It was worth the wait

Buenas Tardes Friends, Family, and most importantly Donors,



Some quick house keeping items. Dana got my splatter painting back. Don't ask me how. Also, we recently had the first round of PD introduction interviews posted on the daily life blog (openhandsdirtyfeet.blogspot.com) and I encourage you to watch it. I'm featured.

I am writing this post from my very own room. I've been moved in almost two days now. It is absolutely incredible; easily the best room in the house. An entire side of my room is closet space. Closet space, much like furniture, is a rare commodity in rooms here. Seth was also nice enough to leave one of those hanging shoe sorters, which works great for holding my t-shirts and long sleeve shirts. Now granted, I only have two suitcases worth of stuff, but everything fits in my closet with a full third totally empty, which is weird for me to think about. I also got a nightstand with three drawers, a wobbly bookshelf (probably my favorite piece of furniture), a plastic chair, and a bed. Sizewise, its the biggest single we have (read: all our rooms are normally singles except for the one double). Locationwise, my room is on the second floor on the back of the house, which means its about as quiet a room as you can get in this house. I am actually right above Krysta's room, which is where I was sleeping originally. How is the view? Funny you should ask. I have a great view into the hammock room, so I can get a fair amount of light in my room if I remember to pull back the curtain. I also have a great view across the hammock room into the office window. I'll probably keep the curtains closed a lot. However, the only way I can see the actual outside world is by pulling back both my curtain and the curtain in the office window and looking across the entire house (which is doable, if far away). I'm really happy with my diggs, it was definately worth the 6 week wait to get to move in. I will say though, it was weird living out of suitcases so long that unpacking I rediscovered stuff I had forgotten I brought with me. All I have left to do is figure out how to hang up the few things I have for my walls (read: Vanderbilt flag, Ecuador flag, aplacastry) and I'm considering buying a plant.

Qué mas? Kids camp has been going well. Tomorrow is the last day, and I think we are about ready for it to end. But we have 17 kids and haven't had any major problems (although one of our 4 year olds really likes to wander off). It seems that they have really enjoyed the different things we did. I'm not sure if I mentioned it last time, But Lori, the international director (read: my boss's boss) was here last week, but she was, and it was actually great having her around. We hiked a waterfall as a group two weekends ago and sat around working on grad school applications last weekend (well, at least I did). We also ate at the Mexican restaurant in downtown Quito. This is an interesting place. The food isn't great, but I understand I'm spoiled coming from Texas, the Tex-Mex capital of the world. However, the atmosphere is great; it is on the second story outside on a patio overlooking the Mariscal and it is owned by a guy who used to star in Mexican telenovelas. He has pictures of himself all over the restaurant.

We had a purse (and the keys within) "go home" with someone else earlier this week, so I spent a lot of this afternoon overseeing getting our locks changed (it would be very easy for anyone to locate the house with the gringos). It was interesting. I have never changed a lock in the states, but I'm pretty sure I have seen it done before. You go to Lowes, buy a kit in a box, and basically drop it in the hole in the door, right? Well here, you hire a blacksmith, who saws the locking mechanisms off the doors. Then, you take the whole locking mechanism to the only locksmith in town, and tell him that you want to change (cambinar) the locks. About an hour and a half later, the blacksmith will bring the newly changed locks back. That is going to set you back $11.75. Then, the blacksmith is going to spend about an hour WELDING the locks back onto the doors. He will have you check to make sure it works 20 or so times, then connect the electric switch so you can buzz people in the front, and then charge you $42.

After all this, I needed to both make 13 copies of each key and ask for the old internal lock. Back at the locksmith, I learned (and I think this is really interesting) since all we wanted was to change the lock, all he did was open it up and change the order of the pins. Crazy. Its like things can be re-used here. 26 keys cost $22.75. And that is how I spent my afternoon.

I guess the other big thing to report today is the progress Erik and I had with Microfinance. We send out meeting summaries of every meeting we have, and I wrote the summary for this one. I'm going to...borrow heavily...from the meeting minutes:

Name: Chester Polson
Date: 27/08/09
Participants: Chester Polson (MPI); Erik Swanson (MPI); Fabian Gualotuna (EPV); Wilson (EPV)

Meeting Summary: Bibi called at 10:08 am to say that EPV wanted to have an emergency meeting about funding for Capacitación. We had agreed at our last meeting that Manna would be willing to fund capacity training up to $1000, as long as we got receipts and EPV split the cost of any training program with us. We had, however, expected to sign a contract.

