tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46926282904615329072024-03-19T06:21:02.958-05:00Jay In EcuadorA journal of life a continent away from home and two miles high.Jay Verhoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282327286825525479noreply@blogger.comBlogger93125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692628290461532907.post-23084655581898887942009-06-02T15:26:00.007-05:002010-09-09T18:56:23.984-05:00This Is The EndI've said it several times before. I don't think that I can fully process, appreciate, wrap up, or realize how my time in the Peace Corps has affected and will affect me. Like any so called "life changing" experience, the aftershocks will reverberate for a long time, and the residue will never fully wash off.<br /><br />I think about Ecuador all the time. Every glass of water I drink out of the tap in the US comes with the thoughts, "Wow, I wish I was able to do this for the last two years!" and, "Man, how much different would people's lives be in Ecuador if they all could get a clean glass of water when they wanted it?". I have to stop myself from bringing Ecuador into almost every conversation I have. Its just that that's all I know and everything is so different here that it almost doesn't seem real.<br /><br />I'm sure that it will take some time to adjust, but the transition hasn't been that hard. My Brother, Mother, and Father hosted a Welcome Back party in St. Louis at the same bar that they threw my Going Away party. It was great to catch up with a lot of my friends that I haven't seen since I left in 2007, and since it was at the same bar, it really closed everything up nicely. Thanks to everyone who attended either of those parties.<br /><br />I also want to take a moment to say thank you. To everyone who kept up on my life by reading the blog, to everyone who sent me a package, an email, a text message, a card, wished me well, or said a prayer...THANK YOU. My first couple months away from home were hard and I don't think that I could have done it without the support of my friends and family. You guys have all been great, and I appreciate how lucky I am to have such great friends and to be part of such a loving family.<br /><br />So, now I'm back in the United States of America living at my parent's house for the first time in years and starting the job search. If you happen to be swinging through St. Louis and want to hear some stories about eating grubs and Guinea Pigs, pooping worms, getting drunk with corrupt cops, acting as the laughing stock of an entire community, and being one tiny cog in a huge government bureaucracy, feel free to give me a call.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">My new phone number is.... (314)766-2289</span></strong><br /><br />Again, thank you so much to everyone. This has been an amazing two years. Hopefully jayinecuador has helped you to understand a little about the Peace Corps and the beautiful and diverse country of Ecuador. And, to end on a funny note. On the flight back home, I sat next to a dentist from St. Louis. He was a nice guy with his family and since the turbulence was bad, he was good enough to talk to me for most of the flight (to take my mind off my irrational fear that the wings are going got fall off the plane). About 5 minutes into the conversation he starts to talk to me about my "energy". He then measures said "energy" without touching me and then raises my "energy" by meditating (all the while he is sucking back a rum and Coke). Then he tells me that in 2012 a large asteroid/comet called Planet X is going to pass near the sun and thereby cause intense devastation worldwide. Fortunately, a select few will be chosen to survive by living in the large underground bunkers that the Federal Government is building. He finally measured my "energy" again and confidently said that I'll be among the chosen few.<br /><br />I just tell that story as a reminder that for all the messed-up stuff I did and interesting characters that I met in South America, we still grow 'em crazier up here.Jay Verhoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282327286825525479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692628290461532907.post-15972379097495455652009-05-15T16:06:00.002-05:002010-09-08T17:12:52.447-05:00Jay Verhoff - RPCVAs of May 4th, 2009, I am officially and forever a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV). It took two years and three months to get that “R”, but it was worth it.<br /><br />The Close of Service (COS) procedure was relatively painless for me seeing as I hadn´t had any health problems during my service. I had to go to the dentist and doctor for exams (all went well…no cavities, no HIV), close my bank account, turn in my cell phone, get almost everyone in the office to sign a sheet saying that I had concluded all work with them, talked to the nurses about post-Peace Corps health care, and finally had an interview with the Country Director to go over my Description of Service (DOS) document and give her any feedback I had about my service.<br /><br />Here is my DOS if you´d like to see what I did (or at least said that I did during my two years in Ecuador)…<br /><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">(OMNIBUS 97)<br />DESCRIPTION OF PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER SERVICE<br />Jay L. Verhoff<br />PROGRAM No. 518-07-01 - ECUADOR<br /></span></strong></div><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">After a competitive application process stressing applicant skills, adaptability and cross-cultural understanding, Jay Verhoff was invited into Peace Corps service in Ecuador. Jay Verhoff entered training on February 5, 2007, participating in an intensive 12-week program of community based training in Cayambe, Ecuador which included intensive instruction and field work in Spanish, cross-cultural studies, personal health and safety, and the technical skills required in the Sustainable Agriculture Program.<br /></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Jay Verhoff successfully completed training and was sworn in as a Volunteer on April 20, 2007. During his service in Ecuador, he was assigned to the Asociación de Mujeres (Women’s Association) - La Libertad, Cotopaxi, where he served as a technical consultant.<br /></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">During his two year service, Jay Verhoff acted in a wide variety of work roles and responsibilities. The first and often hardest of these tasks, was to integrate himself into a small mestizo community high in the Andes Mountains. Faced with such difficulties as adapting to the cultural norms, building trust and confidence with an entire community, and perfecting a new language, Jay not only survived, but in fact thrived. By the end of his two year service, Jay had fully integrated himself into the fabric of La Libertad and was considered not as an outsider, but as a community member. He even was asked by his neighbors to be a co-Godfather to two of their daughters, a great honor in Ecuadorian society.<br /></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Working with his counterpart agency, the Asociación de Mujeres, Jay was able to participate in the daily operations of a local community bank. The bank was started in 2004 with US Government funds in the form of a PL-480 loan and with the help of a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV). Jay’s tasks included helping with computer problems and maintenance of their accounting system. Jay spent several days a month helping the women manage client payments and report the bank’s financial status to PL-480 officials. With over $130,000 in capital from the original loan and accrued interest, the bank stands as a great example of a successful Peace Corps project and demonstrates the sustainability and inter-volunteer cooperation that Peace Corps stresses. <br /></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Jay also assisted the teachers at La Libertad’s grade school and high school. Although Jay never received any formal training in the teaching of English as a second language, he successfully completed two years as an English professor at the local grade school. During his first year in La Libertad, Jay worked with the school’s oldest two levels. During his second year, he was asked by the principal to expand his curriculum to be able to work with four grade levels. Jay also taught nutrition, health, and agriculture classes at the local high school. Outside of a classroom setting, Jay taught computer and cooking classes to members of the Women’s Association and to any adults who asked for these courses.<br /></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">One of the biggest problems facing rural Ecuadorians is the rising price of food. According to recent studies, up to 80% of Ecuadorian children already suffer from slow growth rates and an inability to concentrate at school due to Anemia. The problem of under-nourished children will only worsen with Ecuadorian inflation at close to 9% in 2008. In order to help alleviate in a very small way some of the pressures placed on Ecuadorian families by rising food prices and to improve childhood nutrition, Jay started school and community gardening projects at 15 locations near la Libertad.<br /></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Most of the communities that Jay worked in did not have a strong agricultural tradition and did not maintain any small gardens for household consumption. Jay consulted and planned with teachers and parents to determine the best method for implementing the school gardens. With the input of local communities, Jay and another PCV were able to work with students, teachers, and parents to clear land, plant, manage, and harvest their crops. In many ways, the actual gardening was the easiest facet of this project for Jay. What proved more difficult was that, because he was working in communities where he did not live, Jay had to build new relationships and show the community members that he was there to help and not to exploit them. After over a year of working, several of the communities took the initiative to plant gardens on their own at the schools or at individual’s homes. Now that the communities have confidence in Peace Corps’ commitment, Jay has passed this project on to his successor to begin expanding the program to include composting, soil erosion prevention, and pest management. <br /></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">While in La Libertad, Jay also started a small scale yogurt project whose aim was to increase family incomes. Most families in La Libertad own cows and have a small amount of milk production that is sold for a very low price. Jay constructed a fermentor and researched the process involved in converting milk into yogurt, which would be much more profitable for the members of his community. Jay produced many sample batches and taught several of his neighbors how to produce yogurt. Although, the project did not reach the point where product was being sold, he did arouse interest in many women from his community and his successor will be able to build on that success, insuring that Jay’s efforts will continue to have an effect after he leaves.<br /></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Not all Peace Corps projects are successful, and Jay worked hard on one project that was finally deemed unfeasible. Many of the women that Jay worked with showed interest in starting egg production in their homes. Jay visited similar projects, researched costs and procedures, and performed market and feasibility studies. After analyzing the proposed project, Jay realized that it would not work as designed. Jay and the women made many changes to the proposal and their concept of what the project would entail. Finally, Jay wrote and presented a detailed study of their proposed project to Peace Corps officials. Unfortunately, the project was rejected because of the inability of the women involved to dedicate the sufficient amount of time to the management of the project due to their numerous domestic and work commitments.<br /></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">The last four months of Jay’s service were quite different from his first 20. Jay applied for and was offered the position of Peace Corps Volunteer Technical Co-Trainer for the group of Trainees that arrived in Ecuador in 2009 to replace Jay’s Omnibus. The Co-Trainers provide a first-hand view for Trainees of Volunteer life and role of the Volunteer in development work, and assist in cross-cultural adaptation, the community entry process, safety and security aspects, and other job and Volunteer life-related issues. They also assist Technical Trainers in the design and execution of technical training, in collaboration with the other training components.<br /></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Prior to the arrival of the newest group of Trainees, Jay and the other Co-Trainers prepared and planned technical sessions, technical trips, reviewed technical materials, and advised other staff members on ways to improve the training plan. During training they assisted in the implementation of the training sessions, and after training, assisted in the final reporting and evaluation of the training program. Participating in training allowed Jay to pass on much of his knowledge, insights, and experiences to future PCVs. This was a rewarding and enjoyable way to end his 27 months in the beautiful country of Ecuador. <br /></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Pursuant to Section 5(f) of the Peace Corps Act 22 U.S.C. 2504(f), as amended, any former Volunteer employed by the United States Government following his/her Peace Corps Volunteer Service is entitled to have any period of satisfactory Peace Corps service credited for purposes of retirement, seniority, reduction in force, leave and other privileges based on length of Government service. That service shall not be credited toward completion of the probationary or trial period of any service requirement for career appointment.<br /></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">This is to certify in accordance with Executive Order 11103 of April 10, 1963, that Jay Verhoff served successfully as a Peace Corps Volunteer. His service ended on May 4, 2009. He is therefore eligible to be appointed as a career-conditional employee in the competitive civil service on a non-competitive basis. This benefit under the Executive Order extends for a period of one year after termination of Volunteer service, except that the employing agency may extend the period for up to three years for former Volunteer who enters military service, pursues studies at a recognized institution of higher learning, or engages in other activities which, in the view of the appointing agency, warrants extension of the period.<br /></span><br />Everything went well that day, but it took forever. It was a strange feeling to walk out of the office and know that I completed what I had set out to do so long ago. It was late in 2005 when I resigned from my job in Chicago with the intention of doing the Peace Corps. Now, all that is behind me and I´m ready for the rest of my life to begin.Jay Verhoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282327286825525479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692628290461532907.post-15809567234498908952009-05-30T13:00:00.015-05:002010-09-08T17:12:22.564-05:00The month of Jay - Part 4: Isla de la PlataSitting 25 miles off the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">coast of</span> Ecuador, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Isla</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">de</span> la <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">Plata</span> is known as "The poor man's Galapagos" because it has a lot of the wildlife that can be found in the Galapagos, but is a lot less expensive to visit. We caught a small boat in the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">coastal</span> town of <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">Puerto</span> Lopez and spent a day walking around the island and then did a little <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">snorkeling</span> before heading back. We didn't get to see as many animals as we would have in the Galapagos, but for $35 you can't expect too much.<br /><br /><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error">Plata</span> in Spanish means silver. It also is used as a slang for any type of money. Therefore, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error">Isla</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-error">de</span> la <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-error">Plata</span> means Silver Island or The Island of Money. There are several stories why the island is called that. Some say that Francis Drake <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">buried</span> treasure there and that's why they call it <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_12" class="blsp-spelling-error">Isla</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_13" class="blsp-spelling-error">de</span> la <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_14" class="blsp-spelling-error">Plata</span>, but I believe the other story...that all the bird droppings on the island give its cliffs the appearance of silver from afar.<br /><br />The biggest attraction of the island is its Blue Footed Boobies. These birds are endemic to the Galapagos and a few other Pacific islands. Humpback Whales also mate near the islands, but the peak season is in July and August, so we didn't get to see them.<br /><br />This short trip to the coast was the final event in the Month of Jay. It was a fantastic way to end my time in Ecuador.<br /><br />I really can't describe how cool it was to see all the different types of birds up close, so I'll let the pictures do the talking.<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk37TABLpqCI3_6PNCAZqsRLoUMFaCgOvIoNUk1aHcoplAIunA-PzqVepJtSd_TbhoDpo8DQP13_ed145LqJNvTPkjURoSv8l4SnYutRdrrzukk6qY3qE3JTfbwzjm2oTdC10MGztc93g/s1600-h/BeachWeek+029.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 300px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341685866494924642" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk37TABLpqCI3_6PNCAZqsRLoUMFaCgOvIoNUk1aHcoplAIunA-PzqVepJtSd_TbhoDpo8DQP13_ed145LqJNvTPkjURoSv8l4SnYutRdrrzukk6qY3qE3JTfbwzjm2oTdC10MGztc93g/s400/BeachWeek+029.jpg" border="0" /></a> A pair of Boobies<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirpP6aFEqcFqJMp5BvjLAiJ1_OgB_jm4kiabaxdSAenQdAoHnlSdSUynDzn8TQWIuOTEEKM7Insl6neoZVVQ1IcIUZuS3rVhyphenhyphenx9fiTpaCmlBJv_-MSqZsAoAXE8GhFf5uN5ReYaEMQvPU/s1600-h/BeachWeek+046.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 300px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341684716955334818" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirpP6aFEqcFqJMp5BvjLAiJ1_OgB_jm4kiabaxdSAenQdAoHnlSdSUynDzn8TQWIuOTEEKM7Insl6neoZVVQ1IcIUZuS3rVhyphenhyphenx9fiTpaCmlBJv_-MSqZsAoAXE8GhFf5uN5ReYaEMQvPU/s400/BeachWeek+046.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgllO3UcWFL82i_eNndBtIK8N5aLYGqhGGaUJzbn7o00IGn_QFpvmBtPZ_9tRMlzZUY4aiWjLQG7HgZxWHLSu1hdUsQO71DmT3Jnk3GES2cvISVcpYXtpkhav4Ruz_rZcpBJvgvS0Oc8Lc/s1600-h/BeachWeek+069.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 300px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341684192232989250" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgllO3UcWFL82i_eNndBtIK8N5aLYGqhGGaUJzbn7o00IGn_QFpvmBtPZ_9tRMlzZUY4aiWjLQG7HgZxWHLSu1hdUsQO71DmT3Jnk3GES2cvISVcpYXtpkhav4Ruz_rZcpBJvgvS0Oc8Lc/s400/BeachWeek+069.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg1CArvo2nnpknlRmEEKg_Rrq2YPr_DKhIbamBU_AK_wCJC2tcORrk1HuYM5k1tYstj5SMkkLWJdL0k51MgVDknzD6HntkyybQJUZ6AmHEtHG-flm_S80tlVm4tDv7cSc9kSn4GRPLdlM/s1600-h/BeachWeek+053.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 300px; display: block; height: 400px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341683450762934450" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg1CArvo2nnpknlRmEEKg_Rrq2YPr_DKhIbamBU_AK_wCJC2tcORrk1HuYM5k1tYstj5SMkkLWJdL0k51MgVDknzD6HntkyybQJUZ6AmHEtHG-flm_S80tlVm4tDv7cSc9kSn4GRPLdlM/s400/BeachWeek+053.jpg" border="0" /></a> You can see here how close you can get to the birds<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwr9vF4aBTynOSU0abwSIYpZaUhuRmXq_7R-bwIRKKLgrUAlDjiMkR51UhyejiRqRO1Eyk0HEH4KbrbjgsmhgBNmYT49Sad83Eqgyl31ciFVN16cWKySPlAt7G2LU9dvAkPX_4nJnAHDg/s1600-h/BeachWeek+059.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 300px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341682777908054258" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwr9vF4aBTynOSU0abwSIYpZaUhuRmXq_7R-bwIRKKLgrUAlDjiMkR51UhyejiRqRO1Eyk0HEH4KbrbjgsmhgBNmYT49Sad83Eqgyl31ciFVN16cWKySPlAt7G2LU9dvAkPX_4nJnAHDg/s400/BeachWeek+059.jpg" border="0" /></a> A Nazca <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_18" class="blsp-spelling-error">Boobie</span> and its chick<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwkffOVsYjZpD4141buxFXQ3eoYy5wX_NvtHE1l3oQ-99dvZLxV0ClC1aRXLn4po10WN0f85UFtZDPthCAcqfIwjgacaYenICoYzCDlXbwztzVNfS_3rmGCcHB80D1sgcrkOgAz5Bf_C0/s1600-h/BeachWeek+067.