Early Termination of Peace Corps Servoce

I have terminated my service as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I am coming home to North Carolina on Friday, October 12, 2007. I know this may come as a shock to many of you, as I have had a wonderful time at my site in Manabi, Ecuador. However, I have given this decision much thought over the past month and am completely confident that it is the most appropriate decision for me.

The obstacles encouraging me to resign from my position are not interpersonal conflicts. I made wonderful friends and developed relationships in the community and with key organizations. My host family and their extended family members have taken me in as their own. The food is wonderfully flavorful and plentiful, and the climate is absolutely perfect. I have access not only to the basics, but also to resources that provide a very comfortable lifestyle. My Spanish level allows me to verbally communicate with others, and I feel safe at my site. My patience, flexibility and cultural understanding are often tested, but this is not a challenge in which I was not prepared to, or capable of facing. The Latino culture is not new to me, and although I recognize that each country, province, county, parish, and community has its own culture, I do not feel that I am experiencing the typical culture shock that would encourage one to doubt their role as a Peace Corps Volunteer. According to the Critical Periods in the Life of a PCV, at 3-6 months I should be experiencing the behaviors and reactions of fright, frustration with self, loneliness, weight & health changes, homesickness, uselessness. It is not a stereotypical culture shock that I am experiencing in traditional terms. I am neither frightened nor doubtful of my abilities to integrate in the community or to complete 2 years at my site. Although I love my family and some modern conveniences, I do not feel lonely or homesick. My health has been awesome since I arrived to Manabi, and I am able to exercise regularly. I do not feel useless, but do feel that my presence in the community would displace qualified and available local workers, and that the community is capable of changing their reality without my help.

I could certainly stay for 2 years, for I thoroughly enjoyed my personal life in Manabi. At times I felt that I was on vacation. I understand that the goals of Peace Corps include making friendships with people of other cultures to promote understanding and international education. This is a worthy goal, but not sufficient to convince me to spend my life and talents here. I did not join the Peace Corps to spend a quick 2 years serving others so that I could return to the U.S. and start my life. I did not view Peace Corps as a resume-builder, a tool to impress employers and help me climb the corporate ladder, to ease my transition from college into the real-world, to spend 2 years of soul-searching to find who I am, what I believe, and where my passions lie. I joined Peace Corps because I want to use my life to serve others, because I feel that it is my responsibility as a human. I continue to identify myself as a global citizen and feel great desire to understand others and explore the world. However, I do not feel that international development work in this particular capacity fulfils my duties, obligations, and goals as a Peace Corps Volunteer nor as an individual I am constantly impressed by my fellow Peace Corps Volunteers and believe that many of them are truly doing great work. I admire them for their bravery, resourcefulness and perseverance. They have become some of my closest friends in a few short months, and I am very grateful for their friendships. However, I want to live my life serving others in the best and effective way possible, and I feel that my time and talents could be better spent elsewhere. When I listen to the townspeople talk about how gossip and egoism and disunity are principal problems in the community, all I can think about is my own state of North Carolina and the Latino patients at the hospital who are unable to communicate with the medical personal, or the Latino mothers who are unable to communicate with their children’s teacher, or the Latino employees who are being sexually abused by employers but are unable to demand their rights due to ignorance of English and U.S. laws, or the Latino children who are unable to verbally communicate and who are failing in school because they do not speak English. These are areas in which I was involved during my time in college, and I think my passion to serve has greater potential in these areas than as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

I cannot fulfill “Kennedy’s Promise,” as I do not feel that have a real job to do worthy of the U.S. government´s resources. In 1961 President John F. Kennedy promised: ¨We will only send abroad Americans who are wanted by the host country- who have a real job to do- and who are qualified to do that job. Programs will be developed with care, and after full negotiation, in order to make sure that Peace Corps is wanted and will contribute to the welfare of other people. Our Peace Corps is not designed as an instrument of diplomacy or propaganda or ideological conflict. It is designed to permit our people to exercise more fully their responsibilities in the great common cause of world development.¨ During the interviews I conducted using the Community Needs Assessment Tool (completed with almost every family raising children or youth in my community), the people informed me that the main problems are lack of unity, solidarity, participation, meeting attendance, motivation, and egoism. They believe that this greatly contributes to the lack of success and progress made in the communities and in the province of Manabi. I am told by the people themselves that their lack of animation and participation is a cultural problem. They tell me they are individualistic, egotistic, and do not like to collaborate with other communities or people of different social groups or economic class. On a personal level, I have difficulty tolerating this type of attitude or behavior, especially when these people are well aware that this is what is preventing or inhibiting them from developing as a community and as individuals. The other main problems stated during interviews were the incompletion or lack of social services and projects such as street lighting, sports fields, reliable potable water system, children’s playground, completion of elementary school, updated latrines, and a full-time and permanent doctor at the local health subcenter. These are primarily infrastructure issues, which are not included in my job description as a Health Promoter. I cannot provide economic assistance to fund such projects. Project proposals and plans for the majority of these problems have already been drawn and submitted, and the municipial, county, parish, Plan International, or other organizations have already agreed to work on these projects. Both governmental and non-governmental organizations on the local, regional, and national levels are aware of these problems. The people, or at least the community leaders, know their connections, who they need to contact for projects, how to write a complaint or proposal, but they just often fail to take the initiative to do so. They have amazing resources and many organizations that are willing to help. The majority of problems and needs are on a structural level, and the necessary actors are well-aware of the issues.

In regards to reactive health concerns, such as supply and availability of medicine, adequate number of medical personnel, access to ambulance, or appropriate resources to guarantee the rights outlined by the Free Maternity Law in the Constitution- I do not have access nor power to bring such things and the problems seem to be well known by the powerful actors such as the Municipal, Junta Parroquial, Plan International, CNH, and INNFA. In regards to preventative health concerns, the majority of people in my communities know how to prevent their health problems, and therefore I do not see a significant need for my role as Health Promoter according to the manner in which I was trained by Peace Corps. Those who do not boil their water before drinking (3 families in my primary community) know that their neighbors purify their water, and that they should do so for health reasons. Those that are overweight tell me that they eat too much fried rice. Those that are anemic tell me they should eat more greens. Everyone laughs when they tell me their typical plate consists of rice, plantains, meat, and fruit juice; they know that this is not appropriate alimentation. The vast majority know of many different types of contraceptives and where to find them (subcenter, SORCA, PROFE, etc). Mothers know that they should bring their babies to be weighed monthly and there are 2 institutions that provide this service; every mother I have spoken with has this knowledge, but whether they take the initiative to do so is the obstacle. This was a great source of frustration for me; if parents are not motivated solely by the health and well-being of their child, I was confused as to how I was going to be able to animate them to do so.

The community members and leaders wanted my primary role as a Peace Corps Volunteer to be motivating them to increase participation within the community and with other organizations. Those who told me that participation was a problem also included themselves in the category of unmotivated individuals, and were the very same people who were asking for my motivating spirit. When I asked the community presidents, volunteers, leaders, members, or Plan International supervisors and coordinators, or Peace Corps program directors or volunteers as to why or how I had the ability to motivate these Ecuadorians, they all had the same response. You are a “gringa.” You are a “white girl.” This was and is one of my biggest fears. I am insecure about being white, and very critical of the effect that race has had on history and our current international and interpersonal relations. As a communications major and Spanish minor at the University of North Carolina, for four years I studied cultural and social theories as well as Latin American history and social change. The privilege of being a white, Christian, heterosexual, North American is deeply engrained in my being and obviously part of my identity. I would like to find ways to better manage this tension of privilege, fear and responsibility within me, but it currently inhibits me from being a successful international development worker.

