It has been a rollercoaster ride for me here, so I can’t
imagine how everyone is feeling back home in CO. All I got about the Waldo
Canyon fire were Facebook posts and photo updates of the beautiful landscape of
the only home I have known being completely destroyed. I am happy to hear that
it is 100% contained now, but my heart goes at to all of you affected by the
fire.
Just a few days after the worst of the fire, I got news from
home that a dear, dear friend of mine passed away while working in Mexico City.
Mando was a great friend all through middle school and high school, an
outgoing, funny, friendly, brilliant person who will be missed by all those who
knew him, all over the world. It is hard to be away from home during such
times, but I have had to keep going with life here, and I have seen just what
an amazing support group I have, both with my Peace Corps friends, my family
here in Chibuleo, and all my family and friends back home.
We have started our “cursos vacacionales” at KNH, which are
like summer classes for the kids now that they’re out of school. This is our
first week and it is definitely what I expected, but it is still going well.
The kids come for classes and lunch from 9am-2pm each day, and I find myself
much more exhausted after these days than normal days when I work 9am-5pm! I
think it is because they kids don’t have homework, so they are there and
expected activities all the time, so it is a full day of spending time with the
kids. While it is tiring, it is also a LOT of fun! My summer courses include
health, cooking, art, dance, environment, garden, and theater classes. The
others are each doing a class or two each, but the majority of the work is
mine. It is frustrating at times, but it’s also great because I love working
with the kids. There are only a few kids during the summer classes (about 15
come each day), so it is a good group to work with.
There is a girl working at the foundation with me, Vivi, who
is a college student doing her thesis/practicals at KNH for a few months. She
is 21, from Ambato, interested in public health, and a lot of fun to hang out
with! I spent last weekend with her and her family in Ambato because there was
a baby shower for her sister, so I helped decorate for it. As a typical Ecua
party, the baby shower lasted for about 6 hours, but it was fun and I got to
meet a lot of Vivi’s friends. We went out dancing in Ambato, so I got to meet
more of her friends and she got to meet my PC friends from the area, so it was
a nice little exchange and everyone had a great time. I am realizing how nice
it is to know more Ecuadorians, spend more time with them, learn more about
different families and cultures, and actually improve my Spanish! Funny how
your Spanish gets better when you spend your days talking with people…
I made it home on Sunday in time for the second half of our
soccer game (since they called me to see if I was playing 5 minutes before the
game started…). I think we are almost out for the season, but it has been a lot
of fun and another good way to meet more people. It is also nice to get out and
exercise some, especially when the weather is nice! After the game we went back
to Chibuleo in time for the end of the fiestas. I am not a fan of the campo
fiestas because they are usually the same: the men (and in this case the women
too) get way too drunk, they all want to dance with the gringa, the music never
ends and it is COLD! I went out for a bit and only had to dance with a few
guys, but decided I had enough when I got followed into my house by a drunken
man when I went for dinner and my host mom had to chase him out. At least I
know they are all looking out for me!
Cora made herself scarce during the fiestas because she is
afraid of the fireworks. She is doing well, but I came to the frustrating
realization that her spaying was not as successful as I hoped because she went
into heat. She is now, however, a true Ecua dog because she is living on the
roof for a bit so the perros don’t bother her to death. I’m working on getting
things figured out for her, but all in all she is doing well and still cute as
can be!
I got my vacation days approved, so I’m headed to the beach
with Shannon and Katrina at the end of the month to do some whale watching! I
am super excited, and also looking forward to being out of the cold for a few
days. I am also looking into the possibility of helping with a medical brigade
of American doctors in early August, so hopefully I will know more in the next
few days. There are no classes at the foundation in August, but if everything
works out then I will be in different projects and workshops for almost the
whole month, which should be good!
The rest of my time I am passing in the house with the
family or with Shannon. I have started embroidering and the two indigenous
women I work with are so excited to be teaching me how to embroider the
traditional blouses here in Chibuleo. I am making some progress, so hopefully
in a few months I’ll have the collar embroidered and be ready to make my blouse
– then I will have my own blouse for the dances!
That’s about it for now. Overall, things are going really
well here in Chibuleo, but I am sending all my thoughts and love to everyone at
home. I miss you!
Xoxo,
Kerry
