Gladys and I during Mother’s Day lunch

I have been doing one-on-one tutoring in English which I really enjoy. Could be a challege when you have a 9 year old who only knows how to count til nine and you have to explain grammar concepts to in Spanish, but I made it work somehow. I have a very bright student who is going to study in the states on a grant and we have been meeting quite a lot and also been hanging out in other social settings together.

  My student Ana-Maria with a rescued dog

Other than that I have been staying in touch with and spending times with some of the people I used to work at the HIV clinic as well as my new coworkers which has led to nice homecooked lunches in their homes and great practice for speaking Spanish.

One my way to lunch at Paulas house

I had my birthday party and I think we were about 10 people who met at a small tacky karoke bar/restaurant. It was really fun until I was “slightly” over the hill due to a mix of cheap bacardi based cuba libres on an empty stomach. Ouch!

My biggest problem this month has been with Gizmo. His seizures has returned and I have been back and forth to the Doctor every week, but we finally did a treatment that I’m hoping will help him. I had planned on going out to the coast one weekend in May as the coast is so different and I have yet not been but with the extra money spent on Gizmo I have decided not to go.

  My Gizmo

I had a super fun farewell party last weekend with Ana-Maria and Boris and some of his friends. That day I spent the day at Ana-Maria’s house eating yummy Ecuadorian homecooked food, drinking peach wine and dancing to latin music then we went to Boris house later on and danced the 2 hr Swedish House Mafia concert at th MSG and ended the night out dancing some more:) Pics not uploaded yet so they will have to follow later.

I can not believe that my time is ending here in Ecuador. I can not express in words how amazing and meaningful this experience has been for me. I have grown in dimensions not thought possible, have learned a new language, met new friends and acquired some useful experience for my upcoming studies. I couldn’t be happier! Now im off to the Amazon to spend a few days with my nuns and girls there.

Until next time…

It’s been a while so I need to give you a small update on what i’ve been up to. I’m still working for the organization in the mountains, and we go out and talk to youth, parents and teachers about HIV/AIDS, birth control, STDs and more. During the HIV talks I share my experiences from the clinic in Riobamba. The kids are always excited to see me and I love working with them.

   The clinic where I work and my favorite boys from the adolescent Sunday group

If we don’t go out and talk we stay in the clinic and I have taught Elsita how to work Powerpoint so we are creating new materials for presentations. One day I got creative and made some HIV info pamplets or fliers that they put up on the wall. See below. We have been in some incredibly remote and COLD areas where im in 3 layers and 2 jackets and still freezing, then you have little kids with barelegs and no diapers running around. I’m assuming they have adapted but I have no idea how.

 My artwork lol 

This program I’m working with is sponsored by Planned Parenthood so we had a visit from a big group from Planned Parenthood. The teens had prepared a play/socio drama about HIV that they acted out and they spoke to the Americans about what this program has done for them personally and how its helping the indidgenous communities of this region. This was all a great experience besides for the fact that me and Elsita, that I work with, had to stand outside (it’s very cold this far up in the mountains) for an hour on the side of the road waiting for the bus with the Americans to show them the small road turn they had to take to find the school they kids were doing their presentation.

 Here is the school

There is a what looks like a deserted shack along the road that has become my favorite restaurant in this area. See pictures below. This lady is here daily for lunch and cooks up the most delicious meal ever for $1 or less.

  Fine dining!

The organization that I work for also has a youth group that meet on Sunday mornings and they learn about safe sex, STDs, self esteem etc here and after a certain time they can go out and educate other youth. I showed up there 2 Sundays ago and one of the ladies told me she had to go for a little but for me to go in and start talking about HIV. Totally unprepared as usual.

We visited a rescue center for monkeys, we hiked to a waterfall and got to learn about all the natural remedies that extist in the amazon area.

After Banos we had a long travel day as our end destination was a place called Otavalo that I had been dying to visit. The Otavalenos are famous artists and they make very high quality handicrafts, clothes etc. We first went to check out Quito for a couple of hours which was nice but not so nice when we later ended up at the wrong bus station and the whole trip ended up taking us a couple of hrs extra.

On top of that when we got off the bus in Otavalo it just stopped along the road and as I was looking for the ticket the man got the bags out to dad and the bus sped off. I turned around and asked dad where my bag was and it was in the bus. Great! Luckily a cab had stopped and we jumped in that and told him to follow the bus. He made the bus stop and I got my bag. phew!

