2 months in peace corps and all i have to show for it is amaebas

Hello my Americanos back home,

wow it has been 2 months already since I first arrived in Ecuador. Im sorry for those out there that have been asking me to update my blog more often, I have been pretty busy but I will make a greater effort to keep my blog more updated.

The question I get so far is what is it like beign in the Peace Corps. So far its been good. I am still in training so im learning cool things like how to install an irrigation system,  how to design a tilapia farm, and other technical subjects. The other part of training is pretty bland, learning PC regulations, safety/security, medical, how to integrate into my community, culture. The engineer in me can not stand some of these fluff classes and the problem is most of it is fluff classes. My one complaint is that I wish I had more technical training. A lot of the training I believe is about feeling us out to see how we are going to do living on our own in poverty in a diffrent country. My schedule is Monday through Saturday training and ill usually go out on saturday night followed by spending time with my host families on sunday. Usually it involves going to a family members house and doing a big food with everibody reunited.

I am currently in the capital city Quito but I finnally found out where I am going to be serving the next 2 years. The community is called Los Caras it is located on the coastal part of Ecuador. (Ecuador is devided into 3 parts Coast, Sierra and the Orient aka the jungle). My site is located 30 minutes from Bahia de Caraquez a turisty beach town I would describe it like a little Fort Lauderdale or Miami. Bahia is super beautifull nice beaches, surfing, fine restaurants, very nice infrastructure. My site Los Caras is very diffrent from that it is really small town that is almost 100% based on agriculture. It is really beautifull there im sorrounded by nature and it is a really calm place there is virtually no crime there, very little or no drug use maybe a little bit of alcoholism but not to bad. The people are really nice and everibody knows each other, people are very social there and they wave at every car that passes bye. They also spend a lot of time socializing with each other its a major diffrence from the States where many times neighbors do not even know each others names. I really like the people there it had a very good community vibe.

So what will I be doing at this site for the next 2 years? The area where Los Caras is located is very dry it only rains about 3 to 4 months a year. Which means that the farmers can only grow crops during this short window of time. The rest of the year there is not much employment so people have to migrate to other parts in order to find employment. What my community is requesting is to build an irrigation channel that would come from 15 km away over hilly terrain. This channel would serve four communities approximately 1300 people and would greatly improve the agricultural output of the area. The project is very costly and would cost approximately $4,000,000 dollars to construct. My role would be to organize these communities in order to get the project passed I would also be doing a lot of networking among engineers, government officials and community leaders. I would also promote water saving irrigation practices, water conservation and the use of organic fertilizers. It should be a very interesting, exciting and challenging project.

 I will be moving to Los Caras on April 21st after my graduation from training. Lets see what the future brings.

Buenas Noches

Reflections of my first week here

Wow it has been a week since I have been in Ecuador. Right now I am currently going through my training which will encompass 3 months. This training focuses on safety, training, health and technical. Our group is divided into two group the Natural Resource Conservation and Agriculture. I am in the Agriculture sector and will likely be working in irrigation system design or possibly rain water harvesting since I have a background in water. The way that peace corps works is that you are placed into a poor community and you use your knowledge to aid in the development of the region. You try to focus your project on education or if money is involved make sure that the community has a stake in it. This will guarantee that your community will embrace more of your ideas. It is important that your development not be categorized as welfare. You want to give them the knowledge, leadership and motivation on how they can improve their lives. It can be damaging to a community to simply receive hand outs from an outside government.

The highlight of this week was visiting an organic farm. I had never really been interested in the organic label but after visiting this farm the practices had a deep impact on me. I now now feel that traditional farming has been going in the wrong direction. The farm focused on symbiotic relationships or a relationship between two distinct species that work in unison for their mutual benefit. For example traditional farming focuses on killing all insects regardless of type with chemicals, making the soil richer with the use of chemical fertilizers, and also killing all the weeds. The organic farming practices looked as weeds and insects as a useful tool in the growing of crops. Weeds left next to your crop will serve to put carbon back in to your crops. Trees left on the perimeter of your field will attract birds that will eat insects. Wildflowers near your crops will attract bees and other types of fliying insects that attack larvae on crops. Planting basil on the foot of a tomato plant will ward away many pest. The main focus was on how the most important element in organic farming was keeping the microorganism's happy so they can do the work of breaking down organic matter. It was very basic the happier your microorganism's are the more fertile your soil will be.The importance of microorganism's reminded me of their roll in waste water treatment and how maintaining their health was crucial for effective treatment. Here are some pictures:

Otro dia

Another day of training. I think I'm going to make some leg muscles pretty quick because I have to walk everywhere. Here are some pics:

 This cute little critter is getting fatened up so he can be the next meal: guinea pigs are a delicacy in Ecuador

 Translated: I hire alcoholics for parties

 Simon the family pet bull

 Aguacates these are every where

 This is my host family's dog. The thing is a beast and it constantly wants to jump on me. Down boy down

Translated: I will make babies and even come to your house.

Arrival

Hello world,

i am writing this blog to share my experience in the Peace Corps. It seems  like a very common thing to do for Peace Corps volunteers and I have been getting many request from girls to start a blog, well not many girls, ok its just one girl, fine its just my mom. I will try my best to keep you updated on my life out here in Ecuador.

I have been here a little less than a week and am currently living in Tumbaco a province of the capital Quito. It is probably a 45 minute bus ride to the capital. Hereis the location on google map, Tumbaco. It is kind of a small town in the middle of the mountains, actually it is really high up in the mountains. I am staying with a great host family that have treated me very good and will be with them for 3 months at least till my training is over. From there I will be given a project and will be moved out to another site. Ecuador is a really beutifull country and I am really glad to be here. Ive been trying all sorts of new foods and fruits. The fruits here are truly amazing none of that crappy over priced fruits you get at you local publix. Everything is so cheap and incredibly good. Pics to come up soon.