1. Mostly, you couldn't be weirder than if you walked around in a pink bunny suit clashing cymbals in the streets, so don't worry about seeming out of place.
2. Your sense of humor is your best asset. You will be the butt of jokes, some of which you won't understand, but that doesn't mean your community doesn't love you. They are just testing you a little.
3. There will be moments, days, or weeks where you feel completely useless. That feeling will pass.
4. There will be moments where you will feel so wonderful that you can barely contain yourself. Unfortunately, those pass too. But, they get you through the low points.
5. Almost nothing will cork out the way you planned it.
6. Sometimes, Peace Corps feels like the easiest job you'll ever be sick and tired of. Other times, it truly is the toughest job you'll ever love. Don't be surprised if you feel both simutaneously.
7. Don't underestimate the healing power of underwear fresh out of the package, particularly after about 12-18 months in country.
8. You will make a difference in people's lives, but it probably won't be in the way you were intending.
9. Adults and children love dinamicas and free food. Make sure you have both ready at presentations.
10. Almost everyone will be varying degrees of late to any meeting or presentation you attend or prepare. It's not personal.
11. Abandon the idea that sitting and passing time with folks is "doing nothing." Some of our best moments will come from paseando with friends and neighbors.
12. Always carry rocks in your pocket...dogs serve a purpose in Latin America, and it's not as surrogate children. They take their roles as protectors seriously.
13. It takes many months to build up confianza with a community, don't be discouraged.
14. Take care of yourself. You're not Mother Theresa and no one expects you to be. The happier and healthier you are, the more you can give to your community. Reach out for support when you need it and be alone, when you need that too. And don't feel bad about doing either one.
15. Don't let yourself get sucked into teaching English unless you REALLY want to spend your time doing that.
16. Let your community's needs dictate your work, not the other way around.
17. Observe the town's power structure. Knowing who thinks what of whom can be invaluable in moving projects forward and keeping you out of the crossfire of interpersonal disputes.
18. You may need to take a break from your town and seek comfork with American friends. That doesn't make you less of a volunteer, it makes you human.
19. Buy a machete. You may need one, you may not. But trust me, you will probably never again have the chance to semi-legitimately own one in your life.
20. Hay mas tiempo que vida. You'll never get it all done, so relax. Enjoy. This is quite an adventure.
jueves, 24 de abril de 2008
lunes, 21 de abril de 2008
From Aspirante to real Peace Corps Volunteer
Dearest loved ones...
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for all the packages, cards, letters, emails, phone calls, and text messages. Your support has been priceless and deeply appreciated. I can definitely say that without all of your support.. welll.... things would be a lot different.
Since my last email we have done a bit of travelling, some technical exchanges, and right up to this exact moment, my compadres are all at their sites as I am in Quito with a few others for the next couple of days for Kichwa courses... so, let me back track in time...
Our travelling began at the end of March where we as a group took a long bus ride to Puerto Quito, which is considered coastal region. Although our technical trip was intended for strict and focused hands-on experience, I have to say that I'll never forget the look on our faces when we all got off that first bus. It was paradise. The hostel was a large hotel, instead of a lobby we had outdoor patios, a bar, volleyball, soccer, and basketball courts, pool, rapid river, lush gardens, exotic flowers, and vibrant colors. At night we drank beers, listened to music on loud speakers, and played sports and during the day, we went to nearby farms and participated in various agricultural workshops. For one week we stayed there, slept in bunk beds, and were more or less eaten alive by mosquitos and creepy crawlers. And, on the night of the 24th, I honestly have to say that I had, was doing, and was with so many friends that it seemed almost unbelievably surreal that I was without my other half.
Among the brilliant flowers, warm weather, consistant smiles, and contagious laughter, I have to say that I felt almost empty, or perhaps emotionless, as I phoned my other half to wish her felicidades on her special day. Its funny because Monday night came around so quickly in the grand scheme of things... I remember pondering before I left the states, how it would feel to celebrate our birthday. separately. Time and distance is a curious concept, like an illusion, it separates people phsyically and emotionally, but it does not separate human souls, as long as you do not allow it. After phoning her for a mere four minutes, I looked up at the moon and thought to myself that we still lived under the same set of stars, no matter how far apart we are from eachother. Thinking of time as an imprecise form of measurement also rendered me some patience and feelings of ease. Our minds are an extremely strong tool, for our overall happiness, mental health, and stability. I believe in unity, security, and love between human souls, despite the obstacles of distance and time.
