A new dawn of American leadership is at hand

Election Day began in Arlington at 4:30am. I had spent the night at my parents' house to vote at our precinct in Lyon Village. The Virginia polls opened at 6:00am and I absolutely had to be in DC by 9:00 to meet my colleagues and leave for a meeting in Baltimore. So we were up before the dawn and luckily, before swarms of voters. I hope it neither offends nor surprises anyone that I proudly cast my vote for Senators Barack Obama and Joe Biden as our next President and Vice-President of our country, along with votes to send Rep. Jim Moran and Mark Warner to Congress. Reporters from Good Morning America asked us to describe our feelings after voting in three words. Our picks were "yes, we can!"

After a productive but blessedly short day and making dinner for my housemates, Nicole and I decided that we were going to join the community of Washingtonians. We decided to head north on 14th Street from Emmaus House and check out what looked promising near U Street. After running into several people we know (Allie from Grinnell, the LVC short-term recruiters, and some of Nicole's volunteers), we decided against any of the bars and headed someplace we knew we could sit and get a bite to eat: Ben's Chili Bowl. Ben's is a DC institution: it was one of the few places on U Street (a landmark of DC's African-American heritage) to stay open during the race riots of 1968 following Martin Luther King's assassination. Luckily, last night they had several TVs showing CNN, so Nicole and I had several good heart-to-hearts to kill time as we watched the results pour in. Shortly before 11pm, CNN called Virginia for Obama, and I was ecstatic. I ran outside to call friends, and this is how one conversation went:

Me: I can't believe this! Everyone's going crazy! They're hoking horns in the streets and running around with Americna flags.
Spencer: I know! We are too!
Me: I'm so happy for Virginia! The way people are reacting, you'd think he won the general already!
Spencer: Nora... they did just call the general.
Me: WHAT!?
Spencer: That's why I called you!
Me: I HAVE TO GO RIGHT NOW!

I sat there at Ben's as we watched Obama's acceptance speech in silence and I finally let all the excitement and the brouhaha subside and the fact that Obama will be the man to lead our country sink in. Both McCain and Obama's speeches were heartfelt and moving: I never believed I could feel this inspired by a leader I could call my own, one whose ideals and beliefs are the same as my own. (And to think I can finally call a blue state home!)

Around midnight, Nicole and I decided, as we heard others were doing, to head to the White House - you only live once! In doing so, we had to walk past what I now know is a historic intersection. The 1968 riots began at 14th and U Street once people began to hear the tragic news. Forty years later, people gathered to celebrate, the likes of which I have never seen. I have never seen so many people from all walks of life be so happy: grinning from ear to ear, honking their car horns, playing music with creative percussive instruments, chanting and singing. They had to shut down parts of the street. I liken the scene last night to:
- Bourbon Street/Mardi Gras
- Christmas morning (as though a savior had been born)
- 10/10
- the day the Berlin Wall fell
- New Years' Eve
- the Red Sox winning the World Series/Cal Ripken breaking the home-run record
- a World Cup victory in any country other than ours
- the day Juan Peron was elected president of Argentina
- any general take-to-the-streets pots-and-pans-banging other countries engage in for political events

I had to beg to use a bathroom at HR-57 on 14th and R, but the people working were in too good of a mood to mind. The White House was full of people chanting, singing, taking pictures and running around full of happiness. I regret not bringing my own camera, but the memories are worth it. There's a reason this feels like a new year's celebration, because it is a new era. To bear witness to a moment in history, in which a man whose chances seemed so small and whose message is so hopeful promises change for this nation, truly makes me feel like anything is possible.

I have such high hopes for the next four years and I know they will be long and difficult. But I think last night's results prove that this country is ready for a change, one my generation with the help of our new president will bring about. He's right that it could take 100 years, but someday my grandchildren could see leaders from every possible walk of life and demographic, universal health care, gay rights, fair and humane immigration reform, an end to torture and inhumane detention, renewed credibility in the eyes of the international community, safe and informed reproductive choices for all, increased educational opportunities, a love of volunteer service, and much, much more! In the words of Nelson Mandela, "[Obama's] victory has demonstrated that no person anywhere in the world should not dare to dream of wanting to change the world for a better place." Yes, we can!

