Mi Vida Nueva - Parte I

Now that I have a new favorite TV channel and only watch telenovelas now (thanks Ecuavisa), I am going to make this blog entry a two-parter. Can you handle the suspense? I didn't think so. Truth is, I haven't taken any pictures of where I have been working yet. so I'll give you that half of my new life either later this week or sometime next. So, where to begin? Most everyone who reads this blog has already talked to me (or for you stalkers out there maybe not). But the living situation is no Cayambe. As I said in my previous entry, I am living in Playa Grande. When I first said this at my new place of employment, they started laughing at me, as I soon learned why. Playa Grande is tucked away in the mountains, hills, whatever outside of Atacames. The camioneta (pickup truck) I take can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and a half to get into town. It depends on the weather, time of day, or if someone wants to stop at the market along the way and hold up the camioneta for 20 additional minutes. But arriving at "home" feels great after some ofthese excessively long rides (here's a picture of home):

 

As for Playa Grande itself, there isn't much to it from what I have in these pictures. The little soccer and volley ball courts and a few houses. If I need anything I have to hope the camioneta swings by, but it is unreliable at best. On to living conditions- manageable. I would be lying if I said the next few months are going to be easy, but right now chanchos (pigs) and especially gallos (roosters) are making life hell. I am a light sleeper. I really don't need to explain myself there, it's basic arithmetic (that's English for math). Waking up at 4:30 in the morning and having difficulty getting back to sleep is not my cup of tea. Another gripe is showering in the river. When fish are biting at your ankles because they like to eat soap, you know you aren't anywhere near normalcy. As I also said in my previous entry, I'm built Ford tough, just not exactly those words.

 

The family I'm with seems very nice and everyone is concerned that I am feeling fine. It is going to be a bit more difficult to integrate with my family here than Cayambe, but I will manage. Whether it be through soccer or working a few days here in harvesting the cacao with Don Ochoa, I'll get into the swing of things in the campo. And this brings me to my final thought, enemies. Don't worry I haven't made any here...except one- myself. Back in the States and even in training, we had other people or at least trivial things to occupy our time and our thoughts. The past week (my first week here) I was left to myself. Everything unfamiliar. No one to really talk to- English speakers. So what happened? Self-doubt and anxiety plagued me for a good part of the week. "What did I get myself into? How am I going to survive these two years?" Questions along those lines. The past week was probably my low in terms of emotions, and it was my first as an actual volunteer. Overwhelmed- what did I do? I turned the thoughts around. Stopped thinking negatively and looked at where I was. Sure I may be on my own in something very foreign to me, but soon enough I'll have some form of my own life and routine. I realized that I cannot let negative emotions take me over. So my advice to you (whoever is out there reading), do not let yourself be your own enemy. If you start turning toward negative thoughts, try and turn them around. Look at the positives.

 

Finally, if anyone from the States (this includes future Ecuador Omnibusers, concerned parents of fellow Omnibus 99ers, or random bill collecters that speak English) reading this wants to text me or give me a call here is how to get in touch:
011-593-9-794-7761

Also, my new mailing address is on the right side there. Don´t send any heavy packages and claim $0 in value no matter what when sending stuff. Don´t send money. Other than that, I shouldn´t have too many problems getting mail.

Another New Beginning

As of April 17th, I am no longer a Peace Corps trainee, but rather a Peace Corps Volunteer (or PCV). It was a great two and a half months with my fellow trainees, but as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. To any other Omnibus 99ers out that read my blog, thanks for your support and friendship during training, and you all better keep in touch. To all that have commented or even just stalk my blog, thanks for reading my words thusfar.

But now here I am. Alone. No more daily routine of training. No fellow Omnibusers close to me. My work site is Atacames. Do not let that mislead you, though. My first three months of living and working aren{t going to be glittered with the glamour that is Atacames. My living situation (not quite ready until Monday) is in a community called Playa Grande (translates into Big Beach). That sounds cool, until you realize Playa Grande is 45 minutes down a dirt road actually no where near the beach. My living situation there does not look great, but hopefully I can survive for three months (when I can move into something more comfortable). I have no cell phone reception at home and getting back into Atacames looks like it is going to be a headache. Yeah, life will be rough until I can find my own place in the actual town.

So what{s the point of this entry? Right now, I feel like the start of a race. I am sitting at the starting line. The race official has already called Ready, and is now on Set. My heart is racing. All the nerves are on this race. It hasnt been since high school track that I have been this nervous. I see the ten hurdles in front of me, I can see the finish line. But the finish line seems so far away. Hopefully, once the gun goes off and the race begins, the adrenaline will keep me going. I only fell in one race in all of high school, so odds of falling in this race of my current life seem pretty low.

