¡Buenas Tardes!So, to catch you all up on the adventures here in Ecuador. I feel like I have been here for months...I am now living with a host family in Cangahua, 30 minutes from Cayambe, where we had training last week. It is a small rural town, about 5 blocks by 5 blocks, located way up in the mountains, with a bunch of small surrounding farming/indigenous towns. The views are absolutely amazing. On clear days (clear days here actually don{t exist, bc the weather is constantly changing...rain, clouds, sun, mist, wind, etc. all day, so during a clear hour...) you can see the snow covered volcano Cayambe. The scenery is awesome...tons of farmland, animals, little houses, cobblestone or dirt streets, dogs and children everywhere. The inhabitants of Cangahua are mostly farmers or store owners. I live with a grandmother, grandfather, mother, brother (13 yrs), and 2 sisters (8 yrs and 1.5 yrs). They are awesome, very friendly, and helpful. I live in a small and very simple house on a corner across from the center of town. All rooms open to the outside, where the clothes are hanging on clotheslines, and the cuyes (guinea pigs) are kept in a small shed. Guinea pigs are a favorite here in Ecuador (to eat). There are 3 bedrooms (1 is mine---at times such as these, when I see what I am given, and what the family is given, I feel so privledged...maybe not even privledged, but spoiled. yes, spoiled. and at times, ungrateful. i am grateful to have my own room, but I am often so cold without heat. I am grateful that we have a toilet that flushes, but when the slugs come out at night, I am a bit taken a back. I must change my perspective, yeah? I think this is a huge part of Peace Corps, learning about your own culture, your expectations or what you take for granted...I must reflect on this and observe the culture with the understanding that I have a filter when I experience anything here, be it conversation, actions, or circumstances.) The central parque (center of town) consists of a beautiful blue catholic church, a couple tiendas (stores), a pool hall, and a central cement area with a couple bushes, cement benches, volleyball net/soccer field, and 4 or 5 circles painted on the ground for dancing (during festivals the surrounding communities (really rural towns) come to Cangahua to dance in their respective circles.) I guess it{s kind of like a dance-off? We have one tonight for the celebration of San Pedro and Pablo...I{ll let yall know how it goes :) The people here really are so fabulous. Everyone I pass says good morning/afternoon/night, how are you, welcome to cangagua. Its much different out here in the campo (rural parts). They look you in the eye, acknowledge your presence, want to know how you are getting along, if you want to come play futbol with them, etc. I love it, definitely not what I am accustomed to in the States outside of my small neighborhood.My days here consist of "training"-cultural, language, technical, safety, personal health. There are 4 other PC volunteers in my town, and we have been assigned a faciliator, Kelvin, who is tan chevere (meaning cool--apparently comes from "chevorlet" the expensive and cool car). It{s all very informal but intense. For language training we study vocab, grammer, local phrases, etc at one of the volunteer{s homes...cultural training we visit markets, talk to locals, walk around and get to know the area...for technical training we study the functioning of the ministry of health by visiting health centers/clinics in Cangahua and around the area, asking local families, hanging out at schools during recess, meeting with town officials, doctors, school principals, gathering statictics (which is quite difficult). Safety and personal health are taken care of during general meetings of fridays when all volunteers gather in one town with PC staff. In my free time I play soccer/basketball/volleyball/marbles/cards with the local kids, hang out with my mom in her store (which is pretty awesome that as a women she owns and manages her own store), go on hikes with my PC friends, sit in the center and talk to locals enjoying the views of the mountains and rolling hills and farmland...Yesterday after a super packed day we (PC vols) sat in the center with a beer and watched the sheep and cows graze way up on the mountains while the sun set, speaking in english for once (we try our best to speak in spanish at all times) about our lives and our passions and goals...it was so nice, bc with limited spanish vocab it is difficult at times to express the way you feel. I feel oddly at home in Latin America..I did in Central America, Puerto Rico, and now here in Ecuador...I love the physical beauty of the country, the colorful houses and shops, the small stone/dirt streets, the beautiful and happy people despite circumstance, the rich history and indigenous culture, the language and fun word play, the traditions, the built in stairs and houses on the hillside....it feels so "lived in"...the machismo, lack of public health knowledge (like nutrition, sanitation), and lack of opportunity is a bit disheartening, but comes with the job and the life here. That{s it for now. I wont be writing for a while, and probably not usually this much, but I wanted to give you all an overview of what my life will be like for the next 2 months or so. I hope you all are doing really well!!!!!!
Con all my cariño and more,Sarah