Wishing everyone a relaxing and peaceful holiday season. I am so thankful to be spending Christmas with my family this year! Santa Pub Crawl Downtown DenverAwesome outfit finds at GoodwillOver 800 people participated in the Santa Pub Crawl and many Toys for Tots donated by each perosnGolden's Christmas ParadeMerry Christms! mucho amor y paz

Nice and well needed quality time with my family in a place with a beautiful backdrop. Even though I had been back home for a couple of months, I quickly realized that I had to compete with my family and friend's busy schedules in order to spend time with them. Thus, Mexico equating to an incredible opportunity where time slowed down, and we could really enjoy each other's company. Lovers' Beach and the famous Cabo Arch Our humble abode for the week, which felt like Mexican Disney WorldBonding over Coronas Sunset Cruise that quickly turned into a party boat. Dan pulled out some impressive moves and shockingly (especially for my mother.haha) won himself the Mexican Hat dance competition on the boat....hence him being the only shirtless person in the picture. Cheers to a wonderful trip

My dear Irene, World Teach volunteer, came back to visit after a year of being in the states. She use to come to my site every week, and we would teach English together in the far away remote communities. After her service was up, she started a new exciting adventure in Miami. We were SO excited when she shared the news that she was coming to see us. Her visit was so nice, and it was like she had never left. TQMMM Irene! It was only appropriate to welcome Irene back with a community dance!

The ever so famous "Diamantes" played at the dance, and the next thing I knew....we were up on stage taking pictures with them.Mis gringitas who danced the night away Getting back to the house at 4am and crashing, only to get up the next day to celebrate the 4th of July!

Que viva la U-S-A! We started off the 4th of July bash just like any other American event....by singing the good ol' national anthem. We played all sorts of games, had an Hora Loca and celebrated Independence Day Ecua-American style. You must keep dancing without letting the lime drop. I couldn't stop laughing for the life of me, while Kristen had her game face on. Sarah made us a delicous American flag cake. She had to get creative without blueberries and strawberries at hand....and I think she did a fabulous job!We ate lobster for lunch! yum!!little Dila was so happy this day and loved playing in the face paint....as you can see from her mini-blue mustache. Considering I couldn't be in the US this yeart to celebrate the 4th like last year, I'd say spending time with the people I care about here came in second best.

Happy birthday los Estados Unidos!

A big project we have been working on for the last month is a play that addresses child sexual assualt. The actors are members from my community, and I am really excited for the group to travel around and present the play. They sing, dance, recite poetry, use puppets and even have a big bad wolf.

Supper granny giving the kids a lesson

It's funny to see some of the older ladies in my town play young girls skipping around and jump roping. the young star of a program called Fama o Drama sang at the grand opening of the our show. A big congratulations to the performers in the play!! Random photo....but I wanted to take the chance to thank some of my favorite people who are a continuous big support and hold a special place in my heart. MUCHAS gracias nanas! las quiero mucho!!

HIV prevention work in the high schools

Peace Corps trained us PCV in Guayaquil a couple of months ago in HIV prevention, and my counterpart and I have now completed the Cuanto Sabes de VIH y SIDA program in 3 different high schools in my communities. It's been really well received, and we have been invited by high schools all over the area to implement the program in their communty. The project is super interactive and the best part about it is we trained 20 peer educators and they are the ones that put on the workshops. It has been awesome to see the peer educators grow into their own and confidently give presentations to their classmates on a topic that is usually considered taboo and not easy to talk about. Victoria VIH is a traveling doll that my HIV task force group came up with that is being passed around from volunteer to volunteer to promote HIV education throughout the country. I was the lucky 1st person to host Victoria in my site. She participated in my Cuanto Sabes project and paseared mucho in my site. She couldn't leave my site without eating some encebollado...delicous Manabi soup that I eat at least three times per week. :)Victoria with the lovely encebollado chef who has a little stand near the park in my town. The kids in the daycare center loved Victoria too. The doll was a great way to create a dialouge within the community. Victoria even has a facebook page! Become her facebook friend. Just look up Victoria del Vih and see more picutres of her travels.

My godson Alvy is getting so big....he had another ceremony at his school that required me prescence as his god mother. Every year for the 1st graders, his elementary school baptizes the kids. Oh, but it's no ordinary baptism....

Alvy, mi hijado

One of the fathers acts as the priest and he and the other participants put on a show giving the kids funny nicknames, giving them lollipops as their communion, making the kids wear silly bibs, and sprinkles holy water on them with long palm leaves. hehe Alvy getting baptizedDuring the ceremony, each child is numbered and competes to become "Nino/a de Honorato Vasquez." The parents take this very seriously and dress their children in their finest attire. The little girls wear mini-ball gowns and strut around the school with their hands on their hips and curls bouncing up down. All their schoolmates and teachers vote to elect the best little girl and little boy to represent the school , "nino o nina de Honorato Vasquez"This picture makes me laugh because here is Alvy eyeing down all the kids who are placing their votes...."hey amigo, vote for me." And sure enough......my little hijado won! His thank you speech was adorable and all the moms were congratualing his mother and I. haha Now he will be on a small float in the community parade. From left to right: last year's winner, this year's "Nina de Honorato Vasquez" and Alvy "Nino de Honorato Vasquez."

