It hasn´t been that long since I last posted, but so much has happened that I don´t even know where to begin!
Swearing in was last Wednesday and a really nice ceremony. The training center was decorated nicely, everyone dressed up and was looking sharp, the US Charge d´affairs led the ceremony, and it was an all round great time! It was in the morning with speeches from the training manager, country director and charge d´affairs, along with a representative from each program. From there we all had to stand, raise our right hand, and take the official Peace Corps oath. Well, there was a lot of confusion about what was supposed to happen, etc, so our oath ended up being ´´I, Kerry Cavanaugh, so help me God.´´ It was quite hilarious, and a large group of us took the full oath together in town during lunch so that we actually felt like we were sworn in...
Wednesday was a day of goodbyes to the great new friends I´ve made and to the host family who was so kind to me during the first 11 weeks in country. We all hung out in town together, then I went home for some more pics with the host family, a banana cake they had made, and a few promises to visit in November. I then packed all of my stuff up (I somehow managed to gain a full other bag from when I first arrived, and still had to leave behind a few things...) and I left early Thursday morning. I got to ride with Orrin to Riobamba as we made a few last plans for visits and staying in touch, then he got off and I was on my own!
I spent Thursday night in Azogues with the volunteer Britney who is near me. We stayed in a hotel, but ended up hanging out with Lucy and her friends until late at night. We drove into Zhoray with Lucy on Friday, so I was able to drop off all my bags, see the Friday market, spend a few hours with the host family, etc before leaving with Lucy for the weekend. There had been confusion about whether my host family would be home then or not, so Lucy had already made plans for me.
We hung out with Lucy´s friends again on Friday night, sitting around with them singing and playing guitar with all the American songs they know. We then slept at Lucy´s house that night and left Saturday morning to go to La Troncal, a coastal town about 3.5 hours from Azogues that was in fiestas. There were 9 of us on the trip, the 4 guys in a band that competed at the huge battle of the bands competition in La Troncal that night. We hung out during the day, then went and listened to the bands from 9pm-3am. The band we were with won 2nd place, which was really excited, so we stayed up until about 4:30am hanging out and celebrating.
I was a little tired from there, so we spent Sunday travelling back and just relaxing at Lucy´s house in Azogues, then I went into Zhoray on Monday morning to actually start my life there. Everything has been going really well so far. It is SO nice to have MacKenzie, the current volunteer, still around because she is able to show me the ropes and tell me what is really going on in the town. I´ve been spending days at the subcentro, but there´s not a lot for me to do for now, so just hanging around and observing. I´ll try and start on the medicinal garden next week to keep a little more busy! I met with the director of the school and classes are starting soon, so I think I´ll be teaching English and helping in the school one morning a week, which will hopefully be fun! Other than that I´m just adjusting to my new life as best I can.
There is so much more that has happened, but the only other bus that goes into Zhoray is leaving in a few minutes and I still need to buy some fruit, some fabric to make curtains in my room, and then find the bus terminal. I´m going to try to keep a blog on my computer now so that I can share all the great new stories and just upload them when I get to internet, but it is probably not going to be too often - every 10 to 15 days or so because it is quite the trip in. Cell phone service is VERY limited, although it does exist in one windowsill in my house, the only place in 2.5 hrs from Azogues to have service (and only when it isn´t raining...). It is still there though, so that´s comforting and it was great to talk to dad last night!
I´m travelling again this weekend with my family to Santo Domingo, but hopefully after this it will settle down a little more and I´ll get more integrated into the tranquila life of Zhoray. I hope all is well in the states and that I hear from you all soon - I love getting all the notes and messages!
Besos,
Kerry
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Saturday, August 13, 2011
My last week as a trainee
Hello All!
It has been a fun, crazy week, and I am now just 4 days away from being an OFFICIAL Peace Corps Volunteer :)
There are tons of emotions among the trainees as we get ready to leave each other and leave our Tumbaco bubble for the bigger world of Ecuador, but I am mostly just excited! It will be weird to leave the friends I am with every day, but I'm ready to make new friends in my site and begin working!
Last Sunday I went to meet Mercy and Helena in Quito. We went to the Panecillo, which is a giant statue of a winged virgen that overlooks the city of Quito and is an absolutely gorgeous view! We spent a little time up on the hill there, even trying out our kite flying skills! From there we went to eat a traditional Ecuadorian lunch, searched for flowerpots in Cumbaya, then I went back home to Tumbaco. It has been so nice spending the last few weekends with them!
This week of training mostly consisted of final tests in safety and security, health, tech and language. I think I passed them all, so there should be no issues with getting sworn in! We gave a final presentation to the Community Health program on Monday, which went really well and I am now actually feeling prepared to go out on my own. It isn't going to be easy, but I think I have the training that I need to at least give it a shot!
We harvested our gardens this week, which was really fun! After about 8 weeks of growing, we had tons of lettuce, spinach, beets, radishes and 1 microscopic carrot! We made a salad for lunch to enjoy all of our hard work. I'm really excited at the prospect of growing some veggies of my own when I get to Zhoray - maybe some tire gardens, hanging gardens, or huertos familiares...I'll have plenty of time to try them all and figure out what I want to do!
It has been a fun, crazy week, and I am now just 4 days away from being an OFFICIAL Peace Corps Volunteer :)
There are tons of emotions among the trainees as we get ready to leave each other and leave our Tumbaco bubble for the bigger world of Ecuador, but I am mostly just excited! It will be weird to leave the friends I am with every day, but I'm ready to make new friends in my site and begin working!
Last Sunday I went to meet Mercy and Helena in Quito. We went to the Panecillo, which is a giant statue of a winged virgen that overlooks the city of Quito and is an absolutely gorgeous view! We spent a little time up on the hill there, even trying out our kite flying skills! From there we went to eat a traditional Ecuadorian lunch, searched for flowerpots in Cumbaya, then I went back home to Tumbaco. It has been so nice spending the last few weekends with them!
This week of training mostly consisted of final tests in safety and security, health, tech and language. I think I passed them all, so there should be no issues with getting sworn in! We gave a final presentation to the Community Health program on Monday, which went really well and I am now actually feeling prepared to go out on my own. It isn't going to be easy, but I think I have the training that I need to at least give it a shot!