We wished we had more time in Otavalo, such a beautiful place. We went up to park with mountain views that happen to have a bird rescue center so we were able to catch flight demonstrations with the eagles and we saw a couple of big beautiful Andean condors as well. We also visited a crater lake surrounded by a few volcanoes and had lunch and drinks there.

   

Otavalo is most famous for its Saturday market: it it one of the most famous markets in South America. Practically the whole town turns into a market. There is also a big animal and vegetable/fruit market.  I was told that even during the week there were some stalls up but to us that was already more than enough, and it was still a pretty big market with lots of awesome things to buy at low prices for amazing craftmanship and quality.

Our last night the hotel which was American owned had a local band of 6 guys playing live andean music which happens to be one of my favorite music ever. Sitting on the couch having a glass of wine in front of the fire and listening to Andean music in the Andes was a good wrap up of the trip.

I had warned dad that Ecuador is a third world country and that things doesn’t always work the way it should, but if he could overlook that and the high altitudes, we should have a good time. He only had 6 days here and I wanted him to see some of the diversity Ecuador offers so we had a fair share of traveling planned.

 

After a late night arrival in Quito I picked him up at the airport and the following day we had a taxi service who was to take us 3 hours south to Riobamba where I live. That very same day the AIDS-HIV support group I have been working with through the hospital had planned to cook a true Ecuadorian lunch for dad a bit out in the country in the little shack of a house we usually have our meetings at. Dad was going to wear dress shoes but I strongly discouraged him and when we arrived there later he could see why.

When we arrived there were several people out cooking over an open fire. There were about 10 kids present that happily greeted us. The group had been there cooking since 9 in the morning and the meal was spectacular. Dad had brought Swedish candy that he handed out to the patients along with the kids.

The kids did the pinata at the end and there sure is a huge different in size from the massive ones i’m used to seeing in the States. After the lunch event we all piled up in the back of Carlo’s truck (one of the patients) and he drove us back to town. Dad took the opportunity to buy all the kids icecream and then we went up to see my house and get Gizmo.

Dad has asthma and got some serious breathing difficulties during the night so the next day he was feeling pretty sick and a bit panicked. We had the evening planned with Maria’s family but we made the decision to head to Banos that afternoon. Banos is only 1.5 hr from here but its on a much lower altitude and it’s tropical so its not as dry and dusty. Banos is in a place where Andes meet the Amazon so in 1.5 hrs you can get to another climate zone.

It is incredibly beautiful this small village set in a deep valley surrounded by mountains and lush greenery, and there are waterfalls all over the place. In Banos we did a waterfall tour  and my highlight on that ride was when we got to catch our own fish and they prepared it for us right there on the spot.

The next day we did a whole day jungle tour, which was great. We got to visit a small village with a Shaman, get our faces painted the way they do it and well as to ride in a true dugout canoe. First off the canoe almost fell over and I got my camera wet. The river was low and we struggled to not fall over the whole time, and the poor Shaman who took us for the ride had to push us most of the way when he wasn’t emptying the water out of the canoe w his boot.

Wednesday March 28^th 3.30 pm “why do you have yellow hair?”

This morning I went to visit the daycare. The kids ages 3-5 remember me from not so long ago when I came with Alicia and we gave them lollipops. They were very excited to see me and I got lots of hugs and they wanted to be picked up. This time I stayed longer because last time Alicia and I arrived right before their lunch time. First they did a group greeting where they all greeted me, and then they sang sitting down on little chairs. After this I was told to take over. Hmm here we go again..gotta improvise!

  

So I started to teach them how to count in English and they surprised me with perfect pronounciation. Then I asked them to teach me some songs so they sang some more and after that I asked if they could teach me some games and they did. I had of course brought lollipops for them again and I gave each one of them a one and they each had to say Thank you in English. So cute!

    

After that we went and played in the playground which was a bit overwhelming because they all wanted attention. One of the little girls who I was holding asked me: “how come your hair is yellow?” I tried not to laugh at this but it was so cute. They don’t know the term blond or brunette yet and I’m sure at age 3,4 or 5 living here Im the first person with “yellow” hair they have ever seen.

   

 

Friday March 30^th 10 am  Farewell

I can’t believe how quickly 3 weeks went by. Today it’s time to pack up and leave. I feel less sad this time around because I know I will return. I also feel better about leaving Yankuam. He is not sick anymore, is stronger, bigger, eats well and seems happy. He has a good routine, Gizmo’s comfy bed and he has been getting more attention so he will be just fine. Maybe because I have been fussing over him so much..

