Ok, so I realize it’s been awhile since my last update.. Deep apologies to the 5 people who aren't related to me that are following my blog.. This isn’t necessarily because nothing blogworthy has been happening, but more because I have been under the illusion that time is moving slower than it really is. And then I realize that I have been in Ecuador for over 7 months, and at site for almost 5. I feel like I have been living here such a long time, but at the same time, feel like I don’t have many accomplishments to show. Here are a few things I have been up to:
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| Mompiche, Esmeraldas |
1. Beach bumming. Well, not really bumming. But I have checked out several local beaches here in Esmeraldas- Mompiche, Súa, Same, and of course those I am already familiar with- Galera, Atacames, Tonchigue, Caimito, and Estero de Plátano. All are unique- rocks or sand, big waves or calm, surfers or fishermen, and the tourists/backpackers that they attract. According to Ecuadorians, Esmeraldas province has the best beaches in the country (just in case this helps sway any potential visitors). I think I’ll come up with a rating system (scientific and objective of course!) and publish in a future blog. I’ll have to see if this can fall under the “secondary project: tourism” umbrella…
2. Tech exchange! I lured a TEFL volunteer with the promise of beautiful beaches (see above) to come help me with English classes for a week. For details, see “exchanging tech, part 2”.
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| Feliz cumple a mi! |
3. I turned 25! I can now rent a car.. too bad I likely won’t be driving a car for another year and a half or so… I celebrated with my host family, who made me a cake on the stove (we don’t have an oven) and sang to me. I also got to celebrate with friends from training, which brings me to #4…
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| Celebrating July Birthdays! |
4.
Seeing friends!
A few friends got to come up to Esmeraldas to celebrate the July birthdays of myself and three other volunteers.
We stayed in S
úa right on the beach, did a fair amount of beach bumming and hanging out in hammocks, and got up close and personal with a pod of whales and a colony of blue-footed boobies.
The majority of the group hadn’t seen the coast yet, so it was nice to show off our beach and the coastal food.
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| Blue-footed boobies! |
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| Humpback whale of the coast of Súa |
5. Celebrated the Virgen Carmen with the town of Galera. Carmen’s a pretty big deal around here, as she is the protector of fisherman and I live in a fishing village. Her feast day is July 16th, so just after celebrating my own big day, I continued celebrating the Virgin in typical Ecua-style: All-night music, dancing, libations, and fireworks followed the next day by the election of a new Niña de 16 de Julio, the child queen of the festival (think “toddlers in tiaras: Ecuador). Then games, more music, dancing, and libations.
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| Fireworks in Galera |
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| The little reinas |
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| Some tough Tefleros |
6. Saw more friends! I am the alternative representative from my program to the Volunteer Advisory Council, or VAC which is kind of like student council for Peace Corps Ecuador. Our actual rep, Sarah, is a fellow esmeraldeña and when she was invited to participate in a panel for the newest training group in Tumbaco, I latched on for a weekend in Quito and a chance to see old PCV friends and meet new ones too. We were there for mañana deportiva for the new group, and one the teams from our training group was invited back to play soccer, so I got to see a handful of people I haven’t seen since we swore in 4 months ago. While in Quito, I got to eat good food and drink good coffee, almost got to see Batman (alas, it was sold out), and even caught some of the opening ceremonies of the Olympics from a Scottish pub. Even though I am really not used to Sierra weather anymore, it was still a definite morale boost to get out of site for a few days and see everyone.
7. I explored one of South America’s largest open-air markets. While in Quito, we made a quick detour up to Otavalo (province of Imbabura). Although we missed the market’s biggest day, Saturday, we went to the crafts market and bargained for scarves, jewelry, alpaca blankets, and other recuerdos of Ecuador. There were plenty of Gringos there, including some fellow PCVs we ran into, which is why the local vendors ask ridiculous prices for some of their goods. Not to say I am an excellent bargainer, but I am proud of a few deals I got. After our wallets had been exhausted, we ate pie at a local pie shop and went to nearby Peguche to see some waterfalls and get a good spray.
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| Eating pie in Otavalo |
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| Visiting cascadas at Peguche |
8. I continued work with the brigada del medioambiente at a local high school. Sarah and I are trying to help out with different projects and activities, and I think we might be on a roll. We are starting a recycling program and talked to a guy about buying plastic bottles from the school. The kids built wire receptacles to collect bottles and next week we are making a little presentation to the school about using the new bins. Hopefully, we can use some of the recycling money to buy seeds for a garden and/or reusuable dishes for the school so they don’t use (and subsequently, discard) thousands of plastic cups and Styrofoam plates. We also built a compostera, or a place to make a compost pile and we’re hoping the kids will start to discard their organic waste from the kitchen here and reduce what they throw into landfills, or on the ground, or at each other, or wherever. ¡Poco a poco!
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| The Brigada |
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| Our recylcing can |
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| Our newly built compostera |
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