Spring break in the garden

After Duke's spring break group returned from Baños, we got our hands dirty with our partner organization, Fundación Añamisi.  Here to share is Mateen!

Slashing at the gnarled weeds, dodging the hundreds of bugs, and digging into the tough ground, we were fighting a battle in Fundación Añamisi's organic garden. In only three days, the garden would be completely planted, and we would have helped move Christian Añamisi's dream forward.  With his partner, Laura Araujo, Christian has been able to create an organic farming business (De la Mata a la Olla, roughly translated as “from the ground to the table”) through which local organic gardens are able to distribute their products to the people of Quito and its surrounding areas over the internet. They both also utilize the knowledge they have gained from this venture to teach other people in the area about organic farming through their organization.

When we arrived at the garden Wednesday morning we were greeted by Christian, Laura, and their two crazy dogs Lupita and Tommy. Christian gave us a quick overview of his projects and proudly showed us some of the many products he sells.   We were all amazed by how Christian and Laura were able to create such a sustainable organic farming business while also giving so much back to the community. It was surprising that organic products would be so popular, especially over the internet in a country where only small percentage of the population own computers. Our work over the week was to clear several plots of land, plant new crops, and harvest corn. When we first arrived, the garden was overrun with tangled weeds, grass, and hundreds (only a slight exaggeration) of spiders. With the guidance of Christian and Laura, we dug our tools into the ground.  Two days and several tarantula encounters later, we had finally conquered the garden. During the last week of work, we planted lettuce, beets, chard, Japanese lettuce and ahí (chili peppers), and it felt good to be able to see the product of all our hard work.

With the garden work finished, we had the opportunity to help Christian with the English class he teaches at the local university.  He had his students record videos with questions in English for us and we recorded answers.  We had so much fun with the videos we decided to send back our own questions for the students to answer.  My time at the garden was definitely one of the highlights of the trip and I hope I have the opportunity to help them more in the future.

The Duke crew in Añamisi's garden

Mateen and Kia working together!

Angela and Miranda listening to one of Christian's student's English questions

Aging chard in the beds we completed weeding!

Beds freshly planted with lettuce and chard

Duke Spring Break in Baños

After a weekend on the beach in Montañita, Ashley, Jack, Sam, and I returned to the sierras Sunday night to meet our first two spring break groups.  While Ashley and Jack took the group from Vanderbilt University out to our partner organization, FEVI, in the valley north of us, Sam and I met up with our group of six from Duke University and brought them back to the valley with us.  Seeing as Monday and Tuesday were holidays in Ecuador celebrating Carnaval (what we know as Mardi Gras in the States), we took off for our overnight trip bright and early Monday morning, to Baños.  Here to give a snapshot of our time together is one of our spring breakers from Duke: Jake!


After a long and bumpy ride to Baños, we were welcomed with espuma (foam) and buckets of water by the locals.  It was Carnaval, and the festivities were wild; a major part of the celebrating involved spraying foam on everyone and everything.  Once I dried off, the town was amazing.  We checked into a hostel (which only cost $7.50 a night), and then decided to go repelling down 5 of the local waterfalls.  We had a blast – the experience was well worth the blisters and rope burns on our hands.  After we dried off (again), we caught a chivas (essentially a party bus) and went to party on top of a volcano.  The party consisted of fire-jugglers and comedy shows, but the real highlight of the night was the view.  We could see over all of Baños, and the mountain scenery was incredible.  When we returned to the town, we quickly learned that the celebrating during the day was nothing compared to the celebrating at night.  We all were so tired after the adventurous day that we turned in a little early so we would be ready for the next day’s events.  


We started the next day with a rooftop breakfast before renting bikes and embarking on a 27 kilometer ride to a huge waterfall (I know, there are a lot of waterfalls on this trip).  The ride was exciting for two reasons: the incredible views that we saw on our path and the water balloons that we had to dodge (the Carnival activities also included water balloon pelting).  About half way through the ride, we stopped to go on a one kilometer zip line (it was the longest zip line I have ever seen).  I can honestly say it was one of the coolest experiences of my life.  We finished the bike ride and snapped a few Kodak pictures of the waterfall before returning to our hostel and leaving Baños.  A few pointers for those of you planning on being in Baños for Carnaval: get the Mega Grill burger (it’s delicious) at the burger stand off the plaza, go zip lining (it’s exhilarating), and bring a bathing suit (it’s wet)!  

