Sometimes it almost feelslike the wind is knocked out of me when I truly FEEL the fragility of life.Life has been weighing heavy on me, I can feel it all.
It’s so easy to getcomfortable and merely exist (which I always confuse with living). Then like anoverpowering wave I’m knocked down, spun around, pushed into the sandy floor ofthe ocean and dragged into shore. My initial reaction is fear, then pain, andthen I realize that life lies in that very moment. Life makes us so very vulnerableand from there fear creeps into our thoughts and before we know it we havelocked ourselves up so tight we forget what life IS and how it FEELS to shareoneself.Yesterday I felt like I wascrumbling. Reframing my thoughts today I can realize that I’m truly living, exposingmyself to the world and all its intensities. "This is whenthe magic happens: right when you feel like everything is going wrong, shiftyour attitude to accept that it's actually going right. Our judgments of how wethink our life should be are preventing us from reaching our Highest Potential.If you're going through a storm, hold the belief that it's the perfect stormfor you to be going through and that you've been given everything you need toweather the storm. When the chaos subsides you will experience the Truth thatis forever true; you are always taken care of, exactly where you need to be andyour efforts are rewarded exactly when they need to be. Remember this Truth the next time a storm is on the horizon and youwill grow wings and be able fly right over it and towards the calm waters ofTrust and Love." - Jackson KiddardI’m alive and grateful for the sun rising this morning, for the bigsilver moon that illuminated my room last night, and for each and every personin my life. For YOU I am thankful.YOU are loved andworthy of life. 
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"The journey is filled with ups and downs. Don't confuse the two as ever being everlasting. Get up everyday and apply yourself, be authentic, trust your instincts and know that the more you apply yourself the better you get day by day. The day you are waiting for is the day you want to give up, that is when you MUST keep going. That's the barrier between normal and greatness." - Jackson Kiddard
What a whirlwind day, and it’s only 3pm on a Tuesday.
I received a text message from my pseudo-supervisor/co-worker last night saying that he would not be at work today becausesomething had come up in Blantyre (a town about 2 or so hours south of Liwonde).So this morning I sent him a message to say that if he came back in theafternoon just let me know because I have the office key and would stay inLiwonde today for meetings at the hospital. He then responds to say that he wasat the Bi-annual review meeting in Blantyre which I was supposed to be invited.Malawi is beautiful, raw, and alive. The challenges I facehere are so different than Ecuador. In Ecuador I was refusing invitations tomeetings because everyone wanted the token gringa at their meeting, yet here inMalawi the last invited (if I even get invited). History and culture can easilypaint the picture of why this is, but still it’s hard not to compare or take itpersonally. This morning I read abeautiful quote about love (via icecreamisbetterwithafork.tumblr.com): “It isa mystery why we fall in love. It is a mystery how it happens. It is a mysterywhen it comes. It is a mystery why some loves grow, and it is a mystery whysome loves fail. You can analyze this mystery and look for reasons and causes,but you will never do any more than take the life out of the experience. Love ismore than the sum of the interests and attractions and commonalities that twopeople share. And just as life itself is a gift that comes and goes in its time,the coming of love must be taken as an unfathomable gift that cannot bequestioned in its ways. You need to treat what love brings you with kindness. If you find yourself inlove with someone who does not love you, be gentle with yourself. There is nothingwrong with you. Love just didn’t choose to rest in the other person’s heart. If you find someone else in love with you toward whom you feel no love, feelhonored that love came and called at your door, but gently refuse the gift youcannot return. Do not take advantage; do not cause pain. How you deal with loveis how love will deal with you, and all our hearts feel the same pains andjoys, even if our lives and ways are very different. If you fall in love with another who falls in love with you, and then lovechooses to leave, do not try to reclaim it or to assess blame. Let it go. Thereis a reason and there is a meaning. You will know it in time, but time itselfwill choose the moment. Remember this and keep it in your heart. You don’t choose love. Love choosesyou. All you can really do is accept it for all its mystery when it comes intoyour life. Feel the way it fills you to overflowing, then reach out and give itaway. Give it back to the person who brought it to you. Give it to others whoseem poor in spirit. Give it to the world around you in any way you can. Love has its own time, its own season, and its own reasons for coming andgoing. You cannot bribe it or coerce it or reason it into staying. If itchooses to leave your heart or the heart of your lover, there is nothing youcan do and nothing you should do. Be glad that it came to live for a moment inyour life. If you keep your heart open, it will surely come again." - Kent Nerbern I chewed on these words all day, but it wasn’t until the afternoonthat I could actually taste them. I was walking intotown and happened upon a group of school children who froze in the middle of the road with their big doe eyes waiting tosee what would happen next…so I give them the usual response “Bo!” (This isactually short for Bonjour, of all the oddest things!) their faces melt into ahuge smiles and their dark hopeful eyes light up like they’ve been waiting allday for the Azungu (foreigner) to sayhello. My heart swells. Continuing on to the hospital, a woman sitting in theMaternity ward catches my eye and I smile and continue on, then on my way outshe peeks her head out of the door and grabs my hand with both of hers, holdingon so very tight and with the warmest eyes says “thank you.” I’m not sure to what she was referringor if she knew any other English but I was grateful for her love. Then walking backhome I passed an older gentleman who was biking into town and mid-hill stopsand gets off his bike to formally greet me. I am grateful for his love. I really connected with this part of the quote, “Love is more than thesum of the interests and attractions and commonalities that two people share.And just as life itself is a gift that comes and goes in its time, the comingof love must be taken as an unfathomable gift that cannot be questioned in itsways.” Instead of focusingon the where I’m not receiving love I need to reframe my perspective. Today I’mconsciously grateful for all the love I am given here in Malawi because when Itruly open my eyes I can see a magnitude of love. 
Can be difficult with the much delayed rainy season the onlyguaranteed produce at the Liwonde market is tomatoes and onions. On a good dayyou might find some of the following: carrots, cucumbers, cabbage, eggplant,green peppers, okra, and soon there will be avocados!! But those aren’t mostdays. So every night is a bitchallenging. Kate and I often make spaghetti with a tomato sauce, bean tacoswith salsa, and vegetable curries. All of which are good choices but I LOVEcooking so I need some new “go-to” eats.
Any ideas from the foodies out there?!?! So Tuesday is marketday. That is the one day you can be sure that you’ll have better luck with produceas people bring in their goods from surrounding villages. This week I foundokra and lots of it!! If only my Nana was here to fry some up in cornmeal (inmy opinion that’s the most legit way of enjoying okra!). And I found eggplants.Yum yum! So I thought HOW can I use both?? Okra, eggplant, andtomato curry over quinoa 1 Tbsp olive oil1 red onion, slicedthinly 1 Tbsp curry powder 1 tsp turmeric 2 tsp ground ginger(or use fresh if you have it) 3 cups okra, cut into1/2" pieces 2 small graffitieggplants, diced 2 large tomatoes,diced 1 Tbsp tamarindconcentrate salt and pepper totaste 3 cups cooked quinoa*(or rice)Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion andsaute until it gets tender. Stir in curry powder, turmeric, and ginger, andcook for an additional minute. Then add okra, eggplant, tomato, and tamarindconcentrate, stir well, cover, and cook until okra and eggplant are tender(about 15 min). Add salt and pepper to taste and serve over quinoa. Serves 4. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rajah is a staple Malawian spice! I found this gem of a recipe here! And surprisingly I hadEVERYTHING needed for this recipe (except quinoa. I hope everyone stateside isgorge themselves on my behalf. Honestly quinoa is amazing and I miss itdearly!!). It was delish! And I bought an apron for 30 cents! I love market days!
Today I had a scheduled meeting with the Health EnvironmentOfficer and an assortment of Health Extension Workers at 8am to pitch my workplan (again!). I arrived at 8am only tofind no one there, 8:30am still nothing, and finally at 9am he arrived. An hourwait now really doesn’t feel like much of anything – I actually use it toprepare for the meeting (this is NOT a good habit to have formed about only 2months. Ekk.) I met with Richard (HEO), and realized that he thought I wasgoing to start training the Health Extension Workers on GPS TODAY! Wow. Forgetformalities, this guy is ready to WORK. I explained to him that I feel it would bebest to first present the project objectives to see if there was interest withthe workers, but he assured me that if the DHO liked the idea then it was fine –they would be interested. My Peace Corps “bottom up” development ideas are screechingat this!! But ok so I ask him what is our next step…after several long pausesand a lot of silence he finally decides I should meet the Health AdministrationOfficer. Who warmly welcomes me to Malawi and Machinga District(this is acommon theme honestly I can’t remember one professional encounter that hasn’tincluded someone telling me “you are most welcome to Malawi”), he loves theidea of mapping the Maternal Health Services within the district and sends usto meet with the Reproductive Health Officer and the Prevention of Mother toChild Transmission Officer. Phew! It feels like a PR tour, but Richard (theHealth Environment Officer) is a champ go-getter and so willing to introduce meto the key players in the district (this is going to be SO helpful).
