Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everybody! I’m spending Christmas here in my site; it’s a little lonely being away from family and friends (where´s the tree?) but I am lucky to have some good Ecua-friends here. I’ve been doing a ton of cooking and baking while listening to the Vince Guaraldi Trio’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas” on repeat. After the holiday, I’ll be heading up north to do the “Devil’s Nose” train ride and then I’m going to the coast to celebrate New Year’s with fellow PCVs. Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season and I’ll think of you all fondly when I’m hanging out on the beach! Besos, A

6 Months

I woke up today and realized that I landed in Ecuador 6 months ago to the day. Wow. On the one hand it seems like a really long time but on the other hand, out of 27 months, it’s a drop in the bucket. Better not to think about it.

By the way, I will be back in Seattle for a visit from Jan. 27-Feb. 11th. Mark your calendars! I already have a list of things I want to see and do, mainly revolving around food!

The List 
1) The Red Door (Fremont)
2) Nectar (Fremont)
3) May Thai (Fremont)
3) Icon Coffee (Fremont)
4) Macrina Bakery (Belltown)
5) Pink Door (Pike Place Market)
6) Dilettante Cafe (Capitol Hill)
7) Chinese New Year dinner at Rocking Wok (Wallingford)
8 ) Tutta Bella (Wallingford/Fremont)
9) Frontier Room (Belltown)
10) Liberty (Capitol Hill)
11) Seattle Central Library
12) See a movie at the Cinerama
13) Stop by school (UW SPHCM)
16) Sonic Boom Records (Fremont)
17) Go to Vancouver, B.C. (I realize this is not in Seattle)
18) Visit either: Bay Area, or Austin, TX My dad says no, so I’ll probably just be going skiing. Who wants to come?

 Any other suggestions?

La Boda

I attended an amazing wedding this weekend. A friend and ex-PCV Zach married Dayana, an Ecuadorian, in the beautiful town of Vilcabamba. I’ve never attended an Ecuadorian wedding before, but if this one was representative, sign me up! Let’s just say that the night ended with all of us, bride and groom included (!), jumping into the pool…in our wedding clothes. We had an amazing time!

The Campo Oven

As a Peace Corps Volunteer who really enjoys baking, I do not own an oven. So, how do I bake? In a country where only wealthy urban families have full ranges with ovens, one needs to find a unique solution to this problem. The key to my baking ability is called the campo oven. Now, the word campo means countryside or rural area in Spanish. The campo oven is a staple of the Peace Corps Volunteer’s kitchen arsenal here in Ecuador. I can’t speak for other PCVs around the world.

You start with a big metal pot, called an olla, that most Ecuadorians use to cook stew or rice.

Next, you place empty a brick or empty tuna cans on the bottom of the pot. This is to circulate the hot air current.

Then, you place the baking tin or whatever you are baking on top of these cans. In this case, I made banana bread.

You fire up your stove, place the pot on top of the flame, put the lid on, and let your pastry “bake” for the normal time. Then, voila! The finished product is just as good as it would be in a conventional oven. I shared this banana bread with friends who told me it was moist and delicious. Hooray for Peace Corps ingenuity!

Young Minds

These past few weeks, I’ve been working a lot with children and adolescents and I’ve come to realize how impressionable kids are. Now, I know this sounds totally cheesy and probably apparent to those with teaching experience, but it kills me how vulnerable kids and teens are.

For example, a few weeks ago I gave a basic nutrition charla (talk) and played nutrition bingo with fifth and sixth graders at a local school. We had a really good time, and even if they didn’t like the salad we made, I think they learned something about proteins, vitamins & minerals, and carbohydrates. In the weeks since the charla, I’ve had kids I don’t even recognize say hello to me in the street or run up to me and give me a hug as I’m walking through town. It blows me away that just spending an hour or two with kids can leave such a lasting impression.

Yesterday, I rode out to a distant community to complete the last session of a workshop on building stronger families (Familias Fuertes). The workshop was with 15-17 year olds and their parents. I feel closer to teens than to older adults because deep down I still feel as if I’m 16 years old. Even though I know I am not. It’s so funny to watch Ecuadorian teenagers interact with one another, because at this age, they’re not very different from your typical American teen. Perhaps they are less jaded, which is good. When I was working with these adolescents, I’m surprised by how candid they are and how easy it is to make them laugh. When they talk about their goals and dreams, they are heartbreakingly honest; I look around at their tin-roofed classroom in a tiny town in a poor country, and I can only hope that they will be able to succeed.

I’m not sure what the point of all this is, other than I guess I never realized how vulnerable kids and teens are. I really enjoy working with them, but it scares me a little because they place so much trust in me as a teacher and facilitator. At times, I don’t know if I am a good enough person to merit their confidence.

The Valley of Longevity

Last weekend, my friend DeAnn and I went to a place in southern Ecuador called Vilcabamba. Located about an hour outside the city of Loja, it is known as the “Valley of Longevity” due to its many centenarian residents. Vilca, as the locals call it, is famous throughout Ecuador for its temperate, sunny climate and natural beauty. In my travels throughout this country, I had never visited Vilcabamba and was prepared for it not to live up to the hype.

 

When we arrived, however, I was absolutely blown away. It helped that we stayed at a great place called Hosteria Izhcayluma, run by Germans Peter and Dieter (no joke). The hosteria is located 2 km out of the town center, but makes up for it with a gorgeous view of the valley.

Not only was it nice to relax with a good friend, but being in such a lush, verdant place was so refreshing after the dry heat of my site. We ate gringo food, drank Mango Chango cocktails, and went on a 4-hour hike that turned into 5 hours because, um, we got lost. But the views and the experience were worth it.

Vilcabamba has lovely weather, wonderful hiking, horseback riding, and is close to a national park. Our hosteria provided us with hammocks, massages, delicious German food (is that an oxymoron?), and a pool. It was almost embarrassingly luxurious. But a great way for this tired Peace Corps Volunteer to recharge her batteries

Mango Season

December is mango season in my corner of the world, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. As anybody who knows me will attest, I love love love mangoes. The market is currently filled with mangoes of every size and shape – little ones para chupar (to suck), big ones for making juice – and they are cheap to boot.

But you know what’s better than being able to buy mangoes for 10 cents? When your friends bring you back a basketful from Macará (a city near Peru). These mangoes were unbelievably delicious, and resulted in the best mango smoothies I’ve ever tasted.