep and the air was thin. At over 15,000 ft, it was a hard climb for a guy who lives in Chicago… i.e. extremely flat and only 600 ft above sea level. Leah on the other hand attacked the trail and set the pace. It was a humbling experience. The summit view was breathtaking. Literally. Then the clouds rolled in fast, the temperature dropped and then the sky opened up and dumped jelly bean sized hail on us. It all happened in a blink of eye. That was our cue to make our descent. That day went fast, but the experience will last forever.

My final stop was Quito where we met up with other PCVs before their mid-service training. It was nice to see some old friends while making some new friends. We ate out, went dancing, enjoyed some coffee and live music and even went bowling. I swear the elevation affected my bowling skills because I didn’t even break 100. Unacceptable! We hit the open air market and I picked up a few gifts for the family. Luckily Leah was there to haggle the price down for me. I tried to, but somehow the price went up!

We tried to make it to the beach, but an 11 hour bus ride was too much for my short trip. Maybe next time? I had a fantastic trip and it was great to surprise Leah. I don’t know who enjoyed it more! She is really loving her PCV experience and taking full advantage of living abroad. The only thing I would change about this trip is to make it twice as long.

A few take aways

-Leah’s Spanish is awesome. She’s learned so much Spanish that she is actually forgetting her English.

-Aji sauce, almuerzos (The Lunch meal for $2.00) and Zucaritas (hi...Leah again...these are the exact same as Frosted Flakes...tiger and everything) are my favorite Ecuadorian foods.

-A taxi’s fare can fluctuate between $5 and $20 for the same ride. This truly made me angry.

- A landslide’s power is scary and its aftermath horrible.

- Leah’s fellow PCVs really look out for each other. They’re a family away from family. They sometimes they bicker like family too.

-I appreciate the Chicago Transit Authority much more. Chicago has it’s problems, but they got the bus and trains right. Clean, on time and safe.

-Ecuadorians love Ecuadorian music, but strangely I think they love Lady GaGa even more.

-The designers Tommy Hilfiger, Guess and Holister are often worn by teenage Ecuadorians. It’s a common there as it is here.

-Ecuador has the most delicious blended fruit drinks I’ve ever tasted. And they only cost $1.50!The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

…it has been a while. A lot has happened in the last month and I left my external hard drive in an internet cafe. (I really wish Ecuador had lost-and-founds like in the States...instead people just usually take things they find). I had stored all my blog posts and a few extra new ones about general topics that I could post at anytime… along with many other recent files. Crap.

Anyway…I have been really busy lately! "Busy” is not what it means in the US…it is more of a relative state of exhaustion. People laugh when I tell them I had a busy day because all I did was a small meeting with farmers, a run, and then go to town to get groceries. (I used to do things like that on my way home from work...here it takes a whole day.) This involves preparing for the meeting and being ready at the time they say even though they will more than likely be an hour late. Then I have to talk technical Spanish with people who don’t understand my accent. Go to my house change and run for an hour or more. Then travel for an hour to get groceries and then carry all groceries to the bus just to travel an hour back.

My project is flying. We have finished most of the excavating. A backhoe dug out the location for the tank and the farmers have excavated the new location of the canal. I have been meeting with an engineer in the “municipio” (similar to a county office the states.) Turns out they do have more technical building codes than I had originally thought. (When I first asked questions about concrete mixes, I was answered….oh about 2 wheelbarrows of rock and 2 more of sand then some PCC. It is mixed in a pile on the ground and water is added until it is workable.) The new concrete mixes change some quantities but it is managable because all of the materials for the concrete are being donated by the local governments and does not involve the USAID grant funds. So no biggie.

There have been some pretty severe landslides near me. The rainy season here was especially intense. In my two nearest towns approximately 12 houses have been destroyed. No one was severely hurt in these landslides, there was just a lot of property damage. It is interesting to see the affects of water when things aren't designed correctly. Both landslides were in part caused by poorly placed tanks and sewers (...and bad rains, steep slopes, erosion from agriculture, and on and on.)

Landslide newspaper article http://www4.elcomercio.com/pais/Deslave-via-Chimbo-Guaranda.aspx

Surprise! (at least to me)...Steve came to visit!…more about that in the next blog…it is a good one!

I had my mid-service conference outside of Quito. We met up and talked about such things as site progress, concerns, goals for the second year, several technical lessons, and even about things we need to start thinking about after Peace Corps. Less than a year left. Wow.

We also have our one year medical checkups. They test us for parasites and clean our teeth.

I have many friends who have recently left or will be leaving in the next few months…including all the volunteers within 2 hours of me. The World Teach program in our province was shut down unexpectantly…my friend Amanda writes about it in detail in her blog. (ecuatiempo.wordpress.com) It is really sad to see so many of my new friends leave.The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

I was told before I joined Peace Corps that you need to expect nothing (to avoid being disappointed) and except that you won’t change the world. I did my best. I did however expect to be in a warmer climate …not sitting here in a sweatshirt and jeans really wishing I brought my fingerless gloves with me and dreading the walk back in pouring rain.

But a miracle did happen. Of the four engineers in my group of 55, I was the only one lucky enough to get an organized, cooperative (speaking relatively here), and productive community to work with.

There is a nifty little graph here to show the percentages of PCVs (in all countries) to get through each step of the process. The first is those who apply, then get medically cleared, nominated, then placed, the show up to staging (the two days in DC before leaving for the country), swearing in as a volunteer, one year point and then the finishers.

Only 22% of people who apply make it all the way. And 68% of people who show up to leave the country make it to the end. Wow.

And that percentage has to be less when observing the technical volunteers. My friends and I have talked about this a lot. Of the IT and engineering volunteers in my group, half have quit already. They were either placed in sites that did not allow them to use their skills or they were offered a better position in the US or other parts of the world or got into law school.

Honestly if I were put in some of the situations my companeros were put in…I wouldn’t still be here. Even in my nice little site that has potential, I have had my weak moments. I always told myself that I could not quit on a whim and that I would have to wait at least until April (the one year point) to quit. Whelp I made it to April and see no chance of quiting unless something extreme happens.

I did come here with a few other random goals…some achieved and some not.

• Learn Spanish

o Check and I still have a year to improve

• Live abroad

o Check.

• Learn to play the guitar

o Fail. I gave up on this goal…

• Learn to knit/sew

o I can now know how to knit but am not patient enough to actually make anything and I knew how to sew by hand and I still would like to know how to with a machine. But I don't plan on buying one.

• Run a Marathon

o Date set: July 3rd, when would I ever have the time to train like this again.

• Take the GRE

o Done, I learned a lot of useful English words too…

• Figure out life

o Fail. Ha…Bahaha…I still have no clue.

• Build a piece of furniture

o Check…I built a very rudimentary, over-designed futon

• Read many books

o Not as much I would have liked

• Enjoy life without technology

o Fail. Turns out we have lots of technology here and that is part of the distraction from reading.

• Learn about Agriculture

o Check, I love it really.

• Grow a garden

o Fail. I know, I know...I love Ag but don't have a green thumb.

• Integrate into a different culture

o Check.

• Make friends from all over

o Check.The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

I arrived in Guayaquil on Monday the 21st. This city is closer to Leah than Quito (the capital) but way HOTTER. It is in the coastal zone. I rented a car and we traveled to the mountains to meet Leah's PC volunteer friends Lindsay (Indiana) and Deanna (Colorado) who live in towns near Leah. They are awesome. I am so glad Leah has such great people to hang with. We stayed at Leah's I got to meet her new kitty, Nena and we had dinner at the home of her host family. I took them an Easter basket which forced Leah to explain 'spring' and our paganistic practices in the US. I also got them a Cross to display. I also finally got to meet Rafael, Leah's host dad and counterpart. We had a nice translated chat while they carefully examined the Easter basket and contents. I think they liked the chocolate.

The next couple days we drove east down toward the Amazon region. We stopped to see several beautiful waterfalls and stopped at the Monkey reserve in Puyo. This was very cool. The monkeys roam freely and climb on you. One stole a watch out of my pocket. Leah accidentally captured this on video. It was hilarious! The monkey took off with my watch, went to the roof of an enclosure and shook it over the top of his head and kissed and hugged it. It looked like he just won a gold metal. He tried to open it it by banging and biting it and sticking it completely in his mouth. The reserve volunteers eventually got him to trade it for food. The reserve had several resident dogs too, and the monkeys keep the dogs perfectly groomed. No flea or tick collars needed there.

On Friday we drove back over the mountains back to Guayaquil. We caught our flight to Baltra (Galapagos) Saturday morning. We were pleasantly surprised that our ship rooms and bathrooms were nicely sized. We didn't feel cramped at all. Everything on the ship was very nice. The food was spectacular. The crew and guides were great. Our small excursion group was composed of a Spanish speaking Japanese family of 4 (children age 6 &9) from Mexico and an Ecuadorian Mother and son and nephew (age 16 & 17) and an 80+ yr old couple from Illinois, and Leah and I. Quite a mix. The IL couple were celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary and couldn't have been more IN LOVE on the day they were married. Everyone loved them. They were adorable. I told them they were the most 'endangered' species.

Each day's activity generally consisted of a 2 - 2 1/2 hr hike and 1 hr of snorkeling in the morning AND afternoon in the blazing sun of the equator. We were pooped by the end of each day. We got to experience all of the wildlife up close and personal. It was just like I always dreamed. Sea lions encircling and coming nose to nose with you in crystal clear water. Floating in the tide next to several huge sea turtles. Huge schools of beautiful fish. Being a few feet away from couples of blue footed boobies while they danced their mating dances.

It was a once in a lifetime trip. I had near 1000 photos when my camera/phone disappeared at the airport on the way out. Yep....Devastating!!! But at least Leah was taking similar pictures as me. We tried to upload my pics to her computer each day, but could not get them to transfer. I feel a little bad because I think all the great food, nice accommodations, car freedom and exotic vacation activities made Leah home sick. But she is past the half way point and would not be happy coming home until she finishes what she has started.....her project is funded and underway and time is flying. She will be done in no time!!

The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

I have a bone to pick…Copyright laws…or lack thereof.

Here in Ecuador there is little to no enforcement on copyright infringement.

Therefore you can buy movies for a dollar, copy books completely on a copy machine, and have entirely illegal software on your computer.

