Note: I have included two videos at the end of this post, simply click the links to view them.
I have finally finished training and been sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Three months of intense training concluded on April 4th when we had a large ceremony that was attended by all the “higher-ups” in the Peace Corps as well as the Ambassador to Ecuador. It felt strange seeing everyone dressed to the nines in a developing country but I suppose it was a pretty big day for us. Our training consisted of language and culture, safety, security, health, and cross-cultural ideas. Many times we were all frustrated by the repetition and monotony of training. For instance, we had a two hour session from the medical unit about dental care. If I have made it this far in life without my teeth falling out, I feel like I can probably make it at least two more years. However, I do feel that the training staff did a very good job of preparing us for our service here. My hat is off to them.
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| Language facilitator that nicknamed me "Tood" after initially mispronouncing my name. |
After the ceremony and an anxious day full of packing I
departed Tumbaco and my host family for Latacunga. It was difficult saying
goodbye to the Correa family but I won’t be gone for long. I have been invited
back for my host sister’s first communion in June. Also, when I return to
Tumbaco for conferences I will stay with them. They were a great help to me and
taught me many more things that the Peace Corps could even begin to touch upon.
This goes further to support my theory on education. You can be in a college
classroom all day every day for four years but six months in the real world
will teach you more than you could imagine.
I left Tumbaco around two in the afternoon. The Peace Corps
had offered a free ride to the southern bus terminal in Quito if you were
willing to leave at 6 am. Free always sounds good to me. However, a friend of
mine was headed to nearly the same location and I told her I would travel with
her. She is very attached to her host family in Tumbaco and wanted to stick
around until the afternoon. This was also due to the fact that we would only be
traveling for three hours and did not really need to get up at 5 am to hit the
road. At 2:30 pm we left Tumbaco. I came to Ecuador with two very full pieces
of luggage. I could not imagine that I would have even more things when I left
Tumbaco to go to site but that is exactly what happened. Luckily I had brought
an extra duffel bag that I filled with new things acquired from the Peace Corps
(mainly books). Looking at my bags I was not sure how easy this trip was going
to be. My friend and I took a cab to the closest bus stop because walking with
my nearly 125 lbs of stuff was not feasible.
We waited at the bus stop for about ten minutes. I have
never felt more vulnerable. Literally all of my valuables were on me or near
me. My friend and I were the perfect mark for a robber. We had been told that
our passports were worth five thousand dollars apiece. This does not put one at
ease. However, we got on the bus and to relative safety. We traveled to the
southern bus terminal in Quito and made yet another awkward transition to
another bus that put our nose south. We made it to Latacunga around 5 pm. I
hailed a taxi and made it to my new house in a matter of minutes. I lugged all
my things up three flights of stairs and I was home.
My host dad was not at home when I arrived. I spent the next
hour or so organizing my things in my bedroom and bathroom. The apartment that
I live in is nice. I have my own bathroom that is small but gets the job done.
I have a medium sized bedroom that faces Cotopaxi National Park to the north.
On clear days I can see the highest active volcano in the world, Cotopaxi. It has
made me take pause more than once.
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| View of Cotopaxi from my window |
I have a decent sized living room but no TV.
My host dad is somewhat of an intellect and feels that the living room should
be a place of conversation, not idle lounging. The kitchen is large but poorly
stocked. This has been an issue that I have addressed during my first week. I
have made many trips to tiendas and other shops to buy household things. My
host dad is great. He is obviously very intelligent and is well liked by the
community. He is also a talented musician. I think that we will get along just
fine. My host dad does not cook for himself. He eats most every meal outside of
the house. This is an economical choice for him as less hassle in the kitchen.
This is an advantage that I have over other volunteers. Peace Corps Volunteers
must negotiate a price to pay for each meal with their host family. Many times,
money is saved by the volunteer in this manner. However, the volunteer must eat
what is served and when it is served. I am able to buy the foods that I want
and can eat at my leisure. I have missed eating salads on a daily basis as I
did in the States. Now I will be able to resume that pattern. I might spend
more than the average volunteer on food seeing as tuna and salad are pricier
than rice and potatoes but at least I will feel fulfilled and get the nutrients
I desire. I have already gotten very strange looks from Ecuadorians as ate my
large, veggie-filled salad.
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| My stove and "oven" |
My first weekend consisted of organizing my things, shopping
for necessary household supplies, and visiting a city nearby. It took me awhile
but I finally have my room in order. I needed to buy many things to make this
happen. It felt as if I were moving out of my parent’s house again and needed
everything from hangers to pots and pans. On Sunday I went with my host dad to
place flowers on the graves of his parents. He seemed happy that I wanted to go
with him. We took the bus and explored the nearby city of Pujili. It is smaller
and much more indigenous than Latacunga. My host dad was pleased to show me
around his hometown and explain its history.
On Monday I went to work. I had met my teachers one time
before during our official “Site Visit”. This was nice so that I was not
completely blindsided. I still felt at a loss for what to do though. I was
supposed to observe the classes of my teachers as well as speak with each
teacher to determine their willingness to work with me. I quickly figured out
that the teachers had no idea what my true job was going to be. I spent a
little time with the teachers explaining my role. It was somewhat helpful but
really I felt that they did not truly grasp it all. Nonetheless, I observed the
classes spoke with the teachers and sat in the “Sala de Ingles” with them. I
want my teachers to know I am here for the long haul and want to integrate as
much as possible. A few have warmed to me but I am working on the others.