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 300px; display: block; height: 400px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341682069533901490" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwkffOVsYjZpD4141buxFXQ3eoYy5wX_NvtHE1l3oQ-99dvZLxV0ClC1aRXLn4po10WN0f85UFtZDPthCAcqfIwjgacaYenICoYzCDlXbwztzVNfS_3rmGCcHB80D1sgcrkOgAz5Bf_C0/s400/BeachWeek+067.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg47TXoC7dOxJJTLe1x-C1gzTlCge4LVxKI_0VtUY626MFoFKxPB-uMyg9_EbgEUfhA6mDoNG1yRNBSyDzxiPAzH1MDqxK2llAx4B9oby4Z_UOA7Nmjo2Dn01oGc_P0DXUQ7V854JYJFHg/s1600-h/BeachWeek+080.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 300px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341681355798220930" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg47TXoC7dOxJJTLe1x-C1gzTlCge4LVxKI_0VtUY626MFoFKxPB-uMyg9_EbgEUfhA6mDoNG1yRNBSyDzxiPAzH1MDqxK2llAx4B9oby4Z_UOA7Nmjo2Dn01oGc_P0DXUQ7V854JYJFHg/s400/BeachWeek+080.jpg" border="0" /></a> This is not a Sea Lion<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZvjzrW2ss_AQpBFEC42qqTnpqFGt5UWnTHsE97AkAT7RFN4IVtOacuZ0EyquMxYlXptDOqiadIycU8juxhEbjrdPXlfaZ0tis6xuisYaBPX1mhnIcNt14XAVX-8C5tcaHkgxKEXpdKlQ/s1600-h/BeachWeek+088.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 300px; display: block; height: 400px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341680613507299602" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZvjzrW2ss_AQpBFEC42qqTnpqFGt5UWnTHsE97AkAT7RFN4IVtOacuZ0EyquMxYlXptDOqiadIycU8juxhEbjrdPXlfaZ0tis6xuisYaBPX1mhnIcNt14XAVX-8C5tcaHkgxKEXpdKlQ/s400/BeachWeek+088.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBKMLBKrszaZy24hqqlL_5aGEaz-sfUovgjgWBe-nZX1iroSKKU4imuMtM_D8mgOR74YuTtqMAddRKBBXOIcB9vCQwZvu2i2sogVBstAvfRR79SZU8HqpVi6ggKTYCAxO-cWrW1snzUH0/s1600-h/BeachWeek+094.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 300px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341680022689941906" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBKMLBKrszaZy24hqqlL_5aGEaz-sfUovgjgWBe-nZX1iroSKKU4imuMtM_D8mgOR74YuTtqMAddRKBBXOIcB9vCQwZvu2i2sogVBstAvfRR79SZU8HqpVi6ggKTYCAxO-cWrW1snzUH0/s400/BeachWeek+094.jpg" border="0" /></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br />The fish we <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_19" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">snorkeled</span> withJay Verhoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282327286825525479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692628290461532907.post-65245048975719594752009-05-30T00:02:00.009-05:002010-09-08T17:10:56.410-05:00The Month of Jay - Part 1: QuilotoaBetween my COS on the 4th of May and flying home on the 28th, I had some time to visit parts of Ecuador that I haven't been to yet and to say my final goodbyes to my friends. It was a great month and so busy that I didn't have time to publish posts as I traveled. To keep from boring you with a giant post on the whole month, here's the first in the series...<br /><br /><div><div><div><div><div>The month started with a visit to the Quilotoa Loop south of Quito. I'd hiked the Loop and visited Quilotoa Crater last year (see post "Happy Old Year!"), but some friends wanted to check it out, so I figured I'd act as a guide. The weather was about the same as the last time I went, but we didn't get nearly as lost on the hike because we ran into a local. He was walking home and I talked to him for a couple minutes. He said that we could walk with him to his town which was near where we were going. It worked out well and we got to the hotel right before it started to pour down rain. Here are some pictures.<img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 300px; display: block; height: 400px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341485231797953570" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJYfMExpql42zLteKFyJh4VdiCvJH5mojJgBZaN0sFDITHFASgbi0xyopOwMgoSQqm801VYPhyWFPM7yy7DE5boP6hWxsSMqoXMq_14Mffr74j3EP-6gtyZ3zoekMog9aK2GF4yImnRnE/s400/IMG_2341.jpg" border="0" /></div><div> <img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 300px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341484872011662674" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMVejhuYAkN0V1rlkBB-4cehmWXDiN_S9tNMrZyV2SWzEqXB2ieWLosWsSwminJkKgRGIbRxM247eAvLNUtzye3FpV8hcoe5uJzxscUBGqx2469K7yE3L2HiOO3-v3uEZiCwyHMfA2c7A/s400/IMG_2332.jpg" border="0" /></div><div><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 300px; display: block; height: 400px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341484441704446482" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb_H91P8e39y1p_tfq6nGn-aTMtqOtehRBgdE4RusjUqY092No_vjEmaxpHbD11HhjRsSxAN_IhNDwBnS6pbgMszO-HL34dNmfW0iEbwtlCVPe7RqYGdGkNc0oeqAhfCMmkol8Iu6aN-E/s400/IMG_2320.jpg" border="0" /></div><div> </div><div> </div><div><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 300px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341484063569295218" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLuUEXl1sauUYDXB0vWdUmMjqS6zTyfH0LpZJtcHNeRvvwG26y58E40_xl7X5VWJHr3AbSIBIADTB717Njzt8nG87FZX7dmrPonI2d15O23Ktqt0O5_nG6CfYlqobDCBzw6CiHAKohWCE/s400/IMG_2303.jpg" border="0" /></div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div>Another good thing about going to Quilotoa is that it is nearish to La Libertad. After the hike I went to visit my old neighbors and friends in La Libertad. I had dinner with one family and spent the night at my neighbor's house. It was good to see them one more time. I don't know if I'll ever see them again, but I hope I do. (My plan is to visit them in 6 years when their oldest daughter turns 15. A girl's 15th birthday, or <em>Quinceanera </em>(the n should have a ~ over it, but my keyboard doesn't have Spanish letters...sorry) is very important in Latin culture, so they want me to come. </div></div></div></div></div>Jay Verhoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282327286825525479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692628290461532907.post-10790558239383340852009-05-30T10:07:00.018-05:002010-09-08T17:09:46.010-05:00Th Month of Jay - Part 3: AdentroAlmost a third of Ecuador lies in the Amazonian Basin. This area called the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Oriente</span></span> or <em><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Adentro</span></span>,</em> Inside, is populated by several <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">indigenous</span> nationalities. The <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">Shuar</span></span>, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">Achuar</span></span>, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">Waorani</span></span>, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">Andoa</span></span>, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">Shiwiar</span></span>, and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error">Zaparo</span></span> peoples consider themselves members of their nationality and only recognize Ecuador as the country that has political control over their lands...they are NOT <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Ecuadorian</span> in their minds.<br /><br />They have their own languages, cultures, traditions, and only recently have been in contact with the Western World. Missionaries have Christianized the population to a certain extent and the Ecuadorian government assists them with medical issues. I was lucky enough to be invited on one of the government's trips <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error">adentro</span></span> to help with a medical survey.<br /><br />Like Peace Corps Volunteers, the Ecuadorian Department of Health needs to figure out where problems are and what are the needs of the community before they can begin working. To this aim, the Department of Health sends doctors and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">sociologists</span> to jungle communities to talk with the residents about what their health <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_12" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">problems</span> are, when these problems are worst and what they think could be done to <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_13" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">alleviate</span> these problems. I was there doing some research for another <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_14" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-error">PCV</span></span> who will be working with community gardening in these communities. I wanted to find out what the farming practices were for the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_15" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-error">Achuar</span></span> people, what plants they cultivated, and anything else that would be helpful for the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_16" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" class="blsp-spelling-error">PCV</span></span>.<br /><br />We flew about an hour in a small 5-<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_17" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_12" class="blsp-spelling-error">seater</span></span> plane from <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_18" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_13" class="blsp-spelling-error">Puyo</span></span> to the small <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_19" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_14" class="blsp-spelling-error">Achuar</span></span> community of <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_20" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_15" class="blsp-spelling-error">Charapacocha</span></span> or Turtle Lake. The view from the plane was amazing as we flew deeper into the Amazonian Rain Forest. We could see small and large rivers snaking down from the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_21" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">mountains</span> and tiny communities consisting of a few houses surrounding a small landing strip.<br /><br />When we <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_22" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">arrived</span> at <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_23" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_16" class="blsp-spelling-error">Charapacocha</span></span> we set up tables in a large open building that was recently constructed by the community for the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_24" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_17" class="blsp-spelling-error">Achuar</span></span> Nationality Congress. The doctors with us were gong to have people from 8 surrounding communities draw community maps, make calendars of typical diseases and the months when they are most <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_25" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">prevalent</span>, and had them draw pictures of they way life used to be and the way they would want it to be. The <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_26" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">sociologist</span> with us was then going to compile everything and present the data to the heads of the provincial health department so that future programing could be planned and communities with the most problems could <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_27" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">receive</span> the most help.<br /><br />It was interesting to see how the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_28" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_18" class="blsp-spelling-error">Achuar</span></span> communities saw themselves and their future. I didn't really help too much with the diagnostic, but it was worth the trip. I told the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_29" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_19" class="blsp-spelling-error">PCV</span></span> who will be working with the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_30" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_20" class="blsp-spelling-error">Achuar</span></span> that she will have to focus on very small family plots that will hopefully fortify their typical diet of plantains, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_31" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_21" class="blsp-spelling-error">yuca</span></span>, and taro root. Fertilizer will be a big problem, so dry toilets that can be designed to use human urine as a fertilizer may be an option. I'm sure the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_32" class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_22" class="blsp-spelling-error">PCV</span></span> will have a lot of problems getting the communities to change their ways, but it will surely be an adventure.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQNx-fhDRvwCOxY35cpOjhyELwM05BhprvdejRKdIRjQ3Zi6ueZJvxEfrOLmdPsuAMGGf_7qcJzOMRNvhuzC3wD63s0A61AAVDtHZYV7nMTXYXjKQMopRb-xtDe81ogcoXthrGlWwmvhc/s1600-h/IMG_2362.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 300px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341644568844258162" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQNx-fhDRvwCOxY35cpOjhyELwM05BhprvdejRKdIRjQ3Zi6ueZJvxEfrOLmdPsuAMGGf_7qcJzOMRNvhuzC3wD63s0A61AAVDtHZYV7nMTXYXjKQMopRb-xtDe81ogcoXthrGlWwmvhc/s400/IMG_2362.jpg" border="0" /></a> The plane we flew in on...God help us<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2KxB5yVMfCd3D9i-XT6TGBiZvDMtD_XwA2Rb6CYdiXrkjT8dVyp_Bvt38Jq7fXh9cr5REFbtG1ADbvKYES61FThwEIvh11B_Ar0YksuHQl4ziITA9UhscMUlzy1vyR7R1BN03nHI3Azw/s1600-h/IMG_2393.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 300px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341644278199934210" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2KxB5yVMfCd3D9i-XT6TGBiZvDMtD_XwA2Rb6CYdiXrkjT8dVyp_Bvt38Jq7fXh9cr5REFbtG1ADbvKYES61FThwEIvh11B_Ar0YksuHQl4ziITA9UhscMUlzy1vyR7R1BN03nHI3Azw/s400/IMG_2393.jpg" border="0" /></a> Creating a community needs assessment<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF81wb3IKL3mK2HSHvp7BoQ6mRHlC4nyS1NkUN3v9irUWcNDyFL_z1tGezLquPHKTXhfm6f8ta6plq4S-Z30GZCCLorRMHaQ-4d2jFKixEx3Fd9gVgjxiBlFJncfKywKFJQpvPJGiugro/s1600-h/IMG_2424.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 300px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341643794725157842" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF81wb3IKL3mK2HSHvp7BoQ6mRHlC4nyS1NkUN3v9irUWcNDyFL_z1tGezLquPHKTXhfm6f8ta6plq4S-Z30GZCCLorRMHaQ-4d2jFKixEx3Fd9gVgjxiBlFJncfKywKFJQpvPJGiugro/s400/IMG_2424.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div>Looking at the finished product<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv25NY9MPK-hUDs2cmQm06QchlapslgC3nD4_sZ4O3repXuOfeqSrQyC5SKkGhiD0V3rFWM2pNLNrYPdwCVBwjRjSrr_hph5KzNTGLhI6z3XysA0F9biXJutjq-a0mtuWmp4SrsZFW5oc/s1600-h/IMG_2426.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 300px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341642791073953490" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv25NY9MPK-hUDs2cmQm06QchlapslgC3nD4_sZ4O3repXuOfeqSrQyC5SKkGhiD0V3rFWM2pNLNrYPdwCVBwjRjSrr_hph5KzNTGLhI6z3XysA0F9biXJutjq-a0mtuWmp4SrsZFW5oc/s400/IMG_2426.jpg" border="0" /></a> The house where we stayed...nicest room in town (you can see the building where we worked in the background)<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUuXTsV7-h7DWZFINGL8CU62d7_GhswgixtSoi3IMP1PT04dud-N3s46fXUSMkts2JxSXXEuqbBoiaIjsn8h6S1Ga2UleDzW6t2Ula_W1YUm-ZOa7hD0oDwYWbhWtla9z_4F1BAhjtQ-o/s1600-h/IMG_2404.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 300px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341641875163561826" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUuXTsV7-h7DWZFINGL8CU62d7_GhswgixtSoi3IMP1PT04dud-N3s46fXUSMkts2JxSXXEuqbBoiaIjsn8h6S1Ga2UleDzW6t2Ula_W1YUm-ZOa7hD0oDwYWbhWtla9z_4F1BAhjtQ-o/s400/IMG_2404.jpg" border="0" /></a>Eating lunch<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDxnAsmMdqdN7bOeRhVBnxC5AaTLK2Vnddkn6PgXX1qX_AslN52yiMSRSScGcgGvQWxm9yD3ssb7KPYqdQjzinkSQqtyhNr5ZeymEDEMcCB_Zo6UOW3X6fnf3lxc7DlMcbjRC3i86DWoA/s1600-h/IMG_2402.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 300px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341641278439859906" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDxnAsmMdqdN7bOeRhVBnxC5AaTLK2Vnddkn6PgXX1qX_AslN52yiMSRSScGcgGvQWxm9yD3ssb7KPYqdQjzinkSQqtyhNr5ZeymEDEMcCB_Zo6UOW3X6fnf3lxc7DlMcbjRC3i86DWoA/s400/IMG_2402.jpg" border="0" /></a> More drawings<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSabqAmDDfKSWHsDsGul1iIclBva0XG5Q-zYRj60PG5t-yMeoUi3XgBU9RrbKVOBkRY2i4f8nHJvc4Ra0_QGoHd5yQ-mreIGOGQjEub3n6HgsbgOMjp-e1Mow5KNeKCXkkDbA6BN52Kv0/s1600-h/IMG_2388.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 300px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341640080318624274" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSabqAmDDfKSWHsDsGul1iIclBva0XG5Q-zYRj60PG5t-yMeoUi3XgBU9RrbKVOBkRY2i4f8nHJvc4Ra0_QGoHd5yQ-mreIGOGQjEub3n6HgsbgOMjp-e1Mow5KNeKCXkkDbA6BN52Kv0/s400/IMG_2388.jpg" border="0" /></a> This is a fish they <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_23" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">caught</span> in the river. It is called <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_24" class="blsp-spelling-error">bagre</span> and we had it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for three days.<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6K4n7c_5J0AjFDprMM8K_g7XwUpQ_441zJ4HBh-yfUANBY_I0yk4M1KotQyavzrxVzKdaMNLP1OjbEVx5_66TdDXUYG2bQlKNgH2GYIdj7s2uT85wDOuGaDsEFquqqFi74dJ18munsSU/s1600-h/IMG_2386.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 423px; display: block; height: 548px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341639765719195378" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6K4n7c_5J0AjFDprMM8K_g7XwUpQ_441zJ4HBh-yfUANBY_I0yk4M1KotQyavzrxVzKdaMNLP1OjbEVx5_66TdDXUYG2bQlKNgH2GYIdj7s2uT85wDOuGaDsEFquqqFi74dJ18munsSU/s400/IMG_2386.jpg" border="0" /></a> A small <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_25" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">indigenous</span> community from the air<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg27g-i6vuFqgyCokKQB0x2l3Qmg4C-1AbOUX1piLyGw1f9e1dxo_Uw_oZmnJQvXpsy5YIBzkVhKOp7dvr-8PdSJifUBW55BaiEyAnfw4wLXnpuCVeqRnBfhaks-cmomYxGDmTTGrNp430/s1600-h/IMG_2384.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 565px; display: block; height: 437px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341638956790938882" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg27g-i6vuFqgyCokKQB0x2l3Qmg4C-1AbOUX1piLyGw1f9e1dxo_Uw_oZmnJQvXpsy5YIBzkVhKOp7dvr-8PdSJifUBW55BaiEyAnfw4wLXnpuCVeqRnBfhaks-cmomYxGDmTTGrNp430/s400/IMG_2384.jpg" border="0" /></a> Notice the airstrip to the pilot's left<br /><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvey98IeveT56n1XCP6FWVcBVDcZbnCwHYl4UHFl_a2q1PoG1KdflWStuXt2XEDjVF-z8MzO2IRWMq5QB100Ur5BDSV7DzsjTkWRmJyJV9qRDk6V475t7HQyqM30hLcuNO01WFZXhCgYQ/s1600-h/IMG_2431.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 300px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341637983079724242" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvey98IeveT56n1XCP6FWVcBVDcZbnCwHYl4UHFl_a2q1PoG1KdflWStuXt2XEDjVF-z8MzO2IRWMq5QB100Ur5BDSV7DzsjTkWRmJyJV9qRDk6V475t7HQyqM30hLcuNO01WFZXhCgYQ/s400/IMG_2431.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZkn9FkFRyONYHHzhZeunFDq1VSOSGr9526ZsGro5FgqT-hJ3Nsgx5HC6-1ggwzGhjyzPdAjj8gj9FsTb8Lo_CfaHJ-jfTFKk9n66njx8An_mNLkzYEWY0s2g7q6lcLBJc11yANfXwdRI/s1600-h/IMG_2369.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 300px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341637025587656962" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZkn9FkFRyONYHHzhZeunFDq1VSOSGr9526ZsGro5FgqT-hJ3Nsgx5HC6-1ggwzGhjyzPdAjj8gj9FsTb8Lo_CfaHJ-jfTFKk9n66njx8An_mNLkzYEWY0s2g7q6lcLBJc11yANfXwdRI/s400/IMG_2369.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Wj9PrrcRC39DrWA3vJ-YJ7avjXIjaIbPlPCG6UFJlhDeFRd5kNWrwqblDqFHwPhRYPoHMoV_UkVCnufX_82bDv0tcGcnS2d42omnp-Keq5OkHopvVl4y16E-5VI5McIbJYSuws0xiOY/s1600-h/IMG_2441.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 300px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341636369518246946" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Wj9PrrcRC39DrWA3vJ-YJ7avjXIjaIbPlPCG6UFJlhDeFRd5kNWrwqblDqFHwPhRYPoHMoV_UkVCnufX_82bDv0tcGcnS2d42omnp-Keq5OkHopvVl4y16E-5VI5McIbJYSuws0xiOY/s400/IMG_2441.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipAHp4vWZgKB0vwh28X44UpdzjJoUhKCuxdRjGl1m2FQ42t_N3sPqhUoVNT5ziZB5BECbCpIk-1kPT5Nrghiu3rKLJsnnb0RIzsGxkeBkaFumRpOIwM0cc82Z6jJH0bgCIYXxHngvEl1w/s1600-h/IMG_2440.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; display: block; height: 300px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341635740734154770" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipAHp4vWZgKB0vwh28X44UpdzjJoUhKCuxdRjGl1m2FQ42t_N3sPqhUoVNT5ziZB5BECbCpIk-1kPT5Nrghiu3rKLJsnnb0RIzsGxkeBkaFumRpOIwM0cc82Z6jJH0bgCIYXxHngvEl1w/s400/IMG_2440.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY7EJF-TX4vD2g5e-9u8TPfBPQi05x1RlHBrpq3fSj-4OFoYBypZD8T4Nvsbt5QSLc1tpbvA4iE5mTAcEI6VNKIiZWg7HdsfevK0iETkaqpyhekku-ETzJqy963Y1WnXdFm_cVTmHRJd4/s1600-h/IMG_2465.