Things I LOVE about Ecuadorthe PEOPLE...my Ecuadorian moms, dads, sisters, brothers, etc, the Lake Poza Honda by my house, the greeness, civiche and encebollado (typical costal Ecuadorian foods), simplicity, flexibility, near by beaches, hammocks, Spanish, mangos, fruit trees in my front yard, little markets, cheap DVDs, no body image issues, community dances, unity, small community feeling, Carnival celebrations in February, freedom and flexibility, can buy anything at the pharmacy, riding in the back of trucks, the kids in my community, MY kids....Anali and CasanovaThings I DONT love about Ecuadorcat calls from men, staring, lines....or lack there of, BUGS, rats, water and lights going out, infidelity, being treated like a celebrity, no change for big bills, wild dogs, road construction, lack of puncutality, gossipThings I MISS about homeFAMILY, BOYFRIEND, FRIENDS, convenience, consistency and accessability, favortie restaurants, driving, structure, seasons, cleanliness, variety of food, carpet, easy laundry, flushing toilet paper, chloe, loving American dogsThings I DONT miss about hometraffic, stress, fast pace, how expensive everything is, isolated life style, contant pressure, tipping, how wastefull or petty people can be

My friends from a different community just got hitched. It was a civil wedding so no walking down the isle but there was lots and lots of dancing. The wedding was very elegant, and I was happy to be a part of their lovely night. The couple had only been together a short 3 months before they decided to get married but they said they just knew. May they both live happily ever after...... Jennifer and I were commenting on how beautiful the cake was and right after I took the picture, a little boy went up to stick his finger in the icing only to realize the cake was not real. haha. fooled me too.

ballerinas. fun times

The soccer fanatics, which is just about everyone here, were so anxious for the World Cup the weeks leading up to the grand inauguration.....by 6:00a.m. Friday, families were huddled around their small television sets to watch the first game. The first game was so exciting and everyone started making bets and planning get togethers for following games. Little did we know, by 11:00 a.m., the police had decided to remove all of the local antennas due to a breach in contract. What a disappointment to everyone. Apparently, the man who installed all the antennas didn't have permission and was just pocketing everyone's money....so sad. What HORRIBLE timing. Now a cable company has come in to try to sell these outrageously expensive packages...it's a mess. I talked to the mayor who randomly wants me to take care of his dog while he is on vaccation and I agreed upon one condition.....give us back the World Cup! So......he's got his people working on it. :)

Jennifer and I making a homemade antenna hoping to find signal....sadly no prevail. The love of my life's twin.People in my site thought Landon Donovan strongly resembled Dan. They keep saying Talia, tell your boyfriend to keep his shirt on. hehe. Que viva USA!

My booth at the Peace Corps hall-of-fame exposition...it felt like ementary school science fair all over again Mis panas hanging out at the Ambassador's houseSandwhiched by Dana and Parmer (PC director)An aerial shot of Quito....oh how nice it is to arrive to Portoviejo in 30 minutes vs. a 9 hours. Instead of bussing it back, I treated myself to flying to my site in order to make a weddingMy plane flew right by Volcano Cotopaxi

In 1999, after a long period of rest, the Tungurahua Volcano (which is Throat of Fire in the indigenous language Quichua and Rahua) started an eruptive process that continues to this day and most recenly increased in intensity spitting out flanks of volcano.

Fortunately, no one has been hurt and for my loved ones.......I am miles away on the coast where I am unharmed except by a VERY light dusting of ash. I do, however, like tracking the volcanos current activity on Instituto Geofisicos website

http://www.igepn.edu.ec/.

As of now, it is producing violen explosions with ash plumes rising to 7-9 km but the due to the unpredictability of the volcano, the US Embassy is advising American citizens to evacuate the Baños area until the situation subsides. Ill keep you all posted.

Thursday, I was invited with a few other PC volunteers to have coffee with Senator Chris Dodd who was a RPCV from the Dominican Repulic. Before his visit with President Rafael Correa, Dodd wanted to meet current working volunteers just to hang out. I really valued his down to earth style and how there is an unspoken bond between all RPCVs.

Below is the newspaper article in El Comercio about Senator Dodd and Senator Warner´s visit with President Correa.

En el Palacio de Gobierno, en Quito. El presidente Rafael Correa bromeó con los senadores Christopher Dodd y Mark Warner. Galo Paguay/EL COMERCIO

Tema del día | viernes 04/06/2010 La reunión que se realizó ayer en el Palacio de Carondelet entre el presidente Rafael Correa y los senadores demócratas de Estados Unidos, Christopher Dodd y Mark Warner, fue distendida y en un marco de cordialidad.

La cita se inició a las 16:30. El Jefe de Estado bromeó con los legisladores e hizo un repaso de su trayectoria política. En la cita estuvieron Fernando Cordero, presidente de la Asamblea; el canciller Ricardo Patiño; Luis Gallegos, embajador de Ecuador en Estados Unidos; y Fernando Bustamante, presidente de la Comisión de Asuntos Internacionales de la Asamblea Nacional.

Hodges asistió a la cita Los senadores estuvieron con la embajadora de Estados Unidos en Ecuador, Heather Hodges. El canciller Ricardo Patiño llegó el embajador de Ecuador en EE.UU., Luis Gallegos.En la mañana, los senadores se reunieron con estudiantes estadounidenses que están de intercambio en Ecuador. Ellos regresan a su país en agosto y, según informaron los legisladores, se fueron muy contentos por haber podido trabajar en las comunidades indígenas. El Primer Mandatario, antes de tratar temas puntuales, agradeció por su visita y su interés en el país. Además, entre bromas le pidió al senador Dodd, que cuando se retire de su vida política sea asesor del Gobierno ecuatoriano.

El legislador agradeció el gesto y lo felicitó por su mandato. “Gracias por su tiempo. Usted conoce de la historia de los miembros del Senado, que nuestros colegas no conocen. Gracias por su apoyo y estamos sorprendidos por el proceso que lleva adelante en el Ecuador”, señaló.

Así iniciaron con el tratamiento de temas puntuales. A puerta cerrada, los legisladores conversaron con Correa sobre la renovación de las preferencias arancelarias andinas (Atpdea, por sus siglas en inglés), que deben ser renovadas en los próximos meses.

Ecuador mantiene la postura de que la renovación de las preferencias arancelarias se concrete cada tres años y no cada año, como funciona actualmente.

