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Pam still hasn't learned to pack light!
When the boxes finally arrived in Ecuador, a full day after Pam did, we had to load them up, store them, & later pack the truck again to drive it all up to the mountains. OK, here we go on another adventure with the Engineers Without Borders Water Project! Pam, the founder & coordinator arrived in Quito with her usual whirlwind of "Pamdemonium" - but this time neither her luggage nor the 30+ boxes she'd brought along made it onto the same plane as she did. SO, I loaned them PJs and then Pam, 18 yr old volunteer Alex, & I had a day to kill in Quito. We enjoyed a trip up the mountains on the Teleferiqo skyway - breathtaking views of the whole city of Quito and the surrounding Andean peaks. We also had a productive lunch meeting that stretched out into the dinner hour. I continue to help Pam with translating documents and interpreting meetings, but her Spanish has improved by leaps and bounds so she needs me less and less.
Fortunately, the boxes arrived the following day, but the guy who was supposed to take 10 of the boxes with him couldn't come back up from the valley, so we crammed them ALL in my truck (inside and out) no room left for Pam & Alex so they took a taxi back to the hotel! I had to shove a
Watching the Festivities
The cement bleachers were a great addition to the new cement basketball/volleyball courts. This is a gathering place for nearby villages to come together to celebrate. box over to shift gears!! While Pam, Alex & I took a short excursion to the jungle (most recent published blog) we stored the boxes in the crawl space under the stairs at Jean's travel agency. What a challenge to offload them from the truck, squeeze them thru the carport, lifting them high to get over the Land Rover's side view mirror, then dropping them down to get them under the wire clothes lines. Pam forgot to lower a big box and was almost knocked over by the boomerang effect of the twanging clothesline. We eseparated out the 10 boxes for Will to pick up later and left them on the sun porch. The others we had to lift up 2 steps, then down 2 steps, then around a sharp corner & thru a narrow hall before we hunkered them into the low-ceilinged crawl space. Thank heavens when I reloaded them into the truck I had the help of the Engineers and we were able to exit via the front door (much more direct!) We did have to buy some more rope to secure them in the truck bed, however an hour later I was stopped by the police on
Potato Planting Skit
The women presented a demonstration, complete with props, of how they cultivate, irrigate, harvest & prepare potatoes. the Panamerican Highway - partly because my back license plate broke in half and I lost the bottom but mostly because I don't have the proper license for carrying cargo. While the Engineers nervously waited in the truck, I went over to the police vehicle and animatedly explained the village project, the donated contents of each box, and my challenges in getting my license plates replaced. To my relief, they waved me along without incident.
Pam & Alex had arrived in Malingua Pamba the day before, but of course there was a fiesta with music, skits and plenty of hoopla to welcome us as well. The women of the village created a charming skit which explained the cultivation and harvest of potatoes, their staple crop. They built little dirt piles on the volleyball court, pulled over some irrigation pipes, and at the end served us up bowls of steaming hot boiled potatoes. The students prepared skits as well, and people arrived from all of the neighboring communities to enjoy the entertainment. I always enjoy watching the people watch the show - especially since I've seen almost the same presentation over half a dozen times. During one of the
Performers in Costume
I am only starting to understand what the various characters represent in the oft repeated festival skits. dances I was sitting next to a visiting radio broadcaster and he explained to me who the various characters represented. I was reminded of the Ramayana dances and presentations which are repeated throughout India, Indonesia & Thailand. Both the Quichua (Kichwa) village lore and the Hindu Ramayana have a mischevious monkey character.
The main project this visit was to construct another cement water captation and sedimentation tank...however this visit's tank was to be located on a level area in the middle of a steep hillside. One of my jobs was to bring workers and materials to the drop-off point, a 15 minute hike above the tank site. Fortunately it hadn't been raining too much so the roads were much better than they have been during previous visits...but "better" is relative. The 20 minute drive each way still required great focus, concentration and courage. I had to avoid potholes, washouts, muddy patches and steep gravel inclines. My truck suffered one flat tire, and the guys in the village helped me put on my spare. On market day my damaged tire was taken into the town 3 hrs away to be repaired at the "Vulcanizadora" - I always picture Dr
Awaiting the Priest for the Baptism
Jim & Blanca, me & Cristina still looked fresh when this picture was taken outside the church. No longer true 2 hrs later when Father Culo finally arrived. Spock on Star Trek when I think of the "Vulcanizer" fixiing my flat.
