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.
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