(Sunday, May 1, Day 314)

"The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps."


Phrase of the day: Que podria haber sido mejor?... Could that have been any better?

Well yes, I suppose so. Longer would have been much better. But I'll take what I can get! It was a much needed break. And it worked out perfectly. I got to see so many of my cousins from around the country and world. Week 1 was all family dinners and preparation for the anniversary party. Week 2 was filled with other random activities. From softball (It had been way too long! I played horribly) to Garden Kitchen visits.

There was the always-ridiculous KAF lunch! We went to a greek restaurant and I had a salad; classic! It did have lamb on it though, so...
A nice quick trip to the lego museum. (Although Rajib's stash of legos is much better!)
I went and gave a talk at Liberty High School in Bealton, VA. There is a program through Peace Corps where I share my stories with a school in the States. Just by chance, my school happens to be only an hour away from Springfield! (Excitement for Springfield, of course). Bealton was nice, though I was only there to speak during the three class periods.
The kids were super good. They were well behaved and even had questions for me. Not only that, they had a pot luck lunch for me with tons of good food. I particularly enjoyed the grilled cheese sandwhiches, which some of the boys had thought I would have missed. Really, their teacher is awesome for setting all of it up. And yes, I totally bought that Ecuadorian shirt 12hours before my plane ride back home!
Naturally, we had to have a crucial dinner at home with (almost) everyone over.
Uncle Bacchu was hilarious as always.
We had a classic Popeyes night, which I definitely had missed!
And even kayaking in Georgetown! (No pictures from that sadly. I was too afraid I'd fall in... again).

The only regret was not spending more time at home. But that will definitely have to happen when I make it back next.

And no worries, I didn't forget about the night bike ride that almost everyone made. But that is a separate post in itself.

(Saturday, April 30, Day 313)

"The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps."


Phrase of the day: Que, estas en un teatro?... What, you're in a play?

Yeah, something like that. I went back to the States for my aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary! It was great. Not only because they have been married for 50 years, but also what my cousins threw together for the celebration: a crucial gathering with family and friends from all over the world, catered and all.

But first, the planning. For weeks and weeks Yves Dada had been writing a script for a skit that we were all going to put on as entertainment for the celebration, Jitu dada coreographed a dance while in India, Basma didi dealt with the caterers and made a crucial menu, and everyone got together through skype and by phone to discuss logistics.

When I arrived in the States, yard work! Rajib and I mowed/edged the lawn, trimmed the bushes/shrubs/vines, fixed the stepping stones in the backyard, and put down mulch! (Imagine, people actually hire companies to do this?).
The cousins that were in town met a couple of times to rehearse the skit and the dance. As usual, I made sure not to show off my dancing skills... or lack there of.
We also learned the Hokie-Coakie from Vernoica didi and the girls, which I could thankfully handle.
The day of the tea party was perfect. The weather outside was sunny and clear, like a perfect Spring day. The caterers did what they do and made the house look classy.
The food was great, or at least I hear. I didn't eat anything really until everything was over.
As usual, I was overshaddowed by the numerous babies that were over.
Just kidding. Well I'm not, but I'm always glad for that!
And the skit went pretty much perfectly. It was set up outside on the downstairs deck.
Big Uncle and Big Auntie of course had prime seating.
And my mom of course had to try and contain her laughter; the skit was just too good.
The skit was a journey through their 50+ years together. From when they first met in England... to trips to India... to times in Italy...
To Twister in the great state of Virginia!
Always good times.
After the play there was a toast and dessert; a fancy version of an ice cream cake! Winner!

(Saturday, April 23, Day 306)

"The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps."


Phrase of the day: Treinta y seis horas en San Isidro: Piscinas, Tortas, y Arreglando mi equipaje!... Thirty-six hours in San Isidro: Pools, Cakes, and Packing!

After a much needed shower, I hung all of my clothing to air out. They all smell like firewood from the few days in Tingo. And they all smell like me, seeing as how we didn't shower there, not even once. Gross!

I was back in town for a quick trip, mostly just to pack my suitcase for my trip home! To my surprise, Luis was in town from Guayaquil, which always means fun. He loves doing things, as opposed to the usual sitting around. First stop, one of the three pools in town!
Yeah, it's really odd that there are pools like this in town. They feel out of place, but I can't complain; they are refreshing. And only $1/day! Actually, that's like half a lunch, so maybe kind of pricey? The bar beside it serves water and the usual staple in Ecuador, beer.
After the pool we celebrated Zhary's birthday. She's a host cousin who turned 6 or 7? There was morrocho(a corn based dessert-drink), cake, fish, and of course rice! Needless to say, I stuck to the desserts.
And guess what?... there is Viennetta here! I know, San Isidro just became that much cooler.
Next stop, Los Estados Unidos!

(Monday-Wednesday, April 18-20, Day 301-303)

"The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps."

Phrase of the day: Nuestro mundo necesita mas chicos como ellos... Our world needs more kids like them

Builders Beyond Borders(B3)/Engineers Without Borders and the Tingo Water Project. The reason we were in Tingo... well, moreso because of George.

George is a volunteer living in probably the highest site in Ecuador. Even while dealing with super cold temperatures and high altitudes, he is one of the best volunteers in the country. During his time here, he has been working with an organization called B3. They have been building a system to bring water to the people of Tingo.

