Blogs from Puyo, Centre, Ecuador, South America - page 4

well, i cant say that i will be sorry to leave this place on wednesday hopefully. it has been an experience, but not really the one i wanted. i have been subjected to malnutrition, desperate boredom, con men and cannibalism! malnutrition due to the poor diet that these indians live on at this time of year, includes just plantain, manioc and papachinas. all essentially taste like cardboard and have the same nutritional value. i escape into the earest town each weekend to stuff myself with anything brightly coloured. it is amazing the effect bad food has on your mood, i have never really thought it would be so obviously the food. desperate boredom due to the complete ineptitude of the guy who is supposedly running this scheme, he is a complete con man and i will ... read more

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 my blog * write six random things about myself 1. I am a die hard Ohio State, Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavs fan with an expectation of being continuously disappointed. 2. Only 8 more ... read more

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 (a character flaw I possess - though its ironic, I work hard to make whatever I do perfect, but I can’t recall a time when I have ever created a perfect finished product); perhaps it ... read more

Dog Karma - yes, you read that right, Dog Karma. I seem to have it right now in full force. A couple of weeks ago, right after my blog about the neighborhood dog becoming my buddy, I experienced yet another round of good dog vibes. I was out at the FRATES communities giving presentations at the local schools about the state of Ecuador’s environment. It was an overcast, slightly rainy day; I had just given a presentation to the kids in El Porvenir and was walking the 25 minutes or so down the road to the turn off for Vencedores. The week before, I came to Vencedores to speak with the teacher. On this trip I had to wade across the river (waste deep in places) with my backpack and computer held high above my head. ... read more

So, how do you measure success in Peace Corps terms? One dog at a time. Yes, I have had some crazy dog experiences here in Ecuador - some so bad that I have second-guessed my love of man´s best friend. However, this morning was a good dog morning. As I was walking to work I noticed the dog that lives around the block barking at a passer-by in front of me. This dog has barked at me and nipped my heels for 6 months. I thought I had made a break through a month ago when I was sitting at the bus stop right by his house eating a pb&j sandwich. He obviously smelled food and came up to me slowly. I tore off a piece of my sandwich and offered it to him. He sniffed ... read more