Sunday, February 28, 2016

This is my bed and these are the two family dogs who occasionally jump up there.  One day, they got territorial and a huge fight broke out right on my bed...but there was no blood shed and my computer was not knocked off, which was my big concern.

We have this little band coming together and that little instrument is played by one of the Ecuadoran staff, Gio, he is very good  Sounds a lot like a ukelele but it has like 8 double sets of strings.  I'll get the name of it.  Sara Anne is holding it.  She is an accomplished singer and plays lots of instruments...she is a trainee, not staff.  That is another Sara in the background.

We had a pot luck last week.  I took deviled eggs and of course they were a hit.  These are some of our lovely ladies.  I'm hoping Katy will join me at our mid service meeting sometime next Spring....she is about their age.

another shot at the potluck...some really nice folks.  The gal on the right is Christin, she is in charge of the TEFL program...an American living in Ecuador.

A minor church in Quito...there are so many and they are so huge. 

lots of street shops and lots of herbs sold on the street...herbal medicine is huge here

I took this to show that the signs are primaily in Spanish but underneath in smaller letters are English and Kitchua...that language that is spoken here that is a mix between Spanish and some of the indigenous tribal languages.  I found out that Ayayay is Kitchua...you know, what we say when something is real hot, or spicy or bad....



A street in Quito.....I have no idea of where things are downtown yet but this is called the Centro Historico and all the government offices are here and  a lot of the old Spanish influenced building are being restored.

A street where traffic was blocked off, at least for that day.  Some of our group is walking right down the middle.

Another street in which the traffic was NOT blocked off and sadly this is the norm.   Very narrow streets but still two lanes for car and buses.....I don't know how they fit.

This used to be the entrance to a hospital but now a museum is in this location.

Another church or government building.  I hope I figure them all out at some point.

There was some sort of musical performance being prepared to the left of this picture.  There was a big plaza there and a big stage with speakers and some chairs out front.  It was a Friday afternoon.

I think I told you, guacamole is a staple food down here.  Well, guys, strawberries grow year round..fresas.  And they are so so tasty.   This is a bowl of strawberries with a little oatmeal hiding on the bottom.  Yum....
I tried to add this as a video but I can't get it to play.  At least you can see Gio with his instrument.  He is very good and can sing a lot of the traditional songs.  He is trying to teach the rest of the band.  A couple of us have the potential to learn.  A couple of us are good listeners.




One last thing....I found chocolate covered quinoa chunks in the store today.  The manufacturer is here in Quito.   Andean Quinoa Baking Company at www.andeanquinoabakery.com....yum and so so good for me.

Will have two days in class next week and then leaving for three days in Otovalo to visit a current volunteer there, go to his classes with him, see the place, learn a little...who knows.  But, I should have some good pics next Sunday..or soon thereafter.

Love,
me

Sunday, February 21, 2016

Time for an update.  We all made it back from our "cultural" trips but a few of us are urping and pooping non-stop since the return.  Not ME!!!!  God knows what those young ones ate.  One of the things they eat here is dried blood, they use it as a condiment...sprinkle it on other things.  As far as I know, I have not eaten any and don't plan to.  I did get a case of the runs one night...I think it was directly related to a schwarma I ate that had lettuce on it.  I forgot...we have been told not to eat lettuce so that is what I am blaming but I will never eat another schwarma here.....he has great pizza tho..thank god.

For our "cultural" trip, we were divided into 4 groups and two or three of the language facilitators accompanied each group.  However, we were set asail on our  of the tasks so that we could soak up the culture, practice our Spanish and learn how to get around.  It worked...I feel the trips were a big success.

One oddity is that they call the foothills, between the Andes and the playa ( the beach), the coast.  So its not really the coast, I guess its the coast of the Andes...don't know how they came up with that but I thought we were going to the beach ( the coast) but no, we were going to the foothills.  If we want to go to the beach, we have to get on a bus to the playa, not the coast.   Anyhow, the bus trip out of the Andes, and then back in again was thrilling and we all made it.  We passed thru several clouds and some rain showers, saw some lovely water falls and lots of greenery...pretty ride.  Down in the foothills ( the coast)  there is a lot of agriculture...Ecuador is the largest exporter of bananas in the world..they also export coffee and cacao.  They grow a lot of delicious other fruits and veggies and we have lots of them available here in our town.  Guacamole is a staple....does that sound like Heaven !!!!!!!!!!