Wilson and Fabian told us (and Bibi) that the reason this was so last minute was because they just learned about the classes. They wanted to get us to fund half the cost of the classes, like we had verbally agreed to. There are two different classes from two different organizations. Both will focus administrative and management training, like salaries and regulations. One, through Mundo Laboral www.mundolaboral-ec.com, was found through the paper. The other, through Mi Fundación, was sent to them electrinically. Mundo Laboral costs $180, Mi Fundación costs $97 plus IVA. MPI will pay around $150 for both classes.

Erik and I carefully looked over the information they gave us on both programs, and while were much more pleased with the one from Mi Fundación, both looked legitimate. We approved the courses and said Manna would be willing to pay for half of these classes, making it clear that 1) this would count towards the $1000, 2) we would have to sign an actual contract soon, and 3) we would get receipts. While there was a bit of a grimace when we said it would count towards the $1000, all terms were readily acceptable sin problemas. Afterward, we said that we would like to work more closely with them in their office, not to monitor them but to strengthen the relationship between the two organizations and also hopefully aid EPV. They were accepting of this as well, explaining how they strive for transparency with their workers, clients, and other foundations. They seem cautiously willing to let us work with them in their office. They also again stressed how they are a part of the community, supporting the liga deportivos at both Fajardo and Rumiloma.


Next Steps:
- Write up contract between MPI and EPV concerning the $1000 gift for training.
- Plan a check up to see how effective they thought this round of classes was.
- Begin to try working more closely with EPV to strengthen our relationship.
- Research/encourage the classes from Swiss Credit.


Observations: Erik and I are much more optimistic about the training that is going to come from Mi Fundación than we are about the training from Mundo Laboral. Mi Fundación looks very professional and should cover topics relevant to better managing the coop. The Mundo Laboral, on the other hand, was found by an ad in the paper. However, EPV seems sincere in their request, and Mundo looks legitimate enough. Also, since EPV is in charge of finding the classes they want, we saw no reason to veto the specific class. We thought it would be a show of good faith that we trust their judgment. It was also pleasing to see how accepting EPV seemed to be of the idea of us working in their office. However, Erik and I both agree that we need to find some way for them to trust us more on a personal level. No ideas, other than more exposure, currently come to mind.

So there is the latest. I have some pictures at this point. The one at the top of the blog is a picture of a nice sunset in the old city in downtown Quito. The ones at the end of this post are my sweet new diggs. As always, questions and comments are appreciated and will be addressed (unless I have forgotten to address someone's question or comment, in which case I'll TRY to answer whatever you post).

Chao,

Chet

Song of the blog: "Lovesong," by Sara Bareilles

This is a picture of the "dog pallet" I slept on the first few weeks.











And a few pictures of the new room!











...
and the view in from across the hammock room.

programmatic update

Ahoy readers,

Its been an interesting week. I've been under the weather since Wednesday. One rule we have on the daily life blog openhandsdirtyfeet.blogspot.com is that it needs to be censored enough for Mark's grandmother to read. However, I fully believe my grandmothers are able to hear about my symptoms: I've had SUPER watery stools since Tuesday night, A high fever on Wednesday and Thursday, and now uncomfortable pressure in my GI track. These are classic symptoms of a bacterial infection, and I am now on ciproflaxin. I slept through Wednesday, but was back on my feet Thursday and Friday (if perhaps grumpier than normal) for our kids summer camp. Kids summer camp is going well, we have 16 kids.

I was the guest blog of the week on Thursday on the daily life blog: openhandsdirtyfeet.blogspot.com. I will skip over the introduction but post the rest of that post verbatim below.

I’ll gloss over the “why I’m here” and stick to the “what I’m doing now that I’m here” (though I’ll give you a hint: the why involves wanting to be involved in community development before spending five years pursuing a degree in it). I am (co)in charge of the microfinance and small business classes, (co)in charge of adult English classes, and in charge of children’s art. I also take out the trash around the house and spend my time hunting for change machines in Quito in order to replenish the bus jar. Just Tuesday I spent 3.5 hours heading into Quito and back to get $80 in quarters. This was the first successful attempt in three tries, but I now know where two broken change machines are.