Before joining the Peace Corps I had doubts of the success or ethicality of international development. I was afraid of being an outsider, of creating yet another “us” versus “them” dichotomy, of imposing my values on others, of telling people how to live their lives, of being ignorant to the true plight of these people, and of the great and often dangerous power that a white person (consciously or unconsciously) can possibly have on foreigners. When I became aware that my Peace Corps country assignment was Ecuador, the opportunity to live and work with Latinos and gain a better understanding of the Latin culture brought me great joy. I was allured by these possibilities because my desire upon completion of my Peace Corps service was to work with the Latino immigrant population in the States. However, this joy was paired with a great fear that somehow I would contribute to the disempowerment or subordination of the people I was to be serving. Through my studies I have gained much knowledge of Latin American conquests and inappropriate, unethical, elitist, hierarchical, and racist international development projects that serve to victimize those receiving such “aid.” I also had a slight fear of working with Plan International (an independent development agency with whom I was assigned to as my host country agency) for similar reasons. Counteracting these fears was the hope that as a Peace Corps Volunteer, as one person living in a community, I would have the ability to separate myself from any organizations or programs which I deemed inappropriate. I hoped that I could push my fears aside in order to successfully work with people who had basic and essential needs, which whom I could share my public health knowledge and cultivate cross-cultural friendships. I hoped that I could somehow diminish the power that my skin color had on me and others. However, these hopes were crushed and the obstacles that followed are too much for me to manage in the current context. There are certain obstacles of my whiteness that I anticipated facing, based on my experience in Central America. These are issues that are annoying but manageable, such as being lied to about the cost of items in the markets and in transportation because I am seen as rich, despite the fact that I too live below the poverty level; being sexually harassed and seen as provocative and “easy,” despite my conservative clothing; being approached for money or visas, because I live in what is viewed to be the richest country in the world. With my whiteness comes certain privileges, for in popular culture it is seen as good, successful, powerful, normal, etc. But for me personally it also invokes the fear that I may use this privilege inappropriately, which became a very real and ever-present fear due to the fact that my identity as a “gringa” was what Ecuadorians believed to be the principal factor and tool I would use to motivate people at my site.

I believe wholeheartedly that these people are capable of transforming their own reality without my presence. I would not consider leaving if I thought that they could genuinely use my help, meaning the technical assistance, connections, and resources I have to offer. I feel the communities already have this at their fingertips; I understand that inefficiency, people’s distrust in governments and other organizations resulting from the empty promises often made, and other inherent obstacles to social change in developing countries are part of life here and part of development. I understand some of the complex and complicated reasons why the people in my communities do not choose to participate. However, I truly believe that if I continued my service, my work would not reflect the Peace Corps Project Criteria or Development Philosophy: 1) project increases local capacities, 2) beneficiaries are among the needy, 3) project seeks lasting solution, 4) beneficiaries are part of the project development process, 5) project uses locally-available resources, 6)volunteer assignments are at local levels where needs occur, 7) volunteers do not displace qualified and available local workers, 8) project is complementary to other development activities, 9) project has potential for replication. In fact, I think that my presence in the community would perhaps contradict many of these criteria, and negate or weaken the work already being done by Ecuadorians themselves. I am confident in these communities, the families, the designated leaders, the natural leaders, the intelligent children, and the outgoing youth. They have many examples in their our community of individuals who have ¨succeeded¨ in their personal lives, such as attending an institution of higher education, participating in and learning from the free capacitations or workshops, or becoming doctors and professionals, if this is how they wish to define “success.” From the community needs diagnostic, I have gathered that these people know what the problems are in their community, the steps that need to be taken in order to alleviate or solve them, as well as their potential resources and institutions willing, capable, interested, or currently working on these issues.

I will return to the States on October 12 to begin my job search. I desire to live and work in the Carrboro area, as I am aware that there is a large Latino immigrant population residing there, and I am familiar with many issues that they face. I am looking forward to seeing friends and spending time with my family, younger siblings, and boyfriend. I am extremely excited about continuing my commitment to a life of service, and finding a job which makes better use of my passions and talents. I intend on searching for job opportunities with Latinos in the hospitals or school system, or in areas of international education and cross-cultural understanding.

Thank you so much for your support, and the hard work, time, and effort that many of you spent to allow me to become a Peace Corps Volunteer. Your letters, emails, thoughts, and prayers were and are very much appreciated! I wish my fellow Omnibus 98-ers the very best of luck in their service, and would love to provide any assistance I may, whether than means an encouraging email, or finding an interested class for the World Wise School Program or other type of exchange, or whatever it may be. My love for and interest in Latin America and social change will surely remain strong, and I am confident that my decision to terminate my Peace Corps service will enable me to live a more productive and fulfilling life.

If you would like to contact me, my permanent address is:
Sarah Kenney
302 Whisperwood Dr.
Cary, NC 27511

My email address will remain the same: kenneysarah@gmail.com

I look forward to re-connecting with you all, and would love to hear what is happening in your lives. Thank you again for your wonderful support!!!

Photo Shoot

A couple days ago I went along with Cecilia, Jose Abel (my host family), and Cecilia´s sister to check out the farm. After Cecilia´s father passed away, his land was divided between Cecilia and her 10 siblings...it is quite large as you can imagine. This province of Manabi has been blessed with so many rich foods and an incredible number of awesome fruits (papaya, oranges, tangerines, starfruit, pineapple, 16 types of mango, plantains, guanabana, avocado, maracuya, lemon, yuca, peanuts, beans, peas, and the list goes on with exotic names I had never heard of), which all grow right in these people´s backyards. However, along with this amazing blessing of abundance comes the curse of supply vs. demand. The supply of such foods is so great that they have extremely low monetary values. For examples, 100 large oranges go for $3. Most people dont even bother to sell the excess from what their family does not consume in the home..they give it away to neighbors or crazy foreigners like me, or just leave it to rot. Agriculture is really the only opportunity for work in my communities, so the monthly incomes are extremely low as you can imagine, averaging about $50 per family. Anyhow, Cecilia told me to bring my camera to the farm because she thought my mom would enjoy a picture of me picking an orange. These people find it absolutely hilarious that I have never picked fruit before...I cringe when they ask me how much an orange or mango costs in the US supermarkets. We ended up spending a few minutes gathering some fruit to take home, and and a couple hours taking pictures of the gringa with EVERY fruit in about 3 or 4 different poses. My little brother was quite the photographer, demanding me to put my hand here, turn my head there. Despite the photo shoot aspect, it was really great fun. I am constantly mesmorized and awe-struck by the fact that I can walk 20 feet out my front door to pick and eat at orange right off the tree...or that avocadoes grow on trees (haha i never knew)...or that people often invite me to come over and eat the ripened fruit from their yard. And I really liked using the machete...haha I was told I looked like a telenovela character who lives in the jungle and climbs trees. So I suppose my Ecuadorian friends did have good reason to laugh at my giddyness and my silly comments as to how lucky they are to call this land ¨home,¨ and how fortunate I am to live here. I´m sure I looked like a little kid in a candy store. Now if I can just encourage them to to consume the fruit as is, in large amounts, instead of the traditional 1 or 2 servings they eat via sugary-juice without pulp. I am determined to make people acknowledge fruit as a food, and one that should be eaten regularly. It´s crazy that desnutritution and diseases such as diabetes and hypertension are such large problems here, with all these wonderfully healthy and nutritious foods at their fingertips. The pictures are on my webshots under the albulm entitled ¨Manabi.¨ Enjoy! They´re kinda humerous. http://community.webshots.com/user/kenneysarah

