Here I am sitting in the FCAE office for my last official day. I bought my plane ticket from Bogota to New York earlier which brings reality into motion. These extra two weeks of “work” were important for me to see some kind of outcome to this experience with the Awá. Everything turned out great [...]
Please login first to post comments.
I’m officially an RPCV (Returned Peace Corps Volunteer) as of Friday, April 16th eventhough I haven’t “returned” anywhere yet. I’m planning on sticking around a wee bit longer to wrap things up with the Awá; stuff I couldn’t do as long as I was under Peace Corps’ watch. My other motivation to stay longer is [...]
These past few weeks have been full of goodbye parties, dealing with nonsense at work and feeling rising pressure for this upcoming transition period in my life. I have been procrastinating in my job hunt only responding to four offers so far yielding nothing so far. If I don’t get my act together soon I [...]
With only two full weeks of work left in my contract with the Awá Federation, I am taking on less and less responsibility. Since leaving Lita and working permanently in the office, I’ve mainly focused my energy on proposal writing. There are certainly a lot more to do in that area but it would make [...]
Saying goodbyes have always been difficult for me no matter how often I have had to move on with my life after incredible experiences just like this one. Although I still have over a month left in my service I feel that this painful process of rupture has already begun. I clearly broke down in [...]
It has definitely been the theme of the month so far. Starting with the invitation by a Swiss NGO called Cielo Azul to give a series of workshops on water conservation and the benefits of dry latrines, I had a chance to investigate more on this vital resource and learn about technologies for water conservation. [...]
We started out with 43 trainees in the Omnibus 99 arriving in Quito exactly 2 years ago today. We ended up 29 at out “Close of Service” (COS) Conference last week. Most of the 15 volunteers who terminated their service early did so for health or family/personal reasons, very few left early because they found [...]
It’s amazing how little one can actually get done in an office. I mean tangible things. It’s just a bunch of little things added up that sometimes sum up to something real but you never get a chance to see. If you are stuck in the office that is. My move to Lita in September [...]
I had a bit more time on my hands this past week as I fell ill. It wasn’t too serious but I was asked to go to Quito to do an X-ray of my chest. Luckily my lungs were not affected as I feared and I ended up just having a bad pharingitis and sinusitis. [...]
Many volunteers go back home several times during their service. It’s a normal thing to do and the best way to get back in touch with family and friends. Eventhough most of my family had visited me once here in Ecuador, I felt it was time for me to show up at this traditional [...]
Every six months the Awá Federation organizes a general assembly composed of all the leaders from the 22 communities in Ecuador. Important decisions are made and work reports are presented and debated. All the office staff has to go, many of them only enter the territory during those events and are for the most part [...]
Although I have settled down pretty well in my new place and finally came around to do all my laundry (with the help of a specialist of course otherwise I’d still be at it), I haven’t spent a entire weekend in my “new site” yet. Travelling is probably my favourite hobby and when I was [...]
I hardly had time to settle into my new place but it’s clean and somewhat organized with the little furniture I have. My pile of dirty cloths is getting out of control and I’m seriously considering the offer of my new neighbour to help me out with it. We haven’t discussed her tariffs yet. I [...]
With only five months left in my service, I feel time constantly accelerating. So much to do yet so little time to get anything done. This Peace Corps ride really feels like a rollercoaster with it ups and downs and brutal stops. I guess there aren’t many other options but simply to move forward and [...]
The disgraceful episode is finally taking a turn for the best. Monica is officially the new accountant of the Red Escolar Awa Chical – Mataje (Awa School Network) after over two months of struggle. It wasn’t easy though. The corrupt former accountant and current director have put up a fight to avoid this scenario and [...]
Second chances are the best. We learned from our mistakes and are determined not to get fooled twice. Exactly a year to the day after a failed attempt to create an organic school garden in Baboso, we gave it another shot and this time it really looks good. It’s amazing how a simple project like [...]
The situation is not getting any better. Corruption is rampant and any efforts to stop or at least control it seem useless. Has the world around me become completely cynical? How can one avoid so much negativity and bad deed? It’s been over a month now and the Awá education network still hasn’t contracted a [...]