Los legisladores demócratas se mostraron abiertos a ampliar la duración de las Atpdea. Aunque eso siempre ha estado ligado a los resultados que obtenga el país en el combate a las drogas. Este es uno de los puntos que quieren ser modificados por Ecuador para que se den las negociaciones bilaterales en función del desarrollo y la inversión social del país.

Además, en la reunión abordaron la temática migratoria y la aprobación de la polémica Ley Arizona, que penaliza la presencia de personas indocumentadas en ese estado del sur de EE.UU.

Los senadores también abogaron por el esclarecimiento de las muertes de dos ciudadanos estadounidenses, ocurrida en días anteriores. El presidente Correa manifestó su solidaridad con las familias de los jóvenes y anunció que pidió al Cónsul de EE.UU. en Guayaquil una reunión con ellos para que sepan que se hará todo por juzgar a los culpables.

La visita se realiza cinco días antes de la llegada de la secretaria de Estado de EE.UU., Hillary Clinton, quien se reunirá con Correa para tratar sobre procesos y acuerdos de cooperación bilateral entre Ecuador y EE.UU. También hablarán sobre la política de seguridad en América Latina.

De esa agenda ya está todo organizado. La Cancillería informó que incluso están previstos un almuerzo y una conferencia que tratará sobre la política de Estados Unidos en América Latina.

El primer acercamiento oficial entre EE.UU y Ecuador concluyó a las 17:30. Dodd y Warner salieron del Palacio rumbo al aeropuerto Mariscal Sucre para viajar a Lima (Perú) para reunirse con sus embajadores y también dialogar con los legisladores peruanos.

Al salir de la Presidencia, en el Centro Histórico, no dieron declaraciones. De hecho, los encargados de seguridad los desviaron por la puerta trasera del Palacio para que no sean retenidos por las preguntas de la prensa, que se agolpó en el lugar para hablar con los funcionarios, quienes ya estaban retrasados a su vuelo.

Unasur pide evitar conflicto

La Unión de Naciones Suramericanas (Unasur) planteará a Estados Unidos evitar la generación de conflictos en la región sudamericana con su presencia militar en Colombia.

Así lo aseguró Ricardo Patiño, canciller ecuatoriano, según informó la agencia AFP.

“Queremos transmitir a Estados Unidos la importancia que tiene para América del Sur, la necesidad de conservar confianza de que no se van a producir por parte de fuerzas extrarregionales, es decir de fuera de Sudamérica, situaciones que puedan provocar algún conflicto interno”.

Varios representantes de países que integran la Unión de Naciones Suramericanas han expresado su preocupación por el acuerdo que permitirá a tropas estadounidense usar siete bases militares en Colombia.

Los gobiernos de Ecuador, Bolivia y Venezuela consideran que ese acuerdo podría ser usado para realizar operaciones de espionaje a otras naciones. Además, consideran que las bases se convertirían en un factor de desestabilización en la región.

El Ministro enfatizó ante la prensa que la región “quiere seguir siendo un territorio de paz”.

Además, Patiño señaló que el presidente Rafael Correa transmitirá este mensaje durante la visita a la capital de la secretaria de Estado norteamericana, Hillary Clinton, el próximo martes 8.

Durante el encuentro, está previsto abordar temas de seguridad, luchas contra el narcotráfico, comercio y migración. Además, se abordarán temas relativos a la inclusión de Ecuador en la lista del GAFI, cooperación, comercio; diálogo político y extradiciones.

Last week, I attended my Close of Service conference in Quito. My training group came into Ecuador with over 30 volunteers and now in the final months of service we are a total of 23, which despite your initial thoughts, is really good....I attribute it to my really awesome PC friends and our tight niche group. We had a full 3 days of seminars preparing us for our transition back to the states....career guidance, grad school info, RPCV panels and medical exams. I have been one of the lucky ones who has only had amibas once and no other major health issues....others have had everything from worms to flesh eating diseases like Leishmaniasis. :/The second night we were treated by Peace Corps to a fancy dinner where we received certificates, photos and listened to thoughtful speeches by staff. Our last night, my group went out for wine and tapas and continued with the speeches and reminiscing, which gave people a chance to say things they have always wished they had said….funny FUNNY stories. (I was told by PC boys that I had a nice bootay. haha) good times. looking forward to our PC reunions state side. FYI: My travel plans just got accepted by PC. Its official! I will be flying back to Colorado Sunday, August 14th. mark it in your calendars. :o)

My 2nd cat, who was a gift for Valentines day and who became Courtney's little sweetheart while she was here, has become quite a wild one lately climbing trees, hunting GIANT grasshoppers, trapping birds, getting into mini-cat fights and EVEN sneaking through the window of my NEIGHBOR'S house to explore their family store. Si que me da guerra este gato.....what a trouble maker. However, when he gets back from all his little adventures, he turns into a lap cat and is such a little snuggler...it's hard to get mad at him. Wouldn't you know, he is curled up on my lap right now. hahaPS. Anali, my other cat, is much more tranquila, and she lovingly takes care of the little one like her own.

One of my Peace Corps bosses, Angelica, came to visit me last week to discuss site development....planning projects and making arrangements for the volunteer that will be REPLACING me after my service. Great news for my communities but this visit made me realize how little time I have left here....less than 3 months. The best form of transportation to get to know my site....hello Angelica

We even convinced Cecilia to take a ride in the canoe, which she says she hasn't done in over 20 years. Cecilia almost had a heart attack when our young canoe driver almost tipped the canoe. I told her we would just swim back, and she laughingly said she would sink. haha I think swimming lessons are in order. Saying that I'm REALLY gonna miss my friends here is an understatement. I want to let myself be excited for my return home but it's hard when I know I have some heart wrenching goodbyes. This place has made such an impression on me....I know I will make it back though.I am genuinely looking forward to seeing all my dear friends and family back home. Most likely if you are reading this....I cant wait to see you! However, the transition is gonna be tough. I have a feeling I'm going to be a water works.Hope you are all doing well! Sending my love

Recent medical brigade in one of my far away communities....lots of teeth pulling, eye exams and deparisiting kids.