We harvested our gardens this week, which was really fun! After about 8 weeks of growing, we had tons of lettuce, spinach, beets, radishes and 1 microscopic carrot! We made a salad for lunch to enjoy all of our hard work. I'm really excited at the prospect of growing some veggies of my own when I get to Zhoray - maybe some tire gardens, hanging gardens, or huertos familiares...I'll have plenty of time to try them all and figure out what I want to do!
Here's some of our harvest!! I finally figured out how to add some pictures to the blog, but you can also see a lot more pictures at https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150264141968017.327447.527858016&l=bb9cdfe649&type=1
Let me know if the link doesn't work, but if it does then that will be the best place to see pics!
I have spent a little more time with my host family this week, which has also been nice! Thursday we had a party at the training center as an appreciation for the host families and all they're done for us for the last two months. There were a lot of people there, some great theatrical and dance performances by some of the trainees, and just a good time hanging out! My 13-year-old host sister Cristy was able to go, so we spent a few hours there together. From there we went to the grocery store for some baking ingredients, and we made a delicious banana bread/cake from a recipe that another trainee gave me. It was devoured before I had more than a taste, so we're making some more tomorrow!
This is a picture of my host family here in Tumbaco - my host mom Mariana, her grandaughter Cristy and her daughter Anita!
Friday was Ecuador's Independence Day, so we had time off from training. I went to Quito again with my friend Shannon and we met up with Mercy and Helena for lunch, then we went to QuitoFest, a free music festival in Quito for the weekend. Friday happened to be the death metal day at the festival - we didn't quite fit in, but it was really interested/fun/funny to see! And the park where the festival is being held had the most gorgeous view of Quito that I've seen yet! We just hung out in the grass for a while, a nice and relaxing Friday afternoon!
There isn't a whole lot else going on. We've finished all of our training sessions, so now are mostly just hanging out in training, learning "cultural integration" tips, ie playing Ecuadorian card games and just spending time together, which is really, really nice! I'm going to start the process of repacking everything to try and get it to my site on Thursday. Based on how it went the first time to get to Ecuador, this could take a while.
I miss everyone at home, especially as all the girls get ready to head back to CC for a great senior year. At the same time, I'm loving everything about Ecuador and know that I'm in exactly the right place! I love hearing from everyone, and know that I will even more once I move away from all my PC friends here. Communication is going to be harder, so this will be the last time I'll be able to blog for a few weeks. It is a 2.5 bus hour ride into town for me to get access to internet, mail, etc, so I think I'll be trying to make the trip about every 2 weeks (but we'll see, maybe I'll decide I want to go more often...).
Until next time, all my love from Ecuador!
Kerry
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Tech Trip 2
28 hours in bus, 5 days, 4 charlas, and 2 mosquito bites later, and we’re back to Tumbaco! It was a quick, busy trip to Guayaquil, but it turned out to be great!
First, before we left, I got to spend Sunday evening with Mercy at a lovely dinner in Cumbaya. It was nice to see her again, and I'm excited to meet up with her tomorrow in Quito for a day in the city with her and Elena!
Health Group #1 (my group) left early Monday morning (5:50am, yuck) from Tumbaco. I took a taxi to the bus stop in Tumbaco, a bus from Tumbaco to Quito, the trolley from the bus terminal to the bus station, a bus from there to Guayaquil, then another taxi from the bus terminal in Guayaquil to the hotel. It was a long day of travelling, but everything went smoothly! The second health group arrived to the hotel an hour after us, we split up for dinner, then everyone went to bed early, exhausted from travelling.
On Tuesday we went to the office of the Program Manager of the health program from Peace Corps. There were several volunteers there throughout the day and we got a shortened, intense training in Cuanto Sabes?, a Peace Corps program that capacitates groups of jovenes (teenagers) to teach HIV/AIDS prevention in their schools. The training we received was a 3-day training condensed into 4 hours, giving us a crash course about information on HIV/AIDS in Spanish, as well as skills for how to teach the topic, give charlas, and capacitate youth to teach it themselves. We had a late lunch, then went right back to work in our small groups to prepare and practice presenting our charlas on HIV/AIDS, which my group had to give on Wednesday. The practice didn’t go so well, and everyone left feeling nervous and discouraged. We knew that we had to give charlas in high schools the next day, and nobody felt prepared. We broke for dinner, then went back to the hotel and did a few more hours of preparation and practice with the facilitators, working through some of the glitches.
The extra preparation paid off because the charlas went great! We presented at an all boys high school in classes of about 40 students, but they were well behaved for the most part (the first class got a little rowdy...), and I think we actually taught them some new things! It's amazing the misconceptions about HIV/AIDS here, as well as the lacking sexual education, so these are areas that we can make a real difference.
On Thursday we went to Colimes, a town 2 hours from Guayaquil, and gave 2 more charlas. My group presented to mixed groups of girls and boys on the differences between sex and gender, as well as gender roles and equality. It was fun working with the groups of jovenes in a country where machismo is so prevalent, but the girls also seem very strong. Thursday night we went back to Guayaquil and ate dinner on the Malecon 2000, the boardwalk along the river Guayas.
We then left early Friday morning for the trip back to Quito, which ended up taking 12 hours because of bus logistics and general slowness. It was a long day, but great to be back in the dry, cool Sierra! We actually lucked out with the weather and bugs on the coast because it was not too hot and the were surprisingly few bugs, so that was great!
Now I'm using wireless internet in a cafe in Cumbaya with Shannon, where we are loving the internet and frozen coffees! We are making the most of our last 2 weeks in the poshy Tumbaco area before heading for isolation. We swear in on August 17, then head to our sites on the 18th, so everyone is getting anxious and excited for the big days ahead. Until then, we're just loving our time together!
Hello to everyone back home, and all my love from Ecuador!
Kerry
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Week 8
Well, we have finished 8 weeks of training! Time seems to be flying by and we only have 2.5 weeks left until we swear in as Peace Corps volunteers and move to our sites.
This past week was much of the same routine we´ve had at the training center. We have been taking a lot more Spanish classes, tech classes, and of course the security classes and health classes. We focused on sexual and reproductive health and rights this week in tech in preparation for our tech trip to Guayaquil on Monday where we will be giving 4 different charlas over HIV/AIDS and various sexual health topics.
