Carnaval

 Last weekend we were given a four day weekend for Carnaval. The celebrations began on Friday when all of the Peace Corps Trainees were surprised by a number of celebrations that the staff had put together for us at the training center to show us how Carnaval is celebrated in different parts of the country. The celebrations were divided into three different rooms or "cities" and all had food, music, dance, and Carioca! Carioca is a type of foam that people love to spray on unexpecting friends or strangers for Carnaval. 

The first "stop" my group had for Carnaval was at Guaranda. A city to the south of Quito and pretty much in the middle of the country. As we walked into the room, we were welcomed by the sound of traditional Carnaval music. We were given delicious tortillas to eat and divided into groups to create our own original Carnaval song - of course which we then had to sing to the class. It was really fun. 

We then moved to another city where we were greeted by multiple staff members dressed in costume for carnaval. They explained to us a bit about their costumes and the history and showed us that in the city where we were currently celebrating in, they use water balloons, eggs, Carioca and flour to hit unexpecting bystanders with. 

A few of the Peace Corps Trainees (PCTs) also put together a song and while they sang it to us, we all danced along. It was really fun. 

We finally went to the last stop where we were sung a Carnaval song by some PCTs and then proceeded to watch a little contest happen to see who would be crowned the "town queen of Carnaval". One of the PCTs danced a bit and the other recited the ABCs backwards. There was no clear winner! 

It was a lot of fun to have these Carnaval activities at the Training Center and only made me more excited to actually be able to participate in Carnaval the following Tuesday. 

My family got back from our trip to Nanegal on Monday but I just wanted to sleep. On Tuesday, however, I woke up bright and early, ready to celebrate Carnaval. Unfortunately, the morning of, it was a bit cold and looked like it might rain. For that reason my little sister, Majo, and I didn't venture out into the streets of Nayón until about 1 or 2 in the afternoon. 

We went over to the park, where another one of the trainees lives, and I immediately got soaked with a bucket of water. Unfortunately, I didn't get many pictures because I didn't want to bring my phone with me in fear that it would get wet and stop working. I did have a whole ton of fun though. At first my little sister and I mainly targeted eachother, cracking eggs on each others head and soaking eachother in water. Then we realized that there was a whole group of boys in the park who wanted to get us wet etc. so we all ganged up and tried to get them, at the same time they tried to get us. 

Large groups of families and friends also rent out trucks for the day. They not only load up all of their manpower in their trucks, but they also load up the bed of the truck with a lot of Carioca, gallons of water (both dirty and clean) and with flour as well. They then proceed to drive around town, throwing all said weapons at people who appear to be playing Carnaval, or those who aren't wet yet. A few times, I saw two trucks who would cross paths, and so would then obviously jump out of their trucks and have a little turf war between eachother. 

Suffice it to say, I got soaked, my hair smelled of egg, my whole body was covered in Carioca and I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face. I can't wait to celebrate Carnaval again next year. 

Warning: If you don't like the idea of getting wet and dirty - often inflicted by complete strangers- it's best to stay inside.

Fin de semana en el campo

"Now more than ever do I realize that I will never be content with a sedentary life, that I will always be haunted by thoughts of a sun-drenched elsewhere." - Isabelle Eberhardt

This past Friday my host family surprised me by letting me know that the next morning we would be heading to visit my host dads uncles farm in the country.

On Saturday morning, we woke up at 5:30 and the six of us piled into the car to drive the two hours to Nanegal. I was definitely tired but the views I saw as we drove along the highway were so breathtaking I did not want to sleep in fear of missing it all. 

We arrove at around 8 in the morning and stepping out of the car, were greeted by los tíos and about 6 dogs and a cat. 

We were welcomed into their home, which consists of one room that was their kitchen and another structure entirely which consisted of their bedroom and the town store that they own. We sat down to eat breakfast together of pan with queso (bread with cheese), hard boiled eggs and coffee. I also had the opportunity to try the fruit that surrounds cacao seeds. It was really sweet and delicious. 

The view from their house was absolutely gorgeous. 

After visiting for a bit with the tios we went down to visit their farm. I am so in love with this country, I can't even explain. The picture below is a view of the property on their farm - taken from the car as we drove down the windy dirt road to get there. 

Their farm is filled with yucca, sugar cane, papaya, many different types of bananas, palmito, 7 ponds filled with fish,  chickens running around, a goose - and that doesn't even begin to cover it all. They basically don't really ever have to buy food because they have everything they would ever need to sustain themselves on their land.

Right after arriving we trekked down the hill to the ponds to do a bit of fishing. 

