Time to catch up...

I know, I have been a bad blogger. Forgive me. Since my last post I have been quite a busy little bee…let´s recap.

I enjoyed quite a cultural experience that is New Years in Ecuador. The men dress up in drag and take to the streets for money. Given the machismo in this country I was quite surprised at how much they enjoyed dressing up as women. I came to the conclusion that really the machismo is just a cover up…and that only on New Years can Ecuadorian men be who they really are. It is also the custom to make a large puppet that will be burned at midnight. I saw everything from Michael Jackson (of course) to sponge bob. At our house we burnt my host mom and her brother…it is considered good luck.

After new years I felt excited and motivated to start my only full year in Ecuador. I came to the director of the Hogar with a three month plan, and somehow it ended with her hating me. I really have no desire to go into that situation, let´s just say, she´s psychotic. So she stopped speaking to me…and I started to feel really frustrated. It started to look like I would have to find somewhere else to work. But later that week, my spirits were lifted when I helped out at a medical brigade for people with cleft palates. It was a part of an organization called Operation Hope, and they travel down here every year do to free surgeries. It was a nice learning experience…and I definitely hope to participate in more of those in the future.

After that I headed down south to a city called Rio Bamba for the week. Since we have been in our sites for 5 months, we had a conference called Reconnect with some other volunteers from our group and a few of the Peace Corps staff. We had to do a presentation about our first several months in site...the needs of our communities…and what we plan to do in the future. It was a lot of sitting and eating. But they also helped us plan projects…and I came up with a great idea. Starting in March I want to work with two of the high school girls from the Hogar each month. They will pick a topic like values, goals, self-esteem etc…and I will help them plan a workshop that they will do at the end of the month in front of everyone at the Hogar. After giving the workshop once as kind of a practice run, we will look for organizations or high schools out side of the Hogar where they can give workshop to more of their peers. My hope is that later we can move on to more serious themes like violence, drug and alcohol abuse, sex ed and HIV/AIDS. I came back revived and motivated to make it work at the Hogar…wrote up a project proposal for the Director…and one week later I have still heard nothing. And although she has started speaking to me again, it is only to yell at me about something random. On the bright side…I´ve become super at biting my tongue and smiling. The only thing really keeping me going is the fact that I will taste taco bell and see my people in 10 days. I will worry about the work situation when I get back.

Now for a little comic relief...kind of. This last weekend I decided to go with Javier to Quito for the day. He had some basketball thing, and later we would spend time with his brother, sister in law and their 3 year old son. We got on the bus at 5:30 in the morning. After about ten minutes an old man gets on, I´m thinking in his 70´s, accompanied by a woman probably in her late 50´s. I was in the window seat, Javier in the aisle, and they sat across from us, the older man in the aisle. After about an hour, I notice that they switched seats and the man was now sitting by the window. A few minutes later the real show begins...

I glance over and see that the man has his cheeks puffed out like a blow fish, while the woman starts frantically trying to open the window….but she can´t. Then suddenly I see a slight mist, or rather a squirt, fly into the air. I said, out loud in English,¨Shit Javier…that man is going to vomit.¨ Just then…the man loses control. It was as if he turned on a hose at full strength for a good 5 seconds. Reddish liquid filled with rice (so very Ecuadorian) covers the back of the seat in front of him, and then the floor. At that point I looked away and plugged my ears…all I could think to say was ¨JAVER PICK UP YOUR BAG¨…which was on the floor just inches away from this mans dinner from last night. Then of course…the smell hits. I cannot accurately describe the horror of that smell. Not only are you on an old bus filled with people who do not bathe on a regular basis, but then you add the smell of…well yea. I mean really. Seconds after he had unloaded everything inside of him onto the floor of the bus, the man who takes the bus fee starts making his rounds. I make eye contact and just point to my left…and when he got a glimpse of what had just happened all he could do was shake his head in disgust. I guess on some level I was expecting an emergency mop to be brought back…sanitizing spray…something of that nature. But the bus assistant just brings back a few newspapers. It was at that point I realized we had another hour on the bus before getting to Quito, with no chance of switching seats.

Of course it could have been worse. I could have been that woman with him…her left arm and seat covered with his puke. Or I could have been him…because on more than one occasion I have felt the urge to vomit on the Ecuadorian bus system. Thankfully, I was raised by people who have no sympathy whatsoever for making a mess when vomiting. So I mentally prepare myself for that possibility on a regular basis. I make sure the WINDOW WILL OPEN for goodness sake.

Anyway, at the end of it all when we got off the bus I felt strangely accomplished. If I can make it through an experience like that, I can conquer anything. And so can you.

SEE EVERYBODY ON THE 6TH!!!