Things at the Hogar have been a little rough lately. The girls are great, my counterpart is great…it´s the director, Sor Edith, that’s the problem. I should explain first that Sor Edith started at the Hogar in August. The previous director who everyone loved (and who requested a volunteer) was abruptly switched two days before my site visit. And Sor Edith unfortunately, is exactly the opposite…She is demeaning and cruel to the girls in every way.
Yesterday one of the girls was hugging me, and Sor Edith lost it. She screamed at the girl saying, ¨Why are you touching her like that! Don´t you dare touch her! You need to show her respect!¨ Then she said to me with her evil eye…¨Don´t let them touch you, its disrespectful and they need to learn to respect you!¨ Needless to say I was a little uncomfortable, so I just smiled said ok and walked away. Also, whenever any of the girls misbehaves, she tells them she´s going to throw them out of the Hogar. You can imagine how threatening this is to a young girl who considers this place her home. Later I went to talk to my counterpart (the Social Worker at the Hogar) to get advice. On one hand, I don´t want the director to think I´m ignoring her. On the other, these girls need affection, and there is no way I´m going to deprive them of that. My counterpart agreed that her attitude is absurd. But unfortunately, she´s the boss. It´s a difficult situation to be in when you have little authority, and the one person who does is damaging the wellbeing of the girls you´re there to help. Nevertheless, she advised me to explain, in the most respectful way possible, that I enjoy showing and receiving affection and it doesn’t bother me at all. I´d like to think it will make a difference. Then again, I´m a gringa in my early 20´s trying to change the mindset of an old crotchety nun. We´ll see how that goes down.
On a lighter and perhaps insensitive note…yesterday we got cable. Last night, after the lights came back on at 10, I turned on my TV and there was the NBA. A few channels after that…Miami Ink. And a few channels after that….MTV!!!!!!!!!!! It was an exhilarating feeling. It´s only been five months…but I´ve felt so very cut off from the world and current events without my sleezy reality shows. I imagine I will go through a period of readjustment…a few days locked in my room with True Life and The Hills. Then I´ll get over it. But at this point I feel like I could fly. It´s the little things.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Chachimbiro
Since I´ve arrived in Ibarra I´ve kept hearing about these hot springs at a place called Chachimbiro. It´s about a 45 minute drive from the city, or 2 hours in a bus. Probably because I´m from the northwest, I pictured a very natural setting. A swift hike through a lush forest, perhaps with some man made dirt paths, and then a serene opening into a series of ponds with steam rising into the air. A little like the ones in the movie Dantes Peak.
Last night I finally went to Chachimbiro. There were six of us, Jenn, my host sister Evelyn, her boyfriend and two more of her very entertaining friends. We hopped in the car at 9:00pm because everyone says it´s better at night. Finally after a few detours..beer...tequila...limes...we arrived at Chachimbiro at 11. In the dark, it reminded me of the Enchanted Forest. You can imagine how thrilled I was. Of course everything was closed; there was not a single person there but the 6 of us. We even awoke the poor dueño who took our entry fee, a rather steep $3.50 given our budget. We made our way, in the dark mind you, through the paved paths and bridges to a series of large pools. Despite the darkness I could still make out the giant dragon slide winding around the area. The pools were surrounded by very calculated rock formations and giant stone mushrooms painted with polka dots. There was a large statue of a ceramic pot acting as a waterfall of steaming hot water. And a rather odd statue of a man making yarn. The only thing I had imagined correctly was the steam. But the water...was...marvelous. I mean, it was really just a giant hot tub. Before I got there I kept hearing my Dad´s voice telling me not to go into Ecuadorian pools because I will get parasites. But hey, I´ve already had them, and it was totally worth it. And then, you look up. It reminded me of that room they have in OMSI with all the stars, only better. I saw 5 shooting stars. And I´m pretty sure I spotted aliens...but that could have been the tequila. I truly have never seen a sky like that in my life. And every few minutes, the whole sky would light from lighting in the distance. Somehow, we stayed until 1:30.
It was the best night I´ve had in Ecuador so far. But that´s because we had the entire place to ourselves. I vowed to never, ever go during the day. It would be like the Disney land hell of hot springs. A million bodies overcrowding every inch of every pool. Pee. Infections. I could go on but I won´t. The good news is, they have little bungalows. So whoever comes to visit me, be sure we will pay a midnight visit to this splendidly bizarre place.