Baños!

A performer with fire on top of the volcano

Jake concentrating in preparation for a 1km zipline.

ZIPLINE!

Time flies when you're with Tulane

We rang in the first week of April with an enthustiastic group of spring breakers from New Orleans (hence the neglecting of the blog). I could go on and on about how delightful and hardworking they were, but I'll leave the explaining to their co-group leader, Sonia...

"As I sit down pondering my time spent with Tulane, a few adjectives come to mind: eventful, gleeful, and priceless. Here’s why - we spent mornings sightseeing Quito and afternoons rotating through programs. We learned of Karington’s slight narcolepsy and how to eat the peels of kiwis. We saw that money can magically disappear and reappear in underwear and we admired the result of Tulane’s artistic abilities, a spectacular mural on a wall in the library. Let’s start at the beginning...

The week started off Saturday night at the airport. I was worried that we might not find them until a group walked through customs door clothed in Tulane attire with pillows and suitcases much too large for a week. After we accounted for the 10 of them maybe 100 times (don’t worry, my paranoia eased off as the week continued), we all cozied up in a snug busetta, so snug that I was sitting on Shawn’s lap. The other program directors were waiting for us at the house. What started off as a brief introduction ended in words of wisdom about toilet paper disposal etiquette.

Co-leaders Shawn and Sonia pose at the waterfalls in Mindo

The next morning we embarked for an afternoon soccer game in Quito (LDU, the house’s chosen club team versus El Nacional). On their first day, Tulaners had to face some of Ecuador’s fullest buses. They quickly learned how to maintain their balance with elbows sticking into them and little to hold onto. They ate hot dogs, bought jerseys, and sung LDU to its victory.

That Sunday night after a brief orientation, team Tulane and team Program Directors battled it out over Catch Phrase. Although Tulane lost 1-2, they put up a close fight considering that the program directors had 3.5 hours of practice time the night before.

At day 1.5 I was already in love with Tulane. Their relaxed attitudes and humorous comments made time fly. Here is my attempt to mimic how quickly it felt: we climbed the Basilica, toured colonial Old Town, visited the Guayasamin Museum, and shopped at the Artisan Market. Although it sounds like a lot of sightseeing for one week, Tulane worked as hard as they played. They leveled all of the teen books for a summer reading club; painted two rooms and two bookshelves; cleaned the Centro; and painted an unbelievable mural of Ecuador on one the library’s walls. They did this while cooking and rotating through programs: women’s exercise, children and adult English, the library, and teen center.

Eventful, right? To take a breather, we left for the cloud forest town of Mindo. There we indulged in the country’s best brownies, tasted Fanesca, the grainy soup of Semana Santa (holy week), and went zip-lining, tubing, hiking, and sliding.

The highlight of the trip was without a doubt the night the 13 of us trotted into an empty karaoke bar. Completely American (and completely un-Ecuadorian), they sang pop songs in English (usually Spanish ballads), stood in front of the room (typically seated), and danced. Twenty minutes later the bar was filled but because our teetotalism wasn't profitable enough, the owner kicked us out.

Come Sunday morning, we found ourselves once again in a snug busetta. This time not leaving but going to the airport. Seven days later much had changed. Not only did alpaca attire and Ecuadorian purses/duffle bags fill the busette but so did the exciting yet sad feeling that occurs when new friends part.

Jordan, Jess, Katherine, Lauren, and Rose out in Conocoto


Our new library mural! Isn't it amazing??

Karrington and Katherine play dominos with some children's English kids

The whole group in a camioneta in Mindo

I couldn’t have asked for a better group of individuals and I hope they take away as memories from our week together as I did.