Some links I've enjoyed either today or during the campaign:
*"A new era for America:" the absolute best summary I've read that outlines the reasons I support Obama's policies.
*Quotations of international leaders' reactions to Obama's election
*a photographic illustration of Obama's reassurance
*"...to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world...
*Maya Angelou on Barack Obama
*Obama's possible Chief of Staff was the basis for Josh Lyman
*A very honest and insightful article about race relations in Montana.
*Our Town: "Politicians run against it. Tycoons sneer at it. But I'll stick up for Washington."
*A love song for Sarah Palin
*Daughter of slave votes for Obama
*The Sarah Palin pity party
*I Spent Years as a POW with John McCain, and His Finger Should Not Be Near the Red Button
*Podemos Con Obama
*Barack Roll
*Tina Fey as Sarah Palin
*(Placeholder for a video my dad called the most powerful thing he'd seen this entire campaign - a dialogue-free ad that had pictures of home foreclosures and hospital waiting rooms along with a title card reading "It's time for a change.")
*Just Like Me - I hope not
*"Yes We Can" music video
*Rapture in the Streets as Multitudes Cheer Obama and Celebrate America, about DC

"This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time – to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth – that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, We Can." - President-elect Barack Hussein Obama

Kitchen Experiment

When weekends come, our house still tends to be stocked with plenty of leftovers. I knew I wanted to make some type of soup tonight, so I consulted allrecipes.com for what I could make, given what we had in the house (such a great resource!). My search yielded the following, which I doctored a little to my own tastes and available ingredients. The result was delicious:

Quick Tomato Soup
2 8-oz can of V8 Juice (mine was low sodium, works in many soups)
1/2 cup vegetable broth
2 cloves of garlic (we can't get enough in this house!)
1/2 tablespoon of fake butter
corn to taste
basil leaves
oregano
sprinkle of flower
salt to taste

Mix in a saucepan over low heat. Feel free to add any other veggies (my new favorite thing is to puree them and add them to other things). It's hearty but not thick, so if you're really hungry I adding suggest some shredded cheese or bread. Incidentally, it happens to go great with cheesy bread, another Adriana favorite. Serves one hungry girl.

Privilege

I have already come to discover that what I will learn the most about this year is privilege. One of LVC's tenets is simplicity, which different people interpret differently, and every LVCer experiences them differently. For better or worse, many of us begin their year with some type of privilege (ranging from white privilege to college education to supportive families) and I don't want to assume that every privilege I hold is one I can get rid of. But I hope to highlight either the things my peers and I go without this year or the things I've realized I'm lucky that I don't have to go without.

The Metro. At $1.65 a ride during rush hour, the Metro would cost over $60 a month if you had to ride it to work every day. For those who are unable (either geographically or physically) unable to walk, the bus is the cheapest way to take advantage of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority if you purchase weekly unlimited passes for $11. (Not to mention that driving a car or being able to walk to work is a huge privilege in and of itself!) As a suburban girl, I had never regularly ridden the bus; on the rare occasion I had to use public transit, usually to travel to DC, I took the Metro. The trains run more regularly, have more predictable routes, and run 10 or 15 minutes faster. But the Metro wasn't going to cut it on my stipend this year, so buses D1, D3 and D6 have become my fast friends for my commute to work. The bus isn't really so bad. For one thing, it often runs more directly than the Metro does and has stops in more locations. I've gotten to see so much more of the city than I would from an underground tunnel. And it's much easier to sneak a bite of breakfast or a cell phone chat than it is on the Metro.

Living near a grocery store. I'll primarily refer you to my friend Allison, a fellow Grinnellian and DC LVCer, for a personal account of this issue. But I will say that urban living doesn't necessarily lend itself well to grocery shopping, especially if you don't have a car, and that the LVC houses are fortunate to have carts and reusable bags to get back and forth the 8ish blocks we have to walk to the grocery store.

UPS. The first package I was supposed to receive at Emmaus House never came. As UPS only delivers from 9-5, none of us are home because we are, of course, at work. I'm still not certain if the problem was that they needed to get inside our gate and don't have a key or if someone to sign for the package because of its value. Either way, it was a huge hassle and I finally had it delivered to my office, which I was lucky to be able to do. It had never occurred to me that it would be a problem to do something as simple as receive a package, but I know that I won't take it for granted again.