The hospital feels like a maze with odd signs written in poorEnglish, we head towards the Maternity Ward. Taking a left into a dark narrowhallway, on my left I peek into a room with only a bench and a gymnastic mat onthe ground filled to the brim with VERY pregnant women. It’s very common forwomen from the villages to come weeks before their “due date” to wait. Due tomany variables including laws, transport, lack of access to services, etc. thegov’t encourages women to come and WAIT. Can you imagine? We continue down thehall and I’m all of a sudden encompassed by 15 or so Malawian Mamas breastfeedingtheir BRAND new babies (I’m assuming these babes were born today!!), the Mamasare uniformed in nothing more than their chintenjis (2 yards of fabric) wrappedaround them like a towel. I’m overwhelmed, my body is reacting to all these things, I’mafraid – anxious – I actually thought for a second maybe I should just turnaround! Much like the first time you attempt to do a back float in water, youcan’t let go of the control and the fear of the water’s ability to hold you.You kick and flutter trying to “help” yourself while you’re sinking. It’s onlywhen you let go and trust the water can you float with such ease you wonderwhat took you so long to figure this out. This was me today, kicking andsplashing the water - drowning. I recognized these feelings. I had the verysame rock in the pit of my stomach feeling this past October when I was blessedwith the opportunity to do a 24-hour rotation at Maternidad La Luz Birth Center/Midwiferyschool. Late in the afternoon the Midwife pulled me into the birth room andthere was Sarahi almost crowning and I for a second I wanted to run out of theroom. Birth was too much. It was so all consuming I couldn’t handle it. I could’velooked away but birth grabs you whether you are looking or not, it holds youtight until you surrender. I surrendered and witness the most beautifulmiracle, Joshua’s birth. Walking into meet the Reproductive Health Officer we found herin Cherokee purple scrubs and a plastic apron that looked like something youwould see in a cafeteria. She was a quiet and guarded woman. I have found in my2 months that the key to successful meetings lies in the awkward silences. Iintroduced myself and the project objectives – but Maureen (RHO) still didn’tseem very interested. So Richard asked her if she had any information to share,she said no. I add more to the project background to maybe spark something, butnothing. -silence- We asked if Women are still birthing at home with TraditionalBirth Attendants and slowly she began to share that a few area still haveworking TBAs,- more silence- Actually most of the district has several workingTBAs. -More silence- Then she told us that there was Maternal Health SupportGroups that assisted Women with their Pre/Ante-Natal care as well as Birth ortransportation to the Health Center – but those group are no longer meeting.Success! Maybe this project idea is needed. Maybe there will befruitful work for me in the next 7 months to come. Maybe I still have a lot ofknowledge to gain. Maybe once again I will learn that listen will teach youmore that speaking. After all these feelings and flashes I realized that myjourney to this point has been a winding (sometime uncertain feeling) roadbecause I’ve been afraid and fearful. Birth has grabbed my life and I didn’t wantto accept it – I want a 9-5 job, I want to plan a schedule, I want to haverelaxing nights – but birth has chosen me. Today I began to accept my path, mycalling, I’m surrendering. What a beautiful day! I’m grateful.Much love to you and yours. a 
this is what a wild and crazy friday night looks like in liwonde town.last night i was awoken by these weird vibrations under my head and I thought oh my goodness it's an earthquake! but then I realized only my head was moving so i just assumed it was a weird dream but when i laid down again there were the same vibrations...it was a little mouse crawling below my mattress. i was hoping it had kindly let itself out today but i just saw it scurry across the living room floor...i guess it's time to adopt a cat.
but it's friday (and a three day weekend to boot) and my whole wheat (or brown bread as they call it here) cinnamon, ginger, cardamon cake is just coming out of the oven! yum! happy weekend to you all. much love to you and yours. a
Alright, this might be a little premature to be loftily announcingmy proposed work plan after only two initial meetings, but I’m hoping that bysending it into the universe it will help it to actualize!
I used my day of being stood up to network around town andto make an appointment to meet the District Health Officer (DHO) this week with his Secretary, Efah a supercute 20-something wearing a ruffled top and black skinny jeans. We asked herabout her holiday and she was all excited to tell us about her trip to the lakewith her Fiancé (we even got invited to her wedding in June). (Side note: Theonly thing I’ve heard about a Malawian wedding is they are expensive! Thetradition is while the Bride and Groom are dancing they will call up guests tothrow money at the bride and groom and you have to keep throwing money untilthey call someone else. I better start collecting small bills now. Ha-ha.) Soshe gave me an appointment for today at 9:30am. I arrived this morning at exactly 9:30 expecting to wait a few hours butwithin 2 minutes I was called back to see the DHO (who is totally my age! Weird.).My technical job description is to assess the HIV/AIDS programs throughout thedistrict but with my passion for maternal health and the knowledge that Malawi’smaternal mortality rate is extremely high (the highest outside of war ridden countries),1 out of 36 Women will die during childbirth in Malawi. This needs to be made apriority and I want it to me my focus. So I pitched me idea piggy backing offof another volunteer project in a neighboring district. The project was to mapall the Traditional Birth Attendants, Health Centers, and Hospitals whileassessing the services provided. The neighboring district has used this informationto receive funding for Bicycle Ambulances and to provide further training forthe Traditional Birth Attendants. This would be a dream of mine! The DHO beinga typical Malawian was very polite and said that he liked the idea (Malawianfind it hard to say no). But with the fuel crisis it seems like a majorchallenge to be mobilized and out to the villages so the DHO sent me to speakwith the Environment Health Officer whom is in charge of the community mobilizers. So supposedly I have a meeting with theCMs on January 17th at 8am. Keep your fingers crossed!!There are many obstacles and variables to manage but I’m soexcited to be able to give my time and energy to maternal health while I amhere!! Much love to you and yours.a 
Work recap:
Day one was spent in the office working on a work plan bymyself while the others were in “important AND private” meeting. Umm…ok I’lljust be here waiting for a few hours or until someone gives me a ride home. BUTPeace Corps is working on my housing lease as we speak. Wahoo!! Maybe I willget my very own house?!?! Successful Monday! Day two, my neighbor who drove me home last night said he wouldcome find me sometime in the morning so I was all ready to go around 7:45 andsat on the front step reading anticipating his quick arrival…8:00 (normal worktime, nothing)…this book is good…8:30..no signs of anyone should I call?? No, Idon’t want to be the time crazy American…plus I’m almost done with this book…9:00..okthis is late I’ll text the guy…9:15…Oh! He’s already at work, took publictransport but failed to notify me... So what does a girl do after being stood up?? Do laundry(score! I don’t have to wait until the weekend!), make guacamole (because whywouldn’t you???), and then indulge in another cup of Thomas Hammer coffee,while eating guacamole on toast, and read a travel memoir about living in Indiaand sympathizing with her stories of sweating, sweating, and more sweating! Tuesday just got a whole lot better!! Can you believe the size of that pit?? wowza. And now that I have a well-loved wooden counter top I too can pretend to be Heidi Swanson, swoon!!! 
I forgot how many books you read in the Peace Corps! Ha! Oneof the books I’m reading right now is, Meditations from the Mat, it’s reallyhelping me to start my days connected and balanced. Two days ago I read thisquote and I’ve been holding on to it:
“There is a river flowing now, very fast. It is so great andswift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold on to theshore. They will feel they are being torn apart and suffer greatly. Know thatthe river has its destinations. The elders say we must push off into the middleof the river, keep our eyes open and our heads above water. See who is in therewith you and celebrate. At this time in history we are to take nothingpersonally, least of all ourselves, for the moment we do that, our spiritualgrown comes to a halt. The time of the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves;banish the word “struggle” from your attitude and vocabulary. All that we donow must be done in a sacred way in celebration. We are the ones we’ve beenwaiting for.” Hopi ElderI can’t seem to stop thinking about these words; they are soheavy, fruitful, and direct. I believe that the universe has it’s time and thisis JUST the time I needed to hear these things. When I was standing on theshore I loved just gazing at the river and imagining what it would be like tofully experience it, letting go of it all. Yet here I am again holding on sovery tight enjoying the view with only my toes in the water; I’m giving all mylove to what is not. This is my pathway, my time, my truth…I choose to be morepresent and give love to what is here and let go of the rest. I am the one I’vebeen waiting for (and I need to remind myself of this daily!). In less existential news, I had this friendly visitor on laundry day. Can you see him in the first picture? We chatted for a bit and then he crawled up into the mango tree never to be seen again. And today marks the official last day of my extended holiday. Off to work bright and early tomorrow! I'll be pitching my work plan to my Supervisor...I'll keep you posted. much love to you and yours.a 
Happy New Year! I have just returned from a long butadventurous 2 weeks of travel. I met up with the other Response volunteers that arrived two weeksbefore me in Dedza. It was great to meetand share about our sites and work plans. They are all returned Peace Corpsvolunteers from Thailand, Caribbean, South Africa and Cameroon. We celebratedwith homemade cheese, Peach Coffee Cake, Gnocchi, and sugar cookies! It was awonderful day full of eating.
mustache sugar cookies. Then we headed further north to nkhotakota. We split into two groups and took our places on the road outside of Lilongwe hoping to get a hitch before our competing team did, but after only 5 minutes Jessica (another volunteer) sent us a text message saying there were coming to pick us up. A private ride for all 5 of us! It seemed too good to be true! Emmanuel, our driver lives in the north and was just on his way back home after dropping his Swedish/British Wife off at the airport. Did we ever luck out! It was an eventful ride teaching him how to play 20 questions and watching him search for black market fuel after coasting downhill in neutral. Phew! But we made it! We stayed at Sani Lodge, the “lodge” was located 6km south of the BOMA (the town) and 4 km off the main road. We arrived to find that the water pump wasn’t working and no other guests were staying at the lodge. With the increase popularity of other beach towns and the fuel crisis tourism has greatly been affected all over the country. We camped 100 feet away from the lake and spent out last days of 2011 swimming in the warm, clear blue waters of lake Malawi . Then after a few days we headed even further northto Nkhata Bay (one of the most, if not the most touristy locations on thelake). The northern region of Malawi is drastically less populated and landscapetransforms from the flat crops lands of the south to electric green rollinghills. It’s really beautiful especially during the rainy season! We swameveryday and indulged ourselves in cardamom pancakes every morning. There was agroup of about 50 other volunteers and even a few PC volunteers from Zambiathat rang in the new year dancing to Prince’s “Party like it’s 1999”. It was a fabulousnew year’s! kids on the beach running from the camera!! haha.I’m now home in Liwonde enjoying my last few days ofvacation before the real work begins. Peace Corps made a trip down to talk withmy direct field supervisor and investigate a housing option. I’ve enjoyed theslow easy transition into Malawi, but I ready to dive into these next 8 months!much love to you and yours,a 
The holidays are here and I’m embarking upon a great ‘amazingrace’ rendition here in Malawi with my fellow response volunteers. I’m headingout of Liwonde today and up to Dedza (it’s cooler there! Woohoo!!) to spend the25th. We will be celebrating with homemade cheese (cheese is a treathere!!) and a classy white elephant gift exchange. Then we will be northward bound heading towardthe lake but to spice it up a bit we will be splitting up into pairs andhitching north in an ‘amazing race’ style. Each group will be relying on people’sgoodwill and a bartering system (no money allowed) to get us from Dedza toNkhata Bay during which will be have to find objects to photograph along theway…it’s a steep challenge but I think it’s a good way to wrap up 2011.
