Just checking in.

From Wednesday...

After a great few days in the jungle, I've been back to the routine (if you can call it that; things are always changing here!). This week has been a tiring one, but a good one nonetheless. Monday's activities at field involved listening to another intern give a workshop about Ecuador's borders, another pretty detailed workshop about HIV and its prevention, saying goodbye to a girl who is moving on, and me giving another English lesson. Let me tell you, teaching English to 23 adolescent girls is hard! I try to go very slowly, and I make sure they've all taken notes and we've practiced the pronunciation several times. After we learn a phrase I ask for questions, and often there are none. And yet, by the end of our lesson, I ask some girls if they understand and they say they don't know a single thing! They have taken notes--with Spanish translations--on everything, and somehow it doesn't sink in--and we've only gone over greetings and saying "How are you?". I would love to sit down with each one and make sure they understand, but with 23 teenagers there is just no way to do that effectively. I try to be firm and make sure they're practicing when they're supposed to, but it's not easy. Thank goodness I didn't go into education!

On Tuesday, they really put me to work. There is an abandoned building on the land owned by my agency that is really in disrepair--holes in the roof, broken windows, crazy amounts of dust, and mountains of dusty, mildew-y donated clothes. I found out that we were to spend the whole day cleaning out the building until the job was done. Whew! I wasn't dressed to get super dirty, so I stayed outside sorting and folding dusty, moldy clothes all day. By lunch time I was almost as red as a lobster. Due to the high altitude, the sun is super strong here, and it was a very sunny day. So I'm a bit sunburned, which fascinated the girls, who all have dark skin! Due to the sun, I spent the afternoon inside the building talking with one of the girls, who had a headache. They are slowly opening up to me and telling me about their lives, which is such an honor for me.

Today I was in the office all day, so nothing too fascinating to report there. I do enjoy reading the case notes of the clients as I review them, though. So that's fun. I also get to sleep in later (til 6:30!) on Wednesdays because I can walk to the office, whereas every other day I'm up at 5:45 to catch my buses. 

At six I'll leave this coffee shop and head back to my homestay, where I'll have a traditional Ecuadorian dinner of bread, jam, instant coffee, and perhaps a little cheese.

So, that's my week so far! Chao!

Misahualli, Part Two.

After another peaceful, rainy night in the jungle (with occasional interruptions of sleep due to monkeys on the roof) we awoke to a new day of service in Misahualli. We spent the morning removing a ton of jungle brush from the future site of a new building at the school. The work was not easy, especially with the rain and the bugs. The worst bugs in the jungle actually aren't mosquitoes--they're tiny little gnats that you don't even feel until after they bite you. Eventually red dots start to show on your skin, and within the next two days the dots are extremely swollen and itchy. It's unlike anything we have in the states. Other fun jungle wildlife included big hairy tarantulas, fire ants, and giant ants whose bites will put you in the hospital. Yep, these fun creatures were all in the pile of brush we were moving. 

Another highlight of the morning included trying cacao fruit, from which chocolate is made. The fruit has a super slimy texture, and it tastes a bit like a sour melon. The inside of the fruit is what makes the chocolate, but I hear it's extremely bitter until it's roasted.

After we were sufficiently dirty, tired, and bitten by bugs (although I was fine with the latter because I wore long pants and long sleeves the whole weekend) we took a lunch break. That afternoon we needed something more relaxing to do, so we took a boat ride (a common mode of transportation in the jungle) to a local museum. At this museum we explored a little botanical garden full of medicinal plants that are traditional to the indigenous cultures of the jungle. One of the plants included "wild marijuana", which the tour guide offered to let us try but unfortunately this is not allowed in our "Living Above Reproach" contract for the semester abroad program. ;)

However, we did learn a bit about indigenous culture and got to see some real examples of Quechua clothing, kitchen implements, communication, and hunting traps. We also had the opportunity to shoot a blowgun and toured a mini zoo of some rainforest animals, including capybara, coati, ocelot, and piranha. 

Overall, our museum trip was really interesting and a welcome break from the work we'd been doing. Once we were finished we hopped back on the boat just in time for another delicious dinner of pork chops and mote, a type of corn similar to choclo. We had a significant debriefing session before heading out on the town for some ice cream bars--sooo good. 



Just one more night of listening to the peaceful jungle sounds remained, and then we packed up and left the next morning. The jungle is such a beautiful, unique place to visit--pictures just can't do it justice. I loved the experience and am so happy we're going back in April!

Misahualli.

