Blur

FROM AEROPUERTO EL DORADO (BOGOTA, COLOMBIA):

Sorry for not posting for so long... the few times we were able to use the internet in Pedernales over the past week, there was no wi-fi available. Plus, so much has happened since the last post that I’ve been avoiding sitting down to write it all up because I honestly don’t know where to begin or how long it might take. But while I’m here in the Bogota airport, I’ll do my best to cover the highlights while I have time.

We ended the last post hoping for a serious work week, but to be honest, we didn’t really get one... maybe three mornings of solid work altogether. Tuesday went just fine. But towards the end of the morning on Wednesday, while spreading the cement around in the compactor, I suddenly felt a bunch of tiny pinpricks all over my hands, and spreading the cement around became a little more difficult as a result... I figured that maybe some broken glass or sharp rocks had gotten into the mix and were making tiny cuts in my hands while vibrating around them. But when we finished that batch of bricks, it felt as if nothing had happened at all, so I shrugged it off and kept working. But during the next batch, it happened again, and I eventually realized that I’d felt the sensation before, and that it was only happening while the machine was turned on... there was actually a (luckily pretty weak) electric current running through the machine due to some faulty wiring somewhere! Tom felt it too, and so did Don Quiñon, though nobody else did, so others operated the machine while we just mixed cement away from it. Anyway, the following day, there was an issue with the power for the whole neighborhood, so when the technician came over to fix the larger problem, they also got him to fix the wiring with the machine as well. So we couldn’t work Wednesday.

Thursday, we “worked” at Moss Ranch branding cattle, which was really more like show and tell for Pedro... lots of fun and very interesting, but not too physically demanding. We were working with larger bulls that are too dangerous to man-handle, so instead, we used a wooden contraption in the chute that holds the animal in place by the head and waist while you brand it. Then we watched the

pros take down one very large bull not to brand it, but to inspect and clean its feet, which were sore probably from stepping on a rock or coconut awkwardly. Tom left for the States that evening, and Friday, Don Quiñon and I worked until we ran out of small rocks for the cement mixture. More material was ordered, and it was on its way, but did not arrive in time for Saturday morning. So instead, I helped out Archi and “Gata,” who were actually digging out/constructing a septic tank at Marcelo’s hotel, of all places. The hole had already been dug out, and my job was to wheelbarrow the resulting huge pile of sand from one place to another. I got about halfway done before I had to break for the day, and it was backbreaking work.

So not much more work was done with the brick project this week, which was a bit disappointing, but I’m still confident that this business will succeed (after all, they’re still working at least 200% harder than what the town’s current culture expects of them... part of the disappointment probably comes from the fact that we’re just not used to the relative slowness of life here). Archi, Don Quiñon, Madre Diane, and the other members of “The Association” have big plans for the brick business, and it is only the first phase of a larger effort that will eventually include a welding shop, a general carpentry shop, a tourism booth, and more. The excitement and determination they feel with regards to this effort is very evident in their voices and faces whenever they talk about it, and they truly believe - as I do - that this is the start of something that will gradually create more and more jobs and cash for the community, but more importantly, a slow change in the culture towards one that better understands the joy and importance of work well done.

But enough of that... where had I left off?

Tuesday afternoon was largely spent buying string and teaching/learning how to make friendship bracelets, selling water with Marcelo, and eating more of Josefa’s delicious cooking before turning in. Wednesday morning, since we didn’t

work, Tom and I went to Pedernales to the Kanela Lounge to use the internet... and where I also caught a very temporary but very nasty stomach ache that knocked me out until the late afternoon. After lunch, I took a nap while Tom

and Sophie played soccer with the kids, but eventually joined them in time for more bracelet lessons. Thursday afternoon, Tom and I only went to Cojimíes for a big lunch at “Comedor Aurita” ($30 meals for $5), then went back to the ranch and finally enjoyed the superior surf there before heading to Pederales for some surprisingly good ham, salami, and bacon pizza and parting ways.