Sending you all the warmest wishes during this holidayseason! No matter what name you put on it, however you celebrate it I hope youspend it with loved ones and use it as a reminder to be grateful for thebeautiful life we have and for another day to explore, learn, and striveforward. I’m grateful for allthe unselfish love I have received here in Malawi that has allowed me to feelwelcome and comfortable. I’m grateful for a life that grants me freedom to livean adventurous life. I’m grateful for a family that encompasses me with love nomatter how many times I test it. And I’m grateful for each and every one of youin my life. You propel me forward everyday with your positive thoughts, goodenergy, and support. And so much more… Merry “Charlie Brown” Christmas from Malawi.
I received an e-mail today that contained the quote “whateveryou resist, persists ” (carl jung) I’m assuming the universe was sending methis message referring to the mosquitoes in my life or maybe the unbearable Africansunshine sizzling my pacific northwest winter body, right?
I’m sweating at 8:30pm and just took my 2ndshower…I’m tempted to take a 3rd, my feet are swollen and burning fromall the mosquito bites, and I’ve just discovered some unidentifiable flying thingin the house. I’m resisting the decision that brought me here tonight. This isreally my first night alone since I arrived to Malawi. I’ve been lucky to havebeen bombarded by warm and overflowing Peace Corps Volunteers on my journeythus far and then falling into the house of Kate. But Kate and a few otherVolunteers have started their holiday trek to Mozambique today and here I am,home alone. Too much time alone always hits me like strong overpowering waves filledwith the highs and lows of the day. I finally met the District Planning and Development Officer(the guy that agreed to accept a volunteer aka my boss) and he gave me 5 minsto listen to personal nothings and then he had something else “urgent” tohandle so I was push off on the District AIDS Commissioner. Who dragged me to sit-inon an all day Child Protection Meeting which was all in Chichewa (I understood about0.5% of the entire meeting). AND did I mention I’m sweating at 8:30pm?? But on the other hand when the DAC picked me up in themorning he automatically took me to speak with my potential landlord and evencalled Peace Corps for me to clarify the logistics. Whoa! And on my walk to themarket I met this tired sweaty sour smelling man who was pushing his bike (whichwas loaded with what looked like 100 lbs of corn) on the sweltering hot highway.He was coming from another surrounding village. He had left the village at 11amand it was now 4:40pm!! My mouth dropped open but he just smiled a huge Malawiansmile reassuring me was almost home and he would rest then and preceded toexcitingly ask me where I was from and how I liked Liwonde. There are beautiful people and beautiful challenges in thisworld. This is my challenge right now, to keep my western organized timelyschedule calculated mind out of the game for awhile and stop resisting thechallenge. I choose to live, love, and let the universe take its course. Ugh!! Much love to you and yours.a
American: Did you watch the football game today?Malawian: Yes! It was great.American: Oh! Your team won? Nice.Malawian: No, we did not win but we played very well.American: Err…that’s great?
note to reader: This is a CLASSIC Malawian conversation.
I’m sweating in bed tonight listening to the rains andChristmas songs, with all the changes in the past two weeks it seems like Iforgot that Christmas is a week away!! So weird. This will definitely be thehottest Christmas of my life!!
So I finally left Lilongwe. After training and then waitingto get fuel for the Peace Corps transport, I ended up staying in Lilongwe 3extra days. By the time that Wednesday rolled around I was good and ready toleave Lilongwe. It wasn’t always the capital (it used to be Zomba) and for thatreason it feels much like a village they have tried to create into a capital. Thetown is terribly spread out and makes it mandatory to own a vehicle or rely onpublic transit. We headed out late afternoon to Dedza for a PC training. We only spent one night there in a Forestrycollege with the other 20 Education volunteers. It was great to meet morevolunteers. Dedza district was breathtaking. I’m lucky enough to arrive duringrainy season; the passing scenery was lush and radiating. We went for a walk toa nearby village the following afternoon and honestly I was in awe with what Isaw. It felt like I had stepped into aNat’l Geo magazine, the rolling hillsidescattered with brick/mud house with thatched roofs, the fields of corns for asfar as the eye could see, the passing girls with buckets of water on theirheads, and children yelling “Azungu!!!” (foreigner) as we passed. Then Thursdaywe made it to Liwonde. And my first impression is, HOT HOT HOT. It’s almostindescribable how HOT it really is, the sun burns your skin and the 90%humidity leaves you sticky even minutes after a shower. My new site mate/temproommate Kate is a ER Nurse from D.C. She’s full of energy and really warm. Thenext challenges are trying to find housing and do some work before the holidaybreak! Malawi is gorgeousand I am grateful. 
It's overcast today and I can hear the thunder in the distance, people are hopeful. Rainy season was suppose to start in November but I've only seen 2 showers in my week here. It's planting time and if the rain doesn't come soon farmers are going to really worry about their crops. One of Malawi's biggest cash crops is tobacco, but the tobacco market has really fallen in the recent years and being a low-quality tobacco at that it, the fall has been felt hardest here. The government is now encouraging farmers to switch their crops to cotton but when you are born of a tobacco growing family, it's not an easy change. You lose the priceless knowledge, traditions, and heritage.
It's hard to be in Malawi right now. It feels like a country at it's wit's end for several reasons all at once. One, being a land-locked country it relies on others to manufacture things - groceries are brought in from South Africa!! You can easily tell if the shipment has arrived to the grocery store just by looking at the shelves (empty or not!) It's hard for me to know if this is the normal and I'm just acclamating or it is really getting worse? But people say it's been getting worse. One major reason is that due to Malawi's conservative nature (i.e. not acknowledging high-risk groups: MSM and Sex workers) foreign aid has been withheld for going on 3 years!! And with no foreign currency here there is no money to buy fuel so we are currently in a major crisis! Everyday people are waiting patiently for fuel, sometimes missing work waiting in line, some are sleeping over, and others are just parking their cars. The lines run miles long. Taxi drivers and mini-bus drivers are relying on the black market to be able to purchase fuel. With the current rate of fuel being 5,000Kwacha/ 5 liters (that's about $30/5 liters) transportations rates have double!! Which is just a domino effect on everything! But despite it all and maybe because of it all Malawians are happy, hopeful, and selflessly loyal to one another. I feel grateful for this opportunity to learn and experience life in another way. much love to you and yours. a p.s. Our fuel is in and I'm off to site!!!!
Malawi is a small country but long and with the state offuel and quality of transportation it makes the country feel much bigger. Themain source of transport is mini-buses, which are just that small vans that maxout at about 35mph and with no designated bus stops you can imagine how a tripthat would take an hour in a private car can become a half-day trip in a minibus. With this in mind PC Malawi has placed volunteers in clusters of sortswith the majority living in the south of the country (this is where most of thepopulation lives). I too will be living in the south in the district ofMachinga, all districts have Boma’s which is the largest “town” in the districtit is always the same name as the district. Because of the large game park (andthe tourist pull) in Liwonde it is actually the largest “town” in the district. So I will be living in Liwonde and working inMachinga (10km). I guess most of the staff lives in Liwonde so I will be pickedup by the staff car and taken to Machinga everyday. Wahoo for carpools.
As for my work to give you a straight-forward answer besidesmy title District HIV/AIDS Technical Advisor I’m not quite sure what that isgoing to look like day-to-day. I will be working in the District office with the DistrictCommissioner, District Planning Officer, and the District AIDSCommissioner. So depending on these keyplayers it will determine what I will be doing. The idea is that in order toget HIV/AIDS programs support to villages in the district we need to havecurrent and accurate data to know what is being done and if the work issuccessful. The data collection in the villages is being done by CommunityBased Organizations (CBOs) and in many cases these people may not have beentrained to collect data or know why data even needs to be collected and on topof that might not even literate in Chichewa. SOOO, my job with my co-workers isto visit these CBOs see what data is being collected and if so, is it gettingto the DC office? With current and accurate data collection we can them applyfor a VAST grant to better support these successful CBOs. PHEW! There are a lotof variables in this but I’m excited for an ultimate public health challenge.Who will be visiting first??
My new Malawian bestie, Gibson:
Gibson: “are you from Austria?”Me: “um….no I’m from the US”Gibson: “oh!! Washington D.C.!!!” Me: “No, I’m from Washington state it’s on the Westside ofthe country” Gibson: “oh! You are from Miami!!” Me: “err…..somewhere near there!”
TodayI swore in as an official Peace Corps Response Volunteer. It was kind ofawkward because last time I did it four years ago it was a group of about 40people and this time it was just me. Haha. We had a little snack and I to takean oath that I was there on my own will blah blah blah. So training is overalthough the only thing I really did in training was language the other sessions were cut waaay shorter than plannedor just cancelled due to 3 days of meetings in preparation of the new ProgramTraining Officer and Administrative Officer. But that’s fine with me, as Ilearned last time training will only get you so far.
Cross your fingers I get to head out to site on Monday!!
This first week has really flown by. I’ve been swapped withtrainings and intensive language classes. I’m will be staying in Lilongwe (thecapital) until Monday morning when I’ll head out to my site. I’ve been stayingat a hostel (about 15 min walk from PC office) called Korea Gardens. Mostbusinesses in Malawi are owned my Asian or Indian Immigrants, which makes forinteresting dynamics. My days have been 8-5 and then I’ve been lucky to havemet several volunteers who have been quick to invite to take me to the marketor local eatery to experience Malawian food. It’s been a full week.