Our second week of travelling was dedicated to more technical work, which therefore divided the group into smaller sections for more specific training. The agricultural group headed to live in the coastal region went to the beach as we literally headed straight up the mountain. The sierra is infamously known for its high altitude, cold weather, snow covered volcanos, steep slopes, green pastures, terraced farm designs, and hand-made yarn. The largest city most nearby to my community, Capulispungo in the province of Chimborazo, is called Riobama or also known as "Friobama." Riobama is not surprisingly cold because looming over the industrial city is one of the highest peask in the world, Volcan Chimborazo. Chimborazo is breathtakingly large and all consuming, at every corner of the city you can see the volcano on a clear day. At this moment, Chimborazo is covered with snow that ran clear down from the mountain and across the nearest and only road. Along that road lies small villages dotted around the outskirts of the volcano and down into the valley. There, the indigenous kichwa communities live off their small integrated farms and financially subsist from the alpaca, llama, and sheep yarn. Although the kichwa communities are ethnically united, they seem culturally separated from the rest of the province. The indigenous people rarely go into the cities, perhaps only when supplies run out or to do small market business. I would have been able to offer more information in regards to my specific site but unfortunately, our week long site visit was cancelled due to the poor conditions of the roads that were caused by massive flooding in late Feb. And.. so therefore, we we will have to (and remeber most of us are at our sites now!) blindly enter our sites without any previous emotional or mental preparation. It is like a two year blind date! :)
However, during our sierran technical trip we were able to visit the site of the married couple in my "Chimborazo Cluster." Lucy and Craig are older folk from Wisconsin who have owned cow and mayple-syrup businesses. From my favorite person within from the Peace Corps Office, I heard that my site is considered a "hardcore Peace Corps site" and from a local Ecuadorian, that my site and that of Lucy and Craig are similar. From that information, I gather that the kichwa community is overall very tough to integrate into, I have to develop a thick skin, be patient, and not be discouraged by how they will react towards me... or rather how slowly. On the up side, I will be closer to nature then I have vere been before in my entire life. I will probably hike everyday, cook my own food from my own garden, read with desire, learn new skills, and overall, learn to be more sustainable in my life and by myself. Emotionally, I will have to have faith in the universe and in the unknown. I will have to be patient with others and myself while at the sametime, put forth constant effort and energy into an "outcome" that I will not see.. or feel!..until two years later when I leave.
In any event, after two weeks of travels, we returned to Tabacundo to live with our host families for another week and a half. Upon leaving their home, I was surprised at how I felt and how they felt towards me. Unlike most of my compadres, I left my home in tears as they all waved to me in tears as well. I was very surprised at how attached we had all become, it was like it happened without me even realizing. Its been a blessing to have their love and full support. I'll definitely make it back to seem them a lot, I wouldn't mind being pampered after living in the campo!..fastforward... On April 17th we had a gorgeous swear-in ceremony at the Amabassador's house in Quito. Her house is placed on a hill that has an amazing view of the valley which meets wtih Volcan Cayambe. We were also lucky enough to have had clear skies and warm beautiful temperature. Although the ceremony was formal and professional, our after ceremony activities included a BBQ picnic provided by other volunteers, beer drinking basketball games, party "Chiva" bus that took us touring around Quito at sunset, and late night dancing at a nearby club. The sad part to this story starts the morning after the ceremony. The catch to staying in Quito for a few extra days is that the rest of our compadres left without us and saying goodbye to each and everyone was super hard. I know my time to leave will come in a matter of a few days, it is just my need to adjust to that drastic change. It would have been nice to have had an extra day to be with everone... we are the first group to not have any one ET (early terminate) before training was over... which also means we are very close. The next time we will be together will not be for another four months until we have our re-connect.
.... I hope this blog suites us all better than before.. please check out my photos online at ... http://www.webshots.com/, search under username good33land. If that doesnt work and you need my password, email me and Ill send it your way. Actually, if you want my new cell number and or snail mail address, please email so we can keep the information private.
also, disclaimer, this in no way reflects Peace Corps beliefs, values, practices. They are in no way affliated with my blog. THANKS!
"the very motion of our life is towards happiness" - dalai lama.
..and in my experience, I dont remember the last time i was this happy..
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for all the packages, cards, letters, emails, phone calls, and text messages. Your support has been priceless and deeply appreciated. I can definitely say that without all of your support.. welll.... things would be a lot different.
