First few weeks...

Hi, everyone!

Finally, the long-awaited, much anticipated “Marcie in Ecuador” blog is here! Now y’all have an excuse to procrastinate even more at work or school. Yay! I apologize for not getting this up and running sooner. The problem hasn’t been lack of internet (there are internet cafes everywhere and even a few places with wireless) but rather lack of time. Our days are packed, usually going from 8 – 5 everyday, and since my home is about a 45 minute walk from the training center and I don’t like to be out after dark, time is limited. Thank goodness for the weekend!

So today marks my 11th day in Ecuador. It’s definitely been a rollercoaster ride, but I’ve had a blast so far. I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful location. We’re over 9,000 ft. above sea level, so we’re literally walking in the clouds everyday. The weather has been great thus far. Cold in the mornings and at night, and pretty moderate during the day, usually around 65 degrees. I will say it’s been an adjustment getting used to the changes in weather throughout the day, though. One minute it’s cloudy and freezing, and the next minute it’s sunny and burning up. I’ve learned to dress in layers. We’re also right in the middle of Ecuador’s rainy season, but it hasn’t been too bad yet. Just a couple of heavy showers so far.

I live with a family in a barrio close to our training site. My family is awesome! I really couldn’t have asked for a group of nicer people. Like most families here, there are a lot of them living in the same house, about 8 total plus some neighbors. They’re all extremely welcoming and curious about me and why I’m here. I feel really fortunate because even though it’s a ton of people living in the same house, everyone is extremely independent and I don’t have trouble finding time for myself. I will say that my sleeping schedule has changed quite a bit from what it was in the States. I’m up by 5:45 every morning and in bed no later than 10:30. On the weekends I get to sleep in till about 8. Hahaha. My bathing regimen has also changed a bit. Hot water is limited, so if I want a lukewarm shower I need to be in there by 5:45 in the morning. I now only take showers every other day. Cold showers in about 40 degree weather will really wake you up in the morning!

The other cool part about living in my house is the way we do laundry. Electricity is crazy expensive here so washing machines are few and far between. So we have what’s called a washing rock. It’s basically 2 huge stones on either side of this basin. The stones are tiled and the basin is filled with water. The day before I want to do laundry, I soak all my clothes in a bucket with some detergent. The next day I use this bar of laundry soap and scrub the hell out my clothes, using the tile as a scrubber. After I rinse them out, I hang everything up to dry and that’s that. So far I’ve done laundry twice and it’s been an experience each time. Yesterday, it took me about an hour and a half to do a medium size load. Hahaha I’m still getting used to it. The one thing I have learned is to make sure all my clothes are completely rinsed out before I hang them up to dry. My dark jeans paid the price yesterday and now have a few white blotches on them from bleach, I guess. Maybe I’ll start a new fashion trend.

Food so far has been really good. Since breakfast is so early, I usually can’t eat that much. Typically I just have some form of milk shake (my mom loves making this tomato, banana, and milk drink that’s actually really good and pretty healthy) and a small piece of bread. For lunch, we eat at the training center and usually have chicken, mixed veggies and either rice or potatoes. Dessert is a piece of fresh fruit that’s always delicious. Dinner varies each night. We’ll either have some form of soup (usually potato or yucca) or meat with rice and some form of salad, like avocado or carrots. Fish has been a popular supper item and they love papas fritas (French fries). Everyone is very diligent about finishing everything on their plate, and since everyone works hard everyday, they usually have pretty big portions. My mom has learned to give me about half of what she gives everyone else because I literally can’t pack it in. What’s been cool about dinner is that I’ve been helping out by either peeling potatoes or making juice. Usually simple tasks since my cooking skills are limited. I think my mom really enjoys teaching me, though, and it also lets me have a say in how much she puts on my plate.

Like I said, our schedules are pretty packed during the weekdays. 2 other volunteers live in my same barrio so we usually walk to the training center together. We leave around 7:15 every morning to get to our classes on time. I’m using the word “classes” loosely, since it’s nothing like college. There are 43 volunteers in our group, and everyday is different. We’re broken up into 2 groups: Natural Resources and Agriculture. Depending on the day, we’ll have technical training courses relating to our particular program. Being in NR, I’m learning about everything from soil to agriforestry to conservation, etc. Since we’ve only had one week of training, we haven’t gone too in-depth with our programs. However, this last Friday both groups joined together and we made this HUGE garden complete with trees, vegetables, fruits, flowers, greenhouses, etc. It was really awesome and a fun way to learn specific vocabulary. I don’t think I’ve ever shoveled so much in my life, though.

When we’re not working on technical skills, we’re working on language and culture. Our language groups are broken up into about 4 – 5 people per group, depending on Spanish level, with an instructor. It’s been really effective since the groups are so small and you can get more one on one teaching. Training is 10 weeks long, and then we’ll be sworn in as legit Peace Corps volunteers.

I still don’t know where I’ll be working once I’m actually sworn in. We don’t find that out until week 5, but it could be anywhere in Ecuador. As far as I know, I’ll be working somewhat with computers and teaching so I’m excited about that! And once we’re sworn in we’ll all be given cell phones which is awesome. Lack of communication has been the hardest thing to adjust to, so I’m looking forward to being more in the loop.

Well, that’s all for now. Sorry this was so long, but hopefully it gave everyone a basic idea of what I’ve been doing since I left. I hope everyone is doing fantastic!! If you get some time, jot me an email or letter and whenever I get a chance I’ll get back to you. Love and miss you all!!! Check out the pics at www.flickr.com/ecuadormarcie!!!