Last Saturday, a group of us went to Puembo, a nearby town, to watch the fiestas. The fiestas in most towns include bullfighting, which we watched for a few hours. The goal is not to kill the bull, just to aggitate it and then run away if it starts chasing you. There were anywhere from 15-30 boys and men in the arena at a given time, all trying to touch the bull without getting speared. I´ve decided it´s not really the sport for me, and not something that I enjoy watching, so hopefully I won´t have to witness any more!
A bunch of us went to see Harry Potter on Saturday night at the mall in Tumbaco, which was quite the treat! That was probably the biggest excitement for the week and it was great!!
The rest of the week passed without much excitement. I have been feeling sick since Thursday, so mostly just hanging out, sleeping a lot when I´m not in training. Tomorrow we are planning a quick trip into Quito to go to a bagel shop where we were told they have bagels AND real cream cheese...it´s the small things that we get really excited about :) - after that we are going to go by the artisan market in Quito before coming back to Tumbaco to plan charlas for the upcoming trip.
We leave bright and early Monday morning to go to Guayaquil, then come home Friday night for a weekend with our host families. We finished the work in our vegetable gardens yesterday, and everything is starting to wrap-up in preparation for swearing in and moving to our communities! I´m sure I will have more to share next week after our trip to Guayaquil!
Hi to everyone in the States- it was great to talk to people throughout my family´s trip to the East Coast!
Besos,
Kerry
This past week was much of the same routine we´ve had at the training center. We have been taking a lot more Spanish classes, tech classes, and of course the security classes and health classes. We focused on sexual and reproductive health and rights this week in tech in preparation for our tech trip to Guayaquil on Monday where we will be giving 4 different charlas over HIV/AIDS and various sexual health topics.
Last Saturday, a group of us went to Puembo, a nearby town, to watch the fiestas. The fiestas in most towns include bullfighting, which we watched for a few hours. The goal is not to kill the bull, just to aggitate it and then run away if it starts chasing you. There were anywhere from 15-30 boys and men in the arena at a given time, all trying to touch the bull without getting speared. I´ve decided it´s not really the sport for me, and not something that I enjoy watching, so hopefully I won´t have to witness any more!
A bunch of us went to see Harry Potter on Saturday night at the mall in Tumbaco, which was quite the treat! That was probably the biggest excitement for the week and it was great!!
The rest of the week passed without much excitement. I have been feeling sick since Thursday, so mostly just hanging out, sleeping a lot when I´m not in training. Tomorrow we are planning a quick trip into Quito to go to a bagel shop where we were told they have bagels AND real cream cheese...it´s the small things that we get really excited about :) - after that we are going to go by the artisan market in Quito before coming back to Tumbaco to plan charlas for the upcoming trip.
We leave bright and early Monday morning to go to Guayaquil, then come home Friday night for a weekend with our host families. We finished the work in our vegetable gardens yesterday, and everything is starting to wrap-up in preparation for swearing in and moving to our communities! I´m sure I will have more to share next week after our trip to Guayaquil!
Hi to everyone in the States- it was great to talk to people throughout my family´s trip to the East Coast!
Besos,
Kerry
Thursday, July 21, 2011
The Real Peace Corps
I am back and well from my site visit!
It was QUITE the week. I had an overall incredible time and am so excited to be living there for the next two years!
I left on Thursday morning at 7am and travelled with a fellow trainee on my whole trip down to Azogues, the capital city of the province Cañar. I got into the terminal there at 6pm where my counterpart picked me up. My counterpart is Dra. Lucy, the director and only doctor at the subcentro in my town. She is young, fun, smart and unbelievably kind, so I am thrilled to be working with her for the next 2 years. She picked me up at the station with another of her friends, took me to a dinner of papas fritas and salchich (french fries and hot dog...mmmm), then took me around Azogues and to the main park where we hung out with her friends for hours! They were all really nice and it was fun to hang out and meet people around my age.
I stayed the night at Lucy´s on Thursday in Azogues so that I could meet the director of the medical center there who is the boss of all the subcentros in the Azogues 1 district. Friday morning we went and talked with a few people at the medical center so they knew who I am and what I will be doing with Dra. Lucy. From there she was going to drive me to Zhoray (the unofficial name of my site), but she got a flat tire on our way out of town. We got the tire repaired, but couldn´t drive it all the way to Zhoray, so we ran a few errands in Azogues, ate lunch, then I left on the 2pm bus for my site.
The bus trip took 2.5 hours from Azogues along very windy, mountainy roads. I´m paranoid when it comes to travel like that, but you know it´s bad when the locals are gasping as the bus whips around the hairpin turns. I´m pretty sure we may have been on two wheels at one point...but I made it!
Zhoray is a quaint little town. The population of 2,020 that I received in my initial report is the populaion of my work community, which is actually composed of 14 different communities. The population of Zhoray is about 50 families, so it is very small (the main town center probably 4 square city blocks in size. Yep, the CC campus has it beat!). My host ¨sister¨met me at the bus and immediately took me to drop off my bags and ride with her in her pickup truck. She drives the truck as a taxi service in the area, so I rode around for about 3 hours bringing people to their homes.
The countryside is indescribably beautiful. I am in the heart of the Andes, surrounded by tall mountains on all sides. The mountains are lush green, but are patchworked with all of the farm lands that reach to the highest points. The patches are spotted with cows and the occasional houses, but the houses are very spread out and remote. Zhoray is at the end of the paved rode from Azogues, so going into the other communities where people live and I will be working is all on bumpy, potholed, dirt rodes. Travel is...slow... in the area, but the gorgeous view makes it enjoyable!
I went home with Zoila and met the rest of the family. She lives with her older sister, Carmita, and an 8 year-old girl Evelyn. It is a non-traditional family, but the house is very nice, we are surrounded by tons of extended family, and I have my own room that is separate, so I think it will work out. There was some confusion on expectations for the weekend, so I ended up sharing a room with Zoila on Friday night because she has two beds in her room, and I had failed to bring my bed with me from Quito (?). The next day I bought a mattress and they loaned me bedding so that I could move into my own and permanent room. My room is quaint, but private, and it is on the third floor. Also on the third floor is a bathroom, kitchen and bedroom that belong to the PC Volunteer who is currently living there. She was on vacation in the States when I was visiting, but I will be happy to meet her and have her at site for the first 3 months I´m there! Turns out I am about the 5th PCV in Zhoray, but I am the first health volunteer.