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 503px; display: block; height: 461px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341635074519475378" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY7EJF-TX4vD2g5e-9u8TPfBPQi05x1RlHBrpq3fSj-4OFoYBypZD8T4Nvsbt5QSLc1tpbvA4iE5mTAcEI6VNKIiZWg7HdsfevK0iETkaqpyhekku-ETzJqy963Y1WnXdFm_cVTmHRJd4/s400/IMG_2465.jpg" border="0" /></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br /><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_26" class="blsp-spelling-error">Puyo</span> as seen from the airJay Verhoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282327286825525479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692628290461532907.post-1172227717414746302008-02-22T10:21:00.006-05:002009-11-30T17:13:58.998-05:00Jay Verhoff: Maker of gardens, Keeper of goals.<div><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8PpodQSDEGdmh6MT1s-7gKPdjdEu82XQC2fZIh2A0bEIySOL9DPl43oaHpLbe8PTnK1YK6ENouOI170Zy2bnn3VhuT9udjuGfH9BMeRzJKpmnaLBKjNv8f3ZnQdjwX9-Fop_hco0C4f0/s1600-h/Imagen+168.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5169872607361028946" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8PpodQSDEGdmh6MT1s-7gKPdjdEu82XQC2fZIh2A0bEIySOL9DPl43oaHpLbe8PTnK1YK6ENouOI170Zy2bnn3VhuT9udjuGfH9BMeRzJKpmnaLBKjNv8f3ZnQdjwX9-Fop_hco0C4f0/s400/Imagen+168.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div>It has been a fun, satisfying, and depressing week in La Libertad. Last friday I went back to the small town outside of Latacunga called Tilipulo with my buddy John. This is the same town that we went to a couple of weeks ago (See Post- You Dirty Rat). I had asked the teacher there to have the kids gather some manure to act as a fertilizer for the poor soil there. When we got there, they showed us 7 huge bags of cow shit that they had collected. I was happy because this showed that they actually listened and were willing to put in some effort on their end. We hit the ground running and started digging and mixing in manure in a small area by the school to make some seed beds. I didn´t know how well things are going to grow there, so we are going to start off small (as you can see by the pictures). The kids and teachers were great and as they say down here <em>Super Pilas </em>or energetic. We planted lettuce, carrots, beans, radishes, beets, and cucumber seeds that John and I had bought in Latacunga ($3) and then I went over some basics of gardening because none of the teachers or kids had ever made a raised seed bed. I´m plan<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBjqn5nrejyGZJh2s-8ltoRo47nP4vY1RE0zDxCPH3r-DawXpRdntYJNLqn9Vb99FOS6rpwdKjNMBUeKMB6z8SvDf099bTmn2ekNK7IgcRPJJMJM3LvsezApKVXqq8d4qMBbjvb8v6vik/s1600-h/Imagen+172.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5169873075512464226" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBjqn5nrejyGZJh2s-8ltoRo47nP4vY1RE0zDxCPH3r-DawXpRdntYJNLqn9Vb99FOS6rpwdKjNMBUeKMB6z8SvDf099bTmn2ekNK7IgcRPJJMJM3LvsezApKVXqq8d4qMBbjvb8v6vik/s400/Imagen+172.jpg" border="0" /></a>ning on heading back after Easter to hopefully transplant the baby plants into some new beds that we will make. I also have a feeling that I´ll be doing more of this around the Latacunga area, which would be a good thing.<br /><br />It was cool too that while I was in Latacunga before and after working, I ran into 10 people that I knew. I kind of feel "local" now because I will usually get a couple, "Hola Jay"s just walking around Machachi or Latacunga.<br /><br />One of the 10 people I ran into was a former PCV who is in Ecuador teaching a mountaineering course. We had met while climbing up Illiniza Norte and now he is done with the class and traveling around for a couple weeks. He had spent the previous night in Latacunga and told me that he was spending another night because he met an Ecuadorian girl who wanted to take him out dancing. He asked me and John to come out too, so we met up later that night. Now, the guy was a PCV in New Guinea, so he spoke very little Spanish (I had to translate for his temporary "Girlfriend") and he´d only been on his own here for a day, but already he had met a girl. This reinforced the depressing part of the week.<br /><br />I had three conversations recently with teachers at the grade and high school (which makes me think that they are talking about me). Twice separate teachers asked me if I was gay. I asked why they would think that, and they said that I´ve been here for a year and I didn´t have a girlfriend. They also compared me to the previous La Libertad PCV, Mike, and his many girlfriends (I asked Mike about this, and he said that wasn´t true). I didn´t know what to say because I couldn´t tell them that unfortunately I don´t find 29 year old overweight women who are 4 1/2 feet tall with missing teeth and no education and look like they are 50 to be my "type". I just explained that I was unlucky and left it at that.<br /><br />The third conversation was worse. The Director of the grade school talked to me 1 on 1 for about 30 minutes about how I was wasting my life. He started with my lack of a girlfriend (the conversation was instigated by me mentioning that I needed to do laundry and him telling me that I needed a woman to do that for me), but then moved on to the fact that I rarely leave La Libertad. He pulled out a map of Ecuador and pointed out all the places I´ve never been to and implored me to, "Live! Enjoy Life!". He actually made some good points and got me thinking that I need to get out more. He then told me that money wasn´t everything and that I wasn´t in Ecuador to save a pile of cash. I had to disagree with this part of his argument because even if I saved up all of my $230 a month for 2 years, I don´t think I´d be able to swim in my money bin Scrooge McDuck style.<br /><br />Also depressing is the weather. It has rained here literally every day for almost 5 weeks. The President just declared a State of Emergency on the coast because of flooding and there are massive land slides in the mountains in the south. Fortunately it is just a muddy inconvienience for me, but I think I´m starting to get <strong>S</strong>easonal <strong>A</strong>ffective <strong>D</strong>isorder. Every day we usually will get 5-10 minutes of sun. When I see the sun come out, I run outside a try to soak as much in a possible.<br /><br />Like I said, it´s muddy here. There is a stretch of road on the way to town that is especially bad because they cut down the trees that lined the road and blocked the ditched with leaves and branches. I´ve been meaning to clear the blockage and hopefully get rid of some of the mud, but I know what people in town would say if they saw me do this. There is a very mentally challenged man in town who cleans the main road from the Pan American and may be the hardest working guy around, but he can´t talk and is kind of a joke. Anyway, as I was working, a couple of ladies from the bank came by and asked what I was doing. I explained that I was cleaning the road and they started laughing and saying, "You´re just like Sam!". Sam of course being the other guy, and them referring to him was not a compliment in their eyes. I helped the mud situation, but I´m not too happy to now have people referring to me as the gay, retarded gringo.<br /><br />Because it has been raining so much, I haven´t been able to do laundry for a while. My neighbors actually built 3 new clothes lines because all their clothes have been hanging out to dry for weeks. I´m getting close to "Commando" time, so I´ll probably be heading to a laundry mat soon.<br /><br />I went to the high school the other day for class, but as I arrived, the teahers were leaving. It was raining (of course) and one of the female teachers asked me for my umbrella. I told her no because I was using it. She got all pissed and said that it was customary in Ecuador for a gentleman to get wet before a lady. I then said that it was customary in the US for people who lived in a climate where it rained EVERY DAY to always have an umbrella. (I know that this is mean, but she´s a pushy B).<br /><br />Back to the good news. I had my first soccer game last Sunday. I had expected to mainly watch the other goalie play and only get in during blow-outs, but when I got to the game, the coach told me I´d be starting! I got a little nervious seeing as I´d never played goalie before and the last time I had shin guards on was in the sixth grade (15 years ago). As we were getting ready to <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIJvutwHR_oks7d5pyQodF2pPAyyc0VoEHukY46GTJe8r41eVI9NE77d4jXHBJItlz_ivakvNRE9NW5VvOUAasChryS557tPlJTISGxJL5n2oZUcC8jaMJ2X7KrMyXpfCeE914A9GWMbI/s1600-h/Imagen.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5169873801361937266" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIJvutwHR_oks7d5pyQodF2pPAyyc0VoEHukY46GTJe8r41eVI9NE77d4jXHBJItlz_ivakvNRE9NW5VvOUAasChryS557tPlJTISGxJL5n2oZUcC8jaMJ2X7KrMyXpfCeE914A9GWMbI/s400/Imagen.jpg" border="0" /></a>start, the Manager came up to me and asked if I knew the rules. I said yes, but as he was walking away I yelled, "I can use my hands, right?". He didn´t think that was funny.<br /><br />I played the whole first half and didn´t give up a goal! We were up 2-0 and switched out 6 people and ended up winning 7-1 (2 of our goals were accidentally kicked in by the other goalie). I was happy being the best out of the 3 goalies who played that game, but I need to work on my free kicks. I can actually throw the ball farther and more accurately than I can kick it. Also, we got our uniforms. Instead of putting the Cardinals logo on them, the Coach put the logo from an American Movers add that he found in my Cardinals GameDay magazine. Kind of funny to have "American" on the front of the jersey that I thought I´d be keeping as a memento of Ecuador.</div></div></div>Jay Verhoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282327286825525479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692628290461532907.post-34215699437354938362007-11-04T12:01:00.001-05:002009-11-20T00:46:31.142-05:00El Día De Los Defuntos<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYLIWcKMdQt8lLmym15wGAP57uu2KCW-xxBe2m48JxfhDFQEnHocb5L19VMDDbeu2eDeihvDqXP31lOxgWRcqTN7mykhcZIosxH58rpqqGp1DgS_cCkkMB0DYUv1oICcgj_Bp7jFb3SPU/s1600-h/MAS+FOTOS+DE+JAY+005.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5129036031609567746" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYLIWcKMdQt8lLmym15wGAP57uu2KCW-xxBe2m48JxfhDFQEnHocb5L19VMDDbeu2eDeihvDqXP31lOxgWRcqTN7mykhcZIosxH58rpqqGp1DgS_cCkkMB0DYUv1oICcgj_Bp7jFb3SPU/s400/MAS+FOTOS+DE+JAY+005.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Sunday:</div><br /><div>Woke up and went to the community bank for a meeting to go over the by-laws that I had typed up. Afterwords I went to the soccer fields to watch 2 games. The season is almost over, and the guys from my town´s team asked me to play with the next year. I´ll see if they follow up.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Monday:</div><br /><div>Got up at 6:00AM to head to Quito to catch the bus to Cuenca. I met up with 3 friends and we started the 10 hour trip (about 180 miles as the crow flies). The tip went well and it was nice to hang-out with friends. WE got to Cuenca around 8:30, checked into the hotel, grabbed a delicious Colombian dinner, went to a cool bar, and then to bed.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Tuesday:</div><br /><div>Had a great breakfast at a Swiss restaurant and walked around town until a bunch of our other friends showed up. We switched hotels to the one where the Halloween party was, hung-out taking turns complaining about our sites, and then went to a Mexican place for dinner.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Wednesday:</div><br /><div>Spent the morning and afternoon relaxing and visiting with friends I hadn´t seen in a while. Then we got ready for the party. The foul of us in my training group went as characters from the Mexican TV show "Chavo del 8". The show is from the 70´s, but is on TV here every night. You can see pictures and a description of the show here... <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Chavo_del_Ocho">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Chavo_del_Ocho</a></div><br /><div>As you can see, our costumes were good.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Thursday:</div><br /><div>After breakfast I caught a bus with some fiends back to Quito. The ride up was a little rougher after a night of partying. Unfortunately I got dropped off at the entrance to my site after the last bus in had passed. I had to walk a hour in the rain. This was the first time that I was really nervous in Ecuador. There are a lot of mean dogs on the road, and people have been robbed there too. I guess since it was raining the crooks and the dogs didn´t want to go out, so I didn´t have any problems.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Friday:</div><br /><div>The big celebration for the day of the dead is on November 2nd. What is called the Día de los Defunctos is very important down here. It is a national holiday. I was beat from not getting any sleep on the bus, so I slept in. When I got up, we BBQ´d pork steaks and chicken and then had that with rice and potatoes (grilled and not boiled for a change). WE also had a tasty blueberry drink called "Colada Morada" or "Purple Punch" (my translation). We drank that with "Pan de Guaguas" which are small loaves of bread with a human form. Both of these are very traditional in Ecuador, and I´d guess that they have pre-christian roots. Then we went to the cemetery to visit the graves. I did go to my neighbor´s grandparent´s graves with her for a minute to say a prayer. There were a lot of people cleaning the grave sites, but more were outside the cemetery selling foo, beer, and junk to put on the graves. After hanging-out for a bit, everybody went to the center of town to drink and dance. I left right away because I wanted to write this blog post and get some rest. Tomorrow I´m leaving early to go to Latacunga for the festival of "Mamá Negra" or "Black Mama". With a name like that how can I not go. </div>Jay Verhoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282327286825525479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692628290461532907.post-30907632575563411722008-12-14T11:04:00.008-05:002009-11-12T17:36:25.599-05:00Believe it or not, Jay isn´t at home!Starting with Halloween, I decided that my goal for my last two and a half months in La Libertad was to spend as little time as possible IN La Libertad. That sounds like a horrible thing to say, but I really don´t have enough time to get anything major started here and I'd rather focus my time and energy on the gardens we have already started. Halloween, my friends´ visit, Mama Negra (twice), Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year´s Eve, meetings, and other short trips will keep me out of L.L. most weekends until I start working in Quito on January 19th.<br /><br />The day that Susan, Kari, Nate, and Scott left Quito, I ran the <em>Mitad del Mundo Media Marathon</em> (Middle of the World Half Marathon) in Quito. The race started near the Peace Corps office and ended at the Equator. That combined with the fact that the race´s starting line was over 9,500 feet in elevation made it an interesting race. (You may notice that I didn´t mention my finishing time...there is a reason for that)<br /><br />Thanksgiving was at a friend´s house in El Chaco (the same place we had the Halloween party). There were ten of us and the food was great.<br /><br />I went to the rescheduled Mama Negra after Thanksgiving. It wasn´t as fun as last year, but at least I successfully avoided getting pulled out into the parade while a group of men danced around spitting booze on me (see post: Mama Negra).<br /><br />St. Nick came again to my neighbors´ kids. They remembered the tradition from last year, but I still couldn´t convince them that it wasn´t me putting candy in their shoes.<br /><br />Last week I went out with six other PCVs to another Volunteer´s site in the Transisitional Zone (the area between the Sierra and the Coast). We were celebrating two of my friends´ birthdays, so we had a little party on Sunday night. On Monday we got up at 5:45 AM to help out with a census the government is taking. We spent the morning and afternoon sorting papers and then filling them out with the information from individuals in a community called <em>El Paraíso</em>, The Paradise.<br /><br />It was interesting to see how another community lives, but I had a small problem that day. I had slept on the floor the night before and when I went to put on my jeans in the morning, I noticed a bunch of bug bites on my legs. My body not being used to bug bites, went crazy. Three of the bites looked bad, and one formed a huge blister. PCVs are pretty used to seeing gross stuff, so I got a little concerned when everyone saw the blisters and said, "Wow!!". Fortunately, some Hydrocortisone and Antibiotic creams helped. Although I still have some red splotches on my legs, the blisters are gone. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281532553100986834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjI7z4Rz7d6ENdTlHLaEktMqp-FxrtqSKtTFmuJL8KAqpjtVl9W_DFbnkrKhstk9ckcQZ9e_iM0y6b8nqvDiR7-JH3_LcQw_Rd03YBU9IboFjObI1bVAljC_k84_D9mW9s9Zy0epa5DYo/s400/blister1" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281532863015325426" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVziTiMViMeQJSn7UNbuHx9w04CTeF6I7ZoglaQor5WoOP1bKAaxKi8fxS4V_weHbTExPBkksiri3tMVuZ6CjMqcSxqIVXyNt5FeT5CYZ0cRYc1TmnO62vd034iDXc-4dv_76pEU3z9P0/s400/blister2" border="0" /><br />Enough of my fun, I´ve been working too. We´ve been transplanting the gardens that we planted in October and its been going well. I´ve been able to show the parents what to do, and since the plants are growing well, they believe now that I actually know what I´m talking about.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281533507274209634" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEici81HoeMxtJ2ORo66qkPcTViZgAUKTJkFKKZeAsf4vqVM7Nvt7wnKcfsewHEvE6ytDv_KERcqN8wtzc6Qp9slNDo-ZJgHfssgrvXCVtGCeD2dKG6quHGQxWl8aH2GSO_9Yh6yzom96s4/s400/santo" border="0" />Since we usually have a ton of plants, we are able to transplant a lot at the schools and still have a bunch to give to the parents to take home. They can transplant near their houses to start gardens to feed their families. We surpassed our goal of gardens planted (14) and have given away thousands of plants to the parents that we´ve trained. I feel like I accomplished something (albeit something very small) with this project. With the schools being on vacation from December 19th to Jaunuary 5th, I only have two weeks left to work on the gardens. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281533256343992546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 307px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4arasdD7dNMKEUmSvd_uVmCUUe21hPsVzIajjvL_YPRWYQ3cq75iJceTmfAxRYEY2EHq2sEqNxyVZfqSIo9w-IXgCmlOPLx3BMKSlgO53QvpQxDVQh8vwfQtaviyIJz-NZWjJZw55K6E/s400/john+garden" border="0" />I´m pretty sure we´ll get it all done, but if not, John will be able to get the rest. Also, I´m going to pass along the project to the next PCV in La Libertad to continue if they want to.Jay Verhoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282327286825525479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692628290461532907.post-26515366116703567382009-05-30T09:12:00.004-05:002009-05-30T10:07:07.675-05:00The Month of Jay - Part 2: Jumandy CavesDuring the war in the 1500's between the invading Spanish <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Conquistadors</span> and the many <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">indigenous</span> tribes of Ecuador, several leaders emerged. One of the most famous was a man called <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">Jumandy</span>. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">Jumandy</span> led the indigenous <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">Quichwa</span> of the Amazonian Basin against the Spanish who were slowly moving down from the highlands into <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">Quichwa</span> territory. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">Jumandy</span> burned the towns of <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error">Baeza</span> and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error">Archidona</span> (now these two towns are Peace Corps volunteer sites) and moved the local populations into hiding. This was done to prevent the Spanish from stealing supplies and manpower. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-error">Jumandy</span> was able to unite the tribes of the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-error">Oriente</span> for a common defense...basically he was the William Wallace of Ecuador. <br /><br /><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" class="blsp-spelling-error">Jumandy</span> attempted to get the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_12" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">indigenous</span> tribes of the Sierra to help him, but when he went to their lands, they double crossed him and told the Spanish where he was. