Hola a todos!
Things continue to be wonderful here in Chibuleo. Semana Santa was a lot of fun, with only one day of work and the rest of the time to hang out and relax. I took a two-day trip to Otavalo and Ibarra with Shannon, one of the volunteers who I now live near and was great friends with during training. It is so much fun being around so many volunteers, and really makes for a different Peace Corps experience. Shannon and I went and visited 4 other volunteers on the trip and we all had a great time together! We did some shopping in the market at Otavalo and then made the journey back home, which it was! The 4.5 hour bus trip quickly turned into a 9.5 hour trip with Easter traffic, road work, and who knows why else. Overall, however, the trip was a lot of fun!
Easter was very tranquila here. I got home Saturday night, but got sick and stayed in while the rest of the family went to a baptism and after-party. The party lasted until 6am, so the whole family slept until late morning. We had a nice and relaxed brunch, then I headed to the soccer game with Amparo, Pauli and Dalila to cheer on their dad. The community and surrounding area sure are the soccer fans I always imagined in Latin America!
I didn’t work much at the foundation last week because I was still sick on Monday, then my counterpart called me into Riobamba on Wednesday. I went and stayed with her for a few nights so that we could get some work done there for the trimester report that is due next week. It was nice staying with her, and it was a lot of fun because I had plenty of free time to spend with Orrin and his parents who were visiting from the U.S.! I didn’t have any work to do on Friday, so I got to go to Chimborazo with Orrin, his parents, and my host sister Pauli, which was absolutely incredible! We got so lucky on the day we went because Chimborazo was entirely clear and breathtaking. We hitched a ride up to the first refugio, then hiked the trail up to the second refugio, which was at an elevation of 15,000 ft. I got to be in the snow for the first time since arriving in Ecuador, so it was great fun! We made snow angels, wrote our names in the snow, had a mini snowball fight, and ate some of the pure snow of Chimborazo. It was an amazing morning getaway and I am really excited to be near so many volcanoes, great hiking spots, and volunteers who love to see all the natural wonders of Ecuador, so there should be more adventures in the near future!
I came back to Chibuleo on Saturday to hang out with the family and get ready for the big opening day of the soccer league. My host sister, Alba, made all of the soccer uniforms for both the men and women’s teams for Club Caprice. I spent all of Saturday evening in the sewing room watching them work and it is quite something. I’m hoping someday she’ll be able to teach me some basics in making clothing, but for now she is always swamped with different huge orders. The jerseys turned out well, and we were looking sharp for our Sunday debut.
Sunday we went to Juan Benigno Vela, the biggest town of the parroquia, for the big opening ceremonies. All the teams in the leagues were there in uniform and we paraded from the center park to the soccer stadium. There were probably 300 players parading, plus all the family and fans. At the stadium, we stood in formation for about 2 hours as the judges went around looking at the uniforms, mascots, signs, players, etc. There was also the crowning of the Senorita de los Deportes, or the sports princess. My host sister Pauli was our representative, and while she didn’t win, so looked gorgeous. I almost had to be the candidate, but luckily there was a rule saying foreigners were not allowed to participate in the crowning competition. The ceremony was fun and I got to know different people who I’ll be playing with. After the ceremony, the championship game was played for the 40+ league, so we stayed to watch because it was Pauli’s dad playing. His team won, which was exciting, so overall it was a fun and successful day at the soccer field! Our games start next week (I think, or at least soon), which I’m also really looking forward too.
Cora continues to be a cute and fun little troublemaker, hanging out with Precioso and Mr. Pato whenever she can. I am taking her to get spayed this weekend, which I’m sure will go well, but am still nervous about because of horror stories I’ve heard about vets here. I’m taking her to Riobamba to my counterpart’s vet, then staying with her at my counterparts to recover for a few days, so it will be a nice, quiet place for her before coming back to the campo.
This week I will be working with Lila at the high school to finish replicating all of the first taller, receive the third taller, and brainstorm the best way to continue. The vacations of Semana Santa and then my being sick/going to Riobamba put us a little behind schedule, but hopefully the students are still excited to work and we can just pick up where we left off! At the foundation I will be starting my scheduled work with my different groups, including my garden group, environmental group and dance group. I am also planning an Earth Day celebration for the following week, so there is lots to do in very little time, which is wonderful! It is so nice being busy all the time, with work, friends, adventures and play! Life is exciting, fulfilling, and always interesting here and I could not be happier.
Hello to everyone at home – I miss you all and love to hear all the different updates from the States. Happy final block break to all the girls at CC - I hope it is the best yet!
Abrazos,
Kerry
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