Today has been surreal, to say the least. I am doing well, and all the PCVs here are safe for now. We'll be getting further instructions from Peace Corps in the morning. Internet connection is shaky, so I'm keeping this short. Thank you for the well wishes. Hasta pronto!
http://www.travelweekly.com/article3_ektid222072.aspx
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/09/30/world/americas/AP-LT-Ecuador-Protest.html?_r=2&hp
Jordan in Ecuador Peace Corps Volunteer June 2010 - December 2012
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Here in Ecuador, I find that I have started quantifying different things in new ways. Allow me to explain…
Time, for instance, can be measured in mefloquine pills. These are the malaria pills that I take, one pill every Friday. I pick up the shiny aluminum packet and hold 6 weeks in my hand. Just a few days ago I finished my first packet - Huzzah!
Sample sentence: "Are you ready to give your big presentation at the office?"
"I haven’t started it yet, but I’m not worried; it’s still a couple of mefloquine pills away."
Money >> measured by the price of a standard almuerzo ($1.50)
Sample sentence: “This pair of pants costs 13 lunches? Forget it, I’ll take another arroz con pollo.”
Weight >> intense visual scrutiny + pudginess of one’s wrist
Sample sentence – can be one of two things: “Flaquita!” [“Skinny!”] or “Gordita!” [“Fat!”]
*Note, only an Ecuadorian can measure weight in Ecuador. Anyone else’s reading inevitably comes out inaccurate.
Direction >> landmarks
Sample sentence: I don’t know whether to tell you to turn right or left, but I know you’re supposed to walk toward the pink-flowering tree and past the house with the savagely barking dog. My house is the yellow-and-green confectionary construction (looks like a giant layer cake plopped down in the middle of the landscape).
Health >> whether or not you are having diarrhea
’Nuff said.
Hunger >> number of batidos (smoothies) you could gulp down at the moment
Sample sentence: “I´m about five batidos hungry right now." - and that´s saying a lot, especially if you go to the place where they serve them to you in personalized pitchers
Speed >> whether or not there is a speed bomb on the bus
If there is a speed bomb, i.e., the driver is ahead of schedule, you are going about 15mph; if there is not a speed bomb, i.e., the driver is behind schedule, you are going as fast as possible (but don’t worry, never faster than the driver can see).
…just part of the normal, daily routine.
Time, for instance, can be measured in mefloquine pills. These are the malaria pills that I take, one pill every Friday. I pick up the shiny aluminum packet and hold 6 weeks in my hand. Just a few days ago I finished my first packet - Huzzah!
Sample sentence: "Are you ready to give your big presentation at the office?"
"I haven’t started it yet, but I’m not worried; it’s still a couple of mefloquine pills away."
Money >> measured by the price of a standard almuerzo ($1.50)
Sample sentence: “This pair of pants costs 13 lunches? Forget it, I’ll take another arroz con pollo.”
Weight >> intense visual scrutiny + pudginess of one’s wrist
Sample sentence – can be one of two things: “Flaquita!” [“Skinny!”] or “Gordita!” [“Fat!”]
*Note, only an Ecuadorian can measure weight in Ecuador. Anyone else’s reading inevitably comes out inaccurate.
Direction >> landmarks
Sample sentence: I don’t know whether to tell you to turn right or left, but I know you’re supposed to walk toward the pink-flowering tree and past the house with the savagely barking dog. My house is the yellow-and-green confectionary construction (looks like a giant layer cake plopped down in the middle of the landscape).
Health >> whether or not you are having diarrhea
’Nuff said.
Hunger >> number of batidos (smoothies) you could gulp down at the moment
Sample sentence: “I´m about five batidos hungry right now." - and that´s saying a lot, especially if you go to the place where they serve them to you in personalized pitchers
Speed >> whether or not there is a speed bomb on the bus
If there is a speed bomb, i.e., the driver is ahead of schedule, you are going about 15mph; if there is not a speed bomb, i.e., the driver is behind schedule, you are going as fast as possible (but don’t worry, never faster than the driver can see).
…just part of the normal, daily routine.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
To Grandmother's House We...Go?
Sundays I usually spend with my host family. During the week, it is rare that they are all in the same place at the same time, so I try to take advantage of the one day we can all spend time together.