(Disclaimer: my English and spelling are failing me lately...I've been known to make-up words...so please excuse the nonsense :) )

This is the hardest station to help at.....usually everyone walks away with a couple of less teeth.My awesome Christmas present from my family has allowed me to become a novice film maker. I've been working on several environmental health projects and decided to petition to the mayor for his help through video. My friend Sarah and I are also making a Happy Heart video to promote the 6 month heart disease prevention program across Ecuador. Hopefully other PC volunteers will take interest and implement the project in their own towns and reduce the high number of cases of one of the biggest health problems in Ecuador right now. Earth day we launched a trash project that will hopefully get a trash collector to travel to my far away communites and keep people from throwing their trash in the river, which just makes me cringe. We are also making trash bins and placing them in key places in the communities while giving workshops on how to seperate trash and make compost piles.In my English class, we made flower candle holders out of old plastic bottles and painted the other half of the bottle to make planters. Although Ecuadorians carbon footprint is significantly less than most Americas, this GREEN campaign will hopefully help community members to value their land and have VIVIENDAS SALUDABLES.We are finally at the tail end of rainy season=super muddy, busses getting stuck, bugs, bugs and more BUGS....but on a more positive note, rainy season also means hikes to GORGEOUS waterfalls. Delia and I at one of the many waterfalls in my site.

haha, and then I rode off into the hilltops

We have had an incredible amount of rain lately. My town has begun to flood. It hasn't caused too serious of damage yet but come another big rain and I will have to canoe out of my house.

The boys next door decided to aprovechar and go fishing.

Last week, I traveled with Delia, BFF and counterpart from my site, to Guayaquil to a HIV/AIDS prevention conference coordinated by Peace Corps and Non-profit organization VIHDA. We spent 3 days learning about "Cuanto Sabes," a 2 month long educational program that is designed to teach about HIV/AIDS in high school settings. Vihda does tremendous work, and we left the workshops feeling pumped and ready to replicate the program in our town.

On the last day, the U.S. Ambassador made a showing at our event and brought the press right along with her.After her big formal speech and taking hundreds of photos with the Ambassador for the papers, I was sought out to give an interview...the camera and bright lights shined in my face as I rambled on for a few minutes. My face turned all different shades of red until the Embassy staff finally cut the interview off....I was so thankful. I'm much more use to being on the other side of the camera, asking the questions and playing the reporter. :)

This is the article and photo that came out in EL UNIVERSO the following day.Jovenes marcan el 50% de nuevos casos de SIDALa embajadora de EE.UU., Heather Hodeges, visito a voluntarios de la mision Cuerpo de Paz, que ayer recibian un taller sobre VIH.

La problematica de la expansion del virus del VIH/SIDA reunio ayer a unos 50 voluntarios de la mision estadounidense Cuerpo de Paz en un taller sobre consejeria y medidas de prevencion contra el mal, con el fin de replicar la ensenaza en communidades ecuatorianas donde realizan labor social.

La capacitacion estuvo a cargo de la fundacion Vihda, que trabaja en este campo, y se desarrollo en el Grand Hotel Guayaquil. Alli fue invitada la embajadora de EE.UU., Heather Hodges, quien resalto el trabajo de los jovenes estadounidenses en el desarrollo de programas relacionados al nucleo familiar, salud communitaria, juventud y agricultura sustentable.

Hodges indico que en los acutales momentos el 50% de nuevos casos de SIDA en Ecuador corresponde a jovenes.

Anuncio que en junio proximo llegaran al pais quince voluntarios del Cuerpo de Paz para trabajar en un plan de insercion de infectados con VIH en la sociedad. Se centrara en las provincias de Guayas y Santa Elena.

Los voluntarios extranjeros laboran durante dos anos en el pais en asociacion con dirigentes de las comunidades. La norteamericana Andrea Martinez, por ejemplo, ejecuta un plan disenado para jovenes en Alausi (Chimborazo). "Hay que identificar sus intereses para de ese modo llegar a ellos," senalo.

La capacitacion tambien la recibieron voluntarios ecuatorianos que colaboran con el Cuerpo de Paz y la fundacion Vihda, como Paola Llamuca, de esta ultima entidad, de 16 anos, y con experiencia en talleres de orientacion juvenil.

-El Universo*****Gives you a chance to practice your Spanish :)

Sharing some of the American Easter traditions with my English classesDying eggs...proven to be a little more difficult when your eggs are brown. Egg toss and later an egg hunt...I was eating hard boiled eggs for almost every meal for a week. Deviled eggs were hit! Teacher Delia and Teacher TaliaHappy (late) Easter!

I keep falling more and more in love with my site. I feel SO blessed and fortunate to have been placed in my little rural community. Pictures just don't do justice but this place is beautiful.

Poza Honda, the lake, is my favorite place to be in Ecuador! Now that it has been raining like crazy, it is so full that the water has passed over the damn and is filling up the river.

the excess of water has turned the damn into a semi-waterpark

this is the side that where the water spills over into the river from Poza Honda and creates a GIANT waterslide.

Kids summer camp....teaching about the environment. I worked with the youth in town to put on a 2 week summer camp for the children in the community who without classes were bored and looking for something to do. We worked with over 50 kids. youth promoters who did a spectacular managing all the little rascals My little godson, star of the play...or at least I thought so as a proud madrina. :)

English and Computer class

After 3 great months, I just dropped my sister off at the airport to head back to Colorado. I found myself getting teary-eyed as I pulled away in the taxi. Now back to traveling and working solo. I was lucky to have Courtney out here for the time that she was...she knows how to keep things interesting in a good and fun way!