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_13" class="blsp-spelling-error">Jumandy</span> retreated to his <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_14" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">strong</span> point, the caves now named after him. Unfortunately for <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_15" class="blsp-spelling-error">Jumandy</span>, the Spanish captured him at the caves, transported him to Quito, and executed him there. <br /><br />Today the caves are a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_16" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">major</span> tourist attraction and you can take a guided tour for $4. I had taken the Trainees who went on the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_17" class="blsp-spelling-error">Oriente</span> Technical Trip to the caves, but it was worth going back. The coolest thing about the caves is that you can go anywhere. its not like the US where you have to stay on the path. We climbed in with our guide, Ramon, and hiked around for about an hour. We took a swim in a hole carved out by the stream that flows through the caves, bathed in a small waterfall, rubbed "medicinal" mud on ourselves, watched the bats flying all around, and generally had a good time.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfgNmxI85ehR3wMk-H1X2aqNxHtZ1ZKeYZtcc4mNsnT-EZ4HLgS3yAOlsHN-cO4-qjpdyhe_G57NUGzKiqGEP-asp1dwIS8Wy4D3lxbANk7XTuPZH0oBl_yg-uBV82XekRaRu7bXNCoC4/s1600-h/IMG_2470.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341622634061810306" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfgNmxI85ehR3wMk-H1X2aqNxHtZ1ZKeYZtcc4mNsnT-EZ4HLgS3yAOlsHN-cO4-qjpdyhe_G57NUGzKiqGEP-asp1dwIS8Wy4D3lxbANk7XTuPZH0oBl_yg-uBV82XekRaRu7bXNCoC4/s400/IMG_2470.jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmSCy6nEPD7XJAsmqe-lsgmWNDPRZ5zpbtc_4xMrHn4-Koi176E5FI9IB9pLE-7C8dI6laKh-YRfPUK71GLDfl0FR5EI0Nxa5sicRhl0pyIi4ciw6oLCZUNq9zjprQIJtoqhCSi6NY3fY/s1600-h/IMG_2475.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341621885586593618" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmSCy6nEPD7XJAsmqe-lsgmWNDPRZ5zpbtc_4xMrHn4-Koi176E5FI9IB9pLE-7C8dI6laKh-YRfPUK71GLDfl0FR5EI0Nxa5sicRhl0pyIi4ciw6oLCZUNq9zjprQIJtoqhCSi6NY3fY/s400/IMG_2475.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz1n8ZV6_SNcav0I6nTQH-H8iNrH7WTJeEOeRVKQmOWx6ybxeWR1VGAd95jhDjdkhsa9UjoMKdZAkdjL1JHuUY_86717ap8pqYmIAJLkWMP5TgTaXtra07cXYdn3PgeMFnx89FWsSm6pk/s1600-h/IMG_2469.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341621090937539410" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz1n8ZV6_SNcav0I6nTQH-H8iNrH7WTJeEOeRVKQmOWx6ybxeWR1VGAd95jhDjdkhsa9UjoMKdZAkdjL1JHuUY_86717ap8pqYmIAJLkWMP5TgTaXtra07cXYdn3PgeMFnx89FWsSm6pk/s400/IMG_2469.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div>Jay Verhoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282327286825525479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692628290461532907.post-28262860535933050942009-04-26T18:12:00.003-05:002009-05-29T23:26:20.613-05:00The CenturyAs you all know, I’ve had a lot of time to read while being in the Peace Corps. I recently reached a goal I had set for myself two years ago…to read 100 books. Some of the were long (War and Peace), some of them were boring (anything by Proust), and some of them I loved (The Lonesome Dove series). Here is a list of all the books I read…<br /><br />1) The Civil War; A Narrative. Vol. III. Red River to Appomattox – Shelby Foote<br />2) The Devil in the White City – Erik Larson<br />3) Walden and Civil Disobedience – Henry david Thoreau<br />4) Galápagos – Kurt Vonnegut<br />5) The Brothers Karamazov – Fydor Dostoyevsky<br />6) Don Quixote – Miguel de Cervantes<br />7) Guns, Germs, and Steel – Jared Diamond<br />8) A Room with a View – E.M. Forster<br />9) Collapse – Jared Diamond<br />10) The Mousetrap – Agatha Christie<br />11) The Panama Hat Trail – Tom Miller<br />12) Airframe – Michael Crichton<br />13) Frankenstein – Mary Shelly<br />14) The Conquerors – Michael Beschloss<br />15) The Communist Manifesto – Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels<br />16) Murder in Three Acts – Agatha Christie<br />17) Blackhawk Down – mark Bowden<br />18) Mayflower – Nathaniel Philbrick<br />19) Breakfast of Champions – Kurt Vonnegut<br />20) Pudd’nhead Wilson – Mark Twain<br />21) A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man – James Joyce<br />22) Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad<br />23) The Prophet – Kahlil Gibram<br />24) Poirot Investigates – Agatha Christie<br />25) The Iliad – Homer<br />26) The Odyssey – Homer<br />27) Ulysses – James Joyce<br />28) Ulysses Annotated – Don Gifford<br />29) Jurassic Park – Michael Crichton<br />30) Sleeping Murder – Agatha Christie<br />31) The Hunt for Red October – Tom Clancy<br />32) The Secret Agent – Joseph Conrad<br />33) War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy<br />34) Goodbye Columbus & Five Short Stories – Philip Roth<br />35) A Dollhouse – Henrik Ibsen<br />36) A Bridge Too Far – Cornelius Ryan<br />37) Grant and Sherman: the Friendship that Won the Civil War – Charles Bracelen Flood<br />38) The Book of Useless Information – The Useless Information Society<br />39) The Lost World – Michael Crichton<br />40) The Great Adventure of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle<br />41) Remembrance of Things Past: Swann’s Way – Marcel Proust<br />42) Remembrance of Things Past: Within a Budding Grove – Marcel Proust<br />43) Remembrance of Things Past: The Guermantes Way – Marcel Proust<br />44) Remembrance of Things Past: Cities of the Plain – Marcel Proust<br />45) Remembrance of Things Past: The Captive – Marcel Proust<br />46) Remembrance of Things Past: The Sweet Cheat Gone – Marcel Proust<br />47) Remembrance of Things Past: The Past Recaptured – Marcel Proust<br />48) The Anatomy of Fascism – Robert O. Paxton<br />49) The Carolina Way – Dean Smith<br />50) Beyond Belief: Islamic excursions among the converted peoples – V.S. Naipaul<br />51) Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling - Ross King<br />52) The Ultimate Book of Useless Information – The Useless Information Society<br />53) Women in Love – D. H. Lawrence<br />54) Bush at War – Bob Woodward<br />55) The Best American Short Stories: 2001 – Various Authors<br />56) Girl with the Pearl Earring – Tracey Chevalier<br />57) Top Secret Tales of World War II – William B. Breuer<br />58) Private Parts – Howard Stern<br />59) Great Book of Whodunit Puzzles – Falcon Travis<br />60) The Catcher in the Rye – J. D. Salinger<br />61) I Am America ( And So Can You!) – Stephen Colbert<br />62) The Omnivore’s Dilemma – Michael Pollan<br />63) Jane Eyre – Charlotte Brontë<br />64) Lonesome Dove – Larry McMurtry<br />65) Peter the Great: His Life and His World – Robert k. Massic<br />66) The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini<br />67) Nemesis – Agatha Christie<br />68) Living Poor: A Peace Corps Chronicle – Moritz Thomsen<br />69) As I lay Dying – William Faulkner<br />70) Diary: A Novel – Chuck Palahniuk<br />71) The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O’Neil’s America – Joe Posnanski<br />72) Exodus – Leon Uris<br />73) Dead Man’s Walk – Larry McMurtry<br />74) The Shining – Stephen King<br />75) The Devine Comedy: Hell – Dante Alighieri<br />76) Alexander Hamilton: American – Richard Brookhiser<br />77) An Enemy of the State – Henrik Ibsen (Adapted by Arthur Miller)<br />78) Comanche Moon – Larry McMurtry<br />79) Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs – Chuck Klosterman<br />80) God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater – Kurt Vonnegut Jr.<br />81) Confessions – Saint Augustine<br />82) The Tin Drum – Günter Grass<br />83) The Last of the Mohicans – James Fennimore Cooper<br />84) East of Eden – John Steinbeck<br />85) The Bourne Identity – Robert Ludlum<br />86) The Devine Comedy: Purgatory – Dante Alighieri<br />87) Villa Incognito – Tom Robbins<br />88) Trainspotting – Irvine Welsh<br />89) Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic – Tom Holland<br />90) Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith – Jon Krakauer<br />91) The Conscience of a Conservative – Barry Goldwater<br />92) Operation Shylock: A Confession – Philip Roth<br />93) The Devine Comedy: Paradise – Dante Alighieri<br />94) Stolen Season: A Journey Through America & baseball’s Minor Leagues – David Lamb<br />95) An Ordinary Man – Paul Ruseabagina<br />96) Ethan Frome – Edith Wharton<br />97) Sanctuary – William Faulkner<br />98) Resurrection – Leo Tolstoy<br />99) True History of the Kelly Gang – Peter Carey<br />100) Scoop – Evelyn Waugh<br />101) Mere Christianity – C.S. Lewis<br />102) One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia MarquezJay Verhoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282327286825525479noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692628290461532907.post-39863707417470430592009-04-26T13:34:00.019-05:002009-04-26T15:42:39.851-05:00Training Terminated...AlmostI know that I just wrote about my Sister being pregnant with twins and that she was due in June. Guess what? I’m an Uncle already! A couple weeks ago I was on a bus heading home, when I got a phone call from my Sister saying that she had delivered two boys that morning. Ryan, Owen and my Sister are all doing well, but the twins are going to be in the hospital for a while. If you would like to read more about the twins, you can check out the blog that my Brother-In-Law, Matt, is doing. The site is <a href="http://www.carepages.com/carepages/TheMcAvinTwins" target="_blank">http://www.carepages.com/carepages/TheMcAvinTwins</a><br /><br />It has been pretty hectic for the last couple of weeks with Training. We have had a bunch of Technical sessions to plan and implement, and from April 12th to the 20th we were on the Technical trip (my favorite part of Training). The first three days of the Tech Trip were in Puerto Quito which is about four hours west of Quito near the coast. It was hot as Hades down there and we all got bitten a ton by the bugs. We spent those days working at an organic farm near where we were staying. It was interesting and fun to get our hands dirty, but the heat was almost too much. We’d work from 8:00 to 5:00 and then jump in the pool, cool off, and then play soccer until it got too dark. After soccer, we’d have dinner and pass out in bed and spend all night sweating.<br /><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329094972264512082" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz5IP_b9EIe2BE3BhfHkvBIVHOmbhYBDesWHC0PDN018AclmgfXOOT4zVtUAixU2Xh2LZIcqym7cgW4XDsDzmyUnYTXC9kUDZYI1qf4NSlWRV-CQPa_yQ4qD3Nj-U4K59O01eG9312-zw/s400/group.jpg" border="0" /><br />On the 15th we (by we, I mean myself and all the Trainees who are going to be living in the Oriente) left Puerto Quito. Here is our itinerary…<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Wednesday, April 15th<br />- Breakfast in Puerto Quito<br />- Travel to Puyo via Quito (Lunch in Quito)<br />- Check-in “Gran Hotel Amazonico”<br />- Dinner in Puyo at O Sole Mio – meet with Volunteers from the Puyo area who can talk about their experiences.<br /><br />Thursday, April 16th<br />Natural Resource Trainees<br />- Breakfast at Hotel<br />- Visit CERFA Orchid Park – take a tour of and speak with the owner, Omar Tello, about how he constructed and maintains his park and conducts tourism operations. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329095365029613266" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPzU94pxjohwOHFLdwpl91wl-uf4a1Usc8uE7uCbVPbcpavn4O9V8hf11KAFfhzNS_Jp4hmtwQHoeS3FRaBWJLMy2mAz9XhmJILu0InD5ayMyIhvi4yytdRlQQ8gdN8eUXvjrqVVomrok/s400/group+CERFA.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329096345026463618" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUCqKDFtTwiHtdVYwUWwYAdBvJXeNoHjw8XSyIJFF-G9YH-sabmErRoQ9wLiCbAurMaD3dUYCoos_U61a2bOKOgEuuY-gAKAgNgqcWkSbOjlIqL2D8FbRPZHX4lBXfjVUvl8jbSKDMhFQ/s400/with+omar.jpg" border="0" /><br />- Lunch in Puyo<br />- Visit Estación Biológico Pindo Mirador – discuss native tree species<br />- Dinner in Puyo<br /><br />Sustainable Agriculture Trainees<br />- Breakfast at Hotel<br />- Visit CERFA Orchid Park – take a tour of and speak with the owner, Omar Tello, about how he constructed and maintains his park and conducts tourism operations.<br />- Lunch in Puyo<br />- Visit sugar cane processing facilities at El Vallecito <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329099255427512242" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZiADXMlV9NYb5Z0dXvZrgRKH-YFvWHGgHnHoq45BodwxVh9qIQOdlMKp0eAITR6_5BXOny1G7FxAUQ7Tq9zYJTql-Mta0NhXPZXcKpj9jwpcZONwc8smMCnF-itbqaA5Te4EWGsH7bcg/s400/sugar+2.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329096615770702018" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaZwYJKXyUPLqqF0yMD4Gs51tDjN49N5PwLlsiG3Furg386QPTjtSYqTS6t-hLzkAvMNY0YTvvIuGU9Z4KGPGHIutCCWWBvqx3lOwrozbISShtYS-RsJLpCyi6wLNV9_d3iInI-KW1K9Y/s400/sugar.jpg" border="0" /><br />- Dinner in Puyo<br /><br />Friday, April 17th<br />- Breakfast at hotel<br />- Go to Centro FRATES<br />- Visit La Libertad – do Abono charla with community members. Learn how to build a cobertizo and learn about sugar cane cultivation, organic agriculture production, and agro forestry in the Oriente. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329097543532774242" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTZYLr8_ZpdH4XG-VpHdI8dz-1SrsAQ8fZStgRzDYq1HHLDEwMTpZ8wc-pc9kHBTrPnFxfz-ZQAJ8mJGpXGYgyMr06NaAcTxZeoLaqj3iotsUiWuVLKWQBYKx8EpXKI3gF9fOOaoiAjbE/s400/compost.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329097853302002306" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKnJygrZq0VDapO5ECvki1TpmmRvO4BHOUq_8z1DFl5gcZohDqvpSp-Q8E30DeWRtpy_ESbaVQKfa8VpQk8wZoBnTdKy76xZg_5Cn58xH_bBiAqRq0-4PsE8pIQ0E5AA6xDkEpG2j_QUc/s400/bridge.jpg" border="0" /><br />- Lunch<br />- Go to San Pedro for a charla by PCV Jason Kamisky and community members on how to build and maintain fish ponds, as well as, how to raise fish.<br />- Visit the Reserva Hola Vida<br />- Dinner at the Centro FRATES<br /><br />Saturday, April 18th<br />- Breakfast at the Centro FRATES<br />- Return to Puyo and check in to Gran Hotel Amazonico<br />- Visit Waorani store and Manuela Ima (President of AMWAE) about artesenia and maintaining a small business <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329098770535557586" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH1pYIx8ijdm-3sUkNwlz2EDt7hc9-cmHpI0Hpcdr4-EWXsEgKbg09NYc1j6h5JLpVDKAz3X4ez28mJR5XqploEB2kHPOzHL4bdVT7AWpByAQrTBG360B1B2yiClK1fO9KKNXg7BZZs6Y/s400/wao.jpg" border="0" /><br />- Lunch<br />- Visit Parque OMAERE – Take a tour with Chris Canady (Vice President) of the ethnobotanical park. Receive charla and work with Chris on composting toilets, trail maintenance, and soil erosion prevention. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329098640749598034" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHY9MPbiEYOzm-JuNozyoNfzvPo87amuym0-oTw9o6a6IKt6rv5kLKwPg36GWze1yqvXoTg8bOSc1XKCEOGpcSuJ7rLfTjLFUmhyphenhyphenIE8SF1ak_u_Zj16f3imdXXda5Mto31QqFQzzIxRmg/s400/working.jpg" border="0" /><br />- Dinner in Puyo<br /><br />Sunday, April 19th<br />- Breakfast at hotel<br />- Travel to Tena<br />- Check in Hotel Los Yutzos II<br />- Travel to Archidona<br />- Work with the Association Ruku Kausay on cacao, fish ponds, small animal management, and eco-tourism <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329101389066183602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMCdA7s00gShMod9OBku-yCCBRCMYU6fRL28bt7MA8hwqP-6I_p0pKA4jgcB0XYWWHCuZ2aJg2B_plgVSKpt-eI7KRUkp7VoGQnoSF78BmTygbDGC7QVAhcRboA3vpTWh0sOSLMIX5fSw/s400/view.jpg" border="0" /><br />- Traditional lunch prepared by the Association Ruku Kausay ($3.50/person) <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329100472931981506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2dVaUcSFwKq-Qrd8qmX9V-Hr6vGRYH-XlhYEGTWUw40U1qXUmZwAFTLq7L2i-mhOo2CZxH41dRYgEJMJaG7MWdGAcV1OAdo_bnTIQ4GephHo126vfwbpb6awE52Px2uN9jw__8pFt07E/s400/mito.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329098339014719330" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 390px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 270px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfrwnt2KwG-M606Czxgc_EvC-104Y0EZA2Beua-_GdhsKUrxeIi333GQ-xRowEGknlc_eJgo1zWnOYcmH39F8BxjiiulswPpLwHJ4xUHs0ktChDCuza28oqzaFhOIzK4CM7FDij_Gvpio/s400/chonta+curo.jpg" border="0" /> </span></p><p><span style="color:#ff0000;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329101108162308370" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzg34GqM1dFN9WO_9DPgE3SWYZFc0hR3XeTEsFsuMN8j6puCDddYCBKjTBBEsn8URPPCe4qTxf4vVMsn09qe0n4JBzfLMzL06HTI_sNPYftzWVzt5sg8gwVtuvR2Enc2Ch84cjv4Zn5-g/s400/jon.jpg" border="0" /><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="color:#ffffff;">(These Pictures need a caption - We are eating Chonta Curos, or grubs...delicious!)</span><br /></span>- Visit Jumandy Caves ($3.00/person with tip) <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329098036913474178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiESHgHl3eVK0kclCx2hPUGXSSkMEZH0NbICvlz7aSJYmQS2PiY5zOeorHnk9RWbR4MlsfQnDhPh6Xm11qN6UekhjK7JGKkD1tA9hXpwqchA3kJFAjXZ1vsNn9RArr89QZofiRdPwZe-D0/s400/caves.jpg" border="0" /><br />- Return to Tena<br /><br />Monday, April 20th<br />- Travel to Quito/Cayambe</span><br /><br />As you can see, the trip was packed with interesting and fun stuff. The Trainees said that they learned a lot and really enjoyed themselves. This trip was the biggest thing that I had to plan for training, so I’m glad that it went well. After we got back, the Trainees gave presentations on their trips. The kids who went with me gave a nice presentation and even wrote a poem to thank me. That meant a lot to me.<br /><br />Now that the Tech Trip is done, the Co-Trainers are pretty much done too. We were supposed to help out with the final evaluations and reporting, but they decided that they just wanted to PC staff to do that. The Trainees Spear-In on Wednesday the 29th, so that will be our last day of “work”. I have to do my final medical stuff before I can COS (Close Of Service), so next week I’ll be spending most of my time at the Doctor, Dentist, or talking to the PC nurse. My COS date is on May 4th, so I’ll be in the office that day to have all my bosses sign me out, turn in my cell phone, and finish up any other paperwork that I have to do. One more week and the Peace Corps will be behind me.<br /><br />I also recently found out when I’m going to fly home. I have a flight booked for May 28th at 9:15am. I should be arriving in St. Louis that night around 9:00pm. I can’t wait to see everybody and to meet my nephews. First though, I’m going to do some traveling. I plan on going south to some of the cities in Ecuador that I’ve never been to and also to go to the Isla de la Plata (otherwise know as The poor Man’s Galapagos).<br /><br />It’s going to be a fun month, hence it’s new name…The Merry Merry Month of Jay</p>Jay Verhoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282327286825525479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692628290461532907.post-22912017829152706402009-04-08T11:38:00.005-05:002009-04-09T15:11:29.662-05:00Response to a Comment<span style="color:#ff0000;">Anonymous said...<br /><br />"It's kind of strange to think that in two hours we decided the next two years for 20 PCVs, but I guess that's how things go in a government gig."<br /><br />And probably disturbing to those whose loved ones are in your hands.</span><br /><br />This was the comment that was posted on the blog after my last post "Un-Zamboined Ice and Impropperly Oiled Lanes". The quote is directly from my post, and the commentary was added by "Anonymous".<br /><br />First off, I want to thank everyone again for reading my blog. I know that at times it can get a little boring or repetitive (I try to keep it interesting and funny), but writing this all down helps me to process all the emotions that I´m going through, and your reading it helps to fulfill one of Peace Corps´ objectives, to increase American´s understanding of foreign cultures.<br /><br />I also want to thank those who go through the effort of posting comments. There haven´t been that many, but I do take them seriously. I´m not sure who posted this comment, but I wanted to take a little time to clarify things. I´m assuming that whoever posted this was either a family member of one of the current Trainees, a concerned party, or just someone who thinks that I shouldn´t have taken so jocular a tone with that issue.<br /><br />Because they are taking this seriously, I´m going to take it seriously too.<br /><br />I need to remind people of the disclaimer that is at the top-right of the blog, and at the very bottom as well. This blog represents MY OPINION ALONE. I´m going to talk a little bit about the inner workings of the PC later, and I want to make sure that this is clear.<br /><br />I would like to respond first to the commentator using the phrase "whose loved ones are in your hands". I need to say that the responsibilities of the Technical Co-Trainers is very limited. We assist in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the Technical session, we have planned the Technical Trips, and we act as extra resources to assist the PCTs in cultural and professional adjustment in Ecuador. To say that their lives are in our hands is a gross overstatement.