Ok, so I know I sent this to everyone via email, but I wanted to also post it here too, for all those not on my spam list! A few PC Ecuador volunteers, including Jason from Loja, made a website highlighting the PC Ecuador program and projects that current volunteers are doing in their communities. There are spotlights on volunteers and sections featuring different organizations that some of us volunteers work with. Jason said they will be updating it regularly so bookmark this website and check back often! And the site is hosted by 100% wind energy!
http://www.projectsforpeaceecuador.org/
Friday, January 8, 2010
Friday, January 1, 2010
Out with the old and in with the new- Here is to a Happy 2010!
Yesterday was what I would call a bittersweet ending to 2009.
In case I haven't mentioned in great detail, over the past several months my colleagues in INFA Centro de Protección de Derechos (my counterpart organization) have been worrying about whether their contracts would be renewed past Dec. 31st. My office is a new project of INFA's so they have been with CPD since its grand opening last November/December and were on contracts to see how the office would go. My colleagues hadn't heard whether they would continue after yesterday, but had been told over and over not to worry. I thought this late in the game, it wouldn't make sense to tell them that they aren't going to continue. Plus they have developed close relationships with many of the families we work with- it wouldn't make sense to take away their social worker, psychologist or lawyer.
Well, I went to work in the morning yesterday and all my colleagues were in a frenzy trying to get their end of the year work reports done. They had been in the office until 11pm the night before and were back again at 7:30am. They were also preparing for evaluations that they were told would happen that morning. Around 10am, the person in charge of the region came in and had a quick meeting with my colleages (must have been about 10 minutes, I was in the other office editing a word document). When they finished their meeting they resumed what they had been doing so I didn't think much of it until I noticed one of my colleagues looking pretty upset.
As it turns out, they were just told to pack up their belongings by the end of the day (after they finish their work reports of course) and they were prohibited from returning after the new year. They would be bringing in new people to start next week. I was shocked! Everyone tried to hold their emotions in, but when it was time to say goodbyes, they began sobbing. And everyone who knows me well, knows that I am an empathetic cryer, so I was crying along with them. It is just a terrible situation for all of my colleagues in the office who worked so hard and such long hours, put up with not getting their pay for 3 months (they finally got it this week), and then are told at the 11th hour that they wouldn't have jobs for 2010. What kind of news is that to give your employees? I guess they think that is a way to keep them working hard all the way until the end. ¡Qué feo!
As a result of all this, I am not sure if I will continue working with this organization. I don't think I can work with an organization that treats their employees like that. Luckily, I am in a large enough community where other opportunities for volunteer work exists. Wish me luck because we have our ReConnect Conference in a week (I will probably be the only person going without a counterpart) and then I have a few weeks to look at other opps. I will go talk to INFA this upcoming week, but again, I am unsure if I would want to continue volunteering with them.
However, Adam and I also had a great end of 2009. One of Adam's friends who practices English and Spanish with him, took us around Loja to show us some of the traditions that Ecuadorians have for New Years. One of the big traditions is to take "muñecas" (often figures of people made out of paper mache) and burn them at midnight. Often they are representations of things that happened in 2009 (families might make a representation of a marriage that happened that year, a car accident that someone might have had, or in my colleagues's case...perhaps they will make something that represents their work at INFA CPD). In Loja, there is also a competition of the best themed muñecas (kind of like Christmas light decoration competitions). We saw some really cool ones and we also saw a lot of Michael Jacksons!
The previous two photos represent something that happened in Loja this year. There was supposedly a haunted house in town and people were hearing wailing and noises coming from this empty building. It became a huge deal and vendors set up shop in front of the building selling food to all th crowds coming to check it out. News reporters were filming and it was all the talk in town. As it turns out, it was a big hoax by this motorcycle riding Lojano named Diego
I am not sure on the whole story of this, but apparently there were a lot of government contracts given to the brother of Ecuador's president and so people were really upset about the whole thing and felt like it was corruption. I think they ended up rescinding the contract to restore faith in the government, but I am not totally sure.