I'm sad to say I didn't actually take part in the fishing but it was really fun to see - and I did pick up a few of the fish that were deemed as "big enough to eat" and proceeded to throw them in the bucket. The other fish, that were too small, were immediately thrown back into the pond. I was told these fish can live up to three hours outside of water. They were still moving about as they were being prepared for dinner.

I also became a butt of my family's jokes as I managed to slip and tumble down the hill into a hole. That was fun. I'm fine! Thought it was funny how my family took pictures of me laughing before actually helping me out of the hole ;p this picture was taken by accident during my tumble. 

And the aftermath of my fall:

We then lugged the big bucket of fish up the hill and gave it to a few people at the house to prepare. We proceeded to walk down the other side of the hill looking for palmito to cut down to make ceviche later that night.  After a few hours of trekking around the hills of their farm we arrived back at the house to this beautiful dinner: 

This is the fish that we had caught as well as yucca and other vegetables from the farm. It was delicious. 

The rest of the weekend I spent swimming in a river, playing cards with my host siblings and cousins, eating delicious food from the farm, throwing water on each other, marveling at the beautiful landscapes and enjoying trekking around the farm and being disconnected from internet etc.   

Here we are playing Carnaval:  

I'll write more about Carnaval in my next post. Until then. Love and peace to you all.

Staging and First Day in Ecuador

A bit more of an actual update for those of you who are craving more details. 

First and foremost I want to say how welcome I feel by the Peace Corps, my host family and my host community. After about only a week here in country I already feel at home.

Last Tuesday I had staging in Miami with the 37 other volunteers who are now with me in Ecuador. An amazing group of people. 

The day mostly consisted of icebreaker activities, learning more about what to expect on our flight to Ecuador the following day, how to deal with/prevent different situations in country and at the end of staging we divided into 7 groups, each of which performed a little skit on how we would deal with a certain scenario in country according to the 10 core agreements that a PCV (peace corps volunteer) makes. My groups situation was about a volunteer who was not adjusting well to his host country, was sick and missed his girlfriend at home who also missed him and wanted him to come home. 

Wednesday morning we woke up bright and early. We were in the lobby at 5 am in the buses by 5:30 arrived at the airport around 6:30, checked all of our bags, and got through security by around 7:30. I went and grabbed a Dunkin Donuts coffee and an empanada for breakfast. We then all hung around chatting for about an hour until our plane boarded. Most of us were grouped all together at the back of the plane. A lot of people took advantage of the four hour flight by sleeping, but I was not able to. Instead I chatted with my two aisle mates the whole way. We arrived in Quito at around 2 with no problems. Our plane arrived early, no ones baggage was lost, we all went through security and customs just fine and were welcomed on the other side by lots of Peace Corps staff with smiling faces, hugs and a banner that read BIENVENIDOS. 

We all stuck our luggage into a big truck and then hopped on to this large charter bus that took us to the community we will be staying at for training. The views along the way were nothing short of beautiful. 

When we arrived at the training center we went inside and all sat down. We met all of the staff and received little welcome notes that our host families had written for us. The note included their street address as well as their phone number. We also went upstairs to the roof to marvel at the view. 

At around 5 our host families arrived. The person in charge of host families called out the host families name and then the name of the PCV that would be staying at their house for the next three months. Each time this happened everyone clapped, the PCV went to give their host families hugs and kisses and then they went downstairs to collect their luggage. 

I was maybe the fifth or sixth person to have their name called, so I met my family pretty early on. Both of my host parents were their to pick me up. I could tell from the moment I met them both that they were very kind people. Their smiles gave it away! They helped me bring my bags to their car and then we drove back to our home. It's really nice because my host is just off of the main road and only about a ten minute walk to the training center (it's all uphill though). 

When we arrived at their house I met their two dogs (Mirage and Oso). 

They showed me to my room and where the bathroom was located. I stuck my bag in the room and then went out to the living room to chat. There I found out that my host mom is a hairdresser (her business is right under our house) and has just started going back to school in order to get her high school diploma. She goes to school every Saturday. My host dad is a retired plane mechanic for the Ecuadorean military and now tends to some land that he owns and grows many vegetables and fruit on. He also owns chickens and pigs. All of these things are found on my plate at breakfast and dinner. 

At around 7:30 I went with my host dad to pick up my host siblings from school. They go to school in the afternoon so don't get home at night until 8. I have two brothers (16 and 15 yo) and a sister (13 yo). They are all very sweet. 

When we got home my host mother had made dinner of chicken, salad and rice. You will see rice at almost every meal, even breakfast. You not only get rice but you get what they call a "Chimborazo". Chimborazo is the name of a very tall volcano here in Ecuador - so as you may guess this saying pretty much means a "mountain" of rice and they do not exaggerate. I am loving the food though. It is nothing short of delicious. 

