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Quick Update

alright, alright i know it´s been way too long since i´ve updated this. instead of writing a novel detailing every single thing i´ve done that has kept me from writing to you, i´ve decided to do a quick rundown of the more important events of the past few months and then later (if you´re lucky and i´m just that bored) i´ll expand a little.

first, let´s talk about dad´s visit way back in late august. i don´t take full responsibility for not updating you about his visit because i asked him (very nicely) to write me a blogpost from his perspective detailing our trip and never heard back. we basically went on a whirlwind tour of ecuador starting in and around quito and going north to the cloud forest and then to a huge indigenous market called otavalo, we then headed east into the oriente (amazon jungle) where we stayed for a few days exploring the jungle and trying our best not to get eaten alive by bugs, next we headed south to my favorite city in ecuador, cuenca, where dad got to meet a bunch of my pc friends and buy an authentic panama hat, after that we headed back up north through some old inca ruins into riobamba and eventually cebadas (my site). i´ll keep it at a tease in the hopes that dad might get pestered enough by my adoring public to grace us with a blogpost of his own (you know how those update your blog emails always get me...)

next, i went to quito for a weeklong pc conference called reconnect. each volunteer was required to bring his or her counterpart or at least someone from their community to the conference. i brought my boy jaime. we had to give a presentation about our sites and what we had found from doing our CAT (community assesment tools) interviews. i made a quick video highlighting some of the interviews and a short powerpoint presentation and then jaime and i presented together. i uploaded my video to youtube so feel free to watch it. reconnect really helped jaime and i sit down and discuss our plans for the future and it helped him see the pc side of things and get a better feel for what it is we are all doing here and how much of an impact we can make during our time here. after the counterparts and/or community contacts left, it was just the pcvs left for a few nights of craziness which resulted in 4 shaved heads, 1 broken leg, and a whole bunch of headaches.

after reconnect, i went with a couple friends to our friend sarah´s site in the cloud forest. it was pretty close to where i went with dad, but not quite. we stayed ther for a night and then headed back to quito to hang out with our friend regan (the one who broke her leg during the conference) before she got sent to washington d.c. to wait out the 45 days of being medevac´ed. hopefully she´ll be able to come back if she is healed enough after the 45 days, but the doctors weren´t making it seem very likely. i´m super bummed that she had to leave because she was one of my good friends here, but don´t worry we already have plans to live together post pc.

after a few days in quito, i figured it was time to grace my community with my presence and get down to all the business jaime and i talked about during reconnect, so i headed back to cebadas. there is now another volunteer who lives in cebadas so the 2 of us started teaching at the colegio on wednesday and thursday afternoons. she is a health volunteer so her classes are about basic health practices, sex ed, hiv/aids stuff, etc and since i´m an ag volunteer i´m going to be working on a school garden with the kids and mixing in a little nutrition and environmental education classes in there once in awhile.

well, that´s about all i´ve got for you guys now. while i was in quito, my computer unexpectedly broke so it stayed there to get fixed and i´m hoping to get it back by the end of the month. special belated bday shoutout to G- hope you had a great bday and i´m still waiting for a call so that we can catch up and i can wish you a happy bday (albeit belated, by now) in person!

oops, forgot to post the video link- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkigXn6TPoA
keep in mind the internet here is really slow so i had to compress it down a lot and the quality kinda flew out the window, but it gives you a little taste for where i live and the people i live and work with so enjoy!!

Comments

  1. WOW...that is lot to review in one sitting...you will need to rest up before telling us about the current social unrest happening...maybe Dad will update on all the details of the trip but I basically saw every move during the video footage that he took with you!! miss ya and love ya...be safe!

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  2. Just checking to see if you had written something....and it looks like this was just posted :) We love the sweaters, thank you!!! As for the kids...Maddie is potty trained, and has taken up ballet and tap and Nathan is her biggest fan! He is babbling and getting close to sitting on his own. Mark is doing well, he did give up his triathlons (to busy with work and kids) but playing tennis again regularly. Sadly, Stolie passed away a couple of weeks ago. Love you and miss ya!

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  3. sorry i missed youcalling I will try yousoon Had a good b day.It was fun and you were missed. I will call soon. I think of you all the time. I will try calling you soon. take care love you G

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  4. Hi rachey! I just finished tickeling Presleys back and now she is asleep! Your blog kept me company as this demanding little 4 years old yelled, "tickle my back slower!". Sheesh! Buy honestly your writing is awesome and I'm so envious of your adventure! If I could do it all over again I think I would have done something like your doing. BUT since that won't happen I'll live through you!! Keep writing in the blog- I have a great mental pic of what i think Ecuador is like... Miss ya!

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  5. Hi Rachel, Just checking in to see if you had posted aything but not yet. Has the weather changed there. We have been busy with YES, THE GIANTS! hOW FUN s.f WAS cIVIC cENTER WAS JAMMED and the cable cars brought all the players down market street. For sure you would have been there if you were here. You would have loved every minute. We then had to face the election. very disappointing. Now lets see what thse 2 years bring? Whst's new with you. Any changes??? I hope to talk with Mom and Dad this week. They should be arriving back home tonight. Any how I miss you. I hope I'm somewhere when Mom makes another call to you so I can say Hi
    Love you and a Big Hug
    Grandma Bev
    xxxxxxxooooooo

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