Well, it has been a long week for sure. I feel as though I spent the whole week working with absolutely nothing to show for it - in fact, I should fee that way, because that is exactly what happened. With of course, the minor exception of completing another edition of the kid´s page for the local paper. Early on in the week I battled with my computer trying to figure out programs like publisher and paint. I turned a 1 hour task of editing diagrams into a day and a half activity. Who knew that in paint, after you make [View Full Entry]

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I bought a copy of La Prensa (Puyo´s local paper) today. This edition had the kids page that Katie and I put together - it looks good. They certainly did some editing to the graphics and eliminated some text, but the general idea remained in tact. They must have liked it, or else they would not have printed it. We now have the arduous task of making a kid´s section each week. Our´s is called ¨Esquina Ecologica¨ which is Ecological Corner in English. We are focusing a lot on science and infusing environmental themes whenever possible. Too bad, there is no [View Full Entry]

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Mark your calendars - make a mental note - remember where you were today when you read this. The strangest thing happened today to me in Puyo. I got up early and went for a run at 6:30am (first time I have done this). I knew something was amiss when everyone that I passed had on jackets and pants - as if preparing for some ice age. Being the Ohio boy that I am, I was in my shorts and t-shirt - I couldn´t have been more comfortable - it was about 70 degrees and overcast. I guess in the jungle [View Full Entry]

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I failed to mention in my last blog about some of the positives of this past weekend. On Friday a good friend of our Sadie (another PC Volunteer in our group) came up to Puyo for a meeting. Sadie lives in a Kichwa community near Tena and she is definitely living the ¨real¨ Peace Corps experience - lives in a thatch roof hut, takes bucket baths, has very little privacy, and lots of little critters running around her hut. It was great to see her and even better to see her in good spirits about her site. I made dinner for [View Full Entry]

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Well, sad news from Puyo. Susan is heading home as I type this to go to her Great Aunt´s (Auntie´s) funeral. Auntie passed away yesterday morning. Sue is taking it rather hard and I know that it is better for her if she goes to the funeral. Because it is not immediate family, PC does not pay for the trip and she has to use vacation days to boot. It is not a big deal though and PC has been very understanding. Shé leaves Quito on Monday and returns late next Sunday. Auntie was by all means a grandmother to Susan [View Full Entry]

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So, happily, things have quieted down this week. The fallout from the ¨foodgate¨ scandal at the Festival of Water has been minimal. I did a little damage control with the teacher at the Indigenous school and I think she is ok with things. Andrea and I are working on putting together a CD for each school that has all the photos from the event as well as some other info about the participants. When it is finished, Katie and I will go back out to all the schools to touch base with them, give them the CD, certificates of participation, and [View Full Entry]

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The trip to Pelileo to buy pants was not fruitful. Sue and I headed out of Puyo a little before 8:00 and got to Pelileo at 10:00. We walked over to the stretch of town that has all the jean/pant shops and I tried on about 8 different pairs of pants - none of which I bought. It was disappointing....they had the exact style that I like however, nothing fit quite right. I discovered that Latino pants are extremely tight in the crotch. There is something bad about a pair of pants that forces your family jewels to pick a side [View Full Entry]

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What a pleasant experience I had today. I went back to J. Joarces Perez, a school I visited last week. As I walked towards the class I could see and hear the students erupt in excitement. Somehow, over the course of a week, I have been elevated to ¨Rock Star¨ status. They were so excited to have me in the classroom and they performed a skit for me, the one they are going to do at the Festival of Water next week. It was awesome and very well thought out. Their theme is ¨Mal Usos de Agua¨ which is essentially bad [View Full Entry]

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Well, I am in my version of Peace Corps Hell Week. I have a ton of schools to visit this week and am feeling the pressure from all sides. My counterpart, Bolivar, all but lectured me today about how I need to visit more schools - that many still need help with the Festival of Water project. I politely reminded him about last week, when he interrupted my scheduled meetings and that if he wanted all the schools to get help that he should have decided to do this project months earlier, not two weeks ago. Ok, I didn´t really say [View Full Entry]

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Here is a link to photos that Sue posted. Enjoy!!! http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AbOHLhy0cNGhI Jeremy [View Full Entry]

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