So how are my programs going? Pretty well, so far as I can tell. I’ll start with Microfinance. MPI is partnered with a local cooperative, Esperanza y Progreso del Valle, or EPV. One of Manna’s overall goals here is to strengthen local institutions and that is really the heart of what our microfinance program strives to do. EPV has two offices, one on the first floor of the building our library is in, and one in North Quito, which was recently opened. Sadly, the new office has been a real drain on the coop. It currently has a very high default rate on its loans which has put heavy financial strain on the whole operation. We come in with two major spheres to work in: capacitación and fundraising. We spend some of our time trying to find international organizations that are looking to either loan or gift funds to microfinance programs like EPV. As you can imagine, the current worldwide economic climate makes it difficult to secure this kind of funding, which just means there is always more for Erik and I to look into. However, if any of you readers have suggestions or contacts, please let us know.

Capacitación, or capacity, is the second and probably more important part of how we work with EPV. We work hand in hand with EPV to try and get them better trained (to strengthen their local institution). The old PDs in charge of microfinance spent a lot of last year trying to get them connected to a larger network of microfinance coops in Ecuador as a way to gain access to more working capital and training. Sadly, after much effort, it turned out that this was not a very feasible option. EPV is currently interested in undergoing courses through Swiss credit, which we fully support. Manna has actually agreed to match the cost of the classes up to $1000 dollars to encourage them to actually get the training. We will check back soon to see if they were serious enough about these classes to register. While it is exciting to be partnered with a legitimate local microfinance coop in the community and I look forward to getting to observe EPV’s work, it is a delicate balance to find what could work and what they are willing to try. There should be a lot of research involved this year.

In addition to the microfinance, Erik and I are also going to try and run a small business class. This is a much more pressing matter, and much more exciting. There is a University, ESPE, Escuela Politecnica Ejercito, or the Military Polytechnic School, close by that has a business centered local outreach called CIDE. CIDE runs small business classes taught by professors free of charge. Dunc was able to organize a class through them with some success, and we are looking to build upon that. We are currently recruiting people who either have university degrees or are actively pursuing university degrees to undergo an intensive two week training (40 hour weeks) at the end of September. At the end of the course, we will be certified to train instructors for the small business classes, which will have huge benefits to us. Last year Dunc coordinated the class, and due the rigorous schedule they demand I hear it was tough to get students. Once Erik and I are trained as instructors, we will be able to offer the classes in the community at a time and pace which is more accessible to anyone who wants to take a small business class. We still need to find some more people who are willing to undergo the initial training, but this is still a really exciting opportunity to bring small business training to the communities we work in.

Haley and I will be running Adult English classes on Monday and Wednesday evenings starting in mid-September. We will start planning for these classes soon. This should be a new experience for me as well, but as teaching Adult English is one of many avenues for human capital development, which I came down here to do, I look forward to it.

My final program is children’s art. I didn’t originally plan on teaching this class, but now that I am I’m really excited about it. The art program was one of MPI’s more popular and well attended programs last year, but initially none of us current PDs showed much interest in continuing it. Holly explained how art is not offered in schools, and the kids have a lot of problems expressing themselves creatively. During class, there is a lot of copying from neighbors and making projects look exactly like the example (one thing I have been told is to be sure not to leave the example out so they can copy it). But, the kids still love it and Holly said she saw a lot of improvement in expressing themselves creatively during “free art days” in just a few months. I think creativity is another important ingredient in human capital development, and am more than willing to spend some time each week making caterpillars out of egg crates and gluing dried coffee beans to cereal boxes. I also think that making art projects with kids each week will be a nice balance to what might be slower and more tedious work with EPV and Adult English, keeping my spirits high.

So there’s the latest. A lot of this hasn’t really begun in earnest yet, because everyone in Ecuador is currently on vacation, but I have a lot of exciting opportunities in front of me to pursue in the next year. I’m learning more and more that grassroots community development is a day-by-day, fly by the seat of your pants (and with a diet high in fruits and vegetables and low in processed foods, mine get looser every day) kind of work, but hopefully my American “plan it and get it done” mentality will be an asset rather than a roadblock to the kind of problems I’m bound to encounter in all of these programs this year.

