I cannot believe it. Week two of work has come to an end, and I have not been fired yet. Celso kindly traveled from Duran today to visit my worksite and see how I am getting along. I took advantage of his visit (he is fluent in Spanish and English) - he translated two weeks from my supervisor and clarified a few things that have gone completely over my head. He also helped write the reports from my last few house visits. Now I just have to figure out what to do with them after I write the report.
The EKG clinic is going well. I am wearing the stethoscope correctly nowadays. AND not only can I tactfully ask the patients to take their shirts off to do the test, but also to put it back on when we are done. Small, yet crucial detail. :)
Tonight, Wellington brought us a hammock that Elise had made for the new house in Mt. Sinai. I tested the hammock out and had a long Spanish lesson with Wellington. Past tense is coming slowly but surely!
Our community of 5 is thriving as well. Jenn set up a cooking-cleaning schedule for us. As we befriend our neighbors, we are slowly collecting Ecuadorian recipes. Our newest neighbor-friend is Consuelo and her family of 6. She has an incredible organic garden, and continues to gift us with plants for our yard and veggies! She gave us a zapillo (squash) the size of a pumpkin on Monday, along with the recipe for squash soup. Needless to say, we will be eating squash soup for a couple of weeks. She has also sent us home with many different seeds. Yes Grandma, the garden plans are falling together slowly but surely. Our yard is rocky sand at the moment - hard to plant a garden in rocks. However, our neighbors recently dug a hole for septic drainage. Aaron and I are currently building up our courage to ask for some of that nice black dirt that is now piled in the middle of the road. What can I say; dirt is always nicer on the other side of the fence!
We are learning how to approach the markets with a bit more tact. Our first days, the five of us trucked into the small tiendas, picked up a head of broccoli, couple of tomatoes, and onions, and handed them to the cashier. This is not the way Ecua´s shop. Monica saw us doing this and quickly put it to a stop. Apparently you are supposed to ask for 20 cents of broccoli (or however much you want to spend) and the store owner chops off that portion of broccoli for you. The same goes for watermelon, cabbage, etc. Tomatoes, onions, carrots, etc are sold by the pound. We are still figuring out how much each item costs. We pay 5 cents per banana and 10 cents per tomato. Ecuadorians apparently pay 3 cents per banana and a couple of cents per tomato. We are willing to pay the "gringo" price. But there is a fine line between the gringo price and being taken advantage of. We are still finding that line.
A few more updates around the house:
- We had a brush fire to the east of us the other day. If we had built a cane house, we would be toast right now.
- Aaron and I discovered a stream behind our house the other day! It is not for swimming (due to pollution), but it does attract a wide variety of wildlife. About 8 cranes fluttered out of the trees when we approached the water. They were beautiful -- a stark contrast from the brown dirt and dirty water below.
- We continue to plan for our garden. Finding dirt is the latest challenge. Dirt is often the subject around the dinner table.
On Thursday, I accompanied Carlos and Alexis on house visits in Monte Sinai. They are working to map out Monte Sinai, hoping to install a water system/septic system for the community someday. They spend their days walking through the neighborhoods visiting houses to see what the families need and educating them about Hogar de Cristo (public services). If the family has a medical problem, I accompany them. We visited four houses on Thursday, all with a wide variety of problems. One home had a two day old baby - mom with severe anemia, weak spells, and malnutrition. A neighbor has a son with Down syndrome. The mom is single with no job. Health care is out of the picture for many of these families who are struggling to put food on the table. I have yet to figure out how Hogar will be assisting these families. I hope to meet with my supervisor about this soon!
Thank you again for reading. AND thank you for the letters and cards! I am currently in first place for the number of letters received in my house.
My thoughts are with you all. Un abrazo,
Becky
the hammock made it?!?! that is AMAZING. i started that project with such gusto, but it was the death of me by the end. and it is so fea! i wanted to tie-dye it during an ASP paseo once, but it wasn't finished in time. anyway, i hope it nourishes deep conversation and moments of enlightenment. :)
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