Friday afternoon was a typical afternoon with Sophie the kids. Saturday was Madre Diane’s birthday, which meant an awesome lunch, complete with fruit and chocolate fondue in lieu of a birthday cake (which still came in the church

after Mass that night, along with a good deal of singing and general merriment). It was awesome. In the afternoon, Sophie and I went with the to the beach with the usual suspects, where we played volleyball, soccer (locals over gringos 5-0), and swam for a bit. Oh, and the kids broke their second camera of the trip (Sophie’s this time... they broke mine about a week before, but we apparently did not learn our lesson the first time). But it was a good time.

After Mass, I ran into Guillermo, a guy of about my age who lives in the house we built during the January 2009 trip. He works as a fisherman in tow, but he told me that his dream is to come live and work in the U.S. I think he'd be a great help to the town if he stayed though, as he's a very hard-working and good-natured guy. I find it both a little ironic and kind of sad that he dreams of leaving that place that so often dream of coming to. I suppose I'll never be able to fully empathize with the people here, because no matter how long I stay, I'll always have the peace of mind that when the going gets tough, I have the ability to just up and leave for greener pastures. Most of the people in Cojimíes simply don't have that option.

----------- CONTINUED TWO WEEKS LATER IN ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA... ----------

I had to stop the last entry short to board a plane or something, and the following two weeks went about as quickly as my time in Ecuador did. I got to DCA around midnight, where Tom Capretta generously picked me up (in the slick VW GTI he bought literally 3 hours earlier) and let me spend the night in his house. Took the orange line to New Carrolton in the morning, where my brother picked me up, and a bit later, I was finally home (I use the word "finally" not because I was longing to get out of Ecuador, but because of the awful experience I had in the process of doing so... see below). The few days I had left in MD were time enough to pack up my things, load them on my dad's trailer (again with the help of Tom Capretta), and not much else. Once in my (comparatively) luxurious townhouse in Erie, PA, I spent about a week driving to and from Target to buy more and more stuff to fill the new place with... quite a difference in culture and environment from where I was just a week before. I just finished my second day of work at GE Transportation, and everything's great so far. I'll be working with locomotive truck design... basically, the wheel, brake, and suspension part of train engines. Interesting stuff.

But getting to the country was kind of a mess. I guess I'll pick up where I left off - Saturday night. Spent the night at the hotel, hung out for a while, and went back to Moss Ranch for a bit to pack up my things. Returned to Cojimíes, had some lunch at the hotel, and went to say goodbye to the kids. The cold and rainy weather seemed appropriate for the sad occasion. Sophie had the idea to get a soccer ball and have the kids sign it to have as a keepsake. So we walked around in the rain to try and get some autographs (which smudged quite a bit later on due to the moisture). It took longer than expected, since many of our friends were inside instead of playing on the streets as they usually are. A few of the kids were actually pretty upset that we were going (even though Sophie wouldn't leave for another week or so, it seemed to be finally starting to hit the kids that even their favorite gringa would be leaving shortly). It was starting to get pretty late, and I still had to say goodbye to the Sisters and Marcelo and Zoilita before heading back to the ranch for my last dinner with Josefa and Wellington. But Leonela (one of the little girls that I'd met three years ago) started telling us about how her little brother went missing last year and was later found dead, and I couldn't leave in the middle of that emotional story... and then the parents of the kids across the street invited me up to say goodbye and tell me I had to come back and visit them... and then I had to give out the remaining string that I had left to the kids... and then a few kids gave me some gifts and notes to remember them by (which included: a fabric kids' wallet, two bottle-opener keychains, and two pairs of socks)... and then I finally said goodbye to the nuns... one of whom I had to find in the church... Basically, by the time I finished, I realized it was 7pm, when the last bus (besides the 10pm) leaves in Moss Ranch's direction, and I still hadn't said goodbye to Marcelo and Zoilita yet, who had been WAY too generous for me to not even say goodbye to them. So I took a chance, got on the bus, and asked if it could wait for just 60 seconds outside of the hotel so that I could run in and say goodbye. Luckily, the driver agreed, and I had time to give Marcelo and Zoilita some gifts, a thank you note that I'd written earlier, and a hug to Zoilita (who actually broke into tears, which made me feel even more awful about how ungraceful my goodbyes and thank you's were...), and accept a gift that Marcelo wanted to give to me (his official "Ecuador" tour guide hat... I'd given him my Fighting Irish hat).