Court and I headed to Quito to celebrate birthdays...welcome new Peace Corps volunteers and to enjoy the Andes mtns one last time before Courtney has to head back to the States. Our chiva...aka dance party on wheels...that took us on a night tour of Quito. I think chivas would be an excellent addtion to Denver night life. :) Party group. 50 of us crammed onto the chiva.

Me, Laura and Sam

Historical part of Quito where the chiva made a stop for us to dance in the plaza

While in Quito, we also took a gandala up to the top lookout point in the city

We had an incredible view

I love Quito.

Laura and the Richmond sisters

and the greatness continued with some bowling

We snuck pizza into the bowling alley Courtney rocking out at guitar hero

Courtney is NO longer a blonde! She decided she needed a new look. So, after a day at the spa, Courtney came out looking like a rockstar. Before as a rubia

Drum roll please.................................

TA DA! The new transformed Courtney

Whadaya think?!?!

Valentines Day gift from my host brohter. Sweet, I guess but wasn't prepared for a new animal in the house but Courtney immediately got attached. So, after lots of convincing, the little gato became Courtney's new baby.

Say hello to CasanovaSo, it didn't take me that long to warm up to the little guy eitherHe loves cuddling up to Courtney Meow

The massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Chile more than a week ago rumbled all the way to Ecuador. Courtney and I were abrubtly woken-up by a violent shaking of our beds at 5:30a.m. First thought....why does my host brother need to run up and down the stairs like there is a fire in the house...and then I opened my eyes to see that the entire place was shaking. We jumped up and ran to the door way. Slowly the rumbling came to a stop and fortunately no damage was done. First earthquake for my sister and I. 5.5 magnitude. Ecuador is very lucky to not have had any negative repercussions. My heart goes out to those in Chile.

After a looooonnnng night bus from the sierra, we arrived in Portoviejo to begin the Carnival celebrations.

The one and only pretty part of Portoviejo. I am thankful to live in the campos where I'm surrounded by green, green and more green Carnival crew. Casey who lives in Puyo, Mans, Me and Court

First night of Carnival, we went to a reggeaton Makano concert.

"Te amo, Te amo, Te aaammmoo" We danced like

We started in the very back farthest seats from the stage and somehow worked our way to the front row.At our $10 seats, we were walking targets for the masses of people who were drenching each other in water, beer, foam, lo que sea. We quickly ran out of amo and thats when we had to figure out how we could get closer and change sections.

Our escorts who helped us get to the front row

And our personal choffers back to our hotelThe next day we went on a bus tour to the beach where there was no escaping the Carnival madness

Covered in paint, water, coffee?! pop, colored foam....and who knows what else

there was no mercy. no one was off limits. Amanda got the full South American Carnival experience! Whether she is gonna kill me or thank me for it later, I'm still undecided. hehe

My dear friends Jen and Ali who metamorphed into Avitar characters

After the beach tour, we traveled back to my site where I had to make sure my host brother was not left out of all the foam fights

Now the real question...how does this oil based paint/flour come off???

After a lot of scrubbing, we made it to the Finca in my site to top off the celebrations. Good times but extreme. We all needed time to recover.

Amanda J, BFF since Girl Scouts, takes her first trip abroad to come see her sidekick in Ecuador..... before Amanda J's arrival, we took advantage of being in the big city and had a spa day.

no more campo look.

Amanda in EcuadorAmanda's flight got in at midnight....we stayed up all night talking like old times.....and had to jump on a bus early the next morning to venture across the country to the Andes mtns.

I feel like visiting Ecuador for some can feel like a whirlwind.....new foods....hot weather.....loud music.....people staring......incredible scenery......prehistoric animals.......3 day-long water fights......warm hearted communities........a lot of uncertainties......and a lot of surprises. Overall, it amounts to a great experience but sometimes much more appreciated once back at home in the comfortable convenient US of A.Day 1: witness the aftermath of bus roll over (luckily everyone was okay) = 2 hr. delaymudslide causes us to trek through a swappy mess lugging Amandas red rolley suitcase over the mud block onto a new bus=2 hr. delaybus capacity= 35, actual number of passengers on our bus= 60 some people had a lot to transfer to the second buslending a hand across the mudslide The bus official insisted on having his picture taken with Courtney. heheDay 2: recovering from day 1. hahaand dinner with Sam's lovely family! Day 3: hikes and waterfalls

hungry for guinea pig?

our last night before we had to head to the coast to get ready for CARNIVAL....aka madness. Those pix to come!

I was asked to be a godmother for a kindergarden graduation to one of my neighbor families who I adore. Me and my little hijado Alvin.

Alvin and his big sister Maria Belin

to congratulate the new graduate, I gave him new pjs.....bc that´s all he likes to ever wear....and a picture of the fam

His kindergarden class of 5 niñoslove this sweet familyKindergarden class of 2010

Felicidades mis niños lindosgraduatesthis is what happens when you show up at the graduation ceremony on time.....and it doesn´t really end up starting until 2 hours after the scheduled time...so you kill time by taking

My family finally got a snapshot into my life.

hot, green, mangos, reggaeton, rain, good people and did i say hot....where just a few words my sister had to say when describing my site. My parents trip was so good but it was definetely harder to blend in traveling as a group of 4. Everyone in my community wanted to meet my family.

Behind my house near the riverme and my mamawaiting at the bus stopcanoe ride in Poza Hondaglamorous Courtney who decided to stay back and help out in my community and to be my new roommate for awhile. :)my neighbor´s bird haning out with my dadmy host mom and I´s garden host mom and I who loved meeting my parents but couldn´t get over how tall they were.

neighbor kids picking fruit for my famAnali loving on my dad.....who claims he is not a cat person......I don´t buy it. ;)

Court and IMy community wanted to wait to have the kids Christmas party until my parents came so they could see all the dancing and festivities....I think my parents enjoyed the experience but were shocked by all the extremely loud music and Hora Loca.

Also, during my family´s trip, I turned a 1/4 of a century old.

