Translating

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to work with a group of dentists from the United States who had come to Ecuador on a medical mission. They came through The Judith Lombeida Foundation and the Children's International Dentist Project and worked here in Ecuador in conjuction with the Ecuadorian Air Force. My friend Lydia Montes, who lives down south near Puyo, came up to be the other translator from the Peace Corps. We met the group on Thursday for lunch at the Air Force base and then headed to the first site, Santa Rita. Santa Rita is a small Kichwa community just outside of Archidona. After set-up, Lydia and I returned to Archidona and watched the SandLot, a movie that is frequently quoted here in Tena cluster but I couldn't remember watching in my childhood. Friday morning, the commander of the Air Force base here in Tena picked us up on my street corner in Archidona and we headed out for the first day of our two-day mission in Santa Rita. We saw about 85 patients - pulling teeth, filling cavities and teaching the kids and their parents about good hygiene. I worked mainly with a dentist from Colorado Springs and his wife. Because it is a Kichwa community, my little knowledge of Kichwa helped me out quite a bit. We returned to Tena after the long work day and had dinner with Tena cluster. Saturday morning we met the Air Force bus in Archidona and headed back to Santa Rita. Our second day went by faster and we broke down the rooms around 330 to head home after the closing program. The dentists we were working with treated us to dinner at The Marquis (steak!!) and then we went dancing with some of the dentists and Air Force men. Sunday we met the bus in Tena and headed out to San Pedro which is my friend John's site. We set up the equipment and got to work. It was a smaller school so we could see all the students in one day. All of our machines kept tripping the breakers so we had to work around it. John came out to show his support before losing his soccer game in the Sunday tournament, 9-0. We packed everything up around 3:00 and Lydia and I headed back to Archidona to get ready for the closing dinner and program at the Air Force base. We had dinner and watched a video of the past three days then headed out to receive certificates (from the foundations and the air force!) and see some indigenous dancing. It was an incredibly exhausting weekend but I felt really good about being able to help these dentists out with the translating. This week, it's back to work because here at the Foundation Runa tomorrow we have the inauguration of the new dryers where we dry the guayusa leaves. Busy busy! Take care.

SK

I actually updated my blog!

Hola a todos:

Sorry for not updating in 2010...and half of 2009. I'll start where I left off:

In December, Mom, Dad and Michael came down for about two weeks. We spent a few days in Quito touring the Old Town, bartering for goods in Otavalo, visiting the 'middle of the world,' taking a gondola up an extinct volcano to take int he views of about five snow-capped volcanoes surrounding the city, eating good food, celebrating the holiday and spending time together. After a week in the busiest city I've ever been in, we boarded a bus and made our way to the jungle. The hosteria we stayed at reminded me of summer camp. It's a huge island that rescues monkeys and other jungle animals and rehabilitates them. We spent the weekend there and relaxed a bit and then I sent them to a hostal in Tena (the only one with air conditioning!) We visited the caves, the zoo, walked around Tena, took a trip to the Super Tia, hung out with Tena cluster, and enjoyed each other's company. it was a really great trip and I guess it was fun to be a tourist/tour guide for a bit. My family enjoyed their trip but did comment on how poor the country is - something I think I've started not to notice since living here.

I moved into a cute, safe new house in the city and had to give Nina (the bigger white dog) away. She's with a good family a few towns over and so I know she's happy. Beso is still small and awkward and most likely not going to grow more and is a good dog. My neighbors and the people in my barrio are extremely nice so I've made some good friends here in town. January went by quickly and we moved into February: Carnaval. Ecuador has more parties and holidays than the United States will have over a period of twn years. Carnaval is probably the craziest holiday. We had over 700 people at the caves one day over the long weekend and the last day we got to play. Carnaval = water balloons, silly string/shaving cream, mud, flour, etc. It wasn't much fun trying to wash flour out of my already wet hair but I will say that joking around that day with everyone, pushing people in the pool, throwing flour, etc. was one of the best days I've had here so far, although I did somehow lose my shoes...

