The Precarious Adventures of a Peace Corps Volunteer: Staying Busy

Most of the classes at my school went on class trips last week and I was invited to tag along with one of the English teachers 8^th grade class to a city called Macuchi. This place is the reason I love Ecuador. It was absolutely breathtaking- green, lush, gorgeous, somewhat deserted, quiet, natural. It was about 3 hours by bus, a trip which was interrupted about half way through by carsickness. Because I live in the mountain region, everywhere I travel is up and down, and windy. I heard a couple of students ask for a “funda de marea” (sick bag) then a couple more then a few more, until I heard the driver say “no hay mas” (there are no more) and then I started to panic. I have a fear of vomit but the bus was so cold and well-ventilated that I couldn’t smell anything and I was sitting in the front (to avoid carsickness) so I couldn’t see it. The bus driver then pulled over and ordered everyone off the bus. It was 14 degrees Celsius at the top of this mountain and here I am with 45 Ecuadorian kids, walking up the mountain as some are pausing to puke and the bus slowly crawling behind us. One of my funniest moments here.

So we finally arrive at the Hosteria Oro Cabañas, which is like a hostel and event space and we are the only people visiting. There is a huge pool, a jacuzzi, a sauna, a pool table, and tons of trout pools you can fish from. We are immediately served a big breakfast of bolon (mashed up plantain with pieces of pork and a fried egg) and coffee. We drop our stuff and head up the mountain on a hike. The weather is SO much nicer than Pujili. It was warm and humid, tropical. We hiked up for about an hour, following the river and passing a few small waterfalls on the way. We stopped at a few trout pools and our tour guide showed us how to fish with a net and then the kids held the fish until it started suffocating and bleeding. Made me think I’ll probably be a vegetarian again when I get back to the States. (Sorry, Momma.) I just really hate seeing a living being die.

We also stopped at an old abandoned gold mining cave. The kids searched the ground for small shiny rocks, I’m not sure they had real gold but I told the kids they did. We hung out close to the top for awhile and drank lemonade and then headed back down. The kids swam in the pool for hours and tried to convince me to swim with them. I explained to the other teacher that I attract enough attention with all my clothes on, I don’t need to be stripping down. Plus I think they might freak if they see my tattoo and/or piercing. So I watched and laughed as the boys rough housed and the girls shyly swam in the corner. One of the mothers also accompanied the group and she entertained me by trying to convert me to Evangelicalism while we watched. Then we ate a big lunch of soup, trout, rice, french fries, and salad. Everyone rushed to get ready because they close the highway for construction at a certain time and we didn’t make it! It was going to be closed for an hour and a half. So we detoured to Quilotoa, the crater lake in the volcano that I visited a couple months ago, but it was so foggy, you couldn’t see the lake from the vantage point. We walked around there for awhile and then headed home, grabbing a chicken dinner to go on the way, arriving back at the school around 8pm. It was a long and tiring day, but so worth it.

Saturday I had a meeting in the morning at the Asilo de Ancianos (this directly translates to Asylum of Ancient People, but basically means Old Folks Home). Our neighbor is my host mom’s best friend and she comes over a lot to chat and she mentioned that she just started working in the kitchen of the Old Folks Home. My ears perked up because I love old people! And I worked in retirement homes for 4 years. So I started asking questions and they decided I should go in and see over the weekend. I met with the Presidenta del Patronato, which is like a social work organization through our town’s government. (This lady is also going to be helping us start a summer camp for kids after school lets out.) So this Asilo is government funded and the President explained that they found these senior citizens living on the street all around the country. Some don’t know where they came from, most don’t have families, and none of them have money. The Asilo provides them with the basics like clothing, food, and a bed, and the building itself is new and clean, but this is so far from the retirement homes I worked in. There are no programs or activities for these people to do. When they’re not eating or sleeping, they sit in a circle on the patio and stare off into space. As soon as I walked in, my heart broke. So I’ll be going in on Saturdays for a few hours and hopefully also during the week sometime to run some activities with them. I’m thinking about some exercises like chair aerobics and balloon volleyball (thank you for the ideas, Collette!) and also reading for them, possibly some dancing, and hopefully some field trips eventually. I’m meeting with the President tomorrow to discuss the ideas and also plans for the summer camp.

This week I also started exercise classes! One of our neighbors goes to this small dance club on the other side of town and offered to drive me so I tried it out last night. Mondays and Wednesdays are Rumba class and Tuesdays and Thursdays are Taebo. I laughed at myself the entire time because I have zero rhythm, but it was so much fun and a really good workout. So I paid $20 for 1 month, which seems like a lot, but it’s 4 times a week and it’s worth it because I have no other time to exercise and my host family won’t let me go anywhere alone, so it ends up working out perfectly. Though, this does mean that I miss the beginning of my soap opera, but I think I’ll survive.

The kids class is still going pretty well, though I leave there with a stress knot in my neck every time because they’re so wild. They’re a handful, but it’s fun. The teachers I tutor on Fridays invited me to their English Open House tomorrow so we’ll see what kind of shenanigans are involved there. And one of the teachers at my school (the one who tends to be the most difficult) thanked me for about 5 minutes today for being so patient with her.

So, evidently, I’m a very busy woman. But I don’t really feel stressed. I am only supposed to spend 20-25 hours a week in the school and my other side projects don’t really take up much time. I love the variety and I love having lots of things to think about and plan for. The other day, I was dying for a real, good hug. I woke up from a nap grumpy and for some reason, all I wanted was a hug from someone who loves me. And in that moment, I felt very alone. The concept of being my own support system has become a reality and I’m still adjusting. But when I think about all the people I’m working with and I’m hopefully going to help, I feel confident that I will. And of course, REALLY looking forward to visiting at Christmas time to get one of those hugs.

Thank you for reading. Thank you for caring.