Last Thursday we went to the jungle, also known as the Oriente, for the first time. We rented our own bus for the occasion, which was super nice considering the trip takes about six hours. The roads are so winding--literally, the bus never went straight the entire time. We were always curving around the mountains, and we were going fast! The drive was breathtaking, though--everywhere I've been in Ecuador is beautiful. The mountains are huge and green, and every so often you can see a waterfall or a river. The area was increasingly remote the farther we got out of Quito. Many times I saw a tiny house on the side of the mountain, with no other civilization in sight. It was incredible.

Once we got to the jungle region, the poverty was notably worse, or at least more visible, than in Quito. Most homes out there are made of wood and have rusty tin roofs. They appear to have about one to three rooms, and all have laundry hanging outside (which is super common in Quito as well). I've heard that many of the children living in this part of Ecuador do not have food or clean water, and that many are indigenous. 

Once we arrived at our hotel, we were treated to the first of several delicious meals. Our first dinner included llapingachos, which are like fried potato cakes and are so good. That evening we went for a short walk to see the tiny of of Misahualli, which didn't take long! Monkeys in the Oriente are like squirrels in the U.S., so we had quite a good time watching their antics in the town plaza. 

The next morning we got up bright and early to see the campus of the mission school we're serving. This school was started about three years ago by two Ecuadorians who actually met and married in the U.S. Air Force. After their time in the military was complete, they felt that God was calling them to leave their cushy, secure lives to return to Ecuador. Although Roberto and Charmai are from Quito, they felt led to move to the jungle--something no Ecuadorian really wants to do! The area is extremely remote and lacks most of the resources you find in the more developed areas. Nevertheless, Roberto and Charmai showed up to start a school while they had no training in education themselves. By age 22, Charmai had adopted nine children! Anyway, now they have this school so that jungle children have a more viable chance at becoming educated. It's a very cool ministry. We spent the morning running a VBS for the kids, which was quite similar to the VBS activities you'd do in the states, just in a different language. That afternoon we went to the community soccer field to play games with the local children. Overall, it was a fun (and exhausting) day for all of us. 



Next installment coming soon!

Homestays and such.

Last Saturday I officially began my homestay here in Ecuador. I live with two wonderful people named Lupe and Carlos in a beautiful house not too far from the apartment where I was before. My host abuelitos are in their late sixties, early seventies, and it's just the three of us in this house. However, they are never boring! Ecuadorian families are very close, so my Ecuadorian cousins, aunts, and uncles stop by all the time. We also visit their homes quite a bit, even on the weekdays! 

Since Sunday was our first day together, we were super busy. Ecuador's presidential election was that day, so the whole family went to vote that morning. It's a very exciting time in Ecuador; everyone is on the move and excited to hear the results. The government still isn't all that stable right now, so any change is a big deal. The military is all over the place, especially at the polls. After voting we went out for empanadas chilenas on the way to the town where I work (outside Quito). And the verdict is in: I like empanadas chilenas more than empanadas de morocho. The former are spicier and have more flavor in general. My abuelitos treated me to blackberry pop and a coconut dessert before we drove out to see the neighborhood where I work. That night I attended Mass with Lupe and returned just in time for the election results (Rafael Correa, the incumbent, won another term). Some family came over for a traditional Ecuadorian dinner, which is coffee, bread, and sometimes cheese. Lunch is the main meal here, so dinner is much lighter. I actually really like that custom. I eat in my field placement each day, and wasting food is a huge no-no here so I always have to eat it all-whether I like it or not. Typically we eat very simply--fruit juice, tons of rice, a small piece of meat, soup, and some kind of vegetable or fruit (fried plantain, potatoes, etc.).

On Monday I was back to work, getting up before the sun. This week in field I've listened to workshops about self-esteem, played soccer, taught English, and listened in on two very long group therapy sessions. The English lessons have been a hit, which is so encouraging to see. I don't know if you've thought about this, but teaching English to beginners is really tough! This week a lot of issues have come up in the house that we needed to discuss--bulimia, child maltreatment, relationships among the girls, respect, distorted ideas about sexuality, etc. In short, I'm doing my dream job here. It's tough, to be sure, but this is exactly what I would love to be doing in the states.

Today I left the house at 6:15am to register my visa (super fun) and went straight to work in the office after grabbing a big latte. Thankfully my commute is much shorter on Wednesdays, so I'm home early to pack before we leave for the jungle tomorrow. Super excited, and sorta looking forward to a break from all this field madness!

A typical Friday.

