I had one of those moments where you realize that what you are saying or doing is absolutely absurd or incomprehensible to those around you. I was out in the community of Libertad to give a couple of presentations and then to take GPS data points for a project. As I wandered from house to house to take data points I had to introduce myself to those who did not know me and then ask if I could take GPS data for their house and their outhouse. It didn’t even cross my mind to consider that most of these “country” folk [View Full Entry]

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A thousand pardons for taking so long between blog entries. I have no excuses other than those that you have already heard. After Ohio State´s crushing defeat I vowed to button-down the hatches and show that I am no fair-weather fan. None of us are in Ohio. Sure, Ohio may be a state with a lot of hillbillies, we may not be the most educated, we may not have the best economy, and we may have put GW Bush over the top in 2004, however, we support our sports teams no matter what. There are no band-wagons in Ohio. When my [View Full Entry]

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So this week in Ecua-land not much exciting happened. I made a kids page for the local paper (I only am going to do one more so that project is winding down), I attending a planning meeting for the water fund and discovered that I have to give 50 some presentations for that project on top of the stuff I am doing in other projects (not going to happen), I got sick on Wednesday with some intestinal thing - it knocked me out for a day. I slept from 4:30pm Wednesday afternoon until 6:00am Thursday morning. This was the longest sleep [View Full Entry]

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Since my last entry, both the Republican and Democratic Conventions have occurred and the NCAA college football season has started - how exciting!?! Life here hasn’t been quite as interesting, however, it has been filled with activity. I do apologize for taking so much time between blog entries these days - it is just that the blog has moved down on the priority list for a number of reasons. 1st - Thanks to all of your support, my Peace Corps Partnership grant was fully funded and my Env. Education guide is on its way to becoming reality. This occupies the majority [View Full Entry]

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Well, this is not going to be the blog entry you were all waiting for, but that is ok. A friend of mine, Mary, just ¨tagged¨ me. Now I know what you are thinking....what kind of kinky things is Jeremy getting into down there in Ecualand? Rest assured, this is just a game bloggers play - why? I don´t have the foggiest idea, but I am game to give it a whirl. So I have to: * link to the person who tagged me - mary at http://www.travelingstorywriter.com/ * post the rules on the blog - the rules are here with [View Full Entry]

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Holy cow, I have been crazy busy, but it has been a very good busy - if such a thing exists. Three volunteers, two from Spain and one from Bulgaria came to FRATES a couple of weeks ago to volunteer there and help out with the summer camps I am doing with the kids in the communities. Umberto is here as well. Ah yes, the summer camp. The idea for the camp came to me as I was planning out the environmental education part of a project CODEAMA has with the three FRATES communities. My original plan was for a short [View Full Entry]

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The weeks seem to be flying right now. I by the time I start one week and figure out what the heck I am doing, that week is over and it is time to start the next. This never bodes well for those who have a lot to do. I am managing, however, to finally stay on top of everything I have to do. Perhaps that is because I am getting a better grasp of Spanish and thus I do things a little quicker; perhaps it is because I have made a conscious effort to not try and make everything perfect [View Full Entry]

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The past week was one of the better Peace Corps weeks that I have had. I spoke with my counterpart, Bolívar, about the amount of work that I have been doing and that I am not really performing the role of PC volunteer. My experience the last few months has been more like an employee of CODEAMA. I also told him that Sue and I have worked very hard during our first year of service and that we have not had many opportunities to see Ecuador. He agreed with me and said we could work on the work thing. During the [View Full Entry]

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Well…well…well - those are the words, I am well. I returned from Quito with Susan on Monday the 16th. We had ended up taking care of a few errands and stuff like that in the PC office. I did my best to completely avoid the Director’s office. From here on out, I think I am going to take the approach of speak only when spoken to. Normally, I would not back down in a situation like this, but in this particular case, I see the light at the end of the tunnel and I recognize that there is nothing I can [View Full Entry]

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Since I put my note on my blog soliciting funds for my project, I thought that maybe I should do the same for one of my wife's projects. So, here is some info about a raffle that her group is sponsoring. Donate if you can - it is for an EXCELLENT cause. Dear friends and family, I am writing to ask for your support for two very important Peace Corps Volunteer priorities: providing scholarships to young Ecuadorian women AND combating sexual exploitation and human trafficking. The Peace Corps Ecuador Gender and Development Committee teamed up with the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Task [View Full Entry]

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