As development workers in foreign lands, how do we measure the difference that we make? Each development agency or NGO has their own well cut out goals and objectives from which they attempt to monitor & evaluate results or products. Mixed with these are the personal expectations or hopes from each individual worker based on [...]
Getting back to work wasn’t easy after the amazing vacation I just had. I had the blues during a good part of my first week especially when I was in the Ibarra office. I couldn’t concentrate on anything and felt like I was simply wasting my time. My only comfort came from working with the [...]
It’s been 7 months and no break. When my friend Elisa came to visit from Madrid I decided it was the right time to get away from it all. No better destination in Ecuador to disconnect than the Galapagos Islands so just after a first day in Quito to check the historical center with its [...]
It certainly isn’t easy to integrate with communities you work with. It is definitely my biggest challenge so far as a volunteer. First I decided to move out of Ibarra to get closer to the Awá territory and aquire a better understanding of their culture and life-style. That was a huge leap and at first [...]
The Awá artisans seem to finally get a breakthrough in their neverending quest for markets. There has been a drought in sales this year, pushing crafts only during fairs and conferences. The store in San Antonio de Ibarra yielded disappointing results with only a couple of pieces sold. Early this month the group got together [...]
It is a season of change and transition. The office is going through yet another staff changeup and I fear that it won’t be for the best. The sicilian planification and monitoring man gave his farewell and is moving on from the Federation. It is a huge loss for the team, I consider him as [...]
The best part of working with an indigenous group in Ecuador is to have the priviledge of witnessing what few gringos ever witness. The Awá are particularly not widely reknown not even in the countries they live in, even less so abroad. The gringos who are “interested” in them are mainly looking for their natural [...]
This week I had the chance to participate in my third Awá general assembly that took place in the community of Pailón in the province of Carchi. It is probably my most significant experience working for the Awá federation of Ecuador as I had tangible results to present and felt I had a meaningful impact [...]
The Inti Raymi celebration lasts a whole week and culminates in a huge street party known as San Pedro or la noche San Pedrina. I was invited by Edwin and his family to party with them in Tabacundo where this ritual is particularly famous. So last weekend I went to the family farm and had [...]
It’s that time of the year again. The summer solstice interpreted and celebrated all around the world in so many different ways is certainly one of the most important rituals for the Kishwas from the Sierra. Inti Raymi or Fiesta del Sol in Spanish is their way to thank Pacha Mama (mother earth) for providing [...]
Shortly after the midservice conference I got a call from my program manager who wanted to arrange a visit to my site from the country director, the security officer and himself. I appreciated this opportunity to see where me and my other PCV buddy an hour away lived and get a glimpse of our everyday [...]
The group I came to Ecuador with, the notorious Omnibus 99, has passed its first year of service. Peace Corps organized a little get together to mark this event, known as the “midservice conference”, in the PC office in Quito. It was great to see everybody again, we are all scattered throughout the country and [...]
We all know we got to earn it, the question is how. As a foreign volunteer the task is more delicate as you face many prejudice and disproportionate expectations. After a wee bit over a year living and working here in Ecuador I think I earned the respect of most people around me. That is [...]
I’ve been really busy ever since I’ve been back from my surreal trip to Cuenca’s campo side. I hit my first full year mark working with the FCAE and I went through a personal evaluation. To be honest I wish I had achieved more or at least more visible outcomes. Some projects didn’t turn out [...]
What I love about this Peace Corps experience is that there is absolutely no routine. These past two weeks certainly have been all but ordinary. I started off heading to the Peace Corps training place next to Tabacundo to co-facilitate the GANE business workshop. The new omnibus is the same size as mine used to [...]
This year’s semana santa was anything but ordinary. Sure I spent the earlier part of the week hanging out in Lita reading and trying to get those environmental ed modules going with not much success. A small group of volunteers were planning a trip down to Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas to spend the easter [...]
Right before shutting down the office for Semana Santa, the Awá Federation organized a three day workshop on a beautiful beach in Manabi. They hired a bus for the entire journey so that all the administrative staff, promoters and técnicos and dirigentes as well as their gringo cooperante can come along. The rationale for this [...]