This sounds great when you think about the money you save… however, It causes problems with the economy and more so with the creative potential of the country.

First, movies…I love that I can get the latest blockbuster hit for a dollar, sometimes before they are even out of the theater in the US. But this is also why artists and filmmakers could never make money with an Ecuadorian film unless it makes it to the international level. It is hard to get to the international level if you can’t affordably make small time films first.

And I have never seen a legal DVD store here in Ecuador. I have seen fancy ones that look legit (have a real cover and printing on the DVD) but cost $3.75, but it would be shocking to an Ecuadorian to pay $15.00 for a DVD.

In 1998, the government enacted an Intellectual Property Law. However, 9 years later it is enforced very little. I have heard of one raid on a DVD shop in Guayaquil, where they came in and removed every illegal DVD. The reality is that in every small town a person is selling DVDs, CDs, and software for $1.00 to a $2.00 per disc.

Next, books, and more specifically textbooks…

I can only imagine that the worst job in Ecuador would to be an aspiring writer. Even if you made a great story or textbook, you would get almost no profit.

Grade school and high school textbooks here are produced by the government. (I don’t know about college books, but from what I have seen of the English books, I would guess it is the same.) Therefore the only writers that make any money are paid by the government to do so. There is no competition and most every school uses the same books. I just explained to a teacher that you need competition for better books and the freedom of the teachers to select the books they like. This way the good authors keep making better books.

Quite often I am asked to help students with their English homework. And at times the teachers even come with questions. The frustrating thing is that the exercises in the book are confusing even to English speakers. I find myself asking the teachers “what does a student learn from this?”, or “if I don’t know how to complete the exercise, how will the students?”

The concern here is not so much creativity and for the livelihood writer, but concern for the students (and the future potential writers of these books) who are not getting the best education. However on the flip side…This means more books in people’s houses then they could afford, if the laws were stricter.

I use a “Ingles para Dummies” book to teach here (from the States, legal in all rights). I am very satisfied with it. When planning a lesson I open up a page, and decide…”OK today we are talking about food”, and I use it as a guide for my lesson. It explains English rules in Spanish. Never having taught my own language to anyone before Ecuador, I realized I don’t know the rules from that perspective. My first week in my site, a neighbor asked me “What is the difference between the verbs to watch, to look, and to see?”. Oh hell, I don’t know…let me Google it. My point is: I have yet to see an English textbook that comes close to the quality of my "for dummies" book.

Next the “Compu”…

I also had a friend get her computer fixed here. The computer company (as a gift) gives you lots of illegal software, in her case (from what I remember), Encarta, and Microsoft office. She didn’t ask, or was asked if this could be done. But she does appreciate the Encarta, because it is in Spanish and is a good language learning tool. However, she already had a legal version of Office on her computer; they removed it and put on an outdated illegal version in Spanish.

Software is the most reduced price of everything. Here you can get Rosetta Stone for $2.00. Yep that is 0.33% of what is costs in the states. Most peoples’ and businesses’ Operating systems are illegal as well. And so is their antivirus software. Which is funny… because I get the feeling that computers here are far more susceptible to viruses. I am guessing some of the automatic updates to legal versions of Windows protect your computer from new attacks and with an illegal version the automatic over-the-internet updates, do not come included.

While I admit, I rarely ever bought a DVD in the states for $15 dollars, I would just rent. And I would buy used books whenever possible, and use freeware instead of paying for software. At least our society doesn’t have the downfalls in creativity, and artists and writers can make a living. Can you imagine the money put into research and design in a software company to create a program or game? Then that game is copied at will and distributed to everyone for almost nothing. So many cutting edge ideas are ruined by lack of laws…Or an engineer spends years designing a machine to build widgets ten times faster than before. A company steals the design and produces them with no regard for the development work. Why design?The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

Ha! I use that word (commences) because it is one of the many English words that is similar to a Spanish word and now makes more sense in my mind then the word “begin”. I am not “busy”... I am “occupied” because in Spanish one would say “Estoy ocupada” for “I am busy.” Haha. or should I say Jaja.

Anywho…We had a startup meeting last Sunday for the irrigation project.

A word on meetings and public speaking...

Here I don’t do particularly well in meetings. It has nothing to do with speaking in front of people (what qualms I did have about that have been diminished while living here…I am constantly speaking in front of people in broken Spanish...I know I sound dumb). But I really don’t like the echo-ey room where we have meetings and people speak so quickly and all at once.

They ask me to speak about the project…which I had just done this with a woman sitting next to me, rather well I might add. My train of thought and focus seem to go out the window when I am speaking in Spanish…I am too busy thinking about verbs…damn verbs. So I say a few sentences, the people who know the project better than others chime in to help me…then people are just confused and ask me a bunch of point blank questions that I don’t understand.

On top of all that the Association has a new president. The previous president was my host dad and official counterpart. We have had our differences…but he understands my version of Spanish and has been helpful in the grant process, and knows the project very well. The new president doesn’t seem to have as much faith in me…(who would really…this young lady comes in, can’t speak well, and is telling them to build a tank…)

Yesterday we went out and staked the location of the new tank and marked the trees that will be cut down. (Don’t worry they are the invasive Eucalyptus trees that suck water away from native species...and we are replanting at least 10 native species trees in their place.)

As we worked he asked me questions and I was able to answer them. And I was able to back up why I thought this or that was better, he also had some good ideas that we used. It went well and it looks as though, our project is underway. Horray! (I couldn’t avoid the rhyme.)

Other big news…My mom is coming in a week! We are going to the Galapagos…wish us luck for no tsunamis!

I just taught the man on the corner (yep…still can’t understand his name) and my landlord how to eat with chopsticks… Our conversations seem to center around the weather, my comings and goings, and differences between Ecuador, the US and Spain (his son lives there). Whelp today we got on the topic of food…again. This time they were talking about how “Chinos” (which here means most anyone from Asia) eat with sticks. So I went inside and got them all kabob skewers and had them practice picking up trash from the street…Peace Corps fun.The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

Carnaval was…well…what you would imagine…insane. And never ending. I thought Carnaval was over at Ash Wednesday…however the parades continue and children with water guns still chase me.

With party origins the same as Mardi Gras, Carnaval is the South American version. Rio de Janiero is famous for it. But in Ecuador, Guarnada, my closest city is known for Carnaval. People come from all over South America to participate. The locals dump water on every passerby and then foam...and then flour. And if you fight back with your own…then egg. Duh duh DUM…

Yep I had it all, foam, flour, quail eggs and of course, water…in every form…from bucket, water balloon, water gun, tube sprayers, hoses, fountains. Being a gringa doesn’t help this. (I like this picture...because you can see a line of foam being sprayed on someone.)

The other key ingredient to Carnaval is parades. Two a day for over a week. They are beautiful. Some just make you mad when you are trying to meet people or catch a bus on the other side of the parade route.

I participated in my community's parade. The picture below shows some of the farmers in front of me.

I had some people to my house for a midday cleaning off and food. We made corn dogs and hot wings…well not really wings, more like boneless chicken breast nuggets. Delicious. And corn dogs have market potential here...hmmm...perhaps a small business project in my future...The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

For my first time in Ecuador I saw the ocean! I went with a couple friends and met another there (her site is a couple hours from the beach) for a long weekend. It was beautiful and relaxing. This post is more photos, because the best thing to do at the beach is swim and do nothing…therefore not too much to talk about...

It was an 11 hour trip from my site to Atacames. We ended up traveling two days to avoid getting into a city we didn’t know after dark. However, in broad daylight, three women did try to rob us as we boarded a bus…but they were unsuccessful.

The first beach, Atacames, is a popular vacation spot for Quito’s wealthier residents. It is a packed beach on the weekends. So on the plus and minus side is the amount of people there on any given weekend. We got our hair braided…for 5 dollars :) But after fear of a burnt scalp, it only lasted a day.

The next stop was Mompiche. It is a beautiful beach town that has been rather overrun by surfers but it still is a tiny Ecuadorian village. It is located in a cove, so the water is very still and peaceful. The surfers use the far end of the beach for surfing where rock formations make waves.

Pedernales was really just a stopping point along the beach where we could travel back to Santo Domingo and then back to our sites. This town had the least beautiful of the beaches, but was more like what you would expect from a small port city…fishy smell, no tourists, good seafood. It is also the closest beach town to the equator (within 5 miles).

The sun here is so intense…if you are not in the water, everyone is under an umbrella or cloth tents. I luckily did not get burnt…(and thanks to those who gave me 100+ sunblock before I left…The Arnish’s, Liz, and Aunt Joyce). But what is crazy is how you can feel it anyway…I was not red but I felt burnt. Yikes.

My favorite part of the trip is my new found love for coconut batidos. This are fruit based milkshakes. Also great were the banana-coconut ones. Yum. And they do up the drinks. Fruits and toppings…check out the photo. (I won't show the X-rated "Sex on the Beach" drink picture, even though it was very creative...)

The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

First things first. The superbowl was amazing. I don’t think I have ever enjoyed one so much. I visited Quito with a friend and we eat chili and nachos and drank beer. I am glad the Packers won…

However, watching football in Spanish was weird to say the least.

4toy10. What?!? Oh...Cuarto y 10…4th and 10…Ahhhh…

Castigo?!? Castigar…to punish…castigo…penalty. Ok…

All of the stats were like this too, it became a game to tranlate…eventually they played an English announcer over the Spanish announcer’s picture. Just about everyone in the “Sports Planet” was English speaking…however, not all American. I didn’t even talk to any Americans…some Dutch and a Swiss guy…funny though, one was decked out in Packer gear. We did miss the commercials. Sad. The same four or five commercials played over and over at each break. However, youtube fixed this and we saw the standouts from a laptop screen.

One of our Peace Corps Doctors came to visit my site. Not to exciting, she just checked out my house…made sure I wasn’t living with farm animals and that I had people to go to if there were problems…stuff like that.

Last Friday, I got a call from one of the Ag managers, and he said “Oh by the way, congratulations on the grant” and I said “Does that mean I got it?”…apparently it does! Yay! The real reason he called was for me to help with the "tech trip" portion of training with the new volunteers. Some of them will visit my site to see an irrigation project…sweet. Good news Friday and a fun weekend to look forward to…Best day in Peace Corps so far.