This year Ecuador decided that they would shut down a US military base located on the coast so I am guessing that is what this display is about
And of course Michael Jackson, El Rey de Pop
Another less impressive version
Apparently this year one of the city buses ran over someone in its rush to stay on time. The bus system is called SITU which stands for Sistema Integral de Transporte Urbano...but as you can see from the sign, they changed Integral to Inconcluso...
Not sure what this was, but it was huge and looked cool. Can you imagine it in flames at midnight?
The Hulk manning a cannon at the military base
Another tradition aside from the burning of muñecas at midnight are the "widows" of 2009. Because 2009 is the old year that is going away, men dress up as the "widows" of the old year and collect money for the new year. There were a lot of blockades in the streets, and they wouldn't let you pass until you paid up (5 cents does the trick). Some kids also dressed up in costumes and did the same thing. But gosh, some of the men were pretty scantily clad! Haha.
Street blockades...you have to give money to the widows if you want to pass!
Good looking widow doing a dance for us
If Adam and I had partaken in the muñecas traditions, I think we would have quite the display! 2009 was a pretty big year for us! We kicked it off in Hong Kong and Taiwan, finished our time working in Orange County, quit our jobs to go roadtripping (yay for our visits to Austin and Knoxville in particular), and took off for the Peace Corps in June. Since then we have been working on our Spanish, trying to do good things with our organizations, and hopefully spreading peace, friendship and cultural understanding in the short 6 months we have been in Ecuador.
Here is to another fantastic and exciting year! Happy New Years! And of course, Happy Birthday Suegra!
In case I haven't mentioned in great detail, over the past several months my colleagues in INFA Centro de Protección de Derechos (my counterpart organization) have been worrying about whether their contracts would be renewed past Dec. 31st. My office is a new project of INFA's so they have been with CPD since its grand opening last November/December and were on contracts to see how the office would go. My colleagues hadn't heard whether they would continue after yesterday, but had been told over and over not to worry. I thought this late in the game, it wouldn't make sense to tell them that they aren't going to continue. Plus they have developed close relationships with many of the families we work with- it wouldn't make sense to take away their social worker, psychologist or lawyer.
Well, I went to work in the morning yesterday and all my colleagues were in a frenzy trying to get their end of the year work reports done. They had been in the office until 11pm the night before and were back again at 7:30am. They were also preparing for evaluations that they were told would happen that morning. Around 10am, the person in charge of the region came in and had a quick meeting with my colleages (must have been about 10 minutes, I was in the other office editing a word document). When they finished their meeting they resumed what they had been doing so I didn't think much of it until I noticed one of my colleagues looking pretty upset.
As it turns out, they were just told to pack up their belongings by the end of the day (after they finish their work reports of course) and they were prohibited from returning after the new year. They would be bringing in new people to start next week. I was shocked! Everyone tried to hold their emotions in, but when it was time to say goodbyes, they began sobbing. And everyone who knows me well, knows that I am an empathetic cryer, so I was crying along with them. It is just a terrible situation for all of my colleagues in the office who worked so hard and such long hours, put up with not getting their pay for 3 months (they finally got it this week), and then are told at the 11th hour that they wouldn't have jobs for 2010. What kind of news is that to give your employees? I guess they think that is a way to keep them working hard all the way until the end. ¡Qué feo!
As a result of all this, I am not sure if I will continue working with this organization. I don't think I can work with an organization that treats their employees like that. Luckily, I am in a large enough community where other opportunities for volunteer work exists. Wish me luck because we have our ReConnect Conference in a week (I will probably be the only person going without a counterpart) and then I have a few weeks to look at other opps. I will go talk to INFA this upcoming week, but again, I am unsure if I would want to continue volunteering with them.
However, Adam and I also had a great end of 2009. One of Adam's friends who practices English and Spanish with him, took us around Loja to show us some of the traditions that Ecuadorians have for New Years. One of the big traditions is to take "muñecas" (often figures of people made out of paper mache) and burn them at midnight. Often they are representations of things that happened in 2009 (families might make a representation of a marriage that happened that year, a car accident that someone might have had, or in my colleagues's case...perhaps they will make something that represents their work at INFA CPD). In Loja, there is also a competition of the best themed muñecas (kind of like Christmas light decoration competitions). We saw some really cool ones and we also saw a lot of Michael Jacksons!