Ecuadorian family

my host family killed a chicken to welcome my family and to celebrate my bday. It was a nice fiestita with 2 families who I care about dearly.25!Another one of my favorite Ecuadorian families. Damaris, adorable 2 yr. old and her ¨mamina¨grandmaa turtle Damaris gave me for my birthday

all my bday surprises. the hat was from a family in my community who put their daughters names on the back...so sweetthe 16th of January, my bday and also the night before we had to say goodbye to my parents, we stayed at a nice hotel in Guayaquil where the staff sang me happy birthday and sent a cake to our room. It was a great ending to a wonderful trip with my family. Thanks Mom, Dad and Courtney for all your patience, flexiblity, open-mindedness and good company during your time here in Ecuador. LOVE YOU!

and for your enjoyment, I have posted below my reaction to having to kill a chickenclassic.

I couldn´t believe that the time had finally arrived.....my mom, dad and sister were coming to visit! I was so overwhelmed with joy when I saw them walking out of the airport doors. We all just kept smiling in disbelief. It had been too long since we had last exchanged hugs.

We spent the first 2 nights in Guayaquil, and I got to watch as my parents made their first impressions of Ecuador. The heat was definietely something they couldn´t ignore as Guayquil was having some of its hottest days of the year. We ate at good restaurants, walked around the melecon and hung out with iguanas in the park. Then it was time to send my parents off on their Galapagos cruise, and my sister and I headed back to my site to put on a the Fuerza Femenina, Women´s Conference. Enjoy the pix from my family´s tour of Ecuador.

One of the photos my parents brought back from their amazing crusie in the Galapagos. The mischievous little sealion kept wanting to play with the land iguanas tail.Our fabulous hotel in Puerto Lopez, Hosteria Mandala...one I would definitely recommend tails of peace. the hotel is all about saving the whales and supports a lot of good local causespazmi ñaña and I at the fish marketbringing in the big catches of the week

bringing back fish to his family

to give my parents a more intimate tour of the local communities, we visited the town of Agua Blanca where my family heard the history of the surrounding area and about the ancestory of the people.the town also had mud baths for us to relax insome of the kids from Agua Blanca who enjoyed practicing their English with my familyLos Frailes beach....its a must stop for all my visitorsmy adorable mother who loved taking in all the new sites my dad´s ridiculously good seafood souptagua...which is what a lot of the jewelrey is made fromMom took lots of good flower shotsthe hat makes you feel like you are ready for a safarian adventure but I loved itBellaitalia.....great Italian resturant we ate at while at the beach

Women´s health conference Sam, good PC friend, and I put on for our health promoters. Sam brought her ladies to my site and we had 2 days of interactive activites and educational seminars. My sister also helped out and got to practice her Spanish.

My Corazon Feliz promoters teaching Sam´s health promoters to take blood pressure and calculate Body Mass Index. Later Sam did a great aerobics class for all the women.

My explaination of the conference is very lame bc it was so much better than what I have described it, I apoligize.

I have been in this Internet cafe toooooo long and will have to write again later.

sending you all my love

New Years at the beach....On New Year's eve, many cultures are looking ahead and making resolutions for the upcoming year; however, Ecuadorians are focused on Ano Viejo, the old year. Families make parpermachet dolls representing the old year, tucking firecrackers into the newspaper stuffing. Each person writes on a small piece of paper one wrongdoing or bad thing from the past year that they think MUST be left behind. The paper testaments are then folded up and stuffed into the doll to be burned away, ensuring that the old year's mistakes go up in smoke.

At the stroke of midnight, we set fire to our papermachet cuy celebrating Rebeccas´s birthday and buringing our old year away

toasting with pink champagne

yep, the smerf went up in flames too

rebecca, me, sam and chris

vogue

sammy and me

Cheers to 2010!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! I hope this holiday season is full of joy, peace and love for you! This time of the year is hard to be away from home. I kind of miss all the overdone Christmas decorations and overplayed Christmas songs. I am so use to the American holiday season where you are practically bombarded by the Christmas feeling……but here, Christmas passes like any other day. So this year, I wanted to bring some of that holiday spirit here. I baked cookies and cakes with my host family, made Christmas cards with my English class, decorated a tree with my host brother, and strung garland and lights around my apartment…it helps. I have to admit, however, that without over-consumerism taking over the holiday season, it makes it a little easier to focus on the true blessings of Christmas. Thanks to everyone who has sent lovely cards and emails. Sending my love

Corazon Feliz a.k.a. the Happy Heart program is coming to an end. The project started way back in July when we arrived in the far away communities at 6a.m. to give blood tests (to check people's cholesterol and glucose levels), to check blood pressure and to calculate B.M.I. Many people were unaware of their health situation and didn't know they suffered from Hypertension or were in high risk zone for having a possible heart attack or stroke. Some people who were stick thin and who you wouldn't suspect of having heart problems, had blood pressures of 190/80....a lot of fried food, a lot of manteca and pure carbohydrates in their diet.

From there, we started the 6 month program teaching 2-3 promoters from each of the 6 communities about heart disease, how to prevent such sicknesses, how to take blood pressure and to calculate BMI. Those same promoters went back to their communities and replicated the info. Through the interactive talleres about nutrition, exercise, eliminating stress and by conducting blood pressure and weight controls every 15 days, I am happy to say that over 80% of the participants have lowered their blood pressure or lost weight. (ultimately putting themselves at a lower risk for heart disease and reducing malnourishment)

People now say no to manteca! (very common to cook everything in fatty Crisco like substance) People now practice ZUMBA....Latin aerobics!

People now are more aware of their blood pressure and health conditions

People now know to fill their plates with colors/vitamins instead of just rice

People now have their own vegetable gardens

People now have happy hearts!

Las Mercedes 1, one of mi querida comunidades that participated in the Happy

to Ali!