I realize these are small adjustments, but they are adjustments all the same and my guess would be that the people who enjoy any of these things often don't think twice about the fact that others don't. I know because I was one of those people not too long ago. The great thing about LVC is recognizing these small things, appreciating what you have, and learning to make do with what you don't.

Food

One of the challenges of LVC is struggling to stay within the $100/month individual food budget. We are expected to pool our money and cook together to make it last. Many have expressed doubt or worry that I would be able to eat well enough on this amount. However, so far, the Emmaus House has pulled it off beautifully. Here are a few of our tricks:

- No processed or packaged foods. This means no granola bars, no individually wrapped snack goods, no desserts and no junk food. Luckily, this hasn't yet meant having to go without any of these items! Anything you can buy in a box you can make yourself, and we've already had great success baking our own bread and cookies. Adriana is now famous for her "Best Ever" Emmaus House Banana Bread. And of course, it's made us be healthier and easier on the environment.

- Little fresh produce. Sadly, this does mean that we are eating less fruit and vegetables in general. But most vegetables do come frozen and if you don't overcook them, the USDA states that they are just as healthy as the regular kind. Broccoli, green beans, carrots, corn and cauliflower are frequent dinner ingredients, and frozen berries make their way into . Don't worry, we have already had plenty of money for enough fruit for us each to have a piece daily, the occasional bag of spinach, and as much garlic as we could ever need.

- No meat. With the exception of lunch meat, we very rarely have any with meals and often find ourselves making vegan meals. It's a good experiment in finding other forms of protein.

- Leftovers. In addition to the full spice shelf we were greeted with when we moved in, we also found plenty flour, sugar, rice, beans and other canned goods in the cupboard. We have yet to run out of most of these items, and when we do, they are easily and cheaply replaced. Leftovers also refers not only cooked dinner left uneaten, but any items that went unused for cooking. For example, Nicole bought a green pepper and bag of baby carrots for her dinner and now we have crunchy veggie snacks to last the rest of the week.

- Staples. We tend to spend a big chunk of our money on bread, milk, cheese, eggs, and cereal. For lunches and on the weekends when no one is assigned to cook (the five of us take turns Sundays through Thursdays), it's quite easy to make a meal out of these items or any leftovers.

- No boys. Last year's Emmaus House included three men out of the five residents, and they went through significantly more food than our four women and lone man do this year.

- Free food. During our LVC year, we are not supposed to accept funds from friends or family or take additional paid jobs as the point is to live a simplified lifestyle. However, there's no rule about accepting extra food! We all often get free lunch or snacks at work or told to take home leftovers at parties or other events. I, of course, am lucky that my family lives close by and are good for the occasional dinner out or bag of apples. While I am trying not to abuse this and stick to the spirit of LVC, we definitely benefit from the generosity of people outside of our community.

So far, we typically spend between $90 and $100 each week, allowing an extra $15 for house necessities like dish soap or a mid-week milk run. To give you an idea of the types of dinners we've been cooking, I've made broccoli pesto with pasta, Ecuadorian locro soup, African groundnut stew (thanks to Mom), salad with strawberry vinaigrette, and New Orleans red beans and rice (although I'll have to try it again - them just didn't have that ReNew feel). And tonight Adriana and I made a delicious pizza since no one was assigned to cook.

Sorry I've been so lazy about updating this blog! I hope to make it more regular. I'd love to hear from any of you who read this.

Beginning LVC

A week ago today, my dad dropped me off at Luther Place Memorial Church along with friends and fellow volunteers to begin our year with Lutheran Volunteer Corps. We are headed to all different cities, but all LVCers come to the national office in Washington, DC for an orientation on LVC logistics and three tenets: community, sustainability/simplicity, and social justice.

Orientation was a whirlwind week, the highlight of which was a non-violent urban safety training with Marty Langelan, a woman who has worked on sexual harrassment-related issues in DC and nationally for at least fifteen years. In an effort to cheat at this whole blogging thing, I encourage you to click here for an excellent summary of her techniques. As my friend Megan would put it, she was life-changing. She taught the most practical methods for addressing and combating violence and oppression I have ever heard. I now feel totally equipped both to work on social justice and walk down any street at any time of day.