I managed to find a picture of the pool we were in....unfortunately the rocks and mushrooms didn´t make it in the pic. But as you can see, the slide is quite something. And yes, I did go down it. But since it wasnt wet it took me about 45 seconds to push my way down. And of course, there is the man making yarn.
Last night I finally went to Chachimbiro. There were six of us, Jenn, my host sister Evelyn, her boyfriend and two more of her very entertaining friends. We hopped in the car at 9:00pm because everyone says it´s better at night. Finally after a few detours..beer...tequila...limes...we arrived at Chachimbiro at 11. In the dark, it reminded me of the Enchanted Forest. You can imagine how thrilled I was. Of course everything was closed; there was not a single person there but the 6 of us. We even awoke the poor dueño who took our entry fee, a rather steep $3.50 given our budget. We made our way, in the dark mind you, through the paved paths and bridges to a series of large pools. Despite the darkness I could still make out the giant dragon slide winding around the area. The pools were surrounded by very calculated rock formations and giant stone mushrooms painted with polka dots. There was a large statue of a ceramic pot acting as a waterfall of steaming hot water. And a rather odd statue of a man making yarn. The only thing I had imagined correctly was the steam. But the water...was...marvelous. I mean, it was really just a giant hot tub. Before I got there I kept hearing my Dad´s voice telling me not to go into Ecuadorian pools because I will get parasites. But hey, I´ve already had them, and it was totally worth it. And then, you look up. It reminded me of that room they have in OMSI with all the stars, only better. I saw 5 shooting stars. And I´m pretty sure I spotted aliens...but that could have been the tequila. I truly have never seen a sky like that in my life. And every few minutes, the whole sky would light from lighting in the distance. Somehow, we stayed until 1:30.
It was the best night I´ve had in Ecuador so far. But that´s because we had the entire place to ourselves. I vowed to never, ever go during the day. It would be like the Disney land hell of hot springs. A million bodies overcrowding every inch of every pool. Pee. Infections. I could go on but I won´t. The good news is, they have little bungalows. So whoever comes to visit me, be sure we will pay a midnight visit to this splendidly bizarre place.
I managed to find a picture of the pool we were in....unfortunately the rocks and mushrooms didn´t make it in the pic. But as you can see, the slide is quite something. And yes, I did go down it. But since it wasnt wet it took me about 45 seconds to push my way down. And of course, there is the man making yarn.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
Lights Out
It´s the rainy season, but it hasn’t been raining. The prices of vegetables have gone up, people are burning the mountains in an attempt to provoke rain, and many indigenous communities have been protesting the wasteful use of water. Yesterday in Quito President Correa caught the new Michael Jackson flick at the cine, peed two urinals away from Jacob, and then addressed the nation to declare a state of emergency and explain what would happen next. But did any of us in Ibarra get to watch it? No. Because the power was shut off. And the power in our sector will continue to be shut off every day from 6-10am and 7-11pm until it starts to rain.
At this point I actually quite enjoy it at night. No street lights, no buzzing sound of electricity, everything lit by candle light…or in my case, my battery free wind up flashlight which I never thought I would need in the city! You find new ways to entertain yourself. Like making animal shapes with your hands and using your super flashlight to project them onto the wall. It´s a little like when there is a storm and the power goes out…just without the storm. In the morning it’s a little less exciting, but still not that bad. It only means I can´t blow dry my hair, or watch Dave/Pride and Prejudice/You´ve Got Mail while I get ready each day. Those are luxuries anyway. And at least I still have a hot shower. It just strikes me as a little strange that they´ve decided to shut the power off during the hours that people are awake and at home. And there is all that stuff in the refrigerator that goes without refrigeration for several hours at a time. But at least I sort of feel like I´m roughing it….
At this point I actually quite enjoy it at night. No street lights, no buzzing sound of electricity, everything lit by candle light…or in my case, my battery free wind up flashlight which I never thought I would need in the city! You find new ways to entertain yourself. Like making animal shapes with your hands and using your super flashlight to project them onto the wall. It´s a little like when there is a storm and the power goes out…just without the storm. In the morning it’s a little less exciting, but still not that bad. It only means I can´t blow dry my hair, or watch Dave/Pride and Prejudice/You´ve Got Mail while I get ready each day. Those are luxuries anyway. And at least I still have a hot shower. It just strikes me as a little strange that they´ve decided to shut the power off during the hours that people are awake and at home. And there is all that stuff in the refrigerator that goes without refrigeration for several hours at a time. But at least I sort of feel like I´m roughing it….
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