- Sonia"

Condor Truths

Although we may be miles away from a typical St. Patrick's Day celebration, I assure you we celebrated in style with green eggs and clothing, an Irish meal of Shepard's pie and soda bread, and of course a viewing of Boondock Saints. Mister Irish himself (Chet) spent last week in Lumbisi with one of our spring break volunteer groups teaching classes, painting murals and planting a vegetable garden. Since we only got to spend a night with the feisty North Carolinians, which mostly consisted of embarrassingly revealing questions deemed 'condor truths,' I'll let Chet explain a day in the life with the Duke spring breakers...

"The Duke spring break group accomplished some great manual and artistic labors in the week we were in Lumbisi. Like all things Erik and I do, we accomplished it with brutal honesty, a fun-loving attitude, and a little bit of insanity. It is important to remember that Lumbisi has a biting fly problem; and I mean like a Jean Paul Satre-style "The Flies" biting fly problem. While Erik and I spent the week living in the FEVI office, we ate all our meals at home stay. This was the same home stay where Sarita, one of FEVI's long term volunteers from the US also ate. Wednesday night, Bibi was in the area and had dinner with us and everyone at the table was involved in a very engaging debate between James Joyce and Jorge Luis Borges. Remember, James Joyce wrote Ulysses, arguably the best novel of the 20th century and in my opinion the gold standard in the modernist literature. Borges was a writer from Argentina. Given the distinct advantage Joyce has in this comparison. I'm a bit abashed to admit that it was more or less a tie.

Thursday was our last day to complete our work projects. In the morning we all went up the to ecological forest reserve to collect straw for the garden we had been working in. To settle the dinner debate, in the afternoon we split up into two groups to see who could finish first: one with me to finish the murals we had been painting on the outside of the pre-school, and the other down in the gardens with Erik to finish up the work on the new beds. The beds were all dug and just needed to be layered with straw, fertilizer, and filled with dirt; however, there was one large rock in the corner of bed 2 we had been unable to remove.

About an hour and a half into our work projects for the afternoon, I look to my left and see Erik, with a stride of pride, enter the fence to the preschool with a huge rock in his hands. He draws near me and asks, 'Hey Chet, if you were going to name a rock after an author, what would it be?' I of course look at him like he is crazy. He then informs me that after an hour and a half, they had finally removed the gigantic rock in the corner of bed two and I was staring at a small piece of it. He then informed me “this is Borges” spiked the rock, and walked out of the yard in triumph. My comment was for him to bring the bug spray the next time he came back. This is why we work so well together and why, while the Duke spring break volunteers probably think we are crazy, we got a lot of work done in three and a half days and had a great time doing it.

Alberto, Erik and JJ dominating said rock

The whole group sight seeing in the centro historico

Maria puts some finishing touches on the wall mural

KP plays with some kids in Lumbisi

The group leaders, and their respective cuy heads, share a moment

Erik would like to set (sic) that 'we still beat ya’ll.'

-Chet"

Our In-House Shakespeare...

(Today's Guest Blog comes from the delightful, eccentric, and apparently poetic Haley Booe. Her many talents include: making the other female PDs exceptionally sore during Women's Exercise, whipping up a mad dish of pad thai with limited cooking resources, knowing every choreographed dance scene in every movie ever made, and putting up with me as a roommate. She also happens to be our fearless Spring Break Coordinator... which is now in its stressful planning phase, and thus, is - clearly - consuming most of her thoughts. Enjoy our very own Shakespeare, Miss Haley Booe.)

"Since Spring Break planning is in full swing, that's most of what I have been thinking about these days. So here's a little poem for my guest blog - a tribute to Spring Break, if you will. Please excuse the limited vocabulary... my diction is quite poor, since half of my day I spend speaking Spanish.

'Twas a month before Spring Break, and through the Manna House

Everything was hectic; planning was my spouse.

The schedules were posted, created with care

Every group's leaders made a great pair.

We counted to make sure there were enough beds,

We have to find towels, so they can shampoo their heads!

Through budgets and food and Quito maps,

We planned out our trips to buy Panama caps.

This week in the library there arose such a clatter,

When we have extra volunteers, a lack of bookshelves will not matter.

By February 19th, we must have all their cash,

For the groups will be here to build in a flash.

Building, painting, cleaning they'll do,

And community members won't know what to do.

