Why not to ET - the big giant list of stuff

Still waiting to visit Imbabura - the date has been pushed back until next Thursday.  So here´s a post I´ve been meaning to publish for a while!

One rainy, cold day when I was feeling particularly down, I decided to try to organize my thoughts into a list of ´Why Not to ET´ (ET = early terminate = governmentspeak for ending service).  Well... suddenly I thought if there´s a list of ´why nots´ maybe I should make a list of why it would be a good idea to ET.  I hope you can see the humor with some of the comments.

WHY NOT TO ET:

1.   I made a commitment to 2 years of service.

2.   I'm worried it would look bad for future employment if I quit.

3.   I have free health care.

4.   My food, shelter, and extra stuff is paid for.

5.   I want to feel a sense of accomplishment for getting to the end.

6.   I get to climb a mountain every month.

7.   My loans are deferred.

8.   I'm practicing Spanish.

9.   I have free time for self like reading, knitting, watching movies, etc.

10. I get to travel occasionally.

11. I'm learning patience.

12. I'm learning humility.

13. I live in the mountains.

14. I like sierra food more than oriente or costa food.

15. I'm remote but I have electricity, water, and gas.

16. The Milky Way is brilliant when the power goes out at night.

17. I get free flute (quena) lessons every Saturday.

18. I have a job with almost no supervision but a lot of trust and faith.

19. People I hardly know from the States sent me packages full of tea and candy.

20. My room is freshly painted.

21. My favorite person in the community is the new president.

22. I am finally cooking for myself.

23. My cat doesn't have the right immunizations or medication to go to the U.S. yet. (done)

24. Movies are $1, yea!!  Which is great until: See #23 of opposing list.

25. People finally want to work with me building ovens and making recycled things in an artesanias group.

26.  I have earplugs now.

27.  I'm learning a new language bit by bit (Quichua).

28.  Getting packages and letters is fun!

29.  My immunity is finally kicking in...?!!!

30.  I'm getting along better with my host now that I cook for myself.

31.  I have a DVD player again!

32.  What else would I do? Job, grad school, be a bum?

33.  Big avocados are roughly 3/$1, oranges 10/$1 and there's Malta, spicy chifles, Amor chocolate wafers, alfahores, patacones with ketchup, fresh limeade, cheese and onion sugar-coated empanadas, mora, bamboo-scented deodorant, lychees, ...

34.  My Ecuadorian mom in Tumbaco checks in on me and cares about me.

35.  There's now recycling in Riobamba that pays for plastic bottles and I'm going to encourage my community to take advantage of this.

36.  I'm getting used to not having internet.

37.  The kids seem to really like me.

38.  I have an amazing mountain view out my window.

39.  I have apparently avoided getting parasites (so far).

40.  I've been offered a site change.

41.  I don't get noncompetitive hiring status in the federal government if I leave early.

WHY TO ET:

1.   I miss blending in.

2.   I'm sick frequently.

3.   I'm lonely and bored.

4.   Every person I've developed a working relationship with in my community has left.

5.   It's cold and I don't have a heater - just lots of blankets.

6.   It rains a lot and there's a lot of mud and pig poo somehow always gets indoors.

7.   Donkies, roosters, buses and lecheros wake me up at 4:30 a.m.

8.   Maria is hard to get along with sometimes.

9.   Internet access is once or twice a week.

10. I don't understand Quichua.

11. There are gigantic chunks of meat in the fridge dripping over everything.

12. The school teachers (used to?) drink during class.

13. Sometimes I see or hear animals slaughtered.

14. The weekly parroquial meeting I pay $1.30 to get to only actually meets...never.

15. Bills are draining my bank account without me noticing.

16. Spanish is still hard to speak and understand sometimes.

17. I feel somewhat forgotten/cut-off...from people outside the country and from people inside.

18. I have to bring my garbage to Riobamba - compared with burning it or tossing it in the river.  Not a great alternative because it just ends up in an environmentally unfriendly dump anyway.