I am living at the Emmaus House (all houses are named for a spiritual/social justice idea or activist) in the Logan Circle neighborhood of Northwest DC. It's a two-story unit in a larger row house that has far more amenities than I would have expected for simple living: dishwasher, laundry, and wireless internet (which we of course have to pay for). I will post pictures soon!

As part of intentional living, we are expected to be very invested in our house community: cooking communally with our meager stipends, having weekly house nights, and exploring ideas of faith and spirituality once a month. So far, I really like the idea of having a built-in support community of people who are close to my age and have similar goals and values, as opposed to a hodge-podge of unknown housemates that I might have otherwise had. My roommates and I are getting along very well so far: opening a communal bank account, splitting up rooms in the most equitable way possible, and scheduling cooking and community nights. We even have dry-erase boards and calendars to organize it all!

I am lucky to have a friend in each of the other two DC houses, as well as many Grinnell friends living in the city along with Arlington friends scattered around the area. Allison, Caitlin and I did some intense people-watching in DuPont Circle on Saturday night and I will likely see them again in the next few days before work starts.

Mostly, I am looking forward to living in DC, a city close to home that is not quite home. I am looking forward to learning how to live on a tiny budget (don't worry, my housing, health insurance, and public transportation are paid for), the likes of which many people in this country have to live on for longer than a year. I'm interested in learning more about other people's faiths as well as my own. And I can't wait to start work on Wednesday!

Transitions

My life has changed quite significantly since the last time I posted on this blog. I returned to the States last summer, interned at WOLA, had an awesome senior year at Grinnell, and, oh yeah, graduated from college!



Grinnell was an amazing experience for me and leaving was difficult. But life goes on and I knew I would see many friends again in the near future, some as early as this summer and fall.

In July, I returned to New Orleans to do rebuild work with the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana, where I had spent several school breaks in the past. Rebuild Director Katie Mears is an '03 Grinnell alumna and does a great job of recruiting current and recently graduated Grinnellians, so I knew I'd be in good company for the month I was there. As an intern (trained crew chief for short-term volunteers), I was put on the flooring team along with dear friends Josie and Spencer, along with new friends Anne and Cari. The work of subfloors, cement and tile, as well as teaching and supervising volunteers, was both challenging and rewarding.



I lived in Chapel House, a shotgun in the Uptown neighborhood of New Orleans, with several warm, funny and intelligent people close to my age from all walks of life. Lindsay, another close friend from Grinnell, lived in an apartment complex not far away with other interns (there were 20 of us total at any given time). We had a great time getting to know each other and the city:



going jogging at Audobon Park in sweltering heat, trying the Tchoupitoulas Challenge at the Creole Creamery, meeting dogs and crashing birthday parties at "the Fly," late-night adventures with the flooring team, late-nights out dancing on Bourbon street and at F&M, watching 4th of July fireworks from the Quarter, Mass at St. Louis Cathedral, trips to the Gulf's beaches in Mississippi, $2 pitchers at Reginelli's, dinner at Bennechins in the Marigny, hookah on Magazine Street, long talks about heteronormativity and the social construction of race, crashing the set of a Carmen Electra movie, brunch at Slim Goodies, shopping at the Buffalo Exchange and Funky Monkey, daiquiri walk up St. Charles, NOMA, the World War II museum, the Maple Street Bookstore and public library book sale, nectar snowballs, Italian soda, and ice cream soda, and of course, po'boys.

As for the state of the city nearly three years after the storm, I always tell people (and joke with friends who have been there) that New Orleans is very much like a developing country and, in many ways, was so pre-Katrina. The 9th Ward, where 3/4 houses I worked on this summer were located, still has many houses that have still only been gutted (had contents removed) and many businesses that have not yet reopened.



The 9th Ward is just downriver from the French Quarter, the heart of the city's tourism and economic activity, but most visitors see the 9th Ward only from the window of a tourbus.



I went home to Uptown and went jogging near the most beautiful houses I have ever seen in the Garden District, which was heartbreaking to compare to the homes my coworkers and I encountered.

Which is my way of saying the income inequality, particularly as it is related to race, is a major problem for disaster relief. The wealthy, particularly white people, have the resources and the know-how to get back on their feet much more quickly in a system where both the local and federal governments are providing very little. The poor are at the behest of non-profit and faith-based organizations, who I believe are doing amazing and effective work but are perhaps not the most sustainable or resource-efficient. I'd love to go into detail about ideas of "sweat equity," home ownership, who "deserves" "help," but that soapbox is perhaps best reserved for a better forum.