<br /><br />I also hope that this comment is not insinuating that the Peace Corps takes its responsibilities lightly when it comes to the health and safety of all PCVs. From Washington all the way down, everyone at Peace Corps is committed to the PCVs and puts this factor first in all the decisions that they make. That being said, the person most responsible for the well-being of the PCV is the PCV themselves. Everything that we do during training is to ensure that the PCVs will be able to handle life at the future work sites, but if they do not follow the instructions given to them, they may put themselves at risk.<br /><br />Instead of giving a short one-liner about the site determination process, I´ll now give a fuller explanation. Before the PCTs arrive in country, we are given access to their resumes and aspiration statements. By reading these, we (and when I say we, I mean relevant PC staff) are able to get a feel for the Trainees skills, abilities, and personal goals. When the PCTs arrive, we are constantly watching them to see how they interact with fellow PCTs and PC staff and noting their participation levels during training sessions. We then have introductory interviews where we can talk face to face with the PCTs to clarify their background and find out what they would prefer in their site (for example hot vs. cold climates, city vs. rural, working with a NGO vs. a community). We also do a skills assessment and have frequent individual conversations to get to better know the PCTs and if they are having any problems adjusting.<br /><br />Training is an intense period where the PCTs learn a large amount of material on a multitude of subjects very rapidly. It is almost like cramming for an exam in college. For the staff it is the same. We are trying to get to know 45 PCTs in the weeks before the sites are determined.<br /><br />When it comes to actually picking the sites, first we can assign the married couples to the few sites that can accommodate them. Then we assign PCTs who have special skill sets (computers, animals, business, chemicals) to the sites that have specifically requested a Volunteer with these skill sets. We are able to place the majority of the PCTs without much discussion because they are clearly a good fit for a certain site.<br /><br />Several of the remaining PCTs were assigned based on their desire or ability to learn a third indigenous language.<br /><br />The rest of the PCTs were placed based on a combination their site preferences and abilities. At the end of this process there were only one or two PCTs whose sites we felt could have been changed.<br /><br />After the Co-Trainers and Technical Trainers had created this list, we submitted it to our boss. I have to be honest here. I do not know what decisions or meeting take place at the HQ level on site assignation. I would assume that the PC nurses and Safety and Security Coordinator have a say in the site determination, but because of privacy issues, we are not, nor should we be, privy to that information. In the case of the current PCTs, the final site assignments were the same as what we had decided.<br /><br />We are faced with difficult decisions and have a limited amount of time to make them, but I feel that we did a good job getting to know the Trainees and made the right choices with the information that we had. I´ve heard the other countries make this determination before the Trainees are even invited to join the PC. When I received my PC invitation it just said "Ecuador", but I think they feel that if the PCT knows from day one where they are going, they can be better prepared for their service. Another model would be to give the PCTs their sites at the very end of training so that we can use as much time as possible to get to know the PCTs. I think our system of assigning sites at the middle of training is the best option, but each of them has its benefits and down sides.<br /><br />So there is the real story. We do take this very seriously. As I said, I think we did a good job placing the PCTs, but the reality is that the Peace Corps experience is what the Peace Corps Volunteer makes of it. They will be put in a variety of situations and all have the opportunity to use (or not use) their skills where they feel they can be productive. Sometimes its scary, and often you may hate your site at first only to grow to love it.<br /><br />It is a crazy two years, but what do you expect from a government gig! </span>Jay Verhoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282327286825525479noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692628290461532907.post-45992135140841855992009-03-31T14:09:00.018-05:002009-04-02T15:39:13.358-05:00Un-zambonied Ice and Impropperly Oiled LanesWhere to begin?<br /><br /><br />First off, Training is still going good. It's hard to believe, but we are already halfway through. As I write this, the Trainees are all at their future sites. Things have gone great so far, but the real problems will beginning after they get back from their sites. That will be when they start to complain if they don't like where we put them.<br /><br />It was sad last week because we said goodbye to seven members of my training group who all flew back to the USA. A couple of us who weren't leaving came in to Quito to give them a nice send off. We let one of my friends decide how to celebrate, and she picked...bowling and ice skating! It was fun, but the bowling alley lanes were drier than your grandady's scalp and the ice was gouged up. I know I shouldn't expect too much, but I was disappointed that I couldn't show off my patented spin-ball and triple axel.<br /><br />After that we went out for a bit of dancing.<br /><br />I went to the airport at 6:00 am the next day with some friends to say goodbye. I don't know if it was the headache or the heartache, but it was hard. I think a lot of it was realizing that my time is soon to come to an end as well.<br /><br />One good thing about a friend of mine leaving was that he gave me a couple bottles of Guinness that he had just received, but wasn't going to drink. I shared them with the other Co-Trainers. It wasn't like a good draught pint, but good enough.<br /><br />After seeing them off, I went down to La Libertad for the day. I wanted to give the new PCV who is living there, Russ, some contact information for the schools that I worked with and also to attend the La Libertad grade school "Sports Day". As it turns out, Russ wasn't there that day, but the "Sports Day" was fun. When I showed up, all the kids from the grade school and high school were in the center of town watching the grade school teachers playing the local police in volleyball. As I walked up to the court, a ton of little kids came running out to greet me. They all were yelling my name and asking if I was coming back to teach them more English. It was nice to know they remembered me, but I think that I'd have to teach them "some" English before I could teach them "more" English. I said hi to all the parents and teachers and got a sore hand from high-fiving all the kids.<br /><br />After saying hi to my neighbors, one of the teachers asked me to be the referee for the next game. I tried to get out of it, but was unsuccessful (as always). The game was a basketball game between the female teachers at the high school and grade school. As soon as they started to play, I knew I was in trouble. They were fouling and double dribbling all over the place. I decided that since I would either have to blow the whistle every 15 seconds, or not at all, I'd go with option two. Most of the male teachers watching started to yell that I should call more fouls, but I stood by my guns and only called two fouls in the first half. I don't know how many I would have called in the second half because they fired me at halftime and let someone else do it...fine by me.<br /><br />The best part about going to La Libertad was seeing my neighbor's kids. They were all doing good, and Karla, the middle girl, won the "Sports Day" beauty contest. The youngest daughter was confused to see me again. I think she couldn't quite remember me, but when I picked her up and asked her my name she said "Jay" right away, and then it all seemed to come back. Overall it was nice to be back for a day, but one day was enough.<br /><br />Last week we had a session on small animal management. We did some work with chickens and cuyes. I think the Trainees enjoyed the hands on experience, but they were a little grossed out when yours truly castrated two guinea pigs. I don't have a lot of experience doing this, but it's not that hard. I'll be more than happy to give lessons when I come home.<br /><br />Here is a picture of some of the guinea pigs with their babies (these were un-castrated of course) and a picture of Mount Cayambe that I took from near the farm.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319477689816884834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 449px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 312px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIzOc3gvYaXdCC7ezNinqa0d9R9S9jQKrKDS-Q015I2EYhy9oWClReinNfho3_a8Gc_5r9F9DZnOqthZt6IS0bp1b_H7T6Wo2iVxNvMCYB60iY_Db8qr_5YMpODMUi2GEigX0mzzJ9rfQ/s400/cuy.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319477496662812786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 460px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 328px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXDDRxcjFP6gl_4zTYElP1xpKIqwkqPEaQMuwZorugFIhtSvxZDy2nGcym7omwhu5boVSUWchdbd4v9GxRkc5TsussbtWxapbXX2IWLKNBXWgvRcPSPBJqyWLtNYkvRhGVfNmWI-_-okc/s400/cayambe.jpg" border="0" /><br />The biggest thing we have done recently with training was assigning the sites to the Trainees. As I said, they all seemed happy with their sites, so Mary and I are pretty happy. We sat down for a couple of hours two weeks ago and put together a list of where we thought the Trainees would work out best. We gave the list to our boss expecting that he'd make some changes, but he kept them all the same. It's kind of strange to think that in two hours we decided the next two years for 20 PCVs, but I guess that's how things go in a government gig.<br /><br />NOTES:<br />-I finished my taxes for 2008 recently. Surprisingly I owed Uncle Sam nothing again. That is one nice thing...the taxes on nothing are very low.<br /><br />-I also wanted top say thanks to everyone who sent me a card, a phone call, or an e-mail on my birthday. THANKS !!!!!<br /><br />-I haven't made a big deal about it on the blog, but I wanted to finally write about something that has been very exciting for my family. We found out in December that my sister was pregnant...with twins!! Everything has gone well so far and she is due to deliver in June. Here are some pics of babies and mother.<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319503362307970866" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 417px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 645px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOYESH58kbUyra1CMPczc246yqQ43sERGcwvBqcTWe-1rmSPSI6uCs1K4HhwX8nU13jG_qM7_5maeZlgMWwUxYMlMTFKGU4NM089ckKl-T1-omKQ-0UENlXgcJZAgKJL6r6elhl7no434/s400/twins.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div><br /></div><div></div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319476687841538866" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCzOQBMMiH1913476VGxb251T72mapuBLkyFZiub-aKX0133OVhvw-C7CnFexxIgTG50ZMbF1PnUsmA4-m7dbbYOJ9OJXq-8dfybyavkhw15-6qlab6GVwn-ZRqbrVnmgg_jOyaiKbpqI/s400/stephs+gut.JPG" border="0" /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>.</p>Jay Verhoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282327286825525479noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692628290461532907.post-17175033055004868682007-04-07T12:20:00.002-05:002009-03-31T17:17:19.897-05:00TripsIt has been a while since I´<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">ve</span> been able to update this blog (or even check my e-mail) because for the last couple of weeks I have been pretty busy. I had the eight day site visit to La <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Libertad</span> (L.L.) and then two days later, we went in groups on a ten day Technical Trip. There is a lot to talk about from these two trips, so this post is going to be long...bare with me.<br /><br />First, I found out from my Mom right before my site visit that my Cousin Dale passed away. He was only 36 and died from a blot clot. I was shocked when I heard this. I never deluded myself that I would be able to be away from home for two years without anything bad happening, but I never thought it would be to someone so young. This is the hardest part of the PC experience, being away from friends/family during hard times. Dale will be missed.<br /><br />As for my trips, they both went well. I was nervous before my trip to L.L. because I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">didn</span>´t want to give my new neighbors a bad impression. I think that everything went as good as possible given my limited Spanish. I arrived with the current <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">PCV</span> who is living in my site, Mike. He showed me the house he is living in now and that I will move into at the end of the month and introduced me to the family that owns the house. It is actually a kind of compound with the family's three houses surrounding an open area. Two sisters live in the houses next to mine with a third sister living nearby. The third house in the compound is solely for me. My house is great. It has four rooms (bedroom, bath, living room, and kitchen). The bathroom is about two years old as the family added it on when Mike moved in. The bathroom is nicer than some of the bathrooms that I had in Chicago. I have a hot water heater that runs to the shower, sink, and kitchen. This is huge because most of the other <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">PCVs</span> have to take cold showers or boil water and take bucket baths.<br /><br />Mike has the place set-up, but he is moving to Quito to work in the PC office and is taking everything with him. I get some money for a settling-in allowance, so I´ll get to set things up the way I want to. I think I´m going to turn the living room into a work-out room. I´ll have to make all the equipment and weights myself, but it will give me something to do in the evenings.<br /><br />The only problem with the house is that it <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">wasn</span>´t built for a 6 foot 2 man. The door to get into the house only goes up to the tip of my nose, and the ceiling is about one inch too short in some places. I can stand in the bathroom (it is sunken) and the kitchen, but to get through the jams between the rooms is going to be an adventure. I foresee a lot of busted foreheads and broken light fixtures in my future.<br /><br />I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">didn</span>´t have a lot of time to hang out with the family, but they seem very nice. Mike likes them a ton. They have a couple of young kids who are always running around and a son who is about 11 who I´m going to teach how to play baseball (I need to get him a glove in Quito before I get there so we can toss the pill around after dinner).<br /><br />The town of L.L. is pretty small and on the cold side. March is during the rainy season, so we got rain everyday. When the sun came out, it got pretty warm, but as soon as it went behind the ever present clouds, the temp quickly dropped. At night it was especially cold. I slept with my socks, warm-up pants, and sweater on and three blankets and was still cold. I´m definitely going to need an electric blanket.<br /><br />There are a couple of stores in town that sell the basics, so I´ll have that for emergencies. Otherwise I can take a 1/2 hour bus ride to the nearest town, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Machachi</span>, to shop in the supermarket, farmer´s market, or other stores that will have pretty much anything else I could need. I´ll probably head to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Machachi</span> at least once a week. Quito is a little under two hours away, so heading there for special stuff won´t be a big problem either. Also, L.L. has good cell phone reception. I get a PC issued cell when I swear-in on April 20<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">th</span>, so y´all will be able to call me whenever you want to catch-up.<br /><br />The one really cool thing about L.L. is that is is between a couple of mountains. When the clouds were light (once during the week), you can see the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Ilinizas</span> range, El <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Corazón</span>, and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Cotapaxi</span> (the second or third tallest active volcano in the world, depending on your definition). The view is amazing.<br /><br />I will have a lot of work to do in L.L. once I get settled and a little stronger with my Spanish. The irrigation system needs some work and there is talk of constructing some reservoirs for the dry season. The community bank is strong, and I hope to work with individual loan recipients on projects. Also, onions are one of the only products that are grown around the town, so I´m going to try and help with crop diversification and possibly value added products derived from onion (can you say dry soup mix). There are a bunch of other things going on, so I´ll definitely be busy. To start off, twice a week I´m going to teach English to 6<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">th</span> and 7<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">th</span> graders. I think they will actually be teaching me Spanish, but oh well, it´ll be fun.<br /><br />The main group that I´ll be working with is the women's group that runs the bank. They are a great bunch of ladies and when the found out that my Birthday was on the Saturday of my visit, ("when is your Birthday" was the second question they asked), they decide to have a party. It was fun. Cake, beer, and party games what else could a 29 year old ask for.<br /><br />The day after the party I had to head back to my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">CBT</span> site, but I am excited to return to L.L. and get going with my work.<br /><br />The two days between the trips were spent getting stuff ready and doing laundry. Not so exciting.<br /><br />The 41 of us left on Omnibus 97 (2 more quit after the site visit. Bring the total to 5) were split into 5 groups for the Tech Trip. I´m in the Sierra-Ag group with 8 others. We spent the first day of the trip at an Organic farm outside of Quito. It was a beautiful farm. The guy that ran it, Don Pancho, spoke perfect English. He gave us a tour and a background of Ecuadorian agricultural practices. He blamed a lot of the problems of Ecuador today on Chemical companies taking advantage of the peasants after the Agricultural revolution of the ´60s. He really HATED chemical usage and chemical companies in general. Later he asked us what we studied in college. I tried to avoid the question, but finally had to say Chemical Engineering. He was surprised, but not to pissed. Actually, he had me explain a couple chemical processes to the group. It felt good to use Thermodynamics for a change. I have to admit that I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">didn</span>´t really agree with a lot of what Don Pancho was saying, but it was still interesting.<br /><br />The next day we went to a tree nursery. It was nice, but I started to feel bad. I had some stomach problems and sadly most of my energy was focused on not crapping my pants. I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">didn</span>´t get a lot out of that day. The next was worse though and I actually puked for the first time in a while in the middle of and organic fruit farm. I was able to get away from the group so nobody saw. I felt better after that, but still have some GI <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">probs</span> even today.<br /><br />We spent most of the rest of the trip in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Riobamba</span> at a nice Hotel. It was good to be in a city for a change. We ate at nice restaurants every night and I took a lot of long hot showers. The best thing about being in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Riobamba</span> was that we had ESPN. I was able to watch the Final Four and the Cards opening day game. It would have been better if <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">STL</span> won, but I´ll take what I can get. I also saw the Cards third game (another loss). I have the 29<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">th</span> marked on my calender because they are showing the Cards/Cubs game here. Now I just have to find a place to watch it. On the subject of the Cardinals, there was a hat shop in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">Riobamba</span> that had a Cards hat that I bought for $3. I got a Guinness hat too. The funny thing was that as I looked around, I saw a hat that said "Sachs Electric" and "St. Louis, MO" on the back. I have no idea why a Chinese run knock-off hat shop in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">Riobamba</span>, Ecuador would have a Sachs Electric hat. Small World!