Carnaval is huge in my neck of the woods and is two weeks away. Guaranda has one of the largest festivals in Ecuador and people here are very proud of that. It is like the New Orleans of Ecuador. There is a Carnaval song that has been playing nonstop for a few weeks now and I think I am going to break a stereo before Carnaval is over. This also means, everyone is preparing...painting houses, organizing dances, finishing construction, and making large batches of moonshine...

The community bank has quickly fallen to the wayside. I had a meeting at 2pm on Sunday. I thought there was some new interest…a few young people came to the first meeting and I had been stopped in the street from people asking questions. However, at 2 there was only one lady and at 2:30 there were two. My counterpart was not there (he is usually punctual). Then some of the farmer’s group people start showing up…for another meeting. Then my counterpart did to. He had scheduled another meeting at 3 to plan Carnaval stuff. He had told people not to come...but did not tell me this. Maybe we will try again…after Carnaval.

Today, he told me to come to his house at 1pm to talk about the grant and community banks. I got there on time and sat there for an hour before I left. I saw him later in the street and he had no idea he had said that to me. He told me that people don’t like to go to things before Carnaval…But he wants me to help him paint a mural in the park before Carnaval…”Can I do this tomorrow?"...ummm...What about the grant I am finalizing tomorrow?

I told him I am having friends stay with me during Carnaval. He has asked them to come for Wednesday and be a part of the parade…I think he wants us to do a dance (which is traditionally done). Ha! I think we should make a Mardi Gras float and throw beads, candy, and jello shots…How is that for the 2rd goal of Peace Corps (which is, by the way, "Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served").The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

So I came back to my site for only a few days before I left for a Community Banking Workshop outside of Quito. Community banking is where you have weekly meetings and people pay a dollar (for example) each meeting. Then at the end of each month you can loan out money to anyone that needs it and they pay it back the next month with 10% interest. At the end of a year everyone gets their share of the profits. People ideally can earn almost 20% interest if they just save. Of course, it can get more complicated…which is why my counterpart and I spent two and a half days at this conference to discuss the management of a group such as this and how to deal with problems. This is a photo of my counterpart and I receiving a certificates. (If I haven't mentioned it before...people are very proud of these certificates here.)

On my way out of Quito, I stayed with a friend who was in Peace Corps and left for medical reasons and is now back in Ecuador. We visited the Guayasamin museum. He is Ecuador’s most famous painter. Below is a picture of his self portrait. Check out more of his stuff here… http://www.catalog.artfromecuador.com/Guayasamin.htm

Back in Asuncion, we had our first meeting and decided a time and place to meet but we only had 14 people show. So in two weeks we will have another meeting where hopefully we can get between 25-35 people. Then we will vote on the officers and a name and such.

At my first farmer’s group meeting since I came back, they had their election to vote on new officers. We used a voting method discussed at the Community Bank Workshop. Check out the picture…

They also received 800+ fruit trees (apple, peach, avocado, cherimoya, lemon, and babaco) to divide between the members of the group. This is great; however, I worry that because each farmer has 2-5 of each, some will not survive do to inexperience with a certain species. I think people specializing in a certain fruit will better the economic situation of the community, even though it will create problems with fairness because some fruits produce quicker, produce more, or are more valuable. What’s funny is that I have been stressing that they should diversify crops for months and my counterpart never mentioned the proposal for a large number of fruit trees.

I have decided to stop teaching English at the elementary schools. Instead I am holding two classes on Monday and Wednesday afternoons where people can come to practice English. One is for kids and the other is for high school students and adults. For the first 2 classes, I would go to the class and I wait for 30 minutes then I get up to go home. On the way I pass students who ask if we are having the English class. I tell them that the class was at 3 and nobody came, therefore I left. Be on time next week.

I also taught a class on canal design at the Agriculture High School. This was a great experience. I taught about watersheds and how to estimate the quantity of water flowing into canal (for example), how to read contour maps, IDF charts, Q=VA (Quantity equals Velocity times Cross sectional Area), and Manning’s Equation (and all the fun that comes with that one). I really do enjoy teaching math and sciences and to older kids. Of course, I would prefer to do this in English rather than Spanish. My friend Carrie came to help me out (she grew up speaking Spanish) and she was a great help. Technical words tend to be similar but I need to learn some math words in Spanish, turns out.

I have also been working on the irrigation project. We are waiting to hear from the committee to see if we will receive the money or not.The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

After 10 months in Ecuador, I returned home to Illinois for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. My flights home were uneventful until the last leg of the trip where snow had canceled my last flight from Chicago to Springfield. I was supposed to land at home by 5:15 pm on Christmas Eve. After delaying the flight every 15 minutes, finally, at 7:00 they told us the last flight was canceled and the only way to get to Central Illinois was a bus to Bloomington (which is little over half way of the 3.5 hour trip). I boarded the bus and sat next to an old woman from Trinidad, who spoke broken English, and told me her life story and all about Trinidad, which I didn’t mind. Then after several offensive comments and a never-ending conversation about religion (which included 20 minutes of bible quotes), I ended the conversation with headphones. I thought it was funny how I come all the way to Illinois just to ride in a multiple hour bus ride across the state talking to a woman from the campo of a 3rd world country. Life is a hoot.

I met my dad and brother in Bloomington and we made it home by 1:00 am on Christmas. While I was exhausted I stopped by a small family welcoming party before falling asleep. I woke up early the next day and drove through snow (first time driving in 10 months!) to watch my step-nephew, Rory open gifts. I got to wake him up and tell him Santa and Aunt Leah Lou have come! (Luckily he slept in because he was up most of the night trying to wait for me.)

Christmas day and the next day were full of family, food, gift exchanges, snow, and hunting down my luggage (which I picked up Christmas day). It was the best Christmas in memory! There is something special about combining a homecoming with such a great holiday.

My boyfriend, Steve, met me in Springfield, Tuesday, after visiting his family in Philly. We visited the Frank Lloyd Wright house in Springfield called the Dana-Thomas House with my friend Christen.

I took the GRE while I was home. Which while taking it felt like the test from hell (it’s crazy how a timer will stress you out after living in the lax environment of Ecuador), however I did just a little better than the practice tests. So I was glad to be done and was able to focus on new Year’s Eve and enjoying my time with Steve and my family.

On New Year’s Eve we had a family game night. Cony brought spray hair dye and helium balloons. How could this not be fun! We played Catch Phrase, Pictionary, Apples to Apples…a great night!

Then Steve and I said goodbye to the family and headed to Chicago. We saw the musical “Wicked” and had a fabulous dinner. I was also able to meet up with some friends for meals, do some shopping, and EAT! I went to visit my old place of work, Civiltech Engineering. I had a great lunch with my coworkers and walked around the office and didn’t get to see quite everybody…but was happy to have visited, they are great people.

So today I am traveling back. After a small hiccup in Chicago (I was sitting at the next gate watching the news and reading and almost missed the flight because the speakers around me were not announcing my flight), I made it to Washington, D.C. My next plane was late arriving and lost even more time taking off and then storms in Florida made our plane reroute and land from a different direction and once I got off the plane I had 5 min until my next plane was scheduled to take off. Of course, I didn’t make this connection after running through the airport…but they booked me on a later flight and I should be getting into Quito around 10 or 11pm.

I am coming back to Ecuador, prepared for the experience (compared to the first time). I know what to expect and have a decent grasp of the language. I know many people and have friends meeting me at the airport. Saying good bye is tough but I feel as though I am approaching the turnaround point to my service. I am almost halfway. And everyone says the second year is much smoother than the first. I believe this, and after a conversation with my friend (and inspiration for joining Peace Corps), Danila, I feel that I will embrace the second year and complete something that will make this experience worthwhile.

My grant has hit its first road block. My managers have decided to push it back to the next grant deadline, which is in March. The project is rather time sensitive, so I may search for other options. I will talk to my managers over the next week. I was hoping to have this to look forward to, but Peace Corps is all about falling and getting back up.

New random thought about America:

The fast food “help your self” methods (ie cups, fountain drinks, ice, plasticware, condiments, trash cans and such) are very different. Well…really they don’t exist in Ecuador. There fast food is more of a luxury for your average Ecuadorian. Therefore, it does have a bit more class and costs easily twice what a typical meal would.The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

I am in Quito now waiting for my flight to come home! I take off at 7:00 am and should be getting into Springfield at 5:15pm!! How exciting!

The last couple of weeks have been very busy. I have been applying for a grant for an irrigation project and that has been a long a tedious process...things move just a tad slower here. But nonetheless, I finished today, and am waiting to see if it qualifies. But because the focus of the grant is biodiversification, I may not have a good shot. Agriculture and irrigation tend to not be good for natural ecosystems. Time will tell.

Christmas time here in Ecuador at times is very similar to the US. Most people have Christmas trees, the christmas carols are the same in the States, and people wear Santa hats. One large difference is that EVERYONE has a nativity set. And they are no typical Jesus, Mary and Joseph set. They sometimes fill tables and half of a room and they will put in any small figurine in the house. The host family of a friend of mine has sections...one being "the US" with snowmen, santa and reindeer, a pond with little men fishing, another an war scene with little army figurines, an Ecuador section with a woman cooking guinea pig and potatoes, and minitures dancing around a may pole. Oh and of course up top is Jesus, Mary and Joseph and the whole clan...hundreds of animals, shepards, kings and such. It is interesting, and sometimes funny...."Wait, is that a bullfighting stadium in the corner?...and a bull with spears sticking out of its back?" Yes, yes it is. What nativity scene is complete without?

Another funny thing. I was in Quito last week for a dentist appointment and I was riding on the bus. The major buslines here have electric buses and they run very quietly. Also streets and sidewalks are very narrow in what we call the "old town", or the centro. The buses will play music at times so you know they are coming and don't step into the street. The bus I was on was playing "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and I thought that was nice, a week before Christmas. Then I remembered being in old town back in August or September and hearing a bus play music and I said to my friends "Isn't that Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer?" Sure enough it was, Rudolph should be celebrated all year.

I also want to thank everyone who sent Christmas cards! It was so great opening up my mailbox and having it full! Special thanks to Mom, Mike, Grandma & Grandpa Reynolds, Grandpa Don & Alice, Glenda and family, Steve, Aunt Joyce, and Rod, Cony and Juanjo. Also thanks Mom for the hot cocoa, mocha and christmas decorations!