 Kitten at the mission  Banana

I had another great sleep last night as I fell asleep at 8.30 pm. I have a bus at 4 pm so will be leaving right after class. I will miss the tranquility and peacefulness of this place, the tropical natural beauty, the magical nights, the river, the chats with the girls, the mealtimes with the nuns, the wholesome food, hanging out with Yankuam and talking to my favorite nun Sister Mecheta in the kitchen while she is cooking and, the early bedtimes, long sleeps and so much more.

     Baking bread

However I will be glad to go back on a less carb loaden diet. Here all I eat is carbs. Rice to every meal including breakfast. Often there is rice, pasta and potatoes in one meal! So for my figure it will be good to return to Riobamba! Tomorrow morning I have a support meeting with the HIV patients I have been working with. Even though I’m finished at the clinic they wanted me to join the meeting. On Monday I have a new job waiting for me. Im going to work with the indigenous in el campo (the country/mountains), but that’s all I know for now.

Monday March 26 4.30 pm – Lamas & Oranges

Yesterday in the afternoon one of the nuns, me, Gizmo and the girls all went for a long walk. I brought my ipod and camera but unfortunately the camera battery was dead. The ipod was a hit with the girls and we walked and listened to music and talked. The climate here is warm and tropical and we walked along small dirt roads lined by palm trees, flowers and lots of lush greenery, small houses and dogs everywhere.

Lamas usually live in the cold high altitudes in the mountains so I was quite surprised when we walked past 4 lamas laying around in the grass. Only Maria knows how much I love the lamas but here they did seem out of place among the palmtrees and flowers. We ate oranges and other tropical fruits we found off trees along the way and that night I fell asleep at 8.30 pm and slept for 10 hrs. I’m clearly not used to any exercise these days.

 Lamas in their natural habitat

Tuesday March 27  4 pm – Yankuam               

Yankuam means star in Shuar and is the name of the little sick puppy I have helped care for. Right now he is doing so much better. He has gained weight, is happy, playful and eats well. I took him to get vaccinated, bought him vitamins for his wobbly weak legs, doggy kiblets (as he loved Gizmos). I bought him a collar and a rope that we have him on during the days because he eats garbage and pretty much everything else and it gets him sick so now he has a smaller area to roam on. I also gave him a bath the other day.

He always gets very happy to see me and cries when I leave. I play w him in the morning and afternoons and I also put him in the bed at night.They are nice to the dogs here but they mainly feed them and then it ends there so all the dogs are crazy for the attention that I give them. The puppy is often heard crying and screaming for attention but I’m the only one who is giving him any.I will be beyond sad to leave little Yankuam, because we have spent a lot of time together and it doesn’t help that they tell me he will suffer when I leave because he is so fond of me.

 Yankuam where he sleeps at night

Last night I started feeling sick and totally had a meltdown crying over the dog. Later I got a fever and the next day I still wasn’t feeling well in the morning. Part of me wishes I could bring the puppy with me but even though right now I feel I can give him more than he can get here, I know in a matter of months, laying around locked up in a NYC apt won’t be as nice as the big areas he will have here to roam, playing with the other 3 dogs, chickens, and multiple cats that are living on the property.

Sunday March 17^th 8 pm – Is she your friend? (Hilary Swank)

Today me and Alejandra, a young Ecuadorian volunteer, who’s here for the year, took the sick puppy along with the 2 other puppies living here to the vet in Macas for their vaccinations. The two other puppies are 3-4 months old and also super cute. Today I spent a lot of time with the puppy and I totally want one now!

 Alejandra on the bus w the puppies

I had picked up snacks and the movie New Years Eve for the girls to watch with me Friday night since it’s a movie in real NY spirit. They were very excited about this and right when the movie started with Hilary Swank hopping off a bus they all asked me “is she one of your friends?”

Haha! Not exactly I said..NY is a big city.