I hung out at the table for around an hour chatting with the host fam until I decided to go into my room and start to unpack. The end of my first day in Ecuador ended at around 11 o'clock and believe me I was so tired that I had no trouble sleeping at all. 

First Impressions

Disclaimer: My Peace Corps experience is going to be markedly different from what you may imagine a Peace Corps experience to be. In Ecuador, TEFL volunteers are often placed in medium to large cities with working amenities, possible wifi access at home and there are even some instances of multiple volunteers living in the same city and/or working at the same school. 

What I've noticed so far: 

- Smiling faces and helping hands 

- Breathtaking, towering mountains

- Warm weather 

- Green!

- every few shops that you pass will be a flower shop 

- food is absolutely delicious (lots of veggies, meat, rice and fresh fruit)

Facts:

- 16,000 people in training center city 

- 2 million people in Quito 

- Training center city is called the "Garden of Quito"

Differences/Difficulties: 

- I showered with completely cold water the first morning I was here because I didn't realize that I was supposed to turn the nob to the left for the warm water (oops) 

- My host house doesn't have wifi but I do have my own room, working amenities, warm water (sometimes) and a washer for my clothes

- Altitude! I feel out of breath after 5 seconds of walking uphill/upstairs - I also was told that we aren't allowed to work out for 2 weeks until we have adjusted to the altitude 

- Can't pet the street dogs because they may bite and have rabies

- Spanish language is spoken with Kichwa thrown in

Peace Corps Training 

- so much paperwork! 

- I feel so much more informed of what's expected of me now 

- Staff is wonderful, supportive and incredibly knowledgeable 

- other peace corps volunteers are amazing, intelligent and as interested and excited to be here as I am 

- found out I will be swearing in (as long as I pass all parts of training) on April 12 

- placed into Advanced-mid Spanish class (only advanced-high and superior classes are above my level) 

- Was told that our omnibus has the highest overall level of Spanish probably in PC Ecuador history 

- training center has 3 floors, a kitchen, a rooftop terrace, many classrooms, a computer room and a medical office 

- I have no doubt that after all of the safety and security as well as medical trainings that we have planned, I will feel 100% equipped with the tools and strategies needed to stay safe, healthy and happy

Pictures for your viewing pleasure:  

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go

Emma, my older sister, managed to get time off of work this weekend, just so that she could come home, spend the weekend with me, and see me off to Miami on Monday. I am so happy I have the opportunity to spend my last few days stateside with her and my parents. I only wish my other sister, Lily, could be here as well. She starts school Monday, so didn't want to miss her first day of classes. I was able to spend most of this last month with her though, which I really enjoyed.

So many emotions and thoughts have been running through my mind these past few days. I can't believe that tomorrow is my last day in Montpelier for the next 27 months, and that Tuesday is my last full day in the United States. I've spent the last week visiting all of my grandparents (except for my mom's mother who I saw at Christmas), hanging out with my good friend Alana, buying host family gifts and last minute items that I had on my packing list, filling out forms at City Hall so that I can vote while in Ecuador, and of course PACKING.

For the past few weeks, whenever I have had the chance, I spent a few minutes finding a few items I knew I wanted to bring with me to Ecuador and placing them out on the bed so that they were ready to pack. I mostly focused on non-clothing items. This method was not only good visually for me, so that I could see everything that I was going to pack, but it also helped me to figure out what I still needed to go out and buy. On Wednesday, I finally packed everything, that has been lying on the bed for the past few weeks, into my suitcases.

Below are the bags that I'll be taking with me on my trip.



For better or for worse, I am so used to packing by now. Ever since I packed to go to Mexico for the first time, I've had to pack up my life into suitcases like these at least once a year. So for the past 6 years I've been perfecting my packing skills. I've learned that I really don't need that many things in my life. I often have packed many items that I thought would remind me of home but honestly just end up sitting on the shelf, wherever I end up, collecting dust. So now I mostly pack essentials - such as clothes, toiletries, electronics - and only a few things on my list are things that I don't really need. Those things end up being mostly books, games, photos and decorations.

For those of you who are interested, my packing list is attached below. It may seem like I packed a lot, but everything I packed are things that I will use often and all of it fit into the four bags seen above. For those who are not interested in reading my packing list, my next update is going to come to you from either Miami or Ecuador. Wish me luck!

(For reference - the big suitcase weighs just under 50 pounds. The hiking backpack weighs about 20 pounds. The daypack and the purse have barely anything in them.)

