Heading home!

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend

Lucky to have been where I have been

Lucky to be coming home again!

Hope you enjoyed that little bit of Jason Mraz! After much reflection, Adam and I decided that it was time for us to head home. In Peace Corps acronyms, we decided to ET (early terminate) for many reasons (those good ol' itchy hives, the amount and type of work we were doing, fit with our jobs and community, family, etc.) but we can say with confidence that we had a great 15 months in Ecuador. We are leaving the Peace Corps with lifelong friends, great memories, amazing experiences, over 5,000 photos, and knowing that we were able to make a difference in some small way. Adam and I joined the Peace Corps because "life was calling" (a little Peace Corps phrase for you) and now life is calling us back home to be with our families. Fortunately we have been able to wrap things up with our friends, colleagues and the kids we worked with in Loja...our last few weeks in Loja were spent saying our goodbyes, having coffee, eating cake, and taking photos (of course!). We will be flying into Albuquerque tomorrow to be with Adam's family, and then off to Ridgecrest shortly after!

In a future post, when we have a little bit more time, we'll share a little summary of the things that we learned and experienced in our time in Ecuador, but until then...and like always, here are some photos!!

Adam and I with all the kids at the orfanato on our last day with them. Celebrated with cake (or in Ecuador, "key").

My last day at the Centro de Protección de Derechos. More cake!

Stacia and our despedida with some of the volunteers in the cluster. Yes, we spent all day cooking a Thanksgiving feast of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, gravy, pumpkin pie, carrot deliciousness, and of course, Jason's wonderful cockaputzy! And we happily ate turkey "moistmaker" sandwiches on the bus ride to Quito.

Ethan!

Adam, Stacia, Justin and I

Adam and I on our last day in Loja visiting Vivi and Luis (who were so wonderful in our last few days, especially when we ran into problems with our landlords)

Adam and I with Adam's counterpart Gloria on our last day

If you have never been to Loja, you don't know my country!
We were planning to make a t-shirt that said "If you haven't been to Loja, no conoce mi País"...maybe with a voice bubble coming from the mouth of the Virgen del Cisne. We'll have to leave that task to another Loja vol!

Jason seeing us off on the Loja bus to Quito. We will miss you Jota!

We spent a few days in the office in Quito but were able to go spend the weekend with our host family from training. It rained in Puruhantag so Edwin's truck got stuck in the mud. Here are Pacha and Mica with the two girls from next door hanging out while all the adults are pushing the truck (headlights in the background!)

Pacha and Mica had to participate in a parade with their school (very common in Ecuador) so we watched from the sidelines.

Micaela with her xylophone. At the end of the parade (two hours later) her arm was all cramped from holding her xylophone! Poor thing!

We also went with Magy and the girls to Tabacundo's makeshift "Plaza de Toros" (bull fighting ring) Adam and I weren't willing to go to the second floor (by climbing a flimsy homemade ladder) because the whole thing was made up of planks of wood, cardboard, and wires. Though Magy and the girls were scared of staying on the ground level in case the bull came charging. Safety first!

Inside the bullring...kids were running around everywhere!

I gave all of my cute Sanrio stickers to Pacha and Mica and they had a great time putting them in their little sticker books I made them.

Adam and I with Edwin, Magy and the girls for one last visit.

Adam and I at the office with the Tiffany and Tom, like the good ol' training days.

If you have any questions about our decision to head home, feel free to ask! We had our "period of reflection" as all of our close friends know, and it resulted in a decision that we are feeling really good about. 

Daytrippin' in Podocarpus

And while I am posting, I might as well update on our past week and post up some photos from our day trip to Zamora to visit the Podocarpus National Park.  Last week was pretty much the same as always- Adam went to the UTPL to visit with some of the engineers up there, had a few meetings at CASMUL and the Tourism Office and I did the same ol' same ol', though it was sad going to all the centers without Eri!