if you´re into politics, read on. sorry, its a book

When I spoke about my week in Quito, I failed to mention that we were visited by representatives from the Embassy, US AID, and the Military group. I found these visits extremely helpful in understanding the current climate here in Ecuador, and in what the US & Ecuadorian governments deem to be important for the country. It was super-illustrative of the current political situation, so read on if you´re interested.
Politics are always a hot topic here. Ecuador has been very unstable politically, with such strong institutional fallout. 20 constitutions have been written since the country´s independence, and 57 presidents have been kicked out of office. They have had 8 presidents in the past 10 years, none of who have completed their terms. Congress has removed many presidents by declaring them ¨medically incompetent¨or claiming that they had ¨abandoned post.¨
To combat this instability, a Constituent Assembly is being formed to write a new constitution, which is hoped to be a framework to guide society in a more stable manner. It does not seem to me that many Ecuadorians are currently guaranteed many rights outlined in the constitution, and many laws are loosely enforced and interpreted in different ways. I am suspicious as many others are, as to whether a new constitution will create much change if neither the masses not those in power follow the rules. But we can hope.
Voting is mandatory is Ecuador, therefore all citizens will nominate candidates in the September 30th election for Constituent Assembly. Frustration and confusion seems to be the attitude of many, as 3,229 candidates from 500 parites are running for 130 spots. The ballot in one of the larger provinces, Guayas, will be 5 sq feet in size and contain 600 names.
The current president is Rafeal Correa who won with 57% of the votes in January 2007. He ran with a campaign emphasizing ¨socialism of the 21st century,¨with a focus on egalitariansim, civil participation, and a new constitution for transformational reform. He shares many values with Venezuela´s Chavez and Bolivia´s Morales, but wishes to remain independent and has a nacionalistic attitude in wishing to centralize the government. It will be really interesting to see how all of this plays out over the next few months. Effective politics and political strategies seem to take place on a local level. The ¨system¨ seems to work for those who have the benefits. Ecuador has been known as a ¨rich country with a lot of poor people.¨ 10 families own 90% of the country´s wealth.
The judicial system is very interesting to me, as it reveals the priorities of those in power as well as the influence from countries offering political or monetary support. In this system the victim is responsible for hiring an attorney and pursuing protection without help from the government. It is an extremely expensive and lengthy process, taking a minimum of 1 year. If found guilty of drug trafficking, the criminal is sentenced to 25 years in jail; rape is 16, homocide 12, robbery 5, and theft 5. Drug trafficking is another hot topic in Ecuador, as we border both Columbia and Peru. Furthermore, the US govt feels very strongly about such issues, and therefore they place great emphasis on counter-narcotics.
Sexual abuse and rights are becoming less of a taboo for discussion, although there are quite a few obstacles in protecting citizens ...Homosexuality was considered a crime only 10 years ago in Ecuador. Homosexuality was considered a ¨disorder¨ by the American Psychiatric Association until 1973, and by the World Health Organization until 1991. The inadaquate rape sentence is quite disturbing when taking into account that 90% of families experience domestic violence in Ecuador. Even if a victim wanted to press charges, sexual assault evidence kits are not available in Ecuador, therefore the accussed must consent to a DNA test. On the topic of sexual rights, in rural areas (which the World Bank states accounts for 67% of the country) an extremely small percentage of people use birth control, and the most common method used is for women to get their ¨tubes tied,¨ which is a free service provided by the government. Only 2.5% of people use condoms, which is the only effective method of protection against HIV and STDS. 10% of girls ages 15-19 are married or have kids, although I would argue this percentage is much much higher. 16% of pregnant women are between the ages of 12-19. 72% of women don´t know about the Free Maternity Law...although even if they were aware of their rights or had access to a public health clinic, there is a great chance that the the clinic would lack fundamental services required to guarantee their rights, such as staff, machinery, or medicine. 70% of women have never had a pap smear, and at least 23% of women give birth in their house.
Back to the topic of drug trafficking and the US´s hand in Ecuadorian politics. Counter-narcotics and anti-terrorism are 2 of the U.S.´s most ¨important¨ missions in Ecuador. US AID/Ecuador does not receive any funding for health programs here, as they are mostly allocated for economic and business development grants. Moreover, their bugget has been cut in half over the past couple years because ¨Ecuador is not on the map,¨ says one US AID representative. With over 50% of Ecuadorians living on less than $2 a day, maybe this country should be ¨put on the map.¨ I think the US government and people must review our priorities and which type of activities we continue to fund. The US calls Ecuador a reactive country, as opposed to one who takes preventative measures. Yet as a country we are not funding health programs which would support preventative behavior. We are spending billions of dollars on military and counter-narcotics missions, while ignorning basic human needs.
Another fun fact is that Ecuador uses the US dollar for financial transactions. In the constitution the official currency is still the sucre, but it is no longer used after the 1990 banking crisis occured and the sucre became worthless. Ecuador is struggling to monitor or manage their own banking system and are apparently using the dollar to stabilize the economy, which has functioned to decrease inflation and increase wages.
I don´t promise that all my stats and facts are perfect, as statistics are always volatile and difficult to measure, and also vary according to their source. I hope you found this info interesting!

Pictures

Hello All!
I have added more pictures of Cangagua (where I used to live in the Sierra for training), as well as pictures from our second Technical Trip in Esmeraldas. The albums are labeled as such. I think many of them are absolutely beautiful, especially of the mountains.
An update is on the way. Also, more pictures can be found on Kris´webshots page...http://community.webshots.com/user/KristenMallory. I will upload them to mine when I have the time.
All my love.

Swimming with Horses and Observing Latrines

I am currently sitting at a computer in the parish of Vasquez (the closest thing resembling a town) where at least 15 kids are running in and out of the room, asking me who I am, where I live, if I have a mother, and to look at their math homework and their pretty drawings, as they looking over my shoulder to watch me type. What a struggle, really. I need to acknowledge each and every one of them, because they are likely to be some of the kids I will be working with on future projects. But really, I only have an hour to work on one of the slowest computers I have ever used...I have deadlines to meet, people to write, forms to complete...but then again, I am in the Peace Corps to support these people, these kids, to get to know them and establish trust, confidence, and liking....It´s this balance that I deal with on a daily basis. Re-evaluating where my priorities should lie, and with whom and what I should spend my time.

I have been at my site for about a week now. One down, 100+ to go. haha, no, I am not actually counting down the weeks, that type of approach would make this stint nearly impossible. So what do I do on a regular basis, you ask? Well, yesterday morning I read over the diagnostic survey I will be using to evaluate the health of my 6 communities before I create project plans for my next 2 years. This assessment tool is used to better understand the needs and resources of the community and identify opportunity for my projects. I will be spending the next 3 months visiting every family in 6 towns, more or less interviewing them about their status of health, such as how many times in the past month their child has had diarrea, the condition of their latrine, where and with thom they have given birth, and if they purify their water before drinking. Then in the afternoon I went for a run, which became quite the eventful evening. This is how my days often play out...I plan on doing one thing, which turns into something quite different. So I begin walking down the street (yes, meaning THE street, since only one exists), and an angry dog jumps up and bites my shin. Off to a good start. Thank god it didnt break the skin, or else I would have had to travel 10 hours to Quito for a rabies shot. About 5 minutes later I run into a friend, who invites me to bathe in the river. I try my very best to accept invitations as awkward and uncomfortable as it may seem, in order to get to know people and the culture. So I cut my run short and head down to the river. We see the owner of a farm(intended to be a recreation center for tourists to enjoy the river....or for gringas to serve as the night´s entertainment....), and he convinces me to go for a short horse ride....then to remove the saddle and go swimming with the horse in the river in my running clothes. It was a wild experience, floating down the river on a horse, holding tightly onto his mane, trusting that he can swim...haha, so this goes on for about 10 minutes. After I get out of the water I am dragged to the kareoke machine, where I sing Ace of Base´s All that She Wants in english, because they want to hear the gringa sing. And for those of you have heard me sing, you know it is not pretty; I hurt my own ears. I am then force-fed empanadas (fried plantain patties filled with cheese) and orange juice, and then must run home because it was getting dark, and I cannot be out alone past dark.
Those are my days...a little work, a little play, a little cultural experience, a lot of food and meeting people, doing things that place me way out of my comfort zone and in the spotlight for all to see, hoping to gain the people´s trust that I am not here to conquer, but to be a friend. There is a ton of work to be done, but I have a lot of time in which to do it, so I am hopeful.
I had a meeting with the primary health clinic this morning in Vasquez to meet the health professionals (meaning 1 general doctor, 1 ear, nose and throat doctor, and one untrained nurse for more than 1,000 families) and get a better idea of the community´s needs...This was a bit overwhelming, as they don´t have enough medicine, enough staff, enough resources..I pray that my community diagnostic will help me specify the most urgent and grave problems, and those in which I can influence.
Thanks for all your emails and letters!!! You guys are wonderful, and I will write back as soon as I can!

