Just when I was convinced I was the only one...
I found other gringos in Machala! I had heard there were a couple Peace Corps volunteers somewhere around here but had yet to spot them. I have constantly had my eye out for some obvious gringos, but until now, the only one spotted wandering this city was me. But, today, I started off my day in my typical routine way by getting up early and making my way to the nearby stadium for a run. Upon entering the stadium, I noticed to gringa-looking girls doing some stretches on the grass. We exchanged glances and I continued running around the track.
While completing my first lap around I was considering all the possibilities. Could they be tourists? Not likely. I doubt tourists come to the stadium to fit in some exersize. Could they be from a country that doesn´t speak English? Possibly...Well, by the time I was nearing them again I decided to go for it and just find out (I have been waiting for the Peace Corps gringo encounter for the last 2 months and did not want to pass it up). I slowed down my pace, walked towards them wondering how to say hello..Spanish or English? Before I said a word, one of the girls said hello first, in English! Just the one word in an obvious American accent, lead to a flood of English coming out of my (our) mouths.
It´s amazing the connection you can make with a stranger when you meet in a foreign country where no others like you are around. We began with a rapid-fire question and answer session to set the facts straight. ¨Are you in the Peace Corps?¨ Yep! Just as I thought. I had found the long-lost Peace Corps girls past volunteers had mentioned were living in Machala! I told them who I was and it turns out they had been looking for me for the past two months as well! It was this incredible reunion, so to speak, with two complete strangers. But, I am happy to have found some fellow Americans who have been taking on this city for much longer than I have. They regularly get together with other Peace Corp volunteers who live in nearby cities and I hope to soon meet them as well.
What a start to my day! They were just as happy to meet me as I was them. One girl was so excited she predicted to find $100 today to follow-up the luck she had already had.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Tis the Season
Halloween and a surprise call home
The holidays have arrived! Well, Halloween passed here with little excitement. Certain people recognize the holiday, more so for the children. I saw few costumes and Halloween decorations and when I questioned my conversation class about the holiday, the general response lacked enthusiasm and instead expressed regret for letting such a holiday take over people’s minds when the 31st of October is Ecuador’s National Shield day.
The extent of my Halloween celebrations was calling home on Skype to talk to the family. For those of you who don’t know, it’s a Hamby family tradition that when someone has a birthday, everyone gathers at “Gramma and Grampa’s” house for a birthday dinner. It’s also an unspoken tradition I have picked up on over the years that if a family member cannot make the dinner, they call during dinner to wish a Happy Birthday and then get passed around from person to person to say hello. So, this year, I decided to take this tradition to a great extent and call on Skype computer to computer.
It was Laura’s birthday and I had talked to her earlier in the day to plan the Skype call. I called Laura’s computer from mine at a designated time and was excited when my call went through and I could talk to the entire family all at once via computer speakers! Laura placed her computer at the dinner table and turned on the camera so that I could see everyone. Technology has made communication incredibly easy these days and I just couldn’t believe that I was in Ecuador, while virtually sitting at the dinner table with my family in Soquel! I could see everything, from Laura’s Birthday/Halloween witch cake, to Mom wearing one of my sweaters I had left at home! Caught her!
The excitement of the video conversation continued when my host sister and her husband walked into the room and saw my family on the screen. They were soooo excited. They began frantically waving and I had to calm them down and explain that I did not have a camera; therefore they could not see us. But still, I had each person in my family get in front of the camera to say hello and let me introduce them. Families meeting families, visually, over the Internet… the possibilities are endless.
For those of you who have not experimented with Skype yet, I highly recommend it. I have had great success using it to call home from Ecuador. It’s only two cents a minute for me to call a cell phone or landline in the U.S. but free if I call to a computer with Skype. As long as both parties have Skype downloaded on their computers and have built-in speakers and microphone (or detachable head-set), then you’re good to go.
