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.