We'll travel to Quito, and Mindo they'll see,

To show them the country we love; on this, we agree.

Culture, awareness, projects and Manna life,

Our volunteers will experience all without much strife.

And when it's all over, he hope we still will be,

Friends and coworkers with (most of) our sanity.

So stay tuned to see how it all turns out,

Spring Break season is here, there is no doubt!"

Haley poses for her official MPI website picture...

Chaochao,

Sarah

Week 3: Iowa med students summary

Today's post is Serena Zhou's recollection of our third and final week of Spring Breakers for which she and Seth Harlan were the leaders. It's posted here to give you all an idea of the wide variety of programs and activities Manna spring breakers actually participate in any given week.

Later today I will be putting up more pictures of the library in action, as many of you have requested.

Sunday 3/15

Less than 12 hours after Iowa set foot upon Ecuadorian soil, we learned how to massacre live chickens. And as bloody and unappetizing the process might have been (eg, squeezing out the contents of large chicken intestines), the end result was vale la pena (worth the pain). Pepita, Mayra, Francisco, and Julio (one of our favorite Ecuadorian families) were experts in this field. Needless to say, this was a perfect skill to learn with med students! I wish I did this before anatomy class... Details aside, I think these pictures will be sufficient.

(Taj tries his hand...may have to work on this a little. Next time...?)

(Anatomy lesson!)

(Pobrecito gallinos)

(Iowa + Pepita, Mayra, Francisco, Julio and family)

Iowa, Holly and I then got "opendhandsdirtyfeet" by cleaning up the cancha from the previous night's library/teen center inauguration, before enjoying a local soccer game from the patio of our new space.

We ended the day with a conspicuous visit to Sangolqui markets, haggling with success to some extent (it's harder to fool the Ecuadorians with 11 Gringos flashing hi-fi photos in their faces). So far so good. Everyone is alive and kicking.

Monday and Tuesday 3/16-17

Iowa split up into 3 different groups in the morning, with each group going to:
-Alinambi (to measure kids for our Positive Deviance-based nutrition pilot- more to come on this!)
-Waldos clinic/Sangolqui hospital
-Ministry of Public Health of Conocoto

Some highlights:
-Julie and Brett watching a woman get her tubes tied.
-Spontaneously turning the MoH emergency room into a full-out salsa/reggaeton dance club with patients and doctors alike.
-Dan screwing up his feces sample. Rosanna the nurse at Waldos laughing at his liquid-soaked sample.
-Amanda, Taj, Ryan, and Brett basically running the ER at Sangolqui hospital (via body language and me translating) due to shortage of doctors... including suturing a very drunk old man's head (yes, during the middle of the day), building a "nose bridge" for a man with a broken nose (who doesn't remember breaking it bc, surprisingly, he got drunk during lunch last Sunday), stabilizing two teenagers who just got into a near-fatal motorcycle accident, etc.

(University of Iowa med students and their 133 boxes of gloves they generously donated!!
(From left to right): Matt, Serena (MPI co-leader), Alex, Brett, Julie, Collin, Dan, Amanda, Taj, Anna, Ryan, Seth (MPI co-leader))

Wednesday 3/18

Spent the day doing touristy stuff, including climbing the breathtaking Basilica, walking through Quito's Old Town, and visiting la Capilla del Hombre- the museum of Guayasamin. I think we Program Directors need to keep reminding ourselves just how amazing this country is, as we have lived here long enough to feel relatively desensitized. Watching the reactions of Iowa and the other spring break groups- served as a constant reality check, telling us not to take this place for granted.

(Iowa at the top of the Basilica)

Thursday 3/19

Summited Pichincha- the 3rd highest mountain in Ecuador (4600m). Our lungs definitely got their workout today. Lesson of the day: EAT FOOD before attempting to ascend a 300m. Waterproof gloves are also nice.

Friday and Saturday 3/20-21

Weekend excursion to Banos! I don't think any of us could ever get sick of Banos. Rejuvenating massages, hot springs, majestic waterfalls, exotic birds... we could get used to this.

Iowa went on the infamous bike ride to the waterfalls, which is always an exhilarating experience, despite some mishaps on the way (Amanda's flat tire, dogs chasing after us). By the end of the trip, despite the exhaustion, we were all regretful the trip was coming to an end.

