This is Hilda Meneses who will be hosting me for the next two years ( actually I plan to stay with her for just 4 months and then I have a nice little apt. lined up for the rest of the time)  ( another volunteer is in now and they will keep it for me until I do my 4 months with Hilda.  Hilda is lovely, I just think I'll be happier on my own.   Marvin is one of my companeros.  He and I and two other volunteers will be living and working in Portoviejo for the next two years.  He is a great young man..from North Carolina...has done a lot of work already with at risk kids in the US.  We three traveled on that bus from Quito to Portoviejo a couple weeks ago just for a visit of a few days.  We've been back here in Nayon for a couple weeks and  w e head back to our sites this week, on Wednesday, to begin the two year assignment.  I hear its VERY HOT there now.....

THis was our condition after lunch in PV during our visit to PV.  The restaurant had these hammocks set up for the customers after lunch.  Delia is in front, Yahiara ( who is soon leaving as her two years are up) the next one is Brooke, then Marvin and the fellow at the back is Marco Naranja.  He is a local English teacher at the school in PV where I will be assigned and is my  counterpart.  He is also the one who teaches English at the University and introduced us out there.....I am expecting that to be a big part of my work.

The view from a little town called Montecristi.  It is the birthplace of a highly regarded former President, Eloy Alfaro.  Anyhow, its about half way between PV and Manta, the beach community that is about an hour from PV.  It is supposedly a great beach town but others are considered just as nice to the local people and not as "turistico" We are allowed to leave our sites every weekend, as much as we want , so long are we are on duty, Monday thru Friday.  This is a change from Nicaragua where we were expected to be in our sites 24/7 unless on official vacation.  I hope to go to some of the little beach communities and find some good places to snorkel and see birds. 

My host in PV, Hilda, her niece, Maria Fernandez who is a doctor and me posing on a train at the tourist place from the above picture.  Eloy Alfaro is credited with connecting Ecuador with a train system so this is part of the park that commemorates him.

I took this from the bus window...just an example of the fresh fruit available along the road.  Its nice but the bus driver stopped, got out and did some shopping while we all waited patiently on the bus...its an 8.5 hour ride.  Trade offs.....

Abby and me along with Paulina, our Spanish language and culture teacher back at the PC training center in Nayon.  One of our last days together.We bought her some flowers to remember us.  Aby is from N. Hampshire but lived in NY city the past few years.  Very nice young woman.

We had another potluck and the sweetest thing was that several young people asked me to make the deviled eggs again...so sweet.

Leo, one of the TEFL leaders, grilled some meat...it went fast and I had to admit, it looked real good.

We had a despedido ( going away party) for our host families.  Charles and I got there before anyone else and I got him to take this selfie with me. He is from Texas and also another great young man.  He'll be in Manta, near PV.  We were there when the chair people came but no one else had showed up.  He and I had to make some executive decisions way above our pay grades but it all turned out great.

We made these little frames for pictures for the day.  Tim is sitting in the back trying to wire the speakers.  We are wearing our official PC T shirts. 

This is the father from my host family, Hernan, painting a little glass they had for the families.  He got very creative and is a real good sport. 

This gorgeous and very friendly lab type dog stayed at the party all day.  I gave him what I determined to be my share of the meat from a couple sandwiches....I peeled off the meat and then put the sandwiches back in the vegetariano pile.  :)  IF someone would pay the shipping, I would kidnap and bring him home in a minute.  Bill Cologie says he likes my blog for the dog pictures so maybe he'll want to adopt another lab....this one speaks Spanish. 

This is the father of the host family, Hernan, and me with one of those frame things.  It was a nice touch.

we had a tent set up for some shade nd the good fortune to have a couple musicians in our group.

These are three dogs from town.  Their owner seems to turn them out on to  the street for the morning, just as I walk by.  The black lab appeared on my blog a couple weeks ago but he is not the same one that was at the party, the cocker and the little black dog is in his pjs and are there with the lab every morning.  No, it is not cold here....don't understand the Pjs either.   They are a team and at least they have a home but......

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thats all for now.  We have the swearing in ceremony on Tuesday at the Ambassador's home so I'll get some photos from that and then off to Portoviejo on Wednesday.   We are doing a Teacher training on Thursday and Friday, actually we newbies are just observing, and then it will be the weekend and I hope to get organized and maybe head for the beach on Sunday.

So, love to you all and thanks again for paying your taxes,
Pat