Saturday was my first Cuy experience, and I got the fullll experience! I watched Carmita as she gutted the cuyes, then I went with them across the street to the grandma´s house to roast the cuyes over the fire in the back pit. Something didn´t seem right about roasting cuyes in the same hut where the live ones are housed, but asi es. Then, when Carmita´s was near roasted, she brought it in, snapped off the two roasted hind feet, and handed one to me. I waited to see what she did, then I popped the cuy foot into my mouth and crunched it down as my first tasting experience. The roasting was followed by a cuy dinner where I had a back quarter of a cuy with my potatoes. It was greasy, but not unbearable.
The rest of the weekend passed a little slowly, but I worked on all of my paperwork that we had as homework over the visit, which helped things. I´m learning that life is definitely going to move more slowly, so I´m sure I will get used to the many hours of seemingly nothing, but just hanging out with people in the town.
The subcentro is open Monday-Friday, 8am-4:30pm, so I was going to get to see how things worked on Monday and Tuesday. Lucy called Monday morning around 9 to say that she would be getting to Zhoray around mid-day or afternoon, so there was more sitting around. Luckily right around then Britney showed up in a Ministry of Salud truck with Carlitos, the driver for the area. It turns out that Britney is living in the first town on the way to Zhoray from Azogues, so she is about an hour from me in car! She is also a health volunteer, working at the subcentro there, and she had arrived just 10 days ago, so was also brand new! I got in the truck with her and went back to her town to see the subcentro there and hang out until Lucy got me on the way to Zhoray. Britney is really enthusiastic, outgoing and nice. I´m thrilled that we´re living near each other and we will probably get to collaborate on a lot of projects!!
Lucy and the nurse got me around 3:30, so we got to Zhoray and the subcentro in time for them to see a few patients before hanging out for the night. The staff (Lucy, the nurse, the dentist and the assistant) all live at the subcentro during the week, then go home to Azogues on the weekend. We went back into the kitchen for coffee and hung out for a few hours, then they walked me home and hung out for another hour with Zoila and others outside of my house.
Tuesday morning, my host family ended up leaving very early for a trip, so I was on my own for all of Tuesday because I didn´t leave until Wednesday morning. Luckily Lucy and the subcentro staff are fantastic! I went to the subcentro a little after 8am, when it opens. They were all eating breakfast (which they had also made for me) and still in their PJs, just hanging out. After breakfast, we went into the subcentro around 9 and I sat in Lucy´s office for the day where I got to observe all the patients who came in and see how things worked. The morning was busy, then the afternoon pretty quiet. I went with the nurse and assistant to a house visit in town, where they were bringing pain meds to a very elderly women, so I got an idea of what the house visits are like, which they also do a lot of.
After the subcentro closed at 4:30, we went back to the kitchen and went over my work plan for the first 3 months in site. My four main projects are going to be:
1) Working with the Voluntarias de Salud, a women´s group with health volunteers representing each of the 14 communities that I´m working in. While the group exists, I asked when meetings are and was told they will start when I get back, so it sounds like we´ll be starting from the beginning. A main focus of the group will be working in and maintaining the medicinal garden in the subcentro, then creating medicinal gardens in their communities and spreading knowledge of herbal remedies!
2) Crecimientos Nuestros Hijos (CNH) is a project designed to provide classes that stimulate the learning and growth of children 5 yrs and younger. There are currently classes in 6 of the communities, so I will be working with these to continue improving, then assessing the need and feasibility of creating classes in the other communities.
3) School charlas are given in the 14 escuelas and 1 colegio twice a year over sexual and reproductive health, dental hygiene and nutrition. I will aid in creating more activities for the charlas that the staff of the subcentro gives.
4) I will be giving the staff of the subcentro a 2 hr English class each week, something that they are really eager to have. I came in thinking I would not want to teach English, but realize that they are educated and want to have the classes, it is not something that I´m imposing on them, so it should be great!
These are the main projects, but I think more will develop with Britney, especially in the areas of drinking water treatment, handwashing, and women´s sexual education, family planning, self-esteem, etc. Overall, I am unbelievably excited for all of my work!
I stayed and ate dinner at the subcentro and played two games of Monopoly until midnight! It was a lot of fun and I am so thankful to be working with such a wonderful group of people! I went home to my room, packed up, and got a few hours of sleep before the 6:30am bus out on Wednesday. I took the bus to Azogues, took a taxi to the other terminal in Azogues, took a bus from Azogues to Quito, another from Quito to Tumbaco, then a taxi home. Overall, 14 hours of travelling alone! I feel much better about being able to travel now and figure things out on my own. I also got to talk to Mom, Dad, Darcy, Russ and Gail for over an hour, as they are now travelling on the East Coast!
I got home exhausted, happy to see my friends and host family in Tumbaco, and excited for all that is to come! I will be shopping here to buy warmer clothing because it was COLD in Zhoray - it is high up and while it is not unbearably cold at any given time, it is always being cold that is the issue because there is no heating anywhere. I slept in wool socks, leggins, pj pants, and a fleece each night, under my 4 wool blankets. A few more layers will be accompanying me on the next trip, and bucket baths are in sight for the next two years because ice cold water along with cold air temperatures are not a good combination. The other difficulties will be that I am the 2.5 hour bus ride to Azogues away from cell phone service, internet, mail, pharmacy, etc. There is supposedly 1 spot in my house (out of the whole 2.5 hrs...) that has cell service, but I have yet to find it, so we´ll see.
It was a long, trying, but also exciting week and I cannot even imagine the adventures that I will have in Zhoray over the next two years. Hello to everyone at home, I miss you all very, very much, but I am loving life here in Ecuador!
¡Besos!
Kerry
It was QUITE the week. I had an overall incredible time and am so excited to be living there for the next two years!
I left on Thursday morning at 7am and travelled with a fellow trainee on my whole trip down to Azogues, the capital city of the province Cañar. I got into the terminal there at 6pm where my counterpart picked me up. My counterpart is Dra. Lucy, the director and only doctor at the subcentro in my town. She is young, fun, smart and unbelievably kind, so I am thrilled to be working with her for the next 2 years. She picked me up at the station with another of her friends, took me to a dinner of papas fritas and salchich (french fries and hot dog...mmmm), then took me around Azogues and to the main park where we hung out with her friends for hours! They were all really nice and it was fun to hang out and meet people around my age.