Change is going to come very slow…
I was warned that I should not come in with a tenacious
attitude or have a desire to move the process along quickly. This is something
that I finally realized is probably true. The teachers are happy that I am here
and I do believe they want to learn. They do seem to be a bit apprehensive. I
have dialed back my extraverted personality a bit with my teachers. I believe
they will probably respond better to a person that listens more than talks.
This is a far cry from the men at my school. They want to laugh and joke and
practice their very poor English. I am happy to oblige them. It is a bi-polar
school for sure. I hope that I am able to balance the two.
After spending a few days in the school I began to see the bureaucracy
and got a sense of the way things work. In this culture of indirect
communication, very few things are spelled out. I found this to be true when,
on Thursday, I was asked if I was ready for my meeting with the Rector of the
school. I responded that I was not aware that I had a meeting. I was then
informed that it was in twenty minutes and I needed to have my schedule
prepared and made into a word document. This was a shock to me. First of all I
had given hardly any thought to preparing a schedule. Also, the Rector is
similar to the principal of the school however his position very elevated
within the community. There is certainly an element of fear that his name imposes.
I scrambled to put together a schedule that he might approve. I was told that
the actual schedule was not that important. I could change it or not follow it
too religiously and that would be fine. I simply needed to turn something in so
paperwork could be shuffled. Much to my relief the meeting was cancelled and I
was given another day to complete my schedule.
From Thursday until the weekend was basically a party.
Saturday the 13th was Ecuador’s Teacher’s Day. This meant that we
would have a relaxed, music-filled, dancing celebration for the remainder of
the week. I have been told that the Ecuadorian school system has many “fiestas”.
If this week was any clue, this is no lie. In the early morning I was given a
present by the 9th graders at my school. I was given a ceramic horse
that is actually kind of cool. Classes were canceled after 10:00 am and the
party began. The faculty and administration went to eat “Chugchucaras” to commence
the celebration. This is a plate that Latacunga is famous for. It is a plate of
all sorts of fried everything. Pork, corn, pig skin, hominy, empanadas, chicharon,
and popcorn are served on this very fatty plate. However, it is delicious. I
can see why people here love it. Oddly enough, we left the restaurant that is nearby our school without paying. Chugchucaras are relatively expensive here, between 6-8 dollars, and I was surprised to see that immediate payment was not necessary. I asked a teacher who paid, she shrugged her shoulders and we left.
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| Lunch celebration at a nearby restaurant with the faculty and administration |
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| Grease and fat never tasted so good... |
After lunch we returned to the school where instruments were
brought out and singing, dancing, and drinking ensued. This is major adjustment
for me. Seeing teachers drinking beer in the teacher’s lounge is very strange.
It seems so taboo. Just like speaking about religion in the classroom and
openly questioning people about their personal beliefs. I am working on viewing
the world through their eyes at this point in hopes of gaining some
understanding.
On Friday the party continued. The teachers played the
students in soccer and equi-volley (volleyball with a higher net). After that we
had a large lunch filled with music and dancing. The Vice-Rector asked me to
dance to “Baila La Bumba”. I said sure despite not knowing what he meant. Apparently
there is a dance to that song. I just went out there and acted goofy. People
seemed ok with my dance and even began doing the same as me. I am sure it was
very entertaining to see the white guy out there dancing like, well, a white
guy… I met many new great teachers that work at a different campus. I was
warmly greeted and even offered to go on a few trips with a pair of the more
adventurous teachers that double as mountain guides. One man actually is a Boy
Scout leader here and told me I was welcome to help out if I wanted to. We will
see what becomes of this.
At the end my week I went to a city about 3 hours south of my
town. The volunteers in a neighboring province had called for cluster meeting
on our first weekend. I wasn’t too happy about leaving my city so soon but it
turned out to be a great time. We arrived in Riobamba and met up with a few
other volunteers and then headed into the “campo” or country near the Amazon.
We stopped on a bridge in the middle of nowhere and began hiking up. We hiked
along a river for about an hour. The scenery along the hike was magnificent.
Forest covered mountains surrounded us on all sides and the river was rushing
loudly beside us. It was a bit foggy but you could see a very large volcano
ahead in the distance. I was told this was referred to as a cloud forest.
After
the short hour hike we arrived at a beautiful waterfall. It was probably
150-200 ft high. The water was gushing down the mountain to a small pool
at the base where we had our meeting. After the meeting a group split off to go
hot springs further up the trail. I and another two volunteers had to turn back
due to time constraints and rules against night travel. Before we left however,
I decided I should swim a bit. I threw my trunks on and headed down to the base
of the waterfall. That waterfall was very powerful and more than that it was
freezing. The other volunteers looked on and I refreshed myself beneath the
waterfall. Oddly, they were not a bit jealous of my freezing cold act. After I
had dried a bit we began to walk back down the trail to the desolate road. We
apparently just missed the bus and had to wait another hour for the next one to
pass. We spent another 4 hours getting home. All in all we took 6 buses and
traveled about 7 hours on Saturday. It was a very long day but the views and
companionship of my new friends was certainly worth the trip.
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| Cloud Forest where we hiked |
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| Yes, her shirt says YOLO. Cali girl... |
Now that my first week has drawn to a close I am but content and apprehensive. I can now see the difficulties of my job and the dedication it will take to become successful in the slightest. I know that in the long run all will be fine but between now and then I need to buckle down and really get to work. The last 4 months have been full of changes and new experiences. I will no doubt have new experiences but for the foreseeable future this is my home. Knowing that this is my new permanent residence is both calming and alarming. I need to adjust to my new world with great flexibility and a good sense of humor. I suppose it is a good thing I am not lacking in either of these at this point.
Videos:
Wobbly bridge that went over the river
Waterfall
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