And So THIS is the Peace Corps!

Hola a Todos!

I have now officially been in Chibuleo for two weeks, although it doesn’t feel all that new with how comfortable things are and how much work there is! It is hard to believe that I have now been in Ecuador for 10 months and have finished over a third of my service. Time is truly flying, even more so here in Chibuleo. When I got here, I jumped right into work, so I haven’t even had any time to worry about adjusting to life here, it all just happened!

Work is still in the process of starting, but so far it is great! My first week I helped a lot with paperwork at the foundation, which made for some long 12-hour days, but I was happy to help get things organized. I gave one hygiene charla to the group of little kids, which went well and they were excited to learn to do the “mariposa” and “serpiente” when washing their hands. I went out to watch them before lunch the next day, and sure enough they were all washing their hands how we had practiced the day before, which was encouraging. I will be giving the charla to the older kids this week as well, so pretty soon their should be lots of clean hands around the foundation!

I talked with the two educators about the groups I want to work with at the foundation and they sounded both excited and supportive. I have to talk with my counterpart this week to propose them to her, but I think she will also approve. If all goes according to plan, I will be meeting with three groups a week. The groups will include environmental awareness, handicrafts, tire gardens, cooking and dance. The last three will all be able to focus on food security, nutrition and healthy lifestyles, so will all work towards my Peace Corps goals, but be fun for the kids! My counterpart was really excited about the tire gardens (the only one I have proposed to her so far…), so we should be ready to go with that by the end of this week. There is always the issue of getting consistent attendance, but I’m hoping I’ll be able to find a small group of kids really interested in the activity they’re part of, so they’ll actually come to the meetings. We’ll see, of course, how it actually works out, but I’m very optimistic.

Very, very exciting work has turned up to occupy my mornings. Lila, a third-year volunteer who works in the Quito office comes to the community near me once a month to give a taller (workshop) to a group of teenagers at the high school. The goal is that she will give the taller to the group of 20, then they will replicate the session in all of the classrooms at the large high school. So far she has given them two talleres, but they have yet to replicate any. Since Lila lives in Quito, she can’t come more than once a month, so she isn’t able to support them with the replications. Luckily, that’s where I come in! I am now working with the group to help them prepare and replicate the tallers in their high school and two other nearby high schools. So far I have had several meetings with the sub-director of the high school, he is very supportive of the program and working with me to make it happen. I had one organizational meeting with the group of jovenes and they all seemed dedicated and ready to work. This Tuesday, the sub-director blocked out two hours in the morning for me to work with them and hopefully have the first taller fully prepared, so they may be able to start replications by the end of this week! If not, they will definitely complete them the week after Semana Santa. I wasn’t at Lila’s first two tallers, but she gave me the outlines and the activities are from the same manual I was working on with the girls in Zhoray, so I’m familiar with them. The themes so far include self-esteem, values, culture, and goals for the future. This is what I had been trying to start for a long time, so I’m excited to be working with a group that is interested in putting in the time and effort to work with me. It will be challenging for them to start, but it’s great leadership and public speaking practice, which will only improve over time. I can’t wait to see how our first few sessions together go!

While the work at the subcentro isn’t necessarily working towards my Peace Corps goals of starting projects, it is interesting at times and I will continue in the mornings when I’m not at the high school. One of the nurses let’s me help with all the patients, so last week I got to take height, weight, temperature, pulse and respiration and she is teaching me how to take blood pressure. I also got to go on a house visit last week with another one of the doctors, which was very sad. We went to see an old woman with terminal cancer and a tumor on her lower-leg that more than doubled the size of her leg. While it is awful that she has terminal cancer, equally (or more) disheartening are the conditions she’s living in during her final time. The house is in complete disrepair and the roof does nothing to keep the wind out, so it is very cold. Her family abandoned her when they found out about the cancer, and the woman has no money, so she usually only eats when the doctors bring her food they make in the subcentro. The good thing that came from it was to see what a committed, caring staff there is at the subcentro!

In other news, a little more about my community! Lila came to do my housing approval last week and the GPS coordinates taken from my house gave an elevation of 11,260 ft – that’s why it’s so cold here! I knew I was high up, but didn’t know it was quite that high. Other than the cold, however, I haven’t had any issues with adjusting to the elevation. I’m not quite sure what the population of my community is, but it’s not very big. Most of the houses are along the one main road that runs up from the highway. My house is right on the plaza, so it surrounded by the school and the soccer/basketball court is five steps out the front door. The high school and subcentro are both in the next community over, down the mountain from me. It is 4 kilometers to them from my house, so I get to walk it twice a day. It is nice for a little exercise, enjoying the fresh air and some quiet time to myself and think and plan. After work I play a lot of soccer and basketball with Flavio and Pauli (host brother and sister), two little cousins, and whoever else from the neighborhood comes out. I usually either play sports outside or hang out with my host mom, Dalila, and whoever else in the family is around and watching TV in the afternoons/evenings.

