Destination: Guayaquil

Hello All,

I found out yesterday that my home for the next 2 years will be Guayaquil, Ecuador´s second-largest city and a commercial hub on the southern coast. For those of you who were hoping to visit me and experience life in a hut with no running water or electricity...sorry! You will just have to come see me in the big city instead.

We will be making weeklong site visits to meet our new host families and counterpart organizations this week...more to come soon!

Field Trip, Field Day

Peace Corps keeps us on our toes with various activities to spice up the rigorous training schedule. One day, we were split into groups and went on cultural field trips. My group went to a town in the north called Salinas (the name comes from the salt mines – minas de sal – there). It was originally a haven for escaped slaves, and today the natural resources are waning, but a tourism project is on the rise. We learned how salt is extracted from the soil and then climbed up the tolas, huge mounds of spent soil that look like natural hills but are actually man-made.







Some residents performed traditional music and dance for us, and we also got the chance to try out our own moves…needless to say, we have a lot to learn…

My favorite part of the trip was the ride home, because the climb back up into the higher altitudes afforded some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. I kept thinking, Where am I? trying to compare it with places I had been before, but I couldn’t. Everything is different, from the vegetation to the land itself. You wouldn’t realize how big the mountains are unless the clouds were there to tell you: the clouds start gathering at the base of the mountains, which lead your eye up and up until it feels like you are looking directly overhead. They’re stunning, even more so when you’re winding your way up in the afternoon sun.

On Friday, Peace Corps hosted a “Día Deportiva,” where each training community became a soccer team, and we all convened for a day of soccer in tribute to the World Cup. We also go the chance to meet current PC Volunteers. And according to Ecuadorian tradition, before the tournament, each community’s elected madrina entered a competition to be “queen” of the event.



We started at 9am, and my team only played 3 games…but by the end of the finals it was after 5pm, our lungs were burning, and we were glad to go out for some Chinese food. More on food next time...chao!

Current Address

Because many of you have asked, I will post my mailing address. Tabacundo does not have a post office, nor does my house here have an address, so please direct all mail to the Peace Corps P.O. box in the capital, and it will be distributed to me from there. Hopefully when I get to my site in approx. 5 weeks(!) I will have an actual address!

Jordan Shuler, PCT
Cuerpo de Paz
Casilla 17-08-8624
Quito, Ecuador
South America

And to those of you from whom I have already received snail mail - thanks! It´s great to hear from you, and it makes me look good in front of the other trainees! ;)

Buenos Días,

I have successfully concluded my second week as a Peace Corps Trainee, and during that time, I’ve learned a few things (dress for all 4 seasons, because they will most likely all occur within the space of one day; don´t throw toilet paper in the toilet, throw it in the nearby wastebasket), and I’ve also done some new things, too. There’s something new every day…here’s a quick rundown of some of my newfound skills and experiences:

- On our first day of language class, my group and I walked around town drawing a map with relevant sites and resources. The best way to get to know a place: walk it! My group is pictured above, Hannah, Angela, and Corey: Team Tabacundo.

- Trying new foods: The latest includes choclo (similar to corn on the cob, spread with a spicy ají sauce), sambo (a type of soup made with a melon-like vegetable), salted pig skin (yum), and a whole fish (yes, head to tail, and the waitress had to tell us how to cut and eat it)

- “To Build a Fire” – Tabacundan-style: Take some sticks of wood and pile them in the street. Get some old notebooks, tear them up, and stuff the leaves into the pile. Strike a match or three to get it started. Sprinkle with gasoline periodically to ensure the flames continue.

- Stashing money and valuables in odd places on my body. For security reasons, we’re advised to carry valuables in more than one place, so that if we were to get pickpocketed, say, we’d still have some money in our sock. For women, keeping valuables in your pecho (i.e., your bra) is recommended. By the end of the safety session, we had stuffed our cellphones, money, gold earrings, some bananas, and some other odds and ends into our theoretical pechos.

- Washing clothes by hand on a piedra (stone). Mamá María learned me how to do this. Shockingly, she was able to get some stains out of my clothes that I thought were permanent, thereby converting me to the wash-by-hand method…for now, at least. Other clothing items she helped me with she said, This isn’t dirty. So I guess I’m now supposed to wear clothes until they smell and have visible stains on them, which is fine by me.