March has arrived and with it some big changes in my Peace Corps life. I no longer work at the caves and have shifted my attention to wokring with kindergarteners in the mornings and Fundacion Runa in the afternoons. Working with the kids is incredibly fun - it's like having 70 automatic best friends that all want to hold your hand. I teach environmental education and English. You would not believe how hard it is for a three year old to distinguish between 'apple' and 'purple.' In the afternoon, I head over to the offices of Fundacion Runa (http://www.runa.org/) It is so nice to be in an office setting and use the skills that I came here with. The people I work with are all great and I'm so happy with my 'new life.' Last week, all the kindergarten teachers in the area had a soccer tournament. My team lost 2-1 but that one point on the scoreboard was all thanks to yours truly! It made me realize I actually enjoy playing soccer. Strange, I know. After the match I headed to Quito/Cayambe for our 'little brother/sister' picnic with Omnibus 103 - what a fun group of people! A good time was had by all and it was great seeing everyone from 101 as well. This week I get to help translate for some dentists that are coming to the smaller Kichwa communities to give check - ups and perform surgeries. We'll see how much dental vocab I can cram in before Thursday! At the end of April, my friend Jaime from training is coming to visit, then it's May which means...HOME! I'll be back in the states May 13-26th so I expect to see all of you there!

Much love,

Sarita

A Day in the Life...

Cave Warriors Marcia, Monica, me and Martha

Indi/Bebe/TROUBLE

Wow. It is amazing how much life can change in a matter of weeks! I am all moved into my new house and I love it. Living in the city made a huge difference. The people I live near are ridiculously nice and helpful and I’ve already made new friends. The new house has an amazing yard so Beso and Nina are content. Beso is still small enough to slip under the fence. After losing her for days at a time I finally got the incredible idea to put some chicken wire so she can’t get out. Somehow she still manages to do it so I’m still working out the details…Nina escaped yesterday and came back a different color. I bathed her and she proceeded to roll in the mud. Thanks, Nina. Last week I worked with my new counterpart, same organization. We worked all day planning projects, investigating resources and learning from each other. Wednesday, the foundation had our weekly minga. We (almost) all headed to the farm in the morning and then went up to machete the weeds around our recently planted yucca. It is always a friendly atmosphere on the farm and I even got to practice my Kichwa. They always forget that I’ve learned how to say ‘you’re about to make me angry’ in their language. It’s fun to whip that knowledge out and surprise them! Being that my hands haven’t had much experience with a machete, I got a blister after an hour and went back to the house to help Mama Teresa with the soup. I ended up not feeling very well, probably from being out in the sun so long. Here, they call this feeling ‘mal aire,’ not to be confused with malaria. They all swore that I would feel much better after a cleansing of yucca leaves. I never think they’re serious about these things and then Papa Pedro walks in with a huge handful of leaves and starts cleansing me of my ‘bad air’ like the shamans do. Honestly, it made me feel better. I don’t know if I just wanted shaking a bunch of yucca leaves to magically cure an illness, or if their ancient beliefs could be compared to modern medicine, like, for real. We may never know. Wednesday night there was a CD release party in Tena. The National Park put out a new CD with songs about the region and since Laurel and Dan work up there we were lucky enough to be invited! The band played a few of the songs and everyone danced and had a great time. We’ve had quite a bit of rain these past few days so washing my clothes has to be planned well. I can’t believe it’s already basically December. I’ve been waiting for this month since February 24th and it is HERE! This means the Eldredge family will be reunited in 22 days. The countdown begins!

Headin' back to the jungle

I met with the doctor this morning and I don't have tuberculosis! I do, however, have strep B and the PCV inevitable, amoebas. Those are probably the underlying causes for the other strange illnesses I had. Leaving today to go back home to my puppies :) Thanks for the thoughts and prayers!

Looks like you get a free weekend in Quito...

Just an update: I've been in Quito for the last few days dealing with medical issues. Basically, we know that I have erythema nodosum (google it.) we just don't know why. I have had every test known to man including a chest x-ray and tuberculosis test. I hope to return to my site on Wednesday, given the test results are negative. I must say, the medical care provided by Peace Corps is wonderful. Probably better than I had back in the states. Its been a fun 'vacation' in Quito, I've gotten to see alot of people and eat some amazing food (sushi!) but I'm ready to get home. It is cold in Quito. And it's really high up altitude-wise so it's hard to breathe. But, it's a fun city nonetheless. I will continue to keep you all updated!

What an eventful week we've had here in the Amazon, as I'm sure you are all aware from my Facebook statuses and emails. The indigenous communities went on strike against a new water law. I think at this point talks have started between the president and indigenous leaders, so things should get back to 'normal' here soon. Since I live in a 99% indigenous area, strikes and protests were happening very close to my house so I was on edge for a few days. It is comforting to know that a cab can get to my house and back to the big city in less than 20 minutes, and even more comforting to know that I have some very, very good friends living near me. Tena cluster once again had our usual Friday night shin-dig, complete with some amazing dinner at our favorite (the only) Argentenian restaurant and ending with dancing at the local hot spot. I did my October grocery shopping yesterday. I bought yogurt in its normal plastic container and also in a bag, and I bought milk in its regular box (yes, boxed, unrefrigerated milk) and also in a bag. I plan on doing a taste comparison to see if I prefer my dairy products in bags. We will see. Nina is doing well, I tried to put her old collar on her and the ends don't even touch around her neck. She grew...the kids at the caves and I started an eco-club yesterday. We are going to paint inorganic and organic trash cans for the caves next week! In English class, we learned and translated Michael Jackson's 'Beat It.' I think I won some extra points for that activity. I can't believe October is finally here. I can't wait for the Halloween festivities at the end of the month - Tena cluster has costumes planned and we get to go rafting! No other news from here, I'm trying to update my blog more often so we'll see if I can do it.

