So good, so far.
We’ve been here for 12 weeks and are still surprised by Ecuador on the daily. The sounds, smells, annoyances, wonders, beauty, friendships—every day is still full of new experiences.
Our jobs are developing. I’m visiting the various projects my organization is undertaking to see where I would like to contribute. It’s been fun and low-stress. I know my biggest priority right now is improving my Spanish so that, wherever I land, I can be effective.
Week one was the summer camps I posted about. In week two, I visited an after-school program for kids ages 4–12 who need extra help or are dealing with challenges at home. I also spent a couple of days at a senior center where folks come for lunch Monday through Friday. Some of the participants are a bit quiet, but others are really pleased to have me there and seem amused by my very presence. I got pulled into an Ecuadorian card game called Cuarenta—or, in English, “Forty”—and we had a crowd around us giving me advice and encouragement.
Jenny’s experience has been very different. Her organization is the Chordeleg health department, and it seems to be in a bit of a crisis, having serious problems with the availability of basic PPE supplies and medications, and with a water crisis to boot. They seem to know what the problem with the water is, but they can’t decide which agency is responsible for the repairs.
She has attended lots of meetings where they ask for her thoughts on these matters. First off, while her Spanish is much better than mine, she still has to work very hard just to understand the content of a meeting—much less take in the full scope of the situation and come up with possible solutions or even intelligent feedback. She’s been placed on the Board of Directors of her agency, and she’s feeling a bit overwhelmed. She thinks it’s too much, too soon. At the same time, she can see that there will be many, many ways for her to contribute during our time here.
This is a screenshot from a Facebook video the Mayor posted introducing Jenny to the community.
We took a little holiday last weekend and hopped on a bus for the hour long ride to Cuenca, the capital of Azuay Province and Ecuador’s third-largest city. We had heard how wonderful Cuenca is, and we were not disappointed. The historic district is lovely, studded with coffee shops, restaurants, churches, plazas, and beautifully preserved colonial-era buildings. The city was founded by the Spanish in 1557 on a site with much older Cañari and Inca roots going back to 1400 and evidence of earlier peoples going back 10,000 years. In 1999, its historic center was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its preserved urban plan, architecture, and blend of cultures.
If you visit us in Ecuador, you too will get to fall in love with this amazing city.
We were FaceTiming with Dave and Molly, Jake and Lindsey, and David and Anna and someone took a photo of David being a tripod.
And finally…the pace of life has slowed a step since we ended training and I was finally able to take a little time to do a drawing↓.