Celebrating Ali's bday with glow sticks made the evening complete!red and green spiritour new friend Luis who invited us for a free icecream at KFC He ended up surprising us with a mini-cake and all. Ali in disbelief...who knew KFC had cakes???

We all had our suspicions about this cake...I thought it looked like garlic bread...and Jen thought we might find some surprise chicken hidden inside. Fun times with the Manabi girls!

Best wishes to you mi amiga linda!

Protege tu vida! December 1st, my community gathered to march to the center of town to raise awareness and participate in World Aids Day

My friends dressed up as clowns to animate the kids in the parade All the kiddos marched down the streets with whistles, red ribbons and big posters with messages about AIDS prevention

The police were head of the march with their red and white balloons and sirens sounding Dra. Marisol sharing statistics about AIDS in Ecuador and teaching the importance of using protection, especially considering the high rates of teen pregnancy.Todos lo hacen, pero todos no lo protegenTeam of health volunteers who helped put on the march. Muchas gracias!

Darci, my dear friend, came to make a video of the whole event for future PC volunteers. Ill keep you posted of its release! :)

Puerto Lopez and Los Frailes are some of my favorite beaches in Ecuador....come visit and Ill be sure to take you there!

Dan and I went horseback riding through the country side and then hiked through the rainforest area. Our guide gave us pretty free range of riding our horses so we had to test them out to see how fast they could go. Dan was amused at the fact that everytime hesignaled his horse Rusty to go faster, my horse Hammer Time would do the same.

Sandcastles at Los Frailes

Hike in Los Frailes. During June and July, you can look out and see whales from this ledge.

Moto-taxi after a good day of snorkeling at the beach

Branded with the letters "HAM," my horse, as I knew him, became "Hammer Time"

Dan turns 26!

Margs, sopapias and spa day to celebrate Dans birthday

I loved the flowers at the spa/hot springshot springs for 5 hrs (in Ecuador) = relaxed but sunburned...opps!

cheers y feliz cumpleanos! TQM

The older I get, the more I think I could write a list about a mile long of everything I am thankful for. I would start by thanking the Lord for the people who love me and challenge me to live life to the fullest. Good health, physical provisions, and my amazing family and friends would be high on the list, not to mention life lessons, live music, snorkeling, daily mercies, letters in the mail, Olive Garden salad and sour patch kids. I could go on, but you get the idea. So, this Thanksgiving, lets give thanks not just with our lips but with our actions. Loving as we have been loved. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Here are some pix from Dan and I's Thanksgiving with the PC crew...thanks Lisa for hosting turkey day at your place!

Turkey drawing contest. We have Groovy Gobbler and a turkey bringing the U.S and Ecuador together

Dan and I's turkey. hehe

Some of the crew

Dan's dinner plate....big group gathering means you have to get creative

Thanksgiving is spent best with other Americans :)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Dan came out to visit /spoil me. We had a great time traveling around together and just enjoying being in the same country.Beaches, snorkeling, horses, community dances, birthday celebrations, spas, and hikes = lots of good memories!

sushi bar which worked out nicely since there wasnt any electricity in the city when we arrived.

Dan: weird how theres no music in this resturaunt.....haha

My host brother Joselo also couldn't wait for Dan´s visit. He had me send this picture to Dan before he came out to show him how excited he was to work on bikes with him.2 out of the 3 nights in my site, Dan and Joselo spent all evening fixing up bikes. My host brother couldnt have been happier, and Dan got lots of time to practice his Spanish heheCanoe ride in my siteThe lacke Poza Honda

combo of Zoolander + gangster....

We traveled around the southern part of Ecuador...Cuenca and Vilcabamba, which are beautiful but requiered some long bus rides.beetles

Cuenca reminds me of a lovely little European city with its Spanish influence seen in the architecture. This is Dan in front of the broken bridge.

Trip to Vilcabamba

It is said that in Vilcabamba a.k.a. Valley of Longevity people live to 100 years-old. Some have have even reached the prime age of 135, which means Vilcabamba is home to some of the oldest people in the world...they say its in the water.

Stunning views...

World´s largest aloe vera plants

Dan being artsy:)

Enjoying our patio in our cabana

Beating Dan in poolAfter our game of pool, I actually got Dan up and salsa dancing....good times!

Halloween with other Peace Corps friends in CuencaScary clown, Blue-footed Booby, Dora the Explorer, Richard Simons, the World Map and a traditional Ecuadorian woman from Manabi were just some of the few who were present

Cuenca is a beutiful quaint city that is rated the #1 place IN THE WORLD to retire. It´s worth checking out!

I recently started a mini-magazine in my site, and so far it has been well received. It´s called Salud y Bienestar, Health and Wellbeing, and includes articles about the local events, history about the community, healthy living advice, new exercises, healthy recipes, entertainment stories, sports news stories, etc.

I did most of the writing myself for the first issue but I am hoping to get more involvement by the community members for future issues. Also, I hope to sell ad space so that we can the magazine an upgrade with color and more pages. I feel as though this magazine will get more voices heard, encourage communication, have people take pride in their work, and serve as a vehicle to reach those community members who don´t like to leave their houses and participate in community events.

Vamos a ver....I am open to any suggestions if people have advice to strengthening this project.

One of my favorite people, Kristen, just moved to Quito to serve her 3rd year in the city and I am missing her like crazy. Last Friday (day before the big Ecuador vs. Uraguay game) she called me standing outside of the soccer stadium with an extra ticket to the game trying to persuade me to make a impulsive trip to Quito.

A combination of having a disappointing work day, missing the compamy of a good friend and wanting to sport my Ecuadorian pride with other screaming Ecuadorian fans, convinced me to just that. I jumped on a night bus that same day with a few other Manabi queridos. We arrived in Quito a 4 a.m. after getting very little sleep on the bus and got a couple of hours of shut-eye at Kristen´s place before heading to the stadium at 10 a.m. (for a 5:00 o´clock game!!) Ecuador has come serious fans here, and we wanted to make sure after we had traveled all night long to get to the game, that we were going to get good seats. :)

We got our Ecua gear on the streets lining the stadium where there are hoards of vendors waiting to sell you any type of Ecuador sports gear you could ever imagine and waiting to paint your face YELLOW, BLUE and RED!