This one's for you, Granddad

I let almost an entire month go by without posting to let you all know I am still alive. Oops :) Things continue to go well down here, taking it day by day, one step at a time! The month of September was filled with alot of traveling, it was nice to get out of site and I was a little sad to have to return and get back into the grind. I really enjoyed traveling and seeing some more of Ecuador. Bueno. So September started off well, I went to Quito for a day for the GAD (Gender and Development) meeting. We work with equality for women and hold leadership camps and give out scholarships to young girls. I'm super excited to learn more about GAD in Ecuador and to meet the girls we are helping go to school. I'm in charge of planning the next GAD seminar for volunteers and their counterparts so that will be fun. Quito changed their bus station situation so it was a tad confusing. The new bus stations, however, resemble very nice airports so I can't complain about that! All in all, the city is huge and incredibly different from here in the Oriente. So I got back from Quito at 1 AM and had to be up for a Shaman gathering here in Tena. Looks like my counterpart didn't research it well because we...couldn't find it. Maybe Shamans are like ninjas? Who knows. So that was a bust, but I still got to see some of Tena cluster. So the weekend passed quickly and Tena cluster headed out last Monday for Reconnect. Reconnect is a gathering of all the volunteers in Omnibus 101 to...reconnect...and talk about the past few months and start planning the first year of service. Counterparts were invited as well and I took the secretary of the Foundation. We learned a whole whole lot about project development and planning so I'm excited to see what may come of it. It was great to see all the volunteers in the Oriente as well. The place we stayed at was incredible - beautiful plants and flowers, walkways and trails, volleyball court, swing set!, pool, sauna, etc. Way to go, Peace Corps. We had a talent show one night (because volunteers are hilarious, especially in the oriente - why else?). The girls and I copied an SNL Spanish skit, we rewrote '500 miles' and there were some hilarious impersonations! A good time was had by all. We wrapped up the week on Friday and most of us packed up and headed to Riobamba. Since Reconnect is usually supposed to be in Quito with all the volunteers but was different this year, we all planned to meet up in Riobamba (kind of a central location?). Mostly everyone from Omnibus 101 was there. It was so good to see everyone, share stories, and hang out. The hotel we found was super nice (but cheap! we are volunteers...) and the town is gorgeous. It was refreshing feeling cold weather, but combined with the altitude change it didn't really agree with me. I found a store that sold the good cheese and chocolate that comes from Salinas - Gouda! My ritz crackers were especially jazzed up last night. The bus ride is actually very beautiful coming from Riobamba to Tena. You can see where the air changes, where the highlands become jungle, etc. The road in between Banyos and Puyo is especially gorgeous - the waterfalls are absolutely amazing! The bus ride was also particularly entertaining - and seemed shorter! - because Laurel and I have decided to start a band. She's going to learn the guitar, and when Mom and Dad bring me my banjo in Diciembre (mom, dad, now you can't say no - you've been published.) we are going to start singing and playing and stuff! I will probably buy a guitar too to start learning. I'm really excited. Our first cover will be the Indigo Girls - Joking. Just wait until we get famous. Anyways, we got into Tena around 5 on Sunday and I went to my friend's house to pick up my puppy. She grew! They bathed her for me which I really appreciated. So, here I am back in my casita with Nina, planning for the next big thing. While I was in Puyo, my counterpart called to tell me that a young woman who had volunteered and lived with the people up at the caves was shot to death a week ago in Quito. I had met her once and she always referred her friends to come visit the caves and the foundation. She was from France working in Quito. Read the story here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32861796 ...I guess it just goes to show that no matter how safe you think you are or how aware you are of your surroundings, anything can happen. It's really, really sad. And scary. Anyways. Hard to believe I just have to get through October, November, and the first few weeks of December and I'll be showing my family around Ecuador! I hope all is well in Kingsport and wherever else you may be reading from. As always, thanks for reading! ...and if you are ever bored and need a laugh, go to mylifeisaverage.com. Best. Procrastination. Ever.Take care - Sarita