One minute I can’t believe I have a whole year left, and the next I can’t believe I only have a year left. April 20th will be my halfway point – although I have technically already spent over a year a few degrees of latitude away from the equator. I am entering the countdown portion of my service and trying to plan out my 2011 and 2012. I realize (and apologize) that it has been months since I have posted anything, so here is an update: I am still living large in the Ecuadorian Amazon between the cities of Tena and Puyo, in the town of Santa Clara. The population in the town is about 3,000 and we have (nearly) all the amenities I could ever ask for. There are about 5 restaurants, depending on the day, and more than a dozen small shops. There is a store about 2 blocks away from my house that stocks all the Ecuadorian essentials: rice, chicken, and cooking oil. There is an internet cafe (photo) – which I will refer to as the time machine because of its circa 1995 blazing speed - about 5 minutes away which has never been operational for more than 5 consecutive days, but it gets the job done... Has this loaded yet?
I really live the good life here and just need to take a look out my window – before the sawmill opens – to see how good I have got it. I live about 100 yards from the river Llandia and 2.6 miles on my running route from the Piatua, one of the most beautiful rivers I have ever seen. That said, things do get tough and my heart strings are tugged at regularly. Overall I try and keep my eyes on the prize and take the bad in stride.
I moved into my own place back in November and am living it up. I have one of the nicest places in town. Tile floor and running water inside! I bought a huge fridge with two doors, and I just installed an electric showerhead in February. That’s right; I now have a hot shower, in the house. The less than good news: there is a family – let’s call them the squatters – who built their house off my back wall. The squatters have five kids and are always yelling in Kichwa – the indigenous language in my community. Getting woken up at sunrise every morning has gotten old, and I still can’t speak Kichwa, but it helps me stay on an early rising running schedule.
Work has been steady, and remains interesting and rewarding. I have been assisting with some agriculture classes at the high school, and have an English class a few times a week with professors from the three high schools in town – teach the teachers. I wrote a grant proposal for a USAID grant to build a nursery with the students, and am subsequently re-writing that grant. I am really looking forward to the grant going through; if it does I will have more than enough work for the next year. If not I will be looking for money to build a nursery until April 2012.
I am still assisting with Runa, the guayusa tea company that I was assigned as my counterpart organization with Peace Corps. I have since moved from an operational role to an investigative. I am pleased with the change, and am designing experiments to identify the best propagation and cultivation techniques for guayusa trees. Interestingly, there is virtually no scientific information regarding guayusa despite its immense popularity in Ecuador. It is a native tree whose leaves are picked, dried, and used to make a super-power tea. I am hopeful that my work will benefit the farmers by uncovering the problems behind a high mortality rates for newly planted trees.
Closing Comment:
No, I am not German, I am from the U.S.
Yes, I have been told I look German (but that doesn’t make me German).
I remember those kids! We played football with them in the street. I accidently punted onto their roof. Sorry! Cute, though!
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