Since my last email we have done a bit of travelling, some technical exchanges, and right up to this exact moment, my compadres are all at their sites as I am in Quito with a few others for the next couple of days for Kichwa courses... so, let me back track in time...
Our travelling began at the end of March where we as a group took a long bus ride to Puerto Quito, which is considered coastal region. Although our technical trip was intended for strict and focused hands-on experience, I have to say that I'll never forget the look on our faces when we all got off that first bus. It was paradise. The hostel was a large hotel, instead of a lobby we had outdoor patios, a bar, volleyball, soccer, and basketball courts, pool, rapid river, lush gardens, exotic flowers, and vibrant colors. At night we drank beers, listened to music on loud speakers, and played sports and during the day, we went to nearby farms and participated in various agricultural workshops. For one week we stayed there, slept in bunk beds, and were more or less eaten alive by mosquitos and creepy crawlers. And, on the night of the 24th, I honestly have to say that I had, was doing, and was with so many friends that it seemed almost unbelievably surreal that I was without my other half.
Among the brilliant flowers, warm weather, consistant smiles, and contagious laughter, I have to say that I felt almost empty, or perhaps emotionless, as I phoned my other half to wish her felicidades on her special day. Its funny because Monday night came around so quickly in the grand scheme of things... I remember pondering before I left the states, how it would feel to celebrate our birthday. separately. Time and distance is a curious concept, like an illusion, it separates people phsyically and emotionally, but it does not separate human souls, as long as you do not allow it. After phoning her for a mere four minutes, I looked up at the moon and thought to myself that we still lived under the same set of stars, no matter how far apart we are from eachother. Thinking of time as an imprecise form of measurement also rendered me some patience and feelings of ease. Our minds are an extremely strong tool, for our overall happiness, mental health, and stability. I believe in unity, security, and love between human souls, despite the obstacles of distance and time.
Our second week of travelling was dedicated to more technical work, which therefore divided the group into smaller sections for more specific training. The agricultural group headed to live in the coastal region went to the beach as we literally headed straight up the mountain. The sierra is infamously known for its high altitude, cold weather, snow covered volcanos, steep slopes, green pastures, terraced farm designs, and hand-made yarn. The largest city most nearby to my community, Capulispungo in the province of Chimborazo, is called Riobama or also known as "Friobama." Riobama is not surprisingly cold because looming over the industrial city is one of the highest peask in the world, Volcan Chimborazo. Chimborazo is breathtakingly large and all consuming, at every corner of the city you can see the volcano on a clear day. At this moment, Chimborazo is covered with snow that ran clear down from the mountain and across the nearest and only road. Along that road lies small villages dotted around the outskirts of the volcano and down into the valley. There, the indigenous kichwa communities live off their small integrated farms and financially subsist from the alpaca, llama, and sheep yarn. Although the kichwa communities are ethnically united, they seem culturally separated from the rest of the province. The indigenous people rarely go into the cities, perhaps only when supplies run out or to do small market business. I would have been able to offer more information in regards to my specific site but unfortunately, our week long site visit was cancelled due to the poor conditions of the roads that were caused by massive flooding in late Feb. And.. so therefore, we we will have to (and remeber most of us are at our sites now!) blindly enter our sites without any previous emotional or mental preparation. It is like a two year blind date! :)
However, during our sierran technical trip we were able to visit the site of the married couple in my "Chimborazo Cluster." Lucy and Craig are older folk from Wisconsin who have owned cow and mayple-syrup businesses. From my favorite person within from the Peace Corps Office, I heard that my site is considered a "hardcore Peace Corps site" and from a local Ecuadorian, that my site and that of Lucy and Craig are similar. From that information, I gather that the kichwa community is overall very tough to integrate into, I have to develop a thick skin, be patient, and not be discouraged by how they will react towards me... or rather how slowly. On the up side, I will be closer to nature then I have vere been before in my entire life. I will probably hike everyday, cook my own food from my own garden, read with desire, learn new skills, and overall, learn to be more sustainable in my life and by myself. Emotionally, I will have to have faith in the universe and in the unknown. I will have to be patient with others and myself while at the sametime, put forth constant effort and energy into an "outcome" that I will not see.. or feel!..until two years later when I leave.