So you may be wondering...what do I do on Fridays? Maybe you're not, but I know at least my mom is. ;)

On Fridays I don't go to my field site, for a number of reasons. First, it appears that Fridays will be the best time for me to have my "one-on-one" with another missionary here. Our semester abroad program gives us a ton of support throughout our experience, and one way of doing this is by scheduling "one-on-one" time with our resident coordinator. The folks in charge of the program were very thoughtful and asked me if I would like to meet with another married woman, and I jumped at the chance. M is great, and so far my time with her has been so refreshing and helpful. So, we've been meeting on Friday mornings for things like coffee or walks in the park.

At noon I have supervision with my field instructor. Part of our social work field education includes mandatory supervision, which is basically a meeting with our field instructor to talk about our week in field. Our supervisor is there to get to know us as professionals, help us think through sticky situations, and evaluate our performance in the end. So, before lunch I walk over to the school where our field instructor is working for an hour long meeting. She never gives me answers, but it is super helpful to be able to talk with another more experienced professional about the things that come up in field.

In addition, Friday is the day that our Ecuador class meets. This class is just to help us understand the history, culture, and politics of Ecuador, so it's a lot of fun. Learning is very experiential, which means we take field trips and have guest speakers on occasion. I'm not taking this class for credit, so I just get to enjoy the field trips and learning about the country I'm calling home for now.

Finally, Friday is our day to skype with our field instructor back in the states. She likes to check in with the three of us senior social work students just to see how we're doing, how our field placements are coming along, etc. She is a wonderful lady and I actually do look forward to this time. It's also a great outlet to process things with the other two students, who are in a different field placement at an international school. 

So that's how I end my week! Although the day is still fairly busy, it's a nice break from my long commute and the full days at my field site. 

Feliz Dia de San Valentin!

Okay, so I'm a little behind with this blogging stuff...but long story short, I left my computer charger at my field site the other day and now I'm in my homestay. So, things have been a little bit crazy.

Anyway, I spent the majority of Valentine's Day at my field site, of course. As soon as I walked in the door, I was handed some paint and asked to turn a handful of girls into clowns for some Valentine's Day activity. After that, I spent the morning being treated to a variety of powerpoint presentations, skits, dances, songs, games, and more from all the girls at the house. Their talent is incredible! It was so fun to just sit back and watch them display their special talents. All the social workers and police officers were there, so we got to enjoy the show like one big family of women. So fun. After that we sang together and listened to a new song meant to empower women who have been trafficked. I'm able to eat lunch with the girls, which is wonderful because that means I get to enjoy a free hot meal every day. However, it can be tough to eat there because I'm not entirely sure if the food is prepared for gringos--meaning, all the produce needs to be cleaned correctly and the water must be pure or boiled, not just from the tap. So we'll see how that goes.

After lunch I had lots of time to do my workshop, which was about the United States. I talked about each region of the country and showed lots of pictures while answering the girls' many questions about my country. After that we talked a little bit about similarities and differences between the U.S. and Ecuador. Once I was finished with everything I had prepared, they wanted to hear American music. And to see me dance to American music. So, I put on some itunes and we had a gringa dance party. Overall, the day was really rewarding--I've connected with a number of the girls and some of them couldn't believe I wasn't coming back until Monday. In fact, I even stayed past five, when I'm supposed to leave!


That night I raced home to turn in my graduate school application and quickly change into a skirt for our classy dinner at the boys' apartment. The guys wanted to make us feel special, and they sure did! We encountered rose petals and candles on the stairs up to the apartment and were treated to a three course meal by five dapper young men. After dessert, the evening's entertainment was a choreographed dance by the guys. It was hysterical! They did such a great job of spoiling us for that night. Although of course, I would have loved it even more if it was my own husband who I was sharing a candlelight dinner with!

Feliz Carnaval!

For the past few days Ecuador has been celebrating Carnaval, which is kind of a last hurrah before Lent starts. Because of the holiday, we've had Monday and Tuesday off from class/work and I am loving that. Yesterday we went to the country property of the grandparents of the Ecuadorian woman who coordinates our internships and homestays to celebrate and "play Carnaval".

The drive out there was a little long and precarious, as our old suburban's brakes overheated on the mountain roads. Of course we survived in the end though. On the way we enjoyed squirting foam at strangers on the sidewalk from the car. Once we got to the toll, we were so close to spraying a boy selling foam (people sell things on the streets everywhere in Ecuador) but a policeman subtly came over and foiled our plans. The Ecuadorians all are good-natured about it, and I bet they thought it was a little funny being sprayed by a suburban full of gringos. 