I can't wait to see everybody! I hope the weather cooperates! If not at least I will be stuck in an airport with American food (!!), and after Peace Corps Ecuador I can sleep anywhere, floors, couchs, buses, with rodents, bugs...airports, no sweat.

Feliz Navidad!!!The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

Wow…I feel like a Peace Corps Volunteer…At least what I had imagined I would be doing when I applied. This is a small success story.

After months of frustrating experiences regarding engineering and any respect I get in engineering, I feel like I have had a breakthrough.

So to begin, I have been working on a design to fix parts of the irrigation system. It involves a sedimentation tank and repairing 300 meters of the canal. (Sorry, working in meters now.)

Last Sunday I presented my design to the farmer’s group. Because I cannot effectively explain the plan with just words and nobody wants to look at pages of calculations and turns out not everyone understands 2D engineering drawings, I used Google SketchUp and made a 3D drawing showing how it fits into the existing system. I was able to explain most of it in words as well. Basically, it is a tank 6m x 1.5 m x 1.5 m that allows the sediment to settle to the bottom and then it flows to a trash screen. The oldest part of the canal will be rebuilt 10 cm wider and the broken sections will be replaced.

We discussed the costs (about $2000) and where to start when trying to find the funds to support the project. Also we discussed when to start building, so as not to, impede on the use of irrigation. This means building in the rainy season which is also a busy time for the farmers, planting and such, and it rains every afternoon through early morning. We also talked about water conservation ideas, because they say the water is not as abundant as in years past. For example, ideas include; fixing broken pipes and open hoses, changing watering times from the middle of the day to later (imitating the natural rain in the area, also if it rained the tank could stay closed and water could be saved for later), and changing the types of sprinkler heads to a more efficient model.

The farmer’s group applauded me after the presentation. Wow, good feeling.

(I think some of the approval came from the fact I developed some photos taken during the parade a few weeks ago and let people have them. Some of the women were tickled to have a photo with each other.)

The next day we had a minga, constructing the nichos in the cemetery. (minga = work group for community good, nichos = a structure/wall of graves, in this case, made of concrete, 4 caskets high, 10 wide) When I first arrived, I dodged the “Will you design the nichos?” question, because I don’t know anything past a few college courses on designing structures and I didn’t have the language or the confidence of people here yet, and any failures could have been detrimental in trying to get respect from some people. It is tough being a young, gringa, female engineer.

In Ecuador you hire a “Maestro” who is somebody who works in construction. I don’t think you need anything specific to become a maestro, probably just a bit of experience. Things here are rarely designed by an engineer, and don’t tend to be thought about in the long term. There ended up being some obvious errors in the plans for the nichos.

(Enter nerdy description of the problems: A concrete cantilevered section had no support except the small amount of rebar inside, if it hadn’t started breaking immediately, it would have shortly. Luckily it did fail right away, so they had to install pillars underneath. It also had a poor concrete mixture, when pounded with a sledge hammer “puddles” of weak spots would visibly move, and it would chip very easily. The concrete slab that acts as a roof had no grading and had sitting water. It was already leaking, also due to poor concrete.)

(Second nerdy note: Concrete here is not at all designed the way it is the US. Here you buy the cement, rock, and sand, put it on the ground in a donut shaped circle, fill the hole in the middle with water and mix with shovels. When it looks about right you pour it. Kind of like what you do if you are putting up a basketball hoop in the states…except here this is what you build houses out of.)

The Monday minga was to fix the problems with the leaking roof. I joined this one because they announced it at the meeting, when normally they just ask certain people to help (I am usually not included). Immediately the problems were obvious and I pointed them out to my counterpart. They didn’t really have a plan to fix it, except to put another layer of concrete over the failing layer. So while they were discussing what to do, I threw in my idea and they instantly agreed. Then they regularly asked my approval during the pouring process. And as I left for an English class someone said “Gracias, Ingeniera” (female engineer). Whoa. I usually only get called ¨Senorita¨.The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

I feel as though my last several blog posts have been about my travels rather than my life here in Ecuador. Sorry, I think my daily life as boring, but that is because I live it.

So I will blog about a typical week in my site.

I spend a large amount of my time right now teaching English. I tend to complain about this a lot to my friends and family, and anyone who will listen. But it has gotten much better and I really don’t mind it, most of the time. There are two “escuelas” in my town; these are 2nd grade through 7th grade schools. I alternate weeks teaching at these. I also help out at a “colegio” (i.e. high school, 8th grade and up) that specializes in agriculture.

I spend my Mondays teaching English at the escuelas. Really I only have couple hours of work on Monday and I tend to do laundry (by hand…it takes forever), cleaning, studying Spanish, lesson plans, researching design ideas/calculations/costs, have random meetings, mingas, and whatever else needs to be done the rest of the day.

On Tuesdays I go to the high school early and sit in the library and do whatever falls into my lap. Usually I help the English teachers with their English, or visit the English classes and talk to the students. I am also helping them design a drip irrigation system for one of their large greenhouses; however, this has been on pause for about a month now. Another teacher wants me to give a presentation on irrigation and hydrology to his classes. This is planned for mid January. I have made some friends with the teachers here and I enjoy my time at the colegio. Around lunch time I head into Guaranda for some lunch, groceries and internet.

Wednesdays depend on the week, one week I have English classes in the mornings and the other week I usually schedule meetings with various people or work with farmers. In the afternoons, I have started an English course for anyone who wants to come. This gives students who really want to learn English a chance to do so. (Turns out 45 minutes one or twice a month will not teach kids English.) Actually an hour and a half once a week probably won’t either, but it will give them a head start.

Thursdays also depend on the week. Every other week I have an English class. But for example this week, I met with two guys from a farmer’s group from a different community who want help with irrigation and next Thursday, I will go to there town and talk to them about it and scope out the land (field check!).

Fridays tend to be light (by design). I have English classes, but the escuelas are rarely in session on Friday afternoon (by that I mean late morning). So last week I visited my family, ate with them, brought them rice krispie treats, did laundry, and then worked in my garden a bit and read.

Weekends vary, depending on visits from friends or to friends. If I am in my site I may go to Guaranda and hang out with a group of Volunteers there (World Teach and Peace Corps). And every first Sunday is a meeting with my farmer’s group. This is a rather tedious 2-3 hour meeting, but the people are very friendly.

Living the life :) It is nice making your own schedule and I love that everyday is different! And each month I get busier and busier...The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

This Thanksgiving I joined some friends in the jungle for some turkeys. Some girls living in Macas (in southern Ecuador in the Amazon basin) rented out a hotel with cabins and approx 40-50 Americans living or traveling in Ecuador where there as well. The girls organized the meal and we were given access to the hotel kitchen for the day. Everyone teamed up and tackled a Thanksgiving dish. And some others did some Amazonian drinks...the chichi mentioned in a previous blog with spit included. I missed out on this cultural experience…darn. However in American custom, we made a huge pan of green bean casserole. And yes, someone brought those fried onion toppings from the states.

(In the beer bottles, is homemade fruit wine)

All the food smelled just like home, we were only lacking Aunt Joyce’s sweet tea. ;) After dinner the Macas volunteers organized a Rey (King) Competition, because Queen Competitions here in Ecuador are taken very seriously, so they did a men’s version. It included a bathing suit, talent, traditional outfit and question portion, and it was certainly very funny. The talent portion consisted of guitar playing, chopping stuff with a machete in midair, blow dart shooting, and a bottle dance. The bottle dance is putting a beer bottle on the floor and suggestively dancing around it.

Some of us went hiking after Thanksgiving to a waterfall. Our guide told us how it was traditionally used as a religious site where people would take hallucinogenic drugs and hang out for three days after fasting. We left out the drugs, and just played in the waterfall, it was beautiful just the same.

The Sunday after Thanksgiving was the national census, and every person in Ecuador was on lock down in their houses from 7am-5pm, while high school students went door-to-door filling out census forms. I lucked out here and never had to fill anything out :)The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

It has been a quick month! My last post was about the fiestas in Cuenca, the second week of the month was full of fiestas in my town.

I spent the early week teaching and doing normal stuff, but the weekend was filled with activities in my town (parades, concerts, mass, bull fights, mass, fireworks, mass…you get the idea). When I asked, "Why the celebrations?", I didn´t really get an answer, as though people didn´t know. It is just the 15 of November. Later, I found out that the fiestas originated with a Jesus statue that the town proudly displays in our only church.

On Thursday my friend, Lindsay, came to visit me and we led the smallest parade I have ever seen. We ended up being the first “float”, so the first thing people saw in this parade were two gringas on a jimmied horse drawn cart. Lindsay was riding the horse and they gave her a super awesome hat to wear. HA. Then I was in the back passing out chicha out of a barrel, wearing my own hat.

Chicha is a traditional celebratory drink. It is difficult to explain the taste. When I asked what was in it, they said, “everything.” Of course. Definitely in the mixture is fresh brown sugar and a local herb. The Amazonian version of this drink is made by women chewing a particular type of leaf and spitting the juice into the mixture. And yes, only women can do this, we apparently have sweeter spit. Luckily, the Sierran version of this drink is boiled. For more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicha

We later went to the concert at night held in the center of town. The concert included many drunk men passing out the moonshine from the region (which is famous in Ecuador, known as Pajaro Azul, or Blue Bird, and only comes from my area). For an hour or so we dodged the drink from everyone except my very insistent counterpart. We decided to go home early when we could see that there was clearly no end in sight for this party. Later at 4:30am, the local band marched by my house blaring off beat music, then proceeded to stop on the nearest corner and play for a half hour.

My friends and I skipped the next night of fiestas and fireworks for some food in my house and decorating my Christmas tree, popcorn on a string, lights, and all! My house appropriately has paper snowflakes on all the windows and mirrors.

Later in the month, I had to run to Quito to visit the Peace Corps office, which was a nice little trip to the big city. There I took care of some errands and on my way back I saw something I must describe.

The south bus terminal in Quito is beautiful…very new, clean, and usually pretty easy to get around. This terminal connects Quito to the southern portion of the country (which is most of the country). And in this terminal you see a quick glimpse of some of the many cultures in Ecuador. For example, Amazonian indigenous groups, with face paint and interesting piercings, people from Santo Domingo (with red painted hair), indigenous groups from all over the Sierra, afro-Ecuadorians from the coastal region, also tourists, and business people.