Sunday 3/22

Thanks Iowa for picking the earliest possible time to leave Quito (6:40am) ha. Ryan, Brett, Anna and I strutted it out and kept our lids up till 3:30am, spending a romantic night together by the fire roasting cinnamon-chocolate-bananas, and watching Aladdin.

Miss you Iowa. Vengan a Ecuador prontisimo!!!!!!!

Duke Vignettes

Today's post is a little different, but trust me, it's awesome. (Can I still use that word, being a college graduate? Here's hoping). As you may know, last week we were lucky enough to host a joint Spring Break group from Duke-UNC: bitter basketball rivals, close Manna volunteers. See the good that Manna does in the community! I digress.

Anyway, the group had a packed week, helping us get the library/teen center ready for the grand opening music festival, about which a blog post is coming, I promise. Instead of telling their stories, we managed to score some sweet journal entry ruminations on various aspects of their week from one of their gifted writers, Connie, who has agreed to letting me post them here.

I call this entry: Ecuador As Seen Through The Eyes Of A Spring Breaker. (I expect to be recognized for my originality any day now). Enjoy!

Prices

You know you’ve been spoiled when you demand a three course meal for $2.00. I’m broke like most college students. In Ecuador, the poorest college student could live like a king. With hefty government subsidies, everything might as well be free when compared to the outrageous prices found on your typical American campus. I was like a wide eyed child in a candy store. What do you mean bus fare is $0.25? So dinner costs LESS than $10.00? You mean I could have been cramming for exams with $1.00 red bulls this whole time? When I walked into the school dining hall after spring break, I winced at the unsightly label on a sandwich reading “$6.50” and suppressed the urge to haggle with the cafeteria worker. I miss Ecuador already.

Toilet Paper

You have NO idea how lucky you are to be able to toss TP down the drain. No one even thinks about it twice. When that pile of soggy toilet paper sitting ominously in the corner starts spilling over the edge of the trashcan, you suddenly remember how wonderful it is to be able to flush the mess away. First there’s denial: “No, that is not trashcan overflowing with used TP.” Then there’s blame: “If their sewage system could handle TP, this wouldn’t be happening.” Then there’s anger: “WHY DON’T THEY MAKE BIGGER TRASH CANS!?” Finally, there’s acceptance: “Being able to flush TP is a luxury that some just don’t have and I should deal with it.” They say that you shouldn’t take what you have for granted. The ability to flush toilet paper is no exception.

Altitude

One flight of stairs and I was winded. I wouldn’t say I’m in great shape but I’d like to think that I’m not in terrible shape. Am I? I didn’t think altitude would have such a big impact on how much oxygen you can move though your body. Then again, when an athlete who can do a two mile swim, 30 mile run, 160 mile bike back to back to back has trouble running up a hill, you know nature has gotten the better of you. Ecuador’s mountains give the country some of the most stunning views one can hope to see but it also makes trekking around without huffing and puffing nearly impossible. This made a three hour hike especially rewarding. When a member of our group proposed hiking to the cloud line hovering around the mountain tops, I thought it was a great idea. I soon found myself clawing my way up the mountain side, heart and lungs in overdrive, in the wake of five strapping young men who raced ahead. When I finally reached flat ground on the peak, I gasped. I was compensating for thinner air of course but the view was spectacular. With refreshing breezes blowing past me, my breathing slowing down, and a beautiful panoramic view below me, I felt great. I got to see an amazing sight and I wouldn’t have to feel guilty about downing a ridiculous amount of delicious but sinfully sugary Ecuadorian juice as soon as I got down. Good thing Ecuador is in the middle of the Andes. It’s a place where you can feel proud of yourself for walking up some stairs.