The previous two photos represent something that happened in Loja this year. There was supposedly a haunted house in town and people were hearing wailing and noises coming from this empty building. It became a huge deal and vendors set up shop in front of the building selling food to all th crowds coming to check it out. News reporters were filming and it was all the talk in town. As it turns out, it was a big hoax by this motorcycle riding Lojano named Diego
I am not sure on the whole story of this, but apparently there were a lot of government contracts given to the brother of Ecuador's president and so people were really upset about the whole thing and felt like it was corruption. I think they ended up rescinding the contract to restore faith in the government, but I am not totally sure.
This year Ecuador decided that they would shut down a US military base located on the coast so I am guessing that is what this display is about
And of course Michael Jackson, El Rey de Pop
Another less impressive version
Apparently this year one of the city buses ran over someone in its rush to stay on time. The bus system is called SITU which stands for Sistema Integral de Transporte Urbano...but as you can see from the sign, they changed Integral to Inconcluso...
Not sure what this was, but it was huge and looked cool. Can you imagine it in flames at midnight?
The Hulk manning a cannon at the military base
Street blockades...you have to give money to the widows if you want to pass!
Good looking widow doing a dance for us
Another couple of widows at the next blockade
Other traditions included things like wearing yellow underwear for good luck or eating 12 grapes for prosperity in the new year. There were a ton of vendors selling yellow underwear and grapes in the streets. And of coursebefore midnight we had fireworks going off for a good hour and after midnight the air was so full of smoke from all the burning muñecas and fireworks!If Adam and I had partaken in the muñecas traditions, I think we would have quite the display! 2009 was a pretty big year for us! We kicked it off in Hong Kong and Taiwan, finished our time working in Orange County, quit our jobs to go roadtripping (yay for our visits to Austin and Knoxville in particular), and took off for the Peace Corps in June. Since then we have been working on our Spanish, trying to do good things with our organizations, and hopefully spreading peace, friendship and cultural understanding in the short 6 months we have been in Ecuador.
Here is to another fantastic and exciting year! Happy New Years! And of course, Happy Birthday Suegra!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
18 Hour Bus Ride to Cotacachi!!
Last weekend Adam and I made the long trek up north to visit Mary in her beautiful sierran town of Cotacachi in the province of Imbabura. It took us two bus rides and 18 hours to get to her town, but it was definitely worth it to see friends.
We spent our time in Cotacachi playing with Isa Ecuadog (Mary's adorable 12 week old puppy), shopping around at all the leather shops in her town, traveling to Otavalo to buy souvenirs at the huge outdoor artisan market, eating expensive pie at the Shanendoah pie shop, riding a boat on Lake Cuicocha, and just catching up with Mary and Nancy.
Although we were there for Christmas, it didn't feel even remotely like Christmas Day, though Nancy did bring her iPod with Christmas music and we did see parades with little angels and wisemen. We are a little bummed that we didn't get a chance to stop in Puruhantag (which we passed along the way and heading back home) to visit our host family from training. But hopefully we will get a chance to do that in the future...the next time we decide to brave such a long bus ride. Though we did enjoy theatrical delights on the bus like XXX with Vin Diesel and some horrible movie with Dolph Lundgren. Never heard of him? Neither did I before I came to Ecuador!
Streeview from Mary's porch
And the other direction! As others have mentioned, it does seem like we are in a little beach town, but she is smack in the middle of the Andes!
View from her front door onto the street
Her central park! So clean and pretty!
Of course Isa is just a puppy, so we were practicing our good "No" voices. In this picture, Adam is saying "No biting Isa! No biting!"
I want a puppy!
And another Isa picture
We ate great at Mary's house- homemade English muffins from scratch! We are definitely getting a great lesson on making things at home instead of picking them up at the store!
Honey, jam and fresh squeezed oj!
We are wishing we had a porch to sit out and breakfast on!
Just another porch photo
Coffee sock in action- I can't wait to drink coffee brewed from a machine in Feb!