I love New Orleans as a city. Part of the "developing country" idea stems from the fact that its Creole culture reminds me so much of being in Latin America: the kind people, the subtropical climate, the European architecture, and the way I feel completely free to enjoy myself while I'm there (despite the fact that I was getting up at 6am to do manual labor!).



But alas, I came home to Arlington in early August to get ready for my year with Lutheran Volunteer Corps. I hope to update about this new experience as well!

Return to Quito

I left Cotacachi this morning with my friends Grace and Emily, graciously driven by Grace's host family. It was very hard to say goodbye to Digna, Ernesto, Tamia, Huaita and Karen. They said they hoped God and the Virgencita watch over me, and wished me luck with my studies and happiness in life. Digna, who embroiders beautifully, gave me a cloth calendar with my name on it, as well as a square with "pictures" of our terreno on it. They are kind, wonderful people and I will never forget my month living in that village.

That being said, it was just as nice to come home to my Quito family. Angelica, who was at home for the day because it's the Ecuadorian version of Labor Day, ran out to greet me. She, Consuelo, and Marita were all happy to see me and showed me the new carpeting in my room, as well as the desk, bed, and excercise bike that for whatever reason are now in it.

I'm messing around on the Internet at the moment, had a very good talk with my friend Allison with Grinnell on Instant Messenger, and should eventually take a shower and get to work on my monografia. However, despite the fact that I smelled the smog for the first time and hated the smelly city after being in the fresh mountain air for so long, it's good to be back. It's a beautiful day today.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/6598749.stm

The above link is a fairly good, concise explanation of Ecuador's recent political situation.

http://grinnell.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2009021&l=7e5ee&id=22500005

The above link includes my recent pictures, of spring break and the first few weeks in Cotacachi.

Time flies

I know I haven´t been very good at keeping up with this, and I´m afraid it´s not going to get any better as my program is only three weeks longer and most of it will be taken up with writing my monografia, a 20-page paper about my experiences here in Cotacachi, particularly my work with women´s participation. Needless to say, this paper is in español.

But a quick recap of the past few weeks. I was finally given something to do (almost too much) my second week of work for the leather fair. The task of honor? Gluing and laminating makeshift IDs for all of the leather vendors. That particular Tuesday, I was sent on a wild goose chase for carnets (as the IDs are called, but I didn´t know that at the time) by Jomar to Hugo in the computer lab, Sandi downstairs, Verónica upstairs, and finally Paulina downstairs again. Paulina, I realized, despite her impeccable Spanish and dark features, was the French intern I´d heard about. As we waited for Señora Carmelina, we played the name, rank and serial number game since I had stopped feeling awkward about introducing myself to people and asking them if they needed help. Paulina explained that she is here for six months doing an internship and eventually writing a thesis for her master´s degree (in some kind of social science, I forget). She works under Señora Carmelina, a 30-something indigenous woman who runs most of the women´s activities.

After this out, as well as seeing a Bertolt Brecht poem called "The Political Illiterate" above her desk, that Señora Carmelina was the person I would know be reporting to every day. She´s a very sharp, nice woman who is just my kind of feminist. After we finished the morning, Paulina invited me to her apartment for lunch. "Do you like pesto?" she asked me as she started making pasta. I had to ask her to repeat herself out of pure shock, as I´d grown accustomed to only expecting rice, potatoes and chicken for any meal. "Of course!" I replied. "Anything but rice." "Hmm?" she asked as she casually tossed the ingredients into a pot. "Um, they eat a lot of rice here. You hadn´t noticed?"

I should mention that we had these conversations entirely in Spanish. Paulina speaks English and even spent a semester at the University of Colorado, but after having worked at an NGO in Spain for a little while, her Spanish is clearly better - and of course I don´t speak any French. "No, now we are talking in English," she said, trying to practice. "So, you are studying, eh, political sciences, yes?" When I tried to respond, I burst out laughing - I was thinking in Spanish and probably hadn´t spoken English in a few days, and just couldn´t switch when I knew we were both perfectly able to finish the conversation in Spanish. When her Italian roommate came home, I felt so in awe of the three of us - three extranjeras from different corners of the globe, all speaking Spanish in this messy little kitchen in Ecuador.