Awkwardly apologized and ran back out to the bus, which snapped me up and took me to the ranch for one last nice dinner with Josefa, Wellington, and Nicole (who had since recovered from her horse-riding accident). The next morning, I went back for breakfast, gave them a couple gifts and a note, said my goodbyes, and hopped on the bus towards Quito and the first leg of my trip back to the States.

That's when the real fun began. It would take pages to relate the whole story, but here are the highlights:

- Got to bus stop in Pedernales. Bus is unexpectedly full, and I didn't buy a ticket in advance, so I'm told to wait around to see if a seat opens up.

- It's not looking good. I'm sitting on my suitcase by the open door when someone begins jabbing me in the side pretty roughly with his finger as if it were a gun.

- I turn around... it's Pedro. He'd been out of town all weekend, and just happened to see me in the window as he was driving back to the ranch.

- Pedro takes me to another bus which is just leaving for Santo Domingo, and tells me he will arrange for a taxi to pick me up there and take me the rest of the way to Quito.

- Worst bus ride of my life, because (without going into much detail), I was originally scheduled to be on a bus with a bathroom on board, and planned accordingly for that. This new bus did not have a bathroom. And I started feeling sick. I'll leave it at that.

- Made it to Santo Domingo, waited for the taxi, which almost left without me due to a language barrier. Taxi was like a brand-new SUV and there were three other passengers on board, who immediately fell asleep. It was a really nice and peaceful ride.

- Arrived at Ilinizas in time for dinner, and was treated very hospitably.

- Tried to check my flight status, but I was no longer in one of the airlines' files for some reason. I can't reach the 1-800 number from any phone I have access to. I call my mom. She says she'll take care of it for me.

- Mom calls back. Says the airlines are arguing about whose fault it is. Mom is on phone with airlines for at least two hours. It is late. Tells me one of the airline agents sounds like she's drunk. My mom would probably know, because she works at a rehab center.

- Mom finally straightens everything out with the airlines, but we're not 100% convinced, so I have the director of the center call a taxi to pick me up at 3:30am so that I can be at the airport at 4am in case I run into any residual problems.

- Go to sleep, wake up at 2:45am and am leaving the residence at 3:29, when I hear the taxi pulling away as I try to get through the third and final door that leads to the street. Great.

- Maybe that wasn't actually the taxi. I wait outside for a while, and because my brain isn't working at full capacity on 3 hours of sleep, I shut the door behind me. I am now locked outside, and don't know any numbers for other taxi services. Great.

- After about 25 minutes, I call the residence phone, probably waking up half of the people inside. Someone picks up, and lets me in. It's a student who was studying for a math exam the next day. He doesn't know any taxi numbers either. Internet doesn't work. Can't find a phonebook.

- Running out of options, I call Mariana to see if she can look up some numbers for me. She doesn't pick up. In despair, I call my mother once again. She picks up and begins to search online, but the call ends early because I have run out of prepaid minutes.

- Late-night student calls a friend and asks him for help. Then HE runs out of minutes. We wait for the other guy to call back, because incoming calls are free, so we'd have no problem that way. The friend never calls back.

- My Verizon phone actually works in Quito, it's just really expensive. He calls his friend on my phone, and after 5 attempts, we finally get a taxi that is willing to pick me up at 4 something in the morning.

- The guy's there in less than 5 minutes. He runs every single red light on the way to the airport, and we make it in record time.

- Had no problems with my ticket or anything. All flights ended up leaving and arriving on schedule, and I've already covered the rest.

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Hope you've enjoyed the blog... I know I was slow to post at the end there, but I'm sure all 5 or so of my followers weren't crying over it. Again, the main point of this little project was to keep family and friends up to date on how the project was going, and I think it's fulfilled that purpose well enough. It probably read more like a log at times, and didn't offer much in the way of profundity or reflection, but that wasn't really the point. Actually, what this blog will probably end up being most useful for is my own memory... I've often tried and failed to keep a steady journal, but the fact that I had an "audience" that was "expecting" updates was encouragement enough to put down my activities (often in nauseating detail for anyone else) in a fairly regular way. While not as personal as a journal in the traditional sense, this is something that I'll be able to look back on in the future and be glad that I did. I enjoyed writing it, anyway. Hope you liked reading it, too.