<br /><br />To finish the trip, we went to a couple of local markets, a fruit drying project, another organic farm, and a couple of days in an indigenous village. Overall it was a good trip. I did get to see something crazy for the first time. As we were riding the bus back from the fruit farm, I looked to the right and "Holy Shit", there was a volcano in the distance erupting a huge plume of smoke. I asked to Tech Trainer next to me what we had to do. He just said, "It has been doing that for a couple of years". That was my first view of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">Tungurahua</span>. I guess you get used to it. The wind did change one day and covered the streets with ash. I was busy watching Opening Day, so I missed that.<br /><br />We got back from the trip last night (one day early). I´m glad we came back early so we could see Good Friday in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">Cangahua</span>. For dinner I had a traditional Good Friday dish called <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">Fanesca</span>. It is a tasty chowder with fish and a bunch of grains and beans. After that they had a procession through town with a cross, music, and huge representations of Saints. I was exactly like the parade in Godfather II that goes on when Vito kills The Black Hand. Tonight they are having a big fiesta at the town hall, so I´m going to have to dance and drink wine all night...a tough life.<br /><br />We are getting to the end of training now. One more week in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">Cangahua</span> then a week in Quito, and it´s off to L.L. This really has flown by. I have another language test on Friday this week where I have to get a five out of ten. I think I should be OK, we´ll see. Other than that this week is just getting or training activities finished and stuff ready for Quito. I´ll have time next week to jump back on the computer, so I´ll let you know then how Easter is in Ecuador and how the test went.<br /><br />Until then, take ´er easy!<br /><br />JayJay Verhoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282327286825525479noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692628290461532907.post-1122512649102850552009-03-11T19:25:00.004-05:002009-03-16T10:27:08.555-05:00Hear That Training a Comin’<div><div>The Trainees finally arrived on February 25th. It has been a fun and intense two weeks since then. The other Co-Trainers and I have been preparing, implementing, and evaluating most of the technical aspects of the training. I have to admit that working in the office before they got here was pretty boring and I wasn’t too motivated, but now things are a lot better.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313806110663206754" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxt1bXjvVZtR5mPuy1D8f9zHFiIIoL0SBRL-yszsDRRqjmv6KbMQF9uzdPo_AFGXh36va_sO_FfXx01LnTgTC9CqSV8C2UeXZ9mt6MJB8ZYVG1w586-LW3c84Jc_KMyboPhz1V_L92yBw/s400/all+at+airport.jpg" border="0" /><br />From the moment they got here, I have been living in a cloud of déjà vu. Almost everything that the new trainees are doing, we did two years ago. The night they arrived, we sat at the Airport waiting for them. I remember when we walked off the plane. There were so many thoughts and worries going through my head all mixed in with excitement and curiosity. I remember the Co-Trainers for our group meeting us and telling the baggage handlers in Spanish where to move our bags. I was impressed to see Gringos speaking so well, and being so organized. Now, I was one of those Gringos. It was a good feeling, but a little weird.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313804219369528354" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMwp2Tdnt78Be7Ee7228_cRjkmVubJJQh9nRHkWTs-Gxi47TnPh1XfqE-a_RU253Y2iNuesi0kgtV4-S-ryJitgx6W0V4jzKeWrmYKLwnP22I-SyjnilkjWOai1kl3a4dpbb0VNOVY-cM/s400/4+at+thumbs+up.jpg" border="0" /><br />We spent the first couple days in Quito listening to presentations by the Country Director, PC staff, and some representatives from the US Embassy. We didn’t have a lot of stuff to do, but it was good to see the Trainees and answer their questions. We also spent those days finishing up the plan for the first week of training. There are 45 Trainees from all over the US, a couple of them are older, and there are two married couples. It is a lot like our Omnibus. The difference is that these guys “seem” a bit more low-key than we were. I used quotes around seem because it is impossible to say how they act when the training staff isn’t around, but I don’t think they drink quite as much beer as we did.<br /><br />After getting them prepped in Quito, we moved all the Trainees bags to their home-stay families around Cayambe. It was a lot of work, but we were able to move our stuff as well (that was a lot better than moving all our crap in buses again). It was nice to move out of the house in Quito, but as a parting gift, the owners of the house I lived in only charged me $180 for repairing the Kohler faucet I broke. It was only a small piece of plastic, but repairing anything from the US costs an arm and a leg down here.<br /><br />The new house we are living in is huge (except for my room). The three girls have big rooms that are all the same and mine is on the small size (small enough that I can touch all four walls at the same time). I worked out well (for the girls), but I can’t complain (outside of parenthesis).<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313805808867038130" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgED_2DL_tc3kG5o2bI0ydXE3caMc20fIQ945rADXEvMlIw5trm3t400FhRI1uAoWsp7VrfjjU52GccVIOfB9YvPdH0JKrqZ9FSCp_4IgD0xP5-FTs-I08iYARoA0PQH49kPqm3utFEZP8/s400/walls.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313804464290980658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6sFYvZN4wdMS3u32-bM3UsG6Y7nIGPhTbt2qaT3Vts_vydIozjED1UfOlKAbjcHjH6t3Vplcqfe6zZLwrc8j6br3FSJbI04qzk9yeDIm4hQtwOF6cmN3xFjOmyZuntn6oYo3qlQ7teeo/s400/bulb.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313804752181220626" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnHl9qrvJDvRKlvZbNWVLgC7tJAu8uvyRK7N0OtQEpoPsn1ql73xg15YP57hqpl9IQ3Bu7hHP_YPtcYjgGeJSFsRe5WftZdD8bby5AAC4l8le9537Fs5D3PBK15vfGWDodx_mV0v17fe0/s400/food.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313805003618752034" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0zULPRozKFRwOoBwBH-b_pc4q-VbWqK-sOg3laqqmCVCCEk1YeSCh95QKvqmZvsm6OfEhyphenhyphen0REQw7Xjbtfvg_gXmn5FpbsfkDrIvVMq7EBQZkX4MoPrr6HmidSlk7K9R_wnazz87W42yU/s400/susan.jpg" border="0" /><br />The good news that we all received was that the Peace Corps will be giving us a 9% raise effective in March. The inflation has been pretty bad down here, so that extra $28 a month will really help.<br /><br />In Cayambe we have had a couple technical sessions where we have had to present to the Trainees. Some of it is stuff I know well, but some of it is on topics that I haven’t had to work with since our training. Its nice to review those topics and now that I understand Spanish, I’m learning a lot of things that I didn’t pick up on the first time around.<br /><br />I had to give a short session on grafting and pruning the other day. I hadn’t done anything with trees in La Libertad, so I had to do some research. I think I did a good job, and one of the other Co-Trainers asked me afterwards, “Wow, I didn’t know you knew so much about trees!” That was the good, the bad was when one of the Trainees asked, “Jay, how many grafts have you done during your service?” I answered that including the six demonstration grafts I did during the session, I had done six. He looked at me and said, “That’s what I thought”.<br /><br />Another interesting thing is the La Libertad already has its replacement PCV. One of the Trainees has been a Peace Corps Volunteer several times, starting in 1984. He has been in Ecuador as a PCV and even worked in the office. Since he knew almost everything already, they decided to let him skip training and go right to his site. They decided that la Libertad was the best fit for him due to his small gardening experience and desire to work with a woman’s group in the Sierra. I hope it works out for Russell and I plan on heading down there soon to give him my contact lists and advise him on projects I tried, what I had hoped that he would continue, and the basic logistics of La Libertad. Its crazy to think of him sleeping in my bed, but its his bed now.</div></div>Jay Verhoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282327286825525479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692628290461532907.post-5817555616854110392009-02-25T13:35:00.001-05:002009-02-25T14:36:20.679-05:00Martes De GrasaFat Tuesday. Mardi Gras. In whatever language…good times. Working in the office paid some major benefits for this festival. We got off work Monday and Tuesday, so the rest of the co-trainers and I left for the extra-long weekend to various parts of the country.<br /><br />I left to go out to the jungle community of Tena to meet up with 10 friends. We took it easy the first night and then on Sunday morning we jumped on the back of a truck and took the half hour ride to the indigenous town of Misahuallí. Misahuallí is known for the craziness of its carnaval, and it did not disappoint. They had a park on the big river that flows through town cordoned off with food vendors, beer stands, music stages, and of course, people selling the carnaval necessity…foam spray. <br /><br />Luckily we were on the river, because we were covered with foam, paint, and oil after being at the party for 10 minutes. About every hour I would jump in the river to cool off and get clean. The group of us instigated a war between a bunch of little kids who were playing near us. The water and foam flew, it was a good time.<br /><br />We left around 4:00 before the real insanity began. The next day we heard on the radio that three people drowned that night. Unfortunately, Ecuadorians can’t have a real party without there being some fatalities. <br /><br />On Sunday night a couple of us went to a different town to see what was going on there. On Monday morning we got up to go watch a professional soccer game, but on the way there people started throwing stuff on us. I was wearing nice clothes and didn’t want them ruined by the dye in the foam, so I asked people not to spray me. A 6’2” gringo in nice clothes was too big a target, so the Ecuadorians pelted me anyway. At this point I lost it. I started cursing at people in English and in order not to kill someone, I had to go back to the house. It probably was for the best because I’m sure that at the game it was worse. I think my frustration level has reached its maximum.<br /><br />Instead of going to the game, we watched Slumdog Millionaire. It was good, and I can still say that I’ve seen all the Oscar Best Picture winners. Another piece of culture I saw was the Provincial Ballet of Pastaza and their new work “Puyu”. It was about what you’d expect from the Provincial Ballet of Pastaza, but worth seeing. The ballet told the story of the Shwar Indians and their relation to the Catholic missionaries, Spanish settlers, and oil companies. It was interesting, but I was scared the whole time they were dancing around. They were jumping with spears and bows, I thought somebody was going to get knocked out. (Again, Ecuadorians love them some danger).<br /><br />I got back last night, and today we are finalizing plans for the new Omnibus’ arrival. They get in at 8:00 tonight…now the fun beginsJay Verhoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282327286825525479noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692628290461532907.post-17629466592308999412008-02-14T17:47:00.004-05:002009-02-25T13:34:44.627-05:00The Poor Man´s New OrleansLast week as I´m sure you all know was the begining of Lent. Lent here seems pretty much the same as the rest of the year (no fasting or giving up ice cream and Ding Dongs), but <em>Carnaval</em>, the time leading up to Ash Wednesday, is huge. It was the same last year in Cangahua, but now I´m a little more integrated and less busy, so I can appreciate it more. I didn´t write about it last year, so here is your description of Mardi Gras Ecua-Style. First, <em>Carnaval</em> lasts a couple of weeks before Fat Tuesday and consists solely of throwing water balloons, handfulls of flour, and eggs at each other. The stores also sell can of stuff like "Silly String" that people spray on each other. Although Ecuadorians love this, it seems to me that all we are doing is creating a lot of dirty laundry. I tried to avoid "Playing Carnival" as they call it as much as possible. This has saved me a lot of clothes washing, but it is a bit embarrasing walking in town constantly looking over my shoulder and then running away from pre-pubecents armed with the ingredients for a cake. I told my friends and neighbors that I only played on the last day of Carnival, so Fat Tuesday (School was out for <em>Carnaval</em> on Monday and Tuesday, so I was free) I put on some dirty clothes and proceded to get soaked and covered with flour. It was actually kind of fun chasing people around, but I was glad when it was over and I can walk the streets without fear.<br /><br />Right before <em>Carnaval</em>, I tried to get down to Latacunga to watch the Super Bowl, but after waiting two hours on the PanAmerican for a bus (it usually takes 5 minutes), I figured that it wasn't my day, and I went back home. The big city on the other side f Latacunga, Ambato, has the biggest <em>Carnaval</em> in Ecuador, so all the busses were full of Quiteños heading South for the festivities. Long story short, I missed the best Super Bowl since the Rams won because half the population of Quito wanted to throw water balloons at each other in a different city.<br /><br />Not only was Super Bowl Sunday and Ash Wednesday last week, but Thursday was also my one year anniversary in Ecuador. I have a lot of conflicting thoughts about this. This has been probably one of the least productive years in my life in terms of "work" accomplished, but I've learned so much down here that it is hard to comprehend. I remember the first day here, I tried to call home, but I didn´t know how to tell the guy at the hotel desk what I wanted to do. Now, not only can I do this, but I can also bitch out the guy when he tries to overcharge me! It doesn't seem like it's been a yearsometimes, and at other points it feels like I've been here forever. April 20th will be my one year anniversary in La Libertad, which is a bigger date because it also means I have only one year left. I'll do a little more reflecting before then and try to be more philisophical with my writing, but today there is too much stuff to write about.<br /><br />Last Wednesday I went to Quito to help greet the new Omnibus. Omnibus 99 is another Sustainable Agriculture/Habitat group with about 50 volunteers. Like they did for us, a group of PCVs went to the airport to yell as they walked out of the terminal and hand them roses ($3 a dozen, so why not). My buddy Andrew and I are not big yellers, so we had a contest to see who could be the least enthusiastic. I think I won because I was depressed after I found out that the North Carolina vs. Duke game wasn't on TV in Quito (The real reason I came in town).<br /><br />The next day I had my Mid-Service Medical Exam and dental cleaning. I got a clean bill of health (no internal parisites or cavities), but a lot of my friends are now on Fasigyn, a deparisiting medicine. Also, the girls had to go to the Gyno, which turned gave us some funny stories. The Dr. is an older Ecuadorian and apparently very nice, but his English isn't so great, so his phrasing comes off a bit odd. I've heard from three friends that after the exam he told them that they had, "A healthy cervix", "A perfect uterus", and "A beautiful vagina". I guess that´s better than the alternative.<br /><br />Also, I asked the nurses to run a red blood cell count on me to see what living at 2 miles high was doing to me. I got the results back and have a hemoglobin count of 16.5. As far as I can tell the normal range for this is 14-18, so I'm not as high as I thought I'd be. If any of the urses out there can give me a better idea of what this means, I'd appreciate it.<br /><br />After Quito, my friend Jeff came to L.L. for the night. We just hung out, made chili mac, and drank a six pack of fresh Budweiser (3 months old) that I found in Quito. The next day we went to Ambato to vist a friend that lives there. She has an awesome place in the city, and since most bars in Ambato have $7-$20 cover charges, we stayed at her place and watched pirated movies that we bought on the street for $1.25. It was fun, but I think we paid $0.30 too much for Rambo IV.<br /><br />P.S. - The PC puts out a volunteer run newsletter every 3 months down here called <em>El Clima</em> or The Climate. There is a lot of stuff in it, and they print funny articles that PCVs write. I got two in the last issue, and the one that I think you all may understand more of is about the tendencay of Ecuadorians not only to breastfeed their children everywhere (Church, at meetings, on the bus, etc.), but also to extend the period of breastfeeding to kids that are WAY too old. The parts in red I added as translation.<br /><div align="center"></div><div align="left"><strong></strong> </div><div align="left"><strong>GUIDE FOR NURSING MOTHERS</strong><br /><br />No matter what your opinion towards public breastfeeding is, a cause I feel we can all get behind is ending the public breastfeeding of children too mature to be partaking in this sacred activity. Therefore, in homage to the greatest American humorist of our generation, Jeff Foxworthy, I have developed a set of rules for nursing Mothers that I like to call, "Your kid may be too old to breastfeed if...". Enjoy!<br /><br />If while sitting down, your child can stand next to you and eat lunch without problems...<br />...your kid may be too old to breastfeed!<br /><br />If you are continually getting nipple cuts since your child got braces...<br />...your kid may be too old to breastfeed!<br /><br />If while having a snack, your kid reads "The New Yorker"...<br />...your kid may be too old to breastfeed!<br /><br />If your child enters a meeting you´re at and says, "Buenas tardes con todos, solo necesito un poco refregerio" <span style="color:#ff0000;">"Good evening everyone, I just need a little snack"</span>...<br />...your kid may be too old to breastfeed!<br /><br />If your child is able to unbutton your shirt AND unhook your bra...<br />...your kid may be too old to breastfeed!<br /><br />If your child´s lip stud keeps getting in the way...<br />...your kid may be too old to breastfeed!<br /><br />If your child takes off it´s colegio <span style="color:#ff6666;">High School</span> uniform sweater before eating breakfast because they are afraid of getting milk on it...<br />...your kid may be too old to breastfeed!<br /><br />If your husband is starting to get jealous...<br />...your kid may be too old to breastfeed!<br /><br />If you have to be at your child´s soccer games to help ward off dehydration...<br />...your kid may be too old to breastfeed!<br /><br />If you ever receive a text message that says, "Mom, I´m hungry"...<br />...your kid may be too old to breastfeed!<br /><br />If you insist that your son shaves before dinner because his five o´clock shadow scratches...<br />...your kid may be too old to breastfeed!<br /><br />If feeding your son on the bus is especially difficult, because he is driving it...<br />...your kid may be too old to breastfeed!<br /><br />Finally,<br /><br />If your child claims that breast milk cures their Chuchaqui <span style="color:#ff0000;">Hangover</span>...<br />...your kid may be too old to breastfeed!</div>Jay Verhoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282327286825525479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692628290461532907.post-16093909357185254802009-02-25T13:22:00.002-05:002009-02-25T13:29:16.717-05:00Quito – Chattanooga of South AmericaLooking down the valley from La Libertad at night, I could see the lights of Quito in the distance. I would sip on a cup of hot tea or coffee and wonder what it would be like to leave the boredom of La Libertad and live there. I always treated Quito as my Mecca and would daily pray for a little excitement in my life. Now that I’m here, I’m glad that I didn’t live in the Capital during my entire service. It’s not that I want to move back to La Libertad (I’ve had my fare share of guinea pig and muddy roads), but I think that I wouldn’t have had a “real” Peace Corps experience if I had lived in the city, or even in a touristy small town.<br /><br />That being said, it has been interesting living here, so interesting in fact, that I haven’t had much time to write in the blog. Sorry for the delayed post and here are the highlights of my life in a mid-sized US city surrounded by hills that somehow got transplanted in South America.