My host family is:
Luis & Mariana – the elderly couple who enjoy grilled cheese with their nighttime telenovela
Fernando & Sandra – daughter and son-in-law; always working; seemingly exist on no sleep whatsoever
Marcelo & Andrés – sons of Fernando and Sandra; 12 and 9 years old, respectively; you’ve met them already
This past Sunday, we had nothing planned – or so I thought. Turns out that, in typical fashion, I was just the out-of-the-loop gringa. I'm getting used to this, so when Fernando told me to hop in the truck, we were going to visit Abuelita, I obeyed.
If there is one thing I have learned here, it is to go with the flow, as (a) My Spanish is still not up to the point of understanding everything that’s going on, and (b) Plans tend to change at least thrice over the course of a social outing with my Ecuadorian family.
So, I hopped in the truck to “visit Abuelita.” We stopped to pick up some cousins and other relatives, and we were off.
About half an hour down the highway, well after I had begun to wonder exactly where we were going and just how far we’d have to drive to get there, and whether Marcelo would mind if I used him as a pillow, we arrived.
We unloaded ourselves from the car, and come to find out, Abuelita was already with us, having been one of the other relatives we picked up on the way – on the way to, not Abuelita’s house, but to a house owned by Fernando’s sister who lives in Italy. And it wasn’t a house, it was a condominium, and it wasn’t occupied, but it was unlocked, so we all went in to have a look around and traipsed up the stairs and then traipsed (or in Andrés’ case, fell) back down again and then drove the half hour back to Guayaquil to eat dinner at KFC.
Despite the fact that we ended up at an American fast-food chain, I still think of this as a very Ecuadorian outing.
In other news, I have been baking my way into my host family’s heart. Baking is not that common here, at least not in the home. There are a fair number of pastelerías, pastry shops, that offer everything from cornbread to iced cakes, but the limited acquaintance I have with Ecuadorian ovens leads me to conclude that they are generally used for storage space, not for cooking.
The first time I baked a cake, it was gone by the next day. The second time, Lupe, who normally cooks the meals around here and concocts such delicacies as shrimp ceviche with patacones (below), kept popping in and out of the kitchen to watch me measure flour, mix in sugar, and hack away at a bar of chocolate in my attempt to make chocolate chips.
[Above: Lupe's delectable sopa de verde with ceviche and patacones]
The second cake turned out okay, but it wasn’t as fluffy as it should have been, because nowhere, and I mean nowhere, could I find baking soda. Baking powder, yes; baking soda, I would have questioned whether it even exists in Ecuador had I not known for a fact that there is a word for it here: bicarbonato. I did a little research, and as it turns out, baking soda has been banned in Ecuador because it was somehow being used for criminal activity (or so the story goes) – which explains why, when my friend Hannah and I asked at the MegaMaxi (the one place that is likely to carry whatever grocery item you are looking for and can’t find anywhere else) if they carried baking soda, the response was, “No, not here! Not even for the President!” Apparently it is possible to buy baking soda in Ecuador, but only at a pharmacy, since it is treated as a controlled substance.
[Above: Marcelo and the Baking Soda-less Cake. We made up for the lack of height with frosting and crushed Oreos, which he greatly enjoyed smashing]
Apologies for all the food photos of late; it’s just that the food here is so, so yummy.
You all are probably wondering how I fill my days. It’s a bit hard to say, since I have been visiting various programs in the barrio and don’t have a set routine yet. Mostly, I have been working at after-school programs with kids, helping them with homework and playing educational games.
The Reader’s Digest version goes like this: Jordan gets up, fixes herself a bowl of oatmeal, and eats breakfast. Jordan takes the Metrovía to the barrio and sits in the community center, planning activities and drafting community interviews while her counterparts do paperwork, chitchat, and watch telenovelas (they are quite the multi-taskers). Jordan heads to the after-school program, where she eats lunch with the kids, helps them with their homework, and tries to convince them that her red hair and freckles are not “painted on.” Jordan catches the Metrovía home, where Andrés and Marcelo greet her: “Let’s play cards!” “Can you help me with my English homework?” Jordan eats dinner, showers, reads a bit, and goes to bed.
Speaking of which…bed is calling, and I am going to answer.
Next blog post: "Jordan’s Mysterious Rash," or, "Three Reasons Why You Should Maybe Not Go Swimming In That River."
Chao!