While getting a fresh blended juice (carrot-orange…yum) in the food court, while waiting for my bus, I noticed they installed a new escalator where stairs were previously located. I hardly thought anything of it and sat down with my juice.

Then as I people-watched, I noticed many grown people have their first encounter with an escalator. A young, Sierran, indigenous women with a baby on her back, laughed for a while and then put her hand on the rail and was pulled up by her moving hand. She continued to laugh the whole way up. Two older women stared, laughed, shook their heads, and then right before stepping on decided they should take the stairs instead. Then a man with the two older ladies acted like this was no big deal and stepped on the crack and almost fell backwards.

I loved this…there are escalators in Ecuador, but only in malls, airports and such places. Typically very few indigenous people have incountered escalators.The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

I went to Cuenca for Halloween with many other Peace Corps and World Teach Volunteers. It was a great few days to relax and enjoy a fun American holiday, and luckily this holiday also coincided with three Ecuadorian National holidays. The 1st of November was All Saints Day, the 2nd was the Day of the Dead, and the 3rd was the Independence Day of Cuenca (hence, the reason for traveling to Cuenca).

The city had plenty of festivities all week to keep us busy.

We celebrated Halloween on Saturday night. There was a 10K going on through town as we walked to our party in our “Tortugas Ninjas” costumes, I was Donatello. We certainly amused the locals, or as we joke, the 4th goal of the Peace Corps. Ecuadorians do dress up for Halloween but I only saw kids costumes and it is not as widely celebrated like in the US.

We also visited a “Banos de Cuenca” with hot springs, spas and such. On Monday we spent the afternoon in thermal pools, Turkish baths, mud baths, steam boxes, and hot springs in a cave. Awesome.

Tuesday we went to a park that had a “Taste of Ecuador” fair. They also had mini-monster trucks, kids dancing like Michael Jackson, local music, rollerblading and stunt bikers shows, mini-arcades, craft fairs, beer tents, and the like. Surprisingly similar to the US.

On Monday and Tuesday nights, we partook in the local tradition of shooting fireworks into a crowd. They have these large “castles” with fireworks strapped to them.

Then a crowd of people stand as close as they dare while sparks fly into the crowds (the gringos stood the closest). Lets just say I was not the only one in the group who lost some hair or had holes burnt into my clothes.

On my way back to my site from Cuenca, I spent a night at my friend’s site. We bought and killed our own chicken, grilled the meat and made lettuce chicken wraps. We also made a spinach alfredo sauce out of the local cheese. It was surprisingly good. On our way out of the site, we rode in the back of a pickup truck (standard transportation around here), and as we were passing some beautiful views of the mountains, we noticed…

a volcano erupting in the distance!!!! This is an active volcano that burps regularly, but to see it on such a clear day and without expecting it was amazing.

Well now I have another meeting with the farmers group…I have finished a preliminary design for the sedimentation tank but need to check some things and need people to help decide where the new tank will go. Coordination, the second largest challenge behind communication. Oh goody.The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

Everything here is back to normal. No road blocks or police strikes since the Thursday almost a month ago. Everybody was off school and work the following day. Peace Corps was on the security level of “Standfast” for a week, which just means that we had to stay in our sites and potentially wait for the next step of the security levels. That would be the “Consolidation” phase, where we join our cluster groups in a safe place, which of course, never came. We could leave our town to get groceries and do normal work, but had to be back at night. On my first trip to Guaranda (Saturday, I believe), it was eerily quiet, and I saw two places where they burnt tires to block the road from Chimbo to Guaranda. But that was as much action as I saw.

I have started working at an Agriculture High School near my site, which has a decent English program. So instead of teaching students I am helping the teachers, I like this much better. It is also is a great resource for me to learn some more about Agriculture. They also have a brand new (huge) green house and they want me to design a drip-irrigation system, I went today for a “field check” with another engineer. We took measurements, looked at the existing materials they have, and asked questions. It actually felt like work! Oh, how I miss you productivity! Anyway… I spend every Tuesday there, helping the English teachers, checking out their library, talking to teachers about spending a day in their classes talking about this or that.

The farmers group I work with has meetings every month. The first Sunday of the month, to be exact. For the first time, I prepared a presentation to give to the farmers. I was the last one to speak on the agenda. But because the meeting went long, when I started to speak, people acted really impatient and starting walking out halfway through. I later asked why they did this and they said the last camioneta out of town left at five. Of course, those people who walked out first were the ones who didn’t have a camioneta to catch, including my counterpart. Grrrr…

My point of the presentation was to talk about the goals of the Peace Corp’s agriculture program and why I am here (ie. Not to teach English). And the only person I know had to catch the camioneta, stayed behind to ask me to start an English program outside of the schools because her children went to a different school.

Since then, I have started an out-of-school English course, for students who are serious about trying to learn Spanish. I am gradually weening out of teaching at the schools, it is time consuming and not productive. I think once some kids realize how much work it is to learn a language it will dwindle to 10 or so. Perfect.

On an up note with the farmer’s group, we had a minga at the irrigation tank. Somebody brought a 50m tape measure, and we had the time to walk the whole canal and I was able to station the canal and write the locations of the major and minor problems. I also understand a lot more about the source of water (a natural spring, not rainwater) and what the farmers understand the problems to be. I have finally started a sedimentation tank design and a cost anaylsis….

Last weekend I had a sort of dinner/housewarming/costume-making party. A group of friends came over and I made dinner, and everyone tried the local moonshine. Later that night we went to Gauranda to watch some live music and dance. A couple girls stayed the night and we spent Sunday working on Halloween costumes. Next weekend we are going to Cuenca for Halloween Ecuastyle! The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd of November are national holidays. Five day weekend! We never get anything quite like that in the states without vacation days…The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

I said goodbye to Steve on a Thursday and had our "reconnect" conference the next week. The weekend in between I spent some time with some friends and traveled to Quito. My counterpart came for the first 2 ½ days of the conference and the last half was just for volunteers. We all had to give presentations on our sites and about potential projects that we could start to work on. It was very interesting because everyone has very different sites/jobs/counterparts. And it was great to see everyone in my Omnibus again, we had a great time hanging out and talking about our very different experiences in our first 5 months living alone in Ecuador.

When I got back to my site, it was a very big change. I had had visitors for over a month and then was in Quito for the conference. I felt like a stranger in my community. However, teaching at the school started the week I got back and that helps me feel apart of the community.

I also adopted a kitten. She was staying at a friend’s host families’ house. A former renter had left her there and they were taking care of her for the time being, but didn’t really want a cat. So I took her. They called her Mishee Rico (not sure about the spelling, but Mishee means cat in Quichua). My host sister and host mom also helped me come up with another name, and we all liked Nena. Which is a common Ecuadorian word for “little girl”. So we will see what sticks.

I also started at a High School nearby that specializes in Agriculture. They want some help with their irrigation system and talking to their English teachers…in English. I am not yet sure how involved I will be with the students, especially since I will only be there once a week. But I truly enjoyed my first day there. I always thought working at a High School would be a nightmare, but compared to elementary aged kids, they are angels :)

And for the late breaking news (as of September 30th)…The national police in Ecuador are on strike. And not your typical American sit-on-the-side-of-the-road-with-signs strike. No no. Here in Ecuador when they strike they burn tires in the middle of the roads…closing down everything. And with the police starting riots, the people are reacting as well. Banks and businesses won’t open for fear of being robbed and petty crime is abundant.

What this means for me: not too much as long as it doesn’t last very long. Asuncion is the same peaceful town, no noticeable differences besides people huddled around radios and TVs. Not sure if our 3 local policemen are participating or enjoying their day off. I have heard that there are roadblocks in Guaranda (my closest large city). So I may not be visiting town for a few days. Again this is not common but also not unheard of here, so people don’t react strongly…more of a shaking-of-the-head or mumbles about the government.

Today (October 1st) everything is shut down...no school, so I am updating a much needed blog :) Good thing I can use my host family's internet...in Asuncion.The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

Well…It’s been a while…sorry!

I had a great visit with my Mom, and then Steve came to visit , their flights overlapped a few hours. Steve was able to extend his trip to 3 weeks, so we were able to spend a good amount of time traveling and then spend some time at my site.

Also…because there were some 800 photos taken during Steve’s visit I am going to upload the highlights to my google account, because I have no idea how I can just pick three or four pictures to post. Link to come…

Here goes Steve...

My trip to Ecuador was quite an adventure. It was filled with hostels, several 6 hour bus rides, over 100 stray dogs, and a huge language barrier. And that was only the first half of my trip!!!

My flight in was smooth, but had a rough landing that I will never forget. Upon exiting the plane, I followed the crowd through the terminal and eventually made it to customs. Considering that I don’t speak a word of Spanish, I felt this was a small victory. I was greeted by Leah and her Mom and about 100 other people with balloons, signs and noise makers. It was literally a HUGE party at the airport and it would never be allowed back in O’Hare. It was pretty cool!

We spent the first few days in Quito taking in this beautiful city. I quickly became frustrated with my inability to communicate. Luckily, Leah was always there to bridge the language barrier gap. She did a great job translating and explaining the cultural differences. While in Quito, we did some shopping, checked out the nightlife, saw a movie, took in a museum and ate at several great restaurants. I also experienced my first “chiva”, which is an open air bus with a bar, sound system and smoke machine. Needless to say, that was a fun night. The commute to Leah’s site consisted of a taxi ride, a 5 hour bus ride, another bus and finally a camioneta (which is a pick up truck/taxi). The buses in Ecuador are like our coach buses, but older, a little smaller and the passengers sit and stand wherever there’s room. One lady even tried to sit on Leah’s head.

Leah’s home was very nice and welcoming. However, after doing some brainstorming, we decided to paint a few rooms, hang some wall decorations and rearrange some furniture. (Knowing Leah, she probably moved everything back once I left.) I had the pleasure of meeting her host family and counterpart. Big Ralph gave me the tour of his beautiful home and the family garden which is filled with various fruits, vegetables, chickens and guinea pigs.

The second half of my trip included a bike ride down a mountain, a cable car ride, zip lining 150 m above the jungle floor, and seeing a 10 story high waterfall. We generally stayed in hostels that cost between $16- $31 per night and had a clean bed, a private bathroom and the occasional TV and wifi. Most people we met were friendly and helpful, however we still had to watch our stuff. Also, when asking a simple question, I learned that asking the same question a few different ways prevented a headache later.

