Happy Earth Day 2009!

“Why don’t you have any new photos?”

I’ve gotten this query from more than a few people, so the short answer is, I broke my camera. In January. For those counting, yes, that was camera number 3. I’ve been borrowing my sitemate’s when I can, but this is rather inconvenient. Since I’ll be traveling in April, I am hoping to remedy this camera problem within the week. Stay tuned.

A fond farewell to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer

It is the end of an era. The better of Seattle’s two daily newspapers publishes its last print edition as of today, March 17, 2009. Hearst put the P-I up for sale back in January and said they’d go web-only if they didn’t find a buyer within sixty days. Somehow that didn’t quite seem real. Newspapers, especially my hometown newspaper, don’t go under just like that. Do they?

Thanks to shrinking ad revenue from advertising (hello Craigslist) and drops in print circulation largely due to free content on the Internet, print journalism finds itself in dire straits these days. And while part of me knows that these trends have been building for years, I feel as if it is only in the past few years that the demise of the American newspaper has accelerated. The Christian Science Monitor going web-only in 2008. The financial future of the L.A. Times and the Chicago Tribune in jeopardy thanks to Sam Zell. The sale of the Wall Street Journal to Rupert Murdoch. The Rocky Mountain News closed in February this year, leaving Denver another one-newspaper town. The venerable New York Times having to mortgage their building to stay afloat. What kind of world is this? And how did it all happen so quickly?

Welcome Omnibus 101!

A little belated, but the 101st Omnibus in Peace Corps Ecuador arrived on Wednesday, February 25th. Best of luck to the new group of Natural Resources/Sustainable Agriculture Volunteers! You guys have some awesome trainers – now you just have to make it through training…buena suerte!

Happy Chinese New Year!

Why is Chinese New Year my favorite holiday?

a) It is dedicated to eating a lot of good food with your family and/or friends

b) Children and unmarried people receive money from relatives in little red envelopes (hong bao)

c) Lion dancing

d) No religious affiliation

This is the first year in many that I won’t be home to celebrate CNY with my family, which is sad. But in preparation for CNY, I did clean my house and made some steamed vegetarian dumplings yesterday. I’m going to invite some friends over for dinner tonight.

Hooray for the Year of the Ox and gong xi fa chai (congratulations and good fortune)!

I Miss…

Seattle. Kayaking in Portage Bay, boating on Lake Washington and sunsets over Puget Sound. I miss running around Greenlake and browsing through funky shops in Fremont. I miss the liveliness of Pike Place Market and the excitement of being downtown. I even miss Belltown. I miss brunch at Macrina, pizza at Tutta Bella and the shakes at Red Mill. I miss the five million little coffee shops on Capitol Hill, Vietnamese sandwiches on The Ave, and good bookstores. Any bookstores! I miss watching the Mariner’s lose five games in a row, but celebrating at Kell’s afterwards anyway. I miss Mt. Rainier.

I miss summer camping in the Hoh Rainforest, evergreen trees, hiking above treeline in the Alpine Lakes, and the amazing San Juan Islands. I miss the breathtaking view of the Cascades from my old rooftop. I miss running under the Montlake Bridge, sitting by the Cut watching the boats go by, and the cherry blossoms in the Quad. I miss going to Edmond’s Beach with my girls. I miss playing with my co-rec soccer team. I miss the Windermere Cup, Solstice Parade, SeaFair, the Puyallup, Bumbershoot, and concerts at the Gorge. I miss REI and the rain. I miss grass. I miss real Chinese food, desperately. I missed virtually all of the Olympics this year, even the Opening Ceremonies. But most of all, I miss my family and friends. I guess everyone gets homesick sometimes.  

Best Present Ever!

My good friend Katy recently sent me one of the coolest presents I’ve ever received – a handmade canvas bag with the Obama ‘08 campaign logo on it! Katy is a skilled seamstress, so the bag is not only beautiful but functional, and makes the perfect carrying case for my SIGG water bottle with the matching Obama sticker. I’m excited for Obama to announce his VP sometime this week, as well as for the upcoming DNC Convention starting next Monday. Thank you, Katy!

Still here

I am alive, I’ve just been really busy for the past month. I also haven’t been home much – in the entire month of July, I slept in my own bed two nights.

I would write more, but I’m off again, heading up north to assist with the Judith Lombeida Medical Mission for a week. I should be back in a week with fun stories and pictures.

In the meantime, I’ve updated the Chagas photoset on Flickr.  Working on the Chagas project was an incredible experience; it feels great to be part of a team that is actually making a difference in people’s lives. Plus, I got to do field research and met some really fun and interesting people.

Cheers, Ann

Jungle Adventure

A few weeks ago, I went on a jungle adventure with a bunch of PCVs from my cluster. We saw waterfalls, camped in an indigenous village, hiked in knee-high mud to a scary cave with bats and cave-dwelling birds. Tarzan, the guide dog, accompanied us the whole time. We ate a lot of tuna and crackers. We said goodbye to our friend Zach, from Omnibus 96. Good times.

Some Advice for Omnibus 100

Dear Omnibus 100,

In less than one month, you will be arriving to serve for 27 months in Peace Corps Ecuador as Community Health and Youth & Families volunteers. There are a whole range of emotions that you are probably going through right now – excitement, fear, anxiety, giddiness, relief, etc. I know this because I was in your shoes exactly one year ago. I didn’t really know what to expect, even though I had lived in the country before. Serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer is an experience like no other. So, here’s some advice for the 100^th group of Peace Corps Volunteers to come to the Republic of Ecuador:

I. Ditch the packing list that comes in that PC/E manual that you have been emailed. It’s useless. You do not need to bring a frying pan to Ecuador, nor do you need a kitchen knife. It’s a developing country, not a destitute one. There are many stores that sell perfectly serviceable kitchen gear, such as pots and knives. Even if your site is in the campo, you will be able to visit a SuperMaxi or Mi Comisariato at some point in your service. And what genius decided to include a garlic press in the list of must-bring items? You can buy garlic paste here and it’s cheap, so don’t bother bringing a garlic press unless you will die if you can’t press your own garlic.

II. There are two kinds of PCVs: a) those Volunteers who are only friends with Host Country Nationals (HCNs), are generally site rats, and avoid hanging out with other PCVs because “I didn’t come here to make friends with gringos.” b) Everyone else. It’s OK to hang out with other gringos, especially during the first few months (well, you have to since you’re all in training together). You will spend 95% of your time with Ecuadorians, so you will have plenty of time to practice your Spanish and “whip it out” (i.e. our deputy training officer’s way of saying “making friends”) when you are in your site. That being said, don’t spend all of your time hanging out with other gringos, you’ll never learn to speak Spanish and you won’t integrate well.

III. You are an employee of the United States Government. That is, The Man. Ironically, Peace Corps often attracts people who are rather, how shall I say this, “idiosyncratic” and/or “free thinking.” The combination of this personality type and working for Uncle Sam often results in some unfortunate head-butting. Bureaucracy is an inevitable part of life as a PCV. Deal with it. Plus, compared to the infuriating Ecuadorian bureaucracy you will face getting anything official done, PC bureaucracy is a cakewalk.