New Mailing Address

I have a new mailing address for my site in Guayaquil; if you would like to know it, please e-mail me and I will send it to you.

You can continue to send mail to the old address, which is the Peace Corps office in Quito…but it will most likely be stuck there until the next time I have to travel in to visit the office.

Abrazos!

Food, Glorious Food

This post has been a long time coming. That’s because every day is a new culinary adventure here, and it takes a lot of energy and intestinal endurance to keep up. Many of my companions have fallen victim to various digestive ailments, but I have thus far had nothing to complain about.

Consider this your introduction to the three main food groups of the Ecuadorian sierra: potatoes, rice, and anything fried. Cafecito may be added as an optional fourth. My previous host mother did a great job of providing me with fresh fruits and veg: she had hosted other volunteers and knew the quirky dietary habits of Americans. Still, that didn’t prevent most everything she put on the table from being prepared with copious amounts of oil, manteca (pig fat), and salt. In short, everything I ate was delicious and clogged my arteries.

Some of my favorites were unusual – chicken-foot soup, fried guinea pig – while others were more familiar foods: carne asado, a tender bean called chochos that are eaten with toasted corn kernels and a spicy ají sauce…yum…

Similar to what you find in Spain, the main meal here is the midday meal. Children come home from school, adults come home from work, and shops close down from noon to 2 or 3 o’clock in the afternoon. And when Ecuadorians eat, they eat a lot. My first week of training, my host brother saw the look of incredulity on my face when my mother set a heaping plate of food in front of me. He explained, “Here in Ecuador, we may not have much, but we eat a lot.” So when a family sits down to a creaking table, they’re not kidding when they say “Buen provecho!” and proceed to dig in.

Another difference I’ve noticed is that here, it’s not considered rude to say “You’re too skinny, you need to fatten up,” or to say “Hey fatty, how are you today?” Unlike in the states, these comments about people’s physical appearances are simple facts and observations, nothing to be taken personally. Gordito (fatty, little fat one) is considered a term of endearment. Unfortunately, I have not had the pleasure of being called by this name; every time someone grabs my wrist to test how fat I have become, the pronouncement is a disappointed “flaquita” (skinny).

And now for a few pics...

Below is a fruit called a granadilla. You break it open and suck out the seeds and pulpy insides.




If any of you have a specialty market nearby, check and see if they have granadillas or maracuyá (passionfruit) – they are tangy and tasty treats.

A giant head of cabbage.


Pie!!!


The Spanish version makes sense, but I´m not so sure about the English translation...




That´s all for now, although there will surely be more food posts in the future.
Now that I am at site in Guayaquil, a coastal city, I am already finding differences in regional diets. For instance, there’s not much to be seen of potatoes, but the seafood options are endless. A couple nights ago I made pasta and ate it with butter and salt…pretty simple…but I look forward to learning and wowing you all with my culinary progress as time goes by.

PS - The pig you see at the top of this post? We ate it and another one like it to celebrate the end of training with our host families. Oink. Oink.

Offically a Peace Corps Volunteer!

Hello Friends and Family,

As of today, I have officially become a PCV! Nine weeks of training has tested our abilities to adapt to a new culture and also given our training class, Omnibus 104, the chance to become friends. It's a bittersweet time, as tomorrow we will all be dispersing to different parts of the country for the next 2 years, but mostly we are celebrating - please join us!


The Tabacundo girls going crazy in Quito the day before swearing in...


The new Youth & Families volunteers (about 1/3 of our training class; the other part are Health vols)


The silly pic

Birthday Smash

Am back from a weeklong Tech Trip, where we had the chance to shadow current volunteers and see them at work. We got lots and lots...and lots...of practice giving charlas, informal discussion sessions, to groups of adults and children. This will be a large part of my work over the next two years as I work with youth groups on health, life planning, and self esteem topics. We usually start the session off with an icebreaker, move into an activity/discussion of the topic, and end with some type of reflection.

Corny joke of the week:
Q: What did the Peace Corps Volunteer give to the pirate who needed help in his community?
A: A charrrrrrrrr-la.
(You can all thank my friends Hannah and Melissa for that one.)

Also, thanks to many of you for the birthday wishes yesterday. I turned 23 here in Ecuador and didn´t quite know what to expect. A homemade cake from a fellow volunteer was definitely a surprise - as was having my face smashed into it. There´s always a new tradition to learn about, and hands-on (or in this case, face-first) is always the most exciting way to participate.

This week is our last week of training...another post to come soon!