Exciting Hellos and Reluctant Goodbyes

Right now transition is the name of the game in the Manna House. For the past 10 days roughly 15 PDs, both old and new, have been living under the same roof in order to facilitate the turnover process between the two teams. The nine of us newbies have divided up every household, organizational and programmatic task known to mankind - from who is responsible for taking out the garbage (thanks Chet!) to who will be running the Women's Exercise program. We have been closely following (think mama duck/baby duck style) the 2008-2009 PDs in order to learn bus routes, shopping lists, the ways of the house, as well as the ins and outs of running our programs.

But the time has come to say (reluctant) goodbyes to our old PD friends, as they begin to trickle back to their families and friends in the United States. The general sentiment has not been one of "out with the old and in with the new," but rather of somber thankfulness. Without the hard work of our 2008-2009 PDs, we would have been handed a very different Manna Project. And for that, we say thank you, and we hope that our mentors will pop in from time to time through guest blogs and (cross our fingers) maybe even a visit or two!

Now allow us to introduce ourselves. We are Jackie Weidman and Sarah Scott, the newest additions to the highly coveted administrator status on the MPIE Daily Life Blog. Our interests and programmatic involvement are extremely varied. With that in mind, we hope to offer you two different voices and perspectives on living and working in Ecuador by alternating blogs each day. Other than the addition of two voices to the blog, not a lot will be changed. We will still be including ample photos from the MannaCam, weekly guest blogs, and the occasional video.

Sarah and Jackie, the newest Daily Life bloggers

In the spirit of new beginnings, here is the first interview of the 2009-2010 MPI season with none other than our very own Country Director, Bibi Al-Ebrahim. We couldn't be happier to be working under Bibi and we're confident that her passion and leadership will shape our programs and us, as individuals, in incredible ways throughout the next year.

Here's to the next thirteen months of adventure, community service, and of course, daily blogging!

Sarah and Jackie