12/11/11

I just realized that it has been quite awhile since I have blogged. Time is going by so fast...and I will be back in the states before long. Where to start...

Lets start with most recent happenings...I was in the Galapagos this week! I have a friend whose brother lives there, so it was a great opportunity to get to see the islands! Unfortunately I did not get to see them all but what I did see was definitely interesting. The Galapagos are not like any other place in the world especially any other island. They are brown and you wont find much life of any sort there. I mean there are turtles and iguanas, snakes, sea lions and birds. Otherwise brown, lava made landscape is what you get. It was warm and sunny and I spent some time at the beach, something I really miss living in the mountains. The mountains are beautiful but the beach...I love the beach! 

Last week was spent preparing for “the day of the youth” that happened last Sunday. We organized this day for people between the ages of 13 and 30 to give them the opportunity to share their talents on stage and to show them that the community supports them. A big problem here is that by the age of 13 these kids are not kids anymore, they are given grown-up responsibilities and having kids of their own. Most of the young people are not aware that they have any other option, for this reason the goal is the educate them that there are many other opportunities in life. The day turned out wonderful, they danced and sang and showed off all sorts of talents. Hopefully this was a step in the right direction for this community.

This week I will head back to Quito to pick up a friend of a friend. She is coming to bring art kits for the kids of Paragachi and blankets. She has a foundation as well and wants to help us out in Ecuador! We are thinking of organizing a get together on Saturday where all the kids are invited to come and get their backpack filled with art supplies. We plan to make it a fun afternoon hopefully with some food and fun! 

Otherwise I am heading back to the states next Tuesday, so this week is my time to get things wrapped up and together. I will be returning in January with my friend who will help to finish the house!! We are hoping for a date sometime in February for the ‘grand opening’! I will head to the house tomorrow and take some pictures of the progress...but they will continue working while I am in the states and when I get back we are hoping to have to only do the finishing work and then well be ready! I cant wait to be able to get things started! 

Life here is great as always, thank you for all of your continued support! 

HELP

Calling anyone who can work on my house! These guys are slow and I just want the house to be done! Anyone...anyone have time?? 

Bathrooms are built, counter tops are poured, the structural parts of the house are just about finished. The next step is to put the gait and finish the wall around the house so that we can put in the windows. We dont want bars on the windows, because of this we need to make sure that no one can have the option of breaking the windows before putting them in. Not sure how soon this will get done but this is the next big task. After the wall us up, then windows and doors, and tile and appliances and fixtures. Still alot to go but it is coming slowly. So, if you have time or know anyone I would greatly appreciate a few days or weeks of your time! 

Last weekend was the Fiestas of Sigsibamba. This is a small community up in the mountains, we paid a truck to drive us the hour up the mountain. We ate, and walked around, and watched a handful of crazy men/boys playing with a bull. They call it bull soccer, where basically they make two goals and they separate into teams, the objective is to get the bull to score. In order to do this they yell and whistle at the bull until it is angry and charges them. Dangerous, yes...entertaining...absolutely. After motorcycle races, lots of food, and a day very close to the sun we decided to return to Pimampiro. Unfortunately there were no cars or trucks...finally one guy said he was coming back down the mountain so about 30 people jumped into the truck. Little did we know that it was about to downpour...we were all packed in the bed of a pickup truck bumping along on the barely there roads and holding on for our lives. When we finally arrived we were drenched and the roads had converted into rivers, but we were alive and smiling. 

Today Im heading to Ibarra to get my chip...hopefully they have it after weeks of waiting. This means I will have internet and BBM on my phone...which in the end is actually cheaper than what I am paying now for just talking on my phone. Ridiculous! 

Let me hear from all of you...please?

11/11/11

I got an email telling me that today is a lucky day...11/11/11. It didnt exactly feel any different than any other day. I seem to lose track of days here...weeks...its been a month since I left home. Crazy...but good. At first I was disappointed since the house isnt done, I was/am really excited about getting things going...but things happen for a reason and in the right time. I am apparently supposed to be learning patience. Since up until now in my life I have had no patience maybe at 27 I will learn what it means to just sit back and watch things happen and not always be in such a hurry. One can only hope...

So the events of last week proved to be the same every day, we cleaned house, cooked, did laundry, all those sorts of things during the day and at night went out. Pimampiro was full! It was a great time of just getting to hang out with everyone and to experience the culture. 

Little did I know that I should have rested some last week, or the weekend cause this past week has been one of the busiest since I have been here. A friend of a friend arrived to volunteer, she is full of great ideas and enthusiastic to help get some things going. For instance, today we took 12 kids between the ages of 11 and 15 to Ibarra. Doesnt seem like a big deal, except for most of these girls have never been to Ibarra. Keep in mind that Ibarra is the closest city to us, about an hour away. Most of these girls are from areas in the mountains where they never get the opportunity to go many places. For this reason we collaborated with the school to take them to the University, out to lunch, to do some exploring, and shopping for things that are needed in the daycare in Paragachi. The goal of this trip was to 1. show these adolescents that there are other opportunities out there 2. help them get to know a place close to them so that they are not afraid to go there to continue their education 3. and to have a day away from the normal for them. We also talked to them about how hard that it is to finish school if they would have a baby. This is the age that we are trying to reach...kids who can make decisions and who we can educate to make the right decisions. 

