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Published: August 6th 2007
Well, we finally made it to Puyo. We arrived Sunday afternoon around 4:00. We met up with our landlord and got the keys to our new apartment. There was a lot dust and dirt in the apartment from construction and the bathroom was extremely dirty. We decided to head into town to get a few supplies and look for a small refrigerator, cooking stove, and a bed. Much to our dismay, most of the stores were closed so we ended up only going to the local grocery store called TIA. Amazingly, this store not only sells food, but it also sells TV´s small stoves, dishes, plastic chairs, pots and pans, etc. We purchased the bare essentials to clean our apartment and that was that. We really wanted to wait to see some of the other stores before we made any purchases.
Puyo is really hot . . . in our 25 minute walk back, carrying loads stuff from the store, I built-up quite a sweat. To put it into perspective for all of you, it was about 85 degrees with 95% humidity. You can´t walk around without sweating (though they say your body adjusts after a while - I´ll believe that when I see it). Anyhow, we could have taken a $1 taxi ride back, but that´s the easy way out.
Once back at our apartment - we cleaned - more sweating, and then took a shower. Our shower has as much pressure as a stream of pee and there is only cold water. I can deal with that though - it is better than the bucket baths that many of my friends will have to experience in their two years of PC service. We spent the first night sleeping on the tile floor in our sleeping bags. I slept fairly well - all things considered.
We learned first hand that not getting the 3rd floor apartment was a bummer. We somehow missed out on it by one day. The people above us are loud and, the drain for their toilet and shower runs right through our bedroom. It literally sounds as though someone is pissing in the corner every time they are in their bathroom. Again, I can deal with this - our situation is much better than others.
Day two in Puyo, we went to work. I am back on the negative kick about my work situation. They start work at 8:00, work until 12:30, take a 2 hour lunch break, then work until 6:30. On Friday, they work straight through lunch and then quit at 2:00. I am not a fan of the 2 hour lunch, I´d rather work through it and get done at 4:30 or 5:00 each day. Especially since it gets dark by 6:45. Issue number two is that people in this office are always in and out all day running errands. Today, I arrived for work at 8:00 and the next person rolled in at 8:15. I can deal with these things as well, no problem. My real issue is that I am not an employee of CODEAMA, if they have work for me to do, I´ll do it, if not, I want to be out in the community meeting people and looking for other projects. Sitting in an office all day with nothing to do is annoying - at least today I decided to use my time to write this blog entry - I am an efficient worker.
Ok, enough of that negativity. On Monday during lunch, Sue and I looked for appliances and other things that we needed for our apartment. We went to just about every store in town - surprisingly, there are about 10 places that sell stoves and refrigerators. We kept going back to the TIA, because their prices were better - it is the Walmart of Puyo - though it is no bigger than a mom and pop grocery in the States. Peace Corps gave us about $600 as a move-in allowance. Here was our list of purchases if you are interested:
Gas cooktop (looks like the top of a small gas stove) - $30
Gas Tank - $42
Hoses and valves for the tank - $4.50
Small Refrigerator 7 cubic feet - $280
Mattress - $60
Two plastic chairs - $10
Two plastic stools - $4
Set of dishes and silverware for 4 - $20
Toaster Oven - $24 - Sue said that she always wanted a toaster oven - it felt weird buying it, however, purchasing a PC recommended Dutch oven for the stove top for baking purposes would have cost about $40
Small Trash Can - $3
2 Plastic Buckets - $3.50
1 Large Pot - $4
Set of 3 Pans - $7
Small Glass Pitcher $2
Ladle and Spatula $3
Dish Towels - $1
Detergent and Dish Soap - $4
Broom - $2.50
Transport of Materials to the Apartment - $5
Extension Cord for Refrigerator - $5
Small Metal Kitchen Cart - $12
Small Plastic Storage Containers $3.50
2 Pillows - $10
Shower Curtain (cheap plastic) - $2
I am sure I am missing a few items here and there, but as you can see we are nearing $600 and we don´t have any furniture other than a couple of plastic chairs and stools. Back in the states, my creative juices would be flowing with new and inventive ways to build some type of storage and some type of furniture, but without my tools, without a firm grasp of the language, and without a LOWES, I am currently stumped. Give me about two weeks and I will have come up with some cool stuff - the question will be whether Susan likes my ideas or not. Currently we have no place to hang or put our clothes and no place to put any dishes or food, other than our kitchen counter. The Peace Corps motto is Adapt, Improvise, Overcome - so I have met my first real challenge and I plan to kick some arse.