Both of the engineers who came on this trip knew a bit of Spanish, and on several occasions they went off on their own with a local kid who knew a bit of English to take water pressure readings and interview village residents about their water needs and current supply.
I think they enjoyed bashing out meaning - using gestures and examples to make themselves understood. Their independence freed me up to help in the kitchen (I made some wicked carrot soup!) or to ensure equitable distribution of donated clothing. I always kept my walkie-talkie on, however, and I had to giggle at some of the out of context words and phrases I was translating and yelling into my Motorola Walkie Talkie (my dad started working for Motorola back in the 1950's and it was sort of ironic that I was using Motorola technology in a remote Andean village 50 years later!)
Six months earlier I had agreed to be a godmother to two little girls in the village, and when I returned from the US I had brought them shoes & clothes.
During the Baptism
Don't we look like proud godparents? The day we went to the village parish to speak to the priest, I brought along Jim, one of the visiting volunteers. On awhim, I asked him if he wanted to be the godfather, and he agreed. I was grateful to have him share this experience with me. He also helped share the expense, paying for the lamb that was to be slaughtered and served. When the parents asked me to pay $150 for the disco-movil music machine to be brought to the village, I drew the line and said NO WAY. They brought it anyway - blaring music thru blown speakers keeping us all awake for two nights, then came begging to me again afterwards to pay for it. I held my ground....you asked me before and I said no, and the answer is still no. It seems it was all about impressing others with food and volume!
For me, the whole baptism rigamarole was a disappointment. An hour before the priest was due to arrive, Jim & I went up to dress the girls. I used a wet wipe from my purse to swab them down (constant booger crust on all the kids' faces) and combed
Post Baptismal Fiesta
Hundreds of people crammed into a straw-filled guinea pig shed as it began raining. At least they moved out the livestock for party day. their hair, getting them all prettied up in the dresses and leggings I'd bought in Atlanta. We made our way down to the church, and had to wait for 2 hours. Fortunately the little one, Cristina, slept for an hour in my lap but we had a challenge keeping them clean and combed, trying to keep them inside the little church. As soon as the priest pulled up, the little chapel filled with folks who seemingly came out of the woodwork. Neither of the girls cried as they were anointed with holy water. I only revealed to a few folks that I wasn't Catholic - heck not even Christian. As long as you believe in G-d, they told me, that's ok. My job after the ceremony was to toss rice and candy at the doorway as folks exited.
The post-party started immediately after the priest drove off....and continued for 2 days. I took the obligatory bite of CUY (roasted guinea pig) and made my exit as soon as possible. It had just begun to rain and the little straw-lined shed where we were seated began to fill up, and kept on filling. No one was about to miss
Engineers & local resident
Joe & Florian flank Gabriel Chusin's diminutive but strong as an ox mama. out on a free meal!! I pretended to take sips from the thimble-sized cups of fruit wine tthat were passed around, but I wanted no part of the raucous dancing and drunkenness that was soon to follow. For me, the sacredness of the commitment I felt I had made was washed away with the swill that followed. I must confess that I was more than a little let down to discover that the father my goddaughters is the town drunk. I feel for his young wife, who came to me in tears the next morning begging me to pay the music machine. I was made out to be the bad guy, when my only crime was keeping to my word.
I had a few uncomfortable experiences this time in the village, somewhat due to my unrealistic expectations and my allowing myself to get a bit too involved in people's lives. I have decided, together with Pam, to take a break and not go along on the April visit. Having made that decision, I have committed to working at Hosteria Mandala in Puerto Lopez from March through October next year so the owners can take a LONG vacation (and
Tank Site on the Hillside
Taken from a bend in the road on the opposite side of the valley, this shot shows the precarious inaccessibility of this visit's water tank building site. I can earn and save some $$ for my long dreamed-of trip to Brazil in 2010). In the meanwhile, I am now in Banos (3 hrs south of Quito) housesitting and dogsitting for a month. It's been wonderful to sleep in the same bed night after night - and to be able to go to bed early and so luxurious stay in bed and read in the morning. I know when I got back to managing Mandala I won't get this kind of sleep luxury, so I'm enjoying it while I can. Next blog will have more details about my Banos stay. The Banos tourism logo or motto is "A piece of heaven" and it certainly has been just that for me!! Happy, healthy holidays to you and yours. If you are reading this, thanks for keeping up with my adventures and misadventures!!
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Greg
non-member comment
(mostly) fun adventures!
hey, a very entertaining post this time around :) I'm glad your life is so exciting. -Greg