I stayed the night at Lucy´s on Thursday in Azogues so that I could meet the director of the medical center there who is the boss of all the subcentros in the Azogues 1 district. Friday morning we went and talked with a few people at the medical center so they knew who I am and what I will be doing with Dra. Lucy. From there she was going to drive me to Zhoray (the unofficial name of my site), but she got a flat tire on our way out of town. We got the tire repaired, but couldn´t drive it all the way to Zhoray, so we ran a few errands in Azogues, ate lunch, then I left on the 2pm bus for my site.
The bus trip took 2.5 hours from Azogues along very windy, mountainy roads. I´m paranoid when it comes to travel like that, but you know it´s bad when the locals are gasping as the bus whips around the hairpin turns. I´m pretty sure we may have been on two wheels at one point...but I made it!
Zhoray is a quaint little town. The population of 2,020 that I received in my initial report is the populaion of my work community, which is actually composed of 14 different communities. The population of Zhoray is about 50 families, so it is very small (the main town center probably 4 square city blocks in size. Yep, the CC campus has it beat!). My host ¨sister¨met me at the bus and immediately took me to drop off my bags and ride with her in her pickup truck. She drives the truck as a taxi service in the area, so I rode around for about 3 hours bringing people to their homes.
The countryside is indescribably beautiful. I am in the heart of the Andes, surrounded by tall mountains on all sides. The mountains are lush green, but are patchworked with all of the farm lands that reach to the highest points. The patches are spotted with cows and the occasional houses, but the houses are very spread out and remote. Zhoray is at the end of the paved rode from Azogues, so going into the other communities where people live and I will be working is all on bumpy, potholed, dirt rodes. Travel is...slow... in the area, but the gorgeous view makes it enjoyable!
I went home with Zoila and met the rest of the family. She lives with her older sister, Carmita, and an 8 year-old girl Evelyn. It is a non-traditional family, but the house is very nice, we are surrounded by tons of extended family, and I have my own room that is separate, so I think it will work out. There was some confusion on expectations for the weekend, so I ended up sharing a room with Zoila on Friday night because she has two beds in her room, and I had failed to bring my bed with me from Quito (?). The next day I bought a mattress and they loaned me bedding so that I could move into my own and permanent room. My room is quaint, but private, and it is on the third floor. Also on the third floor is a bathroom, kitchen and bedroom that belong to the PC Volunteer who is currently living there. She was on vacation in the States when I was visiting, but I will be happy to meet her and have her at site for the first 3 months I´m there! Turns out I am about the 5th PCV in Zhoray, but I am the first health volunteer.
Saturday was my first Cuy experience, and I got the fullll experience! I watched Carmita as she gutted the cuyes, then I went with them across the street to the grandma´s house to roast the cuyes over the fire in the back pit. Something didn´t seem right about roasting cuyes in the same hut where the live ones are housed, but asi es. Then, when Carmita´s was near roasted, she brought it in, snapped off the two roasted hind feet, and handed one to me. I waited to see what she did, then I popped the cuy foot into my mouth and crunched it down as my first tasting experience. The roasting was followed by a cuy dinner where I had a back quarter of a cuy with my potatoes. It was greasy, but not unbearable.
The rest of the weekend passed a little slowly, but I worked on all of my paperwork that we had as homework over the visit, which helped things. I´m learning that life is definitely going to move more slowly, so I´m sure I will get used to the many hours of seemingly nothing, but just hanging out with people in the town.
The subcentro is open Monday-Friday, 8am-4:30pm, so I was going to get to see how things worked on Monday and Tuesday. Lucy called Monday morning around 9 to say that she would be getting to Zhoray around mid-day or afternoon, so there was more sitting around. Luckily right around then Britney showed up in a Ministry of Salud truck with Carlitos, the driver for the area. It turns out that Britney is living in the first town on the way to Zhoray from Azogues, so she is about an hour from me in car! She is also a health volunteer, working at the subcentro there, and she had arrived just 10 days ago, so was also brand new! I got in the truck with her and went back to her town to see the subcentro there and hang out until Lucy got me on the way to Zhoray. Britney is really enthusiastic, outgoing and nice. I´m thrilled that we´re living near each other and we will probably get to collaborate on a lot of projects!!
Lucy and the nurse got me around 3:30, so we got to Zhoray and the subcentro in time for them to see a few patients before hanging out for the night. The staff (Lucy, the nurse, the dentist and the assistant) all live at the subcentro during the week, then go home to Azogues on the weekend. We went back into the kitchen for coffee and hung out for a few hours, then they walked me home and hung out for another hour with Zoila and others outside of my house.
Tuesday morning, my host family ended up leaving very early for a trip, so I was on my own for all of Tuesday because I didn´t leave until Wednesday morning. Luckily Lucy and the subcentro staff are fantastic! I went to the subcentro a little after 8am, when it opens. They were all eating breakfast (which they had also made for me) and still in their PJs, just hanging out. After breakfast, we went into the subcentro around 9 and I sat in Lucy´s office for the day where I got to observe all the patients who came in and see how things worked. The morning was busy, then the afternoon pretty quiet. I went with the nurse and assistant to a house visit in town, where they were bringing pain meds to a very elderly women, so I got an idea of what the house visits are like, which they also do a lot of.
After the subcentro closed at 4:30, we went back to the kitchen and went over my work plan for the first 3 months in site. My four main projects are going to be:
1) Working with the Voluntarias de Salud, a women´s group with health volunteers representing each of the 14 communities that I´m working in. While the group exists, I asked when meetings are and was told they will start when I get back, so it sounds like we´ll be starting from the beginning. A main focus of the group will be working in and maintaining the medicinal garden in the subcentro, then creating medicinal gardens in their communities and spreading knowledge of herbal remedies!
2) Crecimientos Nuestros Hijos (CNH) is a project designed to provide classes that stimulate the learning and growth of children 5 yrs and younger. There are currently classes in 6 of the communities, so I will be working with these to continue improving, then assessing the need and feasibility of creating classes in the other communities.
3) School charlas are given in the 14 escuelas and 1 colegio twice a year over sexual and reproductive health, dental hygiene and nutrition. I will aid in creating more activities for the charlas that the staff of the subcentro gives.
4) I will be giving the staff of the subcentro a 2 hr English class each week, something that they are really eager to have. I came in thinking I would not want to teach English, but realize that they are educated and want to have the classes, it is not something that I´m imposing on them, so it should be great!