The last couple weeks have been pretty busy here but at the end of the month I always have a hard time figuring out what I’ve done as I write my monthly work report. They are small things that when put together perhaps turn into something significant enough to justify my being here. A good [...]
For the fourth time since I started working with the Awá Federation I had the chance to go to the Pambilar community in the Esmeraldas province this week. I came along with a good group of Awá leaders, sustainable agriculture specialists and two técnicos from the Altropico foundation. This was all part of the MIES [...]
18 hours of non-stop torrential rain has left its mark not only in Lita but in many communities around it. We had a five day blackout and we’ve been out of water for over 15 days. There were so many landslides blocking the road from Ibarra to Lita that the area was completely isolated for [...]
Watching my parents getting ripped off left and right in Ecuador drove me mad. Its the first time I participate in any really touristy activity in an organized way since I live here and I was gutted by how abused the tourist is in this country. My mon, dad and sister came to see me [...]
Being away from the office for almost two full weeks is wonderful. I finally got some quality time to spend in Lita and the surrounding Awá territory. As February is a busy month for the artisans with fairs going on everywhere ar the same time during the national carnival, I’ve been helping the best I [...]
It’s so peaceful here, far away from the office politics that spoils all the fun of working on exciting projects. I wish I could spend more time here but last week was simply impossible. Doña Filomena and I did some market research to sell Awá art on the famous Otavalo market that attracts hundreds of [...]
Guadualito is the only Awá community that can be reached by car. A road going from the notorious city of San Lorenzo to a place called El Pan cuts right through this small, isolated Awá land. They are surrounded by African palm plantations that dump a bunch of chemicals in the three rivers that run [...]
There’s no more internet in Lita since January 1st until they contract a new service provider which can take a couple months. Until then I won’t be able to update this blog as regularly as I used to.
I spent new year’s eve in Tabacundo with Erwin’s family where we followed the local tradition of burning [...]
Every six months the Awá Federation of Ecuador (FCAE) organizes a general assembly. They mobilize the presidents of the 22 centers members of the federation, the Awá promoters and technical staff, foreign volunteers as myself and the Awá government body. We spent three full days in the community of Pambilar in Esmeraldas which I am [...]
This month is passing by very slowly with much less action in Awá territory. This was mainly my choice to cut some field work and stay put in Lita for a change. I never really had the time to adjust to life in Lita and to be honest it hasn’t been easy for me. Apart [...]
I really got tired of always being on the move. Didn’t have time to really make myself feel at home in Lita yet as I spend much time visiting an Awá community and checking in the FCAE office in Ibarra. When the trip to Guadualito was offered to me, I turned it down. Even though [...]
Nine months in Ecuador and I finally see the Pacific Ocean. Canoa is a small fisherman village and beach resort with 17 km of sandy beach. It took us about 15 hours of bus rides to get there but it was well worth it. Peace Corps organized their community bank conference there and invited me [...]
Another busy week just past and things are taking shape in Baboso alter months of preparations. After helping Maribel, the social development coordinator at the FCAE, with the refugee proposal and coordinating logistics for the Baboso project from the office it was finally time for exciting field work. Since no Awá “dirigentes” (program leaders) were [...]
The community of Río Bogotá received three FCAE técnicos, including myself, and four members of the Awá government council for a workshop on the potential for a community eco-tourism project there. It is by far the smallest Awá community with only 20 families living there. It seemed like the poorest as well with a definite [...]
Right after the planification meeting in Ibarra I was invited in a meeting at the Awá education direction to review the bilingual curriculum one more time. It was another unpanned meeting on their part where nobody came prepared. The situation was absurd and I allowed myself to show some kind of frustration with their lack [...]
There is definitely something in Quito’s air that my body does not agree with. I felt like crap throughout our omnibus 99 re-connect workshop so I couldn’t fully appreciate being reunited with my fellow volunteers. The three day workshop was very interesting and useful however. Volunteers were supposed to come accompanied by their counterparts: person [...]
How many entries are we showing above?
For now, we are showing up to 50 entries on each page. Entries that
are too short are filtered out. For more entries, please use
archives.
|
Connect to Peace Corps Journals
About the Journal
Contact Us
Disclaimer:
| |
| Copyright (c) 2010 |