Until next time, keep reading, and, supporting me in all the ways you do.

Chao,

Chet

Song of the Blog: “Waterfalls,” by TLC

PS: That technically wasn't verbatim, but I like the word and I also wrote it before I did some minor omissions. Such is life.

"Licensed Economist," Alpacastry enthusiast...Art teacher?

Buenas Tardes Amigos, Familia, y Donors,

Today was day one of the kids (ages 5-12) summer camp. This is really the first thing that MPIE PD 0'10 is completely in charge of. This camp will run for two weeks, three hours a day (9-12)with three-one hour slots. Art, which you may remember I'm in charge of, is hour two on Monday and Friday. Today Profe Chester (or Profe Ché, depending on who you ask) taught our five campers about Jackson Pollock.

This was TERRIFYING to plan. Sure, I have done plenty of art in my life. I had art in school as a child and plenty of crafts to do around the house growing up. But it has been a while since I have made what you might refer to as "kids crafts" and my Spanish still isn't quite at "teaching a class" levels. I spent most of yesterday preparing. The local papelaria was closed, but luckily Krysta and Jackie were off to the MegaMaxi (read: Ecuadorian Walmart, also the large nice mall about 30 minutes away by bus) so I didn't have to go. They called and said they had found a 75 by 100 cm roll for only $0.36! I had them buy three, planning to cut them up into canvasses.

Did you know centimeters are a lot smaller than inches? Well, they are. I ended up with about half the paper I had expected, but only learned this about 10pm as I went to cut my rolls of paper into canvasses. In high school we had a phrase whenever we were building houses in Tijuana for Spring break that went something like "Mexico, Flexico." I have yet to find another Latin American county that rhymes as well, but the sentiment is basically the same. My "Ecuador Flexico" mentality simply meant that there would be less than five canvasses. Holly had taught an art lesson on Jackson Pollock earlier this semester, but also mentioned that I could probably repeat lessons without the kids remembering. She was right. In fact, two of our campers had been in Holly's art class but no one remembered Mr. Pollock. I spent some time reading the Jackson Pollock article on Wikipedia in Spanish (read: copy and pasting) to have something to read aloud as background information for the kids. I also spent time after dinner translating all the directions I would need into Spanish. Things like: "Put on a smock, its to protect your clothes," or "don't fight over brushes, each one will do a different thing." I then had Erik proof read everything to make sure it wasn't nonsensical or offensive (we actually had this problem with our Spanish translations for the cooking class last week).

I slept poorly last night, mostly due to nerves. I can also feel a slat in my hip. Some of my concerns included "How many kids will we have?" and "How is my lack of Spanish going to effect today's lesson" or "do we have the paint we need?" and "what if they don't like it?" I had to leave the house a little early to try and find plastic spoons for paint splattering.

We had five kids register this morning. They are young and adorable. I started prepping at 9:30, quite alone (most of the profes and all the kids were outside playing duck duck goose). Prepping involved putting on my incredible rainbow-collared shirt smock that I found in the donation corner of the Manna House (a gift from Mark), mixing purple paint (for those of you following along at home, I would suggest mixing blue and red paint together) and then watering down all the paint (green, red, blue, yellow, purple) to splatter consistency. After the paint was prepped, I had to throw together an example. I'm not sure if I have ever done splatter paint before, but it felt great. I was done prepping exactly at 10, which was perfect because the kids were marching up the stairs.

We had them sit in a circle and I read to them my instructions and about the first paragraph of Jackson Pollock's history before I got self conscious and handed the paper to Krysta. Sarah had been kind enough to read over my lecture and (majorly) pare it down, it was the right length at 4 paragraphs. It would have been way too long at 1.5 pages. Attention spans were lacking. But afterward, we passed out brushes (with no fighting), put on smocks, and marched to the roof to splatter paint. I think they loved it. They certainly looked like they were having fun. We did two canvasses as a group, with each kid doing one color, and then had each kid do one canvas on their own with all the colors. The most memorable thing was Yori, the youngest boy, using a lot of red and purple and then saying "I'm done!" totally neglecting the other colors. Some of the profes did paintings as well, and they had as much if not more fun then the kids.

