Engineers Without Borders

Morci (the pick-up truck) has been getting a LOT of use! First, a Sunday at Pappallacta Hot Springs with Doña Fanny´s extended family. When I first went there in 1988, it was just a small, rustic volcanic spring alongside a rushing icy cold river. In the intervening years they have built a hotel and developed a series of pool of decreasing temperature the further away from the source. It has become a popular family spot, but they still keep the pools spotlessly clean. I was relieved to see that the original stone spring still exists. It´s exhilarating to alternate between jumping into the freezing river and immersing onself in the steamy pools.

The following Sunday I accompanied a group of consultants, all of us involved in tourism, to the Cotopaxi National Park. We were asked to advise the park director on how he might improve the welcome center and tourist facilities. There´s a generous fund provided for this purpose, but if the money isn´t used by the end of the calendar year, they´ll lose it. At the small museum a dozen or so taxidermied animals were just begging to be placed in a diorama scene, where they could be appreciated in a more natural setting. The restrooms all needed updating, and we suggested using materials which are native to the area. The weather changed suddenly while we were up on Cotopaxi, and we watch an entire hillside turn white with hail and snow in a matter of minutes! Dramatic. Within the next hour the clouds shifted to give us tantalizing glimpses of the snow-capped peak. We headed down the mountain as night was beginning to fall, and Morci got a flat tire just as we entered the Quito suburbs. Luckily we were on a wide, well lit street and I had three guys along who made quick work of putting on my spare.

The next day I had lunch with another old friend, Alexandra. I met her on the beach during my first week in Quito in 1988. She was just starting college then, and now she is a PE teacher and a Mom. She and her two daughters went with me to get the flat tire repaired, and also took me to buy the materials to have a canvas cover made for the back of Morci. I would have had no idea what to get, but Alex took me to an upholsterer who created a fitted "lona" which attaches snugly all around with hooks and rings and ropes and ties. The lona was to prove indispensable during my adventures in the upcoming weeks!

I said good-bye to my English friend, Katharine as she continued her travels southward, first to Peru and then on to Bolivia and Chile, making her way to Argentina by New Year´s where hopefully there is a marketing job awaiting her. Her motivation to improve her Spanish is greater than ever, and I helped her obtain some textbooks so she could develop a more specialized lexicon. Before she left, we spent a fabulous afternoon atop Mt Pichincha, overlooking Quito and the Avenue of the Volcanoes. In the past several years they have constructed a tramway system called the Teleferiqo. Visitors travel in glass cars which climb a cable system up to 4,100 meters (almost 13,000 ft!) We were blessed with a crystal clear day, affording us breathtaking views of three of the major snow-capped peaks. Since the sun was shining brightly, we weren´t too cold up at the top...but a steaming hot "canelazo" (cinnamon/cane liquor drink) helped warm us up!

Morci got loaded up again to help Ivan & Mercedes move some recycled doors and dozens of plants up to their new little house in Cayambe, about an hour north of Quito. Ivan is the son of my dear friend Lucy (who is now married to a Frenchman and lives in Paris). When I first met Ivan, he was 11 yrs old and told me to wait for him to grow up so we could get married! Well, he betrayed me when last year he married his long-time girlfriend Meche (nickname for Mercedes). They have been living in an apartment block in the valley just outside of Quito, and now they are excited to be able to have a garden. We carefully loaded up all the plants they´ve been carefully tending (many sprouted from seeds) and it will be exciting to see how their garden grows beside their tiny home in the shadow of Mt Cayambe.