These are the main projects, but I think more will develop with Britney, especially in the areas of drinking water treatment, handwashing, and women´s sexual education, family planning, self-esteem, etc. Overall, I am unbelievably excited for all of my work!
I stayed and ate dinner at the subcentro and played two games of Monopoly until midnight! It was a lot of fun and I am so thankful to be working with such a wonderful group of people! I went home to my room, packed up, and got a few hours of sleep before the 6:30am bus out on Wednesday. I took the bus to Azogues, took a taxi to the other terminal in Azogues, took a bus from Azogues to Quito, another from Quito to Tumbaco, then a taxi home. Overall, 14 hours of travelling alone! I feel much better about being able to travel now and figure things out on my own. I also got to talk to Mom, Dad, Darcy, Russ and Gail for over an hour, as they are now travelling on the East Coast!
I got home exhausted, happy to see my friends and host family in Tumbaco, and excited for all that is to come! I will be shopping here to buy warmer clothing because it was COLD in Zhoray - it is high up and while it is not unbearably cold at any given time, it is always being cold that is the issue because there is no heating anywhere. I slept in wool socks, leggins, pj pants, and a fleece each night, under my 4 wool blankets. A few more layers will be accompanying me on the next trip, and bucket baths are in sight for the next two years because ice cold water along with cold air temperatures are not a good combination. The other difficulties will be that I am the 2.5 hour bus ride to Azogues away from cell phone service, internet, mail, pharmacy, etc. There is supposedly 1 spot in my house (out of the whole 2.5 hrs...) that has cell service, but I have yet to find it, so we´ll see.
It was a long, trying, but also exciting week and I cannot even imagine the adventures that I will have in Zhoray over the next two years. Hello to everyone at home, I miss you all very, very much, but I am loving life here in Ecuador!
¡Besos!
Kerry
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Learning the fate of my next two years!
TODAY WAS SITE ASSIGNMENT!
Everyone in the Omnibus has been anxious, nervous and excited (on top of exhausted) for the past few days (weeks, months?) as we have awaited site assignment, which finally came today!
When we got to the training center, we went out back to the soccer field and discovered a giant map of Ecuador with each province outlined with bright rose petals. It took up most of the field and was really beautiful. The provinces were all labeled and it was a great way for us to visually see where our sites our in Ecuador! They drew our names out of a hat and called us one by one, then grabbed our hands and ran us to our spot on the map where we will be for the next two years. The facilitators and staff worked hard on the ceremony, and all came dressed in their Ecuadorean colors for the celebration.
I am in the Provincia de Carña, one of the more southern provinces. Although I´m not allowed to share my exact location because of security reasons, I am in the southeast of the province, which is in the Sierra! The ceremony was helpful because we got a picture of where all the other members of the Omnibus are. There are only 3 volunteers in my Omn in Carña, all of us in the health program, but there are a few volunteers from other programs already there.
Once we did the map ceremony, we went inside with our programs to get a powerpoint presentation that had a slide for each person to tell them their counterpart and organization they will be working with and more details of the job. We then got packets with much more information, and a little time to absorb all that was happening. So, here are the details of my next two years, at least how I understand them right now:
My site is a small, rural town in the Sierra. I will be at approximately 9,800 ft in elevation, so it will be cool and dry. The population of my town is 2,020 people, a mix of mestizo and indigenous peoples. While some Kichwa is spoken, Spanish is the primary language so I will continue to learn Spanish (while some people now switch into Kichwa classes). The town has a migrant population where a majority of the men migrate out of the town for work, sending money back home to support the families. With this, a huge portion of the population will be women and children, which I am really looking forward to!
My counterpart is a female doctor and director of the subcentro in the town, so I will be working directly with the subcentro (small, government run health facility)! My primary roles are stated as participating in community health assessments with the subcentro staff, attending the health center meetings and assisting the staff with the organic medicinal garden at the subcentro, doing community health outreach into the 14 surrounding communities (including giving charlas on sexual reproductive health, nutrition and hygiene at the primary and high schools in these communities), and socializing! Yes, socializing was put on the request from my counterpart. At least I know I´ll be able to do one of my jobs!!
Some of the parts that might be a bit more challenging: I am pretty isolated. I am about 11 hours from Quito, all of which I have to travel alone tomorrow (EEEK!). The initial reports say that I will not have any internet access or cell phone service, and there is very limited transportation into and out of my community. The other two health volunteer in Cañar are closer to each other and on opposite ends of the province from me. While it seems far right now, I think I am only a few hours outside of Cuenca, which is supposed to be an amazing city! I talked to some of our PC volunteer leaders today and they said that the initial reports are often outdated or not entirely correct, so I will probably have some communication, although it still may be limited!
I will be living with a host family for at least 3 months when I get to my site. The report says that there is a limited quantity of non-potable water in the area, but my house report says that we have tubed water and an inside bathroom! I do not know anything about my host family, but the house is said to be a three-story, brick house, right in the town center (one of my two closest neighbors is the market!!).
That´s about all for now - I´m going to try to do a little research myself on the site now before heading home to pack. We get dropped off at the main terminal in Quito tomorrow, at which time I will begin the 9 hour bus ride on my own. My counterpart is meeting me at the terminal in the closest big city, then driving me to my town (the remaining two hours...). So, I will report back next week. Until then, let the adventures begin!
Besos a todos!
Kerry
Everyone in the Omnibus has been anxious, nervous and excited (on top of exhausted) for the past few days (weeks, months?) as we have awaited site assignment, which finally came today!
When we got to the training center, we went out back to the soccer field and discovered a giant map of Ecuador with each province outlined with bright rose petals. It took up most of the field and was really beautiful. The provinces were all labeled and it was a great way for us to visually see where our sites our in Ecuador! They drew our names out of a hat and called us one by one, then grabbed our hands and ran us to our spot on the map where we will be for the next two years. The facilitators and staff worked hard on the ceremony, and all came dressed in their Ecuadorean colors for the celebration.
I am in the Provincia de Carña, one of the more southern provinces. Although I´m not allowed to share my exact location because of security reasons, I am in the southeast of the province, which is in the Sierra! The ceremony was helpful because we got a picture of where all the other members of the Omnibus are. There are only 3 volunteers in my Omn in Carña, all of us in the health program, but there are a few volunteers from other programs already there.