- Dancing through the streets of Tabacundo, celebrating the fiesta of San Pedro (patron saint of the town). I wore the men’s zamarros, chaps made of animal fur, and got a lot of compliments on how well I dance for a gringa (the term “gringo” is not considered derogatory here; it’s used commonly and may even be a term of affection). Pictures are attached!

- Played a game of basketball with some local Tabacundeñas. My group got whipped, but thankfully we have the excuse that we are still adjusting to the altitude…

- Fourth of July celebration with Team Tabacundo and our host families – included making pizzas and roasting marshmallows for s´mores, something new to our Ecuadorian friends. Happy Belated Fourth of July!!!

It’s been an interesting two weeks of training, with classes here in Tabacundo as well as general group meetings with all 66 of us. More updates are on the way, and feel free to leave comments or e-mail me and let me know what you’re up to! Hugs to all!

¡Bienvenido a Tabacundo!

Hello to all! I am writing this post from Tabacundo, a small satellite town of Cayambe. Cayambe is a decent-sized city just north of Quito, and our training group was divided into groups and sent to live with host families in the Cayambe area for the next couple of months. Although Tabacundo itself is very small, its proximity to the big city gives residents relatively easy access to life outside the town. Lots of students go to university in Quito, and many residents have relatives who have immigrated to the United States.

My host family is wonderful. Don Oswaldo and his wife, María, welcomed me into their house with open arms. Their 16-year-old daughter Jasmíth lives with them, and the family also includes daughter Elisabeth and son Oswaldo, who are grown and live in their own places. Nevertheless, after only two days here, I can already tell that I will be seeing a lot of the whole family, as this house is the central gathering place for everyone to eat and spend time together.

My very first night here, María and Jasmíth informed me that “Tonight will be a party” – as it turns out, the town is getting ready to celebrate the patron saint’s day, which means a whole lot of festivities in the weeks before and after the event. Who knew that I would find myself wearing chaps made of llama skin, joining in the groups of people singing and dancing down the streets on my first night in town. Above is a picture of Elisabeth and Jasmíth in traditional garb (chaps were part of the men’s clothing).

So far, it’s been the general rule that I have no idea what to expect, nor should I, because my expectations would probably be shattered. My initial impression is that the people here don’t know all the details and tend to make things up as they go (there is a very different perspective of time here!). For instance, driving to and from Cayambe today to see festival activities, we made several impromptu grocery stops, were approached by someone asking whether Don Oswaldo was interested in selling his car (he was), and we picked up some neighbors on the fly as well. One thing I wasn’t expecting, at least not so soon, was being treated to the traditional Ecuadorian highlands meal, guinea pig. María made it for Father’s Day today. Delicious, but akin to eating crab: lots of work for minimal quantitative output. Still, quite yummy, so if you’re getting tired of your guinea pig pet, ask me and I will send you María’s recipe.

Hope you are all doing well. ¡Hasta luego!

A Few Firsts

The past couple days have been full of "firsts," meaning things I have done for the first time here in Ecuador. Ate my first Ecuadorian meal, took my first Ecuadorian shower, squashed my first Ecuadorian bug.

One thing I will say, Peace Corps is definitely gung ho about their training. Today we did everything from immunizations to dealing with host families who try too hard to fatten us up (the concept of beauty is a little different here, and apparently gringos can be considered too thin). And according to the medical kits they gave us, I can expect to get athlete´s foot, diarrhea, and a hideous sunburn at some point during my service. I will try to be discrete and not mention these ailments when they do occur, dear readers. But I must at least mention them here so that you understand the sacrifices I make in the name of representing peace and justice in the world...

This weekend we will bus out to Cayambe, just north of Quito, and meet our host families. These will be the people we live with for the next 9 weeks. Wish me luck!

¡Hasta pronto!

After a lengthy day of seminars, a celebratory dinner with old friends (pizza...what else?!), and successfully herding the group of volunteers entrusted to me onto the bus, to the airport, and through security...we are at our gate! The adrenaline rush from knowing that today is the day we will arrive at our new "home country" seems to be keeping most of us alert, even though we woke up at wretched o'clock in the morning.

I'm so grateful I got to spend time with two lovely, lovely people before I left. Going on a hike to Great Falls before staging (picture above) cleared my head, and my last all-American dinner before Ecuador will be something to remember (and crave in the future, I'm sure). Thanks to both of you!

Heads up, this will be the last post stateside...

...talk to you from Ecuador!

Hasta pronto,
J