Origami, origami, origami...and some radio taiso!

So I have made a huge decision. *drumroll*... to keep all those readers out there (maybe just Jennifer and my family?) interested, I am going to attempt to start posting a photo each day. Because I certainly do have enough photos to post up on this blog of just everyday life in Ecuador. I am just lazy. But really, as one of the few lucky volunteers with internet in my apartment, I should be sharing a lot more than I am! So there you go. I am going to give this a try. And if I fail, I will say it was an early April Fools joke. And then edit this post... or maybe turn it into a photo every other day. Or week. Vamos a ver.

In other news, this week has been a fairly busy week for me, surprisingly. As Peace Corps volunteers, Adam and I have discovered that occasionally (or maybe more than occasionally), you will have a lot of extra time on your hands. This week, though, Eri and I had been scheduled to do origami/arts/crafts workshops with teachers. So for 4 full days, we worked with 3 groups of teachers from all over the province (2 in the morning, 1 in the afternoon)- in total, more than 125 teachers and hundred of sheets of paper! Some traveled as far as from 6 hours away!







It really was a good time. Eri did the leading up in the front of the classroom and I walked around the classroom helping teachers that missed a step or were confused by the instructions. We did have to explain on the first day that I was in fact NOT Japanese and could not speak Japanese, but rather, I was a volunteer from the USA and only spoke English and my broken Spanish. We made everything from samurai helmets, jumping frogs, birds, flowers, and, of course, the fun kusudama. Our colleagues from the Centro de Protección de Derechos came and talked a little bit about the work our office does, the Codigo de Niñez, and children's rights.







However, something that Eri and I didn't expect was the pomp and circumstance that concluded our 4 day workshop. I think if we had known this was a big deal, we would have been really nervous. Especially since we initially didn't have any details about the workshop, where it would be held, how many people were going to attend, and at what times. Literally on Monday I texted Eri just to see if she was going to be meeting us Tuesday at the office at 8:45 for the workshops with teachers that started at 9, and she texted me to say she thought it was 11, but that she would be there at 8:30 to talk to our colleagues about what was going on. Tuesday morning we learned it would be 3 groups for 4 days. And so it goes with planning in Ecuador, because apparently the two of us were the instructors of a 4 day seminar inservice in Cultura Estetica en el Area de Origami, organized by the Direccion Provincial de Educacion de Loja. Yikes!

But it worked out great, the teachers enjoyed the workshops, everyone received certificates during a ceremony, there was an exhibition of their works, we heard lots of speeches at the conclusion of the event, we had a closing snack of tamales and coffee, we have future events booked, and I learned lots of new vocabulary words (and discovered I have a LOOOONG way to go with my Spanish). And Eri and I received thank you gifts which came as a total surprise. Big props though to Eri, because really I just followed instructions and helped out, and it really was a lot of sharing about Japanese culture. And she led the Japanese exercise routine (see video below...the teachers loved it and Eri told me that probably all Japanese kids know this because they often start school with these exercises. Google "radio taiso") and was talked into giving a demo of her belly dancing skills!









In other random news-
-I made mini cheesecakes last night (turned out all right, minus a slight funny taste from the dairy products of Ecuador) and prepped a breakfast casserole for tomorrow morning.
-Discovered that Dijon Mustard doesn't exist in the Supermaxi here. I tried to help an Ecuadorian guy in the store who was confused by what the "mostaza dijon" was that his recipe called for and never bought salsa de soya either. He settled for regular mostaza in the end.
-Adam got stood up by Andres (one of his colleagues at CASMUL) again for a community bank meeting. He is starting to get frustrated about setting up meetings or scheduling activities, and then finding out it was either cancelled, or they changed the time, or they just plain forgot to pick him up AT the time that he is supposed to be meeting someone.
-It is currently raining. It pretty much rains almost every night, but in the day it may vary from sunny and hot to cool and cloudy. The weather is good in Loja. Can't complain!
-The animal on our roof is still alive and well, scurrying all about in the night. Andy (fellow PC vol) thinks it is rats. I feel like it could be something bigger, but I do have an active imagination.
-I heard cowbells this morning. =D Followed by very loud moos.

Giving Adam a good scare

So as many of you who have been following along with the blog know, early during training I was diagnosed by a dermatologist in Quito with having an allergy to mosquitoes. We didn't do a skin test, but based on my horrible breakout in hives after getting the mosquito bites during our cultural visit, he figured that was what it was. I was given cortisone shot, Zyrtec and some skin creams and was back to normal pretty quickly.

Thankfully we were sent to live in Loja (in the Andean mountains because I was not medically allowed to live in the coast or the oriente) where the mosquitoes are sparse. However, they do exist, and I have broken out into hives 3 times since we have moved here.