$2.80 for pie and ice cream??? I know, that is cheap by American standards, but for us PCVs it was more than a drop in the bucket!! But it was delicious (even if Adam insists that it was way too buttery and not as good as his apple pie...which I agree to but you can't compare apple pies to apple pies)
Jewelry in the Otavalo market
Adorable Ecuamommies with their little babies
Boat ride on the Crater Lake Cuicocha? Don't mind if I do!
Looking good in our life jackets- we all know I need one!
Nancy and Mary getting wet from the rain
Ducks on the crater lake
Another parade passing Mary's house on Christmas night- and yes, they are lighting fireworks at the front of the parade, nearly missing pedestrians and passersby! It was an old man holding the fireworks and another guy lighting them. I figure if he has lived to be that old, it must not be that dangerous...ha!
We spent our time in Cotacachi playing with Isa Ecuadog (Mary's adorable 12 week old puppy), shopping around at all the leather shops in her town, traveling to Otavalo to buy souvenirs at the huge outdoor artisan market, eating expensive pie at the Shanendoah pie shop, riding a boat on Lake Cuicocha, and just catching up with Mary and Nancy.
Although we were there for Christmas, it didn't feel even remotely like Christmas Day, though Nancy did bring her iPod with Christmas music and we did see parades with little angels and wisemen. We are a little bummed that we didn't get a chance to stop in Puruhantag (which we passed along the way and heading back home) to visit our host family from training. But hopefully we will get a chance to do that in the future...the next time we decide to brave such a long bus ride. Though we did enjoy theatrical delights on the bus like XXX with Vin Diesel and some horrible movie with Dolph Lundgren. Never heard of him? Neither did I before I came to Ecuador!
Streeview from Mary's porch
And the other direction! As others have mentioned, it does seem like we are in a little beach town, but she is smack in the middle of the Andes!
View from her front door onto the street
Her central park! So clean and pretty!
Of course Isa is just a puppy, so we were practicing our good "No" voices. In this picture, Adam is saying "No biting Isa! No biting!"
I want a puppy!
And another Isa picture
We ate great at Mary's house- homemade English muffins from scratch! We are definitely getting a great lesson on making things at home instead of picking them up at the store!
Honey, jam and fresh squeezed oj!
We are wishing we had a porch to sit out and breakfast on!
Just another porch photo
Coffee sock in action- I can't wait to drink coffee brewed from a machine in Feb!
$2.80 for pie and ice cream??? I know, that is cheap by American standards, but for us PCVs it was more than a drop in the bucket!! But it was delicious (even if Adam insists that it was way too buttery and not as good as his apple pie...which I agree to but you can't compare apple pies to apple pies)
Jewelry in the Otavalo market
Adorable Ecuamommies with their little babies
Thunderstorm coming in over the central park in Cotacachi
Boat ride on the Crater Lake Cuicocha? Don't mind if I do!
Looking good in our life jackets- we all know I need one!
Nancy and Mary getting wet from the rain
Ducks on the crater lakeAnother parade passing Mary's house on Christmas night- and yes, they are lighting fireworks at the front of the parade, nearly missing pedestrians and passersby! It was an old man holding the fireworks and another guy lighting them. I figure if he has lived to be that old, it must not be that dangerous...ha!
Festivities and Activities in December
I've mentioned different events, activities, etc that happened throughout the month of December in my emails or other blog posts, so I figure since I have a bajillion photos, I might as well get them posted up and share some of those stories here and there!
Adam's counterpart organization CASMUL and my counterpart organization INFA were both really busy during the month of December. As social work organization, they were doing a lot of events for the holiday season. One of the campaigns that INFA was organizing was Navidad Sin Mendicidad (which I believe roughly equates to Christmas Without Begging... so essentially trying to eliminate need during Christmas time) so we had a big event to collect food, clothing, gifts, and money. My coworkers had to come in on their day off to hang up posters around town, and we spent an entire day flyering and talking to people.
Every big event needs entertainment and a big stage
As volunteers, we got the XL shirts...hooray for free baggy event t-shirts!
Some of the kids I have worked with in Loja were at the event to help pass out flyers. I was worried for them because they were on stilts and I could just imagine an accident happening
Phillipe and I passing out flyers asking for donations
A parade for another program that Adam's org was putting on
The kids messing around and getting excited before dinner
Photo with the Reina!!