So, aside from the leather fair, work has consisted of attending women´s workshops both here and throughout the county and compiling data from old ones. I´ve also had to meet with my monografia tutor and do a fair about of textual research on citizen participation issues - about which Cotacachi is considered to be an ideal case study. I have a fair amount of stories to share on that, but I´ll wait until I´ve finished the paper so I can see what´s the most interesting.

My family is still very nice but more traditional than I´m used to. Ideally, I think they´d like it if I were home with them all the time rather than studying or spending time with the one close friend I have nearby. I am expected to eat every bite offered to me - we´re talking the equivalent of three-course meals sometimes! For Holy Week, I went to several processions where each community dresses up a Jesus or Mary and carries it around for a few hours, as well as an Easter vigil Mass with baptisms of children old enough to walk and talk. I was also convinced (that´s putting it mildly) to dress in the traditional indigenous clothing, of which there are pictures I will post soon, don´t worry. I won´t go into detail about the gang of mean dogs (perros bien bravos, as my sisters would say) that often barks and tries to bite me, but suffice it to say I try to wear long pants as often as possible and carry a threatening-looking umbrella when I don´t. I do like the country, it´s a good change for me to share my half-hour walk to town with cows and get woken up by roosters. And my family is ultimately very nice and caring, and I think they´ve adjusted to me as I have to them. Not to mention it´s beautiful here.

The other big news is that President Rafael Correa spoke here unexpectedly a few weeks back. The man, for all that I have some problems with him politically, is a compelling public speaker - he even speaks Kichwa. It was fascinating to watch his charm work on the crowds, who overwhelmingly supported his constituent assembly proposal in the national referendum a few days later. Not to mention he´s incredibly good-looking - all the women in my family, including my littlest sister, couldn´t stop giggling about him when we all rehashed our reactions at dinner that night. While he may be fighting for some noble things, there´s no doubt the man´s a populist and a radical. I hope the things people support him for actually end up happening. Ecuador is definitely an interesting political case study.

It´s back to Quito for me next Tuesday and judging my my reaction to Grace´s and my short day trip there last Friday, I think it will be a relief for me to be back in the city. I think I am just someone who needs plenty of company, and relying on only Grace for familiarity has been hard.
Last week was particularly difficult because of all the news from home. It´s so hard to be away when tragedy hits, but it´s good to know the communities I love are rallying. I´d love to know how you all are doing, so don´t hesitate to let me know.

Here are some more photos I´ve posted, as it´s a little too complicated to embed them from here:

http://grinnell.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2008822&l=6ccfb&id=22500005

http://grinnell.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2008805&l=b29fa&id=22500005

http://grinnell.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2008696&l=b5563&id=22500005

What I should have written about two months ago (and I hope to do more of these):
2/15 - 2/19: Carnaval: Becka and I left first because everyone else (Allie, Grace, Nora Shields, and Phoebe) had their internship interviews that Friday. The bus ride was about eight hours to the coastal town of San Vicente, a “suburb” shall we say, of the city of Bahia and the beach town of Canoa. We ended up having to stay there because Carnaval, think Mardi Gras times five and for the same Catholic-origin tradition, is the one weekend you need to make reservations to travel in Ecuador and everyone heads for the beach.

After a few adventures of trying to find our hotel, mainly the consonant-free costeño accent getting in our way of understanding anyone whom we asked directions, we settled in to our luxurious $8/night accommodations and changed into cooler clothes. Quito, being in the mountains, has fairly warm, springlike weather, but the coast is swelteringly hot. Becka and I caught a taxi to go to Canoa for dinner, since, as far as we were concerned, San Vicente didn’t exactly offer the dining options we were looking for to start our vacation.