In any event, after two weeks of travels, we returned to Tabacundo to live with our host families for another week and a half. Upon leaving their home, I was surprised at how I felt and how they felt towards me. Unlike most of my compadres, I left my home in tears as they all waved to me in tears as well. I was very surprised at how attached we had all become, it was like it happened without me even realizing. Its been a blessing to have their love and full support. I'll definitely make it back to seem them a lot, I wouldn't mind being pampered after living in the campo!..fastforward... On April 17th we had a gorgeous swear-in ceremony at the Amabassador's house in Quito. Her house is placed on a hill that has an amazing view of the valley which meets wtih Volcan Cayambe. We were also lucky enough to have had clear skies and warm beautiful temperature. Although the ceremony was formal and professional, our after ceremony activities included a BBQ picnic provided by other volunteers, beer drinking basketball games, party "Chiva" bus that took us touring around Quito at sunset, and late night dancing at a nearby club. The sad part to this story starts the morning after the ceremony. The catch to staying in Quito for a few extra days is that the rest of our compadres left without us and saying goodbye to each and everyone was super hard. I know my time to leave will come in a matter of a few days, it is just my need to adjust to that drastic change. It would have been nice to have had an extra day to be with everone... we are the first group to not have any one ET (early terminate) before training was over... which also means we are very close. The next time we will be together will not be for another four months until we have our re-connect.
.... I hope this blog suites us all better than before.. please check out my photos online at ... http://www.webshots.com/, search under username good33land. If that doesnt work and you need my password, email me and Ill send it your way. Actually, if you want my new cell number and or snail mail address, please email so we can keep the information private.
also, disclaimer, this in no way reflects Peace Corps beliefs, values, practices. They are in no way affliated with my blog. THANKS!
"the very motion of our life is towards happiness" - dalai lama.
..and in my experience, I dont remember the last time i was this happy..
Week One: Feb. 2.18.08
Hola friends and family:
Como estan todos? Ojala que les vayan bien y muy felices! It has been a full week here in Tabacundo, Ecuador and I figured it would be a good time to fill in on the empty spaces. Perhaps, for good measure and clarity, Ill work backwards! This weekend I suffered from a horrible fever which was very much so expected. The combination of rare foods and vegetables, long hours during the day, and overall adaptation to the culture, weather, and altitude through me for a loop. At least one of us 43 aspirantes (Peace Corps Volunteers en espanol) are sick everyday. The most we can do is avoid eating street food, unboiled water, and anything else that hasnt already been boiled/soaked in iodine/or eaten without its skin. The meat here varies from cow, sheep, chickens feet, guinea pig (cuye), and everything else in between. We figure that the less food we eat that is fried or covered with fat from some type of animal, the better we are off.
I´ve lucked out because my host family seems to be more financially secure and can provide me with extra fruits and vegetables that I do no otherwise bring home. My diet usually consists of bread, queso (a light mozarrella perhaps), cafe y fruta in the morning and rice or soup, and some kind of meat in the evenings. We are supposed to provide ourselves since we are in class monday through friday 8-5. Its also a bit difficult to find a balanced lunch since we (especially me) are still unsure as to how our stomachs will react to foods from restaurants or little bodegas. Like I mentioned above, our group consists of 43 aspirtantes. Two couples are of 60+ and three more sets of couples are married. Two being of 30 years or older and one in their early twenties. Another is engaged without her fiance and more than a handful of my compadres are still in relationships or just recently separated. Classes usually start with extensive language training where we are separated by our spanish proficiency levels. Later on in the day, we are scheduled for program training which then divides the entire group into sustainable agriculture and Natural Resources/Conservation. So far, none of the sustainable agr. aspirantes will go to the jungle or the Oriente and none with go to the galapagos. From the Natural Resources a few will go to the jungle and perhaps the galapagos. Unfortunately, everything is still up in the air! I was a bit upset to know that I will not be travelling to the Oriente, I figured the jungle or the Andes would have been a good fit for me. So.. I´m guessing that I will most likely go to the Sierra, the Andes, because as of today I am now learning Kiwcha (the indigenous dialect of Ecuador, not to be confused with the indigenouw dialect of Quechua from Peru!). Learning Kichwa and going to the Sierra was my decision and something that I am totally looking forward to. My other option was to go to the coast which I figured wouldnt have interested me as much.