Sadly, my painting blew away as it was drying on the roof. I know where it is; it blew into the crack in the roof and is sitting at the bottom of an atrium three stories down. Sadly, it is in a vacant apartment that Dana said she has only seen open twice the whole time she has been here. This is mildly traumatizing: when I was in Kindergarten I once colored a stegosaurus for my mom; but, walking to the bus it was storming and I remember it being blown out of my hand. Coming home distraught, my mom took me back to school to look for it and we found it! Some guy had found it in his yard and tacked it to a tree because it was quite obviously labeled "CHETTOMOM." Talk about luck.

I'd like this one back too.

The next art lesson is Friday, we will be making kaleidoscopes out of toilet paper rolls (you'd be surprised how quickly we are able to produce those) crayon shavings, wax paper, paint, and an iron. Is it as exciting as a real kaleidoscope? Probably not. Will the kids love it anyway? Well, if not, they only have to make it once.

Chao,

Chet

Song of the Blog: "Red Oyster Cult," by Guster

A quick plug for the daily life blog

I encourage everyone reading this to also check out Manna Project International Ecuador's daily life blog. It is updated much more frequently than I update this and Sarah and Jackie (the blog gurus) are very good about adding pictures.

http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=5523350686076280897

Song of the blog: "Ohio (Come Back to Texas)" by Bowling for Soup

Hungry? I can fix that, at least for 45 minutes or so...

It was a pretty exciting day of cooking here in Quito. I can’t decide if I’m posting these recipes because I’m so proud of how everything turned out and want records to be able to reproduce it or to give you digital travelers something to try at home, but read on if you are willing.

Lunch:
Quinoa.

I don’t know if you are lucky enough to have been introduced to this magical grain yet, but I love it. I mostly love it from a theoretical standpoint; like soybeans, it is a complete protein and is also indigenous to the Andes. I know you can buy it in the States, because I learned about in my Contemporary Latin American Society class back at Vanderbilt and used it earlier this summer.

1 cup quinoa
1 potato
1 carrot
1 clove garlic
Cajun seasoning
Garlic salt
Drinkable yogurt

Prep: rinse 1 cup of quinoa. Soak it in water for 15-30 minutes. Rinse and strain again. If you really care, you want to remove as much of the casing as possible, because it can lead to bitter quinoa. I wasn’t patient enough to do so. Add 1.5 cups of water and ½ a teaspoon of salt to the quinoa in a pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and let simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t burn to the bottom.

While your quinoa simmers, peel and cut up (or mince, if appropriate) one potato, one carrot, one clove of garlic, and however much cabbage looks right. Sauté all vegetables until tender; add the cabbage last. When the quinoa is ready, stir sautéed vegetables and quinoa together. Add your favorite brand of Cajun seasoning and some garlic salt, and serve with a glass of yogurt (it is very, very drinkable here. I’m pretty proud of making this up on my own when it was time for lunch). If your quinoa is presoaked you can eat in 30 min.

Dinner:
Sprite Chicken, blanched broccoli, garlic rice, lentils (time from start to eating, 1.75 hrs)

Sprite chicken:
1 Chicken
1 can sprite
Paprika
Salt
Ginger powder
Brown sugar

Buy a chicken. Either buy one with all organs removed or remember to remove them yourself before you are almost done seasoning the salmonella magnet. If you forget, have Erik remove them, but make sure Dana isn’t watching; she won’t like it. Mix 1 part paprika, 1 part salt, 2 parts brown sugar, and ¼ part ginger powder (using 1 tablespoon per part works well for 1 chicken). Rub liberally inside and out. Take a can and fill it (or empty it, depending if you can buy sprite in cans or not) with sprite. Insert sprite can in chicken, then put on tin-foil wrapped pan. The chicken should be sitting on top of this can so it doesn’t spill everywhere. Put into heated oven. Ovens in Ecuador only have one setting, hot, but I would guess 350ºF in a standard American oven. Cook until cooked, about 1.5 hours. Again, this would be easier with things like thermometers. Remove can and serve however the mood serves you—whether that mood be whole with the wings tucked behind its back or cut up into edible pieces.