On Monday I finished the scrapbook for Eri and then she came over and had dinner at our house (I made meatloaf and mashed potatoes since she enjoyed that the last time we had a potluck). The next day I went to the Centro Comercial without Eri. It was fine but the kids and I all missed her. Then I met up with Eri on last time for coffee and empanadas de verde at a friend's house while Adam made lasagna with Stacia and Liz. On Thursday I did an origami workshop at a school and had to play Eri's role of standing up in the front demonstrating while some of the CPD staff went around to help the kids- we made dolphins and Santa Claus...I have to go back to the center 2x this week, so we are going to make pistols, boxes, frogs and the kusudama.

Here are a couple page samples from the scrapbook I made Eri. The cover said La Gran Aventura and it was over 30 pages. It was a bit of a last minute crunch because the guy binding it for me didn't have it ready until 3pm and I was still short 10 pages! Yikes!

When the weekend came, Adam and I were glad to take a day trip out to Zamora since we hadn't been up until now. Plus it was nice for Adam and I to spend some alone time since we had volunteers crashing overnight at our house since Monday. We enjoy having volunteers over but sometimes it is nice to have our own time, just the two of us.

This is a row of ants walking along carrying leaves back as food. We saw tons marching along on the trails.

Cascada Poderosa (Powerful Waterfall)

And we saw tons and tons of gorgeous butterflies of all colors and shapes and sizes. I couldn't capture them all but I got a few shots!

View of Zamora from their riverwalk

Ok I have to run. A mosquito is buzzing around my head hoping to get a drink!! I can hear it buzzing!

Another week in review post!

Lol, I am glad to know that people were concerned because Adam and I hadn't posted on the blog and I wasn't on Gmail all weekend. We got a few emails asking if we were ok! Yes, we are alive.

Not this past weekend, but the one before, we had a girls' night at Liz's house where we ate and ate and ate and talked and talked and talked! It was a great time and Liz made challah bread that we used the next morning for french toast. Delicious! We also made enchiladas which was a nice little treat. Don't worry, Adam wasn't all alone in Loja. He went out to the waterpark in Catamayo to celebrate Tony's birthday and then a couple of the guys crashed at our apartment (essentially they had a boys' night). On Sunday we played board games (Risk and Ticket to Ride) at a missionary couple's house here in Loja.

Liz slicing her challah bread that had pretty knots on top

Mmm...slice of veggie enchilada with a teeny bit of canned green chilis on top

As always, beautiful views out in the countryside

During the week it was pretty busy too, given that it was Eri's last week of work so we had to send her off with a bang! Monday, Eri and I made crepe paper flowers with the girls at Dorotea Carrion. They all sprayed perfume into the flowers and wow, it was hard to breathe in the room! That afternoon, Liz accompanied me to the Orfanato where I printed coloring book pages and the kids got to pick which characters they wanted to color (choices of Dora, Ben 10, Spongebob, etc.). They had just waxed the floor and covered it in what smelled like diesel, so it was also hard to breathe in that room! Let's just say that Monday was not a good day for the lungs! =D

Emily coloring Dora...but using the brush to even out the color of the crayons. 

Tuesday I made a batch of snickerdoodles for our last workshop (well, Eri's last workshop...Elizabeth from CPD told the kids we would keep going) with the kids at the Centro Comercial. The room we usually work in ended up being occupied for a meeting so we had to work in the stairwell! I had burned a portion of the cookies but luckily the kids liked the cookies "mas crocante" (crunchier) for some reason.

Right after we finished up at the Centro Comercial, our colleagues at the CPD office said that we had to go meet them at the office because they had a despedida (going away party) planned for her at the main INFA office. We met some of our colleagues there and made our way to the main INFA office. Poor Eri had an appointment at 5pm with another office in town, and dinner plans with friends. However, in the end it was nice that they had planned something, although with little notice. And no, this wasn't a surprise party that was planned, just something that they forgot to tell her I think!