Cuenca, a must-see city in Ecuador
The weekend after Halloween, I took a trip to Cuenca, a city of the Sierras only 3.5 hours away by bus. Bryce and I caught an early morning bus to the city to meet up with several other volunteer friends. It was a big celebration weekend for Cuenca (each city celebrates its independence from Spain) and we had been warned that lodging would be hard to come by and rather expensive. Lucky for us, John, one of my fellow volunteers is living in a hostel-like house. It’s really a large house and his host mom runs the house like a hostel. But, it’s tiny and not advertised. She just uses it as a way to make some money on the side and books it through word of mouth. I heard it tends to be inhabited mainly by Peace Corps volunteers and other similar volunteers. It was a bare bones hostel for sure, but we couldn’t pass up the chance to stay in a host mother’s home for only $3.50 a night!
Upon driving into Cuenca, I immediately had thoughts and feelings of jealousy. How could I not have been fortunate enough to be placed in such a stunning place? First impression, beautiful! I know I have not given a description of Machala yet (I’ll get around to it) but Cuenca is everything Machala is not. It’s in the mountains, surrounded by lush green mountains and hills. The streets are cobblestone and lined with old European style houses and buildings. It reminded me very much of the cities in Spain. There are several beautiful plazas scattered throughout town as well as large, green-grassed parks, and markets selling handcrafted gifts. I tried to find its pitfalls to make me feel better about living in Machala. There are hardly any, although, it does rain every day and the skies are usually overcast and dark. It’s cold, though kind of a relief from the heat and humidity of Machala. You really have to work to find those pitfalls though, and rightfully so.
Cuenca is the largest tourist destination in Ecuador so you do frequently run in to other gringos (this is not the case in Machala) which is fun, but I do enjoy being forced to speak Spanish everyday in Machala because there is not another gringo to be found in my entire city! Before leaving Monday morning for the return to Machala, we got caught up in the Independence Day parade in which President Correa made an appearance. He draws quite a crowd here. I saw his entrance but we couldn’t stick around long enough for his talk, so that was the end of that. But until then, I had only seen the guy on TV.
Upon my return to Machala, I was incredibly surprised when we drove into town and a feeling of relief and comfort of being “home” washed over me. It was very unexpected by made me realize this place is really growing on my. Little by little, poco a poco, it’s becoming my “home.”
Christmas? In November?
Speaking of “home”, I arrived to my house and walked in to a Christmas wonderland. Christmas carols were blasting on the stereo, boxes were strewn about the house with Christmas decorations spewing out of them. Nativity scenes were set in every corner of the house, Santa’s in the kitchen, there was a Christmas tree in the kitchen as well as in the living room, and I even found a snowman candy dish on top of the dresser in my room! Such a spectacle I have never witnessed at my own house only days after Halloween!
The Ecuadorians might even be more gung-ho Christmas than the US, if you can imagine that! Christmas has arrived!! Back when I was living in Quito for orientation, the large chain stores had full sections of the floor devoted to Christmas decorations. That was back in September!
As a child, the anticipation of the arrival of Christmas was always unbearable. It’s no wonder, since the commercialization of the holiday has encouraged department stores to stock their windows and aisles with figures of Santa Claus, elves, pine trees, and fake snow. Just the sight of it all is enough to make anyone feel the proximity of Christmas is near, though usually we are only in October when we begin to see such decorations crowd the stores. Perhaps, the day after Halloween is when they magically appear, as though Santa’s elves were working overtime the night before to bring Christmas early the next morning.
Despite such temptations to force the early arrival of Christmas, in my family, we always give the holiday of Thanksgiving the recognition and importance it deserves. This meant, that no matter how hard we may have pleaded, Christmas decorations in our house did not come out of the attic or garage until after Thanksgiving (well after Thanksgiving if I remember correctly). The great hunt for the perfect Christmas tree was always on Clark’s and my minds. When we questioned when it was going to happen, it was usually, “maybe next weekend, or the weekend after that…” And the hardest wait we had to endure was the hanging of the stockings. Mom, I still don’t know what it is you have against the stockings, but we always put up a fight about hanging the stockings. If Mom won, usually she did, they would not go up until Christmas Eve. How awful!