Once there, we played some games and hung out in the sun (finally! It's so rainy these days) while the men cooked up our lunch. We enjoyed hamburgers, chips, watermelon, choclo, and lima beans for lunch. While we were finishing our food we sat lazily in the sun, talking and admiring the gorgeous view. Then all of a sudden, we were covered in water and foam! I think I already mentioned this, but in Ecuador Carnaval is celebrated by dumping buckets of water and spraying foam on everybody in the streets, including strangers. The women in the little country town were even hiding up on the roof of the grocery store, waiting to soak unsuspecting patrons. It's hilarious. So anyway, Carnaval began for us right after lunch. The funnest people to watch were our hosts--two older men probably in their sixties who have seen many Carnavals in their day. They are ruthless! If you're not deemed wet enough, the whole group comes after you, tackles you, and makes sure you're completely soaked (this happened to me). So much fun, yet so cold! 

After a whole lot of Carnaval play, we decided to let ourselves dry in the sun and eventually change into dry clothes. Once that was done our amazing hosts served banana bread, coffee, and cookies and we all relaxed and chatted together. Once 6:00 rolled around we piled back into our cars for the beautiful drive home through the Andes mountains. I was reminded again of how intense the pollution can be here at times--if you drive with the windows open the fumes are sometimes pretty insane. So much so that the women who work the tolls all wear gas masks! It makes me wonder how the men, women, and children who sell things around the tolls manage to do it.

So that was Carnaval for us. Today is a free day, and I am definitely taking advantage. I've had a cough/cold that's been getting worse, so I'm trying as much as possible to rest before work tomorrow. Unfortunately it's not exactly going so well due to my long to-do list...

So it begins!

I have finally started my field placement! There's so much to say about it already...where to begin?

First of all, I want to be super careful about confidentiality here. That's a standard value of social work, but it's also extremely important due to the work I'm doing. So, at times I may have to be a little vague just to make sure I'm protecting my clients and not doing anything to harm the mission of my agency.

Basically, I am working in a group home for girls who are survivors of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. My agency works with the police to conduct rescues of girls known to be underage working in discotecas, brothels, or elsewhere and then brings them to this home. They tend to stay there for about six months to a year before transitioning to another home or re-entering society on their own. These girls are all adolescents (some are very young, and no one is old enough to be a high school graduate) and a few have children of their own. That is all I feel comfortable saying about my service population on the Internet, but I think you get the idea. Security is pretty tight there (I have to identify myself with the police before I'm allowed through multiple gates) so this is clearly a pretty sensitive situation--with good reason.

I actually have quite a significant role at my agency. The environment is very structured in order to help the girls find some stability and to keep their minds off the extremely tough situations they have left. The social workers teach them life skills, social skills, and academic skills during their time at the home. The social worker has given me about two hours each afternoon to run a workshop for the girls. It can be about whatever I want, as long as I'm sensitive to their experiences. I've decided to start by sharing a little about the United States and my home culture, and hopefully this will start conversation about culture differences in general. I thought this would be a good way to acknowledge the fact that I am foreign and to help us appreciate our differences. The girls have already requested English lessons as well, so I will gladly be conducting some English workshops. These workshops are already a lot to prepare in English, so you can imagine how busy I am trying to do this in Spanish!

Today I came to the house with a group of missionaries that comes to minister to the girls twice a week. My agency is not Christian, but they do allow Christians to come play games with the girls and share a small Bible lesson. This is a bit tricky for me, because although I am Christian I am a professional, not a volunteer. I want to respect the culture of my agency, and this may involve not being so open with my faith. Stilll, this was a great way to start getting to know the girls. Some are very warm and welcoming, while others are tougher to get to know. Communicating in Spanish is obviously a huge challenge, as is maintaining appropriate boundaries with the girls. I very much want them to know how much I care about them, but I must maintain my status as a professional, not a friend. Still, I feel very welcomed at this agency and this would truly be my dream job in the states. Tomorrow I come back for another half day, and then on Wednesdays I will be working in the agency's office to experience administrative social work. On Thursday, I'll officially be working at the house full time. So there you have it! I'm overwhelmed, yet excited to do my best and serve these girls in any way that I can.

Another busy Saturday.

From Saturday, February 2...

Today we had breakfast at another missionary's house and shared our testimonies afterwards. I had never shared my testimony before and feel embarrassed about being open with people, so I was a little glad to get that over with. After that we went to the market at La Mariscal to see what kind of souvenir-type things they sell here. Five of the girls got piercings there--noses and lips. Don't worry, Mom and AJ, I'm still piercing free ;)

The girls getting their noses pierced.