New Mailing Address

My new address is:
Sarah Kenney
Cuerpo de Paz
Casillero 13-01-420
Portoviejo, Manabi
Ecuador South America


I would really appreciate letters! If you want to send a package-like item, please pack in a padded envelope...apparently it is incredibly difficult to get large, heavy packages or any type of box out of customs in Quito. Please do not claim more than a 25 cent monetary value. Send mail through regular postal service. yay for mail!

For those of you that ever doubted...I'm official

I took my oath and am an official Peace Corps volunteer! We swore in on Friday at the U.S. Ambassor's house in Quito. The ceremony was gorgeous and very well done. I have posted a few pics [http://community.webshots.com/user/kenneysarah] It was located on the lawn overlooking an amazing view of the city. The Ambassor cried at the end of her speech, and could not continue. It was adorable; her excuse was that she was channelling our parent's emotions to us since they could not be present at the ceremony. Two volunteers gave wonderful speeches. Theresa spoke about what she learned from different volunteers and how impressed she is by our group. I concur...I am constantly humbled and inspired by the talents of my colleages and the wonderful friendships I have made here. She also mentioned how she obsessively checked the On-line Toolkit for the status of her application and invitation...Do you all remember how often I checked that website?! haha, it was great to know that all the other volunteers behaved similarly. Damon spoke about one of the PC slogans "How far will you go?," arguing that we should instead remember how far we have come. He mentioned key moments/obstacles/life-changes from our 3 months from training, such as 3 months without cell phones (I now have a cell phone. If you'd like the number, email me), 3 months of being herded in big group activities (it will be nice to escape from the constant group setting), 3 months of eating piles and piles of carbs, etc. This speech was right on as well. I am trying to get a copy of their speeches to post, because I think they give good insight into our lives here, and our transition from training to our service.
It's weird, these emotions that are flooding my mind and heart. I almost feel as I did when I left the U.S. The sadness I felt when leaving my good friends and family in NC is similar to leaving my PC friends here in Ecuador. My little bubble of safety and comfort is being shattered as I enter the crazy unknown of Ecuador by myself. Despite all of this, I am super excited to get out there and start working. Finally, what I have waited so long for.
The past week has been spent in tourist areas of Quito with my gringo friends who I love dearly (after the 8hr long sessions on PC rules and regulations). We have eaten yummy American food (meaning meals without potatoes and rice, that are less likely to make us sick), gone dancing to celebrate the end of training, spoken english for 7 days straight, and ran a 10K in the historic section of Quito.
The race was awesome...it is called Ruta de las Iglesias (route of the churches; http://www.rutadelasiglesias.com/) and is held after dark in the heart of Quito, passing 11 churches. I felt like I was in a parade because of the sheer number of people watching and cheering us on...Viva Quito! (Long live Quito) Si, se puede! (You can do it) Vamos campeones! (Let's go champions). Bands played at various checkpoints and water/Gatorade was given every few kilometers. The atmosphere was simulataneosly familiar and strange. It was familiar because it was sponsored by Gatorade, I was running a road race and surrounded by tons of athletes...these strike me as very American things. It was strange to me because I was running in a section of Quito in which we are strongly discouraged from entering after dark, and with people who could afford to buy running gear and the ticket to participate in the race, and who have the time to exercise. For the past 3 months I have been living and socializing with people from an entirely different social & economic class.
So I am off, taking a bus through the night to the coastal province of Manabi, arriving at 6am. We are supposed to "hang on out" for the first week or so, introducing ourselves, becoming familiarized with the area and our future work. It sounds much easier said than done, but I'm excited.
Keep me updated with your lives as well! Miss you all.

South American Explorers-Shark Fins

http://www.saexplorers.org/club/home
Heard Through The Grape vine...
Ecuador has reversed a ban on the sale of shark fins.
A ban on the sale of all shark fins in Ecuador, decreed in 2004 by a former president, allowed authorities to confiscate shark fins by the truckload. The sale of shark fins was punishable by up to two years in prison.
Now, a directive by President Correa allows shark fins caught "accidentally" to be sold by fishermen. How one determines whether a shark has been caught accidentally or deliberately is a mystery.
Experts say the new measure will lead to even more slaughter of sharks.
The UN estimates that more than 300,000 sharks are taken illegally each year from Galapagos waters! Sharks are caught, their fins are hacked off, and the animals are thrown into the water to endure a slow and agonizing death.
Please contact Oswaldo Rosero, WildAid Ecuador - oswaldo.rosero@gmail.com or visit www.WildAid.org for more information on how you can help.

I will miss the Sierra...

I am leaving the Sierra on Tuesday. Training is almost over!!! We officially swear in as volunteers at the U.S. Ambassador’s house in Quito on Friday!!! It has been a great 3 months, but I am surely ready to move and start working. The following are bits of my life here that I will miss or have treasured during training:
-Dancing like ¨rockstars¨(as my host siblings Jasmina and Alex try to pronounce in english) in the kitchen with the fam...it reminds me of my own siblings in the U.S. who I dearly miss.
-Waking up by the sun shining through my window and seeing the cap of snow-covered Volcan Cayambe.
-Hiking almost every day, sometimes on the cobblestone roads, dirt paths, through the forest or the hills...I feel like a kid exploring. We have only gotten lost once....it was fine, Mom, I ran up to the top of a hill and was able to catch a glimpse of Cangahua center to direct us home :). The pictures dont do this place justice, but it is absolutely breathtaking.
-The indigenous women perfectly dressed with their hat, blouse, cardigan, necklace, shoes, and pleated skirt worn just so. The diversity of the people and culture in the Sierra is awesome,
-The chocolate ball at Cafe Aroma, which is the closest thing we have found to a North American ¨brownie¨
-Chochos: white beans and fried corn kernels, with onions, tomato, and cilantro on top. Don’t knock it till you try it. While it may be street food, and although I am a ¨health promoter¨, chochos are a complete protein...so I can justify eating it and loving it.
-The little shepard kids with their flocks of sheep and goat in the streets and countryside, and the boys often riding the sheep as they graze.
-The pigs and cows that constantly walk by Kristen´s house as we are having spanish class. Its such a different life than what I am accustomed to...haha, and Kristen´s dad always asking us if we´ve seen the cow...haha, and Kristen getting asked to walk the pig...oh, and there are also the cutest little kids that come to her door (also during our class) asking for milk.
-Cynthia complaining about having to protect herself from the evil turkey that tries to attack while she takes her clothes off the line...Apparently she is armed with a broom as her hands are also full of clothes...i would love to see her in action
-Hanging out in the center with my Cangahua crew. Geez, Im going to miss them. Hahaha, and Spanish errors. They are funnier when made by people other than myself, especially Kris. Examples: while giving a Dengue presentation to a high school class, she described a symptom and pointed to her face saying ¨caca¨(feces) instead of ¨caja¨(face). Hahaha, and when she told numerous Ecuadorians ¨que Dios le pegue¨ after they did her a favor, before realizing that this means ¨may God strike you down.¨ She had meant to say ¨que Dios le page,¨ meaning ¨may God pay you.¨ haha, amazing.
-Constant, endless fiestas and parades de San Pedro. Okay, I kind of detest the music and inconveniences after 3 months of such things (like when I cannot sleep because the same song is on repeat at 2am, or our bus getting stopped because of a giant corn parade), but it´s also humorous and and interesting, and cool that the people uphold such traditions that honor their ancestors.