Another observation we made about the coast is the completely relaxed atmosphere. The place we had a few beers while waiting for a taxi was staffed by a mother and daughters painting their nails. Had we not walked in, at which point they were more than happy to attend to us, they would have continued to do so. The barber shop across the street we faced similarly had plastic chairs set up on the sidewalk for the employees to

Well, eventually various forms of food poisoning, extreme sunburn, and the first culture shock at least I’d really experienced all got in the way of a successful Carnaval for most of us. Canoa/San Vicente/Bahia reminded me a lot of the Dominican Republic, an Afro-descendent population with a similar accent, completely underdeveloped (yes, by western standards) rural areas, unbearable heat, unstable electricity (Becka and I did some bonding over a power outage our first night in Canoa) and a lack of healthy food options – I am not a seafood person and got sick from cheese we bought at the local market the one day we spent at the beach. However, we all still got in some beach time, pool time and some good conversation, not to mention plenty of water gun squirts, a Carnaval tradition. My favorite parts of the weekend were probably times we took little ferries across the bay to the aptly named city of Bahia for meals consisting of fried plantains, rice and the best sangria I’ve ever had.

In Cotacachi

Well, I know I´ve been horribly bad at keeping up with this, but I´m here in Cotacachi, a small indigenous town a few hours north of Quito, to start the internship part of my program. CIMAS took a big bus of us up here yesterday, along with a few people who are in nearby Otavalo and other points south, to meet our families. My mother, Digna, is a tiny indigenous woman with three daughters, Tamia, 15, Waita, 11 and Carin, 9. I´m probably butchering the spelling all of their names because they´re in Kichwa. Michita, our family coordinator, cautioned them all strongly not to speak Kichwa in front of us, but luckily the family speaks very good Spanish. There are a few people from my program nearby, but we´re all working different places and living in the sprawling communities outside of the "city," with the exception of my good friend Grace who will live in town.

My family, which also includes my father, Ernesto, who I met later last night, lives in Santa Barbara, a 20-minute walk from the city, in a tiny little house with a small farm where they grow vegetables and breed cuy (guinea pigs), a local delicacy. Since community tourism is a large part of the industry in this area, many families have constructed albergues (hotel-style rooms or lodges) either within or outside their own houses. I knew I would be staying in an albergue, which concerned some of the other girls here because they didn´t want to feel like a hotel guest separate from the family, and while it didn´t bother me at first, I was a little disappointed to mine was separate from the house (pictures soon). However, it is a very nice setup with a double bed, my own bedroom with hot water (my family was very proud of this point) and electricity, and I suppose it´s nice to have some extra privacy and amenities. I spent all afternoon playing cards with my sisters and teaching them to play Spoons, which they loved. We had a soup of some lettuce-type vegetable, chicken and potatoes, as well as mora (similar to blackberry/raspberry) juice, which is one of my favorites here. My parents are also very big on TV, which they have in one of the two bedrooms, and watching the news, which nice. Digna is also apparently the community treasurer and had to go to Ibarra, the province capital, to finalize paperwork for a new water line. And, to top it all of, President Correa will supposedly be here next weekend. So, yes, I really like my family so far.

As for work, I am working with the County Assembly (Asemblea Unidad Cantonal= which deals with a variety of community projects and seem to be fairly active with citizen participation and dialogue with regard to indigenous issues. Today, I typed up a speech to be given to indigenous youth and read a bunch of literature they´ve published. It was a little frustrating since I don´t think I´ll be able to actually work on anything until the leather festival (Cotacachi has a huge leather industry, as well) is over at the end of next week, but at least I can better acquaint myself with the organization in the meantime, the structure of which I don´t fully understand. I also feel a little awkward being there and having to introduce myself to every single person and feeling sort of purposeless, but it was only the first day.

The last few weeks have consisted of travel, writing final papers, a visit from Max, meeting my friends´ parents, a broken window in my house, and a long but fun spring break. I really do plan to write a longer update to add later, if only for myself. Please drop me a line sometime, I´m much better at personal e-mails and I can still receive snail mail, which of course is always lovely.

Futbol, la comida, el mercado, Baños, y San Valentin

Last Tuesday, shortly after I made my last blog post, I went to my first Latin American futbol game. I was excited for two reasons, one, because I just plain haven’t been to a ball game of any kind in a while and I love the atmosphere, and second, I knew it would be a good time judging from my experiences in the bars in Argentina last summer for the world cup. And we were not disappointed! We decided to play it safe, buy the more expensive tickets and sit in the “civilized” section, which was fun, but next time we want the cheap rowdy seats. That’s where all the cheering, chanting and enthusiasm was; and happily, Liga (the local club team) beat Paraguay in the Latin American intramural match.