Currently, I am in one of those states- I have lovely hivey bumps all over my lower back, and one fatty one on my arm. It is incredibly uncomfortable and itchy. So this afternoon I decided that I would take an antihistamine to help with the reaction. Of course it knocked me out completely. I went to lay down for a nap, and when Adam tried to wake me up to go to the orphanage, he actually thought I might be dead because I didn't move at all or respond when he shook me. I gave him a good scare. Poor guy!

More updates/photos later. Just thought I would share that I am really really uncomfortably itchy. Waiting for a response from the PC doctor to see if I can pick up some Zyrtec at the pharmacy.

¡Feliz Día de la Mujer!

Today was International Women's Day! Cheers to all the women in our lives and the great accomplishments that have been made by women worldwide!

P.S. Funny story- apparently in Ecuador, people only say "¡Feliz Día de la Mujer!" to women...so when I said it to Juan Carlos and Oswaldo, they laughed at me (as if I had forgotten they were men). Now I understand why Efren, one of the lawyers in my office, looked at me strangely when I gave him a card with a chocolate on it.


Cookies I made for the kids at the orfanato- and Adam too, since he ate about a dozen of them!

I Heart Scrapbooking

This is for all those scrappers out there ;P Shout out to my sister Susan... I just recently made a mini album of our pre-Peace Corps road trip and liked the way it turned out given the limited supplies I had packed. I saw an ad in one of the old copies of Simple Scrapbooks that I packed with me (from 2oo7!) and used that idea. Unfortunately it is really thick because I couldn't choose just ONE picture from each stop we made- how could I choose between all the photos!


I made it with cream textured cardstock that I found in a paper store here in Loja (I was sooo excited to find out that they sold it here, even though it is one gigantic posterboard sheet and took a lot of crooked cuts to get the pages square), a small sheet of patterned paper I brought with me (I love the brand Crate Paper, gorgeous!), and some other colored sheets of textured cardstock that I brought from back home, as well as some ribbon that Susan sent me and travel stickers from KI memories.

Look at that beautiful texture on the paper! Yay for this new paper find! I bought hot pink, dark brown, and bright green sheets too (a little over $1 per sheet...kind of spendy in Ecuadorian standards, but imagine the cards I will be able to make!! Check your mailbox for a cute card coming your way! Lol.

I think that we might use the pages to decorate one of our blank white walls in our house around a map of the U.S. That way when we have non-Americans come visit, we can show them some of the beautiful places that exist in the US (Grand Canyon, Smoky Mountains, the Upper Peninsula...you know!). Perhaps it would be a great way to meet Peace Corps Goal 2- Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served. Many folks here think that the US is very small (like Elar, who often used to ask if we knew Newark or that one restaurant in Newark), or their perceptions of the US are from movies and t.v. shows (like The Hills, My Super Sweet 16, or action flicks like Rocky).

Since I do have some spare time on weekends and in the evening (before I was reading Harry Potter in Spanish), I have also been trying to learn about digital scrapbooking but am not so good at it...lots of Photoshop techniques to learn. Here are a few pages that I recently made using some free kits from 2Peas (Rhonna Farrer and Vinnie Pierce template). I still like using real tangible products better, but hey, I am in Ecuador in the Peace Corps so the fact that I am even able to continue this hobby is saying something!!

(one of the towns from training that we finally visited on our last week of training)

P.S. Today we are on the upswing! =D Walked around Loja, enjoyed the good weather, said hello to our Ecua-acquaintances at Zona CD, talked with Jennifer on Skype, and cooked up some fajitas for dinner with made from scratch tortillas. Delicious! Oh, and I think I am going to start putting up some recipes since I am starting to learn to make a lot of things, especially from scratch. =D

Getting back up on the roller coaster...

Warning- a lengthy stream of consciousness post ahead. No promises that it will make sense. It's late (I haven't been able to get to bed before 3am recently). I think I haven't adjusted back to the time zone yet.

(views from our Saturday hike in Loja...beautiful!)

Lately we've been having a number of ups and downs. I think part of it is coming back from our trip home and getting readjusted, and I think the other part is simply the Peace Corps lifestyle and facing the fact that we won't always be busy, productive, or having a blast (hmm, it kind of sounds like life in general huh?).

In regards to the Peace Corps lifestyle, it is a difficult thing to describe. It depends on the person, the community, the counterpart organization, and the country- but for many, our schedules are quite flexible and our work isn't always defined. And a common nemesis of many volunteers is having too much time- it sounds wonderful doesn't it? But really, it often gives volunteers too much time to think. So often volunteers are on a hunt for more projects, reading material, podcasts, dvds...anything to keep them from just sitting.