I´m not trying to romanticize this place, this culture, or my life here. It is anything but. It is wonderful, and should be seen for what it is. I have enjoyed my time, but with the positive also come negatives....
-My proximity to the snow covered volcano means it’s really really cold (have I stressed that enough? and its not like we have hot water or heat to warm the body up). So yes, I hate being cold.
-The distinct indigenous dress and culture is wrapped up in the phenomenon of racism. My family and Kris´s family used to make fun of me because they thought I had the accent of an indigenous due to the way I pronouced my r´s.
-Exotic food and high altitude = many nights spent by the toilet, in an outside bathroom of slugs and mr. rat.
-Adorable children tending animals or buying milk in the afternoon means that these children are not attending school.
-Pigs, cows, sheep, dogs, donkeys, horses, cats, goats = dung evvvverywhere
-Fiestas = drinking = alcoholism

The list goes on, and I am sure I am not aware of even half of it. But hopefully it gives some context to my pictures and insight into my life during training.

Thursday masses

Although the country is predominately Catholic, most people do not attend mass. And although I am not Catholic, I adore the architecture, design, and decoration of Latin American churches, and am really interested in liberation theology, so I personally love to attend mass. It’s also a great way to get to know people and the issues of the community. I have gone to Sunday mass a couple times, which is located in the main church of Cangahua (the blue one in the pictures--inside it looks like a typical Latin American church with saints and colorful decoration...this one also holds a skull in a glass. I am uncomfortable with taking pictures inside places of worship, or else I would for your enjoyment. If you have never seen a church in Latin America, Google pictures of them. They are amazing). Thursday´s mass however is my favorite-it is held in a small room inside the Priest´s house.
In the front of the room is a low wooden table, covered with a woven tapestry (typical handicraft of the indigenous sold in the market), with 2 black candles and a Bible sitting on top. The priest sits behind it on a wooden stool about 2 feet off of the ground, consisting of unfinished wooden planks. A few small (yes, small, meaning 2 ft in height, 1 in width, and 1.5 in length) stools are positioned around the table with higher wooden benches located on 3 walls. The wall behind the priest is painted yellow and covered in interesting objects, definitely revealing the pervasiveness of syncretism--a clay, almost cartoonish like mask of Jesus with blood dripping from his mouth is hung in the center, backed with a colorful tapestry. On the left side of Jesus hangs a feather covered necklace, and on the right hangs a traditional bow and arrow.
On the right side of the room lies a large tree branch. In front of it sits an aloe plant and a candle. Another candle also sits in a nook of the branch, next to another Jesus face. This face seems to be made of wood, perhaps stained a darker color, and serves as a secret door to the communion cup. Before communion the priest opens Jesus´s face to remove a silver cup from inside.
Meanwhile, the congregation is just as interesting. You have Rosa, the well-dressed and wealthy mestizo Cabina (telephone services) owner who always volunteers to read scripture and answers all questions posed during service, and leads in song when the others have forgotten the words (hymnals are not used here). Then you have 2 or 3 older indigenous women-they seems to have traveled from ärriba¨(the hills), are a bit dirty, yet have the kindest eyes and warmest smiles. There are usually another 2 or 3 teenage boys, who of course make things interesting. They always giggle when ¨passing the peace¨with the gringas. Kris and I often catch them snickering when we attempt to sing, or when we trip over spanish words during the read & response. Last night they were playing with a stuffed teddy bear the entire time, pretending that it was singing, praying, etc. Then you have Kris and I- Kris has bright red, thick, curly hair, and Im always bundled up in my hat and scarf, so visually we are quite the extranjeros (foreigners). The language and culture barriers/differences just add to this dynamic. And Im not Catholic, so even if the mass was in english I would sit, stand, and kneel at the wrong time. And I dont have the hymns or prayers memorized by heart, nor in spanish. So that´s another strike against me. The people are kind, but I must say I often feel inappropriate and awkward. Lastly, you have the priest. Padrecito (the priest) is a rather short man (or average height if we are comparing him to the men of the Sierra), with big intense, black eyes, dressed in a white robe, tennis shoes, and a knit cloth around his neck, and hair slicked back. He speaks almost in a whisper, which is simultaneously soothing and super eerie, and makes eye contact with no one. He is also indigenous, which creates quite the conflict in Cangahua center, where the majority is mestizo. Cangahua consists of the small town center and 48 surrounding communities located in the hills above the village. Apparently he is loved by the more rural communities, but has a controversial presence in town.
The etiquette of mass also strikes me as odd. It officially begins at 6:30 pm when the church bell chimes, but never actually starts on time. Kris and I are always the first there and people continue straggling in until 7 or so. In the Sierra you usually greet the group when entering a room, so each latecomer enters and interrupts the scripture reading or sermon with ¨buenas noches.¨There is often a kid or 2 running in and out of the room, and many times one of the women is breastfeeding her baby (this is an acceptable practice anywhere and everywhere in Ecuador). The cat likes to peek its head in every now and then as well.
To top it off, this past Thursday the Padrecito spoke of the books of Corinthians, likening the city of Corinth to Cangahua. In Corinthians Paul write of the divisions in the community, and lack of unity and solidarity among the people. I have heard numerous sermons on such matters, but my current context gives it a whole new meaning. Classism, racism, sexism, etc....these tensions obviously also exist in North Carolina, but the history, culture, and significance is different and easier for me to ¨see¨here. And the fact that the Padre is an indigenous, speaking from a place of lower status & privilege...this is much different than the well-paid, white, middle/upper class man in Suburbia, US, that I am used to. And the congregation to whom they speak is obviously very different as well.
The dynamic between people and physical place of worship is so interesting, as you can hopefully imagine. But I love these strange masses, as they have given me more insight into cultural norms, and remind me of where I am and also where I come from...meaning they remind me of all these social and cultural constructions, my reference points and the lens through which I view my experiences here.