19. After my journal was stolen I've felt a little violated and bitter.

20. People see me as just a rich gringa and attempt to swindle money from me.

21. Things aren't happening and I feel I'm wasting my time for people who don't care about me.

22. The kitchen is gross and when I clean it, it just gets messy again the next day which is not my doing.

23. The cat broke my DVD player (turns out that's not hard to do).  But this is resolved.

24. Phone service cuts out a lot.

25. Sometimes landslides cut off access to my site and I have to walk 2 hours with groceries.  The worst part is that the road is in bad condition when it opens back up - almost too dangerous for buses to travel on.

26. I feel like I'm missing time I'll never get back with family and friends.

27. I miss the changing of the seasons.

28. Maria doesn't believe in me or support me, yet still expects me to get something done when no one else participates.

29. One year has passed and nothing has happened.

30. My cat has all her immunizations to go to the U.S.

Claimjumping aspirantes

Hmm... the last few days. We: 1) started our organic gardens, 2) learned about dengue, malaria, fever, TB, and 3) went to Quito for a Peace Corps office tour.

Starting our jardines gardins gardens last Monday was by far the most engaging activity I've participated in during training so far. We cycled through several work stations, including: tilling and fertilizing the plots, worm beds, seed beds, seedling care and transplant. When we cycled through them all in small groups, the field was ready for planting and all us aspirantes lined up on one side. On of the count of three, we all ran out as language groups claimjumper-style to nab our preferred plot of land because this is, after all, a competition. Our group got our first pick:

I'll let you use your imaginations about the malaria/dengue/etc. talk, but we got our anti-malarial medications (in cute paper bags with our names on them like prizes). My medication: the one that makes some people go crackers and have insane dreams. I get to start it any day and can't WAIT! sarcasm. I already started having crazy lucid dreams ever since I was feverish last week, so I don't believe they need any help. But it's way better than getting a fatal form of malaria.

Next! Today we all migrated west to Quito to visit the Peace Corps office. The journey involves a bus to Quito, a bus to a bus station, another bus somewhere else...etc. We made it with the help of our language group facilitators and went on a grand tour of the place. The best part was visiting the NRC director's office, where there is a map of pins designating previous omnibus volunteer locations, and pink pins that designate sites where our omnibus will go - it was here that I suddenly got a revelation that I knew where I wanted to go. A pink pin sat right near the slopes of the perpetually erupting Sangay volcano in the Oriente/Sierra border. Another pink pin was nearby. I know, I'm flexible and will go wherever they send me because that's what I originally agreed to when I came here. But having a site right on Ecuador's most active volcano? Yes, please! I'm so eager to find out where I'm going, but I'm trying to wait without reservations or expectations.

It took a long time to get back to Tumbaco, and when we finally made it, our language group only had a little time to start thinking about making a community map from the town center to my host family's house. I randomly ran into Paola yesterday while walking through the town center (which is bustling and active in the afternoon), so she took me around on a paseo to point out important places like health centers, schools, churches, a *vegetarian restaurant*, etc.

Speaking of vegetarian...I feel really lucky to be with my Ecuadorian host family. They completely understand and respect my decision to be a vegetarian, and all my meals have been problem-free. They're always great meals, but sometimes they're spectacular. The other day, Paola made me a tofu dinner (from a bag of dried tofu). I had to ask three times, tofu?! No way! This morning, I had toast with a slice of queso and tomato on top. I had two and wanted so many more! Yuuuum. They also tolerate my completely random homework questions like, "What are three Ecuadorian words for 'friend'?" or "What is the name of the municipio administrator?" (no one seems to know).

Host family, day1

I've started a photo blog here: https://picasaweb.google.com/govolcano/PeaceCorpsEcuador so please feel free to check that often, as I hope to update it often!