Now it was time for me to assume my role as translator/interpreter/chofer for a group of volunteers who were arriving from the organization, Engineers without Borders. Here´s how I found out about this trip. Three years ago when I was travelling in the mtns I met Pam Gilbert. She´s a retired math teacher from Boulder, Colorado and in the course of her travels she met and fell in love with the villagers from Malingua Pamba, a community of 250 people who eke out a living as subsistence farmers high up on the steep Andes slopes. When I first met Pam, she was just applying to the Ecuadorian Ministry of Education for a full time teacher for the school she was building in the village. She raised funds for all of the materials, and the local residents formed a "minga" (work group) to realize the construction (barn raising). In the past three years I have helped her write (in English and in Spanish) letters, speeches and grant proposals. Pam returns to Malingua Pamba twice a year, bringing school supplies, computers, building materials and volunteers. For this, her 8th visit, she coordinated the arrival of this group of engineers whose job it was to assess need and feasibility for a water system. With availability of enough water for irrigation, these villagers could produce two annual crop harvests (they currently get one sparse harvest, relying solely on rainwater) and perhaps the system could provide potable water to improve health and hygiene.

The engineers arrived in Quito on two separate days, with the interim day providing shopping time for me and Pam -- she thought of everything!! We bought 4 computer monitors, surge protectors, extension cords, a big pot for boiling drinking water, pot holders, toilet paper, birthday napkins (one of the engineers turned 40 that week!), and so much more. We arranged for a 2nd vehicle - a yellow school van which was dubbed the "big banana". Everyone arrived loaded down with gifts and supplies, and both Morci and the "plátano grande" were loaded to the hilt as we set off for the mountains.

We were a group of 12 in all -- seven from the Denver chapter of Engineers Without Borders (6 guys one gal). One guy brought his wife who we dubbed a "social engineer" (she´s an economist). We also had a representative from a Colorado Rotary Club, which had donated funds for this assessment trip. Petra is a German woman who has lived in the US for 11 yrs. Her job was to be the eyes and ears of Rotary, as they are considering a matching grant for this project. Petra is also an aromatherapist, and she served as healer for nearly all of us at some point, especially when towards the end a virulent virus hit us, one after another. In addition we had a clothing designer (Crystal also owns a Bed´n´Breakfast in Denver) who brought a sewing machine, but ended up doing hand sewing projects when the power went out for two days! The engineers had to incubate water samples and with no electricity, they pushed their heater aside and resorted to beer cans filled with boiling water & sealed with duct tape to maintain the temperature in the incubation chest. We all brought varied gifts and talents to the project, plenty of creativity and a wonderful sense of humor; it was a terrific group of people to work with!!

The Malingua Pambans were extremely warm and friendly. There was a huge welcome ceremony, complete with musicians brought in from the village below. We foreigners were housed in the recently completed upstairs part of the high school. I can only imagine how many villagers were sleeping on the floor that week, as three classrooms were lined with beds (leaning against the walls so they wouldn´t fall apart). Each had a flattened foam mattresses which smelled faintly of urine. (I was grateful for Petra´s lavender and peppermint essential oils!) We were appreciative of the trouble they´d gone to, but were all glad we´d brought our own sleeping bags!

On previous visits, Pam had built and furnished an apartment so that the teacher(s) who had to travel 60 miles or more, could stay there comfortably (and show up for school!). She had installed a hot water heater (which gave 30 second bursts of scalding water followed by icy torrents) and a composting toilet (which served the entire village, it seemed). A week before our arrival, the cooks had received a $100 advance so they could buy some meat and plan for some variety in our meals. In spite of this, we were still served potatoes three times a day, but the women who prepared and served our meals truly made an effort to meet our needs. All in all, it was quite impressive how everyone in the group (some who had never travelled much in developing countries) made the best of our challenging accomodations.

During the time we spent in the village, I was called upon to interpret in-home interviews, some intensely emotional discussions, and an important presentation at the closing meeting. It all required good deal of cultural diplomacy on my part, but I found that it came rather naturally. I was also frequently asked to provide written translations of documents (English to Spanish and Spanish to English) and I was usually SO tired by the end of each day that my brain just shut down. The twelve days we spent together were very fast-paced, a lot of work for me, but extremely rewarding. Only Pam and one of the engineers spoke Spanish, but the others did admirably well with phrase books, gestures, and smiles. The engineers all expressed their gratitude and admiration for my contributions, and I received similar thanks from the local people. At various times I felt incredible surges of pride and satisfaction at being able to serve as a bridge for these people to connect to one another, as if my years study were all leading up to this very experience.