Happy Birthday to Me

First off, I want to thank everyone who wished me a happy birthday, I feel so much older. I think a chest hair even sprouted. Go me! And a special thanks to my fellow aspirantes for coming over in the lovely ole Cayambe. En serio though, it was a good birthday for me. Even though it is a new family and a new group of friends, nothing was drastically different. Well, except that I am in South America, in the mountains, my family here looks nothing like me, but yeah- the same.

 

In other news, joining Peace Corps has made me realize my true calling in life. After my space camp dream was shot down by Andy, I had to go back to the drawing boards, literally. T-shirt design. That's what I was born to do. From Gidix's "Score All Night" slogan that I came up with years ago, to my newest design- the Official Omnibus 99 Camiseta. Ok, the design really isn't of my own creativity, but I added a mustache and boots. Yep, I'm the Picasso of the t-shirt business.

 

Eso Es

So, where to begin? These past two weeks have been jam packed with adventure and misadventure. I don't really know the difference. The first week of our trip was in Puerto Quito (about an hour and a half or 2 hours from Quito). I have not had the opportunity until now to experience the diversity that is Ecuador. Even from the busride from Tabacundo/Cayambe to Puerto Quito, the change in scenery is vast. You go from the somewhat bleak nature of the Sierra to a jungle in the clouds- the transitional zone of Ecuador. It is even amazing to spot the differences in crops. In the Sierra, a great deal of corn, potato, tomate de arbol (yes, tomato tree), and all the other stuff up here. However, along the highway en route to Puerto Quito, you are able to see the transition to more tropical crops. Cacao (chocolate's actual fruit). Platano. Maracuya (passionfruit). Yuca. The green is also more prevalant. Makes sense since you are moving away from the barren volcano mountains to mountains covered in tropical plants.

 

Anyway, enough about that. We arrived at our hotel in Puerto Quito and the first thought running through everyone's mind, "Welcome to paradise!" Somehow we managed to squeeze out classes during the week, but it was tough. Here is a quick list of facilities we had in our grasps- basketball, soccer & volleyball court, soccer field, pool, river, hiking trails, bar, ping pong and pool tables. Yeah, just another week at the office. Tough I tell you! As I said, we did have classes, and we really did learn a decent amount while in Puerto Quito. Lombriculture, raising tilapia, soil conservation, and integrated farms. I will attempt to add pictures into this blog entry to drive the point home. Two other places we visited during the week were Mindo, a famous spot in the world for butterflies and its biodiversity, and Pedro Vicente, a small town close to where we were staying.

 

Week 2 was a lot different and not as posh, but definitely one of the cooler experiences in my life. The coastal agriculture folks (that includes me) started off the week by heading to Il Poste (near Santo Domingo). If you look it up on Wikipedia or somewhere on the internet, I am sure you can find information on it. Il Poste and the surrounding area are Tsa'chila communities. One of those cultures you have probably only read about in National Geographic. While they are not completely cutoff from the real world, they like to keep there customs alive. From the native dress to the cleansing ritual, it was quite the cultural experience. I am even now part of Tsa'chila history- I was the first person to accidentally break a wooden spear in half when doing target practice. Our living situation for two nights was a straw hut, a straw mattress on top of three wooden planks and a severe lack of mosquito/annoying gnat protection. I looked like I got chicken pox all over again.

 

The rest of the week wasn't as exciting as our time with the Tsa'chilas but it was rewarding none-the-less. First, we went to El Empalme (I think in the Guayas province). The days there were super tech packed but a whole bunch of useful information. Empalme was a pretty sketchy town, but we all enjoyed ourselves. After two nights staying there, the coastal agriculture people working with cacao headed to Vinces (about 3 hours south of Empalme). Before talking about how awesome Vinces was, I have to note the view on the busride again. Passing these grand Dole and Chiquita banana plantations is quite the site to behold. I guess you can liken it to corn in parts of the United States, but it was still quite impressive seeing a mar of banana/platano/whatever. Back to Vinces, or the mini Paris of Ecuador. It even has its own mini Eiffel Tower. It is difficult to describe why Vinces was so nice, but the atmosphere at night, walking along the river was great. And unfortunately for whatever reason, I have no pictures of Vinces because I forgot to sacar mi camara. One of our language facilitators said Vinces is very similar to Atacames, the difference being an ocean in Atacames instead of the river. It makes me a bit upset that our site visits got cancelled, but now I am pretty damn excited for my actual work.

 

I guess that is it for now, hopefully I can get these pictures integrated into the blog properly for you all.