My host family is:
Luis & Mariana – the elderly couple who enjoy grilled cheese with their nighttime telenovela
Fernando & Sandra – daughter and son-in-law; always working; seemingly exist on no sleep whatsoever
Marcelo & Andrés – sons of Fernando and Sandra; 12 and 9 years old, respectively; you’ve met them already
This past Sunday, we had nothing planned – or so I thought. Turns out that, in typical fashion, I was just the out-of-the-loop gringa. I'm getting used to this, so when Fernando told me to hop in the truck, we were going to visit Abuelita, I obeyed.
If there is one thing I have learned here, it is to go with the flow, as (a) My Spanish is still not up to the point of understanding everything that’s going on, and (b) Plans tend to change at least thrice over the course of a social outing with my Ecuadorian family.
So, I hopped in the truck to “visit Abuelita.” We stopped to pick up some cousins and other relatives, and we were off.
About half an hour down the highway, well after I had begun to wonder exactly where we were going and just how far we’d have to drive to get there, and whether Marcelo would mind if I used him as a pillow, we arrived.
We unloaded ourselves from the car, and come to find out, Abuelita was already with us, having been one of the other relatives we picked up on the way – on the way to, not Abuelita’s house, but to a house owned by Fernando’s sister who lives in Italy. And it wasn’t a house, it was a condominium, and it wasn’t occupied, but it was unlocked, so we all went in to have a look around and traipsed up the stairs and then traipsed (or in Andrés’ case, fell) back down again and then drove the half hour back to Guayaquil to eat dinner at KFC.
Despite the fact that we ended up at an American fast-food chain, I still think of this as a very Ecuadorian outing.
In other news, I have been baking my way into my host family’s heart. Baking is not that common here, at least not in the home. There are a fair number of pastelerías, pastry shops, that offer everything from cornbread to iced cakes, but the limited acquaintance I have with Ecuadorian ovens leads me to conclude that they are generally used for storage space, not for cooking.
The first time I baked a cake, it was gone by the next day. The second time, Lupe, who normally cooks the meals around here and concocts such delicacies as shrimp ceviche with patacones (below), kept popping in and out of the kitchen to watch me measure flour, mix in sugar, and hack away at a bar of chocolate in my attempt to make chocolate chips.
[Above: Lupe's delectable sopa de verde with ceviche and patacones]
The second cake turned out okay, but it wasn’t as fluffy as it should have been, because nowhere, and I mean nowhere, could I find baking soda. Baking powder, yes; baking soda, I would have questioned whether it even exists in Ecuador had I not known for a fact that there is a word for it here: bicarbonato. I did a little research, and as it turns out, baking soda has been banned in Ecuador because it was somehow being used for criminal activity (or so the story goes) – which explains why, when my friend Hannah and I asked at the MegaMaxi (the one place that is likely to carry whatever grocery item you are looking for and can’t find anywhere else) if they carried baking soda, the response was, “No, not here! Not even for the President!” Apparently it is possible to buy baking soda in Ecuador, but only at a pharmacy, since it is treated as a controlled substance.
[Above: Marcelo and the Baking Soda-less Cake. We made up for the lack of height with frosting and crushed Oreos, which he greatly enjoyed smashing]
Apologies for all the food photos of late; it’s just that the food here is so, so yummy.
You all are probably wondering how I fill my days. It’s a bit hard to say, since I have been visiting various programs in the barrio and don’t have a set routine yet. Mostly, I have been working at after-school programs with kids, helping them with homework and playing educational games.
The Reader’s Digest version goes like this: Jordan gets up, fixes herself a bowl of oatmeal, and eats breakfast. Jordan takes the Metrovía to the barrio and sits in the community center, planning activities and drafting community interviews while her counterparts do paperwork, chitchat, and watch telenovelas (they are quite the multi-taskers). Jordan heads to the after-school program, where she eats lunch with the kids, helps them with their homework, and tries to convince them that her red hair and freckles are not “painted on.” Jordan catches the Metrovía home, where Andrés and Marcelo greet her: “Let’s play cards!” “Can you help me with my English homework?” Jordan eats dinner, showers, reads a bit, and goes to bed.
Speaking of which…bed is calling, and I am going to answer.
Next blog post: "Jordan’s Mysterious Rash," or, "Three Reasons Why You Should Maybe Not Go Swimming In That River."
Chao!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
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!
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!
Monday, August 23, 2010
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.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
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
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
Saturday, August 7, 2010
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!
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!
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