Celebrity

A surprise visit from the President of the Republic of Ecuador gave us a bit of a three day weekend here in Cojimíes... but today was anything but relaxing!

After Don Quiñon informed us that he and the other workers who were expected at the brick factory would be going to Pedernales for the day to see the President speak, Tom and I moved the dried bricks from yesterday off the pallets and into the stockpile (we weren’t able to do anything more without their help) before heading to the

hotel to figure out what to do with ourselves until lunchtime... as soon as we got there, though, the sound of a low-flying helicopter drew us out towards the beach, along with at least 50 other curious citizens, mostly children. It was announced that the President would walk through that area to greet the people of Cojimíes, but would not be

stopping to give a speech. As we waited for him to arrive, we encountered an excited bunch of little friends from our previous trips, and later met a good deal of students from the local high school who proceeded to treat us like celebrities... a little awkward, but overall just fun. They all but lined up for photos with the gringos, and had fun

practicing their English with us. We got some fresh bling out of it too... I don’t normally wear jewelry, but I’m a sucker for friendship bracelets, haha. When the President finally arrived, Tom and I barely caught more than a glimpse, but Juliana and Camila, who were sitting on our shoulders, apparently got a pretty good look at him. So good, in fact, that

Juliana actually bought US a treat from the ice cream man for once! First time for everything, I guess.

Zoilita (Marcelo’s mom), who hosted the security guards for breakfast at the hotel and actually got to hug and speak personally with the President later told us that he did give a very brief speech to the people encouraging the people to clean up the town a bit and prepare for tourism, which will likely be a future cash cow for them. Specifically, he mentioned that there are poorer towns that Cojimíes in the U.S., but the people there do a better job of keeping their streets clean and their houses painted, and have a stronger sense of pride in their city’s appearance in general. Interesting.

After all that commotion, we headed back towards La Casa del Niños, but were first stopped by a man who was born in Ecuador but who had lived in Houston for most of his life, and spoke perfect English (with a southern accent and everything). He asked us where we were from and what we were up to, and he was very interested in potentially buying some bricks from our company because he’d just bought some property in Cojimíes and is going to build a hotel on it. He also said that if we ever come back, he plans to have some speedboats, jetskis, and water sports equipment available for us to utilize whenever we want. Excellent... I’ll be putting him in touch with Archi as soon as possible.

We had little time to eat with the Sisters and get ready for our fishing trip... which turned out to be more of just a boat trip, but was an absolute blast. We went to two different islands with the family that owned the boat and some of their friends to play soccer and swim on the beach. Tom, Sofi, and I have been invited back Wednesday afternoon for an actual

fishing trip and dinner as a sort of goodbye party for Tom. Can’t wait... the children we went with are absolutely hilarious.

That’s it for now... it looks like we won’t have time for that trip to Machu Chindul, and we’d be skipping out on too much work for the brick company if we went anyway. Hopefully, we’ll be getting back to it in earnest tomorrow morning.

Waka Waka

I’m writing this while watching [Spain win] the World Cup in Josefa’s house with her, Wellington, and Tom, on the second day of the best weather we’ve had here during the entire trip... the clouds have disappeared for the moment, and we’ve been enjoying sun and surf during an entirely too lazy weekend.

Tom’s bus did not end up arriving in Pedernales until about 9am Thursday morning, due to a bad accident on the only decent road from Quito to Pedernales... as a matter of course, our cell phones didn’t function as planned, so I stayed up til 5am waiting and wondering whether he had arrived or not, and he stayed up trying to reach me to tell me what was going on. The bus station and international telephone booths opened up around 7, though, and we managed to get in touch and piece together a new plan. We finally reached the ranch later that morning without any further problems other than minor infirmities from the lack of sleep. We were supposed to help out on the ranch that day, but after a pretty embarrassing miscommunication, we ended up just riding horses around and hanging out instead.