Here are some of my first impressions: *Warm heart of Africa: No joke! Malawians are soooo nice.Every single worker (and since labor is CHEAP you might make about $30/monthdoing labor work there are a TON of workers) at the hostel knows me by name andfeels obligated to help me learn Chichewa. Strangers just start conversationswith you. I was crossing the street today and this cute woman next to me says“What you fear?” I said “getting hit. Haha” “oh no! no one will hit you. Youenjoy your day”. Haha. *Fuel: this country doesn’t have any!! You can tell when youare nearing a gas station because you will see miles of parked cars. No oneknows when gas is coming so people just wait. Then you see guys walking aboutwith big gas cans and my language teacher told me that they are buying the gasfor 1,000 kwacha ($6.60) and then they will sell it for $5,000 kwacha! That’sbusiness. *This isn’t Latin America: PC picked me up at the airport(which is about 45 mins outside of town) and driving back to the office wepassed huts. Yes, huts. *Transport: Bikes are everywhere the rustier the better andman! Do they know to load a bike up! I hope to later take pictures of someclassic bikes. *Red soil: it’s just a beautiful as I imagined! *Language: Call me naïve but when they said the officiallanguage of Malawi was English I assumed that it would be the most widelyspoken but in the capital EVERYONE speaks Chichewa. Muli bwanji? It’s a beautifullanguage, but I’ve only got the greetings covered so far. *Phones: There are no phone booths. Ecuador has cabinas(booths) everywhere and you could call any country. There is NONE of that hereand even the cell phones don’t have per minute rate, it just depends on theday. *Wal-Mart: You can run but you can’t hide. I mean Malawi isalmost safe from Americans, there is NO KFC, NO McDonalds, but they do have astore called Game, which is owned by Wal-Mart. That’s right a Wal-Mart inMalawi, no one is safe. *Weather: It’s hotand humid. It’s rainy season but it’s only rained once since I arrived and I’mhoping it rains soon because it is only getting hotter by the day. *Power: Even in the city the power is super touch’n’go soeveryone has generators. These are just quick first impression to give you a taste ofmy first few days. Thank you for all your love. I am well.
I'm off to malawi. My journey started in Wenatchee to seattle and i'm ending my day in New York but that's just the first day of my journey, i'll then take a 14 hr flight to joburg, south africa and then the home stretch to Lilongwe, Malawi.
In this moment i'm unable to imagine what it will be like or who i will be in 9 months but that excites me. I've recently had some good conversations that have been a mirror for me to reassess my patterns. Leaving for Ecuador I felt like I knew it already which lead to a lot of frustrations because my knowing always leads to assumptions. I stand at the edge never fully letting go, limiting myself from connecting and tasting the moment. This time i'm ready for the unexcepted and going to try to leave my assumptions behind me. Sending much love to you all. A 
the big question is WHAT to pack for malawi?? hmmm...did you just say a can of whoopass?? wow.
I am leaving my home and comforts November 30th to serve as a HIV/AIDS Technical Advisor for 9 Months with the Peace Corps Response program. I was offered this opportunity about 2 months ago and until 2 weeks ago I kept saying no. No way can I go in THIS economy, leave my job??? No way can I go I HAVE a beautiful apartment. No way can I go I HAVE a plan. No way can I go, Africa is UNKNOWN to me. After much agony and losing sleep over the DECISION. I called my Mom who I knew would believe in my fears and say why yes you CANNOT go to Africa. But instead she said you can't be afraid, you have never listened to fear before and look all the amazing blessings you have reaped from all the fearful moments of your life. Those are the moment you step outside of yourself and full of discomfort you take a step with faith that you will find the next one. I knew she was right so I said Yes and here I go. The beauty of life is truly in the fragile moments.
I have gratitude for my freedom to live the life I've never imagined and for all the positive energy in my life from those known and unknown. p.s. I had to include pictures of our thanksgiving bouquet and skippy after too much turkey. haha. 
The days seem to be flying by and I'm still NOT packed. I should probably work on that...soon. I made it safe and sound to Wenatchee yesterday and although it feels good to be home for a few days and relax with the parents I'm so sad to have left the barn. I will def miss the barn and fc (the barn cat...I'm sure you can imagine what fc stands for and trust me he DEF lives up to his name). So I'm posting the very last of the my barn pictures.
enjoy. 
my lovely marysville family threw me a farewell african safari party. it was so lovely. thanks to sandrita for all the love you put into planning the wonderful event and to everyone that came. I will be carrying all of you with me to malawi. we celebrated with ecstatic dance music, giraffes, and posole!
12 days and counting...
I can't believe that I'm transitioning again.
In a single breath it feels like I "just" returned from Ecuador. I can still remember sitting at the Baron hostel in Quito watching the sunset, wondering what it would feel like to be "home" again and when I see Quito again? That was over two years ago. Then, just this past year has been so full of life and experiences making Ecuador seems far away. Nonetheless, I'm excited energized and stepping forward to with confidence onto this next venture, Malawi.
Queridos Amigos,
The day I never even tried to imagine has arrived and I’m slightly surprised. These last few days I’m heavy with emotions of all sorts; excited for the comforts of family, friends, and English! But a good part of me feels uneasy and already missing the simplicity of life here. Ecuador has become home, not easily but it has and that it what has made the end of this time so beautiful, all the struggle that I encountered along the way. I’ve seen so much; I’ve been shocked, surprised, devastated, infuriated, elated making it impossible to tell you how my life is going to change and has changed. But my ambitious wish is that my actions will be the example of the changes. That I won’t even for a moment forget this life, the voices, the smells, the struggle, or the heartache. I hope to always be afflicted by the voices and the faces of those born into injustice. That the small amount of exposure you’ve had from my journey has given you a glimpse of Ecuador, a vibrant country full of wonders and struggle and from which I’ve realized despite how great our differences may seem our few commonalities will always hold us together, as one race. So to you all I send you my love and gratitude for sharing this journey with me. I give thanks to pachamama and the people that showed me the immense beauty in life's simplicities. I'm coming home. Alicia p.s. After my service ends I’m taking a big South American blow out trip with my sister starting from Santiago, Chile then we will be busing over with a pit stops in Mendoza (wine country) and Córdoba (the land of Che) with the final destination of Buenos Aires. Making it back to the beautiful PNW late September! I can't wait to see you!! p.p.s. Here are some pictures of the reforestation project "A fruit eaten is a seed sown" that I´ve been working on for the last several months! http://picasaweb.google.com/alicia.e.odell/ProyectoMuyu#
I think most of you knew I had a site buddy, another PCV living in Mindo working in Agriculture. Yesterday was his last day. It was really sad to say goodbye for many reasons, he was such a dedicated hard working volunteer, seeing the impact he made on everyone in town, and all this made me think about my service and I realized that I only have 5 months left! I´ll be honest it´s a day that I had many moments of thinking it couldn´t come fast enough and now that it´s in eyesight I´m wishing for a little time. It has taken me a year and 8 months to not just appreciate but truly fall in love with Ecuador, the slow life of Mindo, and the untimely Ecuadorian hour.
But through this all I´ve had more than enough experience to knock me down and for a time I didn´t let the cuts and bruises heal by just doing the minimum and cutting myself off to the beauty that comes with opening yourself. I think the reality of leaving ya mismo (anytime) helped me to throw away this victim like mindset to actively search for the good and share myself with this amazing little town, stop assuming the worst, and most importantly not taking it personally for example…when the bus drivers claims he is going to town B but the sign on the bus only says town A and when we get to town A he says that they can’t make it to town B, take another bus…which was a taxi ride and a 40 minute delay but the great part was guy lied to the Ecuadorians too!!! So it wasn´t just me the dumb gringa! Instead I´m focusing on loving the good like my evening walks in these lush tropical surrounding encountering frogs, snakes (little ones), multiple hummingbirds, and sometimes toucans! Walking to the neighbors house/store to buy a bag of milk for 70 cents and not being able to walk around town without someone calling my name. It´s the little things I find more endearing and daily reminders of why I joined Peace Corps in the first place. This time has put me face to face with the many injustices of this world and with this witnessing how good we´ve become at breaking each other down because we´ve lost that idealistic hope! I did, but through appreciating the little things, and taking life one day at a time we slowly find that hope again maybe not idealistic but hope none-the-less. I encourage you all to find the good today and share yourself, we need each other!!!! Much love to you all always. Here are some pics from a fun weekend (last weekend) with a English teacher volunteering in Mindo. http://picasaweb.google.es/alicia.e.odell/ElChaupi http://picasaweb.google.es/alicia.e.odell/BanosWithHeidi#
It´s “winter” here in Mindo but that doesn´t mean what you probably are thinking, the Mindo translation for “winter” is rain, every day rain. Confusing! So last year (as most of you know) I spent most of the “winter” on the coast, it was one of the worst winter in years, towns were flooded, houses destroyed, and food supplies were canoed in but Mindo was hardly affected, normal rain fall and one or two minor mudslides on the road to Quito (the capital) but this year is a different story. The road to Quito (about 50 km) had 44 landslides at one point and a “hole in the road” where 2 km of road just gave way. So I was stuck in Quito for 13 days because both roads to Mindo from this. Finally Peace Corps basically said get out of Quito and sent me to Santo Domingo (a huge loop to Mindo) and because of this my 2 hour trip turned into 8 hours. Fun. But I made it back and the nicest part was I didn´t have to come home to an empty house I had a mama tarantula and her 2 babies just chillin my shower and about 20 cockroaches. The cloud forest is a wonderful place with perfect weather for all kinds of flora and fauna. Ha. But now that I’m home I´ve been enjoying the rainy afternoon and forcing me to drink more coffee than recommended and do some quality readying. But for the real update, here is the skinny on the highlights of late:
The fun… *Because I was stuck in Quito I decided to hop on down to Latacunga (1.5 hours south of Quito) to visit a Volunteer friend and being Carnival weekend (the big celebration encouraging people to live it up before Lent!! ha ) we heard that this town 30 further south, Ambato, was having a huge parade for its fruit and flower festival. So here are some pictures of the amazingly beautiful and intricate floats. It was honestly one of the most beautiful things I´ve seen in Ecuador! http://picasaweb.google.com/alicia.e.odell/CarnavalAmbato * I´ve been waiting to do repel or cannoning for a long time and finally my friend had some time to take me!! It was a normal Sunday morning all ready to hike to the waterfall, El Corazon, when these guy show up in vests that said “Ecuavisa” which is one of the main channels here in Ecuador. So I ask my friend what they were doing in Mindo and she proceeded to inform me that had come to film us repel!! Ecuavisa has a weekly show that finds cool places to visit in Ecuador. Famous in Ecuador…awesome right?? No the thing about Peace Corps is that everything require paperwork and minimum 5 signatures! Good ole Uncle Sam so not only did I NOT have permission to do an “extreme sport” and didn´t have persmission to be on television! Bad volunteer, but hey I only have 5 months left. So the segment doesn’t come out for another 3 weeks…but I’m pretty sure I´ll be receiving a phone call from peace corps. We shall see. Here are some pics. http://picasaweb.google.es/alicia.e.odell/Canyoning Work news… *I am now an official journalist…with absolutely no prior experienced I was instantly hired to work for free working on the new Mindo newspaper, Mindo ECOlogico. Glad the newspaper will be free as well. *But the new big work for me will be with an exciting program Fruta Comida, Semilla Sembrada (Fruit Food, Seed Planted) it was created by a Mindeño that has now been approved by the Ecuadorian government and added to the school curriculum. It´s a project working toward reforestation, suitability, and working to emit hunger through teaching the basic principles of gardening to children! It´s a strong project that is totally sustainable!! Too bad I found it with only 5 months left in my service. Most of the work will take place in the classroom and with school starting April 1st I will keep you updated on the progress! Much love to you all always.