We have spent almost every day in the daycare, the daycare lacks so much. There are 4 teachers and over 30 kids. The kids arrive about 7am and dont leave til about that time in the evening. These kids are fed 5 times a day (3 meals and 2 snacks), bathed, changed, played with, etc 6 days a week. I love just playing with them, feeding them, holding them to go to sleep...so many things that they dont get on a normal basis. The teachers have said that they send the kids home in the evenings and they come back in the morning with the same clothes. So sad. These kids are so happy and so full of love...and they have absolutely nothing. It breaks my heart to see dirt under their finger nails and their dirty clothes....

I have been doing some nursing stuff too! I live with a family and the mom was in an accident almost a month ago now, she has third degree burns on mostly her right foot/ankle. The first doctor that saw her told her that the black dead skin did not need to come off, for her to put vaseline and eventually it would just come off. Every day I cleaned her leg, scrubbed and tried to get rid of that dead skin. But, from the beginning I did not understand why the doctor did not remove the dead black skin so after some coercion I convinced her to let me talk to the doctor in town and have him come look at it. As soon as he saw it he told her that she needed to have it removed, so the next day she went to a plastic surgeon who removed all of the dead skin. Three days later we went to the hospital, to have the bandages changed and it cleaned. This doctor scrubbed her raw burned skin with no anesthesia with her holding her legs on the edge of a metal bowl. It hurt me, she was in so much pain that the whole way home she was moaning. So awful! I cant even imagine trying to do that in the states, Im pretty sure that most of us wouldnt be able to handle it, nor would we allow someone to put is through that torture. But, the good news is that she is walking some (which she wasnt doing just the other day) and soon she will be back to new! 

Update on the house...we have bathrooms! The guy went down to measure for the window frames, as soon as they are done then the windows go in! Step by step things are getting done...

Written 10/31

Happy Halloween! Not a holiday here but I know that everyone at home is celebrating. I cant remember the last time I was actually in the US for Halloween...I remember many more outside of the US than in. 

Life here is so nice, no time frames, no dead lines, no reason to set an alarm...just the way that I think life should be! Except when it comes to the house, these guys are taking their time...or so it seems. I will head down tomorrow or Wednesday to see the progress that has been made, Im expecting a roof on the second floor bathroom. The next big thing to get done is going to be the windows and doors, we talked to a guy today and he said he will go down and do some measurements on Monday. So hopefully in the next two weeks we will have windows. Then we just have to figure out doors. Then the floor on the second story. Once these things are done then we get to start the fun stuff! The fun stuff that will take some time to complete since things will get done as money allows. But, the most  exciting part is that once we get windows, doors, bathrooms, and floors we can start getting programs and classes together! This is what I am inpatient for!

Paraglyding, hurling yourself off of a 9000 foot high mountain landing on your butt in a field very far from where you started. Yes, this is what I did on Saturday...and now I am very sore. I believe that the soreness comes from the first attempt at ‘taking off’. We had a small mishap...I of course have an instructor flying with me...and when we tried to take off a gust of wind pushed us towards a tree. Mind you, we are a few feet in the air but heading towards a tree is no bueno so the instructor attempted to steer us out of the tree instead we landed on the hard ground. Him on top of me in a pile of kite and strings and appendages. After recovering and hiking back up the 40 feet that we had lost we attempted again. This time was a success, we flew for almost an hour! Not without insult to my body though, I am not sure if my ribs are so sore form the fall or from flying. Regardless my ribs are so sore that my stomach is upset and all night last night all I wanted to do was vomit. With the giant bruise that I have on the inside of my left leg, the pain in my ribs and back...it was all worth it!

I just finished reading the Lunatic Express by Carl Hoffman, amazing book about his travels around the world on the worst transportation he could find. He travelled many of the same places in the same buses and trains that I have being in South America! But, he said some interesting things...”When you travel you imagine leaving your old self behind. But hunger, fatigue, and the aches and pains of life in a bus seat, only show you the real you-there’s no escape from yourself. Out here I could just be myself, happy, self-reliant, content, exactly where I belonged. ...a reminder that happiness wasn’t all the  external comforts but just there, within myself.” He concludes that the reality about travel is that it , “shows you things in a starker way than you could ever see them at home.”

This week everyone has vacation...apparently everyone goes to the beach and its a time to relax. All my friends that live and work outside of Pimampiro will be home, and no one will work...I assume things will be closed and there will be lots of people out and about. We will see...

Written the other day...

