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

I´m still here! Sorry I haven´t been too faithful to updating my blog. Things down here are still going well, we have Reconnect coming up in a few weeks. Hard to believe we´ve already been in country six months and at site for four! I will be helping finish some composting toilets in the surrounding communities this coming week and hopefully helping a community with their failed community bank. I´ve successfully become a guide for the caves so that is exciting! Now when I wear my shirt that says ´guia´on the back, I´m not just pretending! The other volunteers in Tena cluster have had visitors in and out all month so its exciting to get some people from the states (although none of YOU have come!!). My puppy has grown so much in the last few weeks and continues to run the chickens out of the yard. I have discovered that there are rats that like to play in my kitchen at night so I might conseguir a cat! We´ll see. It is definitely more exciting to have pets around when you live alone but I´m sure my neighbors probably think I´m nuts. Luis finished installing my shower and water for my washing rock so that is super helpful. He´s going to build me a better shower later in the year so maybe I will have hot water (just in time for the fam!) Buy your plane tickets people, I need visitors! (fotos: tena girls during sarah´s visit, pet snake at caves, tena cluster and family go to the caves)

Hello all, I am still alive. I moved into my new house and got a puppy, nina. ´Nina´is a Kichwa word which means fuego in Spanish and fire in English. She is super cute and was rescued from the street. We had a busy weekend here because it was a holiday weekend and school starts back soon, so lots of tourists at the caves! I am the new member of Peace Corps Ecuador´s Gender and Development committee so I am excited to start working with them. I have attached some pictures of the caves, my puppy and my friends in Tena cluster. Miss and love you all!