Friday morning, we showed Tom the ropes of brick-making and were able to turn out about a hundred bricks before the power went out for the rest of the morning. It was the nastiest day I’ve seen here in Cojimíes, and we had a very cold and muddy playtime with some of the kids outside La Casa del Niños after lunch. Next, I introduced Tom to Marcelo and family, who offered us dry shelter and hot showers for the evening... we’re very lucky to have met these extremely generous people. After dinner, we were given an opportunity to get in touch with our feminine sides when Janneke (our tourist friend from Holland), Marcelo, and Zoilita (Marcelo’s mom) gave us an arts & crafts lesson... Janneke wants us to bring string to some of the poor girls that live at the nature reserve we might go to later this week and show them how to make bracelets. The idea is that Marcelo can later sell these bracelets in town, providing these girls’ families with a small, supplemental source of income. It sounds like a good idea to me, so I hope we can go and help make it happen.

Saturday, we slept late and awoke to a very sunny day. We went swimming, read for a while on the beach, sold water, and ate $20+ lunches for $4.50 at a restaurant by the port. After more relaxing at the hotel, we went to 7:30pm Mass (there was another visiting priest from Pedernales) and spent another night in comfort at the hotel. This Sunday morning, we were invited to celebrate another Ecuadorian tourist’s 13th birthday breakfast (with cake, no less) with her, and one of the girl’s relatives suggested that we go to his house near Riobamba (a few hours from Quito), where he runs a highschool and where we can climb a volcano! I don’t think we’ll be able to take him up on his offer, unfortunately... but this is a perfect example of how incredibly warm and hospitable the people are in this country.

After selling more water with Marcelo after breakfast, we returned to the ranch, and here we are... after the game, we’ll go to Pedernales to check emails and post this blog entry, enjoy another one of Josefa’s fantastic meals, and pray that the nice weather continues for tomorrow afternoon’s fishing trip. So far, it’s made for a very re-energizing weekend, and we’re more than ready for another week of hard work with the brick business!

More Photos:

We've been sharing the ranch house with some furry friends these past few weeks, but Pedro recently placed fresh rat poison in strategic locations about the house, and they're dropping like flies. This one was caught dead in the very act of trying to get into Tom's backpack. Yum.

Some miscellaneous photos from the day before Tom arrived:

Tom's on his way!

Here in Pedernales waiting for Tom to arrive. His bus gets here at 3 or 4 am, so I've booked a hotel ($10 a night) that's directly in front of where he gets off so he can't possibly get lost (right?) even though he knows basically zero spanish to my knowledge. I'll wait up for him and let him in as soon as he gets here. Then we'll catch a bit of sleep and head to the ranch to work for Pedro (I work in Cojimíes every day but Sunday and Thursday, when I work with Pedro on the ranch... last week, Mariana and I roped cattle and tattooed numbers in their ears (or tried to anyway... good times.)

Marcelo's off giving a couple European tourists (Janneke and Maria) that are staying at the hotel a tour of some wildlife reserve today and tomorrow... Machu Chindul, I think it's called - he invited me to come along, but since I'm here waiting for Tom, he said he'd take him and I a bit later. The gringas are really nice, and are on a 9 month long program that revolves around what sounds like a pretty intense service project in Milagro, Ecuador.

Since Marcelo wasn't here today, I had the afternoon off to hang out with some niños, who went crazy with my camera, and took a lot of great pictures... until I found later that someone had deleted about half of them accidentally, and almost all of the rest were taken while the camera was in video mode... so there's almost nothing of value left, unfortunately. One or two came out well, though, so hopefully I'll be posting them soon.

Sofia told me today that there's been a noticeable improvement in my spanish, but I still can't understand 50% of what people are saying to me, haha. I guess I've still got some time to improve, but I'm not sure what effect Tom's arrival will have on this... I'll be speaking English more again, but I'll have to translate for him as well, so maybe it'll all balance out.

Tom, Sofia, and I have been invited on a fishing trip Monday afternoon, can't wait!

The Life of Cheese: From Their Udders to Your Mouth.

