President Correa Rally

The upcoming presidential election of Ecuador is in February so there's been a noticeable increase in political activity since we've been back. One of the most exciting events to happen occurred yesterday when President Raphael Correa held a rally in Sangolquí at Parque Turismo. In typical Ecuadorian fashion, we were told numerous starting times for the rally. So by one o' clock we were all raring to go and excited that even those that were on Library and Teen Center that day could make it. We then learned it was at three so went with a slightly smaller group at that time. Once we arrived, we couldn't help but notice that for an extremely popular president with an approval rating of 80%, there were very few people there. Of course, that was because it actually started at five and we were two hours early. I had to head to the TC but I heard by the time Correa came, the block was packed with, for the most part, rabid Correa supports.The Presidente wasn't able to project all that well since he had had three campaign stops before ours and was quite hoarse. What we all did take away was the insanely addictive campaign song that has been stuck in our heads now for two days. Sorry to do this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEaQNPPOJCA


A crowd

El Presidente



Recruitment Help

Well the first week back has been busy as ever. Inscriptions are already on fire and most of our classes have hit the limit. But instead of a usual update, I'd like to ask a favor for all our readers. The applications for next years PD's have been coming in a little slower than previous years. If there is someone that you know that would be a good fit for any of the MPI sites (but mainly Ecuador, because come on, it's the best) please let them know about Manna. Also, if you are a part or know of any listservs that would want to know about Manna, you could pass along the blurb I've posted below. Thanks for your help and your continued following of MPI Ecuador.



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Manna Project International is a non-profit organization that specializes in holistic community development.  We connect young professionals and recent college graduates with international service opportunities in
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Apply to be a 7- or 13-Month International Program Director! The day-to-day operations at each of our sites are run by teams of international Program Directors who design and implement community development initiatives in a range of fields, including health, environment, education, and micro-finance.  

Be a part of our Summer Internship Program! Through MPI's 4 to 8 week Summer Internship Program, interns assist the Program Directors in planning and leading programs on the ground in Guatemala, Ecuador, or Nicaragua. Interns use their skills and interests to determine the programs with which they work, and many choose to design and lead their own project!

For more information on these unique opportunities, visit www.mannaproject.org or contact kat.mueller@mannaproject.org.


Home Again Home Again

Eight of nine have made it back home safe and sound. We are still desperately awaiting the arrival of Lucy from her hiking trip in Peru to make our house complete once more. We leapt back into the swing of things yesterday with the opening of the Library and had a great crowd of eager faces waiting for us.

Classes begin in two weeks so we'll be spending them advertising and setting up our Festivales de Rumiloma. FDR is a venture put on my Manna to promote ourselves and our partner organizations to the people of Rumiloma. Jenni and Joey are in charge and have already been working hard at getting everything organized. There should be games, competitions, music, food, dancing, and a moon bounce.  You know where I'll be for the entirety of the party. It's great to be back and I'm looking forward to continuing this blog with Profe Pepe.

Best,
Jefferson

Vacation Update

Oh, the places we will go. .

A quick check-in from the Manna crew.   Currently we are enjoying our holiday vacations; some of us back in the States, some of us here in Ecuador. 

Polly is back home enjoying time with family and friends in Connecticut.  She will be heading to San Francisco for his cousin's wedding in wine country!

Madeline started her break by traveling to Montanita, a popular Ecuador beach town, with Sarah and Polly.  She is home in Washington, D.C., celebrating the holidays with the family.  Spending New Years Eve in NYC, she returned home to host a baby shower for his sister-in-law, welcoming the first grankid into the family!

Jenni started her vacations traveling with a good friend from Ecuador camping in the Papallacta lake area.  Returning home to Colorado to spend time with family and friends, she is already back in Ecuador with her father visiting, keeping us company.

Janine started her vacation a bit earlier than the rest, returning home for Medical School interviews at Harvard, Yale, University of Pennsylvania, and University of Maryland.  Spending time with the family for the holidays in the Baltimore area she will be resuming interviews after the New Year before returning to Ecuador.

Lucy is back home in New Orleans with her family.  She has plans to travel San Diego to visit her boyfriend, who visited us in November and is an honorary member of Manna.  She will be back in South America soon, traveling to Peru with her sisters to hike the Inca Trail to Manchu Picchu.

Jefferson returned back to El Dorado, Arkansas for time with family and friends.  Spending New Years Eve in the Big Apple, he will back in Ecuador after a short stint in Cartagena, a popular Colombian beach town in the Caribbean.

Joey and myself spent two weeks in Colombia, spending most of our time in Cali, the Salsa capitol of the world.  After a few days spent in Ladrilleros, a small Colombian island in the Pacific, we returned back to Ecuador with new dance moves and traveling stories.

Heather has been splitting her vacation time between Washington, D.C. with her sister and Maine with the rest of her family.  Before Christmas she was in Philadelphia for a reunion with her girlfriends from last year's Manna crew.

New Years here in Sangolqui was so much fun!  Who knew that our little barrio turns into a host of live music, "las viudas" who are men dressing as women collecting change, people dancing Salsa throughout the night, fireworks filling the air with booming sounds and beautiful sights.

Vacation ends next week, when all of us will be back in the Manna house.  Check back with us then for updates and more interesting stories.

Happy New Year to all of our followers and supporters!

Best wishes,
Pete

Sarah's Good-Bye Message

The time has come to say goodbye to my Manna family and I’m not ready. I need more nights sitting around the kitchen table, listening to Dance All Night and playing Catch Phrase. I need more meetings with Andres at the Patronato, where instead of discussing our upcoming business class, he waxes poetic about his high school days in Texas. I want another hike from hell, where we all arrive on the other side not knowing whether to shower, sleep, or drink first and end up doing a group stretch by the fire with our token German friend, Klaus.

I won’t bring up any more memories because there are far too many to recall and each one hurts more with the approach of Saturday’s flights home. I’m going to arrive in the US and I’ll be so happy to see my mom and dad, take a long, hot bath, and probably cry in the cereal aisle at Whole Foods. And yet I see it coming a mile away: we’ll be sitting around the table for Christmukah dinner and my brother will pass me the not-so-tender chicken and I’ll say “Grasmas!” and no one will get it. I’ll tuck away to my room and watch videos of Chris Brown dougie-ing or Beyonce singing Listen and Joey won’t be there to break it down and Polly won’t be there to sing in her big-black-mama voice.

I’m going home to another job and another life and I have Manna to thank for these new opportunities, for giving me international development experience, strong ties to community members, and travels to new places. And yet I don’t know how to thank Manna for the greatest present of all: you guys. I miss you already. Have a blast at Carnaval, keep tickling Mateo, and please, exterminate those damn cockroaches.

I love you all too much for words.

Paz y amor,

Sarah