Once we did the map ceremony, we went inside with our programs to get a powerpoint presentation that had a slide for each person to tell them their counterpart and organization they will be working with and more details of the job. We then got packets with much more information, and a little time to absorb all that was happening. So, here are the details of my next two years, at least how I understand them right now:
My site is a small, rural town in the Sierra. I will be at approximately 9,800 ft in elevation, so it will be cool and dry. The population of my town is 2,020 people, a mix of mestizo and indigenous peoples. While some Kichwa is spoken, Spanish is the primary language so I will continue to learn Spanish (while some people now switch into Kichwa classes). The town has a migrant population where a majority of the men migrate out of the town for work, sending money back home to support the families. With this, a huge portion of the population will be women and children, which I am really looking forward to!
My counterpart is a female doctor and director of the subcentro in the town, so I will be working directly with the subcentro (small, government run health facility)! My primary roles are stated as participating in community health assessments with the subcentro staff, attending the health center meetings and assisting the staff with the organic medicinal garden at the subcentro, doing community health outreach into the 14 surrounding communities (including giving charlas on sexual reproductive health, nutrition and hygiene at the primary and high schools in these communities), and socializing! Yes, socializing was put on the request from my counterpart. At least I know I´ll be able to do one of my jobs!!
Some of the parts that might be a bit more challenging: I am pretty isolated. I am about 11 hours from Quito, all of which I have to travel alone tomorrow (EEEK!). The initial reports say that I will not have any internet access or cell phone service, and there is very limited transportation into and out of my community. The other two health volunteer in Cañar are closer to each other and on opposite ends of the province from me. While it seems far right now, I think I am only a few hours outside of Cuenca, which is supposed to be an amazing city! I talked to some of our PC volunteer leaders today and they said that the initial reports are often outdated or not entirely correct, so I will probably have some communication, although it still may be limited!
I will be living with a host family for at least 3 months when I get to my site. The report says that there is a limited quantity of non-potable water in the area, but my house report says that we have tubed water and an inside bathroom! I do not know anything about my host family, but the house is said to be a three-story, brick house, right in the town center (one of my two closest neighbors is the market!!).
That´s about all for now - I´m going to try to do a little research myself on the site now before heading home to pack. We get dropped off at the main terminal in Quito tomorrow, at which time I will begin the 9 hour bus ride on my own. My counterpart is meeting me at the terminal in the closest big city, then driving me to my town (the remaining two hours...). So, I will report back next week. Until then, let the adventures begin!
Besos a todos!
Kerry
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
The Posh Corps
Buenas Tardes!
So much has happened in the last week and I am loving Ecuador more and more as time goes on! It is so fun getting to know the other trainees better, learn more about what our jobs and lives will be like for the next two years, and just enjoy the beauty of the country!
Last week we went on our tech trips in small groups, so I was in a group of 11 Community Health volunteers. We went to Santo Domingo, Pedro Vicente Maldonado y Puerto Quito, all of which are in the coastal region of Ecuador (aka hot, humid and buggy!). Santo Domingo was my group´s first stop, which is a large city about 3 hours from Quito. We left early in the morning to take a bus to Cumbaya, the next town over from Tumbaco. From there, we (11 PCTs, 2 Language and Culture Facilitators, 1 PCV Leader, and all of our bags for the week...) got on a microbusetta. We successfully packed the van/mini bus type thing like sardines, and I only thought I was going to die about 5 times during the 40 minute ride! We took fast, sharp turns, but miraculously never flipped over the cliffs into the valleys right below! We went to the Quitumbe terminal in southern Quito, then took a big bus to Santo Domingo. Despite being petrified to take buses from our Safety and Security talks, we (and our bags) all made it safely!
As soon as we got there we were warned that it was a dangerous city, then immediately told to go out and grab lunch somewhere on our own before our first charla. Hmm. Luckily that also went well. We gave a charla that afternoon to a group of women at a clinic about 15 minutes bus ride from the hostel we were staying in. Despite being just outside of a major city, this neighborhood had no potable water, sewage systems or basic amenities. I don´t think you can ever get used to knowing people all over the world live like this.
After a night in Santo Domingo, we took another 3 hour bus ride to Pedro Vicente, a small town that a current volunteer lives and works in. She showed us around, we got a talk from the mayor, did a charla, then joined in the festivities. It was the last night of Fiestas in the town, so we joined the thousands in the street for some delicious street food and fabulous fireworks. We all took them as our early 4th of July fireworks, and it was a fun night! The next day in Pedro Vicente we watched the finale parade (which consisted of hundreds of people walking down the street for hours...) and did some interviews in the neighborhood. We then caught a bus and headed to Puerto Quito.
We spent Wednesday night on a tourist finca (farm) with the other half of the community health group, which was really fun. Getting there in the afternoon, we had time for a swim in the pool before Spanish class. After Spanish we had a dance party and just hung out. The next day we woke up early to milk the cow before breakfast, then gave a charla at a small school in the campo. The kids ranged in age from about 7-15 and there was one teacher to teach all grades that they were in. We gave the dental charla, then just hung out and played with the kids for another hour! After that, we had more time to relax. While resting, drinking coffee and napping in the hammock next to the pool, I realized why Peace Corps Ecuador is often referred to as the Posh Corps...
On Friday we took a hike in the mountains of the farm, tasting all the fruit in the orchards and learning about local plants. The only downfall of the finca were the bugs. They came in the thousands and were HUGE. At one point I thought I was attacked by a bat - turns out it was only a 5lb (only very slight exaggeration...) moth! Eeek! Other than that, though, the finca was gorgeous and incredible. From there, we then went into the actual town of Puerto Quito for a quick lunch before getting on the bus back to Tumbaco. It took about 4.5 hours to get home, but again we had no problems!
Sunday was a fun day where I went into Quito with 6 other trainees. We bused into the closes terminal, then met another trainee and his host family. They took us to the teleferico in Quito, which is the gondola that goes to the top of gua-gua Pichincha (baby Pichincha volcano). We were up at 4,100 meters (not sure how high in feet?) and had an absolutely incredible view of all of Quito and surrounding towns! It was also nice and cool up there, a good break from the heat! After the teleferico, we went to eat some lunch (all of us very hungry seeing as it was 3:30 pm...still something I haven´t gotten too used to), then we walked around the historic district of Quito. It was beautiful, and nice to have a guide family there with us to tell a little of the history!