B3 (http://www.buildersbeyondborders.org) is based out of Connecticut and basically takes high school students on alternative Spring Breaks around the world. The kids all raise a certain amount of money, and then they travel to a country and work rigorously for their holiday. It may sound like every other alternative spring break, but it definitely is not. I have never seen kids so dedicated to get work done.

Which is exactly why we were in Tingo as well. We were there to help dig, to share our experiences/knowledge of Peace Corps, and to help translate for the students. Clearly, I focused on the digging part! (Well, until I got sick on Tuesday night). The view from Tingo, like a picture in National Geographic.
The goal for the week was to dig a large section, lay the pipe, cover the section, and then hopefully install a faucet and see water come to town on its own for the first time ever.

We began our day with breakfast and more tea. This time it was made with oregano and tons of sugar; it tasted like a pizza. We all like hot liquids less now.
The digging begins. The girl in blue was hilarious, and we worked together for my few days there.
Wow, how deep do we need to go? 4ft!?! Thankfully this kid was a machine. I, on the other hand, was dying from the altitude.
Snack brought to us by the locals each day was a nice break. They always had tea and fruit/bread/popcorn. Yes, popcorn is very common here. Everyone seems to love it and eat it with their soup.
Speaking of the locals, they were very appreciative of the help, and worked alongside the kids to accomplish the project.
Marky Mark in the house! Nope, but this guy was even cooler. Former Peace Corps Volunteer... Engineer with Engineers Without Borders... Fulbright Recipient... AND coolest of all, he even had similar expressions as MM. He and George were in charge of the project.
By the end of Day 2, everyone was pretty tired. The altitude was rough, and stomachs were acting up. They all did a great job though.
And even while being tired, the kids would play EcuaVolley with the locals after digging.
We were in the Highlands; Llamas(Alpacas?) and cold times. Speaking of which, we(volunteers) all waited to shower until we returned to Latacunga. (5 days... gross).
Unfortunately, I left the project early because I needed to return to San Isidro to pack for home! But I hear all of the pipe was layed, the faucet was installed, and Tingo now has water! By far the best experience I've had here yet.

(Sunday, April 17, Day 300)

"The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps."

Phrase of the day: Espera, estas diciendo que Tingo NO es lo mismo??... Wait, so you're saying Tingo ISN'T like this??
No friends, no it is not. But it is pretty.
This past week a few volunteers and I were in Tingo, Ecuador. A small village outside of Guangaje. Guangaje is a small town outside of Latacunga. Latacunga is... If you get where I'm going with this... Tingo is tiny! And pretty far from anything!

But the people are very hospitable. When we arrived, all of children ran up to us and gave us hugs. It felt like being in a movie. They gave us lunch. An omelette, potatoes, and avacado. (And potatoes in the Highlands are like plantains on the Coast; you get them with every single meal. fantastic.) We also had plenty of hot tea. I'm still not a fan, but it helped a lot to cope with the cold weather.
Speaking of cold weather, I'm sorry, why are clouds at eye level on the way up to Tingo?? Ridiculous.
This is a community house they made using zero nails or screws. It was pretty cool.
Thanks to a volunteer, Tingo has composting toilets, which actually smelled better than normal bathrooms. I was surprised! Although running out to the outhouse at 2am was not exactly fun.
We were all pretty bundled up the entire trip. Even when we went to bed, some of us had on our jacket. Keyword being "some".
And no, we weren't going to bed together. We were watching a movie! (Yeah, not quite imax here). The sun goes down around 6 or 7, and it's freezing, so there's not much else to do besides get under your 5 covers. (I literally slept in my sleeping bag under 4 thick woolen blankets).
Oh, you're probably still wondering why we were in Tingo even. Well, that will come tomorrow!

(Saturday, April 16, Day 299)

"The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps."


Phrase of the day: Vamos a minga etso!... Let's minga this!

"Minga" - Not actually a verb. Not actually even a word according to my #1 National Bestseller Spanish to English Dictionary. (Maybe we need to rethink its #1 status?). A "minga" is when people of a community gather together to accomplish a task.

And today we did exactly that! Using a lot of help from Kasie's youth group, today the people of neighborhood "Los Angeles" destroyed the river. And by "destroyed", I of course mean cleaned it and made it look pretty.
We removed all of the trash (Really, more than one tire??).
We took out weeds (Those are some big weeds!).
We put up signs about protecting our environment and not messing up the recently renovated bridge.
We trimmed the tree over the bridge to allow for more light and to make the bridge a safer place to walk. (No worries Bubs, you know my massive arms would have held me if my feet had slipped. False).
We ate snack. Tuna sandwhiches and Juice. Yes, I just had a few glasses of juice!
Each person of the neighborhood was asked to clean in front of his/her own home. Then a huge dump truck came by for a few hours to collect all of the rubbish.
Basically, we made it rain. A lot of the people who worked, but not everyone.
Before (green is bad?):
After (that's a good thing we did, right?):
Yeah, we did actually do a good thing. The trees now have room to grow, and we removed tons of trash. It was about 4 hours of nonstop work (minus snack). Let's see how long it stays clean!