So now , some photos.

THis sweet lady moved from Wisconsin to Quito 40 years ago, taught school for a while here, has written a text book on Ecuadoran history for their middle schoolers, lots of articles and now has a coffee plantation somewhere up near the Columbia border.  She was wonderful and everyone loved her.  Told us a lot about Ecuadoran history and related it to what was going on in other parts of the world at the times.    All my photos of her are blurry because she was always on the move.

She joined a few of us for a coffee or juice after school.  Very generous with her time.

The Quitumbe bus station.  This is where you get the bus to the coast and the beach.  Actually, the beach is part of the Coastal Region...it runs all the way from the mountains to the Pacific.  Nice, huh ?

This is a village of the Tsachilas, an indigenous tribe near where we were based on our cultural trip.  We had a tour with some explanations of their ancient ways.  They still do cleansings and have an active shaman and we are told a lot of Ecuadorans believe in the power of those shamans.   They are trying to make it somewhat of a tourist attraction..I am sure to earn some money just like our indigenous tribes are doing.

This is our group listening to our tour leader.  The stripes on his clothes and legs represent a deadly snake that they sort of honor and fear.

One of their things is to put red dye from the aichote fruit on their hair in the front and shape into a point on their foreheads.  He explained why they do that but he was speaking in Spanish, and tho he spoke excellent Spanish, I did not get it all, partly due to not being able to hear along with not knowing all the words and then forgetting some of what I did hear and understand.  This aging stuff makes it hard to be a good tourist.

This was interesting.  When their folks get old and near death, they have to start sleeping on these mats and then when they die, they just flop the sides of the mat over their dead body ( see the skull at the top) and carry them off.  I think he said they used to burn them but now they have to follow the rules about handling dead bodies....they can cremate them eventually but I guess they still have to get a death certificate , etc.  But what a neat thing, just wrap them up and cart them off.  One thing I do recall, once someone dies in a house, no one can ever use that house again...they let it fall into disrepair and eventually clean up the debris.  In the heat and humidity, I am sure it does not take that long.

This is a sugar cane press...they collect the pure juice and then I think he said they let some of it ferment and then drink it.  He compared it to our ( non indigenous) alcohol ......I think. :)               





He talked a little about how the households operate.  The men sit on that bench in the back, the women cook sitting on the floor on leaves and the kids stand in those "playpen" setups.  No, seriously, he said a lot of interesting things I could not capture in a photo.....seriously. 

This tree has a lot of significance to them...I think he said it is 350 years old and is the only one left.  He talked about how the sloth is endangered due to the deforestation....they had a old dried up one sitting on a chair..it was pitiful.  There are other parts of the country where the sloth is protected and apparently is thriving...slowly. 

They treated us to an authentic tipico lunch...it was deeelicious.  Fish, rice and a nice ensalada of some veggie.

Two types of fish were wrapped in the leaves and roasted over the fire..yummmm.

He showed us some of their leisure activities.  This one was classic.  Tug of war.  Our girls beat their girls.

And this was outrageous.  The man in the front of their line was the Shaman..a strong looking guy in tennis shoes etc and there were 4 of them  They called for 3 of our guys and.....our guys beat their guys too...including their shaman.  Moses, the guy in the brown shirt in front of our line was seriously worried that the shaman would put a spell on him for pulling him over but truly, the shaman was a good sport...all smiles and they all cheered.

The shaman, after recovering from his defeat, did a little demo of how he treats people for cleansing and removing bad spirits.  They put that red paint on our faces as a show of friendship.  This is Carolyn....she volunteered.     

On another day, we were sent in small groups into small towns to talk to folks, practice our spanish and learn something about the culture.  I took the photos of the two young people in my group.  She is from Decatur, Illinois and he is a CU graduate.   You can see some of the town...Buena Fe....a town near where we were based.

Interrogating a couple of innocent guys who were just passing time until we pounced on them  As with all the folks, they were lovely and very generous with their time.  The big guy is a custodian at the military school behind them.  The current president, Correa,  has required all the prior "military" schools comply with the public school regs.....trying to even things out.