After the market I went to the neighborhood tienda for a few groceries and the panaderia for some eggs. I love having little stores of all kinds so close by. Some of the girls went to the little movie store in our neighborhood, with good reason. All the DVDs are pirated here, so they're extremely cheap and are available much sooner than in the U.S. For example, we're watching Les Miserables tonight on DVD :) So that's been the last few days--it's definitely turning out to be a jam-packed weekend!

Last few days before...field!

Sunday was another busy, sunny day in Ecuador. Went to church in Spanish, this time with a larger group of brave souls from our program. After that, some of us went to lunch at a restaurant called Crepes and Waffles, which serves...you guessed it! Oh my goodness, I should not have discovered that place. Here is what I had for lunch:

In case you can't tell, that's peach juice along with a waffle covered in coffee ice cream, whipped cream, and caramel sauce. Oh yeah. They serve healthier stuff too, but really--if you had this as an option, would you go for the vegetarian crepe?!

We had a great time eating our yummy crepes and waffles and getting to know two other missionaries from the jungle visiting Quito. One of them actually slept in my room over the weekend. They're a lot of fun and I can't wait to see them again when our group comes to the jungle for a visit.

Lunch was followed by a trip to the local Supermaxi (the supermarket down here), where I was quite surprised to find that a small bottle of olive oil can set you back $12 here, and peanut butter is at least $5.50. Yikes! You can buy at least two meals for $5.50. Some missionaries were hosting a super bowl party on their roof that night, but I decided to skip since I had a lot left to do that weekend. It was a good decision.

On Monday morning we saw the changing of the guard at the Presidential Palace in Old Quito. It poured the whole time, so we were completely soaked. I had no idea what was going on, and the president wasn't even home at the time, but it was still quite a show. They do that every Monday apparently.

After that we caught lunch before Spanish class. I had locro de papas, which is a standard potato soup with avocado and cheese, along with a chicken sandwich. Both good, and most importantly, warm. That afternoon I had my last day of Spanish class, after which I raced home to cook community dinner for all the girls (sloppy joes, fries, and chocolate cake--and I read all the instructions in Spanish!). We had some more testimony time later before I fell into bed after a long, rainy day. 

Tuesday was just a chill day, since I thought I was supposed to start my field placement but didn't. But I'm officially starting today! Can't wait to finally start on the reason why I'm here and catch up to my classmates in the states!

Carnaval celebrations and empanadas.

The last few days have been super busy. Thursday was a pretty average day, meaning we went to Spanish class and then came back for a community dinner, which included the guys. After we had all enjoyed some delicious taco salad, the guys disappeared for a minute and came back spraying us with giant cans of foam. Luckily we had all finished dinner, because the place was a mess! Everyone was covered in foam, as was our dining area. To Americans, this just sounds like a weird prank, but this is actually a very normal occurrence here in Ecuador during Carnaval. In the past, Ecuadorians used to launch water balloons at strangers in the streets and even poured buckets of water, gasoline, or urine on people at times. I've heard the country just goes crazy during this time. However, the city of Quito has really cracked down on some of the craziness, so stores here sell special foam (espuma) that is still fun but dries quicker. 

On Friday we had Spanish class at eight in the morning, which meant we had to leave the apartment at 7:15am--too early. After that we had a short break before Ecuador 250, which is our class about the history, culture, and politics of Ecuador. I'm auditing that class and am super excited for it. The class mostly consists of field trips and guest speakers. On our first day we discussed a bit of Ecuador's political history, which is very complicated and unstable. Ecuador has had about 86 changes of government and 17 new constitutions in the past 150 years. The military also has a habit of chasing presidents out of the country and at times declaring them mentally insane. Pretty exciting place to be!

That night we went to Old Quito for empanadas. I got squashed on the trole yet again--this time, I even have bruises on my back to prove it. Thankfully a nice Ecuadorian man noticed I was getting squashed against a metal bar and checked to see if I was okay, which led to us having a conversation throughout the entire ride. We eventually found out that we're both Christians, which made me enjoy his company even more.

Anyway, we stopped in one little restaurant for meat empanadas, which were delicious. You eat them with aji, Ecuadorian hot sauce. After that we headed to another restaurant for dessert empanadas. These tasted a bit like an elephant ear, although they were filled with cheese. This is not sweeter cheese, like we're used to in the U.S.--it's sour and salty. The Ecuadorians love their cheese! They even eat it in hot chocolate. Not sure how I felt about the cheese, but it was still a lot of fun. And the empanadas are huge! We enjoyed the live entertainment for awhile before taking taxis back to the apartment. It was great seeing the beautiful architecture and festive atmosphere of Old Quito, plus enjoying some great Ecuadorian food!