On Wednesday, my friend Alex from Grinnell invited us to his house to have dinner with his family. His mother and siblings were so warm and welcoming and his nieces and nephews were adorable. The house was full of Grinnellians (plus honorary Grinnellian Grace) with Becka, Allie, and our friend Heather who is in Quito for the semester doing the IES program. We ate the literally sweetest meal I’ve had here, and probably in my life. Later, Kristin, a girl who is doing the yearlong version of the MSID program and a friend of Alex’s family, joined us and told us about her internship at Faro, a political group that sounds fascinating and would be my first choice of work were I to stay here for the summer. Alex’s mom also taught us my new favorite word in Spanish: refunfuñar, “to grumble.”

We had a field trip on Thursday to Saquisili, a traditional market in a largely indigenous town a few hours away from Quito. In case anyone was curious, a pig in Ecuador costs about $40 and a horse $200. It was really interesting to see how farms are supplied and maintained in a culture that is foreign to me in so many ways. I told my friends about how Mom and Dad would always take me and Patrick to the country for what I now think of as “city kid country education” activities: picking out our pumpkins at pumpkin patches, “adopting” Squirmy the lamb. There was also a crafts market where I managed to get some good deals on jewelry and gifts – I’ve become proud of my bargaining skills in Spanish. A bit of trivia: markets are traditionally held on Thursdays for the same reason we always celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday, because everyone needs to eat and buy their meat before fasting on Fridays the way Catholics did before Vatican II.

Our long weekend meant a trip to Baños! The town is named for its pools naturally heated by the nearby volcano. It’s small, but beautifully nestled between the mountains and attracts a fair amount of young travelers. The café where we had lunch when we arrived had a very multi-lingual lending library, a feature that was prevalent in most places we went. We ate and drank at Casa Hood, which is run by an American, several times throughout the weekend, due to its great happy hour deals, hearty breakfasts, and tasty cheap desserts.

I’ve been here almost a month and still can’t get over the fact that I’m surrounded by mountains all the time. The six of us girls went on hikes, horseback rides, and a bus ride to a cable car that took us across a gorge to a waterfall on the other side. I’m trying more physically adventurous things than I’m used to, but it’s all been a blast so far. My favorite so far is working up the courage to swing across a little mini-gorge when we got off the cable car, of which Becka took a video:

Can you tell I was terrified?

Basically, it was a fantastic weekend with a good group of people with whom I’m looking forward to traveling again for Carnaval next weekend, this time to the beach on the northern coast.

This week's been fairly mellow and filled with schoolwork, which has basically gone well thanks to our classes with my favorite professor, Juan Paz y Mino, who according to my host parents, is a fairly well renowned mind from la Universidad Catolica. On Tuesday, I had to prepare a typical Ecuadorian dish, so Consuelo, Marita and I made tamales. We had quite a feast the next day at school with everyone's "assignment," ranging from soup to empanadas to sugary green plantains and tres leches flan. The food here is a little bland, but I'm happy with it for the most part. I had an interesting discussion with my host family about what typical American food is, and thankfully I managed to come up with a few examples that weren't McDonalds and KFC. My host father explained how the Native Americans and the Irish (yes, he was convinced the Puritans were Irish and I didn't have the heart to correct him) came together to eat corn and turkey at the first Thanksgiving.

Speaking of holidays, Valentine's Day is just as big of a deal here if not bigger than it is in the US. First of all, it's so affectionate to begin with. I came home on Tuesday to Sol, who for all intents and purposes is my host sister-in-law, leaving a lily in a vase on my dresser. My mother wished me a happy day of "love and friendship," and thus it was. Since flowers are a local industry here, my friends and I decided to take advantage of the good prices and buy three dozen roses to distribute among the students, professors and staff members on our program. It felt like Valentine's Day in elementary school or the day before winter break in high school when I would run around just giving things to people.

The good mood was infectious and continued into the evening as Becka, Allie and I kept up two hours of Spanish conversation over a $3 meal at an Argentine restaurant in the Mariscal, where we later joined several of the girls on our program for free drinks at one of our new favorite bars. After a long day at school that concluded with a somewhat informal conversation with one of the CIMAS doctors we hadn't talked to before, I joined my sister Angelica for a mellow evening of watching TV.

My bus leaves in five hours, so I should get to bed! Luckily, with the right dose of Dramamine, I can sleep on the bus.