This trip just keeps getting better and better…

Woke up around 6:30, took my first hot shower in well over a week, then helped Marcelo in his daily chores: First, we drove around selling jugs of water and

buying food for the hotel's restaurant before taking a quick break for breakfast. Next, we joined Marcelo's brother in a huge truck full of empty water jugs and huge milk casks and began an 8 hour journey to his relative's cheese processing plant just past the city of Jama and back. Along the way, we collected milk from various places (including Pedro's ranch) and dropped

off the empty water jugs at the purification plant. Marcelo drives one of five trucks that collect easily hundreds of gallons of milk every day and take it to this plant, where it's turned into delicious Ecuadorian cheese (basically mozzarella).

After filtering the milk into vats

for processing, we cleaned the empty milk casks, loaded them back onto the truck for tomorrow's collection, and headed back to Cojimíes, stopping once to replace a blown out tire, and once again in Jama for lunch - cow's foot soup, beef, and possibly the best ice cream I've ever had.

By the time we got back, it was already pretty late, so I quickly picked up some limes to help get rid of my

cold (result of the climate change) and headed to La Casa del Niños to wait for a bus, where I encountered Sofia and some usual suspects hanging out in the street. The topic of conversation was dancing, so I attempted to give swing lessons (I was not successful).

When I got back to the ranch, read some Treasure Island (yes, it's about 5th-grade level) and was again invited to dinner with Josefa and Wellington's family. Shrimp, rice, lentils, and plantains, all delicious as usual. Good conversation, too, as my spanish is improving, though not as fast as I'd like it to.

Happy 4th of July!

Saturday

Made at least 120 bricks today… and that was in less than 2 hours, because the power was out until 10am. Painted pallets with what looked like motor oil for lubrication, then carried freshly formed bricks from the machine to the grass to dry. Afterwards, I ate with the nuns, said a rosary in their chapel, hung out with little kids for a while… finally ran into Juliana (better known among attendees of the Christmas break trip as the "Da me cinco centavos…" girl) for the first time this trip. I shared my spanish textbook with some of kids, and it turned out to be a hit, because they seemed to be at that age where they want to show off their ability to read. Camila, Juliana's older sister, especially liked the book, and afterwards directed me to their house and introduced me to their family.

Next, I went to the hotel to talk with Marcelo, but spent most of the time with his mom and his niece, who is enamored with Lady Gaga and Katie Perry and asked me to translate some of their lyrics for her… not surprisingly, she liked the songs better before she knew what they were about. They also dictated the Act of Contrition for me and explained to me how to make a confession in Spanish, because there was actually a priest in town tonight (came in from Pedernales, since pastor Padre Gustavo is currently in Rome) and I hadn't been in a while. Fortunately, it was actually way less awkward than I thought it would be.

After Mass, I did my best to chat with some of the congregation for a while, got back to the hotel, ate some dinner (fish that kind of looked like pihrana) and went to some town meeting sort of thing about tourism with Marcelo's mom. Archi was there, and (I think) the mayor. I didn't really understand what was going on, but it short. Afterwards, I returned to the hotel and met some lady from Quito that married a Belgian guy and apparently lived in Rockville, MD of all places (my former hometown) for a year, but now lives in Ecuador. Small world, I guess.

Oh, forgot to mention. I'm staying at the hotel tonight, in a double four-post bed with a mosquito net. I feel like a total princess, but it definitely beats my new arrangement at the ranch (tent on top of single bed). Tomorrow, we milk cows and learn how to make cheese, Ecuadorian style. Can't wait.

Bricks Ahoy

What a day! Dropped off Mariana at the bus station in Pedernales with Pedro early this morning and went to Cojimíes to make some bricks. The machine didn't work yet, but was still being freed of rust and "calibrated" (aka hit repeatedly with a hammer and/or crowbars to re-align things). I wasn't bored for long, though, as Mother Diane soon came by to introduce me to a gentleman by the name of Marcelo whose family runs what is probably the nicest hotel in Cojimíes and who drives around town selling those huge bottles of purified water during the day. Anyway, he's in the tourism business and wants to learn English, so we've agreed to help each other out with our respective languages. And since he needs help putting together tours and travel information for English-speaking tourists, he's going to take me all over and teach me about Cojimíes and the surrounding areas of interest, which should be a lot of fun. Anyway, I basically spent all afternoon hanging out with him driving around selling water and sitting at the hotel (while practicing spanish). Before I returned to the ranch, though, we decided to see how things were going with the brick machine… to be honest, I didn't expect that anything had been accomplished since I left. But when we showed up there were over 120 bricks laying out to dry! Tomorrow morning, I can finally start making bricks.