My host family continues to be incredible and I can feel what a difference it makes for me. I feel much, much stronger and it is so nice to know that however work may go on any given day, I have this wonderful family to go home to. I frequent the kitchen at the foundation as much as I can during the day, so I get to talk with my host mom a lot, help with the cooking, and stay warm! It is easy to talk with anyone in the family, and it’s always a fun, lively atmosphere in the house. Cora is equally as happy with the host family and has made two best friends/partners in crime: Precioso, the family’s dog, and the family duck. Cora and Precioso are almost always together, only fighting when it comes to food (although they are getting better, and there aren’t any issues when they each have a plate!). The wrestle around the backyard and schoolyard together, follow the grandpa out to the fields, and nap together. Precioso is Cora’s favorite new pillow, so she always tries to sleep fully on top of him, which he usually humors her for a bit before shaking her off. The duck also benefits from Cora’s food dish and water, eating the dog food and drinking/stepping in her water. This evening, the two rascals both broke into the house. Cora is sneaky, but unfortunately for her the duck’s quacking gave them both away. They got chase out once, but someone left the door open so they had to be chased out twice in one night. She loves her freedom and comes and goes as she pleases, but always manages to be around during meal time. She has only been to the foundation with me once more (even though the kids ask for her everyday!) because she is off playing with the kids in the school, wrestling with Precioso, or exploring who-knows-where on her own and doesn’t want to come to the foundation!

That’s about it for now. I am so very, very happy here in Chibuleo and am living the Peace Corps experience I always dreamed about. I am living and working with unbelievably kind and dedicated people, I am working towards increasing health education and improving the health of the people here in Chibuleo, and I am strengthening lifelong friendships with other PCVs now that I can communicate with them more regularly. I am excited to get up and work each day, and I can’t wait to continue discovering everything that will be my life for the next 1.5 years here in Chibuleo!

Abrazos,

Kerry

A New Beginning

Hola a Todos!

Well, here I am in my new community of Chibuleo, about 30 minutes outside the large city of Ambato and 45 minutes from Riobamba. While I didn’t think it could happen, it is MUCH colder here than it was in Zhoray…ay chai chai! What’s really scary is that we’re in summer, so come July I might be an icicle.

The best news about the move is that little Cora came with me! It was stressful for a while because she was at the vet in Cuenca and I didn’t think I could bring her, so I tried to find a home among other PCV’s, looked into leaving her at the vet for long-term boarding, and looked into finding her a home in Cuenca. When the driver came to get my stuff with me, he asked about her because Rebecca, the health Program Manager, had told him I had a dog at the vet. He said I should just call my counterpart and see what she thought, so I did. My new counterpart, Teresita, was very kind and told me to absolutely bring the dog. She said my host family had a back yard she could stay in with another dog, and that she could go to the foundation with me. Miguel (the driver) and I went and picked her up last-minute from the vet in Cuenca Saturday night and she came to Chibuleo with me on Sunday!

I think the host family was a bit hesitant at first, but now have no problem with her, and seem to like her a lot! They always ask if she’s had enough food, if she’s too cold, etc. Similarly, she instantly became a star at the project. There is a lot of room for her to run around and she was very good on her first day about not running away (even though the door was open!). She is an energetic, but very sweet puppy, so when the kids came in the afternoon she played and played and played with them. By the time classes came around, I went up to one of the classrooms and peeked down on her and she was sound asleep among the pile of backpacks strewn across the playground.

At home, I was nervous to let her loose, but there really is no option because I can’t keep her leashed all the time. I think she knows well where she lives and there is hardly any traffic around here, so I’m not too worried about her. Tuesday I went to give her some breakfast and she had left the yard, but one of my host sisters came out to say she had gone out the front to the school, which is the next building over. I went to the front porch and called her and she came running in for food.She walked with me and my host mom and sister to the foundation, but then continued on with my host sister up to the sheep.  I ended up working until late that night and hadn’t seen her at all during the day, but she was asleep with the family’s dog waiting for me at home! I think she is going to live a very nice, free life here in the campo of Chibuleo, and she seems to be very, very happy here, like me!

My host family is incredible. I already feel so welcomed into the family and they are both sweet and fun. My host mom is absolutely adorable. She is the cook at the foundation, so she makes lunch for 100 kids each day. I went with her my first two days and helped around the kitchen a bit, but mostly just hung out with her. It’s nice because she’s a very good cook, and there is also a nutritionist who decides the lunch menu at the foundation, so I am eating well. There are 3 girls in my host family, probably between the ages of 18-25, so it is a lot of fun to be around girls my age! One of them has a 1.5 year-old daughter, Dalila, who is absolutely adorable and very loved by all, so she is the focus of most of our time together, which is great! There is also a teenage son who is very nice and they are a very kind family who loves spending time together. My room is right in the middle of it all, so I feel like I am part of the household.  While it has only been a few days, I love being here in the house and spending time with the family. It is also nice because when I am in my room, I can still here the family and it’s nice knowing there are others nearby. I also love the surprise visits from Dalila, although she usually just opens the door, looks in, and toddles away. She isn’t too sure about me yet, but I’m definitely growing on her, indicated by the two pats she gave me on the leg yesterday! I think we’ll be very good friends.