Even though my Machala family is ahead of the Christmas wagon, they have been very busy planning Thanksgiving first. Thanksgiving is not a national holiday here but several people do celebrate it. Especially with the importance of religion in my family here, Thanksgiving is a day they feel very important to celebrate and remember how important it is to give thanks for all you have and for all God has provided. They are planning a large Thanksgiving potluck celebration to be held at the church. I have not so willingly committed myself to making a pumpkin pie. Lourdes (host mom) said she could find me a pumpkin. I haven’t told her yet that the only way I know how to make a pumpkin pie is with pumpkin from the can! Hope I can get a hold of that here!
And, best of all, my host family here is above all, thankful for family. They were sure to tell me that we would be home from the Thanksgiving potluck in time for me to call my family at home. Don’t worry, I’ll be right there at the table with you once again!
The holidays have arrived! Well, Halloween passed here with little excitement. Certain people recognize the holiday, more so for the children. I saw few costumes and Halloween decorations and when I questioned my conversation class about the holiday, the general response lacked enthusiasm and instead expressed regret for letting such a holiday take over people’s minds when the 31st of October is Ecuador’s National Shield day.
The extent of my Halloween celebrations was calling home on Skype to talk to the family. For those of you who don’t know, it’s a Hamby family tradition that when someone has a birthday, everyone gathers at “Gramma and Grampa’s” house for a birthday dinner. It’s also an unspoken tradition I have picked up on over the years that if a family member cannot make the dinner, they call during dinner to wish a Happy Birthday and then get passed around from person to person to say hello. So, this year, I decided to take this tradition to a great extent and call on Skype computer to computer.
It was Laura’s birthday and I had talked to her earlier in the day to plan the Skype call. I called Laura’s computer from mine at a designated time and was excited when my call went through and I could talk to the entire family all at once via computer speakers! Laura placed her computer at the dinner table and turned on the camera so that I could see everyone. Technology has made communication incredibly easy these days and I just couldn’t believe that I was in Ecuador, while virtually sitting at the dinner table with my family in Soquel! I could see everything, from Laura’s Birthday/Halloween witch cake, to Mom wearing one of my sweaters I had left at home! Caught her!
The excitement of the video conversation continued when my host sister and her husband walked into the room and saw my family on the screen. They were soooo excited. They began frantically waving and I had to calm them down and explain that I did not have a camera; therefore they could not see us. But still, I had each person in my family get in front of the camera to say hello and let me introduce them. Families meeting families, visually, over the Internet… the possibilities are endless.
For those of you who have not experimented with Skype yet, I highly recommend it. I have had great success using it to call home from Ecuador. It’s only two cents a minute for me to call a cell phone or landline in the U.S. but free if I call to a computer with Skype. As long as both parties have Skype downloaded on their computers and have built-in speakers and microphone (or detachable head-set), then you’re good to go.
Cuenca, a must-see city in Ecuador
The weekend after Halloween, I took a trip to Cuenca, a city of the Sierras only 3.5 hours away by bus. Bryce and I caught an early morning bus to the city to meet up with several other volunteer friends. It was a big celebration weekend for Cuenca (each city celebrates its independence from Spain) and we had been warned that lodging would be hard to come by and rather expensive. Lucky for us, John, one of my fellow volunteers is living in a hostel-like house. It’s really a large house and his host mom runs the house like a hostel. But, it’s tiny and not advertised. She just uses it as a way to make some money on the side and books it through word of mouth. I heard it tends to be inhabited mainly by Peace Corps volunteers and other similar volunteers. It was a bare bones hostel for sure, but we couldn’t pass up the chance to stay in a host mother’s home for only $3.50 a night!