When I got back to the ranch, Joel (Josefa's son) popped out and we threw the boomerang around a bit before I went in to do my laundry (in the kitchen sink). When I eventually went over to Josefa's to pick up the dinner she'd prepared for me, I ended up eating with them and had another opportunity to practice my Spanish without help. I had a great time. Before I left, Joel offered me any one item from his collection of ancient (?) treasures that he'd found in the dirt as a sign of friendship (I'd given him a giant flying screaming monkey toy earlier)… I didn't feel comfortable taking the really cool figurines he'd found, so I took a pendant-looking thing made of stone. His collection was impressive though, and at least a few pieces would be welcome in a museum. Pretty cool.

'Phase I' of Brick Project Complete

We've been pretty busy here the last couple of days, but today we find ourselves with a little more free time than usual,and the weather has finally brightened up a bit as well - it's going to be our second day of legit sunshine since we've been here… definitely a different story than what we've seen here in January, when it's much warmer and less humid as well. And there were less jellyfish around. Still, this place is a relative paradise compared to what we're used to in the states.

Monday, we worked with Luis to construct a roof and a small concrete

platform for the brick making machine, and although some rain was sent to test out the new roof well before it was actually completed, it felt refreshing after working so hard for the better part of the day. Tuesday, more workers from town came to help out, and we brought the machine over to its new location and finished the concrete floor for the 'factory'.

Mariana and I then went over to La Casa del Niños for lunch, and afterwards acted as basketball instructors for some second graders and got to socialize with the rest of the kids during recess. Most children go to school here at about 7 or 8 until 12:30 or 1, depending on what grade they're in. Then some come to La Casa for further classes and whatnot from 2 to 5, sometimes staying until 7. The sisters really do a great job there, and I'm glad we'll be able to help them out in the afternoons. It's amazing how many of the kids there remember so many of our ND group by name... even those who came more than three years ago! One remembered Jon as "un chino flaco" (besides being one of his favorite gringos) and several are looking forward to seeing Tom again as well!

Today, we're free in the morning, and we'll be meeting up with Luis in the afternoon to (hopefully) make our first bricks! I'll update again as soon as I can!

January's Project

The pics promised in the last post will be another day or two in coming, but here are some pics of January's project, which has since been fully completed.  Check it out:

Arrival in Cojimíes

Wednesday night, we took a bus that left Quito at 11pm and dropped us off in Pedernales early in the morning. Then, we took a "taxi," which was more like a motorcycle with a bench attached to the back, to another place in Pedernales where we could catch a bus to Cojimies. We got to the other bus station and found a chiva waiting. Chivas are completely open, really loud music playing, and people sitting on top. The guy that collects the fare usually gets off everytime the chiva stops and jumps back on as it is starting to move. At first, we were not sure we would get off in the right place to go to the ranch but then Erik recognized it, and he waved his arm to indicate to the driver that we needed to get off. The chiva stopped, and we got out. We had finally arrived at the ranch.

- Mariana

Freddie (a familiar ranch-hand) immediately came out to greet us and help carry Erik's suitcase (which is almost as big as Freddie) to the house. Then we found Pedro (the ranch manager) and Josefa (the awesome cook) in the new dining area. We also met some of the Moss family and friends before heading to Cojimíes on another chiva to meet Madre Diane to talk about the brick project. We are going to first build a platform and a roof for the machine, get it in place, and build a

fence around it before manufacturing bricks. She helped us find Luis (a.k.a. Archi) at the machine's current location, and he seems very excited to have our help with the project. Then we met up to have lunch with the sisters and some more

Mosses and friends, who had been touring Cojimíes that day. We were then taken on a tour of La Casa del Niños, where the nuns hold after school and Catechism programs, helped make and put up some decorations in one of the classrooms, and played with some of the students there before heading back to the ranch with the others.