Blanched Broccoli:
I don’t think I have ever had broccoli this good. We made an incredible amount (broccoli is cheap here) and it was all consumed.

1 pound broccoli florets
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Ice

Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil. When the water comes to a boil, add the broccoli florets using a strainer with a handle if possible. Allow the broccoli to cook for 1 to 2 minutes until just tender. Immediately remove from the boiling water, using the strainer or draining, and transfer to bowl of ice to stop the cooking process. Immerse the broccoli completely in the ice water for a minute or two (indeed, as the title says, you should blanch it). Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Throw in the broccoli and season with red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Stir to coat the broccoli, then cook and stir for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and eat! (All seasoning can be done by hand and measurements are not really necessary, something I learn more and more here).

Lentils:
A recipe from my Emelia at my home stay.

1 cup lentils
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons(ish) Achiote oil (good luck buying this in the states? Its reddish)
Mucho cilantro

Rinse lentils. Add 1.5 cups water and bring to a boil. Emelia says to salt the lentils immediately, the interwebs say salting lentils before they are cooked will make them tougher. Believe who you will. Bring to a boil. Add Achiote oil. Reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes or until lentils are tender (about an hour here). Add more water if they are really stubborn. At minute 40, add a ton of cilantro, probably half a cup or so. When the lentils are finally done, drain off most of the excess water.

Garlic Rice:
Melt a vegetable bullion cube in 2 or so tablespoons of oil. Add 1 clove minced garlic and some garlic powder. Add rice and water (2 cups water for one cup rice), bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer WITHOUT UNCOVERING OR STIRRING for 45 minutes.

2 chickens, 3 uncooked cups of lentils, 4 uncooked cups of rice, and 4ish pounds of broccoli can feed 13 hungry PDs. Don’t expect leftovers.

Chao,

Chet

Song of the Blog: "My Happy Ending," by Avril Levigne

Ecuador is Free!

Today is the 200th anniversary of Ecuador declaring independence. Most of the celebrations were last night, and the nine of us gringos were there to celebrate with them (until bedtime, at least). It was certainly an experience. We made it to Plaza Grande about 6:45. Plaza Grande was the original seat of the empire in Ecuador; on two sides it has the Cathedral and the President’s house. The national symphony started playing about 7. Then, about half an hour later, the music stopped and the crowd turned towards the presidential house. Rafeal Carrea came out and waved to cheers around 7:30 or so. Due to dumb luck, we were about 50 feet from where he was on the balcony. We were all pretty impressed with the lack of (visible) security for a head of state. It was the closest I have been to any head of state thus far. Carrea disappeared about as quickly as he showed up, and we decided it was time to go get some food. After working our way to one corner of the plaza, we realized that the police had barricaded a walkway off, blocking the crowd on either side. I am easily a foot (or more) taller then the typical Ecuadorian and probably have 50 pounds on most of them. So, for the whole night, as the crowds pushed some of the smaller girls in the group around like sea weed, these people bounced off me. It was kind of funny, and really nice to be able to maintain eye contact with our group all the time.

But regardless of how impervious I am to an Ecuadorian crowd, we had a police barricade in front of us and a seething mass of people pushing in from behind. About here in the night was my first real experience with a ladron (thief) in Ecuador. Sure, on the Ecovia (major north-south bus route in Quito) I have felt hands for my pockets, but that’s life on the Ecovia. A full 20% of riders on the Ecovia are pick-pocketed (so I heard from my host family). That’s one reason why I always have my hand in my front pocket over my wallet. Well, I guess that’s the only reason I do that. Luckily, by law it is not a robbery unless they take more than $500. I’m not sure if that means that I should be carrying a lot more money so I can report it if something happens, or just watch my pockets closely. But last night, an old man and his wife were acting weird and really pushing into us, and I looked down and my bag had been cut. There is a 4 inch incision on the side. My initial reaction was to pull my bag up over my head and tell Erik, who has actually had a bag cut on the Ecovia, exactly that. The old man and his wife disappeared. I did notice he had a broken finger, which is interesting, because I’m pretty sure if I ever catch a thief with their hand in my bag/pocket I’m also going to try to break their hand. This is a country where rural justice for thieves still includes burning. Luckily, all I had in the bag was an alpaca hat, a water bottle, and my rain jacket, none of which were stolen. I’ll take it to our favorite seamstress today to get it repaired; it will probably cost about $.50. Mike, on the other hand, was carrying Sarah’s purse under his jacket and came away from the same crowd with a big cut in his rain jacket. Again, nothing was stolen. The rain jacket isn’t in great shape though, and I hear they are a real necessity during rainy season.