We do plan on buying a living room set - it is not in our PC budget, but since we are going to be here for two years, I don´t mind dipping into our personal savings to have a couch and some chairs. The set we liked is $380 for a couch, loveseat, two chairs, a coffee table and two end tables. It is nothing to write home about (but it appears that I am doing just that right now), however, it is functional. It reminds me of the furniture we have done at our cabin in Maryland - just plain old wood and a few cushions. Susan and I have always prided ourselves in being thrifty, but you can´t find used furniture in Ecuador and garage sales are non-existent except in communities with a large number of missionaries from the States - even then, the next garage sale within a 30km radius for us is in June.
I discovered last night that the electrical outlets where the fridge goes, do not carry enough current to run the fridge - so we had to buy an extension cord - this was interesting, because a three prong cord 20 feet long runs $20 more or less, while a power bar with six outlets and a 20 foot cord runs $5. I tried to get someone to explain the reasoning behind this, but was met with confused looks.
During my walk to a ¨hardware¨ store I discovered an open air market fairly close to our apartment. I told Susan that I would bring back some stuff for dinner. I couldn´t get stuff that needed refrigerated, because I couldn´t guarentee that I could get the frig operational. So I purchased some bread, a couple cups of yogurt, and six huge bananas for a total of $1.30. Sue and I feasted on toasted bread, peanut butter, yogurt, and bananas last night - yum yum yum.
This morning on my way into work, I stopped at a Bread Shop (panadería) and got two croissants (enrollados - 7 cents a piece) and a bottle of water 30 cents). That was breakfast. For lunch I had chochos y toastados - this is essentially white beans, toasted corn, chifles (fried plantain chips), and ahi - hot salsa. It is really good and eaten together, a complete protein, Sue and I shared a bag of it for 50 cents. I am most certain that I will be more than able to live off of $7.67 a day. I could eat at restaurants for each meal and spend $5 or less a day. Cooking our own food should be even cheaper for us. The key is going to be drinking water that we boil and not buying water or pop/soda at the local tiendas (family run micro stores).
Sue and I have enjoyed wandering around the downtown area of Puyo the last couple of days - it is much larger than I had previously thought - though it still feels small. Last night we spent the first night on our $60 mattress, not bad. We were debating between this one and one that was much nicer (like those in the States) that cost $115. We opted for the cheaper one - it is functional and I can deal with that. We don´t have a bed frame, just a mattress on the floor - I am content for now.
Today at the office, my co-worker Andrea and I discussed the possibility of me doing a summer camp for some of the kids in Puyo. It is totally in the preliminary stages right now. So, I spent the morning typing up a proposed plan for the camp, in Spanish. I actually enjoyed the work and I think I have some good ideas. I called the Peace Corps office in Quito and am having them send down some Environmental Education materials and some stuff on youth camps. My counterpart has grand plans of a month long camp, however, I have grand plans of a week long camp. I suppose that if my organization can find the funds to get more help we may be able to make the camp longer. Mi español no es bueno.
Another volunteer in the Habitat Conservation program is switching sites and will be working in Puyo with the Municipio. Katie was in a Shuar community two hours south of Puyo that has had some troubles with murders and the like. So, she is coming to Puyo. That is not all bad, the Municipio works in conjunction with my organization on a lot of projects and it is very possible that she and I will collaborate on a lot of Env. Ed. Activities in the schools and perhaps even the summer camp idea. Having her around should be an asset for me and hopefully, for her as well.
Peace,
Jeremy
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Allison
non-member comment
As always...
WoW! What Amazing Information! ¡Qué información genial! ¡Muchas Gracias, es muy interesante! ¡Buena Suerte!