<br /><br />I say that it seems like a US city because of all the conveniences that we have and how much American stuff is around (fast food, american stores, and gringos, gringos, gringos). Quito though is a pretty big city (1.5 million people), but after 10:00, there isn’t a lot of stuff going on. One thing we did do a couple times since we got her was to go to an Irish pub for their Pub Quiz. We came in second two weeks ago and our team won this week. It was fun, and we won free dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant that is owned by a couple Irish guys. We went the next day to enjoy our free feast. The food was great, and it was interesting to talk to the owners about the new import restrictions that the Government just implemented. They are having problems getting a lot of the ingredients that they’ve been using, so they have had to change the menu. I know that’s not a big deal, but it’s a sign of the leftist government's desire to cut Ecuador off from the global market.<br /><br />Working in the office has been different. We are in front of computers all day, so my eyes are having to get used to the strain. Also, since all the other PCVs have to come here if they have any problems, we hear about all the gossip and PCV/PC HQ issues. One of the big stories that is going on in the office right now is that PC Washington has inspectors here auditing the entire PC Ecuador administration. Apparently there were some complaints about the previous Country Director (he left Ecuador in November). The inspectors were here for a week, went back to DC, and are now coming back. I’m not sure what they are looking at (we probably never will know exactly), but they have been interviewing some of my friends about how policies were or weren’t implemented and followed. It makes me wonder how much stuff wasn’t correctly handled during my service, but at least there will be some accountability (after the fact).<br /><br />On the topic of Country Directors, we had lunch at a Japanese/Thai fusion restaurant with her. The food was great (I had some Unagi for you Nate!) and it was a good opportunity to talk to the CD about a lot of our opinions. She was interested to hear what we had to say, which was a nice change from the old CD.<br /><br />Things are OK with our host family, but mostly because we don’t spend a lot of time there. I did have a small accident at the house the other day. I broke the handle off the kitchen sink (what can I say, I’m a strong guy). It still works, but I’ll have to pay to get it fixed. I hope it doesn’t cost me an arm and a leg, but it is a Kohler faucet. They probably don’t have replacement parts, and just to get a guy to come here to look at it will cost about $25. Maybe I’ll just pack my stuff up during the night and quietly slip away. <br /><br />NOTES:<br />- We had a meeting with the families that will be hosting the Trainees in Cayambe. I got to see the family that I lived with. It was nice to see them, but my old host “mother” said that her husband had finally passed. That was sad to hear, but he had been sick so long that it was a blessing.<br /><br />- Ecuador –US relations hit a new low this week when the second member of the US Embassy was expelled from the country. You can read all about it at… <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gmmx1kqv2xD-vKb4MBwu6HltV9YwD96GQ8503">http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gmmx1kqv2xD-vKb4MBwu6HltV9YwD96GQ8503</a> . It seems that the Chavez/Morales/Correa triumvirate is feeling pretty good about themselves after victories in the Venezuelan/Bolivian/Ecuadorian constitutional referendums in the last 6 months. They are getting closer to Iran and Russia and running away from the US and Europe as fast as they can. We’ll see what that does to the Peace Corps presence in Ecuador, but it doesn’t look good.<br /><br />- Speaking of looking good, I saw El Presidente Correa while I was running the other day, and last week we saw him sitting in the front seat of an SUV in his motorcade. We waved at him, and he waved back…good thing he couldn’t read my mind.Jay Verhoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282327286825525479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692628290461532907.post-61627047246938998542009-01-29T14:15:00.003-05:002009-02-03T14:17:00.134-05:00Freedom From La Libertad<span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>"Time interval is a strange and contradictory matter in the mind. It would be reasonable to suppose that a routine time or an eventless time would seem interminable. It should be so, but it is not. It is the dull eventless times that have no duration whatsoever. A time splashed with interest, wounded with tragedy, crevassed with joy – that’s the time that seems long in the memory. And this is right when you think about it. Eventlessness has no posts to drape duration on. From nothing to nothing is no time at all.”<br /><br />- John Steinbeck<br />East of Eden</strong><br /></span><br />After 21 months in La Libertad it is finally time for a change. This quote may be a pretty depressing way to start out my last blog about life in La Libertad, but when I look back on my time there, it does seems that only yesterday I got off the bus for the first time. The days flew by, but all the important events, births, deaths, pregnancies, anniversaries, etc. that affected my life over the last two years, all of them happened in the US. Was this because I never really “Integrated” into Ecuadorian society, or maybe I always knew that I’d soon be leaving, and didn’t want to make any connections. Or was it that everything is so different down here that the whole experience gets all rolled up in my head, and there are no specific “posts” to hang my time on because this will end up being the biggest life-changing time of my life. Either way, like I said after a year in site, I don’t know how to process the time I spent in La Libertad yet. I’m sure that six months after I return to the US, I’ll have a different perspective.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>“In all times and places, the outsider [is] disproportionately disposed to comment on life.”<br /><br />- Richard Brookhiser</strong><br /></span><br />As a stranger in a strange land, you develop a critical mind. Things that confused, humored, or plain pissed me off here probably wouldn’t have caused such an effect on me in Missouri, Illinois, or California. Because I was and always will be a <em>Gringo</em> to Ecuadorians, I was forced to be an outsider (being a foot taller than everyone in town also hurts assimilation). I became a lot more self-critical as well. Seeing the stupidity in others made me try to keep the dumbness in myself down to a minimum. It is going to be hard to come back to the US and just be a normal person and not get stared at everywhere I go, but hopefully this self-observation won’t end when I get on the flight home.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">“There should be no unnecessary talk or chatter, but only talk of the matter in hand. Moreover, if someone begins to speak, another shall not interrupt, but shall allow him to finish, behaving like orderly people and not like market women.”<br /><br />- Tsar Peter the Great (1672-1725)<br />Instructions to the newly formed Russian Senate</span><br /></strong><br />How do you try to get a group to work together when it consists of nothing but “Market Women”? My biggest disappointment of my time in La Libertad was that I was unable to get the Women’s Group that I worked with to organize themselves better. If they continue to fight amongst and against each other, they will never be as strong as they could be.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">“Early one morning Byron left me at the bus station…he was a good kid, but he was enveloped in the sadness that brooded over that dark country.”<br /><br />- Moritz Thompsen<br />Living Poor - On leaving a Peace Corps Volunteer’s site in Sierran Ecuador<br /></span></strong><br />The “Dark Country” was especially dark for my last two weeks there. It rained everyday and because one of my neighbors cut down the trees that lined the road to town and didn’t clean up the branches and leaves that then blocked up the drainage ditches, the road was nothing more than a muddy swamp. To get out of my house we had to walk through a 100 yard morass. Since I didn’t have my boots on the last day, and didn’t want to arrive in Quito covered in mud, I put some plastic bags (double bagged for extra security) over my shoes. I looked a little ridiculous walking to the bus, but I arrived clean. As I was taking my last steps before hopping on the bus to Machachi, the bags came loose and my final gift to La Libertad was four plastic bags stuck in the mud. A fitting end.Jay Verhoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282327286825525479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692628290461532907.post-36611493909589325012009-01-29T15:35:00.002-05:002009-02-03T14:11:56.456-05:00Movin' On UpQuito, Ecuador – This is the city I’ve had to go to go get anything done for the last two years. If I wanted peanut butter, I had to go to Quito. If I needed to get my mail, I had to go to Quito. If I wanted to have a cold beer, I had to go to Quito. Now this is my home…life is good.<br /><br />I got the last load of my stuff to the office on January 17th, and then headed back to La Libertad for one final night. On the 18th at 4:00 the other three Co-Trainers and I met up at the PC office to get a ride to our home-stay houses. Usually they had the Co-Trainers stay close to the office, but this time they decided to try a different location, so we are now living a bit north of the office.<br /><br />The four of us are living in two houses that are right next to each other, so it is convenient to get together to cook and hang out. Andrea and I are living with a Mother and her 21 year old son. Andres and Graciela are nice, but…well, we’ll get to that later. Susan and Mary live with an older woman who is sweet as well. When we showed up at their houses we had tea and cake and both the old ladies told us how grateful they were that we had come. Graciela kept saying that she had prayed for God to send her some angels, and that we were a blessing.<br /><br />To start off, the houses are AWESOME. Ours is three stories, fully furnished, and we have a washer and a dryer. I about soiled myself when I saw that. The first night we took a cab to a sports bar to have watch the NFL game. I spent the next day organizing and doing laundry. I can’t explain how nice it is to live near restaurants and bars, and to have such decadent luxuries as consistent water and electricity.<br /><br />We cooked two big meals for the two families, and everything was going great with them. Work was good too. We spent the first week getting things organized for the new Omnibus’ arrival in February. There is a whole team involved, but we are the only ones with recent experience as PCVs. Right now we are updating the training manuals, revising vocabulary lists, planning the Technical Trips, and soliciting advice/input from other PCVs.<br /><br />A couple examples of how different my life is here…<br />In the two weeks since we got here, I’ve ran almost every day<br />In the two weeks since we got here, I’ve read only six pages of the book I’m reading<br />In the two weeks since we got here, I haven’t taken a nap<br /><br />So after a fun and productive first week, I got off of work on Friday afternoon and had nothing to do until Monday morning. I took a weekend trip (like any normal American), and came back to a different world. During the weekend the girls had gone out dancing and didn’t come back until very late. Graciela was pissed! She talked with Andrea and we thought things were cool, but she called up one of the PC bosses and then came in on Monday to bitch about us. She said that we were using too much water, too much electricity, were coming home late, and worst of all, that I was using the washer and dryer too much.<br /><br />We had to have a meeting about it with some of the PC staff and decided to talk to Graciela. I sat down with her to explain the situation (and hopefully come to an agreement about laundry). We came to an agreement, but unfortunately the agreement was that I am no longer allowed to use the washing equipment, and that we have to tell her where we are at night. I don’t mind telling her where we are at, but the laundry thing is horrible. I tried to convince her to let me pay per load, but she said she’d rather me do it somewhere else. There are laundromats near the PC office, but it was so nice to live the dream of in-home laundry, if only for a week.<br /><br />I did talk to my old La Libertad neighbor’s kids twice since I moved here. They just wanted to say hi, but I think they miss me.<br /><br /><strong>Note:</strong><br />Ecuador just initiated a 35% tariff on over 600 imported goods. The hope is that Ecuadorian producers will get more business, but I’m sure that they will just raise their prices too. When we found out about the price increases, we all went to the supermarket to stock up on foreign products that we like. One of them is a Chilean boxed wine called "Clos" that is very popular with PCVs. We were scared that they would stop selling it if people stopped buying it because of the higher price. We rushed to the store right before the tariffs hit because we had, as I called it…ClostrophobiaJay Verhoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282327286825525479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692628290461532907.post-4803392664307179952007-07-01T12:50:00.003-05:002009-01-29T15:09:46.870-05:00Finishing the Fun with Female FowlHow´s that for alliteration! [For those of you who didn´t read the last post, you may want to do that now. This is the second pat of a "To Be Continued..."]<br /><br />3) Hen Games - Last Sunday I went with the family to the next town over for the Fiesta de San Juan (St. John the Baptist). We got there around noon and first thing, headed to church for mass. It was packed, so we had to stand in the back. I almost left after 10 minutes because it was so crowded and stuffy that I couldn´t breath. People were smashing me, but since I was in church, I thought it better to leave than to punch an old lady in the face. I ended up staying because I didn´t want the family to think I was weak.<br /><br />After Church, we jumped in the back of a truck and drove across town to a house party. I didn´t know who lived there or why we went there, but we showed up, ate lunch, and then took off. Free lunch, I´m not complaining. We then walked back to town and headed up to the soccer field. The young son said we were going to the "Juegos de Gallinas". This would translate into "Hen Games". I thought this would be some kind of feminist Cock-Fight, but I was way off. The soccer field was packed with about 1,000 people drinking and dancing and a lot of guys and girls on horseback. I had seen the riders earlier when we first got into town, and I remember wondering why the all were holding chickens. Now I found out why. The riders were all at one end of the field and took turns riding around waving their chickens windmill style. The people in the field were waiting fr the riders to come by them so that they could grab a chicken to take home and eat. That was the game! Drunk horse riders swinging live chickens while riding full blast through a crowd of drunken chicken fiends. We just stood by the side and watched the craziness. I´m surprised that no one got hurt, although I heard that in the past, people had been seriously injured. I did see a couple of guys get run over, but they got up, brushed themselves off, and walked away smiling. When all the chickens had been grabbed, the people stayed to drink and dance. I knew one of the girls on a horse, so she let me ride for a while. The people got a kick out of seeing the 6´2" Gringo on a tiny horse. I told them that next time I´d need a bigger ride. They gave me a cowboy hat and a chicken to hold and everybody took pictures. I don´t know if they were laughing at me or with me, but at least I was entertaining. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296805650532926418" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQwUtIOQiXhKZTAGykkV-CkBXm3rVIBA1j7RHlVYsbRvW4TkWTNTvPUM8feXjYivjIt_VmUhdpiQVRinOndtjBBLmwjqvRiq5N-5r2IUvc3PCRJRcvnRTljXwnQMnMFp1fOV1BSVwLcys/s400/me+with+chicken.JPG" border="0" /><br />After this we hung around for a while and then went back into town. The party was just getting really started (6 stages with music and a ton of people dancing and drinking), but it was time to go. I wish I could have stayed, but I thought it was better to stay with the family. It was funny though. When I went to dance with a friend while we were waiting, the family made me give them my phone to hold so I wouldn´t lose it again. Apparently I have gotten a reputation for not being able to hold my phone while dancing.<br /><br />It is summer now and very windy, so I´ve had a problem taking a shower. I know you´re wondering, "What does wind have to do with showering?", but since my water heater is outside, it matters a lot. I got sick of the flame blowing out three time a shower and getting frozen, so I built a wind break out of feed sacks, plastic string, rocks, sticks, and old tires. So far it has worked like a charm and my twice a week shower is bearable again.<br /><br />I played some stickball with the kids this week using a tennis ball and a broom stick. The kids couldn´t hit, so I hit all the time and they fetched the balls. It was nice to swing a bat again, and I think my wind aided longest hit of about 275 feet may be a new La Libertad record.<br /><br />On the subject of Baseball, here are some Latin American terms that I like. "Punchar". This means to strike out. The noun is "Puncha", as in "Two strikes, Wainwright on the mound, the pitch...PUNCHA!! Cardinals win the World Series." Also, a pitcher is called a "Lanzador", and a batter is a "Bateador". <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296810075436382914" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRUeDgMJpzLYT1wHjL4L9bkEsZTCXRDGkbRx6tfhYmN5JFr8nVSOFR3bOxfMFRLgvW-wkGXiH-PeXMR94Z3l4rAJS1FCbCPWOXul1eQMrE9MrB37dpvrvwo-OMWMJfO-4SsXfvWtnHwno/s400/cards+girls.JPG" border="0" /><br />The two-year old girl of the family was sick the other day and for medicine, they singed a handful of weeds and rubbed it all over her body. Next, the Grandmother took a big swig of cane alcohol and spit it over the girls chest and face. I don´t know if the alcohol evaporates and cools the body, or if it dissolves the oils in the plant and helps it absorb, but as for as home remedies go, I´ll take Chicken Noodle Soup. (Note: Karol was much better the next day, and now is 100%).<br /><br />I finally got sheets for my bed this week, so for the first time in two months, I´m sleeping out of my sleeping bag. My two blankets aren´t enough though, so I put the bag on top of me. I guess under is better than in, and I should be getting an electric blanket from a friend soon, so I´ll be fine.Jay Verhoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282327286825525479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692628290461532907.post-12577874616292634752007-05-06T11:43:00.002-05:002009-01-29T15:07:00.374-05:002 Weeks Down 102 To GoSo it has been a week since I´ve showered. La Libertad has been out of water for six days because they needed to drain and clean the water holding tank that supplies the town. I´m starting to have a not so nice odor and my 500 o´clock shadow looks great (about what Nate W. looks like 10 minutes after he shaves). I´ve been buying water to drink, but my family has been using collected rainwater to cook with. I´ve been skipping these meals as much as possible. Hopefully we will get water soon. (NOTE: I wrote this yesterday and we actually got water for about three hours last night. Enough to take a shower. I feel better now, but the water is out again.)<br /><br />For the first two weeks, things have been going OK. I´m really just "Hanging-Out" with my family and Counterpart (both have been awesome) and practicing my Spanish. The one project I started is that I´m teaching English at the Grade School. 5th, 6th, and 7th grades for an hour a day three days a week. The kids are great and really seem excited to learn, but we´ll see how much they study. My first classes were over the English Alphabet. I made up a chart of the Alphabet with phonetic pronunciation in Spanish (Example; C= Si). This was a lot harder to make than I thought it would be. I´m an Engineer damn it, not an English Major! Anyway, I´ll be doing this until my real projects start up. Also, the High School wants me to help out with Chemistry and Physics classes in the Fall. Anyone know how to say "Moment of Inertia" in Spanish?<br /><br />I did try to help the Ladies at the Community Bank the other day. They were having problems balancing their accounts. Finally we discovered that one woman´s account wasn´t showing up on their reports. Long story short, I figured that there was an internal problem in the system and her info got deleted off one file. I tried to explain this, but gave up after a few minutes. Oh well, more vocab to learn...database management.