The concept of time is cultural!!
Yet another example:I was just sitting at home yesterday minding my own business when there was a knock at my door, it´s my landlord all done up! This is how the conversation goes: "Que Guapa!" "Alicia we wanted to invite you to Katy´s baptism¨ (Oh yes! I´m thinking not because I just love mass but because these invites are like a ticket to almost family status. This is a good sign.) "It starts at 6" "great! I´ll be there!" Hmmm…I wonder what time it is…5:45!! What?? Like they didn´t know that they were going to baptize her this morning or even a yesterday!! Oh well. When in Ecuador do as Ecuadorians, go with it!! 6:05 I arrive at the church, but the service doesn´t start for another hour!! So technically I had an hour and 15 minutes notice. Plenty of time, right?? 18 months in and Ecuador is still teaching me EVERYDAY to LIVE IN THE MOMENT, LIVE IN THE MOMENT, LIVE IN THE MOMENT!! p.s. here are some pictures from the event!http://picasaweb.google.com/Alicia.ODell/KatySBaptism#
We are just returning from an exhilarating week of Ecuadorian adventures down the central highlands. The school is on vacation for the week so Melissa and I packed up and jumped on the first bus leaving Mindo. We started out Thursday afternoon passing through Quito and continued down 2 hours south to a small sierra city, Latacunga. Not too much to talk about besides the fact that they have a huge market with everything you could ever desire (veggies to toilet paper) and way too many Chinese (or Chifa as they say here) restaurants for one town. But it's the closest jump off point to visit the Quilotoa lake as well as where a fellow Peace Corps Volunteer lives. Friday morning we were off at 6am to catch a 2 hour bus and then found a truck to take us the rest of the 45 mins to the lake. Quilotoa is an extinct volcano with bright turquoise water caused by dissolved minerals. The lake has such a high mineral content the water can't be purified and reaches 250 meters at its deepest point. Arriving in the small town (if you can even call it that) of Quilotoa it felt like an eerie ghost town with no sign of life being that we were there during a non-tourist time and it's only existence is based upon tourism to the lake. With an elevation of 3854m, it's freezing cold and the breathing is heavy. Melissa and I set out on the impossible mission to find a cup of coffee to defrost ourselves before the hike and finally found a small house that claimed it was a hostel, but walking in we realized that in order to reach the "hostel/dining area" we had to walk across the rustic dirt floor and through the family's bedroom. After the memorable syrup like instant coffee we were off hiking up the dirt hill which seemed like we had come to the middle of nowhere to see just that but reaching the lookout point it almost takes your breathe away to see such a pure, vibrant, and exotic landscape. The lake is the most intense turquoise blue against the lush green mountains. At the lake there is two options to explore, one being the long route of around the edge of the lake taking about 5 hours and the other being walking down to the lake on a steep gravely path that takes about an hour to get down and 3 hours to climb up or if tired just hop on donkey for a small fare. Melissa and I were trudging down the hillside at a respectable pace when a woman in her mid-60's speed past us walking her donkey down, and our egos were deflated yet a little more. How do the Ecuadorians do this at high altitude? Kayaking is even possible in the lake, which are in the plans for my next visit. After that we were off to our next stop 3 hours further south to the quaint little Sierra city of Riobamba with a colonial charm full with lovely churches, beautiful architecture, and a constant flow of gringos being the take off point for the "Nariz del Diablo" train ride as well as hiking the chimborazo volcano which is the highest peak in Ecuador. We rolled in Saturday night to buy our tickets for "El Nariz del Diablo" (The Devil's Nose) train ride. It was Ecuador's first railway that was built in 1899 and was to open up travel from Quito (the capital) all the way to Guayaquil (the big costal city).The train actually was utilized up until 1997 when El Nino ruined a large portion of the tracks. It now only runs from Riobamba to Sibambe. But when Melissa and I showed up to buy the tickets we were informed that they train wasn't running from Riobamba because of maintenance so we had to instead take a bus from Riobamba down to Alausi and then the train to Sibambe (a 1 hour ride). So being the good Americans we are we showed up at 5:50am anticipating the 6am bus that didn't arrive until 7am, but we were kept company by what seemed like millions of gringos, a woman selling instant coffee and bananas, and a man that somehow fit a whole artisan market into one garbage bag (gloves, hats, sweaters, scarves, ponchos, sunglasses, etc). When the bus finally arrived we piled about 100 people into a 50 seat bus. Good times. And after some more waiting we finally had our tickets and thanks to our strategic smiles and strong elbow moves we were able to land a spot on top of the train. It was a beautiful and exciting ride creaking and rocking down the jagged hillside. We finally ended our journey in the 3rd largest city in Ecuador, Cuenca. One of, if not my favorite city in Ecuador because of it's graceful Renaissance feel full of intricate churches, cobblestone streets, art museums, cute hacienda, and real coffee! Until the next adventure… http://picasaweb.google.com/Alicia.ODell/LakeQuilotoa Enjoy the pictures! Much love to you always. Alicia
Hello hello.
Just gonna make it quick. Melissa and I went last weekend to visit some Peace Corps friends that live in El Chaco (transitional jungle area) and got to go white water rafting, as well as, see the largest waterfall in Ecuador it was amazing!! Here are the pics! I´ll e-mail more soon!! http://picasaweb.google.com/Alicia.ODell/ElChaco Much love to you always!
Today marks one year I've been here in Ecuador and I still find myself confused some days at why I am here? Whatever made me volunteer to be sent to some unknown foreign land to give up real coffee, customer service, and privacy? But for some reason I was jumping for joy to sign the dotted line and hop on that plane to whatever waited for me on the other side of the hemisphere. And after 12 challenging months I'm glad I jumped. This one year mark came faster than I had expected yet in another breath it feels like ages since I have lived the American life and seen your faces. To be honest the past month has been a hard one. As for my work and town I am the happiest I have been here in Ecuador, but personally I've never been away from home for a year and am just missing the little things. The comforts that I took for granted; my bed, public libraries, bike rides, pike place market, tofu, Bellingham life, live music, so many things and all of you! But it's that struggle and challenge that make this such a beautiful experience. I think we (or should I say I) get caught up in this idyllic idea that Peace Corps sends out young Americans to save the poor undereducated malnourished suffering people of the world. And maybe that's why I have reached the one year mark and don't know what to celebrate because my American mindset is looking for numbers and objective successes to share with you but my true successes have been my experiences and relationships that can never be measured. Ecuador is a beautifully diverse and developing country with an intricate culture. And in more ways than one has saved me not from despair, but from living a monotone life. Ecuador has taught me how to be stronger within myself, sound my voice, and hold my head up even when it would be easier to hide. Shown me the many blessing I have been given through family, friends, education, and opportunities in ways that I never appreciated before. Helped me to understand how we as Americans are perceived from the outside. And most importantly Ecuador has allowed me to see the faces of poverty, the capability of the impoverished, and that poverty isn't just the lack of financial support. I have a long ways to go…14 months of service, much more Spanish to reach fluency, and patience to understand the quirks of daily Ecuadorian life. Sometime I'll be honest 14 months seems so far away when I am ready to get started with what's next, but then I realize focusing on tomorrow I'm missing all the beauty that today holds for me. Thank you all for your love, words, and support. I have needed it all and because of it I have made it to this great celebration of one year!! Much love to you all always. P.S. Here are some pictures from Old Town Quito.
and some videos... My First Aid Club Lunch Time Fun!!