disheartening

I am a bit disheartened. Every night at dinner my host mom Rocio complains that Jasmin (my 8yr old sister) wont eat. I try to avoid getting involved in family issues, so my response is usually ¨Jasmin, eat, the food is good and you need the vitamins in order to grow.¨ This is a constant issue, a conversation I am used to by now. But last night was different. Rocio was practically force feeding Jasmin while complaining that she doesnt like food and wont eat. I ask why. She says that Jasmin wants to stay ¨flacita¨(skinny). Jasmin smirks. I ask where where learned that being skinny is beautiful, and Rocio speaks for her, citing movies and televnovelas as the culprits. Again, Jasmin smirks. This broke my heart.
In college I studied the ins and outs of the media and how it manipulates children and affects their self-esteem and self-image, how it constructs a materialistic and selfobsessed society. Nevertheless, I feel no more prepared to deal with this situation on an individual and personal level. I am equipped with knowledge of nutritition and strategies/workshop ideas for building self-esteem with youth groups. Yet I was speechless last night.
There are so many things I wanted to say-you are beautiful, your body is a gift from God, the beauty industry´s mission is to create unrealistic ideals in order to make a profit, movies are not reflections of real life, food is a privilege and essential to your health, etc. etc. But the root of this issue is so much greater. I honestly thought that while living in the campo (country) where the campesiones can make as little as 50-100 dollars monthy without benefits in the field or flower industy, that these issues of image wouldnt be as pervasive. I expect them in Chapel Hill, but not in a town where people are suffering from malnutrition. We must refrain from perpetuating such ideals. This is not only a societal probelm in the US, but has become a global disease. Selfishness and emphasis on one´s physical appearanece are not admirable values. I do not even know how to begin a dialogue with this beautiful child who is afraid that food will cause her to be something other than the ¨normal¨and ¨beautiful¨she sees in the media.

I posted a few more photos on webshots. Check em out.

Peru

On a more important note, I just read about the devestating events in Peru. We had heard news that there had been an earthquake because of a tsunami warning in Esmeraldas (where we were staying this week)..but I was not aware of what had actually occured. I hope you and your loved ones are safe. Please keep all Peruvians in your thoughts, including the hundred+ Peace Corps volunteers in the country as well.

Technical Trip 2-Esmeraldas

I just returned from a fantastic trip in the coastal province of Esmeraldas. The theme of the trip was tropical diseases, specifically malaria, dengue, and chagas. We attended lectures and presentations at various medical clinics, both NGO and public organizations, to learn more about these diseases affecting many Ecuadorians. On the final day we broke up into small groups and gave a presentation to a local high school about malaria...very good practice.
Highlights:
We took a mini excursion to check out Cynthia´s site in Tachina, 1hr or so from Esmeraldas City. It was so cool to have the opportunity to see where she will be living and the type of work that she will be doing. I have come to the realization that things are very different from the States, but I usually only come to this conclusion when I make comparisons and think about how things function differently.
For example, Kristen and I realized we would be super big creeps in the States if we tried to make friends and get to know people like we do here. In order to assimilate and get to know the community, you just have to get out there and introduce yourself to people. So envision this situation...I am walking through town and a little boy is playing with a kite. I stop and say hello, ask him what his name is, and maybe then his age, where he lives, etc. The child usually responds, and will ask me similar questions, and perhaps even invite me to play with him.
I CANNOT imagine doing this at home in Cary, NC. First of all, the poor guy would probably be scared because I am a stranger, and Im sure his mother would be afraid I was a petafile or something. It just would not fly at home. These kinds of comparisons are fun sometimes.
Another example: at Cynthia´s site we visited the Mayor´s office. He knew a day ahead of time that we were coming because our boss called him by telephone and TOLD him what time we were available. He suprised us with a cake! An enormous birthday-like cake, paired with Coke. Picture a similar situation in the States: I email or call the Mayor´s secretary. They get back to me within a month´s time, and I am lucky if he has time to meet with some random volunteer that is stopping by town for an hour. If I am invited in, I must wear business attire and I surely would not be suprised with a cake. Perhaps a bottle of water.
I took a few pictures this time around which will hopefully help me tell more stories, for the week seems to be a blur right now...I will post those next time I come to the internet cafe. I have posted pics from orientation and the first technical trip (July 14). http://community.webshots.com/user/kenneysarah?vhost=community&track_pagetag=/page/photo/goodtimes/friendsfun&track_action=/Owner/Header/Nav/MyShots/Albums Enjoy!

Additional Blog

Hello! I have created another blog for more technical items...Some of it is in spanish, some english, and none of it has been proofread. I intend to put most items in spanish and english, or to correct spelling errors when I find the time. If you are curious about PC mission, goals, PC/Ecuador Rural Public Health Program, or my personal site, check it out! Link: http://vivasantaana.blogspot.com/

Site visit!

Disclaimer: I havent slept in 2 days (one sleepless night due to roosters and clucking chickens and cockroaches falling on my face, and another night spent on an overnight bus back to the Sierra), am on chocolate and fried plantain overload, haven´t spoken english in 5 days...Open with caution :)

Hello! I just back into town from my site in the coastal province of Manabi, where I will be living for the next 2 years! It was a great visit. I met the key people (president, volunteers, a few doctors and teachers) of the 6 communities I will be working with and also a bunch of locals. For the first 3 months I will be living upstairs in the house of Cecilia, one of the presidents. She rocks. A single mother, female president, and a very progressive, out-of-the-box type thinker. She is well respected by all genders and ages, and seems to know everyone and all the inside scoop. I feel really lucky to be living with her and her son (Juan, age 10-a bit timid, I didn’t really get to know him very well). She is my parent´s age, and kept saying that if she did have a daughter, she would be my age (I am the daughter she never had, type thing). She really makes me feel wanted there. The house is quite nice, in better shape the majority around the area. We are required to live with host families for the first 3 months in our site, and then are free to find our own place. The first floor of Cecilia´s place is empty and already has a few pieces of furniture. It’s safe and in a good location. I think I will slowly fix it up and move in when my 3 months are up.
The physical beauty of my county of Santa Ana is astounding. It’s really gorgeous. We are located on the river. The land is really fertile, and I have orange, avocado, plantain, and lime trees in my backyard, as well as coffee bushes and other unknown plants. It is super tropical and the weather is awesome. Skirts during the day with an occasional sweatshirt at night.
The people are much more outgoing than here in the Sierra. Although I think that randomly forming a youth group or women´s group may be a difficult or awkward task, the culture here may be much more accepting of this type of thing than I anticipated.
The country and province already have a lot of health systems in place. For example, the Ley de Maternidad Gratuita states that all mothers get free health care throughout their pregnancy, and that their children receive free health care including vaccines until age 5. This is an awesome law, but if the health clinics are not stocked with appropriate resources or do not employ a doctor for more than 3 days a week, the mothers will not have access to the rights they are entitled to by the government. I will be working on these sorts of things.
If you all have questions, please ask!!!! I don’t want to bore you with a long laundry list of what I did each day on my site visit, so I will just tell some stories. But if you are curious about something specific, I would love to tell you about it!
Motorcycle accidents are a huge cause of death in Ecuador. The first night I was there I had to attend the funeral of an 18 year old boy, and family member of 95% of the town. It was an interesting way to be introduced to the town, at such a personal event. It was culturally very interesting, as the women and children sat inside the house reciting psalms and prayers and the men sat outside the house staring into space, sitting in silence. After the service everyone was staring at me. They obviously had no idea who I was. Awkward! Then a couple people wanted to know who I was…I gave a brief explanation, which was followed by a question of my age. I told them I would be 23 in March. They became quite animated and told Cecilia (my host mom) that they should give me 3 chickens for my birthday! I have no idea why. It was a topic of conversation for the rest of the trip.
Another common conversation topic and question was my love life. Introductions usually went something like this:
Cecilia or one of the other people I was with (health volunteer, neighbor, etc) would often introduce me, and I would follow with a brief description of my work and reasons for being here.
Ecuadorian: Welcome, Are you single?
Me: No, I have a boyfriend in the States.
Ecuadorian: Oh, well do you have an Ecuadorian boyfriend?
Me: No, my boyfriend lives in the States.
Ecuadorian male (single, married, with children, 13 yrs old, 60 years old, etc): Oh, well I am single, you should take me back to the States. You need an Ecuadorian boyfriend.
or Ecuadorian female (mother, daughter, my host mom, neighbor, etc): Oh, well my brother/friend/son, etc. is single. You need an Ecuadorian boyfriend. You need many Ecuadorian boyfriends.
Me: No, I have a boyfriend and I am faithful (it sounds less awkward in Spanish, promise : )).
Ecuadorian: Well, the saying goes that a pair apart makes 4 happy people. We will find you many Ecuadorian boyfriends. And anyways, no one is faithful. Your boyfriend will not be faithful. He will have many women.
I would try to laugh it off, but really, this happened every single time I met ANYONE above the age of 12.
When Cecilia and I were walking to the neighboring town (all my 6 communities are located on the same main road. So to walk from one town to the other I continue walking straight. There are 40-70 families in each town. Usually multiple families live together in 1 house), I heard a voice. I follow her up to the window of this small wooden house, and see a teeny tiny shriveled old women. Absolutely precious. She grabs my hand, touches my face, says welcome, and asks Cecilia why I am here. Then another women, even smaller than the first, peeks her head out the window. I didn’t even notice she had been sitting there…These women must have been at least 90 years old. Cecilia responds to the question with: This is Sarah, she is here to live and work with us for 2 years. She is from the United States. The two older women look a bit confused. Cecilia follows her response with: She has come from a different country. Oh! They exclaim, Welcome! It was crazy that they didnt know what the United States was. Then the 2nd woman begins to recite a poem, which I later found out was used years ago to court young women. This was quite the experience. I felt so loved, and so strange at the same time. I cannot wait to go back and visit with these women. You could tell they were so full of love and life and just wanted people to hang out with.
When I would walk down the street people would shout whatever English they knew…this meant using the ¨greetings¨: thank you, sweater, good evening (at 10am), what is your name (I responded with ¨what is your name¨-the man was speechless and left me alone haha).