I few in love with the aji pepper because it’s sweet and spicy and compliments any meal. It’s served as a sauce that sits on the dinner table. Their milk is thicker than our regular milk and is sold in plastic bags. It’s not uncommon to wake up to roosters or screaming pigs, to see a donkey walking down the street or have a stray dog come up and say hi. The temperature is always cool and the sun is hot. We spent 30 minutes poolside and I got a little red while Leah looked like a lobster. KFC and McDonalds are everywhere and seem to be a “higher end” establishment to eat at. Internet cafés are also everywhere, but their computers don’t always work.

The entire trip was a great experience. If I could have stayed longer, I absolutely would have. However, I did start to miss my dishwasher, laundry machine, the 7-eleven, clean water, good coffee and ESPN. I will miss the beautiful scenery, being unplugged from the world and of course, Leah. If I could go back tomorrow, then I’d be packing tonight.The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

So I am stealing this idea from another volunteer...

I have asked my visitors to right a blog entry. I figured this would be more interesting because the things that have become mundane to me will be new to my visitors.

So here begins my Mom's blog...

I was lucky enough to be able to spend 10 days in Ecuador with Leah. After an uneventful flight, Leah picked me up in Quito. The next day we went to the equator. (There are two parks dedicated to this, since the French were a few meters feet off when they calculated this in the 1700's.) Those parks were full of interesting facts about Ecuador's indigenous groups and the earth's center (mitad del mundo).

Thank goodness it was cloudy that day, although several exhibits depended on the sun. Leah proved to be the only person in our group who was able to balance an uncooked egg (small point down) on a nail head at the equator. No wonder the Peace Corps needs her!

After that, we took a cab up to the huge angel statue overlooking the city (El Panecillo) and walked down. About halfway down, passerbys were telling us to hurry up and get out of there, since this was a dangerous area. Then we saw the writing on the wall (literally). The walls of the path were stamped "Robbery Zone - Danger to Tourists". We moved along quickly and grabbed a cab at the bottom.

Our next stop was the Otovalo market. This is the largest open air market in Ecuador. After a fouled up reservation debacle and several hours of trying to find a hacienda that was in the middle of nowhere, we ended up in a nearby town, Ibarra. We went to the market the next day but did not allow enough time. We barely grazed the edge of the market but had fun looking at everything. We bought some stuff for Leah's apartment and I bought handmade stuff to bring home. It's probably good that our time was limited. Leah is quite the seasoned price negotiator. William Shattner has nothing on her.

Then we made the long trek back to Leah's new apartment in La Asuncion. That was an all day trip involving buses, taxis, and camionetes. Her place is a nice little spot that doubles as a grain bin when not rented. She has water and electricity but washes her clothes outside a concrete water tank/slab called the Rock. This is how it's done in Ecuador. I was glad to miss laundry day, but I helped her cook stuff....from scratch. Jeez

I met Leah's host mom and sisters. They were very sweet, but we were unable to locate her counterpart and host-dad, Rafael. Leah was disappointed that we were unable to meet. Me too. We also took a day trip up to Salinas to see the salt flats and chocolate and textile mills.

After a couple days at Leah's site, we made the long trip to Tena in the Amazon basin. That was a day long trip. We went rafting on a class 4+ river that is a main tributary to the Amazon river. That was fun. We were with a New York family and two great guides. It was a good mix.

After that we went back to Quito to meet Steve at the airport. They were glad to see each other :D (Understatement!) That was fun.

Well, I'm back home now and looking forward to the next trip to Ecuador!!

I'm so glad Leah will be coming home for Christmas!!The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

I have had a crazy last couple of weeks.

My great-grandma passed away on July 27th, she was 90. I left the States knowing that something like this could happen and I may not be able to come home. I got to celebrate her 90th birthday party the weekend before I left for Ecuador and I spoke to her briefly the previous week on Skype while talking to my mom.

I was able to attend the funeral via Skype. It worked well in the beginning, I got to talk to many of my family members and family friends, but later the connection wasn’t very great and I couldn’t hear much of what the pastor said. I am glad we attempted this; it is difficult being away from your family when something bad happens and seeing the funeral made it feel real while I am 3,000 miles away.

Also sad news, my Peace Corps friend, Nancy, was sent home because of thyroid problems and a biopsy showed that it is cancerous. Her surgery is today, I am sure she will recover to new, but Peace Corps has decided that it is best if she doesn’t return. I will miss her!

I also worked at a Medical Brigade this past week in a town called Pataloma. It is a small indigenous community, outside of a large city called Ambato. (Picture a school-turned-clinic with 100 people packed in and around a small concrete building - babies crying, three dogs running around inside, lines of people translating, and general confusion among everyone.) 10-12 doctors came from the States, along with many nurses, med-students, physical therapists and translators. It was a great time and I learned a lot about medical issues in Ecuador, many new Spanish words, and about a different and interesting sub-culture of Ecuador. I generally helped the physical therapists with translating. However, at times this was difficult, because among the elderly population, most only spoke Quichua. So we had four people at times to translate. The PT would say something to me in English, I would say it to a younger family member in Spanish and they would translate to Quichua for the elderly person. By the time it got back to the PT, it could take a few minutes. The other challenge was the general understanding of medical issues is not as universal among the population as in the US, some had never even gone to a doctor. For example, in the US you can tell someone to do some exercises twice a day and most people understand why, but here it is completely new to them. Many had never even heard of physical therapy, so I would have to do a little extra explaining why it is good for them and how it will help and that medicine alone won’t fix the problem. I know that technically translating should be word for word, but with cultural differences and misunderstandings at times that was not possible. (When the PT said, “fill a plastic bottle with water and freeze it,” I would say, “Do you have a refrigerator?”)

I also had been getting my house all put together. I am assembling and am almost done with a futon. The lumberyard process was one of the very interesting things I have done in Ecuador. I went in with my list of pieces needed, and tried to ask if they have 5 cm x 10 cm pieces, which is close to a 2” x 4”. I had thought that they would be pre cut to those sizes and that all they would need to do is cut them to the lengths I needed, not so. The lumberyard only has very rough large cuts of wood and they cut them into the sizes you ask for. I should have known not to expect precut wood…ha. Then I went back to the workshop to watch them. Another thing about Ecuador, no gloves, no eye protection, but in this lumberyard, everyone had all their fingers, this can’t be said for the other one I went to.

Two days until my mom is here! Our plan is to visit Quito (the capital) and Otavalo (largest market in South America), spend a few days in my site. We also plan on going to Tena, which is a city in the Amazon basin, where we will go white water rafting...yay!The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

So July 22nd is past. This date is exactly three months after our Omnibus swore in. This also means that we can move out of our host family’s house, take vacation, and have visitors. Hooray!

I have chosen an apartment and am currently moving and furnishing it. And oh how I miss the speediness of the US. Where signing a contract isn’t a week long venture and asking for help moving a piece of furniture requires scheduling around someone’s non-existent schedule. And by this I mean someone who says they are free, only to never be free to help.

The apartment is not the one previously shown in the photos. I had a feeling that one was too good to be true. The landlord couldn’t finish it in time and there were some issues with some other items, as well. It is a beautiful, large apartment but that also means it needs a lot of furniture and Peace Corp’s living allowance covers just the basics (and by basics, I mean a bed and cooking supplies).

I live in the first floor apartment and in the back is my landord´s mill and before I came the apartment was used to store grain. After spending a few nights here, I am fairly certain I have a rat or opossum living between my ceiling and the floor of the apartment above me. But it is home!!! I love that I can cook my own meals and play my own music!

Yesterday I went to the water park that I mentioned earlier in my blog (with the school but I couldn’t go because I got sick). It was fun! The sun here is too intense for swimming all day though.

In only a couple weeks my mom will visit and right after her, my boyfriend. And a friend of mine got an invitation to Peace Corps Ecuador with the next Omnibus!…Congrats Sarah!! Exciting!!The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

That’s right! Last Thursday night my family bought me a cake and we all had dinner together. And my family sang "Happy Birthday" in English and Spanish! Then, Friday, on my birthday I went with a couple friends to a movie (I never would have thought I would complain about movie for $4.50…but that is a lot in Ecuador!), enjoyed some mall food court pasta, and had some boiled wine.

For my first 4th of July in Ecuador, I went to a park and grilled out with some fellow volunteers. Good times…no fireworks, but we grilled out in a crowded park…almost like home!

The place I will be moving into…as long as all goes well…is beautiful! Not sure how I got so lucky on this apartment. I can’t wait to move! And then I only have a month until my mom comes followed by Steve!

My future home!

School is officially out this week in the town of Asuncion. My host sister graduates from high school today and my family is having a graduation party for her tomorrow. I will probably be way underdressed…again.

My desire to live alone is growing everyday. And the closer it gets, the more I dislike their food, ways of cleaning, “time” and lack thereof, living with my counterpart, and constant asking to borrow my cell phone and computer…only two weeks!!

This is a photo of me on Chimborazo...just about as high as you can drive.

I will fill the next couple weeks with surveys, shopping for stuff for my new home :), moving, building furniture, and preparing for visitors!

So a few funny things.

1. After telling me about the serious problems of diabetes and high blood pressure in the area…my counterpart put salt in is Coca Cola.

2. Yesterday at the internet café a traditionally dressed indigenous woman spent all her time looking up Justin Bieber.

3. While waiting to pay for my new refrigerator and stove, two men and a woman came into the store and told one of the guys working there to give them all the money they had. The worker told them that they hadn’t sold anything that day and that they didn’t have access to the safe. They left and I never even noticed what was happening until the people working there started talking about it. If only they asked the gringa, I was holding $240 in my hand.The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

So I have been in country for 4 months as of last Friday. Whohoo, one third of a year!! I am scoping out potential houses/apartments for the remainder of my service. I can move out of my host family’s house in one month and I am so excited to cook and clean (my way), and have a place that feels like home! I must say that there aren’t many options and one apartment that I saw is beautiful and is probably out of my price range. We will see. Peace Corps sets a limit on our housing allowance, but I don’t live in an expensive area so I am hoping it is doable. Otherwise there aren’t many options in my town…

Teaching is going well. I don’t have any resources so I am creating games and improvising. I guess this is fine for the remainder of the school year. Now I am worried that when school vacation starts on July 9th that I will be a bit lost for things to do to stay busy.

