Interview a PD: Mark Hand

Thanks to everyone who submitted questions via email for our first PD interview with country director Mark Hand!

The first half is filmed in the art studio; if you look through the window behind Mark you can see the back side of the library stacks! Apologies for any background noise, most of it is little kids reading and talking in the library (although some of it is the crazy bird who lives in the tree just outside the studio).

The second half is filmed in our living room in the Manna house, in front of our Spanish Brick Red wall (yum... I just love that color, although the video doesn't do it justice).

Thanks again and again to Bill Meier for donating the incredible video camera; we're SO excited to have it up and running! Stay tuned for a short film documenting the opening of the library, to be included in the monthly update.

And now, without further ado, the Mark Hand interview.



Happy Friday!
Holly

Big News!

Well this is exciting.

As I type, all the footage we've taken over the past 4 months with our fabulous video camera is uploading to my imovie; that's right, we FINALLY figured out how to get it to load! It took a few months, 4 attempts at instillation, 2 lost instruction manuals, and a new firewire connection cord (is that even what it's called?) Mark tracked down at the obscure Mac store in Quito to get us to this point, but it's finally happening.

With that said, I'd like to instigate a new system for this blog, a brainchild of one Jocelyn Lancaster and something that makes me giddy just thinking about it. This system is called: "Come Up With Questions For A PD Interview Which Holly Will Record And Put Online". Ok, so maybe I also need suggestions for the name.

Basically, until tomorrow (April 2nd) at noon you will be able to submit to me any question you might have regarding a specified PD; we will be rotating through PDs each week. Tomorrow after 12 noon I will compile all the questions into an interview, force said PD into the hammock room, record their responses, and post the video here on Friday.

The questions can range from anything; program updates, favorite Ecuadorian memory so far, what one song they'd listen to on repeat forever, their biggest challenge so far, misadventures in the kitchen, top 3 places they've visited, etc.

Our first victim: Mark Clayton Hand, country director extraordinaire. Please ask him questions about cooking, PLEASE!

You can submit questions either via the comments section here, or to my email account (holland.c.ward@gmail.com). Feel free to ask multiple questions, too! Let the interviews begin!

~Holly

In Use

As promised, some pictures of the new space in action. Taken by the wonderful Jocelyn Lancaster; thanks girl!

(Rules of the kid's corner, and the hand prints of my art students)

(the shelves and work desk in our office)

(color-filled stacks, and a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains)

(Mark mans the front desk...can you spot Dana?)


(hard at work)

(Puzzles and books and homework, oh my)


(English class in the light-filled studio)

Week 3: Iowa med students summary

Today's post is Serena Zhou's recollection of our third and final week of Spring Breakers for which she and Seth Harlan were the leaders. It's posted here to give you all an idea of the wide variety of programs and activities Manna spring breakers actually participate in any given week.

Later today I will be putting up more pictures of the library in action, as many of you have requested.

Sunday 3/15

Less than 12 hours after Iowa set foot upon Ecuadorian soil, we learned how to massacre live chickens. And as bloody and unappetizing the process might have been (eg, squeezing out the contents of large chicken intestines), the end result was vale la pena (worth the pain). Pepita, Mayra, Francisco, and Julio (one of our favorite Ecuadorian families) were experts in this field. Needless to say, this was a perfect skill to learn with med students! I wish I did this before anatomy class... Details aside, I think these pictures will be sufficient.

(Taj tries his hand...may have to work on this a little. Next time...?)

(Anatomy lesson!)

(Pobrecito gallinos)

(Iowa + Pepita, Mayra, Francisco, Julio and family)

Iowa, Holly and I then got "opendhandsdirtyfeet" by cleaning up the cancha from the previous night's library/teen center inauguration, before enjoying a local soccer game from the patio of our new space.

We ended the day with a conspicuous visit to Sangolqui markets, haggling with success to some extent (it's harder to fool the Ecuadorians with 11 Gringos flashing hi-fi photos in their faces). So far so good. Everyone is alive and kicking.

