... Friends send you texts that say things like, ¨I have fleas¨
... Your travel plans have been interrupted by landslides/floods/indigenous protests
... You are no longer phased by amoebas
... You carefully examine your poo, as you are phased by worms
... You can make your own peanut butter
... Your host mother has microwaved refrigerated Coke because it was ¨too cold¨
... In photos with Ecuadorians, you look like you had an un-checked growth hormone imbalance
... You teach English to Spanish-speakers, but don´t really speak Spanish
... You´ve watched an entire TV season of Weeds/The Office/House/etc. in the past week
... You know that Cuerpo de Paz dice muchas cosas.
If you aren´t in PC Ecuador, you´re likely extremely happy about that fact after my uplifting symptoms of PC Ecuador volunteerism, but actually, la vida ecuadoriana is pleasant enough. I spent a few days last week in Cuenca for PC-sponsored resiliency training (that left much to be desired, but was still a free trip to a UNESCO World Heritage city with great food and a chance to hang-out with 50+ other PCVs). My host family continues to be welcoming, my host aunts/running buddies continue to make me look tragically out of shape, and my Spanish is coming along slowly, but steadily. I had my first PC visitor out at my site on Friday, a fellow Lojano who´d like to bring a women´s group he works with out to the Centro for a yogurt and cheese making presentation. I also popped into Loja for some grocery shopping and a chance to make a fool of myself running a 10k that passed by Loja´s churches. Kayla, another Lojana PCV, kindly went snail´s pace with me and joined in the fun game of ¨find the course¨that was the last several kilometers of the race (apparently only serious runners do the Loja 10k, and the follow-up car whizzed past us at about km 2).
This evening I´ll be occupied in the kitchen making my host family fettuccini alfredo. I made spaghetti with meatballs last week and learned that Ecuadorian kitchens do not have pepper shakers for a reason. I figure bland fettuccini will still be good (since the tastiest ingredient is fat :).
Happy dia de la independencia de Pichincha/Memorial Day to everyone, tomorrow!
Chao,
Alli
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Hello Alli,
ReplyDeleteI think I left you an email? You sound a little bored at least with this portion of your experience. Good job on the 10k run! THS is hosting the SEC track meet today, May 27. Does Ecquador have a Memorial Day? Ours is this coming Monday May 31.
I was off by a week on Memorial Day in the States (lo siento!). Independencia de Pichincha is a bit like the 4th of July in the States. It´s a celebration of independence from Spain of the province of Pichincha, where the capital city, Quito, is located.
ReplyDeleteI´m not exactly bored, just adjusting to the slower rhythm of life and the realities of life in the campo. My PC experience has actually been incredible, so far, and I´m really glad I have the opportunity to be here. It´s just very different from life back home.