The entire PC training staff wanted us to feel at home for the 4th of July, so we had big fiestas all day at the training center yesterday! It was a day of sports, each program competing against each other. Community Health was the best, I must say. My volleyball team one, and our soccer team took second (the team of current volunteers who came in for the parties winning everything else...). We all had jerseys made, the the three programs combined made the colors of the Ecuadorian flag, so we celebrated in style! We also had a potluck where everyone devoured the hamburgers, pasta salad and all-American food that everyone brought. Although there weren´t any fireworks, I think it is the most celebrated 4th of July I´ve had!
Everyone is now just anxiously awaiting next Wednesday - the day we find out our fate for the next two years...SITE SELECTION! From the trips we´ve taken, I´ve learned that I much prefer the climate of the Sierra over the coast, and would absolutely prefer a small town over a big city. That being said, there hasn´t been a part of Ecuador I haven´t liked, so I don´t think I can go wrong! We find out Wednesday, then leave Thursday morning for our week long (solo) site visit, so I´ll try to keep you posted on Wednesday night.
Happy belated 4th to everyone, happy 60th wedding anniversary to Grandpa and Grandma, y saludos a todos!
¡Besos!
Kerry
So much has happened in the last week and I am loving Ecuador more and more as time goes on! It is so fun getting to know the other trainees better, learn more about what our jobs and lives will be like for the next two years, and just enjoy the beauty of the country!
Last week we went on our tech trips in small groups, so I was in a group of 11 Community Health volunteers. We went to Santo Domingo, Pedro Vicente Maldonado y Puerto Quito, all of which are in the coastal region of Ecuador (aka hot, humid and buggy!). Santo Domingo was my group´s first stop, which is a large city about 3 hours from Quito. We left early in the morning to take a bus to Cumbaya, the next town over from Tumbaco. From there, we (11 PCTs, 2 Language and Culture Facilitators, 1 PCV Leader, and all of our bags for the week...) got on a microbusetta. We successfully packed the van/mini bus type thing like sardines, and I only thought I was going to die about 5 times during the 40 minute ride! We took fast, sharp turns, but miraculously never flipped over the cliffs into the valleys right below! We went to the Quitumbe terminal in southern Quito, then took a big bus to Santo Domingo. Despite being petrified to take buses from our Safety and Security talks, we (and our bags) all made it safely!
As soon as we got there we were warned that it was a dangerous city, then immediately told to go out and grab lunch somewhere on our own before our first charla. Hmm. Luckily that also went well. We gave a charla that afternoon to a group of women at a clinic about 15 minutes bus ride from the hostel we were staying in. Despite being just outside of a major city, this neighborhood had no potable water, sewage systems or basic amenities. I don´t think you can ever get used to knowing people all over the world live like this.
After a night in Santo Domingo, we took another 3 hour bus ride to Pedro Vicente, a small town that a current volunteer lives and works in. She showed us around, we got a talk from the mayor, did a charla, then joined in the festivities. It was the last night of Fiestas in the town, so we joined the thousands in the street for some delicious street food and fabulous fireworks. We all took them as our early 4th of July fireworks, and it was a fun night! The next day in Pedro Vicente we watched the finale parade (which consisted of hundreds of people walking down the street for hours...) and did some interviews in the neighborhood. We then caught a bus and headed to Puerto Quito.
We spent Wednesday night on a tourist finca (farm) with the other half of the community health group, which was really fun. Getting there in the afternoon, we had time for a swim in the pool before Spanish class. After Spanish we had a dance party and just hung out. The next day we woke up early to milk the cow before breakfast, then gave a charla at a small school in the campo. The kids ranged in age from about 7-15 and there was one teacher to teach all grades that they were in. We gave the dental charla, then just hung out and played with the kids for another hour! After that, we had more time to relax. While resting, drinking coffee and napping in the hammock next to the pool, I realized why Peace Corps Ecuador is often referred to as the Posh Corps...
On Friday we took a hike in the mountains of the farm, tasting all the fruit in the orchards and learning about local plants. The only downfall of the finca were the bugs. They came in the thousands and were HUGE. At one point I thought I was attacked by a bat - turns out it was only a 5lb (only very slight exaggeration...) moth! Eeek! Other than that, though, the finca was gorgeous and incredible. From there, we then went into the actual town of Puerto Quito for a quick lunch before getting on the bus back to Tumbaco. It took about 4.5 hours to get home, but again we had no problems!
Sunday was a fun day where I went into Quito with 6 other trainees. We bused into the closes terminal, then met another trainee and his host family. They took us to the teleferico in Quito, which is the gondola that goes to the top of gua-gua Pichincha (baby Pichincha volcano). We were up at 4,100 meters (not sure how high in feet?) and had an absolutely incredible view of all of Quito and surrounding towns! It was also nice and cool up there, a good break from the heat! After the teleferico, we went to eat some lunch (all of us very hungry seeing as it was 3:30 pm...still something I haven´t gotten too used to), then we walked around the historic district of Quito. It was beautiful, and nice to have a guide family there with us to tell a little of the history!
The entire PC training staff wanted us to feel at home for the 4th of July, so we had big fiestas all day at the training center yesterday! It was a day of sports, each program competing against each other. Community Health was the best, I must say. My volleyball team one, and our soccer team took second (the team of current volunteers who came in for the parties winning everything else...). We all had jerseys made, the the three programs combined made the colors of the Ecuadorian flag, so we celebrated in style! We also had a potluck where everyone devoured the hamburgers, pasta salad and all-American food that everyone brought. Although there weren´t any fireworks, I think it is the most celebrated 4th of July I´ve had!
Everyone is now just anxiously awaiting next Wednesday - the day we find out our fate for the next two years...SITE SELECTION! From the trips we´ve taken, I´ve learned that I much prefer the climate of the Sierra over the coast, and would absolutely prefer a small town over a big city. That being said, there hasn´t been a part of Ecuador I haven´t liked, so I don´t think I can go wrong! We find out Wednesday, then leave Thursday morning for our week long (solo) site visit, so I´ll try to keep you posted on Wednesday night.
Happy belated 4th to everyone, happy 60th wedding anniversary to Grandpa and Grandma, y saludos a todos!
¡Besos!
Kerry
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)