That night, I made carrot cupcakes for our Dorotea Carrion despedida for Eri on Wednesday...and these also didn't turn out great. I didn't put enough flour in the batter so only the second batch came out! Boo. On Wednesday morning we had a great time eating cakes (the girls made a chocolate and an orange cake) and Eri taught the girls the dance to Waka Waka. And of course, more photos!

The good batch with the little Japan flags and the bad batch. 

The spread- popcorn (cangil in Ecuador), jello, cupcakes, and cake

The girls singing a song they prepared for Eri

Afterwards, Eri made her last trip to the CPD office to say her goodbyes and check to see that she didn't leave anything behind. I think it was a very weird experience for her to see the office for the very last time!

Eri in front of the office entrance

On Thursday I spent most of the day working on Eri's goodbye scrapbook because I had to drop it off at this print shop (I'll post a few pages later). The owner knows Eri and I from the origami workshops and had given us extra paper before, so I decided to ask if he could bind/sew the scrapbook together for me. He kindly did it for me for free! In the evening, we met up with Julisa, Yolanda and Karla for another mini despedida.

So that was last week! I'll continue with another post about our trip to Puerto Lopez to celebrate Adam's birthday by going whale watching with Janet and Jason. Super fun!!

Our week in review

Brrr, Loja has been cold this week! Sun has peeked out a few times but all I can remember is the rain and making hot tea each night to stay warm. We had a fairly busy week- Adam wrapped up summer camp (and even got to watch Shrek 4 at the movie theater!), I had a couple workshops with the girls at Dorotea Carrion, we had some PCVs visiting in town, and then just the random day to day stuff like grocery shopping and skype-ing the family!

Checking our mailbox (#216) for magazines, postcards and letters. This week we got a postcard from Susan and Paul from the French Alps and a birthday card for Adam from my mom and dad!

On Tuesday, fellow PCV from Guaranda Deanna came to visit with her counterpart, Teresa. They had gone to San Pedro de Vilcabamba on a tech trip to visit the women's group that Janet works with. They learned about their recycled paper products and checked out some of the other things Janet was working on. Then they stopped in Loja to learn some origami with Eri and I in the morning, along with PCV Allison who lives out in Zapotepamba. Later in the afternoon, Eri and I did our normal Tuesday afternoon activity with the kids at the Centro Comercial, and Deanna and Teresa went with us. In the evening we had dinner at Chabaquitos (the yummy taco place on Olmedo and Catacocha)- it became a full house because Liz and her friend Katie, Justin, Adam, and Allison joined Deanna, Teresa and I. Teresa and Deanna had to jet off on their 7pm bus, but Liz, Katie and Allison didn't have buses to catch until 10pm so we headed to Cafe Sendero to get dessert and something hot to drink. It's nice to have friends around to chat with!

Deanna and Teresa getting their origami on

$1.50 for apple pie and ice cream

My workshop with the girls on Wednesday was awful. Let's just say that it was super awkward and I am pretty sure that the girls hate having to share their personal opinions to the group...plus 7 year old Anghy who on Monday had given me bear hugs and kisses was hollering "Fea! Mala! Estupida!" (ugly! bad! stupid!) in my face because I asked her to be quiet during the workshop or she could go outside and play. Awesome. Afterwards, Julisa talked with me about maybe changing the theme or activities that we do...AGREED! I think it is challenging getting the girls to reflect on their experiences and share them with the group...so I am going to propose "Cooking Americanized Chinese Cuisine" or "Baking Yummy Deliciousness" as alternatives to continuing our classes on discovering your inner beauty. Origami days on Mondays always go smoothly because it is not personal...I think maybe I have to meet the girls where they are at.

Photo from Monday because there was no way they were going to take a picture with me on Wednesday. =( On Monday we made Christmas trees. Tad early? Sure!