My spanish is coming along, eventhough I feel that it isnt. I am looking forward to reading more in spanish as soon as the sickness washes away. My host mother has been really worried about my health, she feels as if it is her fault that I am not feeling well. She is really cool because she knows a lot about agricultura and its really interesting to understand agriculture and eating organically from her point of view. In her backyard she has a handfuly of guinea pigs, a sheep, and a field of wheat, papas, and maize. She also has growing tomates de arbol, green beans, some sort of legume, and some sort of plant which leaves you can use to cook food in. We pretty much live alone on the second story of her house and her son and his family live on the other end across the courtyard. Behind her fields lives her other daughter and her family and every weekend more family from Quito come up to hang out. And I literally mean, hang out. I forsee lots of family time in the future. Other than that, things seem to be moving along slowly but surely. I am really looking forward to all the material I will be learning about sustainable agriculture, we have a huge manual that we will cover in the next few months. I am also looking forward to our information field trips that we will be taking to other towns to see organic farming and practices etc. There was word of a hike this weekend and I really hoping more excursiones like that will come our way. Please feel free to write back, ask questions, or comment! I´m sure
I´m forgetting a lot but its getting late and I have to jam with my compadre katie. Its dangerous to walk around when its late!
Thanks for listening and much love as always,
Laurena
Como estan todos? Ojala que les vayan bien y muy felices! It has been a full week here in Tabacundo, Ecuador and I figured it would be a good time to fill in on the empty spaces. Perhaps, for good measure and clarity, Ill work backwards! This weekend I suffered from a horrible fever which was very much so expected. The combination of rare foods and vegetables, long hours during the day, and overall adaptation to the culture, weather, and altitude through me for a loop. At least one of us 43 aspirantes (Peace Corps Volunteers en espanol) are sick everyday. The most we can do is avoid eating street food, unboiled water, and anything else that hasnt already been boiled/soaked in iodine/or eaten without its skin. The meat here varies from cow, sheep, chickens feet, guinea pig (cuye), and everything else in between. We figure that the less food we eat that is fried or covered with fat from some type of animal, the better we are off.
I´ve lucked out because my host family seems to be more financially secure and can provide me with extra fruits and vegetables that I do no otherwise bring home. My diet usually consists of bread, queso (a light mozarrella perhaps), cafe y fruta in the morning and rice or soup, and some kind of meat in the evenings. We are supposed to provide ourselves since we are in class monday through friday 8-5. Its also a bit difficult to find a balanced lunch since we (especially me) are still unsure as to how our stomachs will react to foods from restaurants or little bodegas. Like I mentioned above, our group consists of 43 aspirtantes. Two couples are of 60+ and three more sets of couples are married. Two being of 30 years or older and one in their early twenties. Another is engaged without her fiance and more than a handful of my compadres are still in relationships or just recently separated. Classes usually start with extensive language training where we are separated by our spanish proficiency levels. Later on in the day, we are scheduled for program training which then divides the entire group into sustainable agriculture and Natural Resources/Conservation. So far, none of the sustainable agr. aspirantes will go to the jungle or the Oriente and none with go to the galapagos. From the Natural Resources a few will go to the jungle and perhaps the galapagos. Unfortunately, everything is still up in the air! I was a bit upset to know that I will not be travelling to the Oriente, I figured the jungle or the Andes would have been a good fit for me. So.. I´m guessing that I will most likely go to the Sierra, the Andes, because as of today I am now learning Kiwcha (the indigenous dialect of Ecuador, not to be confused with the indigenouw dialect of Quechua from Peru!). Learning Kichwa and going to the Sierra was my decision and something that I am totally looking forward to. My other option was to go to the coast which I figured wouldnt have interested me as much.
My spanish is coming along, eventhough I feel that it isnt. I am looking forward to reading more in spanish as soon as the sickness washes away. My host mother has been really worried about my health, she feels as if it is her fault that I am not feeling well. She is really cool because she knows a lot about agricultura and its really interesting to understand agriculture and eating organically from her point of view. In her backyard she has a handfuly of guinea pigs, a sheep, and a field of wheat, papas, and maize. She also has growing tomates de arbol, green beans, some sort of legume, and some sort of plant which leaves you can use to cook food in. We pretty much live alone on the second story of her house and her son and his family live on the other end across the courtyard. Behind her fields lives her other daughter and her family and every weekend more family from Quito come up to hang out. And I literally mean, hang out. I forsee lots of family time in the future. Other than that, things seem to be moving along slowly but surely. I am really looking forward to all the material I will be learning about sustainable agriculture, we have a huge manual that we will cover in the next few months. I am also looking forward to our information field trips that we will be taking to other towns to see organic farming and practices etc. There was word of a hike this weekend and I really hoping more excursiones like that will come our way. Please feel free to write back, ask questions, or comment! I´m sure
I´m forgetting a lot but its getting late and I have to jam with my compadre katie. Its dangerous to walk around when its late!
Thanks for listening and much love as always,
Laurena
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