We left San Patricio for good after a meal heavy on yogurt. Some kind of fruity yogurt smoothie, and fruit totally covered in purple yogurt. I'm not used to eating yogurt so... that's a bit tricky.

Kelley, a PC medical officer, gave us a crash course on using the giant medical kit we all received. I'm actually really impressed with the kit and I totally appreciate having it. And whenever we run out or come close to doing so, they send us supplies totally free of charge. I like this.

Next the staff performed a series of culturally overexaggerated skits that included a few trainees to demonstrate some situations we might encounter, but I think it was more efficient at loosening us up and getting us to relax a little about our pending encounters with our new families. The skits were hilarious though - definitely thought the one of the 'kids' digging through Paige's bag (sorry Paige!) was the funniest.

They fed us again: a chicken or cheese (yo) sandwich with ridiculously amazing tomate de arbol juice. My favorite drink so far. Now suddenly I realize why a month before Ecuador, I started CRAVING orange juice. It was preparation because I was never really a fruit person before.

We were led to a new room where Andrew gave us a sort of pep talk about meeting our families, and handed out a map so we knew where we were. And then we picked up cards with our names, and were released to the foyer to find our families! It took a lot of looking and confusion for my host mom and me to be united, but it happened...dragged my luggage to the street, and into a taxi we went. My home is way, way far from the training center. I wonder who else is nearby? PC said we were put into clusters. Farther and farther the taxi drove, until we reached a locked gate, entered that, and came across another locked gate. Home!

Home is three houses, all the same family. Paula, my host mom, introduced me to her mother Greta, a lovely woman who speaks clear Spanish and flashes smiles at me all the time. Paula's young son Mateo was home, as was Matias who immediately shared with me his favorite music videos on YouTube, and asked to see mine. And there's Mario. M-M-M.

My personal space is enormous. Way bigger and nicer than I ever had a right to expect. I live in one of the three houses on the second floor. There's a large living/study room, a kitchenette (without cooking abilities), a bathroom and shower, my room, an extra room - all to myself. Totally private.

My host family is not obligated to make me lunch and I have to pay them for this in addition to what the Peace Corps gives us to pay them for breakfast and dinner, but even still they invited me to lunch. Another great soup with potatoes, carrots, onions and pasta (I'm loving the soup thing), a salad (tomatoes, broccoli, and a little lettuce with olive oil), rice, and a type of lentil cake (torta de lenteja?). I took a bite of the lentil cake and freaked a little - the texture reminded me exactly of meat. I asked again what was in it: Paula assured me it was just lentils and eggs. Oh, eggs? I'm not used to those either. More adjustment.

Peace Corps also told us not to have the cheese or milk until our stomachs settle in a week or so, but Matias offered me some to put in my soup. And it was that familiar white semi-soft salty cheese like queso de campo in El Salvador, so I accepted it. Eight hours later, I still feel fantastic.

Carlos (?), Paula's husband, arrived after work (he teaches English), and tried to get me connected to the wireless internet. We tried for what seemed like hours, and many people filtered in to help - that's another strange thing to me here, all the people around all the time! Finally they were successful and I was able to get on and Skype my parents.

Paula called me back for dinner, which was a quiet meal between herself, Carlos, and me of the same salad, rice, and a grilled cheese sandwich of the white queso. They finished way before me, so they drilled me with questions and, maybe it was nerves or tiredness, but my Spanish went down the drain. I think I disappointed my host dad, because I can speak Spanish when I'm 100% focused, but if I loose concentration, away it goes. Paula asked me tough questions like why I'm a vegetarian, and how the economic situation is in the U.S. Yikes. I excused myself at 8:30 due to exhaustion, but here I am at 11 still trying to get settled. I hope I can sleep in. Tomorrow, from what I understand, they're taking me to Quito to a market where people sell local crafts like textiles and hats. Hmmm...we'll see! I wish I could take pictures but from everything I've heard, I don't feel comfortable doing that just yet.