Advertising and Shananigans

This afternoon Jocelyn, Serena and I headed into the Rumiloma community (where we host our programs) to post flyers and hang posters advertising our five programs which are starting up next week. Of course, we didn't actually get out the door until 1:30 this afternoon, which put us in Rumiloma right around 2. And what happens at 2, you might ask? It rains. Pours, actually. We were being stalked by near bursting storm clouds as we worked our way up and down the streets, soaking up every last dry moments before we ourselves were soaked.

Luckily the worst always seemed right behind us and we didn't get drenched. Tomorrow the plan is to be out the door by 10am so as to avoid the afternoon storms. Tomorrow if I whine about the rain we got drenched by in the afternoon, please feel free to call me out on it in the comments section :)

(Jocelyn and Serena demonstrate the correct way to tag team the tape)

After returning home and meeting Dunc and Dana in the foyer as they prepared to head out to Christian's, we all settled in for an afternoon of lesson planning, syllabus writing, exercise workout-planning (which is hysterical to watch, as it involves Serena playing and re-playing youtube workout videos from the 80's and trying to re-inact them in the living room...I had NO idea Jane Fonda was an aerobics instructor before she was an actress! The things you learn!), until Serena made the mistake of throwing her shoe at Eliah when he walked out of his room.

In under two seconds, Eliah had the front door open, Serena's missile shoe in hand, and was launching it out and over our front wall into the grass far beyond. Serena watched open-mouthed, then sprinted into Eliah's room to find something, which she proceeded to chuck out the still open door. Unfortunately (or fortunately, you choose), since the item Serena chose to throw was actually a pair of Eliah's boxers, they didn't have enough mass to clear the front wall, landing instead on the 10 foot covering above the main door.

Even better, the boxers were lilac.

Holly

(Eliah scales the front wall to retrieve his stolen undergarments)

Playground Project

(only one out of three swings is functioning)


Tuesday morning (after the whole Christian's English experience), I stopped by Aliñambi to take photographs of their various pieces of playground equipment for a potential project. Seth and Serena were both already there; Seth helping Lorenzo compose a letter of intention for the sewing talleres which have been difficult (to say the least) to implement, Serena going through all of the medicines from HealtheChildren each of us brought back from the states with Julia, the clinic doctor.

I was taking photographs of all the playground equipment to send to a constructor contact of Seth's who will be working with us and HealtheChildren to refurbish all the equipment in the complex. Considering that Aliñambi serves as a home for children from rough households, a school for a couple hundred kids in the neighboring communities, and a location for various summer camps, to say that their playground equipment is in a sad state would be an understatement. Through the lens of my camera, I was able to see just how decrepit the equipment truly is. Missing swings, broken see-saws, rusting slides, tilted platforms, missing screws, chipping paint.

And yet, the kids couldn't care less what it looks like, or what's missing. Because come recess, they can't wait to return to their pirate ship, or swing through Tarzan's jungle, or launch into space from the sea-saws, three adventures I was asked to join in on while snapping my pictures. Just another reason we're excited to be diving back into the thick of things.

Next week will start up the Wednesday guest blogs again, promise!

Holly


(the rusting slide sinks into to the grass)

You just never know.

This is the third month we've been partnering with Christian, an up and coming community leader, on conversational classes with his English students. His courses consist of two parts: theoretical instruction and conversation, but as he is a native Ecuadorian, he initially described his conversational classes as problematically "reinforcing poor English pronunciation". Enter Manna Project, which just so happens to be chalk full of native English speakers whose only pronunciation issues surface when certain Texans insist on calling "Jalapeños" "Jaal-op-in-yos" or "Quesadillas" "Ques-a-dillll-ahhs"...ahem Duncan Fulton.

Three times a week, 2 of us head over to Christian's home and attempt to hold purely English conversations with his slightly bewildered students. It is pretty comical hearing one another speaking as articulately and slowly as possible, only to be greeted by the big eyes and partially open mouths of our students. They're all pretty driven to learn, though, and have made some impressive progress since we first met them in November.

This morning marked our first class post-December break, and Jocelyn and I slumped around the kitchen at 6:30am in a daze (we're the lucky ones blessed with the Tuesday 8-10am slot), talking ourselves into the first bus ride of 2009. When we arrived at Christians, there were no students, but there were 4 little piglets to check up on, one mama pig who, according to Christian, "needs a man pig soon", a new type of Ecuadorian beer to try (at 8:30am), to which Christian would not take "no thank you" as an aswer, and English dialogues to write and record onto his computer. Eventually a "man pig" did show up, and a conjugal visit between pigs...happened...while Jos and I tried our best to focus on the dialogue we were writing about Christmas vacation. It was not easy to do.

And just think, all this happened before 10 in the morning. It's going to be a good Tuesday.
Oh Ecuador, how we've missed you.

Holly

(four little piglets!)


(our working table)

Sweet Returns

(saying goodbye to Colorado at Denver International Airport)

And we're back!

We're lucky enough to work for an organization that provides us with a 3 week break in December, and most of us headed back up to the states to soak up time with families and access to our own set of wheels. Granted we don't get what is called PTO, or paid time off (which I'm told by my 'real world' working friends is a hot commodity), but seeing as how we don't get paid in the first place that shouldn't really come as a surprise to anyone.

In true Manna Ecuador form, we started our Monday off bright and 'early'...ok fine it was a 9am meeting. I know, that's not early. But consider that some of us are still functioning on Mountain time and others had just tackled 4 overnight busses in 7 days...am I making excuses? Maybe.

Regardless, our 9am meeting spanned 2 1/2 hours and ran the gamut on items of discussion: a last recruitment push for the final PD app. deadline on February 2, our new dishwashing strategy and dish towel system to promote a more hygenic kitchen, gifts from the states (a 5lb. bag of hot tamales for Dana! A Nintendo for Dunc! Nice work, Eliah!), the latest update on the library-teen center space (which may be available as soon as this Friday), planing for Spring Break, the start of 5 programs next week... it's exciting to think that everything is set and poised to begin again so quickly. All the planning and talking and detailing we did in the fall has put us in a wonderful position to jump right back into a community who has been waiting for us. It's sweet when your return is so warmly anticipated!

Thanks for tuning in again; I don't know about you, but I'm ready for another 8 months of Daily Blogging :)
~Holly

(I've traded the snowy Rockies for the heat of the Andes)

Jelly!

I arrived home in Colorado later than expected Sunday night (it just wouldn't be the holiday season in the states without a few airport delays), and since then have been involved in a whirlwind of Christmas dinner parties, cookies exchanges with my mom, painful mall maneuverings, hospital gift deliveries, and trips to the library to stock up on new and old books. While I won't be keeping up with the blog as consistently as I have while in Ecuador, I will be checking in every now and then, and also eliciting the words of everyone else to give an update on their state-side travels as well.

One thing that is just too good to keep from you, internet, is the package that was waiting for me on my bed when I stumbled in on Sunday. Postmarked from Texas, Mrs. Fulton (Dunc's mom, clearly) sent me my very own jar of her fantastic, amazing, home-made jalapeño jelly! My family is a little skeptical, which suits me just fine. I think I might tell them it's actually awful so that I can hoard it for myself. Mwahahaaa...

(I think I know what's in there...!)