Well, I have a toothache. So bad infact, that it has kept me from going on my site visit this weekend. It started coming on yesterday (Saturday) and got worse as the day progressed. We had a workshop yesterday at the nurses house so I was able to tell the nurse of my discomfort. She said to floss the hell out of it and brush with Senodyne toothpaste. I did so last night with no effect. It got worse and worse and I probably had about 20 minutes of real sleep. We got up at 6 and got ready for our [View Full Entry]

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Sue and I had our first day of indigenous language training. We tried to learn the Shuar language. It was mostly an exercise in futility for me. I told our trainers that I need to stick with Spanish right now. As for Sue, Shuar is not the language that she will be dealing with in her work. She will be working with the Waorani women (they speak Huorani). We did learn some interesting cultural facts about the indigenous cultures and that was beneficial. For those of you more interested in what my work will be like, here is some info peace [View Full Entry]

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Well, it is final, barring any unforseen sicknesses or getting ourselves kicked out of the Peace Corps, Sue and I are headed to Puyo in the Oriente. We found out today and will be visiting our site next week. Puyo is in the heart of the rainforest. We have been told that within 10 minutes of the city you hit virgin rainforest. I am sure that it is going to be incredible. We are happy that the waiting game is over. For those of you who still have not figured out where Puyo is, find a map of Ecuador. Find the [View Full Entry]

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Well, this has been a rich week of activity. On Monday, my little brother, Santiago was outside watching Kris and I play Ecua Volley - which is an Ecuadorian version of Volleyball that uses a soccer ball and a net that is about 1 foot taller than a normal net. The court is the same size and its 3 on 3. Anyhow, as we were playing, he was sitting on a small wall, the ball bounced over his head and he reached up to grab it. In doing so, he lost his balance, fell over the wall and landed on his [View Full Entry]

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Hey, we finally put our photos on-line. Here is the link if you are interested. http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AbOHLhy0cNGea I don´t have much time to write today so no long updates. Enjoy the photos and I´ll write more later. Peace, Jeremy [View Full Entry]

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Well, I´m feeling better today - in case any of you were concerned. We just finished Day 1 of learning about our potential sites for the next two years. The site near Loja did not have appealing jobs. The climate there is awesome though. 65-70 degrees everyday and little rain. The other married couple really liked that site and will probably be placed there. We still think we´ll be in Puyo in the rainforest. We hear more about that site on Wednesday. Peace, Jeremy [View Full Entry]

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Well, well, well, where do I start. I had my first fight with an intestinal parasite and I think I lost. Yesterday (Saturday) Sue and I started one of our competencies for PC training. We have to build a seed bed and a nursery for tree seedlings. We decided to join forces with two other trainees in our community (Roger and Kris). They have to plant a large garden and use green manure which is essentially planting nitrogen-fixing plants. Anyhow, our project is in the center of town at the Centro Medico - doctor´s office. We wanted it there so it [View Full Entry]

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Ok, there has been some response to me that many of you are interested in knowing more about the living conditions here in Ecuador. Well here goes it: The average wage is probably between $10-$15 a day. A teacher here makes around $400/mes (month). The cost of items is dramatically less here than in the states. For instance gas is about $1.25/gallon, a candy bar is $.25, a 22 ounce beer is anywhere from $.70-$1 depending on where you buy it. You can get bottled water for $.30-$.50. I feel like things are about 1/2 price here compared to the US, [View Full Entry]

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Hola, another week in Ecuador. This past week has been extremely busy for Sue and I. The days leading up to Ash Wednesday are a national holiday called ¨Carnival¨. The kids fill up water balloons and throw them at everyone on the streets - they also have cans of crazy string that they shoot at you too. Being Gringos, Sue and I are prime targets. On Saturday, I happened to be streetside of Sue on a sidewalk when I got hit by 5 water balloons from a 3rd story building across the street. It was all in good fun, but it [View Full Entry]

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Another opportunity to write in the Blog. We had training near Cayambe again today so we stopped at the internet cafe to check e-mail again. I think I have figured out why this is the rainy season in Ecuador. That had not had rain for a month and then today the skies opened up. It has rained hard all day long. Everything is a muddy, wet, mess. The temp must be in the lower 50´s maybe upper 40´s today. We can see our breath. Alas, I shouldn´t complain those of you in Ohio and vicinity are dealing with much worse. My [View Full Entry]

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