We've been back two weeks from our site visit...I went to Otovalo, a little north of Quito and had a good visit with the volunteer who is already there working in a school.  We went to school with him one day but then toured the area the other two days.  That was not Peace Corps' intention by sending us there but its how things worked out.  Peace Corps keeps telling us to be flexible.....so we were :)

That was two weeks ago.  This past week we started working/observing in schools here in Quito, three days a week for three weeks.  It has been exhausting, primarily for me because we have to get up at 5, be on the bus by 6 and at the school by 7:40 to teach classes until 12 and then back on the bus to get back to the training center to start classes again there at 1 ( which is impossible) until 5.  They did figure out the impossibility and have made some adjustments to the schedule but its still exhausting.   But...the good part is that the students just LOVE us...its amazing.  Even with all their exposure to technology, and they all seem to have a lot of it, they still love to hear us speaking English...its so darn cute.  And, we are working with high school kids....so cute.

I'll take more photos next week but I have a few to post here.

Two of the sweet street dogs in Otovalo...they followed us around a while.  At least they had each other.  This is Abby and Frank...Frank is the current volunteer there and Abby is in my training class.  He showed us all around and we went to his school with him one day.

Frank and Abby

We went to a Birds of Prey rehab center.  They display their birds as a fund raiser.  This is a bald eagle that they later brought to the amphitheater and let it fly ......it disappeared for a while but came back.  The trainer said they can't release them, even in the US because they are too tame.  They were gifts from the US or Canada.  There are none in the wild down here.

This is a little hawk they let fly around and snag bits of meat out of the air. 

This is a lagoon in an old volcanic crater....very touristic...we went for a boat ride on the water..pretty.

There are a lot of indigenous in Otovalo and I am too shy to take photos of them when they are looking so I snuck this one of this man on a bus.   A lot of men wear those hats and long braids.  I'll try to get some photos of the women and children...beautiful dresses and other clothing.   The old men and women are very interesting looking.  Some photos after i get my nerve up.

One of the many darling young women who are in this training with me.  She is from California but her family is from Afghanistan.  We have so many interesting people and stories.  Shows how diverse the US really is.  We were on a bus on our way to the bike trail. 

In another couple of weeks we will find out our assignments for the next two years.  Once we get those assignments, we'll know more about our futures and I, for one, will feel a lot more settled.

Here we are....ready to go.  It was a small but powerful group. Linda in the blue is my peer, a little younger.  She walked part of the trail.  Hope to get her on a bike soon.

A view from the bike trail.  It runs thru an area an Cumbaya along an old railway.  Actually, very scenic for the most part.

Views from the bike trail.

This is Brooke, she went with me today.  She's from West Va.

More bike trail views.  This is from a little park located beside the trail. 

A little birthday celebration for the daughter who turned 20.

THiis is a hostal in Quito...very unusual looking from the outside.  No idea about the inside or the price.

I found this dark beer...if you look real close on the the label it says Cacao...chocolate.  But it does not have a chocolate flavor at all....just a good flavor...1.50 a bottle.

He is not dead or injured...he sleeps there....crazy...and the cars drive around him...so far.

 I saw this from a bus...I looked at it and looked at it and finally figured it out.  In Spanish the letter "i" has our "e" sound so it, " Beemer parts."   duh. 

One of the beautiful dogs we have to walk past every day on our way to class.....He's just gorgeous and so so neglected.  He needs to be rescued.  He probably has a family but.......

We noticed these two electrical arrangements when we were waiting for our bikes today...amazing and it all seems to work...for the most part.   And, this is in Cumbaya...one of the upscale neighborhoods !!!! Can you imagine looking out of your window at this during an electrical storm ?  I guess that's  why they are all so religious.

 

 

Thats all for now,
Love, me

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

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.