(Oh! I almost forgot! For my CH beauties, Rach, and Adam: I HEARD TAKE ON ME AGAIN! This time it was in a bar in Santo Domingo, the site of a volunteer we stayed with on our way to Manabi. Amarylis´(the volunteer) Ecuadorian boyfriend owns a bar downtown, called Dark Zone..haha...So 3 of us volunteers are hanging out with Amarylis, her boyfriend, a few Ecuadorian friends in this weird bar with black lights in the middle of the city....all of a sudden, Take On Me starts playing! Kris loves the song too, so we get up and start dancing...you know, the crazy, Take On Me, style dancing. Totally fitting in with the Ecuadorian culture, right? haha....well....it was enough for the bar owner to start the strobe light and disco ball for us..hahaha, it was so funny. And made me think of yall. Ill be gone, in a day or 2222222222222222222222222! )

The week was an adventure. I think it was quite productive in that I got a good idea of some themes I will be working with, and the culture of my town. Trying to acclimate and culturally assimilate to another family, another 6 towns, and gain legitimacy will be a challenge, but this is why I am here, to work. Sometimes I have to remind myself of that, haha. This is a voluntary job. I have wanted to do Peace Corps for many years, and I am finally here! So awesome. But I miss yall. And with moving locations again, I will have even more opportunities to share stories and pictures of friends and family from home…at times this is awesome and exciting, but at times it makes it even harder. A bunch of stuff is happening at ¨home¨(I don´t even know what or where to call home now), and its hard to be away. Ryan (brother) turned 7 on Aug. 2, and he just lost his first tooth! Such a big deal! A bunch of friends are moving and getting adult jobs. Stuff like this makes me sad to be gone. But I am blessed because my site is awesome, and I think I am going to make some good friends and have support from at least some key people in the community. One of my closest friends here, Kris, lives about 1.5 hours from me, which is awesome. It´s comforting to know that I will have another volunteer dealing with similar things in a similar environment.

I havent heard from some of you in a while! I know you are busy, but when you get the chance let me know what you are up to and how your lives are going!
All mine,
Sarah, or that weird looking, acting, and speaking gringa (white girl)

pìctures from cultural trip (3 wks ago)

We are driving through the valley in a camioneta, or the back of a pickup truck, a very common form of transportation for animals, crops, and people.

PICTURES! my last weekend in town

i am a cultural mess

Haha, I had quite an eventful morning, and the fact that Ecuador´s culture is not my own was thrown in my face. It makes me laugh, so I thought I´d share. And it also reveals my often funny or awkward presence in this country.
This morning I went for a run around the soccer field. I don’t often attempt to run, because it is quite difficult at such a high altitude, inconvenient, and a huge cultural faux pas.
First, description of the physical nature of the soccer field. It is set a bit above the center of town, and has beautiful views of the mountains and the surrounding countryside. It is officially the high school´s soccer field, but has about 15 mounds of dirt located in the center. Donkeys and sheep often graze on the field. Usually there are a couple kids either playing soccer in the remaining grassy areas using garbage as goal posts, or climbing on the large metal goal posts. There are 2 little girls who often hang a hammock from the top to hold their dolls.
The soccer field is the only area in which I can run, for if I run on the streets the dogs will chase me or the people will stare. A white girl running is quite a sight. So I limit myself to running laps around the ¨soccer field.¨
Today there were 4 little girls sitting on the end of the field, just talking and hanging out. 2 boys were flying their homemade kites, of plastic garbage bags, sticks, and old clothes as the rope. The first lap they asked what I was doing-a typical question…then at each lap continued to ask me how many laps I had remaining, if I was tired, why I was breathing so hard, what is my name. I answered the questions, I told them I would come hang out after I was done. So I sat down with the girls after my ¨run.¨ They once again asked why I was running, where I was from, etc. etc. The boys came and sat down with us and we talked for about 30 minutes. During this conversation, I was asked what my career was and my college major. They didn’t understand that my ¨specialization¨ was Communications, regardless of how hard I tried to relate this to counseling or teaching. People here major in fields that will aid them in getting a job. Communications. Often a joke in the US. Really a joke here. Then one of the girls starts laughing…I ask why, and her brother responds ¨you can say words in Spanish, but your pronunciation isn’t very good, because you are learning¨(haha, I thought my Spanish was improving because I tested Advanced-Low in the most recent PC language test. Think again. Oh humility.)---moreover, she wasn’t even laughing about my funny white girl pronunciation! Her leg had fallen asleep. An eventful morning run.
Then I get home, and my grandmother laughs. She always laughs at me when I get back after a run. She asks me how my run was, I tell her a little bit about my experience with the kids, and she says I look funny to them because I wear stretch pants…this wasn’t even a reason they mentioned. But yes, I wear running tights for 30 minutes 2x a week. And it is apparently quite noticeable and really super weird. It was an interesting interaction because we are talking about my odd presence and cultural offenses, meanwhile an indigenous woman is outside handwashing the family´s clothes, and my grandfather is sitting over a bucket of blood, plucking the hair off of a dead cuy (guinea pig). A couple weeks ago my grandpa showed me the cuy shed (there are about 20 of them, 10 ft from my room, separated by gender and size) and had said that some of them are almost mature. Apparently that means ready to be eaten. Plus there was San Pedro music playing in the background. This is music from the 4-day festival 3 weeks ago which continues to be played EVERYWHERE. And while all of this is going on, I am standing there in my running tights. It was a funny mix I thought.
So those are my thoughts from today. A glimpse into my crazy life. Off to my site tomorrow morning! Cant wait to let you all know how it goes.
Love,
Sarah

MY SITE!!!!!!