Adam's counterpart organization CASMUL and my counterpart organization INFA were both really busy during the month of December. As social work organization, they were doing a lot of events for the holiday season. One of the campaigns that INFA was organizing was Navidad Sin Mendicidad (which I believe roughly equates to Christmas Without Begging... so essentially trying to eliminate need during Christmas time) so we had a big event to collect food, clothing, gifts, and money. My coworkers had to come in on their day off to hang up posters around town, and we spent an entire day flyering and talking to people.
Every big event needs entertainment and a big stage
As volunteers, we got the XL shirts...hooray for free baggy event t-shirts!
Some of the kids I have worked with in Loja were at the event to help pass out flyers. I was worried for them because they were on stilts and I could just imagine an accident happening
Phillipe and I passing out flyers asking for donations
A parade for another program that Adam's org was putting onDuring December we also were invited to a sushi party by Lori, who was a PC volunteer in Loja in the 90's and now lives in Loja with her husband and daughter. We made california rolls with avocados, cucumber, smoked salmon, and green onions. It was totally fun and I think I will be making more at home one of these days, now that I know the ingredients are available in Loja! We had a great time and met a lot of other foreigners who live in Loja. Although we are still trying ever so hard to make some Ecuadorian friends, we won't turn down other kinds of friends either!
Deliciousness!
The beautiful spread...and that is amazing teriyaki chicken in the middle too!
The day after our sushi party, we headed up north about 2 hours to have a fun Chanukah Latke and Housewarming party at Liz's new apartment in San Lucas. Seeing as how I am not Jewish even a little bit, I didn't know that applesauce and latkes go together. I knew they were two delicious things that people eat around this time, but I had no idea that they were served together, so I had the joy of learning something new (and enjoyed listening to Liz and Jason sing songs that they learned growing up!). The made-from-scratch latkes and applesauce were totally fantastic, and even better served alongside the menorah shaped sugar cookies that Liz dished out.
Steven and Jamie peeling and grating the potatoes
Adam's turn to grate!
Jason and Liz frying them up! Yum!
Deliciousness!
The beautiful spread...and that is amazing teriyaki chicken in the middle too!The day after our sushi party, we headed up north about 2 hours to have a fun Chanukah Latke and Housewarming party at Liz's new apartment in San Lucas. Seeing as how I am not Jewish even a little bit, I didn't know that applesauce and latkes go together. I knew they were two delicious things that people eat around this time, but I had no idea that they were served together, so I had the joy of learning something new (and enjoyed listening to Liz and Jason sing songs that they learned growing up!). The made-from-scratch latkes and applesauce were totally fantastic, and even better served alongside the menorah shaped sugar cookies that Liz dished out.
Steven and Jamie peeling and grating the potatoes
Adam's turn to grate!
Jason and Liz frying them up! Yum!Also in December, we had a Thanksgiving Part 2 celebration. We all had such wonderful Thanksgivings that we decided we needed to eat more! We made a turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and roasted potatoes and Jason made more of his cockaputzy (see Thanksgiving blog post). Jason also made apple cake and a carrot mold. Although carrot mold may not sound appetizing, it was one of the most delicious things that I have ever tasted (Liz renamed it Carrot Deliciousness, because that is exactly what it was). This was on the same day that I got pickpocketed so I was too paranoid to bring my camera. Hence no photos. But I will ask Liz if I can get some from her to post up. Oh, and just so I don't forget, we also had a menorah that night all beautifully lit up because it was the last day of Chanukah. Jason had a wonderful singing voice and sadly I don't have that on video! Lol.
Last thing I will share in this blog post is about the Christmas dinner we made for the kids at the orphanage. During Thanksgiving, Adam and I talked to the kids about the American tradition of Thanksgiving. The kids mentioned that they had never had turkey before (it is a big thing for Christmas...but since it is so expensive it is really for the wealthy) so we thought it would be fun if we made a turkey dinner for them. Adam decided to ask the director if there was a small budget that we could get. To make a long story short, we did get a budget to put the dinner on, but it came with a few strings attached...it wasn't going to be a small intimate dinner but a full on dinner banquet with many special guests, including the Presidenta of CASMUL and the Reina de Loja. We arrived the morning of our dinner to find the turkey frozen solid and the staff at the orphanage unaware that there was a big event that night. But, as Ecuadisasters go, everything turned out well in the end despite the rough start in the morning, the number of unexpected guests, and the fact that the scheduled power outage happened between 5-7pm when dinner was happening. The kids had a great time and loved trying turkey and receiving presents, and the turkey was cooked all the way through and tasted fine!