Monday and Tuesday 3/16-17

Iowa split up into 3 different groups in the morning, with each group going to:
-Alinambi (to measure kids for our Positive Deviance-based nutrition pilot- more to come on this!)
-Waldos clinic/Sangolqui hospital
-Ministry of Public Health of Conocoto

Some highlights:
-Julie and Brett watching a woman get her tubes tied.
-Spontaneously turning the MoH emergency room into a full-out salsa/reggaeton dance club with patients and doctors alike.
-Dan screwing up his feces sample. Rosanna the nurse at Waldos laughing at his liquid-soaked sample.
-Amanda, Taj, Ryan, and Brett basically running the ER at Sangolqui hospital (via body language and me translating) due to shortage of doctors... including suturing a very drunk old man's head (yes, during the middle of the day), building a "nose bridge" for a man with a broken nose (who doesn't remember breaking it bc, surprisingly, he got drunk during lunch last Sunday), stabilizing two teenagers who just got into a near-fatal motorcycle accident, etc.

(University of Iowa med students and their 133 boxes of gloves they generously donated!!
(From left to right): Matt, Serena (MPI co-leader), Alex, Brett, Julie, Collin, Dan, Amanda, Taj, Anna, Ryan, Seth (MPI co-leader))

Wednesday 3/18

Spent the day doing touristy stuff, including climbing the breathtaking Basilica, walking through Quito's Old Town, and visiting la Capilla del Hombre- the museum of Guayasamin. I think we Program Directors need to keep reminding ourselves just how amazing this country is, as we have lived here long enough to feel relatively desensitized. Watching the reactions of Iowa and the other spring break groups- served as a constant reality check, telling us not to take this place for granted.

(Iowa at the top of the Basilica)

Thursday 3/19

Summited Pichincha- the 3rd highest mountain in Ecuador (4600m). Our lungs definitely got their workout today. Lesson of the day: EAT FOOD before attempting to ascend a 300m. Waterproof gloves are also nice.

Friday and Saturday 3/20-21

Weekend excursion to Banos! I don't think any of us could ever get sick of Banos. Rejuvenating massages, hot springs, majestic waterfalls, exotic birds... we could get used to this.

Iowa went on the infamous bike ride to the waterfalls, which is always an exhilarating experience, despite some mishaps on the way (Amanda's flat tire, dogs chasing after us). By the end of the trip, despite the exhaustion, we were all regretful the trip was coming to an end.

Sunday 3/22

Thanks Iowa for picking the earliest possible time to leave Quito (6:40am) ha. Ryan, Brett, Anna and I strutted it out and kept our lids up till 3:30am, spending a romantic night together by the fire roasting cinnamon-chocolate-bananas, and watching Aladdin.

Miss you Iowa. Vengan a Ecuador prontisimo!!!!!!!

The Grand Opening

Almost two weeks ago something big happened in the lives of us Manna Ecuadorians: the day-long music festival celebrating the unveiling of our library. Perhaps because there was no pause before our 4th spring break group came, or because I've had writer's block, or maybe because it's taken me this long to process how big of a day it actually was, I haven't written about March 14 yet. Regardless of the reason, thank you for waiting patiently and letting me get away with just posting pictures in the meantime.

I think a lot of the delay has to do with the millions of details I had at my feet, each peering up at me with big doe eyes just begging to be written about here. Do I write about how Seth Harlan's radio interviews advertising the concert have made him a b-level Ecuadorian celebrity? Or what about the 20 minute interview Dunc gave about the whole process to a hand-held video camera who's operator struggled a little with knowing proper boundaries of personal space? Of course I couldn't leave out the part where 26 children under the age of 7, stuffed in the kid's corner and spilling out into the main space, set to work dismantling every puzzle we own. And then there was the dancing, have I even mentioned the dancing? With musical acts ranging from traditional Ecuadorian Folk to hard-core rap, to say the dancing styles shifted dramatically multiple times throughout the day might be understating it.

All that said, during the past week I've been ruminating on beginnings. Because of the library space we've met new neighbors, seen an encouraging increase in interest in all of our programs, and begun to have a real presence in the community we've worked so hard to connect with.

I can remember back in October, when Mark asked me to proofread a program proposal he'd just written up. It was for a lending library, a first in the Valley, and a dream we all witnessed come to fruition on March 14. Combine Mark's bold vision, Seth's passion for a teen center and uncanny ability to make friends with every Ecuadorian he comes into contact with, Dunc's persistence in tracking down every last library and book store in Ecuador (and getting them to give us huge discounts), and Manna's organizational dedication to connecting communities, and you end up with one unbelievable grand opening.

And I even get an art studio thrown in the mix. I mean, come on. How'd they pull that one off?

Love,
Holly