So my sister has finally arrived and I am very much enjoying the comfort and company. We have not yet taken any big trips but have plans to go to Otavalo, one of the world's largest artisan markets, this weekend with some friends and in two weeks we are off to the jungle to celebrate summer solstice with another Peace Corps Volunteer from Portland, so we are just starting our action pack trip. Along with the arrival of Melissa there has been of course many questions asked (what is your name? how long will you stay? are you and Alicia twins?...what??), double takes from the locals boys, and random house visits to get that closer look into the weird world of two gringa twins. Ha ha. One being the P.E. teacher /friend of my neighbor who stood at our window in complete silence for 20 minutes after our 2 minute conversation was long over. Another one being one night I arrived home late to find Melissa reading with a crab running around the room without her even knowing, yes a real crab, and we are at least 4 hours from salt water!! How??? We are still stumped about that guest. Our only theory being someone didn't cook their dinner long enough. Oops! Near and far they come running to hang out with the O'Dell sisters. Most recently, I was baking a Chocolate Chip Quinoa cookie bar (yum yum!!) for our friend's birthday when a 9 in black rat jump out of the back of the oven and practically ran up Melissa leg. We both started hysterically screaming which no one heard because of my neighbor blaring "Michael Jackson's Greatest Hits". Oh Ecuador. The beast ran and hid in my fake fireplace and was only found thanks to my landlord and his intermediate and extended family that came over to my one bedroom apartment to help us. Yes, it took 14 people to find and dispose of this beast. So after one week of fun and an array of house visitors I guess I can say Melissa didn't know how popular she would be in Mindo.
In other news I went to lunch with Senator Chris Dodd last Friday in Quito. We had some of the best food I've eaten in the past 11 months. The Senator was traveling all around South America and being a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer himself was really excited to share about his experience. He was so friendly and down-to-earth plus, an Obama supporter so of course I was a fan of the Dodders!! And Obama got the nomination so maybe there is hope for American after all!!! Much love to you all always. Miss you.
Just wanted to send out the vid of my new pad!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlRCbkzi8Cw Enjoy! Much Love to you always!
Hello hello. Yes, it´s me I've finally come up for air and thought I should write a note to let you all know I am still alive and kicking. First of all, everything is great!! I am busy, happy, frustrated, challenged, and fulfilled in my new site of Mindo. Like I told you before I'm working at a catholic boarding school with about 600 students, but only 300 are live-in students. So I have work 7 days a week!! It's crazy, but I love the kids and high energy atmosphere of the school. The children are from 4-20 years old but only the older children live-in (8-20). The latest and greatest: *This past weekend ended the week long fiestas of Mindo!! This means there was an actioned pack week full of activities, one being watching the crowning of the Queen of Mindo!!! You might think Alicia that is not very exciting most towns have festivals and royalty but Mindo is serious about their royalty. The competition started at 9pm and ended at 1am (4 hours!!!)! By this time I had had my fill of Queens and went to bed while the rest of mindo danced until 5am. Yes, the dance STARTED at 1am. These people know how to party and I guess I´m turning into a premature grandma choosing a bed over a dance floor. Oh the sad realities of my 24th year of life. Ha ha. And then this past Saturday we had a big parade (it was two blocks long) and I marched with my First Aid club carrying water in case anyone got thirsty during the long parade. Haha, that's the dedication of my First Aid club!!! *Some of you might have heard the big exciting news…I have been given the dream job of many that is obtain by very few…Official Lunch lady! Oh yes, I had to travel to the southern hemisphere for this once in a lifetime opportunity to serve food (hair net NOT included) 7 days a week, 3 meals a day. Working as a sort of a school Nutritionist most of my time is in the kitchen (where a woman should be, right?? Ha. I think they are trying to make me in housewife.) I am planning meals for the 300 live-in students, but with the pay of $5 a day for cooks it´s hard to find help so I am the new assistant cook and server. I had many ideas of what my Peace Corps experience might look like but I never EVER imagine lunch lady being one of the roles I would play…just one of the beautiful surprises of life in Ecuador. Ha ha. *Another exciting news flash is that I found an apartment and after renting it for two months have finally gotten Peace Corps approval so I can move in this week just before my sister flies into Quito on Sunday night!! Melissa will be spending a few months down here enjoying the Ecuadorian life with me and helping at the school! This past weekend my friends and I did a little redecorating and painted my bedroom a vivid turquoise color (pictures to soon follow). very cute!! *Also, next week I got invited to meet with the Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd, and Returned Peace Corps Volunteer who will be talking in Quito!! I'm excited! I think that about sums life in Mindo up for now…Hope this finds you well. Much love to you always!!
Might sound like a religious marathon but it's just a normal Semana Santa (holy week) for a nun in-training, like me. Ha ha. Took a trip into Quito Thursday to see some friends and that night we went on the church walk to ring in Good Friday. There is a street in the old town sector of Quito that has 7 churches so Thursday night they held mass and then afterwards opened all the churches for people to visit (until midnight!). It was beautiful to walk through the dimly light churches and although overflowing with people, so serene and quite. And last night the Nuns invited me to mass in which we arrived at the church at 9pm only to wait an hour and a half for the Father to arrive (classic Ecuadorian time. Haha.) and after 8 baptisims following the mass I finally crawled into my bed at 12:45am. These Nuns are wilder than I thought. Happy Easter!! How the time flies by… Today marks the start of week three in my new homeland of Mindo, I just celebrated my 2 year anniversary of being a college grad, yesterday marked my 9th month in Ecuador, and I am less than a month away from my 24th birthday. Life is good. Mindo, ahh I don't know how to capture such beauty and peace into an e-mail besides…come visit me!! Falling asleep to the pitter patter of soothing rain fall and waking up to the sweet chirps of the birds, life is peaceful. Although it is a touristy place known for it's hikes, waterfalls, butterflies, orchids, and bird watching there is a constant flow of gringos but that hasn't take away from the true sweetness of the people. I have been greeted with great love from the four Nuns that run the school I will be working in. Sister Judith a 70-something 5' ft (wide as she is tall) nun has already adopted me as her own. I finally feel as though I am where I am supposed to be. This is where I am needed and appreciated. We will be busy preparing everything this week because classes start Tuesday, April 1st. Well that is the short and sweet update for now. Much Love to you always. Alicia p.s. Here is a little video of Mindo.
Also, Francesca and I went to visit equator (after 9 months haha).
So recently I have been at a low, dealing with the struggle of being a woman in a machismo world and reevaluating why I am here. But having passed that low and rising up from it I am able to appreciate it. Have you experience this before? Emily Dickinson said "Success is counted sweetest by those who never succeed" I am not saying that I have never succeed, the exact opposite…I always have succeeded. Being a middle class college educated individual I have always been given opportunities to succeed. Born into a position not of wealth, but enough so that I never went to bed hungry, never thought twice about declaring at 9 years old that I would go to college, and always being a fighter of injustice never a victim. My point being after all of this rambling is that I think we all need to get knocked down in order to see the blessing we have right in front of us. I know it sounds cliche but after almost 9 months of living in "poverty" (I use quotations because although I live with poverty I am of it) I have struggled, fought, and been kicked down with everything from culture clashes, language barriers, gender conflicts, food issues, etc. to the point of almost coming home. But moving up I can now see the necessity of this experience and give gratitude to the journey because of what it has given me. The ability to see in a new way. To see the sweetness of life. The power a moment holds. The beauty of how we as humans connect to each other. And most of all the fragility of life. Know how I appreciate each and everyone of you because you have brought something unique and valuable to my life. I wish you all the happiness, not in the "life is perfect" way but more so "life is amazingly imperfect and challenging" and if you aren't at a place to experience that, that you would tune into listen to yourself to know how to find that and you would allow yourself the courage to go for it. Those are my thoughts today. Much Love to you always. Alicia. p.s. I am moving today. Yeah!!
Hello All. Exciting changes are coming to Ecuador…well at least for me they are. I had mentioned before about struggling with aggressive men in my town and also dealing with an inappropriate man I have to work with in my community. To an extent these are "normal" things that all my friends are dealing with, but I finally realized that it was affecting my entire experience and that they don't have to right to make me feel violated. So I finally talked to Peace Corps and for my personal well being they are changing my site and I feel really good about it. Monday I took a day trip to my prospective new site (we are just waiting on the Nun's approval), Mindo. It is a small touristy town located 2hrs from Quito located in the transitional zone or cloud forest, which means that it's between the coast and the mountains. When I saw it I was speechless, it is absolutely gorgeous with lush green mountains, waterfalls, is one of the top bird watching sites in South America, and has all sorts of creatures and plants (even an orchid garden). Anyways, they have a catholic school for the orphan/low-income kids that otherwise wouldn't have access to school. The students are on vacation until April, but I was able to tour the school. It was crazy with dorm rooms with about 30 beds and a summer camp-ish mess hall for meals. I never thought I would be working at a Catholic boarding school in Ecuador. Haha. They have been asking for a health volunteer for some time because the girls are really lacking health care and attention. So my job with consist of teaching the girls the basics of how to care for yourself (hygiene, nutrition, changes in the body, etc), working with the cooks to create more nutritious meals, and they receive a grant last year for a bakery but no one has done anything with it so I will be working with teaching the girls how to bake with hopes of creating jobs for the girls as well as make an income by selling to the tourist that pass through. I am so excited and feel like this is where I need to be. So I will keep you posted on if the Nun gives us the go ahead. If so I will probably be moving next week. Thanks again for all your love and support. Much love to you always. Alicia p.s. this means my new address will be: Alicia O´Dell
Cuerpo de Paz Casilla 17-08-8624 Quito, Ecuador South America and here are some pics I found of Mindo.