<br /><br />I haven't been able to cook my own food yet. The water shortage is one thing, but there also seems to to be a lack of gas. There are no gas mains here. You buy your gas in tanks and hook them up to your appliances. I have one for hot water (when there is water), but I need one for my stove. After two weeks, no luck in buying one. So, for the first time in my life, I´m suffering from a want of gas. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296808230911131826" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQCVuQek4bRyJ7n1PLDaHJ72s8cckvHGG77fXEVHceMFyuA1pr98qANGCWbg7WGOXrKm6pB03T2IyYZx-iCBlTFaBsu0FY6d7Kl-v6HitP1Ht8BfltdXJ4M518unW2nKwmhyWd4kWSQbo/s400/short+door.JPG" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296808514248848738" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjI0vPApvDwFrbYmXa8C1RLbX5rKsLsHxMxp4UGVaNdarpg6mgFLX1hmWHNyfr6bWZwYz-nUwTw4AeY-HPS-YB8j9kt4hiEIKmaAp-viT1XCxzHgeff56y_uzHchbob9HqhswXsSBEm64/s400/bedroom.JPG" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296808826701337426" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxptXtgrHSins5LvHUkW5RWeJLiDBkEAHSTXtEsj_pKRSi3FPSgzuxiEDQVfOuN3DguaaBU7eypyeoxxxA5pfjf8yBz-m5SQU1gyiA2hBSPsTA1WSBDLg41jSZ2CrCaFI_lHgcgxUn-pY/s400/kitchen.JPG" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296809155559613250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIh-iNWOegtyUBP3fUrGFH4zkwNJ1seUfkzt7ZClpUzuajtrfW2hgk5qzelQPy3-knUFsZpoH2qp2D1cUqJ-pNXvKf12HjuS15Jxs9EHJWjwZdqJm1S7Ogc7vwEQrrl9HT2WBYdAdCBU4/s400/toilet.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br />As rough as things sound, I actually have it pretty good. I´ve heard from other PCV´s in my group who don´t have electricity, share one toilet with the entire town, have to take a canoe ride up a river to get to town, and my one friend´s site is so hot that after showering he lays in bed naked to cool off every night (although he did catch a bunch of people the other day staring at him through a crack in his wall. Great first impression!). It was so bad for one of my good friends that she has gone home. After 10 days of not sleeping and being constantly on edge, she left.<br /><br /><strong>Other Quick Notes</strong><br /><div><div><div><div><ul><li>Because it was the name of the old PCV here, everyone in the town calls me Miguel (except for the two year old daughter of the family that lives by me)</li><br /><li>I was wearing my dirty old "Pike" hat and the family asked me why I don´t wash it. I can´t get away from people giving me crap about that hat.</li><br /><li>I did laundry last week and because it rains so much, it took over five days to dry.</li><br /><li>I got to milk a cow for the first time. I don´t think I did a good job, because the next time I helped, they just had me hold the bucket to catch the milk.</li><br /><li>I watched a pregnant cuy (guinea pig) get killed by our neighbor. She grabbed it by the neck and pushed the head in until we heard a couple of loud pops. Then she drained the blood out, dumped it in a pot of boiling water, and started ripping the fur off. Oh, forgot to mention that this all happened in our kitchen while I was sitting there drinking hot chocolate. Also, the pot of boiling water was the same one they make tea in. Very old school!</li><br /><li>Thank you Megan M. for correcting me on my misspelling of "poo". I really though there was an "h" at the end. That is why it is good to have nurse friends.</li></ul></div></div></div></div>Jay Verhoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282327286825525479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692628290461532907.post-4530406007435401652007-02-18T16:37:00.002-05:002009-01-29T14:58:42.425-05:00When in Ecuador...<div>I’m writing this laying in bed (on a piece of paper again, as I still haven’t had a chance to get to a computer) the night of Feb, 13. Things have gone pretty well since we got here last Saturday. My host family is very nice and has been very patient with my lack of Spanish. The first night we got in town there was a fiesta and my family and I sat up front to watch the entertainment. There was music, dancing, and then a beauty pagent for girls in the local high school. They did a dance routine in their normal clothes to I think a Britney Spears song and then a dance in Traditional Ecuadorian clothes. The last part was in formal wear and had them all answer a question ("What do you think the role of women is in today´s Ecuador" etc.). It was a lot like Miss America. As I mentioned, when we first got there I sat up front with my family. Quickly they asked me to sit at the very front table. I realized thet they wanted me TO JUDGE THE CONTEST! The queen from two years ago was supposed to judge with two other women, but she was late. They asked me to take her place. It was a real honor and very unexpected. I did the best I could with the Q&A part, but I really couldn´t understand what most of the answers were. The former Queen showed up right after the contest started and sat next to me, so I pretty much just cheated off her scoring sheet. The night ended with us all dancing ´till about 1:00AM. What a way to enter a community.<br /><br />Since then I have been practicing my Spanish a lot and trying to hang with my host family. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296807474222906882" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPSUcRQe_8_Qe0X6JTLhCgqfOiBWaa1fSJk-qTrttBpL7G3S8kdowDwfoU35iw_OI_2B-rBld-AsD4ahAKxIRF2I0P-wGnvdav6lWX6ZAsIMhlZw53wOe5b7k4D_FVsBiOkzvMQSwItJM/s400/original+family.JPG" border="0" />My Spanish is pretty horrible and it is frustrating for all of us when we try to talk. I end up just saying "Gracias" and " Muy Bien" a lot. The five of us in my town (by the way, my town is pretty decient sized and has two churches, a couple schools, and stores for whatever we need) have been split up into two groups that meet every morning for about five hours for Spanish class. I´m paired with a girl from upstate New York. Her Spanish is a lot better than mine, so I´m just trying to keep up. Luckly she is pretty cool (like the rest of the PCT´s in my town) so it isn´t a problem.<br /><br />Tomorrow we are going to the local school for Valentines Day activities with the kids. We got a bunch of stuff to make cards and I´m going to try to teach them how to play Dodgeball. It should be fun.<br /><br />Jay<br /><br />P.S. - I haven´t had the opportunity to eat guinea Pig yet, but I have had about 10 different types of Juice that I´ve never heard of that have all been awesome (Tomate de Arbol is my favorite).<br /><br />P.P.S - No Montezuma´s Revenge either !!!!!!</div>Jay Verhoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282327286825525479noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692628290461532907.post-26522114949362773742007-03-03T11:37:00.001-05:002009-01-29T14:56:38.372-05:00Sewer Rat may not taste like Pumpkin Pie, but...Guinea Pig does taste a lot like Chicken. So I finally got to do it. My host family cooked me up a Guinea Pig this week. In Spanish it is called <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Cuy</span>, and it <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">isn</span>´t that bad. When I found out the day before that we were going to have i, I immediately flashed back to third grade at St. Dominic <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Savio</span>. I may have some of this wrong, but I remember our teacher, Mrs. Brawn (?), having a pet Guinea Pig named <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Poquito</span>. The thought that I was going to to eat a classroom pet was very disconcerting for the 24-hours before dinner, but the whole thing was actually anti-climactic. I was served the ass-end of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Cuy</span>. It looked the color and texture of baked turkey, but with little paws on the end. After pulling open the stomach skin, I pulled out some of the thigh meat and ate it with a little cucumber. It tasted and looked like dark meat chicken. There <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">wasn</span>´t a lot of meat in it too. It seemed like a lot of work for a little bang. Kind of like eating <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Crawfish</span>, but without having to suck out the brains.<br /><br />Since I´m on the subject of food, I´ll go over the rest of the Ecuadorian Sierra food that I´<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">ve</span> had...<br /><br /><strong>Breakfast</strong><br />Every breakfast that I´<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">ve</span> had comes with the same <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">basic</span> components.<br />1) Bread - Usually some sort of roll<br />2) Eggs - Hard boiled with salt on the side or scrambled with tomato and onion<br />3) Juice - One of about 15 different kinds that are all great (I like <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">piña</span> and tomate <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">de</span> á<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">rbol</span> the best)<br />4) Hot Chocolate or <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Coffee</span> - Even though Ecuador grows great coffee, they only have instant down here.<br />5) Every once in a while we´ll have yogurt<br /><br /><strong>Lunch/Dinner</strong><br />I put these together, because they have been pretty much the same. First you get soup. From cream of asparagus to chicken noodle, you can always count on getting soup. It is usually pretty good too. The interesting thing that we do is to sometimes put popcorn in our soup. It <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">doesn</span>´t add much, but it is different to see a handful of popcorn floating in you tomato soup. One soup incident <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">occurred</span> the other day. My host mother put a bowl of soup in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">front</span> of me and said, "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Sopa</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">de</span> ___ <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">de</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">borrega</span>". I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">didn</span>´t get the middle word, but when I spooned up from the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">bottom</span> of the bowl half a brain, I figured she said "Ram brain soup". I had a couple of bites, but one lobe was enough to realize that I´m not a fan. As I was eating my brain soup, I tried to explain that In St. Louis that have brain sandwiches. I said that we needed brains in our sandwiches because we <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">didn</span>´t have any in our heads. I don´t think the humor translated though.<br /><br />After soup we will have a big plate with rice and boiled potatoes. These are the staples of Ecuadorian Highland diet. Sometimes they put broccoli, cauliflower, fried egg, or noodles on the side or have french fries of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">potato</span> pancakes. I´d say 19 out of twenty meals are some variation of the potato/rice combination with chicken too.<br /><br />After dinner I´ll have a glass of tea or some tap water that I added a water purification tablet to. I think that I have actually gained weight since I got here because of all the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">carbs</span> and the altitude has kept me from jogging at all.<br /><br />That is the news for now. I hope you enjoyed the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">culinary</span> tour.Jay Verhoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282327286825525479noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4692628290461532907.post-67445727919159796172007-07-22T11:40:00.002-05:002009-01-29T14:47:48.289-05:00La Niña SantaFirst off, I got booze spit on me finally. I´ve used the excuse, "My stomach hurts" a bunch down here with the family. Usually because I just ate and the won´t except, "I´m not hungry" as a reason for not eating. I´ve been waiting for them to cure my ever present stomach ache, and it happened last week. First they rubbed oil on my chest, back, head, and neck. Next they spit <em>trago</em>, cane alcohol, on me. They told me to go to bed without a shower, but I didn´t want to sleep smelling like W.C. Fields, so I did anyway. I´m currently trying to think of a new excuse for not eating that doesn´t require bathing afterwords...any ideas?<br /><br />Also, one of the family´s cows had a calf this week. I got to drink <em>colostrum</em> for the first time. This is the first milk that a cow (or mother) gives after birth. It is thick and yellow and after they added some sugar, not that bad. I think that it is better for the calf to get this than the family, but what do I know.<br /><br />I went to Quito on Sunday to hang out with some friends and watch the Cards game on ESPN. The Cardinals won big (The first time I´ve seen them win this year), so it was nice. One of my friends from Philadelphia was there too, so I got to rub in the Phillie's 10,000th loss.<br /><br />I´ve been reading James Joyce´s "Ulysses" the last couple of weeks, and it has been kicking my butt. It is very complicates and even he said, "It will keep the Professors busy for centuries arguing over what I meant." I decided that when I went to Quito, I´d print out a study guide at the office to help me understand. Huge coincidence though, when I went to the office, in the PCV lending library, there was a copy of "Ulysses Annotated". Over 600 pages of notes for a 700 page book. I´m glad I didn´t have to print the notes out. I think the office manager wouldn´t have been too happy if I used all the paper ion the office for that.<br /><br />While I Quito I picked up a bunch of packages too. 1) Scott and Kari Mueller sent a book 2) Jason Muchacho sent books and a reading light (Which I used this week when the power went out) 3) Mom and Steph sent books, socks, and thermal underwear. The books I got were...Collapse, Black Hawk Down, Frankenstein, The Panama Hat Trail, War and Peace, The Communist Manifesto, Airframe, Grant and Sherman, The Mayflower, The Conquerors, and The HP 48G Users Guide (Exciting reading that one). Total pages received - 5,243. I think I´ll have enough books for a while. Books, socks, and underwear though. If I were 10 years old, I´d have thought I had a shitty Christmas, but down here I couldn´t have asked for anything more. Thanks to all you guys who sent packages, it means a lot. I also got some letters from my Mom and a packet of Pectin for making jelly. I´m going to try again this week, so wish me luck. On the box there are instruction for making the jelly, and a chart for converting the cooking times for high altitudes. Unfortunately I live 1,200 feet above the highest altitude in the chart, so I´ll have to extrapolate.<br /><br />Speaking of my altitude, I was bored the other day (I was taking a break form Ulysses) and figured out that if the ground under my site disappeared, it would take me over 27 seconds to fall to sea level and by then I would be travelling 580 mph. Of course this is assuming no wind resistance, but you get the idea...I´m up there. Also, to pass the time, I carved "Wonderboy" with a lightening bolt a la Roy Hobbs into my walking/dog beating stick. The kids didn´t understand , but they thought the ´bolt was cool.<br /><br />I should preface this next story by saying that I am a religious person. I believe in God, the devil, and the rest of the heavenly host. My doubts though, come in the belief in God´s intervention in our daily lives. I don´t think that praying for a sunny day to dry out your clothes (which I´ve been tempted to do down here) actually works. Many people do believe, and that´s fine. I´m not conceited enough to think I´m always right, and far be it for me to belittle another person´s (my Mother for example)beliefs. I do though have a line, and that line was crossed on Wednesday.<br /><br />Two weeks ago one of the sisters of my host family asked me if I wanted to go on a trip to the coast. Of course I said yes, because I wanted some warm weather. The trip was planned to leave at 10:00PM on Tuesday night and return the following evening. I was excited until Tuesday night when I found out why we were going. They had told me that we were going to "Pass a little time"in the sun, but now they told me that we were going for "The Cure". I asked what this was and they explained that it was a mass with the "Niña Sana", or "Curing Child". I was interested to see this, but not looking forward to the 10 hour bus ride to do so. I tried to back out, but they wouldn´t let me. We left at 8:00PM (early for a change) and after a horrible overnight bus ride (everyone slept but me), we arrived in a small coastal town at 7:30AM. The one good thing about the trip was that I got to see some aspects of coastal life. 3:30AM and there were people in the streets dancing, eating, and hanging out. This is a stark contrast from the town by my site. There, everyone is at home watching bad TV by 10:00PM.<br /><br />Anyway, we soon found out that the mass wasn´t until 11:00AM, so we spent some time walking around the town. It was a town smaller than mine with one main street with about 40 houses. All the houses had been turned into restaurants and their were vendors selling food, clothes, and other crap. Also a ton of people were selling gallons of water. I immediately didn´t like this, but held my tongue. As the time neared, the people I was with all bought water and we headed behind the town where the mass was. There were about 2,500 people there and more vendors (also, chair rental stands). There were a lot of people with physical disabilities and obvious aliments; amputees, crooked backs and legs, mentally handicapped children, etc. All of whom (or their caretakers) were carrying jugs of water. We waited around for a while talking and I taking pictures. Finally, a man came out in one of the backyard with a bullhorn and said that the niña sana would come out soon, but that NO ONE!!! was to take pictures or the cure wouldn´t work. The people I was with quickly told me to put my camera away. I did so and then asked who the niña santa was. They told me she was a girl from the town who had prayed to God to help a man who couldn´t walk. She said that God told her that if the man could raise a glass of water over his head, then he was a servant of God and would be cured. The man did so and immediately could walk. Now people come from far away to see the girl and raise water over their heads (hence the water vendors). <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296804422503419554" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsz7vXzAGT5sB0ZW8g3Xmx0TS1srh2hqGbXblxTYWZprNGrEQntsLAmqEpSpZr_-dsIY_JwgmP2sc9KBUDD1CkzZW011gSzjOOj2uBaiwIb_cO_Vd5qmYqAfzvtQRNFsX8BOia6gjV2x8/s400/water+over+heads.JPG" border="0" /><br />A couple of minutes went by and then a group came out in the yard and began the service. It took about 25 minutes and was just some praying and singing. Then the niña sana came out. She was about 15 and began shaking people´s hands along the fence that separated us. People were crowding to touch her and have her bless their water. I just stood in the back in awe. They said a closing prayer, and that was it. The niña santa shock more hands for 10 minutes. I had to wait because the people I was with wanted to touch her. They didn´t get to, but weren´t too upset because they´d have a chance to at the next service. What?!? I thought we´d be going home or hopefully to a bigger town, but no, we were going to sit in the bus for 4 hours waiting for the next time. I was not happy to put it mildly.<br /><br />I passed some of the time walking around looking at the stuff to buy and watching parents rub the supposedly bless water on the heads of their children with Down´s Syndrome hoping for a cure. When the people I was with asked me what I thought, I told them that I didn´t like it. They couldn´t understand that I didn´t believe in any of it and thought it was all a ploy for the town to draw tourists and make a ton of money selling food, junk, and overpriced bottles of water. They then went to the next service and I went to sleep on the bus. Afterwords, they got back on the bus. Many still limping.<br /><br />Then it was another 9 hours on the bus back to Machachi (although the trip was only 110 miles as the crow files). We got there too late to catch the bus to my site, so we slept on couches at someone´s house. WE got up at 5:00AM and caught the 6:30 bus to La Libertad. I got home at 7:15 and crashed in my clothes. Thirty six hours, three Ecuadorian Provinces, and a $10 fare (which they ended up not charging me) all to see the World´s worst impression of Lourdes. And I thought we were going to the beach! Oh well, it is all for the experience.<br /><br />I just wonder if the guy standing next to me at the first service with a gallon of bought water over his head will have his amputated leg grow back.<br /><br />(NOTE: They are going back again next week. They asked me if I want to go, but I said no. Also, the sister of the family says that since she got back, her back pain has gone away.)Jay Verhoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12282327286825525479noreply@blogger.com0