On top of the language skills, the driving was challenging to say the least. For at least a week we didn´t see a paved road; some locals told me that they were amazed I had made it without 4 wheel drive! Morci was a champ! On particularly steep or difficult bits, my back seat passengers were heard to chant "I think I can, I think I can!" We sang old show tunes, had mini Spanish lessons and basically kept the stress level down when the going got tough!

Pam had planned the trip impeccably, so that we had a few relaxed days of tourism at the end. At the big tourist market in Otavalo 1 1/2 hrs north of Quito, I abandoned the group for awhile to spend time with my friend Ceci. I was glad to be able to celebrate her son Keiru´s 5th birthday with them, and to meet her relatives that came up for the party. Since I was going to stay on for another day, we arranged transport for the engineers back to Quito via a rented buseta (also known as a furgoneta, we affectionately referred to it as a friggineta; having been told that it seats 12 comfortably, we discovered it´s a tight fit for 8 big gringos!)
Petra stayed on with me, and enjoyed the visit in a non-touristy environment. As thanks for Ceci´s hospitality, Petra gave her an aromatherapy massage...Ceci thoroughly glowed after having been "Petra-fied".

The hope is that Engineers without Borders will approve the proposed project plans, based on this assessment, and they will be able to raise the necessary funds to build a new water system. A number of the engineers said they´d love to come back for the implementation trip (hopefully in the next 6-9 months). I have told Pam that she can count on my participation for any future visits. For this trip, I had donated my time, but Pam insisted on paying my gas, food & lodging for the whole trip. At the end I was given a $200 tip and several people bought me gifts.

This experience had made me wonder about what other opportunities there might be out there to work with organizations that need interpreters for their projects. I´ll put out feelers and see what I can find out. As for work finding me, I already have a few things lined up. On Dec 6th I´ll be presenting a training workshop for English teachers at the University of Riobamba (4 hrs south of Quito). I´m doing a 4 hr seminar for 12 teachers about how to make lessons more interactive and creative. Next week I´ll begin some more one-on-one English classes here in Quito, and I´m also meeting with a Spanish language school director about the possibility of coordinating volunteer opportunities and community service internships for foreigners who are studying Spanish down on the coast. In addition, Morci and I already have a few bookings for airport transfers - I´ll make a few bucks picking up Alandaluz guests in Manta (2 hrs north) or Guayaquil (3 hrs south). Many of the tourists are French or German, so I´ll get to use my other language skills, welcoming people and orienting them to the area.

I´m eager to get back down to the coast (in two more weeks) and see how my little kitchen turned out. I´ve been buying a few household items at the markets, but realize I´ll need to live in the place awhile to really know what I´ll need. Also, my personal cabana will be rented out a few times in the next few months, so I can´t have too much of my own junk around. They´re building me a few locking cupboards so I can stash my stuff when I´m not there. It will be fun (but expensive) to buy a stove, fridge, blender and get my new life up and running!

Some nuts´n´bolts information:
I plan to be in S. Calif Feb 7-21, and then in Atlanta Feb 22-March 15.
I can receive snail mail on the coast at:
Hosteria Alandaluz - Correo Central de Puerto Lopez - Manabi - Ecuador
or, a more secure address (especially for a package or thick envelope) the Quito offices:
Hosteria Alandaluz - N34-525 Guanguiltagua - Quito - Ecuador
NOTE: If you are reading this message, and you have not yet subscribed, please look below and click on the button marked, subscribe. That way you will get an automatic notification each time I update this blog with a new entry (hopefully every 3 wks or so). Thanks for reading and sharing my experiences electronically!! Much love --- Jill

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