The guy in the blue shirt is one of the bosses from the Peace Corps office in Quito...he is very very kind....graduated from Colorado College, did Peace Corps in Armenia, has done a lot of development work with various agencies, private and public and is now with PC.  This is one of  the many panaderias ( bakeries) that tend to be on very damn corner...hows a person supposed to stay healthy !!!!!!!

Our last stop was a serendipitous meeting with the Directora of a local high school.  She has 3300 students, three sessions a day and was so excited for a few minutes when she thought we were English teachers coming to her school.  It took some 'splaining to get it clear that we were just collecting info and practicing our Spanish.  But she was very generous with her time and energy.  She called in Javier, in the blue shirt, because he is one of her English teachers.  The other woman in the blue shirt was there for the whole meeting which lasted about 45 minutes but I don't think she was ever introduced...just a nice person taking notes.  We encouraged her to apply for a Peace Corps volunteer in the future...I  think she will.

So, that sums up our "cultural" trip.  In another week we go to spend a few days with a current volunteer in their sites...see what they are doing and how things work out there in the field.  I have been assigned to Otovalo which is an indigenous area in the Andes north of Quito.  Its supposed to be a beautiful place so I am looking forward to it. 

That'll do it for now.  Thanks again for paying your taxes. :)
Love, me
Javier walked us outside and the two young ones exchanged phone numbers etc.  Javier has a house at the beach ( I think, it might be in the foothills :) and invited them to use it.  I think Michael might....he has big plans to travel and see all he can while he is here :)

Just a mercado that we found and noted some items for our report.  There were lots of fish for sale. A guy tried to interest me in some fish and I thought I was clever and said , "No tengo cocino"   (I don't have a kitchen)     He was not impressed....he suggested ceviche.....they eat a lot of that here.

Sunday, February 14, 2016

We leave next Wednesday for a "cultural" trip which will be to the coast.  My host family tells me it is very hot there and they just smile and shake their heads..it must be hot.  We started taking malaria meds in preparation for leaving on Wednesday morning and will be gone three nights. I went to Cumbaya with  a couple other volunteers this afternoon.  It was nice....very gringo. We met a couple Mormom missionaries on the bus coming home.  They had not heard of Peace Corps so I told them to go home and Google it.  Of course, they were very nice young elders.

 Here are a couple random photos.

I forgot to add this one last time.  There is a famous artist here, Guyasamin.  This whole pavilion, located at El Mitad del Mundo,  is dedicated to his work. 

My crew, well half of my crew,  waiting for a bus at Quitumbe, one of the bus stations.  We had been sent on sort of a scavenger hunt to use the bus system... We  made it back safely so I guess we all won. 

This is one of the little perritas that lives here.  He has something in his mouth but can you believe those eyes.  His name is Bambucha.

They call this a Frankenstein.  It is a hot water heater and its very efficient.  Obviously, it only heats the water for the shower since they use cold water for everything else, but it works....its sort of amazing and i have not heard of anyone getting electrocuted.              
Love to all,
Pat

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

HThis has been a very busy past three days.  Saturday, one of the young women in my host family, Lissete, took me along with her sister and her boyfriend on a wild goose chase to try to find a place that would unblock ( disbloquear) the phone I bought in Nicaragua.  Some of you might recall that my iphone was stolen there ( my fault for being too cavalier with my cosas) and I bought a NOkia with a good camera.  The funny part of the story is that I did not take my glasses with me when I went shopping in Leon for it and saw the price as 375.  I assumed it was 375 cordobas ( which now would be about 13 US dollars) so clearly I was not thinking correctly but I knew it was not a lot and I don't really know what the exchange rate was then.  Anyhow, I bought the phone and its camera was very good but when I got my VISA bill i realized the mistake I had made.  So, now I owned this very good phone which fortunately I was able to use in Bulgaria and Liberia and took some very good pictures.

I brought the phone with my to Ecuador, thinking surely it would work here but NO, it is blocked here.  But, hopefully, I will be able to find someone to unblock it so that I can use it as a phone and as a camera as I have in so many other places around the world.