YAY! We were assigned our sites this morning, where I will be spending the next two years of my life...The whole process felt like college acceptance letters, it was really weird. The anxiety, the opening of letters describing our sites, the crazy emotions after realizing where I will be spending the next part of my future. Eek!
First off, I am so pumped. It seems like a great site, meeting my hopes for job responsibilities as well as town size and location. I will be visiting the site all of next week, hanging out with my counterpart (the identified community leader with whom I will coordinate activities at least during the first few weeks living at my site) and my future host family, learning the ropes of the community and trying to get a feel for what resources and additional information I may need to gain before heading out there...I move to my new home September 1st!!!
Ok, so now for the site itself. I will be living in the coastal province of Manabi, in the county of Santa Ana. The concentrated population in 260, and the total population in the parish totals 500. It is 2 hours from the large city of Portoviejo and 60 minutes from the large town of Santa Ana. The temperature is 75-80 degrees!-I am so thankful...no more of this wearing 2 sweaters, 2 pants, 2 pairs of socks and hat, gloves, and scarf to bed. The rainy season is between December and April; the town is located at sea level and inland...TROPICAL! I suppose this what I envisioned when I learned I was going to be living in Ecuador.
My health work in Santa Ana will often be coordinated with the local health centers of the Ministry of Health as well as Plan International, a development agency that has a very strong and well respected presence here in Ecuador (http://www.plan-international.org/wherewework/americas/ecuador/). My primary activities which have been outlined by my counterpart thus far (of which I will have the flexibility to choose and play around with when I arrive) are: provide nutrition education to children, prevention of teen pregnancy, work with youth groups, maternal health and breastfeeding promotion, promote prevention strategies for common diseases, support a youth group´s radio program, and help develop income generation opportunities for women´s group.
The upcoming site visit has been described as the worst week of the 2 years...apparently it is quite overwhelming, intense, and emotional...however, I am still looking forward to it and will send updates in a couple weeks.
Hope all is well!
Love,
Sarah

cuy, eggs. slavery. charlas. excitement.

HI!
Wow, the past couple weeks have been super packed. I just got back from el Valle de Chota on a technical trip with 10 other volunteers. the Chota Valley is located about 1.5 hours away from Cangahua in a valley obviously..it was sooo warm compared to Cangahua..probably 65 degrees or so! We were away for 4 days, with the goal of improving our knowledge of the health system here in Ecuador. I will tell a couple quick stories...
We visited the small town of Mascarilla, which consisted of about 25 houses at the base of a mountain. It is known for its foundation of arte negro, a group of artisans who make crafts (primarily clay masks) in honor of their history and their people. We hung out with some locals, learned to dance the bomba, and received a demonstration on how the masks are created (the women go up into the mountains and collect the specific type of soil, and use only salt and water to make the masks which are later fired in an oven in town).
The most striking experience in Mascarilla was when we visited the ruins of a sugarcane factory, destroyed only 30 years ago. The Mascarillians were enslaved by the Jesuits and then Mestizos until the 1970 Agricultural Reform was instituted and land was divided between the families. 1970!!! While we were walking through the ruins, I asked Alicia (the women who was showing us around) when the Blacks of her community considered themselves to be "free." Her response was quite profound..."it depends on how you define the term free. women are still enslaved by their husbands. and as negros we are still enslaved because we are making a living off of the history of our enslavement." Wow.
In Otavalo, a larger town at higher elevation, we visited a private, non-profit clinic called Jambi Huasi, a center for both modern and traditional medicine. It is supported by the Federacion de Indigenas Campesinos de Imbabura (the federation of rural indigenous in the province of imbabura) with the mission of improving indigenous health (focus on women and children) and belief that a "healthy town is a liberated town" and "health can only be understood in its social and cultural context." They work in the surrounding 40 rural indigenous communities in the mountains, giving sex ed charlas (presentations) in schools, providing official training for midwives with support of the Ministry of Public Health, and much more. It is quite progressive. We got the honor of witnessing 2 traditional treatments.
I participated as a patient in the first. I stood in front of this tiny, female, indigenous doctor as she rolled an egg all over my body for a few minutes, mumbling phrases in Quichua (indigenous language). She then cracked open the egg over a tea cup, and using a small spoon moved the yolk around intensely looking for something. She diagnosed me as having a headache and difficultly breathing. 100% correct (Ive been sick since I arrived, although on my way to recovery i hope :)). It was so incredible. She performed the same practice on Crystal, whose diagnosis was even crazier. She told Crystal that she had bacteria in her stomach, that she was sweating so much last night she couldn't sleep, and that she had no ganas to walk that day..it was crazy. Crystal had told Molly when she woke up that morning that she hasn't slept because her legs were sweating. so weird.
The second traditional med doc works with cuy (guinea pig). This was one of the strangest events or feelings I have ever experienced. incredibly intense. Greg (a volunteer) took off his shirt, and another indigenous, female, really old, doc proceeded to roll/hit a live cuy all over his body as it squeaked and gasped for air. She alternated between stretching the cuy´s body (with one hand around the neck and one tightly grasping both feet), and holding it just around the neck as she hit it over Greg´s body like a dishrag. After about 5 minutes of this practice the cuy died (the length of the process is dependent upon how long the cuy lives) and the women sat down on a stool in front of a small trash can. She proceeded to cut the cuy´s neck open vertically, where she stuck her fingers into the body below the hide, and ripped the body open from throat to anus. After skinning the animal, she again cut the body open vertically, revealing all organs. Fully opening the body, she took out all the organs (expect the heart) and placed them in her right hand. The intestines were still wriggling due to parasites. After examining the organs she told Greg that all organs were healthy (meaning his were as well). They (the cuy and Greg) had a few unnoticeable parasites, and more serious back problems. Greg was shocked. Lastly, before disposing of the animal´s remaining "body," she pulled out the heart. Most importantly, Greg´s heart was healthy.
This stuff is amazing. I don't believe that either traditional or western med holds all the answers, but both should be respected and definitely have their purposes.
Another success from the past couple weeks was getting the opportunity to give a charla (presentation) to a women´s group in Cangahua. Cynthia´s (a volunteer) host mom is a leader in this group, and asked us to talk about family planning and contraceptives ( a huge need in this area, especially with the indigenous families, who are often illiterate and are unaware of laws, rights, or services, or do not have access to these services due to their physicial proximity to the town.) to her cooperative! It went really well. We discussed the need and advantages of family planning, presented different contraceptives (uses, pros and cons, common myths), and answered a few questions...And we were asked to speak again next week! Super chevere. The request is for a charla on HIV and AIDS. About 25 women were present, and their knowledge of AIDS is that it is a disease that can be transmited by blood. The did not know any more than this, so I am super pumped to have the opportunity to educate! YAY!
The counterparts/community leaders from our future sites are coming to Cayambe next week for a site fair. We will get info about the community needs, and receive our site assignments on the 24th!!!! So next time I write I should know where the heck in Ecuador I will be living for the next 2 years. How long have I waited for this moment?! Haha, Katie, if it wasnt for you I wouldnt even be aware of my PC invitation (one of my best friends and roomates last year in Chapel Hill had some weird premonition one afternoon that my invitation was sitting across the street on the neighbor´s porch. she just felt that the mailman had brought it to the wrong house. i doubted her, told her she was crazy, and wasn't in the mood to go check. due to her wonderful ability to cheer me up, i became motivated (how stupid does this sound, that I was too lazy to walk across the street?!) to go outside with her and check it out. and sure enough, my invitation was sitting in front of the neighbor´s door!) So long story short, it´s been a long time coming.
I really hope that all is well. Your friendships and relationships are so energizing and give me strength and make me smile at the most random of times. Thank you.
Peace,
Sarita