Getting to the stadium 7 hours before a game starts, is definitely a new record for me. The time, however, went by fast as we made friends with people in our stands and learned new cheers (and swear words :/) to yell when the game started.

Que viva la gente de Manabi!!!

Hiding from the sunThe entire stadium PURO AMARILLO!

¨Vamos, Ecuatorianos, esta tarde, tenemos que ganar!!¨

A giant oversized Ecuadorian flag kept getting passed over our section and the fans would go nuts cheering and hollering as the flag swayed over everyone´s heads.

Everything started looking a little yellow by the middle of the game......Jenn, Kristen and me under the flag

So, end result.....Ecuador lost, and is out of the World Cup :( but it was still an incredible time to be in the stadium with so many excited and die-hard fans.

We didn´t let the loss get us down though, we ended the night by going out dancing and crashing at Kristen´s place early the next morning, only to get on another night bus that day to head back to my site. It was a whirlwind of a trip but I am so glad Kristen convinced me to go!

I woke up last last Wedensday planning to have the morning to set-up my lesson plan for my afternoon English and computer class but just as usual, my morning turned out to be nothing like I expected. My host mom, Cecilia, asked me to acompany her to what she called a ¨small meeting¨ at the lake to re-open a part of the road that had been under construction. I rolled up with Cecilia to the ¨small meeting¨in jeans and a t-shirt to find all the major authority figures from my province, including USAID director, preparing their speeches for an inaguration of a major project they were presenting to preserve the lake, Posa Honda, in my site. It was a very formal and well done presentation, and even if it was a random showing, I am glad that I ended up at the event.

I ended up iniviting some of the USAID head figures out for a tour of Posa Honda by canoe, which I think turned out to be a highlight of the day. It was also an oportune time for me to present my environmental health project ideas, and to see if I could get the support of USAID. Needless to say, I let community members know that those types of ¨small meetings¨are important to me, and it would be a good idea to inform me of them ahead of time. Sidenote for Mom: There are so many different types of birds that live around the lake.... get excited for some good bird watching for when you come to visit! :) I just wish I had more bird knowledge to be able to identify the different species.

Ok, so these pix are a little out of date, but I wanted to post them anyways to give people more incentive to come and visit!!! :) June through September, good whale-sightings are pretty much guaranteed on the coast near my site! Puerto Lopez is known to be the epicenter of whalebreeding grounds.

Because I had never been whale-watching before, I was excited when my friends Kristin, Jess and Jess´s dad came up to Manabi to

to tour the coast with a mission to see whales and find good waves to surf.Los Frailes, so serene and definitely some of my favorite beaches in Ecuador. Standing on this ledge, we saw several whales from a distance.

On our whale watching tour...the weather was kind of crummy, which equals choppy waters....don´t forget your motion-sickness pills when you come to visit!

Whales are not the easiest animal to capture on camera :/ so my pix do not do justice but they impressive animals to see in real life

Later, we went surfing but couldn´t get the surfboard to fit inside the car so we had to travel between beaches clinging to the board that hung outside of the car.We had an fabulous Italian dinner at a little resturant tucked away outside of town with homemade noodles and sauces. A small mariachi band saranated us as we ate. Jess, we miss you! Hope you have adjusted back home and are doing well!

(I apoligize for taking a break in blogging. I feel as though I hit my year mark in my service, and all of a sudden my workload increased tenfold. Now, that I have had time to prove myself and have pulled off some small successful events, my communities are finally realizing that this random tall blonde girl livig in their town can put together projects and be something of value. So, needless to say, I have had very little free-time, and I really couldn´t be more excited. So here are some photos from August and September)

My community had a festival celebrating Manabi culture and oral tradition. Groups from all over Ecuador particpated in the event. We had indigenous groups from the Andes mtns, Afro-Ecuadorian groups from Esmeraldes and local groups from Manabi singing, dancing and telling stories all through the night. It was one of my favorite events that we have had so far!A night filled with history, stories, folktales and lots and lots of dancing.

Even when the electricity went out, people pulled out flashlights and the event continued. I love these women´s performance....¨Las Tres Marias.¨ They got the whole crowd up and dancing while they sang and made sounds through their pretend trombones that they formed from with their hands. I wish this event was more than once a year.

On to Kristen, good PC friend´s going away party...

All of were VERY sad to see Kris go. Kristen arrived 1 year earlier than me, so her 2-year service came to an end. Lucky for me though, she accepted a position in Quito and will be living in Ecuador another year! So, although she will not be my Manabi buddy, we will still get to visit and spend time together.Hopefully all I have to do to get her to come visit is mention bailes or mangos! haha

Like I have said before, no party is complete without La Hora Loca...masks, ties and a full hour of dancing. It was so sweet watching as Kristen´s community talked about all their favorite memories spent with her and having them share heart felt speeches expressing how much she means to the them. It definitely makes me reflect on how I have integrated into my community and inspires me to want to spend more time visiting people than completely focusing on work. Thanks Kristen for being such a good neighbor, co-worker, counselor, dance partner and all around good friend! TQM

On to my gatita linda...

Anali being her curious self climbing all over the mounds of oranges and grapefruits in my front yard

Hope this isn´t too graphic :/ I decided that with all the kittens that are left here in Ecuador without homes, I needed to get my little cat spayed. So, I asked the vet in my town, and he ended up turing my dining room table into an operating table.

Everything was done very professionally and with anetestics but I still found it hard to watch in the beginning.

In the end, the surgery was actually very fascinating, and I am happy to report, that at this point, she is completely healed, stiches removed and running around like her wild little self.