I help teach English in a school in Guaranda…They invited me to the graduation, and come to find out I was not only sitting on stage with the other teachers, I was speaking in front of 400 people, handing out diplomas, and “capping” the graduates. (Graduations are a bit different here. For one, there are never any pamphlets telling you who is speaking, who is graduating, who is the best of their class. Also everyone in the auditorium is served champagne. And the graduates are not in caps and gowns the whole time, just on stage. It is also a bit slower of a process…to be expected in Ecuador.) The nice part about the speaking I had to do…it was in English. And a few of the teachers and the graduates probably understood, but I was comforted with the fact that a (large) majority wouldn’t understand me anyway. And by the way...I REALLY need some nicer clothes here. In this picture is my counterpart, the honored speaker, my host sister (who graduated), me and another teacher.

I have officially had my first real sickness in Ecuador. Not too big of a deal but I missed a day of classes and luckily didn’t have anything I was committed to yesterday. Today I was supposed to go with one of the grade schools to a waterpark in a town called Palsabamba. I wish I felt up to going, but I haven't eaten much in two days and still have one hell of a headache. Humidity of the subtropics, the Ecuadorian sun, and 40 kids...Most days I would love this, today is not one of them.

I also just started to read the book “Living Poor” by Moritz Thomsen. The author was a volunteer in Ecuador in the 60’s. Peace Corps was much more rigorous then...far less communication, much more difficult training, and significantly worse living conditions. It is enjoyable to read even though his experience seems to differ quite a bit from mine. But the fun parts are the similarities. I have heard that volunteers should read it at the beginning and at the end of their service for the experience.The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

Well it has been a couple weeks since I updated my blog. And today is the perfect day to do something about that. I was all prepared to meet up with an awesome lady who has taken me under her wing to teach me about Agriculture. She is an Agronomist with the Ministario de Agricultura. I was going to go with her today but she didn’t show up this morning (not sure why...it did rain for a bit). We were supposed to go plant some seeds and talk to some farmers. On top of that my counterpart is chuchaki (hungover) and hasn’t left bed except for a brief lunch. So I have a snow day! Minus the snow...

So I am taking this opportunity to take it easy and catch up of random things. I made zucchini bread (test batch), washed sheets and towels (please don’t rain, please don’t rain), testing myself on some Spanish grammar, making posters for my English classes, and updating my blog (of course).

I have gotten rather busy recently. I am teaching 2nd-7th graders in the mornings. This is a wide variety of ages and abilities, but they are all basically at the same level of English. I am mostly teaching songs to the younger ones, because asking them to write is like pulling teeth. In the States, tou couldn’t have gotten me to sing in front of anybody but here, it is like…Ahh…what the hell… “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes...” Truthfully, I am enjoying this a bit. In the last two weeks, I have already met so many students and when I walk down the street I get little hugs instead of weird looks. And it keeps me busy enough to not go crazy.

I also have to do some surveys for Peace Corps (and the community and me). Zucchini bread is my way of getting people to open their doors to me. On top of that I was able to show my family that I do like to cook (I have offered to help in the kitchen, but feel like my host mom doesn't want me there). I went from being called a nickname that means “woman who doesn’t like to cook” (I think it was something like “gallina”), to being able to magically make tasty bread out zucchini. The only magical part is that the first batch was good and that I didn’t screw up baking at almost 9,000 ft.

My Spanish is progressing…teaching English helps. It’s kind of like mini-tests and reminders of the basics which help. And I have learned such useful phrases as “Sit down”, “Be quiet”, “Stop it”, “One at a time”, and “Raise your hand”.

I have also started my seed beds. I have lettuce, zucchini, cabbage, onions, cilantro, and radishes all sprouting. The sad part is that they will probably have to be replanted before I can move, so I may have to start over later.

I am very ready to move. For many things I want to start, I have to keep saying…in 6 weeks. I can’t wait to cook and clean a place of my own, listen to my own music without headphones, plant and care for my own garden and possibly get a pet. But the weeks fly, so it will be here soon.

Oh I should mention...Volcano Tungurahua is being a rather large pain in the ass by spitting ash and causing several small "tremblors". I am not in any danger here but do happen to be downwind and we are occasionally getting the nasty ash. Peace Corps has forbidden us from certain towns and roads.

This photo is Chimborazo from just outside Guaranda. Chimborazo is a dormant/extinct volcano and the closest earthly point to the sun and furthest from the center of earth (random facts)! You can see a little ash in the air from the Volcano Tungurahua.

The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

This is what other volunteers say and it is so true! Some days I can’t believe it is only 1:00 pm, and then I can’t believe it is Friday.

I am looking forward to new things I can do in my community. Like most volunteers I have been asked to teach English. From advice from previous volunteers, I am taking this slowly and not taking on too much. I have heard that people get burnt out quickly and later it is hard to change your course when you have other projects going on.

As for the irrigation project…so much potential work…so much confusion…

My level of Spanish doesn’t help this much. I have done some asking around and found out that it was built a “long time ago” by the Ministario de Agricultura and that “10-16” years ago was modified by volunteer named David (who no one is in contact with). He has a very common last name so the internet is little help. Anyway, David put in a control device and replaced the underground pipes.

The problems seem to range from “not enough water”, “too small of pipes”, “we need a drain here”, “water too dirty”, "only farms on this side of the hill get water", “canal is crumbling because of roots”, and on…

Summer in Ecuador has just started. This means is an increase in temperature by 2 degrees Celsius and much less rain. It amuses me how one week it was “winter” and the next was “summer”. (These words have such stark contrasts to me.) The irrigation system has started working for the season, and I will start surveying people in the community and see what they consider to be the serious problems. This is a required activity. It should prove particularly helpful for me, since I have a project but don’t know what is most important, why it was designed the way it was, and maybe I can meet some new people and learn more about the community.

We also visited Cuenca for a training seminar. This was a great opportunity to meet the people close to our sites that were not in my “Omnibus”. I had a great time, although the benefits were mostly in the friends I made. We visited a museum on the first day. It was a very interesting place with exhibits about the different cultural groups in Ecuador and had Incan ruins outside. They also had a plant and agriculture exhibit and a bird sanctuary. That’s right…toucans!!

This weekend some Volunteers that live close to me decided to go hiking in Salinas. This was an absolutely beautiful day!The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

Another blog post to come soon! Here are some photos for now...

Tech Trip Photos

Swearing in Ceremony

First Month at my Site

CuencaThe contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

...What is really amazing is the out-of-nowhere (and rather vivid) memories that can be drawn up will living in a new and strange place. I guess it makes sense when I have so much time to read, listen, and not understand people…(or daydream).

...As I walk around a garden with an old man named Pepe, I realized I should have taken the chance when I was a kid to follow my grandpa to his garden.

...I hope I feel as fondly about everyplace I live, as I do about Chicago. Otherwise…I am sure to be back :)

...One great thing is my counterpart/host dad sings…well. It is a lot of traditional music…reminds me of theater music, in Spanish.

...Whenever anyone mentions dancing...I should not forget my camera.

...People here don't understand how cold it gets in Illinois, just like people in Illinois don't understand why I always wear sweaters and scarves...

...My names here so far include: Ling, Lyn, Leia, Lilia, Leah Anderson Smith Anderson, and of course gringita.

Things I miss: family, friends, Chicago, spring, clean floors, speaking freely about my thoughts and opinions, cooking, being an ambiguous person on the street, feeling useful, shower curtains, constant variety (…this sounds weird, but think about how many kinds of detergent or spaghetti sauces are in a grocery store…it is not like that here), American greetings (and lack there of, at times), schedules, and talking on the phone without worrying about cost or bad connections…The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

Today we had a lunch at a friend’s house where many Volunteers got together from the different groups. (We are Omnibus 103, and a new “Omnibus” comes every 6 months or so…and no, the name doesn’t make sense to anybody). So it was a great opportunity to meet the people I would be living close to but had not met yet.

Sadly I had a meeting at 2…and lunch was at 12. So I had to eat quick and leave. I didn’t get a chance to talk to everyone, but I’m sure with time I will. I did meet everyone I live closest too. We had chili, wild rice with muchrooms and chicken, pasta salad, brownies, cornbread…very American…awesome.

A bit after 1, I had to run. I started walking down the street in the direction I was going…waiting for a bus to pass in the same direction…preferably one that passes my town. Sure enough…along comes one. I flag it down in the Ecuadorian fashion of hand out, plam down, and curling your fingers in and out. I jump on, make sure they are passing Chimbo, and sit.

One thing about new languages and cultural experiences is that everything becomes something of conscious thought. Even introducing yourself, or asking where a bus goes, takes thinking through the words. This is exhausting. While in English I could do these things without thinking much at all. This explains why I sleep 9 hours a night here…I am pooped…Not because of physical exhaustion, because I am mentally drained.

What excited me about the bus exchange was I had not taken this route before, but I knew the bus was right without asking, but did just in case the sign was wrong (also lets the driver I know where I am going in the middle of rural Ecuador). I knew the price, I knew where it would stop, and what I had to do. This is exciting for me. Small successes…

I get home 5 minutes after two. My counterpart is still there, and we walk over immediately. The meeting starts on time…(wow)…and ends when they said it would…(wow). I think this is a good sign for an organization I will be spending my time working with. As I walked around and introduced myself, I get a very warm welcome from everybody. The women are especially kind, ask me a few questions, and offer me a seat. As I look around the room, I think “Here I am at a meeting of Ecuadorian farmers, 9 months ago they asked for a volunteer, 16 months ago, I filled out an online application and here we are sitting together now, smack dab in the middle of the Andes in Ecuador…sweet.The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

I have to say it has been better than the site visit, which was an awkward, long week. I am between being overwhelmed with the amount of time I have committed myself to and feeling very lucky for my site assignment.

In this entry, I will talk about the good things because, well for one, no one wants to hear me complain, and two, it’s not nice.