Wednesday afternoon I talked with Cris (my program manager) over the phone about how I have been feeling overall about my past year of service and my apprehension about the upcoming year without Eri as a colleague to work with. As well as about my horrible morning! Then Eri and I went out to coffee because she had been having a terrible past couple days too. She is wrapping up her service here in Ecuador and preparing to go back to Japan, but still struggles with the culture here that we often experience- people no-showing lunch dates or coffee meetings, people canceling workshops at the last minute (but you have to ask if it is going to be canceled, they won't give you the heads up), and random people hollering "Chinita" at her. I do hope that her last week in Loja will be a better one, so that she doesn't leave with a bitter taste in her mouth.

Eri and I chatted over humitas, quimbolitos and coffee. Nothing makes you feel better than a coffee break with a good friend. And yes, we talk completely in Spanish because that is our common language!

Thursday and Friday were slower days. Friday was a holiday (10 de Agosto is Ecuadorian Independence Day but the president declared that the day off would be Friday) so all the offices were closed. Thursday night I made some kung pao chicken and invited Jason over to be "kung pao'd" (i.e. when I heat up the dried red chilis, it starts to smoke, causing everyone in the room to cough and gasp for air). He brought over this movie that we had high hopes for and sounded pretty funny. It is called Volunteers and features Tom Hanks as a pompous, rich Yale grad who is running away from a gambling debt and decides to take his roommate's place as a Peace Corps Volunteer going to Thailand. He ends up in this town with two idealistic do-gooder volunteers. Sounds all right, right? Wrong! The movie was...AWFUL! It was so appalling, but we watched it all the way through and did laugh at the ridiculousness. It wasn't the worst movie ever, but it was pretty bad. Like the part where Tom Hanks says to a Thai villager friend (played by Gedde Watanabe of Sixteen Candle's Long Duk Dong fame), "I know you're lying because your eyes are getting round." Nice. 

Yesterday Adam and I cleaned the house- every week we sweep and mop because SOOO much dirt and dust get in the house since there are no thresholds under our front door and the windows are poorly sealed. We did laundry, read some books (I just finished Three Cups of Tea, which was good, and reread Joy Luck Club, along with a couple John Grisham legal thrillers), and then went to Supermaxi for groceries. In the evening I decided to make a recipe I found for "General Tso's Chicken." For those of you in California, you probably haven't heard of this, but in the midwest it is a super popular American Chinese dish so I figured, what the heck! It turned out ok and we ended up  having to eat by candlelight because for some reason the power went out in the whole city (twice!). 

Definitely worth a read. And the tube on the cover is my anti itch cream. As always, I am covered in hives from an allergic reaction. I am going to go home with so many scars, ugh!

Recipe was found on a blog called Appetite for China

We also experienced our second earthquake in Ecuador. This one was a 6.9 just outside of Ambato but because it was far underground, the impact wasn't bad. We were both still in bed when it happened and out of California instinct I woke up and announced "Earthquake." Then I proceeded to walk to the doorway, debating whether a doorway really would be useful to stand under in a building that was built with no codes and that probably didn't have any support around the doorframe. As the ground rolled, I debated whether, really, running outside would be better than potentially getting crushed by brick and cement that is being supported by rusted rebar. But then decided that it would be a waste of time because we are on the second floor and the stairs would probably fall apart before I even got to them. While all this is running through my head, Adam walks past me at the doorway and goes to the bathroom. He figured it didn't really make a difference, and plus the earthquake at that point was over. In any case, we are ok, there are no injuries, and we knew it was an earthquake the second it started shaking. Not like the one time when Renee was visiting and we were in the hotel in Guayaquil- I woke up and hollered "Earthquake!" and it turned out Adam was just rolling around in the bed. 

Tonight I am off to Liz's site for a girls' night slumber party! Not sure what Adam will do at the house, but I think he will survive.

P.S. Funny thing Adam saw during camp. An 8 year old boy was wearing a t-shirt that said "No tengo 40 años. Tengo 18 años con 22 años de experiencia" or "I'm not 40 years old. I'm 18 with 22 years of experience." The thing we don't get is that the shirt was in Spanish...so how could the 8 year old's parents not understand that it doesn't make sense on a child? Slogan shirts here make me laugh.