The foundation I’m working for is called Kinder Not Hilfer (KNH), a German foundation. My counterpart is the directora of the foundation, and only 5 women work there – my counterpart, the accountant, the two educators and my host mom. It is basically an after-school program for kids where they come for a nutritional lunch, then do their homework and can get help with it. There is a huge playground for those who don’t want to work, as well as a computer lab (WITH INTERNET!), and a few classrooms. I’m going to get my own classroom to be able to continue and start new groups with different kids, as well as give all my charlas. I will be starting with hygiene charlas and charlas about personal values, splitting the kids to work with 3 different age groups. The kids at the foundation rage in age from 4-17 years old, so there is a wide range to work with, which will be great! I will also be working with some nutrition charlas leading into my tire gardens, which should be a lot of fun. The foundation doesn’t have space for me to start a regular garden, but they have a ton of old tires on the roof, so I’m going to use those to begin tire gardens and identify the kids most interested in them. From there I hope to work with those kids and their parents in starting family gardens on their own plots of land. It is nice to work with the foundation because they have some funding for different things, which will help with projects I want to do! Aside from the foundation, I’ll go to the subcentro in the mornings (at least that’s the plan for now…) to help there and maybe start some projects with them too. I’m not sure they have anything for me to do, so I’ll see how that goes.

The community is very indigenous where I live and the majority speakKichwa, so I’m hoping to learn some too. I was talking to Martha, one of the two educators at the foundation, about it today and she said that the adults almost all speak Kichwa and the kids understand, although some can’t speak it. I am around it enough because both Martha and Maria Eugenio speak Kichwa, so that is their natural language when they’re together. My host mom also understands it, although I’ve only heard her respond in Spanish. While I’m sure I won’t be able to get great at it, I should be able to learn at least some of the basics!

That’s about it for now. It is only 8:30pm, but I have to go to bed to shake the cold. I’m sitting here on the computer and can see my breath (yes, inside my bedroom) and my fingers can hardly function anymore. Luckily I have sheets, 6 wool blankets and a big comforter, so nighttime is the only time I feel like I can actually get warm! Things are all very new here still, but the transition has been smooth and I’m excited to see how things play at. I came into this community with many more skills and ideas about how to enter a community than when I was in Zhoray, so things are coming much more easily. While I know there will still be plenty of roadblocks and hard times, I have a wonderful feeling about my new life her in Chibuleo J

I miss you all very much and am happy that I will now be able to be in closer contact with many of you! I will be sure to share my new mailing address once I get it assigned from Peace Corps. While it’s the heart of winter there, I at least hope you are all able to stay warmer than me here!

All my love,

Kerry

A New Beginning

Hola a Todos!

It has been a long time since I have posted a blog, but so much has happened that I haven't had much time. Things are still very rushed, so I am not able to write much now, but I just wanted to check in and give a quick update!

Early this week, Peace Corps decided that I was to leave my community and begin working in another community in Ecuador. Everything happened very quickly, so I had less than 24 hours to pack up all of my things in Zhoray, say a few quick goodbyes, and get on the road to Riobamba. There was a big rush because a march/protest began in Ecuador on Thursday, so beginning Wednesday we have been in standfast mode, which means no volunteer is allowed to leave their site. In my case, it meant that I had to get to Riobamba by Tuesday night to "standfast" here.

I made it into Riobamba late Tuesday and have been staying with a Peace Corps friend, relaxing, talking with people at home and with my bosses in Peace Corps, and just taking a little break. I was lucky that my Program Manager happened to be in Riobamba at the time, so I was able to have lunch with her on Wednesday and figure things out in person. She presented me my new site information, but was not able to give me any details about when I would be moving because of the standfast.

Everything has gone smoothly with the protests so far, and there have not been any violent clashes as Peace Corps feared. Since things have gone well, I got a call today saying that I would be going to collect my things tomorrow from Brittney's house and leaving on Sunday for my new site. A Peace Corps car will come get me in the morning, bring me to Azogues to pick up my things, and bring up to Ambato on Sunday.

I got a call today from my new counterpart who is very, very excited to meet me on Sunday and bring me from Ambato to my new site, which I have heard is about 45 minutes outside of Ambato. Ambato is the 4th largest city in the country, so I will be near a big city. It is also close to Riobamba and close to a lot of Peace Corps volunteers! There are a lot of projects already started and waiting for me in the new town, so I'm excited to get there and get working.

I have been told a little about the new site. It sounds like it is even higher and colder - somewhere between 9,000-12,500 feet at any given point. It is a small, Indigenous community of about 2,500 and I will be working primarily with a foundation that does after school programs for the kids. I will be working a lot on hygiene and nutrition charlas, sex ed programs in the high school, nutrition and gardens with the mothers, and recycling crafts with the "green brigades" and little kids who are in recycling teams :). It will be a challenge to start again, but I'm looking forward to all the potential work and what sounds to be an incredible community.

That's all for now - I'm still exhausted and overwhelmed with all that's happening, so I'm just taking it day by day. I will try to write again in about a week to let you know how everything is going in the new site :)

Happy Spring Break to all the girls at CC, and I hope everyone is doing well in the States. I miss you all, but am excited to continue sharing my adventures here!

All my love,

Kerry