Clearly this is a stark contrast from our past life in the working world. For some, I think it is an easy adjustment- they like the added free time, the flexible schedule, the ambiguity. For others (ahem, Adam and I), we like to be busy and productive- and we like clarity (objectives, goals, how we are going to get there). And we also want to do work that we are knowledgeable and skilled in. Sometimes that just doesn't happen.

Although we both have work that we are doing, the work we do at times doesn't necessarily fit all of the above criteria. So we have been searching for additional opportunities that might get us more motivated, make us feel more productive, and keep us busy (and happy), in addition to the work we have already been doing. Which leads us to the ups and downs.

Up for Adam- He was able to have a few meetings with the Municipio person in charge of the trash management in Loja and took a trip out to the local landfill to see how the separation of trash (organic, plastic, glass, cardboard, and other trash) worked and to see how the composting and worm bins functioned. The guy is excited to have Adam work with him on improving the trash program in Loja. Adam has already begun working on a website to educate people on the separation of trash (a big problem) and has some ideas for ways to get people in Loja educated (so that they don't throw plastic cups into their organic bin).

Up for me- Eri and I have been organizing activities in various communities to teach kids origami and to talk a little bit about children's rights. She has gotten a few things set up to happen weekly so it puts a few more things on my schedule. Usually one of our colleagues from INFA CPD comes with us to do dynamicas like singing songs and talking about the work our office does (I still have no clue about the children's songs here in Ecuador!). I am so appreciative of having Eri there. I know when I go to the office I will at least have someone to talk to and brainstorm ideas with- and someone who will plan things with me. I have also been trying to get involved with the UTPL (one of the universities in town).

And the downs.

Down for Adam- The 2 meetings and the visit to the landfill has occurred over the past 2 weeks. So although it is very productive from a PC lifestyle point of view...it doesn't occupy a whole lot of Adam's time. And it is still unclear exactly what the guy at the Municipio would like Adam to do (we have brainstormed doing trainings of teachers so they can do activities in their classrooms about recycling, littering, and the trash program in the city, among other things). So these few meetings, along with his regularly scheduled computer classes and his work at the orphanage, still leave him with a lot of time.

Down for me- Eri is off to Mexico for 2 weeks. I have no desire to go to the office. There are all new colleagues there who still can't remember my name after 2 months (That girl...she is Asian. Possibly Japanese like Eri? Or maybe Korean? Probably Korean. You know, I think her name is Eri too. That is what I'll call her. What does she do here? I think she fixes viruses and computer problems. Hey! Eri! Venga! My internet is down!). It is incredibly awkward. And I haven't been able to get a meeting scheduled at the university because everyone is busy and I was gone at home for half of Feb. So I will also have a lot of time on my hands.

So how do we cope with our free time (the cause of our downs, can you believe that?)? There is an endless number of crafting, scrapping and baking blogs to read and I have encountered textured cardstock at the local paper store so I've been doing some scrapbooking. Plus we finally have a World Wise Schools match where the teacher is responding to us! So we just sent our first letters to the students and are devising other ways to share our experiences with them! I am throwing ideas to Adam about ways he can use his time- go for a run, hike up the beautiful hills around us, visit the print shops so he can give a budget estimate for an education campaign on trash, set up additional meetings, create a gameplan to hit up each of the 50+ barrios in town to educate people on separating their trash, etc.

I think the reason why free time leads to the so-called downs is that it gives us too much time to think "why did we quit our good jobs to come and do things that we aren't good at in a language that we can't speak well, would things be better if we were with counterparts that were more into us being here, are we being bad volunteers because we have this extra time, how come our Spanish isn't better after 8 months" etc. etc. You get the drift! And I think that we aren't alone in sometimes having these thoughts.

However, as many of you probably know...when you are in a slump, you are in a slump. There is nothing you can do but hope that it passes. And that next week will look up. Such is the rollercoaster that we ride. I am sure next week will be a great week for us (suddenly we will have community meetings to attend, home visits to go to, special events to plan, etc), and that before the end of March, we will have at least a few more ups and downs.

Ok, hope this wasn't too "down" of a post! With that, some photos from the past few weeks.

We made "Lunar New Year" lanterns with the kids at the orphanage

Me demonstrating how to cut the lantern (Adam is camera shy)

Driving in heavy fog to do home visits and a charla in Zambi (2.5 hours from Loja)

Kids in Zambi are so adorable! Especially with newspaper samurai hats!

Only 3 yrs old but he sure could follow directions!

Hooray for talking paper birds!

One thing not great in Zambi- red clay that sticks to your shoes!

Passing time in the office making origami mobiles

More arts & crafts at the orphanage- dragon masks!!