But, I have the iphone that my sweet sobrina loaned to me which I am using as a camera ( and Ipod) but cannot use as a phone as it is locked into Verizon.  So, I have some good pictures to post here for your viewing pleasure....should you so desire:)

On Sunday, Lissete took me and another volunteer, Natasha, to La Mitad del Mundo and on Monday we all went to a mass led by my host mother's brother who is a sacerdote.  After the mass, they prepared a deliciosa almuerzo for us and we had a lovely time afterwards to chat.  Finally, on the way home, the family drove me to a tourist attraction of which they are very proud, La Virgen, which is high on a hill overlooking all of Quito and we continued through the Historic District which is amazing.

This lucky country has never suffered internal ( civil) so they have not destroyed their country as so many other countries have. At least as far as I know other than the Incan and Spanish occupations.  Nor, have they been attacked/bombed by extranjeros so many of their old buildings are still in tact.  Also, another thing in their favor is that they do not seem to suffer earthquakes, hurricanes or other natural disasters.  They do have 16 volcanos within their boundaries so that is a threat ( 3 or 4 of which are currently active)

The Historical District, of which I only have one or two photos since we were in a car on the way home after a long day, is very very charming and many of the buildings have been restorado and are just absolutely beautiful.  Others, many others, are in various states of disrepair and are awaiting an investor and restoration.  I can't imagine how anyone could assess the internal integrity of the foundation and adjacent buildings but there must be a way.  A lot of money appears to have been invested already.

 One aspect that is so so charming, which was present in Leon Nicaragua's few remaining colonial buildings, is the interior plazas with the surrounding balconies and windows going up several floors, all looking down into the interior plazas.  This combined with Quito's very pleasant and mild climate explains the appeal of the place.

Now, for some photos:



The pictures above are of my host mother making humitas...a delicious cosa made of corm meal,a little fresh cheese and wrapped in corn husk, then boiled to cook and served warm...Yummmmmm !!!


These are the three sweet young Ecuadorianos who took me to this mall to find a place to unblock my phone.  The two girls are part of my host family and the young man is Daniel,  a very nice fellow.   The Mall could have been in any city in the US..  The mall store could not unlock my phone so we tried to find another place too, in the city, but it was closed for Carnaval....and that is another story.
 Lissete at Le Mitad del Mundo ( the middle of the world)...it started out very hot and sunny.
They had a colobri ( hummingbird) painting contest like many cities have cows, bulls, horses, etc.  The entries are now housed at the Middle of the World.
This is the entrance  to the Middle of the World
This was a display that showed how they used triangulation, using a sexton, to find the location of the equator.  This actually was the most interesting part of the whole outing.....I never thought about it before.  I learned that the aborigines had determined where the equator was thousands  ( or hundreds) of years earlier but the French led an expedition in the 17 or 1800 using sextons etc and guess what....they determined the aborigines were right.  :)  Gotta love that.

I

A view from the top of that monument...I think to the West.  The big bldg to the right ( white and black) is the UN building for South America UNASUR

I took this photo to show the money plant.  This is a display of a woman of an indigenous tribe, not sure which one, but she has her baby and some money plant.  Our grandmother in Juniata County grew the money plant too.
This shows the clothing of a indigenous tribe....jaguar skin.  Apparently there are still a lot of them in the Amazonian part of the country.
Fortunately for all, I had one lovely foot in the northern hemisphere and one in the southern, at least for a few seconds.
This one is for Ramelle.  He told me to watch out for the shrunken head sellers along the road. Hopefully you can read the words...tells the story.  Have not seen any heads...peoples or monkeys.

Natasha and me, she is another aspirante, near the monument that houses a museum of sorts.  There are a lot of pavilions on the grounds with various emphasis.  You could spend a lot of time there reading everything which fortunately is in Spanish and English.



These two photos of our dinner on Monday at the home of the sacerdote, Juanita's brother.   He is the one in the cap and Juanita is the small lady in the red shirt.  They are lovely people.  We had a very nice dinner.  On the table in front of us is a bonsai arrangement and a nativity scene.

This is a view of part of Quito and the Andes in the background . Those folks in the photo are just other extranjeros.  The Ecuadorianos never wear shorts.

This is a quick shot from the car of the Basicila in the Historical district of Quito. I want to get inside.  It sits on a knoll and is huge.

So, thats it for now,
Love to all,
Pat