Upon driving into Cuenca, I immediately had thoughts and feelings of jealousy. How could I not have been fortunate enough to be placed in such a stunning place? First impression, beautiful! I know I have not given a description of Machala yet (I’ll get around to it) but Cuenca is everything Machala is not. It’s in the mountains, surrounded by lush green mountains and hills. The streets are cobblestone and lined with old European style houses and buildings. It reminded me very much of the cities in Spain. There are several beautiful plazas scattered throughout town as well as large, green-grassed parks, and markets selling handcrafted gifts. I tried to find its pitfalls to make me feel better about living in Machala. There are hardly any, although, it does rain every day and the skies are usually overcast and dark. It’s cold, though kind of a relief from the heat and humidity of Machala. You really have to work to find those pitfalls though, and rightfully so.
Cuenca is the largest tourist destination in Ecuador so you do frequently run in to other gringos (this is not the case in Machala) which is fun, but I do enjoy being forced to speak Spanish everyday in Machala because there is not another gringo to be found in my entire city! Before leaving Monday morning for the return to Machala, we got caught up in the Independence Day parade in which President Correa made an appearance. He draws quite a crowd here. I saw his entrance but we couldn’t stick around long enough for his talk, so that was the end of that. But until then, I had only seen the guy on TV.
Upon my return to Machala, I was incredibly surprised when we drove into town and a feeling of relief and comfort of being “home” washed over me. It was very unexpected by made me realize this place is really growing on my. Little by little, poco a poco, it’s becoming my “home.”
Christmas? In November?
Speaking of “home”, I arrived to my house and walked in to a Christmas wonderland. Christmas carols were blasting on the stereo, boxes were strewn about the house with Christmas decorations spewing out of them. Nativity scenes were set in every corner of the house, Santa’s in the kitchen, there was a Christmas tree in the kitchen as well as in the living room, and I even found a snowman candy dish on top of the dresser in my room! Such a spectacle I have never witnessed at my own house only days after Halloween!
The Ecuadorians might even be more gung-ho Christmas than the US, if you can imagine that! Christmas has arrived!! Back when I was living in Quito for orientation, the large chain stores had full sections of the floor devoted to Christmas decorations. That was back in September!
As a child, the anticipation of the arrival of Christmas was always unbearable. It’s no wonder, since the commercialization of the holiday has encouraged department stores to stock their windows and aisles with figures of Santa Claus, elves, pine trees, and fake snow. Just the sight of it all is enough to make anyone feel the proximity of Christmas is near, though usually we are only in October when we begin to see such decorations crowd the stores. Perhaps, the day after Halloween is when they magically appear, as though Santa’s elves were working overtime the night before to bring Christmas early the next morning.
Despite such temptations to force the early arrival of Christmas, in my family, we always give the holiday of Thanksgiving the recognition and importance it deserves. This meant, that no matter how hard we may have pleaded, Christmas decorations in our house did not come out of the attic or garage until after Thanksgiving (well after Thanksgiving if I remember correctly). The great hunt for the perfect Christmas tree was always on Clark’s and my minds. When we questioned when it was going to happen, it was usually, “maybe next weekend, or the weekend after that…” And the hardest wait we had to endure was the hanging of the stockings. Mom, I still don’t know what it is you have against the stockings, but we always put up a fight about hanging the stockings. If Mom won, usually she did, they would not go up until Christmas Eve. How awful!
Even though my Machala family is ahead of the Christmas wagon, they have been very busy planning Thanksgiving first. Thanksgiving is not a national holiday here but several people do celebrate it. Especially with the importance of religion in my family here, Thanksgiving is a day they feel very important to celebrate and remember how important it is to give thanks for all you have and for all God has provided. They are planning a large Thanksgiving potluck celebration to be held at the church. I have not so willingly committed myself to making a pumpkin pie. Lourdes (host mom) said she could find me a pumpkin. I haven’t told her yet that the only way I know how to make a pumpkin pie is with pumpkin from the can! Hope I can get a hold of that here!
And, best of all, my host family here is above all, thankful for family. They were sure to tell me that we would be home from the Thanksgiving potluck in time for me to call my family at home. Don’t worry, I’ll be right there at the table with you once again!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