Happy Love Day!! Although a day late, this is sent with equal amounts of love. I hope you all had a great day giving and receiving love from all your dear ones. It was just another day down here in Ecuador…full of admirers. Ha ha. I am feeling good because I have a new nickname in town. Yes, I have moved up from gringa to Mister America. Can you believe? I don't even mind the Mister part anymore. I mean do they realize who they are calling Mister America? The girl that stands a mere 5'4" (far from Model criteria), who didn't discover mascara until the second semester of senior year in high school (sad but true), and when all the cute girls were in ballet classes I was at the local YMCA taking Jazzercise in stirrup pants. What am I trying to say? I am not exactly the ultra feminine pageant princess, but in Ecuador it doesn't matter. To them I am Mister America, making me feel as if everyday was Valentines Day down here. Okay on to the news: Carnival So I after experiencing much anxiety from horror stories I survived my very first carnival. If you are like me and don't know what Carnival basically it's the three days before lent. Kind of like a big party of Sins before the restrictions of lent apply, like the binging before the diet. Ha-ha. But modern day carnival is full of things like parades, music, dances, and lots of throwing assorted substances (water, oil, flour, and other unidentified things). And it's not like this is a kid's game. Carnival is a free for all even the senior citizens get in on this one (see video for proof). Being the good friend I am made the 13 hour bus ride up north to see my soul twin, Francesca. It was a blast with a group of volunteers. We made tuna burgers, tacos, and even fried chicken. God Bless America. Although, I went to her site to get some gringo back up from the Ecuadorian attacks, but turns out I was still one of the two white people in town, I stick out like a sore thumb no matter where I go. Enjoy the videos of our carnival adventures and water balloon fights. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMsWCkDSEdg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BO2Yf6RrhrY Also, Francesca lives in an Afro-Ecuadorian community which was really awesome to experience the different culture. Rose Ceremony Also, we welcomed a new group of 43 Volunteers that will be working in Habitat Conservation and Agriculture. A Peace Corps Ecuador tradition is to welcome the new volunteers at the airport with ear piercing screams and roses. It was really exciting to see the newbies and to not be the new ones anymore!! Yeah!! Here is a little video of what it looks like. Okay I will stop rambling and leave you to the visual treasures of my Carnival pictures and ridiculous youtube videos that I think only the people in them watch. Haha. photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/Alicia.ODell/Carnaval2008 Videos: Back to the real world Cooking fun La Bomba dance Michael Jackson´s Ecuadorian children Much love to you always.
I always love Sundays no matter where I am in the world. Sunday is a day to start fresh and prepare for the new week to come. Which I always start by sleeping in late, today I woke up to the pounding of rain on my metal roof. We are just entering the "winter" season, which means it rains and with that comes heat, humidity, mosquitoes, and crickets lots and lots of crickets. Good times. Ha ha. With rainy season beginning the source of work in Balzar is planting corn and rice crops, but Sunday means no work so today everyone is ready to relax. Cruising around the streets of Balzar you would find the women shopping at the market getting ready for the week, the men (the majority) still drunk from Saturday night drinking and playing cards at the local bars and the kids riding their bikes around town. No matter who you are or what you are doing you are somewhere out in the streets of Balzar. Sunday is day to see and be seen. I too visited the market to make my weekly buys: 12 bananas 25 cents, 10 plantains 25 cents, 7 tomatoes 25 cents, 5 onions 25 cents, etc. basically you can get whatever you want for 25 cents. So I came home and made some salsa because I was missing Mexico, again. Haha. Planning a little black beans, rice, salsa, and homemade tortillas for dinner, anyone wanna come over?? Open invitation. Haha. I wish I had anyone of you to come and sit at my table.
Recap on Alicia's life…sorry I haven't written lately. I have been frustrated and a little angry. It's hard living in poverty. It's hard dealing with gross aggressive men in my face making inappropriate and violating comments everyday. It's hard adjusting to this wild heat. It's hard being away from familiar faces. But then when you really live life, it's hard. It's frustrating and fulfilling all in the same breath. So we get up and face another day. Sometimes I get surprised by the daily challenges I face I think I came to Ecuador imagining another Mexico. I am sure all know about my not so secret love (almost obsession) with Mexico. My first experience living abroad was in a small village in central Mexico. It was the most magical and vibrant 3 months I have experienced. Full of warm hugs from strangers, new rich spicy foods, vivacious colors, and late night dances. An experience that has framed my life and wedded me to a life of service to the underserved and voiceless, but it was 3 months and although poor not impoverished. And because of that never had to fight the fights I have to here. But I am learning, stretching, and growing through the painful growth spurts that life brings. Know that you are loved and missed much. Until Soon. ::alicia:: p.s. For your viewing pleasure: a few pictures of new years on the beach. A video of the beach. and a trip to McDonalds.
Hello Loved Ones. I am sorry for the lack of Ecuadorian updates...I have been so busy cleaning this apartment of mine..haha. No actually the cleaning phase is passing so I guess I am not my grandmother´s daughter (you would have to know my grandma). Life is getting busy and bustling in Balzar. I just got back from a mini vacation in Cuenca, the cutest city in Ecuador. Honestly. I feel in love. I meet up with the other volunteer for a little Halloween celebration. It was a so good to see familiar faces and speak ENGLISH!!! Then stayed a few days extra with family friends who are living down here. Here are some pictures of the events: http://picasaweb.google.com/Alicia.ODell/HalloweenInEcualand http://picasaweb.google.com/Alicia.ODell/CuencaEcuador some vids: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=aliciaelizabeth okay. I promise to write soon. until then a little eye candy from Ecua-land. Much love to you always. Alicia
Is this how things work? One week in my VERY own pad and I am quickly turning domestic. Actually it has been a long slow process to reach this place starting with not wanting to complete the mom household chore list before she got home at 3. And then with my family in Mexico I learned what an actually clean house was....sweeping and mopping the white tile floor over and over again. And once I mastered the tortilla my Mexican Dad announced that I was officially ready for marriage. Is that all it takes? haha. And after a week in my new digs my favorite pastime is quickly becoming sweeping and mopping with this fantastic lavender all-purpose cleaner. What is happening to me? Am I becoming an unmarried, childless housewife?? Or maybe it´s just Latin America and all those white tiles that give me such an euphoric joy to clean. I will keep you updated. Continuing in household news I even taught my host family how to make cinnamon rolls which for being cooking in a campo oven (a fake oven that consists of placing a smaller pot on cans inside of a larger pot to make an oven like atmosphere) came out halfway decent. And with the recent purchase of gas for my stove and a fridge I am turning into Martha Stewart (minus the jail sentence) making fresh fruit juices (I live one block from the market) and tuna burgers. If you have never experience tuna burgers you must try it. ¿¿What´s for dinner?? Tuna Burgers from Ecua-land. 2 Cans of Tuna 15 or so Ritz Crackers I Onion I Egg Spices (Pepper, Salt, Oregano, Garlic...whatever you fancy) Worcestershire Sauce (I could´t find this when I made them but heard it´s really good to put in) Mix it all up. Make into patties. Eat it up. Made 5 big patties. So good. Hope you are all well. Much Love to you Always. Alicia p.s. The chicken pox has past and I almost look and feel normal.
Hello loved ones!
Although sometimes the days are long looking back I can´t believe that I hve been in Ecua-land 4 months!!! Crazy! And one month in Balzar. And I can say that the "Peace Corps Adventures" are only getting wilder!! These are some of the highlights from the past month: *Most "Peace Corps" moment: Peeing in a Ziploc bag in the middle of the night because I didn´t have a bathroom. *Most Painful moment (week): Surviving Chicken Pox in the hottest place ever!! Thankfully I only have some ugly scabs to remind me of last week. *Most exciting moment: Getting my adorable apartment okayed to by Peace Corps and then moving in it!!! I am a happy renter enjoying an apartment that is too nice to be at Peace Corps Standards but I am living in a small town (40,000) which isn´t your typical PC site. But wow after 4 months of 2 host families, hotels, hostels, & huts it feels so good to have my OWN space. And I bought a really comfy bed!!! video tour of my pad: http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=SWIlal2P3gE pictures of the place: http://picasaweb.google.com/Alicia.ODell/MTVCribsBalzar *Most ironic moment: Getting done with my bucket bath and then turning on the TV only to find "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" so I totally watched them plan a wedding as my bucket washed with rusty water hair air dried. haha. *Most embarrassing moment: Becoming a "before Pro-active" model from Chicken pox and have people make comments like "oh did the mosquitoes get you?" or "oh the poor gringa´s skin is breaking out in this hot weather". But through it all I am surviving. Shoot if I can handle chicken pox in hot humid weather with my host family laughing at my because they think it´s funny that an adult has chicken pox! I can handle anything. haha. Honestly everyday is a challenge here, but I feel like I have a good base in Balzar figuring out why I am here and starting to get a schedule. Life is good. Thanks for all your love and support I carry you all with me. Much love to you always. Alicia 
Hello Everyone.
After many attempts I finally have a mailing address!! This probably doesn´t concern more than my Mom, but if you want to write a little note to: Alicia O´Dell Cuerpo de Paz Casilla 09-01-11805 Guayaquil, Ecuador South America I love mail! If that doesn´t sound desperate. ha ha. Also, Mom remember that when you mail anything over a letter you need to put it in a paper (bubble) envelope and it can´t weight over 4lbs or else I have to pay big money to get it out of customs. Also, in good news I think I will be moving out of my host family´s house in the next few weeks because I live next to a bar and don´t have a bathroom. So I am apartment shopping!! A few pictures from the first week. http://picasaweb.google.com/Alicia.ODell/EcuadorBalzar Much love to you always.Alicia 
Hello all. I hope all is well in the U.S. of A. Today marks the end of week 1 here in my home, Balzar. And overall I feel good. I am slowly getting adjusted to living in Ecuador and more so to the hot humidity of coastal life. I have to go pick up my family´s son in a few minutes so I will make it fast and give you a highs and lows of the past week.