Tuesday March 20^th 12.30 pm – I ate Guinea pig-

They eat guiney pig in Ecuador! Yes you heard right..the cute furry little critters your sister may have had as a pet. I learned about this tradition last year when Maria and I were in Banos and I saw what looked like grilled whole rats at a stand. I was horrified but now I have kind of gotten used to seeing them, yet  had decided I won’t try it. A common question between foreign workers here is: Did you eat Cuy yet? (guiney pig in Spanish) I knew they have guinea pigs here at the Mision in a little shack behind the roosters and chickens because one of the nuns took Maria and I to see them last year. Well this year I learned a little more…

It’s the lovely job of one of the nuns to kill them when its guiney pig on the menu. From what I understood, by tradition they are killed by hand (twisting their neck) but some of them are harder to kill and they have to cut their throat. So yesterday it was guiney pig on the menu. I decided I still wasn’t ready to try it so I opted just for salad potatoes and a brown gravy that looked just like my moms creamy meatball gravy. Well it turned out the gravy had small pieces of guiney pig meat in it. Great!

 back in the shed are the guiney pigs

I have to say that it did taste pretty good, and once everybody had realized I had eaten guiney pig, they coached me to try a piece of the meat from one which I did. The meat looks like dark chicken or turkey meat and tastes somewhat similar but more salty. After lunch I went in to Macas (the main town) to do some errands, and right as I got off the bus there is a man with a box full of furry live guiney pigs. I felt awful and could barely look at them but at the same time couldn’t help myself from looking and they were so cute. I quickly ran away from there saying to myself that this was the first and last time I ate Cuy  For some reason it makes me feel better saying cuy than guiney pig..

Thursday March 15 8.20 pm – Are your siblings goodlooking?-

Gosh Im in such a bad shape! Yesterday morning while walking Gizmo down a dirtroad I saw a bunch of kids in a grassy field and some of them were girls from the Mission, so I walked down to chat with them. They had a long rope that they had made into a shift make jump rope, so we started playing with that. Soon a large circle of children ages 5-12 formed around us and kids were taking turns to jump while I counted in both English and Spanish. It was hot and humid outside and I was sweating buckets swinging that rope. Today I’m very sore from this!

 Gizmo on our usual morning walk

Class went well too. We did introductions and asking questions and of course when I asked if they had any questions for me the questions were flying, but in Spanish. They got overly excited! What’s my parent’s names? My siblings ages and names? Are my sisters good looking the boys wanted to know, are my brothers good looking the girls wanted to know, and on it went.

 Me and students

Today I had the 8^th graders and they really only knew the basics. They were a large group of kids ages 11-13. They were so cute, all standing up in salute in the beginning of the class and they kept standing for a while until I realized that I had to tell them to sit down.

Friday March 16 5.30 pm – The sick puppy-

This morning I had over 40 students in the class. We had to get desks from another classroom to fit everyone. Pronouncing seems just about impossible for them. After 2 years of studying they still can’t pronounce something basic like “I”. I wonder how they get through English class but I do believe that their professors can’t pronounce either and they never have to speak in class. I wish I had more time here to properly teach them.

Me with a student

The other day one of my favorite nun taught me how to make home made mayonaise. It turned out delicious and makes me never want store bought mayo ever again. And the egg we used for the mayo came from one of the hens that live here at the mission.We made the mayo to accompany the home made french fries which also were delicious!

 My favorite kitchen nun feeding the birds

I just bought a doggy bed for Gizmo before I left because he likes something to sleep in during the days but today we gave his bed away to an adorable little puppy of about 6 weeks old who is sick and cold. Poor little guy! The dogs here live outside and often they don’t survive for very long. When I was here for Christmas they had 2 new puppies of about 4 weeks old and they did not survive. Im hoping that with a warmer bed and blanket at night this little guy will make it.

 puppy curled up in gizmo’sbed

Monday March 12th, 5.30 pm – Living in a convent with 6 nuns and 26 girls

I’m back at the Mission-Convent to teach English for 3 weeks in March. Im excited about it and also a little nervous because I have to hold classes in Spanish or they won’t understand a thing. I’m also spending 3 weeks pretty much in solitude. Life is quiet here and the girls have a tight schedule so besides for the 1-1.5 hour I’m teaching, the mealtimes with the nuns, the 30 mins of prayertime before dinner, and random short moments with the girls, I’m alone. At 9 pm it’s all quiet here.

   

Im happy to be back here. It’s such a calm and relaxing place to be. Life here has a simplicity that doesn’t exist in our world and it’s great to be a part of it. There is never any complaining about stress, illness, job or relationships which is pretty refreshing! There is a solid routine here with meals being served at 6.45 AM (breakfast), 1 pm (lunch) and 7 pm dinner.

 Egg from one of the hens at the Mission

Yesterday night after arriving here I had a special moment when surrounded by the girls singing with thousands of crickets as a background choir , two girls on each side holding their arms around me, we walked through the courtyard in the dark, the only light coming from the colored windows of the old chapel.