The rest of Thursday and Friday were spent in complete leisure and luxury with the Moss family (Bill, Rich & Leah and their two daughters, Mary & friends Helen and Mati), who were just about wrapping up a two or three week trip to Ecuador, and Sofia, a Canadian volunteer who's been with the sisters for a month already and will be there until August or so. We had some great meals, relaxed on the beach, made a trip to the internet cafe in Pedernales (didn't have time to post here though), watched the world cup, played cards, and basically just hung out. The Mosses and their friends are a friendly bunch and a lot of fun, so I'm really glad our trips overlapped a bit.

Saturday, we said goodbye to the Mosses and headed back to Cojimíes to buy the supplies necessary to start the brick business ( a lot of cement, some wood, nails, tin roofing, etc.). Luis also ordered some electric cable and rocks in Pedernales, and they should be in town tomorrow when we start working again. After buying the materials, we caught the last (sniff) USA game at a shop before heading back to the ranch for the night.

This morning, we went to the children's Mass in Cojimíes, and taught the kids some games and songs and sat in on one of their Catechism classes, where they taught us some songs as well. Then we had some delicious soup with the nuns and Sofia, headed for Pedernales and the internet cafe, and here we are. Hope you enjoy the pics!

-Erik

A Mi Lindo Ecuador

And now, a musical performance from our last night in Quito with the very talented Moran family. The song is called "A Mi Lindo Ecuador" by Pueblo Nuevo. Enjoy!

[Yeah, I'm sort of struggling on the left there, haha...]

Quito, Day 1

Spent a good part of yesterday just hanging out in Ilinizas, until it came time to meet Mariana over at the airport, since venturing outside with such a limited knowledge of español did not seem to be a good idea. Once reunited, we were picked up by the Morans (family friends of the Cuervos) and welcomed into their home, where we shared conversation, tv, wii bowling, and some Pilsener. I really enjoyed their company - they were very understanding of my lingual inabilities, and the younger ones took it as an opportunity to practice their English and help me to practice my Spanish.

After spending some time at their house, we were taken on a night-time drive through colonial Quito, and later treated to some delicious comidas típicas - empanadas and hot chocolate (with cheese at the bottom of the glass... surprisingly tasty) - at a very nice cafe with a great lookout onto the city lights below. The hilly terrain provides spectacular views, while the high elevation (2,850m, or 9,350') makes for some chilly nights... so the hot cocoa in June was not at all out of place.

This afternoon, we'll meet again to go to a museum or two, and then it's off to the bus station for a night-ride to Pedernales and then on to Cojimíes...

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Sadly, I didn't bring my camera last night, so no pictures to go along with this post... but I did find myself with more free time this morning, so I finished another jigsaw puzzle time-lapse video I'd started a few weeks ago. It's not Ecuador, but I'm going to share it anyway. The following reduces a good 8 hours of work to about 8 seconds:

[ The Shiner, by Norman Rockwell ]

On our way...

Yesterday was a long day at the airport... after waking up at 3:30am for a 6:10 flight that was cancelled, I ended up hanging out in Reagan National until 3:30pm, when my rescheduled (and also delayed) flight took off for Miami. The wait went by pretty quickly though, as the first half of the morning was spent trying to figure out how to make international calls so that I couldsecure shelter in Quito that night -assuming I ever got there - and the second halfwas spenthanging out with the one and only Sean Koehr, who randomlytapped me on the shoulderfrombehind while I was shopping for phone cards. Incidentally, he was on his way to Midtown in Chicago that morning. We grabbed some Potbelly's sandwiches for lunch and washed them down with a couple of root beers before we headed for our respective departure gates - which were temporarily the same gate at one point, as Sean's flight changed gates at least 4 times.

Anyway, I finally got to Quito around 10:30pm (Quito time), spent an hour in the customs line, and Spanglished my way into a taxi headed to Residencia Ilinizas, where my friend Jose Miguel, whom I'd met during our last trip, was on call to let me in around 11:30pm. I attempted to mingle with a couple of the residents for a few minutes, and finally, after 22 hours awake, 19 of which were spent in an airport or in a plane, went to bed.

Mariana tells me she made it to Bogota just fine, and I'll be meeting her at the airport this afternoon before we tour the city a bit and meet the family she'll be staying with tonight.