This packing job is a huge improvement from the 2 suitcases I brought with me for the year that I lived in Mexico (my first time abroad). They were each bigger than the black suitcase pictured above and were over 50 pounds each.

Packing List 

Clothing

• 3 pants
• 1 pair of Black Slacks
• 2 Jeans
• 2 maxi skirts
• 8 Shirts
• 3 long sleeve shirts
• 4 tank tops
• 4 dresses
• 5 scarves
• 12 Pairs of Underwear 
• 5 pairs of thick socks 
• 15 pairs of running socks
• 6 bras
• 2 workout bras
• 2 pairs of running shirts
• 3 pairs of running shirts
• 1 pair black running pants
• 1 pair spandex
• 1 pair black leggings
• 1 pair of Pyjamas
• 1 Bathing Suit 

Jackets 

• 1 Rain Jacket
• 2 sweatshirts 
• 1 fleece
• 3 cardigans/sweaters

Electronics 

• Computer & Charger
• iPod & Charger
• Phone & Charger
• Camera & Battery
• Flip Video Camera
• Headlamp & Batteries
• Earphones
• USB
• Hard Drive

Shoes

• Black Formal Shoes
• Rainboots
• Flip-Flops
• Vans Sneakers
• Running Sneakers (will wear on the plane) 
• Shoe Fresheners and Blister Control

Bathroom

• Bath Towel
• Medicine bottles
• Makeup
• Hairties
• Lotion (2 bottles) 
• Tissues (2 travel packs) 
• Body Spray 
• Travel Size Shampoo, Body Wash and Conditioner
• Floss
• Deodorant
• Razors and replaceable heads
• Toothbrush & Toothpaste
• Earplugs
• Tampons (4 boxes) -- I'm really nervous these will either be very hard to find or extremely expensive, because they were both of these things in Mexico. 

Bedroom

• Washing Line 
• Sheets & Pillowcase
• Room Decorations
• Photos 

Desk

• Daily Planner
• Paperwork
• Notebook
• Pen
• Journal
• 4 Books 
• Envelopes and Stationary
• Colouring Book & Pencils

Miscellaneous

• Passport
• Wallet
• Sunglasses (1 pair)
• 1 Nalgene Bottle
• 1 set of Cards
• SET
• Bananagrams
• Cribbage Board
• Jewellery (earrings and necklaces) 
• Jewellery display
• Duct Tape
• Sunshine Book
• Sewing Box
• Host Family Gifts (Maple Syrup & Maple Candies)

Peace Corps LearningSpace

There are many pre-departure activities that a Peace Corps Volunteer has to finish before they are able to embark on their 2 year journey. Many of these activities are completed on an online site called LearningSpace. There are four areas in which I, and other volunteers, need to complete online "modules" or lessons:

1. Orientation to Safety and Security
2. Core Expectations
3. HIV Basics for Peace Corps Volunteers
4. TEFL Certificate Program 2016

I completed the first three listed here, within the first few weeks of accepting my invitation. The TEFL Certificate Program, on the other hand, has included four different Pre-Departure Modules that I had until January 14th to complete. Below is the list of modules that I have had to complete and their due dates.



It feels nice to know that I only have the final self-assessment left to finish before I head to Miami and then to Ecuador. 

9 days until I arrive in Miami and 11 days until Ecuador. It's really coming down to the wire. 

Language Proficiency Interview

I just finished a Skype interview with a very nice woman from the Peace Corps office located in Nayon, Quito, Ecuador. It was my language proficiency interview (as you may have assumed from the title of this post), so the entire interview was conducted in Spanish. The first thing I noticed (besides how nice the woman was), was the fact that in Ecuador, instead of saying !Qué padre! they say !Qué chevere! Makes me excited to learn all of the ins and outs of Ecuadorian Spanish.

The interview itself lasted about 30 minutes. I was asked to talk about myself, why I thought it was important to learn other languages, what my plans are for the last two weeks before I head off to Ecuador etc. I was also given a scenario and asked to act out what I would say in that particular situation. Although there was really no reason for me to be, I was incredibly nervous throughout the entire interview. The only thing the interview is going to be used for is to see what level language class I will be placed in upon my arrival in Ecuador. I believe that upon my arrival in Ecuador, I will be shortly interviewed again, just to make sure that I have been placed in the correct level. 

Language classes will take up around 2 hours of our day, 5 days a week, and there will be about 5 volunteers in each group. What I am particularly excited about is that, apparently the way in which language classes are conducted, we will learn certain vocabulary etc. inside the classroom, but we will then also go out into the community and have the opportunity to use the language with people in Quito. 

2 weeks until my arrival in Miami for staging. 2 weeks and 1 day until my arrival in Ecuador. Getting pretty excited.