Tuesday March 13^th, 8 pm – Tishi the guard dog is escapes-

I feel really good about my first class today. I had a group of 15 or so students (10^th graders) , not all of them being the girls from the Mission. Other teenagers, mixed boys and girls, from the village come to go to school here during the day too. They were attentive and seemed to like the class. All but two students had attended mine and Marias class last year. I will have the same group tomorrow, and then I will have the 9^th grade for 2 classes, 8^th grade for 2 classes and we will rotate like that.

Me & Giz with some of the students

I almost had a heart-attack when I was outside with Gizmo in the courtyard chatting with one of the nuns in the afternoon, and Tishi, the fierce guard dog living here, had escaped from his fenced area and came running towards Gizmo. Due to the fact that Gizmo was attacked before, I was on alert and picked him up really fast and Tishi went the other way. I don’t know if he would have attacked but I didn’t want to take any chances.

Tishi is the kind of dog you would not want to meet in a dark alley if you don’t know him. He is big, muscular, fast and has some scars from a fight with another big dog he beat up. He attacks and bites anyone that he doesn’t know and there have been several people, hence why he is fenced in during the day and at night he is let out to roam the grounds. In December he escaped during the day and came running towards me, but only to be petted. He remembers me from last year and is very friendly, but I wouldn’t trust him with Gizmo for a second.

   

….It took a lot of mental preparation for getting on another row of buses so soon. But spent the whole morning watching American cable channels at the Sheraton (don’t have that in my Ecuadorian home) and then went to use the internet and search for a lunch of ceviche. I was lucky to run into a place that had the best ceviche I have EVER had..truly amazing! But my luck stopped there…

 

When I showed up at the luxury bus company to buy my ticket for the 5 pm bus to Piura I was told it was all sold out. So I had to go to a different company.. I wanted to cry! Another company had a bus at 4 pm which was less than an hour away and I bought it. A gamble.. I barely made this bus because of crazy traffic and the agent had circled the wrong address on my tkt for the departure so when I showed it to the cab driver he made a turn at a different direction. Luckily my Spanish is decent enough now so I was able to explain that it was wrong and tell him where to go or I would have missed the bus.

   

This bus was similar standard to the other one but a notch down…It didnt have blankets and I knew I would be cold from the A/C so I pleaded w them to get my bag (where I had my travel blanket) but to no good. Luckily a nice man heard me and lent me his fleece jacket which I held on to the whole night.

  Leaving Lima

The town of Piura isn’t much to write home about. It’s poor, dirty and shady and Alicia and I was actually glad we we didn’t get to spend time there. When I arrived alone there in the morning I was hoping I wouldn’t have to spend the day there this time either, but I had no idea of the bus schedule and unsure of what route I was going to take back to Ecuador. I was either going back through Loja or Cuenca to get to Riobamba. I think people were worried for my safety there because many were looking after me to make sure I got in a taxi, helped make sure I didn’t get overcharged etc which was nice.

 yeah alicia, I did ride in one of the motos in Piura:)

I did some research with the bus companies and found that going to the city of Guayaquil, a large coastal city in Ecuador, was my best bet, and I would avoid the mountains. This was a 12 hour bus ride (including immigration time at the border) and bus left at 9.30 am. It was LONG and pretty hot but I managed. At the immigration I was in for a real surprise..

 Along the coast in Peru

When the agent was about to stamp my passport he told me that this was my last day in Ecuador, my 90 days would expire at midnight and I would have to leave the country. “Do you want to enter Ecuador or stay in Peru?” he asked me. Umm? At this point my Spanish is good enough and I knew I hadn’t misunderstood what he just told me. So I asked if he could please just extend and stamp me in for an additional 90 days but he said that I’m only allowed 90 days in a 1 year period; a rule they also have in Bolivia and the Ecuadorian consulate in NY failed to tell me this when I specifically asked about it before I left. I asked if there would be a fine to overstay and he said no, which I found even more puzzling. A lady at the Swedish consulate in Quito confirmed this fact to me but said the rules here change all the time so who knows, by the time I leave I may have to pay a fat fine….So now I’m an illegal immigrant in Ecuador!

 Banana plantations in Ecuador

The last portion of my trip turned out to be shorter than the time quoted for a change and the bus from Guayaquil to Riobamba only took 3.5 hrs instead of 5 and I slept the whole way and had to be woken up when we arrived in Riobamba at 2.30 AM. The feeling of slipping under my covers in the bed that night i can’t even describe…