Puenting

For the adventurous vacationer there’s puenting: the Ecuadorian euphemism for “throwing yourself off a bridge with a rope around your waist”. When I say rope I mean rope. Not bungee cords, those are elastic. Rope. We stood at the edge of a gorge eyes fixed on the nervous tourist standing motionless on the guard rail of a nearby bridge. She was no doubt in some sort of zen state ignoring the 40 meter drop below her. Ideally, she could have taken as much time as she wanted to mentally prepare herself but unfortunately, time is money. Other people wanted to jump off a bridge too. “UNO!” boomed the voice of the puenting staff as she snapped out of her trance. “DOS!” Our eyes widened in anticipation, typical of any college student about to witness a peer execute some crazy stunt. “TRES!” We held our breaths as she fell much like one would after jumping off a diving board. Then the line went taught. Our smiles turned into grimaces as all downward momentum was instantaneously stopped (exactly the way physics professors tell you mass is NOT supposed to move) and she was whipped into a parabolic arc. Her fear turned into excitement as the rest of the experience is like sitting on a giant swing. Were it not for the fact that the rope doesn’t stretch and a sudden change in direction could mess up your back, it would be an awesome thing to try. $20 bucks, 3 minutes, 1 heck of an adrenaline rush.

The Library Inauguration

People are bombarded with advertisements. We see an ad of some sort roughly every 30 seconds. As someone who has put up fliers and snubbed fliers, I knew how difficult it is to get people to come to an event. Though out the week, I had seen tons of colorful posters for the opening of the library/teen center. Yet I was skeptical of how many people would make an effort to come out for the event. The concert started at 2:00. No one showed up until 2:30. It started drizzling at 3:00. The prospects were not good. I felt terrible seeing project directors standing alone, speaking passionately about a great cause to a sparse audience.

Just before I was about to lose hope, a few people started trickling in. One became ten, ten became fifty and as the sun set on Amaguana, the street in front of the co-op was filled with people. When I walked into the library around 6:00, I was stunned. The place was packed. Throughout the week, I had not been able to grasp what impact my work on the library would make. To me it was simply wax on/wax off the floor, sand the board, paint the wall. But amidst exclamations of “que bonita!”, toddlers staring quizzically at puzzles, children burring their noses in books, teens engrossed in video games, and parents smiling, the magnitude of the project finally hit me. It was a Karate Kid moment where I discovered that all the waxing, painting, and sanding was really martial arts. The grand opening of the library/teen center was a big success. Let’s hope the people keep coming back.

10 reasons

You know the grand opening/concert is getting close when:

1. You take taxis into the community every day because you have so much stuff to bring with you that wouldn't survive on the bus (computer monitors! easels! desks!).

2. You find turquoise paint in all sorts of places when you finally get to shower at 10:30pm.

3. In the past 2 days, you've spent more money on floor wax than you have on food.

4. You have a medley of classic rock running on repeat in your brain, because "It's the only kind of music you can listen to while painting". I think I now know every lyric and guitar solo to the collected works of The Greatful Dead; my dad would be so proud.

5. If you never see or breath in sawdust ever again, it will be too soon.

6. Mopping has become a way to relax after a long day of work.

7. You wake up at 3am making lists of things to do, and decide you might as well get up and get started (that was for you, Seth).

8. The daily life blog has suffered tremendously, because the wireless internet has yet to be installed in the space.

9. Your packed lunch is both good and bad: good because it saves you from yet another almuerzo, but bad because that means you really didn't leave the space for 13 hours.

10. Thursday's art class will be dipping their hands in paint and helping decorate the children's corner, and probably each other as well.

Hopefully I'll have pictures soon; gotta grab one of the Duke spring breaker's memory cards before they head out. And I just have to say, without them, the library-teen center-art gallary-kids corner-office space would be in shambles. Literally. As if I needed another reason to like Duke.

Holly

(Advanced warning: this post is long, and written mostly for the benefit of parent's of Vanderbilt Spring Breakers: continue at your own risk!)

Dunc and I just got back from the Quito airport after dropping off our 9 wonderful spring breakers. Before I crawl back into bed to catch up on some of the sleep that's been sorely missed this week, here's a recap of the past 3 days for those who are interested. Pictures to follow later today, as I snagged a camera card and uploaded Alaina's before she left. Thanks girl!

