Meche and Wellington are back! A month ago, they suddenly disappeared and their sister (cousin? neighbor?) informed us that they´d gone to live in Spain with their mother. Clearly this is not the case and they´ve triumphantly returned to Semillas to bless and bother us with their tiny, waddling presence.
Last week Ecuador suffered an earthquake – a 6.7, epicenter near the Peruvian border. Here in Duran, we were wrapping up Spirituality Night. Like any good Midwesterner, I sat dumbfounded until the sound of breaking glass and a California native pulled me out of the house. Gracias a Dios, all of us are fine, and our neighbors also suffered little to no damage. Keep these folks in your prayers – in the last week Argentina, Peru, and Ecuador were each hit once, and Chile is still shaking from their three.
On Saturday my director/pseudo-communitymate Kevin will marry a lovely ecuatoriana named Emilia. Despite this blatant violation of the ¨No dating Ecuadorians¨ policy, I´m happy for them. Congratulations, Kevin and Emilia!
Last week I learned to make a dish called seco de pollo. We began the process with a living, breathing, clucking chicken. Sadly I arrived too late to partake in the entire process (ie. I didn´t get to slit its throat), but I did get to drain the blood, pluck the bird, cut it up and take out the innards (what a great word!). Yes, I plan to cook for anyone who will let me when I come home, though I won´t insist on beginning with live fowl. Now that I´ve seen this process from start to finish, I am astounded that I haven´t gotten sick yet. Blood dripping from the body onto an old, rusty table as we wash it with parasite-ridden tank water - mmmmm. Nonetheless, it was delicious AND educational.
Tank water – I haven´t explained this yet. Although parts of Duran have running water, Arbolito is not so blessed/developed. Water trucks drive daily through the nighborhood and families who need a refill wait outside with their barrels, shouting ¨Agua!¨ intermittently with little regard for how close or far the nearest truck is at the moment. Water quality is poor - not healthy, but not deadly. Most of our neighbors use it for cooking, bathing, washing, and some drinking, though some drink bagged or bottled water.
In the volunteer house, we live a cushy life. A giant cistern sits under the ground and feeds water into our sinks and showers. Our luxury stops at running water - temperature control is another story. Since the cistern´s metal roof breaks the surface of the ground, it soaks up sunlight and heat all day long, and loses it all night. In the morning, showers are ice cold, but by 10:00, the water is warm and at 2:00 it´s too hot to touch. 6:00p is your best bet.
We try to conserve water as best we can because our cistern takes an entire truck to fill it. Therefore, every time we call our water guy (called El Gato for reasons unbeknownst to me), that is one less truck that circulates the neighborhood and fills out neighbors´ empty barrels. This point hit home for me a few weeks ago. I stopped by Patricia´s and chatted with her while she did laundry behind the house. Her water barrel was almost empty, and she needed more to finish the wash. When we heard a truck rumbling by, she sent Fernando outside to flag it down. The rumbling continued down the street and Fernando returned to inform me that the truck refused to stop, presumably because it was headed to my house. Sure enough, I found out later that our cistern was freshly filled that afternoon. Man. Of course I know that my consumption of resources affects the people around me, locally and beyond. Now I´ve seen it with my own eyes. Think about that the next time you brush your teeth.
What else, what else? Ahh - for those of you who´ve left comments for me, please also leave your email address so I can contact you de vuelta! This applies especially to old volunteers - I would like to know you.
Oh, and I have parasites. Thankfully, I also have the pills to kill them. $0.70 for the medication to kill two classes of intestinal paraites - wow. I´ll be fine in a week.
Happy Thanksgiving! How strange to think that most of you are at home, helping to cook your turkey and pie and probably enjoying a crisp Fall day. I must admit to jealousy. That said, I am immensely grateful for my opportunity to be in Ecuador, even if that means I cannot be where you are. I am also grateful for YOU, because you clearly love me enough to read about my life. Thank you for your love and support, and especially your prayers. God´s grace - man. Where would I be without it? I wouldn´t have survived this long, that´s for sure.
Our mayor agreed to fill in our road! Very few roads in Arbolito are paved, though we recently got a new one. (I found out later that this particular road was paved because it´s where the biggest local drug dealer lives and he and the mayor are buds. Oh, what good news.) My street is a dusty, rocky mess with a huge dip in he middle that turns into a cesspool during rainy season, so neighbors got together to organize (yes!) and meet with the mayor. This was their third meeting, but she finally agreed to do it. The process is starting on another nearby road, and I´m hoping she complies with her promise before the rains start. Either way, I´m proud of my neighbors. This is not their first organize-to-achieve success. Last year they got a community clean-up together and also talked the power company into giving them deeply discounted poles from which to hang power lines - a huge improvement from the old sugarcane poles (dried out cane and electrical currents? Talk about a fire hazard). I walk with hope.Yes, hope. I have it. I have to. Thank you, Lord.
Today´s prayer intentions: for Kevin and Emilia, as they begin a marriage and a life together; for Patrick and Catherine; in thanksgiving for all, all, all the gifts God gives us and that we give to each other. Amen!