As I sit here in my bed, I cant help but think of all the people so close to me, right here in Pimampiro who dont have a bed or who are sharing a bed with one, two, or maybe 5 other people. I pass these people in the streets, they dont have enough food, they dont have enough warmth at night. And then I remember I am here...I am here to help these people help themselves. 

I want to complain...about taking a cold shower but then I remember at least I have water to shower. I want to complain...about the 50 bug bites on my legs that are itching so badly Id rather scratch off my skin than have them itch anymore. I want to complain...that I cant find anything because some of it is in storage and some of it is here and some of it is in the 53 suitcases I have in my room. I want to complain...because my house is taking forever to get done. But then I remember, I remember what I am here for...why I love this place and these people so much. Life means so much to them...family and friends and happiness. I watch these very old men and women walking amazingly long distances uphill and am thankful that that is not part of my every day life. Though I do have to walk up the same hill every day, and I am winded and sweating every single time! 

Life is so simple, they wake up, they work, they buy their bread for the next morning, they go to bed and do it all over again. If only it was possible for everyone in the states to live just one day, and cut out all of the unimportant things that we do in a days time. 

I have arrived!

I have arrived back in pimampiro! How amazing to come back to a place with so many people who are so happy and so happy to see me! I love this place! 

After spending two days in Miami, where all I wanted was a little bit of sun, I arrived in Caracas where I was supposed to spend a mere 3 hours which turned into 7! I got to practice my spanish and meet a few nice people, other than that waiting was getting old. When we finally boarded...we sat on the runway for quite some time. I have no idea how long since I fell asleep almost immediately after finding my seat. I awoke when they fed me, by this time I was starving...the bagel that I had in Miami was long gone. I finally arrived in Quito around 11pm...only 5 hours after my scheduled arrival time. I was the last one to pass through the doors because one of my bags was/is missing. I went through the whole process of trying to locate it and placing a claim. Hopefully tomorrow it will show up somewhere. 

Luckily Paul didnt get tired of waiting for me....and was there when I got there. Also, a friend of mine who lives in Quito was there to meet me! I missed Ecuador and its people so very much!

I will never ever get used to taking a cold shower, I know it seems like something that I should just get used to but the water here is like ice!  I am more than thankful for the house that I am staying in, I have my own room and am living with a very nice family. I made a very good friend when I was here before and I am staying with her family. The deal with the shower, no one knows why its not hot but I pray that very soon it is hot again! 

Today I spent the day in Paragachi, hanging out with the guys that are building my house and looking at...doors. There is a man in town who is going to make the doors for us, this book that he gave me to look at has doors that you would imagine on a church or castle! I kept telling him, simple...I just want simple doors! I can live in the house once I have windows, doors, and at least a bathroom. Once those three things are complete then the rest can come as I live there. We are hoping that in less than a month that is possible. But...then comes the question of security, no one wants me to live there alone. So, I guess you can say that I am on the hunt for someone to protect me! Haha! And skilled construction volunteers would be nice too!!

I want to start getting things going at the house, classes and programs but obviously I dont want to get too far ahead of myself...and I have plenty of other things happening too. Im going to be working with another guy to teach some people in the far reaching communities some basic medical care. The concern is that when things happen in these remote communities no one knows what to do in the meantime, before help arrives or before they can be transported to the closest hospital. The government has granted us the ability to make available basic items in a central location in each community. 

Tomorrow I will be visiting the “old people” (the government provides a lunch 6 days a week to people 65 and older, they have a building and some land) and seeing the progress that they have made  with their gardens. They have planted and already harvested their first crops since I left! Cant wait to see their smiling faces! 

Paul is super busy with all of the projects going on, he just cant seem to share everything all at once, I keep learning more every day. So much has changed, not so much change, but advanced since I was last here. It is amazing how involved the community is and how much they are helping us help them! Speaking of which in Paragachi 2/3 of the people now have irrigation water! Only a little more time to go and the entire community will no longer be brown and dusty....but green! 

Such amazing things happening...

Bittersweet

First off I would like to apologize to everyone for my lack of blogging while in the states. This time at home has been great but very busy. The main objective of returning home was to make money, see my family, and work on paperwork to establish the foundation/organization/non-profit. Indeed those things have been accomplished and the time is nearing that I will return to Ecuador!

I am excited! Excited to see all of those beautiful faces! to hug all those kids and to just be and live such a simple life once again. But, I am also thinking of leaving home again. This time with my family has been great, being so close to my sister and being in the same house with my parents (which I have not done in more than 10 years!)...and missing my brother from far away.

I have had the opportunity to share with so many people what I/we are doing! I am amazed at the support and love that I have received from every single one of you. I am excited to see this project flourish and become exactly what it is supposed to become!

Yesterday I was informed that there are so many donations coming in we have nowhere to put them! Amazing! We are currently working on getting a container and having it sent down to Ecuador! With the help of some of our friends of course!

Please keep me/us in your thoughts and prayers over the next few weeks. We have a lot of decisions to make and a lot of things to take care of. Please keep the people that we will touch, as always in your thoughts.

Thanks again for your continued support!!