Tablesetting for the dinner- the kids got the head table!
Adam checking on the turkeyLast thing I will share in this blog post is about the Christmas dinner we made for the kids at the orphanage. During Thanksgiving, Adam and I talked to the kids about the American tradition of Thanksgiving. The kids mentioned that they had never had turkey before (it is a big thing for Christmas...but since it is so expensive it is really for the wealthy) so we thought it would be fun if we made a turkey dinner for them. Adam decided to ask the director if there was a small budget that we could get. To make a long story short, we did get a budget to put the dinner on, but it came with a few strings attached...it wasn't going to be a small intimate dinner but a full on dinner banquet with many special guests, including the Presidenta of CASMUL and the Reina de Loja. We arrived the morning of our dinner to find the turkey frozen solid and the staff at the orphanage unaware that there was a big event that night. But, as Ecuadisasters go, everything turned out well in the end despite the rough start in the morning, the number of unexpected guests, and the fact that the scheduled power outage happened between 5-7pm when dinner was happening. The kids had a great time and loved trying turkey and receiving presents, and the turkey was cooked all the way through and tasted fine!
Tablesetting for the dinner- the kids got the head table!
The kids messing around and getting excited before dinner
Photo with the Reina!!Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Seco de Pollo Mas Grande De Todo Del Mundo
This also is coming a little bit late. On Nov. 18, Loja celebrated its Independence Day and Adam's organization CASMUL was hosting a big fundraiser event in Parque Jipiro to raise funds for a center for kids with disabilities. They sold tickets for a typical Ecuadorian dish called Seco de Pollo. When I first heard about the "Seco de Pollo Mas Grande De Todo Del Mundo" (or The Largest Seco de Pollo in the World) I imagined a really large dry chicken. But in reality, it was 2000+ plates of seco de pollo (chicken marinated in sauce) with rice, veggie and mayo salad, and pieces of yucca. There were hundreds of people at this event, along with vendors and entertainment. Adam's organization didn't need us to help out much other than set up some tables and chairs, so we pretty much just showed up, hung out, and ate! Recipe for Seco de Pollo is below!
Exciting vendor stuff like a blow up Winnie the Pooh!
Alex, El Gato de Loja (the term "gato" is used for Ecuadorians with green or blue eyes)- we had seen Alex perform during the Posta Civica too...the young Lojanas LOVE this guy
The long line of hungry customers in front of the blow up Mr. Pollo sign...yes, they were sponsors
Exciting vendor stuff like a blow up Winnie the Pooh!
Alex, El Gato de Loja (the term "gato" is used for Ecuadorians with green or blue eyes)- we had seen Alex perform during the Posta Civica too...the young Lojanas LOVE this guy
The long line of hungry customers in front of the blow up Mr. Pollo sign...yes, they were sponsorsSeco de Pollo Recipe
Chicken legs
2 tbs of vegetable oil
1 tbs of tomato sauce
3 cloves of chopped garlic
2 tbs of sugar
1 cup of beer
1/2 onion, chopped
2 tbs of cilantro
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
3 peeled and chopped tomatoes
Salt, pepper and cumin to taste
Fry the chicken legs in the oil with the onion, garlic and bell pepper. Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, sugar and beer. Cook for 25 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, cumin and cilantro. Serve with rice and fried bananas or yucca.
Chicken legs
2 tbs of vegetable oil
1 tbs of tomato sauce
3 cloves of chopped garlic
2 tbs of sugar
1 cup of beer
1/2 onion, chopped
2 tbs of cilantro
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
3 peeled and chopped tomatoes
Salt, pepper and cumin to taste
Fry the chicken legs in the oil with the onion, garlic and bell pepper. Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, sugar and beer. Cook for 25 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, cumin and cilantro. Serve with rice and fried bananas or yucca.
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