But the crowd wasn’t a total waste. After standing there for a little while, Carrea came right down the steps and through the tunnel in the crowd and up onto the stage for the bicentennial. Haley, towards the front of the group, was in hand-shaking distance from el presidente. Pretty good proximity to Ecuador’s head of state two times on the same night for dumb luck, huh?

So what else has been going on, other than too much for me to blog as regularly as expected?

Well, the second to last night of my home stay we had an incredible, and deep, talk at dinner. I got to learn a lot about the family’s history. I mentioned in an earlier post that the house I was in for my language stay is huge and beautiful. The family has been in that house for almost 46 years. That means they moved in when this (La Floresta) was “North Quito,” the rich and exclusive neighborhood. This is back when the Mariscol (Gringolandia, one of the bigger tourist districts in Quito and where our language school is located) was a mostly residential area. But by far the thing I can’t wrap my head around is the simple fact that Eulalia’s grandfather on her dad’s side was the military dictator of Ecuador for about 3 months back whenever. His name was Emelio (something) Ramirez. Simply mind-blowing.

While we are on the subject of our rich and powerful friends in Ecuador, I should probably mention Wendy. Wendy is from the US, but married an Ecuadorian husband after college. They live down the block from where our library is in Rumiloma. Their house is about 200 years old, and only one of 3 haciendas left in the area. They have 2 polo fields and 30+ horses for polo that they keep in their stables. Wendy and her three sons (well two, the middle son was still at summer camp in the Bahamas) had us over for lunch and were super welcoming. It is incredible that this hacienda is in between our bus stop and the library.

Language school is over and we have all moved into the house. There are currently 15 of us, which makes space tight and meals big, but it has been great so far. All the old PDs are starting to trickle out this week though, which I’m sure will be weird and sad. They are about the only other people we have had to talk English to for a month. We cook a big family dinner every night but Saturday. Vegetables are cheap here and we eat a lot of them. I’ve already lost 10 pounds. I’m sure once those parasites kick in I’ll be wearing my old suit from high school in no time. The walls are indeed paper-thin in this house. It’s a good thing I’m a heavy sleeper.

The whole month of August is mostly scheduled with summer camp. Last week and this week is the Jovenes camp (teens). Turnout has been low, but I think the girls who are coming are having a lot of fun. The next two weeks will be for kids age 5-12. Seth and Dana planned the Jovenes camp, we just show up in the mornings. However, MPIE PD ’10 is in charge of the kid’s camp; we are planning this week. We also have the library open in the afternoons. I have played Monopoly every time I have been in the library. Some of the other PD’s have also put a lot of work into sorting and entering all the donated books we recently got, which is great. Ecuadorians don’t read much currently (a confession from our Ecuadorian friend Jorge) but some have started, at least. I tried helping with this project, but found myself on a bean bag reading Clifford the Big Red Dog en Espanol (more or less my reading level).

Most of the jobs have been divvied up at this point. I am officially in charge on Microfinance and small business classes (with Erik), the community survey database, program metrics (to measure effectiveness of our programs and measure other parts of life), I’m the finance chair for the house, and I take out the trash. I’m also in charge of children’s art. Surprised? Well, all the other stuff is up my alley as far as personal aspirations go. I like art and can remember plenty of kid’s projects. Also, art was one of our most popular programs last year, and no one else was really interested in continuing it. In addition, (and the reason I was most interested in doing it) the kids have very few other creative outlets. Copying the work of a neighbor is something I will have to look out for, and Holly suggests I do not actually leave the example out otherwise it will get copied too. But, in six months Holly said she saw a lot of improvement in the kids’ willingness to express themselves creatively and a lot of enthusiasm for the class in general, which may very well be much needed break from working with all the adults in EPV, the micro financing coop we work with.

Chao,

Chet

Song of the Blog: “16 Military Wives,” by The Decemberists