Un Dia Tipico de mi en Ecuador

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Many have asked, “What do you do everyday over there Ecuador?” Hmm what do I do? Well, I manage to keep myself quite busy or rather Peace Corps manages to keep me quite busy. I start my days around 6:30 with the sound of my alarm going off. However, I have usually been lying semi-awake in my bed since 5:45, because that is when the rooster next door decides its a great time to wake up the neighborhood. I have breakfast with my family, trying to start my day off with speaking some Spanish. My breakfast always consists of an egg in various forms and the most amazing fresh squeezed juice you can imagine from so many different types of fruits I can't even begin to tell you. I say ciao to my family and walk the 10 minutes through Tumbaco to the bus stop where I am met by my fellow Peace Corps compañeros.. We then take the 20 min bus ride to the training center. Now taking the bus is not the easiest task, for you have to mentally and physically prepare yourself for a roller coaster ride through town squished up against people and holding on for dear life as you speed around corners. You also play bumper butts with the people around you. I usually disembark from the bus feeling light-headed and woozy, but it sure is a rush. We all always seem to make it in one piece.

Our mornings start at about 8:30 and we have classes until 5 or 5:30. It's a long day filled with language, culture, safety, health, and technical classes in which we split up into our groups of Natural Resource Conservation and Sustainable Agriculture. I am in the Natural Resource Conservation group. Last week all of us worked together to create an organic garden. It felt so wonderful to get my hands dirty and do some physical labor. It was great to till the earth and plant some seeds. We are working on composting, verma-composting, and liquid fertilizers. We are also raising 80 chickens and will be building a mini tree nursery. It is great to practice the things that we are being taught about because what better way to learn or brush up on skills than to do it hands-on. Our days are long and and exhausting but I find them rewarding. However, I do look forward to when we have down time.

The other day a friend showed me a path that leads to this beautiful canyon. It was so wonderful to see some of the countryside. Huge mountains surrounded us while a river gurgled far below. Beautiful flowers of all shapes and colors surrounded us and I watched intently as hummingbirds buzzed from agave flower to agave flower. The mountains are green but bare of trees, giving them a rough, majestic look. I find myself feeling more relaxed visiting this spot. It's a place where you can take a deep breath and absorb some of Mother Nature's beauty. On the way to this path we walked through the countryside where there are Holsteins grazing along side the path. I was delighted to find several calves and of course had to pet every calf that I found. I was very excited when I found a goat grazing alongside the edge of the path as well. My first goat in Ecuador! He was nothing compared to Jack and Cheddar, my favorite goats back home, but it was so wonderful to see a goat. Now I need to find some good goat cheese. There are so many things that are new and different. Every day I make adjustments to this new home, but I am comforted to find some things are exactly the same. As the days pass by I find that I am feeling more and more comfortable here. Now, if only I could instantly speak fluently....

The goat that I found when walking towards the canyon!

An agave flower!

Mi familia en Ecuador!



Love from Ecuador!