Low places. *We didn´t get water until Wednesday!! Which means someone wasn´t showering or able to flush the toilet. Sorry if that was way too much information. *What I thought was a walk around town turned into a one hour Mormon choir practice. ekk. *I received about 10 invites to go to Mormon church on Sunday but thankfully I was so tired "I slept in". *We live next door to a bar of sort and two nights in a row I stayed up until 2am listening to them not so gracefully sing bad mariachi music. *We had to got to the city hall yesterday to fight with the Mayor why weren´t they delivering water to our neighbor. And they basically told up that when a month has pass they will do something. *Um...I don´t have an address because Balzar doesn´t receive mail, but we are in the process of buying a P.O. Box in Guayaquil. *I also have about 1,000 mosquito bites. (I´m rounding a little. not much.) it hurts to walk!! Higher grounds. Don´t let the lows fool you its good times most of the time here. *We are electing the Balzar queen this week so every night they drive around town. Each candidate with about 10 cars following behind them overflowing with people. One even had here own marching band. who does that?? *I bought the cheesiest Mickey Mouse plastic/metal closet. I guess that is more of a low, but at least I don't have to live out of my suitcases. * I got a cell phone!!!!!!!! And I never realized how amazing text messages were! If you want to call me, you call:011-593-9-969-4872. Or send me a text message. so cool. But sadly I can´t call the USA only receive calls.*They sell coconut juice for 20 cents on ever corner. soo good.*I found the cutest two bedroom apartment in town, but I can´t move in for 2 months. dang *I won $3 playing BINGO Friday night. That about sums up life down in the southern hemisphere. Much love to you always. Alicia 
Hello Friends!!
I hope you are all well. We got some extra internet time today and that means I was able to upload ALL of my videos from my tech trip and some from my host family in Olmedo. So, here is a little tiny glimpse into my Ecuadorian life. Enjoy. Much love to you always. Alicia www.youtube.com/user/aliciaelizabeth 
No, I'm not referring to love like the Joni Mitchell song, but both sides of the hemisphere. I just got back from my week long visit to my future site/home in the southern hemisphere. And that is it, a different world (referring to Sierran life).
A Stereotypical overview of Costal life: Weather: HOT!! And humid. Environment: Flat land with miles of rice fields (Balzar area) and Plantain crops. And did I mention the MOSQUITOES!! People: Chatty, honest Music: Salsa and Meringue Language: wow!! They talk really fast. My new home, Balzar!! With a population of 40-some thousand it's pretty big which means two things I have some nice attractions intown such as: 2 swimming pools, 2 discotecas, a karaoke bar, a food market, a clothes market, and a grocery store. Wow!! But on the other hand, most of the surround communities lack basic amenities such as water. The family in which I will live with for my first few month doesn´t even have a bathroom or shower (most people bathe in the local river) yet their son who lives next door has a toilet a space where I have have a bucket bath. good times. You think water would have priority over a dance club, but then dance clubs are way more fun! ha ha. Work wise I will be working in at least 16 surrounding communities. I'm gonna be busy!! Speaking of work, what exactly will I be doing? I will be working with an organization called PLAN International and their theory is to get into communities listen to the needs of the people and show them how to better their situation. This way it's sustainable (the community is doing the work). Those 16 communities really have nothing. I was able to visit about 6 this week and most don't even have a clinic or health volunteers (promoters) so my first job will be to go to the communities find people interested in becoming health volunteers and start training them how to weight babies, take blood pressure, info about common health problems, and most importantly, how to prevent illnesses. And with the group of youth I will be teaching a self-esteem/self-awareness/sex-ed course. And so much more... Bottom line I will be working to organize the people, educate them, empower them in hopes of them better understanding their situation. Highlights of the week: My host family´s daughter-in-law is going to beauty school at night and thought it would be a good idea to take me along to meet some women. Good idea, I thought. But, when I got there of course all the women wanted to fix up the gringita. oh no. They washed my hair, straightened it, then blew dry it, and then gave me the biggest flip out you would of that I was straight for the 50´s. Terrible. And no I dídn´t take a picture because I didn´t want to remember the painful memory. haha. We actually have two swimming pool and the one even have a slide. wow. It was very fun and refreshing in the hot humid-ness. Saturday night we went Salsa dancing. Good times. I never thought I would be salsa dancing in the Peace Corps. That is why I love Latin America. Also, on an odd note my family is Mormon. What happened to all the Catholics_ So within the first 2 hours of arriving at my site two missionaries came over and we watched an hour long DVD about the life of Joseph Smith and then they started witnessing to me and asking if I would like a Book of Mormon to practice my Spanish. haha. I politely said thanks, but I have my own beliefs. haha. 
Sometimes I get frustrated at Ecuador when the bus stops at EVERY house instead of a few designated stops or how people have to wait in lines for 1-3 hours to pay a bill that takes 30 seconds to pay online. My American mind wants to scream "there is more TIME efficient way!" Yet in other ways Ecuadorians get up and take matters into their own hands and DO something while Americans are busy planning and organizing a meeting to discuss the matter.
This week we had the privilege of meeting a revolutionist. Amazingly, it happened to be a woman and even more rare an indigenous woman. Transito Amaguaña, a leader in the indigenous rights movement.We walked about 30 mins to the next town and then found a truck and a 9 yr old boy who knew where she lived and we drove about 30 mins (see the youtube video) to what could be described as a shack made of cement blocks. There she was sitting in bed in a room big enough only for a bed and chair. It was so sad to see this amazing woman in a barely livable room with dirt floor and an overwhelming odor of urine. From her frail body I was surprised by her strong voice in which she told us that she believed herself to be 120 yrs old even though "the white man who read books said she was only 98." What a character. She lived during a time in which white men owned the land (how she referred to mestizos, non-indigenous men) and the Indigenous people worked the land for little to nothing. Transito rose up, organized the people and fought the man, and won the rights to their land. Now because of this movement it´s a law the landowner must work their land or will lose their land. Amazing, right? She has a flawless memory and held us all captive with her stories of going to Cuba to meet a young Fidel Castro and later going to "another world" known as Russia to the rest of the world. Ha! She hit many bumps in the road because of her communist ideas and thriving fightng spirit, but she never lost sight of her dream of equality and justice for the people. As we were leaving our spanish facilitator told her "viva la revolution" and cried "VIVA!!" with such heart and passion. We need more people like Transito in the world. She reminded me to be grateful for my rights. And inspired me to STAND UP, TAKE ACTION, and never stop fighting for EQUALITY.
That is what the write-n-wipe board read this morning for our general meeting to find out the much anticipated news of where we are going to live for the next two years of our life. I was so nervous-excited it was painful to wait until 11am to find out. But destiny finally arrived in form of an envelope. So intense.
I was placed in Balzar, Guayas. Which for those of you unfamiliar with Ecuador is in the southern part in the province (state) of Guayas and hence the name is where Guayaquil (the other big city in Ecuador) is located. I will only be about 2.5 hours from Guayaquil, which means easy access to the big city and the airport (hint hint for all you that would like to visit!!!).I will find out more about my site after my week visit that begins this Sunday. woot woot. But for now all I know is that it is a city with about a population of 24,000 rural and 25,000 urban. What does that mean? I am not sure. All I know is that for rural health I have (I think) the biggest site. Which is good and bad. Also, Balzar has 3 high schools, 5 schools (kindergarten, elementary, and middle), and a hospital. The temperature ranges from 90s-70s. I love the heat.
Hello Friends.
I made it!! Today is the one month mark and I can´t decided if it hascame fast or slow. Time is crazy especially in Latin America. I ammissing the blazing hot Wenatchee sun (only because I am sleeping inmy sleeping bag underneath 4 covers) and then again I am constantlyamazed that I am in the middle of the world. Crazy, right?So, time is starting to fly by in training. We still have Spanishclasses Monday - Thursday 8-5 and then every Friday we have a bigmeeting with all 45 volunteers. All this week we came into the "big"town (15,000) people. haha. To listen to presentation about our futuresites. Some people I don´t think had EVER talked in front of peopleand it made for the most uncomfortable 10mins ever and then other madetheir site seem like a vacation package. About 5 sites are junglejungle (canoe involved to arrive at site) and the rest are coastal. Iam crossing my fingers for the coast!! so nice. Tuesday is the luckyday. Then next Sunday I will leave for a week long trip to visit myfuture site. woot woot. Okay, so the last email was really technical I´ll add in some goodEcuadorian stories this time. Good Times: *The bus system is unreliable, dirty, and carry some funky smells but the great part of the buses here is the salsa and reggeaton tunes theyalways have rockin but this week we were heading into Cayambe 7am andwhat starts to play..."Another One Bites The Dust...." what?? So funny. But then the week prior we had experienced 2 breakdowns andother bus realated problems. First, I began to laugh and then startedto worry it was a bad premonition. ekk. (I have many transportationstories I am collecting to compile a whole email.) *Also, involving buses so we were slowing down and I heard this reallyloud music and looked out the window to see that we were accidentallyin a parade. Just following the people walking down the highway with a statue of the Virgin Mary. Good times. *I went to mass this past Sunday...to find only 10 people (you reallyknow its a small town when only 10 come to church) and an Italianpriest. I guess it´s something really common in the mountains to findan Italian priest. hmm. *Tuesday I woke up to find my mom plucking a chicken. She preceded toask how I was and I just kinda smiled and hurried to the bathroom. Howdo you digest seeing a chicken being plucked at 7am?? She probablythought I had digestional problems but I couldn´t form words while shepucked the bird feather for feather. oh well. *My two little brothers are for some unknown reason obsessed with BobMarley and asking me daily if he lives in the states. I don´t have theheart to break the news that he´s dead, just say yes and then getasked to sing a song. "I shot the sheriff" and "Get up, Stand up" arethe faves. *Peace Corps actually gives us free Newsweeks every two weeks to helpus "stay in touch" with American culture. Sadly, It was all aboutAngelina Jolie. So depressing. I guess I´m not missing much. ha ha.*Another weird experience, so Ecuadorian don´t eat tortillas (whichbreaks my tortilla loving heart) and we were eating soup and my mombrings out a plate of like 10 cooked potatoes and I was like that'sweird we usually gives us individual plates...when my sister picks itup and starts to eat it like an apple while sipping her soup. weirdright. Tortillas to Mexicans are potatoes to Ecuadorians (Sierran).Crazy times. Okay, those are my random stories from the week.I´ll keep you posted on my site. Much love to you always. Alicia p.s. Some people were asking questions. Yes, this is my address untilthe end of August. Alicia O´Dell, PCT Cuerpo de Paz Casilla 17-08-8624 Quito, Ecuador South America 
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