Wednesday:
In the morning we headed out to parque Moya, the big park at the edge of Conocoto, to lay in the grass and plan out the children's English class they would be running that afternoon. Another almuerzo in Conocoto and a quick stop at the local dvd shop later, we were back on the bus (oh the constant busses) headed out to the community. Our afternoon was filled with Apoyo Escolar, Children's English (they talked about their favorite hobbies; gotta love creative college students), working in the library space (major props to Michelle for constructing the computer table!), and hitting up every tienda in search of a good Magnum ice cream bar.

Wednesday evening we were invited (thanks to Seth's awesome networking skills) for tea and a light supper at a local hacienda, a place we Program Directors have walked by every day since July but never been inside the grounds. And what an experience it was. Needless to say, after getting a tour of the grounds, meeting all 24 polo horses, seeing the two polo fields, walking through their private chapel, and sitting in awe under their chandeliers from Prague as their cooks made fresh empanadas, choclo pasta, and homemade cheesecake, we felt like we were in a completely different world. As if, by walking through the gates, we had passed through the wardrobe and were now in Narnia. The place was ridiculous, the family's hospitality was wonderful, and it definitely sparked some great conversations later that evening.

We rounded out the evening at a local restaurant in downtown Quito which featured a live Ecuadorian blues band; Manna is nothing if not cultural!

Thursday:
Another bright and early wake-up call. All 11 of us headed out the door, weekend bags packed, at 8 am to make our way to the base of Pichincha, the large volcano which stands sentinel over downtown Quito and is accessible via the teleferico, a gondola. After riding up, hiking around, taking a horseback ride to a little-seen waterfall, and standing in awe of the immensity that is the city of Quito, we sped over to the terminal and climbed on board for our 4 hour bus ride out to Banos, Ecuador.

We checked in to our rockin' hostel (free internet! a roof-top patio!), changed our clothes, and walked over to my favorite restaurant in Ecuador, Casa Hood. 3 hours, 5 smoothies, 11 amazing dinners and countless laughs later, we reluctantly left Casa Hood and walked back to our hostel, only to remember the top floor terrace. Places like that stimulate wonderful conversation (and a fair share of hilarity), and our Thursday ended with both.

Friday:
After convincing a few of the girls that it really was easy to remember how to ride a bike, we aimed our wheels towards the river route and spent the morning biking through the forested Andes Mountains: over bridges, through tunnels, along the river and past waterfalls in some of the most beautiful mountains South of the Equator. A long hike down led us to Pablon del Diablo, an enormous waterfall we were able to climb up and behind thanks to a new tunnel completed this past October. We rejuvenated ourselves with french fries, ice cream and cokes (maybe not the best combination) before treking back up the mountain, grabbing a couple of trucks, and riding back up to Banos for lunch. Massages, shopping, exploring and soaking up the Andean sun made our afternoon fly by, and before long we were back on the bus headed home.

Our spring break cook, Elida, had a wonderful costal meal waiting for us when we got back, and after pushing together three dining room tables, all 20 of us sat down together for our last dinner with Vanderbilt. Over at the apartment the girls packed, showered, and loaded me up with all the extra food and magazines they couldn't fit in their suitcases: Melissa, those yogurt covered pretzels are AMAZING!!! Yet another of the countless reasons I adore them.

So there you have it. One spring break week down, 2 to go. Dunc and I are pleased to report that no one got sick, hurt, or lost, and right now their plane is taking off from the airport with full numbers in perfect condition. We probably have a few ulcers, but so it goes :)

Best,
Holly

Museum Adventures with Vanderbilt

Tuesday

We started the day with a late morning, homemade french toast, and english class lesson-planning while piled on the couches. After Dunc headed in to Quito to pick up our banos tickets for this Thursday, Alaina, Kira and I stopped by the local venta to pick up supplies for the evening's fruit salad (for some reason our cook came to the house at 8:30am to start dinner preparations and clean the bathrooms...apparently she thinks she needs to invest a lot of time to make us clean/well fed) and walk around Conocoto a little bit.

Everyone was out the door by 1, posters and glue and paintbrushes in hand in order to advertise for the upcoming teen center/library grand opening concert on our way to the Casa Barrial. After a few rough starts (not a good idea to try and paste a poster to a wall with severely chipping paint flakes), we got the hang of it, which will come in handy tomorrow during round two.