So things I am lucky for…(Sorry, less pictures this time…it is hard to convince people that you are not a tourist when you take photos of everything…)

1. My site is gorgeous, which I know I have mentioned. I have already begun to take my view out my bedroom for granted. But when riding around on the rural mountain roads, there is no forgetting where I am. Today I had a random thought…”I am doing yoga in the Andes”…sweet…

2. The weather will only get better…right now it rains every afternoon and is foggy and chilly at night. But April is the rainiest month and “summer” comes soon which means “dry & windy”…and then I get to play with irrigation :)

3. I finally talked with my counterpart about the irrigation project. It sounds like I need to do a bit of research because they aren’t sure of who designed it or where the funding came from the first time around. It is an underground sprinkler system with a large concrete tank and a very long canal. An engineer did this for sure…but who??? The old volunteer is nowhere to be found on my quick internet searches. Hmm…international detective work…

4. The family I live with is a rather successful family. This is a plus and minus when working for the Peace Corps, I have decided. For example…I went to baptism party and was the most underdressed person (seriously it was at a banquet hall, DJ, catered meal, centerpieces…the whole bit). When I packed for two years to be a “Sustainable Agriculture Volunteer,” my nicest clothes didn’t come with. And when everybody in the family has a good education, they wonder what I can do that they can’t…and they are right…not much. So all I can do is be my little American self and try not to make a bad impression. I also worry about separating myself from those that I really should be helping.

5. The pluses to this are daily free internet access (probably wireless before too long), a nice room and mattress, a vehicle in the family, a washing machine, and hot water. However, I will be here for only three months, which means my next apartment will most likely be a step down, but I look forward to my own space.

6. This family also has a sweet garden. Tuesday we planted barley, and their garden is beautiful, organic, and I know I will learn a lot from it. There are so many different fruits, veggies, and plants in Ecuador it is tough to learn them all. They have guinea pigs, chickens, and just bought two pigs on Thursday.

7. My counterpart seems to know every person in the province; this could help in many ways. And I believe I will get good language instruction from this family. He also has a good understanding of the Peace Corp’s purpose, understanding that I am not here to hand out charitable donations, but to help the community be sustainable…

8. My host sisters are awesome, beautiful girls, and I have no doubt they will make sure I am aware of the fun goings-on in town. I went to a parade the oldest sister was in, it was pretty incredible... Except for the old man who dumped water on my back from the balcony above…I think he was aiming for the kids climbing on his truck…I think…Maybe it was good I forgot my camera.

9. I will be sitting in on some more advanced English classes next week, which is perfect because my Spanish is still iffy and I can probably help a bit when they all speak a little English! And I can learn something about how to teach English as a second language. Even though I have recently emphasized to my counterpart that I am not a teacher and don’t want that to become my full time job, I wouldn’t mind teaching those that want to be taught. And it is nice to have something scheduled even if it is only a couple hours once or twice a week.

10. I am close to volunteers that I like!!! This is a biggie…already in the first week they have come in handy for complaining sessions, random meetups & lunches, funny stories, or stories that make me feel lucky.

11. My mom has already bought tickets to visit!! Yay!! And tickets for me to come home for Christmas!! Double Yay!! I like having this on my calendar…it makes time seem relevant again.The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

So it is here. I am officially a volunteer. I have to say this comes with a feeling of excitement one minute, anxiety the next.

As for our swearing in ceremony, everyone looked so nice for our ceremony. For the first time in Ecuador I used a hairdryer and wore a dress. Some of the guys took the opportunity to grow out beards, trim them into something ridiculous a few days before the ceremony and then for the big day they all had mustaches. Even the County Director joined in on this. It was hilarious!

The ceremony was beautiful. It was held at the Residence of the Ambassador and on the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. Madam Ambassador Hodges pointed out how it was neat because they were swearing in 53 new Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resources Conservation Volunteers to Ecuador on this holiday. And the setting was beautiful, gardens and vistas to boot.

I feel so lucky to be here and to get this opportunity. But this day is a mixture of happiness and sadness because the people we have grown close to, we would be leaving in less then 24 hours.

We all went out to celebrate, worrying our supervisors because Quito can be dangerous at night with so many gringos all together. Let’s just say bad things have happened in the past…But we made sure nobody was alone and we all had a great time and everyone came home (to the hostel) safely.

Now I look forward to getting to know my host family and learning about my new community and improving my Spanish. I live in a beautiful town but it is a very reserved community and I don't very welcomed. Things will be difficult at first but will improve with time as I get to know people. I just keep thinking that in two years, my life will change so much. I will be fluent in Spanish, I will have friends in this great country, have a combination of experiences that no other person will have, and hopefully I can help some people along the way. This is why I joined…The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

I have been on my tech training for two weeks which is why I have not been able to update my blog. In Tech Training the whole group is seperated into regions and programs, my group was the Central/North Sierra - Ag group. We traveled around to different Peace Corps projects and learned about many of the different projects we could potentially do as volunteers. This blog post is more of a photo post...but I would rather see pictures than read a bunch anyway!

These include:

Goats (milking, housing, walking and such...) And walking them is way harder than it sounds up and down a muddy mountain path...

Cheese making, most cheese in Ecuador is this type called queso fresco. It is very salty and rubbery in my opinion and I miss cheddar...please don't try to mail me cheese :o/ Although I would love it... One place we toured does make various types so I got to try real cheese for the first time in Ecuador. Yay!

Grafting trees... fascinating...If you are interested here is a YouTube Video explaining.

Chocolate making, this goes without saying...

Beekeeping, a little scary...Did you know they aim for your face? Net and all it was still uncomfortable.

Planting, planting, and more planting. Carrots, alfalfa, beets, many types of lettuce, broccoli, and swiss chard... (if you are reading this from Civiltech please tell Bart for me!)

Built a green house and checked out many types of greenhouses from different climates. In the Andes mountains within an hour you can be at 4000m where it is freezing (AhChaChi is how you say Brrr here) to the Subtropics at 800m (AhRahRye...you guessed it...this is what you say when it is hot). But the temperature change makes the Sierra region very diverse agriculturally...interesante!

Trout farms...cool facility...

Compost piles/organic remedies (pesticides)...Ag volunteers playing in poo!

Learning to use a machete...I think my brother will be jealous...

Cuyes (guinea pigs) & Rabbits...Yum! Actually, I have yet to try either...give it time...

Tire gardens & Seed & more...

The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

We have finished the week in training and get the next four days off for Easter...yay! A break!! We will be attending cultural Easter activities with our families, before we have to say good bye on Monday morning. Sad...my family has been wonderful to me and have taught me a lot. I will miss them terribly.

A group of friends and I are planning a trip to Otavalo this weekend and maybe some hiking or a visit to an archeological site...if the museums are open.

To finish off the dramatic story of last weeks site visit, the National Police raided the town next to mine because gun manufacturers in the town had not been complying with the new laws put in place restricting their sales. So last Wednesday when I was trying to make my way to an ATM (with my host sister) I managed to get caught up in a bit of this. The people were revolting against the National Police and were blocking roads and starting fires everywhere and the police were spraying tear gas. My first South American road block...

Here is the link to the newscast of it all. The pink arch is how I get to my town, it is up the hill and is very peaceful. Many people in La Asuncion weren´t even aware of what was going on in Chimbo that day.

We also had a bit of an earthquake on Thursday night... it was only a 4.6 to a 4.9 depending on what sources you refer too. And was about 80 km away, so we probably only felt it in the 3-4 range.

They weren´t kidding when they said that the site visit could be one of the hardest weeks of Peace Corps. It was tough...dificult to communicate and I was so far from the people who have become my support system. This new place was supposed to be my new home, but I had just started getting used to my town and people around Cayambe.

Sunday we had a nice break. Six of us took an hour bus ride and then road in the back of a truck to high up in the mountains and hung out in some hot springs. We had fresh fruit and had some amazing vistas in the mountains. I really needed this day!

We now have two weeks of technical training where we will be in the region where we work going to other volunteer sites or other successful development sites. This should be a fun time, we will get to travel a bit and see some cool sites.

I don´t know about my internet access for the next two weeks so I will try and update as I go...

¡Adios!The contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

La Asuncion is absolutely beautiful! Here is a photo out my bedroom door:

I am staying with my counterpart and his family. He has three daughters. The oldest is 26 and lives in Quito with her family. The younger two, Valeria, 18, and Connie, 14 live here and are fun girls who are teaching me a lot about the community, from the younger generations’ perspective. My counterpart is the Principal of one of the High Schools and also is a businessman. During the day he has a truck and sells items to tiendas in the surrounding communities. The high school he works at has classes in the evening, so that the students can work during the day, so he is working at night too. He is definitely a busy guy. I have been riding around in the truck during the day and have been getting to know the area and local tienda owners. I have run into another volunteer in the town of San Lorenzo who has a similar assignment, but has been here for a year now. He will be a good resource.

I am happy with my site. I am close to San Jose de Chimbo which is a bit larger community and am a half hour from Guaranda, the capital of the province Bolivar. I am also in a pretty central location for travel :) The house is nice and I have internet access!

Once I get the language down I will be able to communicate better, this is my biggest challenge here. Right now I am introduced as: “Leah, the American, who doesn’t speak much Spanish and his daughters can talk to me because they speak English (they speak as much English as I can Spanish, which doesn’t help my Spanish). She is an enginera civil and doesn’t watch TV, doesn’t litter, and reads a lot. She will be here for two years.” In this introduction I don’t get to speak even though I am able to explain all of this in Spanish, I just think I speak slower than my counterpart feels like waiting on.

I have to admit that I am frustrated with the communication and cultural misunderstandings, but this is apparently a required part of Peace Corps. I can hear them talking about me in front of me. They just speak faster and quieter. I do think my counterpart thinks I know less than I do. When he holds up a lemon and says “LIMON, LIMON, LIMON”, I tell him it is the same in English and please ask me if I know what something is called verses shouting its name at me 5 times. Another time we were in a tienda/internet café and I asked if the lady if she knew where I could find a head set with a microphone for Skype, he apologized for me speaking English to her (I wasn’t). The tienda owner insisted she knew exactly what I asked and that I would have to go to Guaranda to buy them. These small exchanges with tienda owners make me happy and I don’t feel so dumb. :)

Today (Wednesday) my counterpart had to go Quito to visit a sick uncle and I said I could stay here and work on my presentation (and blog…).

I finally have posted photos because this is the first time I can connect my computer to the internet…Yay!!

Adiós USA

Cayambe - Week 1

Salinas - Cultural Trip

Training Family, Town and Soccer Tournament

Site Assignments and more Training photosThe contents of this Web site express my own views and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.