At 2 we met with the 14 students from my art class for a really special field trip to the Guayasamin art museum in downtown Quito. After piling all 25 of us (and Mafe's dog, for reasons we're still not quite sure of) into a far-too-small van, we were on our way... first to Conocoto to trade up the van size, then through the maze that is downtown Quito, and finally to the top of a far hill and the base of the museum's grounds.

The museum itself was a force of emotion. As it was my third time visiting, I expected the waves of emotions to hit me with a little less force, and yet each visit is an island unto itself, an experience encapsulated in the present and incredible unto itself. Walking through the museum with my students, who just last Thursday studied Guayasamin in class and created their own interpretations of his works, and listening to their responses to our guide's questions and their enthusiasm for what they were seeing was indescribably wonderful. And it was even sweeter to experience it with the Vanderbilt girls.


After a long bus ride back (made worse by the expulsion of all the pent-up energy the kids had kept a cap on during the museum), most of the girls headed home with Dunc, while Alaina, Kira and I (my two new fabulous cohorts!) headed up to the church for women's exercise, an hour that left us aching in the legs and wondering how Serena does it 3 times a week.

I just left the group up on the roof around a bon fire, roasting marshmallows, making smores, and dissecting their time down here thus far. Such rich conversation, challenging questions, and positive discussions we've had so far, I can't wait to see where the rest of the week goes. And (big news!) Dunc and I still love each other! We haven't fought yet! Best co-leaders ever :)

Until tomorrow,
Holly

Exploring Quito with Vanderbilt

Spring Break: Monday

While Sunday was the Vanderbilt spring break group's first official day, I spent Sunday en route from the states (as you know from my whining yesterday) and so joined the crew officially today. 7am found me on our "new" Manna bike riding down to the local bakery for some fresh bread for breakfast, soaking up the most beautiful Ecuadorian morning I've seen in a long time.

After breakfast, we all headed out the door, hopped on a few busses, and ended up at the base of the basillica, one of the most famous and beautiful churches in downtown Quito. We climbed (for what seemed like ages) up into the very top spires and soaked in the views, then made our way over to Plaza del Gobierno (which I'm referring to as Plaza of the Government because I can't pull the actual name, which I'm sure Craig will supply for me in the comments), timing it just right to catch the changing of the guard. After getting our fill of the plazas, and witnessing a strange parade/protest with rottweilers and pit bulls, we spent a good hour wandering through the artesan market in the mariscal, where the girls got to practice their bargining skills.

After grabbing a typical almurezo across the street, we headed out to the Valle for our afternoon of programs (Apoyo & Children's English) and a walking tour of the community, then swung by the house for a few minutes of downtime before heading back out for dinner at Jenny and Alfredo's house, a local couple who Dunc and Eliah know well from the small business class.

Overall it was one of those Ecuadorian days where as you walk back to the house at night and think about what you did that morning, it feels like 3 days has passed between. Welcome to the chaos that is spring break! We couldn't be more excited.

Holly

And We're Back

After 2 flights en route to Durham, North Carolina, 2 five hour trips to the Smokey Mountains, 1 blown out rear windshield, 1 6am flight to St. Louis, 1 5 hour road trip to Fayetteville, Arkansas, 1 wild wedding weekend ride, 1 11 hour road trip back up to St. Louis, and 3 flights back down to Ecuador, I am glad to say the travel is done and the blog is back.

Well, the travel is done until this Thursday when Dunc and I take our Vanderbilt spring break group to Banos, and the blog is back in the sense that most posts this week will be written in sleep-deprived stupors late at night...but at least progress is being made. No camera yet, so I might resort to posting pictures I find on the internet, otherwise you'll just be left with my words and we all know those can get old quick :)

Dana and I are currently both on our computers in my room (she's moved in for the spring break weeks so that the college kids can have the apartment to themselves), and everyone else is sound asleep. Apparently today's Minga at Alinambi went exhausting-ly well, and also apparently buying enough food from markets for spring break requires a truck bed. Oh the joys.

Welcome, March. Time for another monthly update...the first of the new year. Coming soon, I really do promise.

Holly