History in the making

My first Halloween in Ecuador was spent 12 hours away

from my site in a small jungle town called El Chaco. Our hotel sat in the middle of a pretty spectacular view of the oriente. Over 60 volunteers congregated in El Chaco to compete in a weekend long rafting competition and to celebrate La noche de Brujas (Halloween). It was so great to see my friends from training who I had been missing dearly.
For our Halloween celebration, I was very impressed with everyone’s creativity for their costumes, considering resources were limited. My friend Laura and I decided to dress up as Ecuador’s staple food….rice and potatoes. My wonderful neighbors got excited when they heard I needed to make a costume that would represent rice. Yolanda and Ana Maria brought out a tape measurer, a sketch book and fabric to design my dress. They also took the initiative to find a special kind of rice still in its shell to use for the
dress, which they insisted would be more visible and authentic.

At the Halloween party we had Raphael from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Sarah Palin, Little Red Ridding Hood and the Big Bad Woof, Waldo (who made his way into almost every photo), people representing Peace Corps staff members and the Spice Girls even made an appearance. The rest of the weekend consisted of rafting competitions and a hike to an incredible waterfall. It´s hard to show how magnificant the waterfall truly was through pictures but I was taken back by its tremendous force and beauty. People were tubbing in the river that extended from the waterfall and we watched as the people bounced around on the intertubes that were tied together and tried to keep from sinking into the chilly water.

November 4th, what a day!
I had just recently finished up my travels from El Chaco and had spent one night in Quito before jumping on an overnight bus back to my site.
I arrived in my quaint coastal town the morning of November 4th. It is stra nge how after 2 short months, this rural little town now gives me a sense of familiarity and comfort after a spending a weekend away. I did, however, only have a brief amount of time before I was had to jump on another bus to spend one more night out of my site. I had been invited to watch the US Presidential Election with the members of the US Consulate in Guayaquil, and I couldn´t pass up the opportuni ty.
So, I quickly unpacked my bags from Halloween and threw together a day bag to travel to Guayaquil. I had been excited to see my host mom, Cecilia, to tell her all about my adventures to El Chaco so we chatted it up over breakfast. (I had my usual cereal and homemade yogart) She caught me up with everything I had missed and made me promise to show her pictures when I got back from Guayaquil. The, I was out the door and off again!
In between my bus transfers, I was able to call my Mom in the states to wish her a very happy birthday! (I miss you Mom! What a monumental day. Im sure you will never forget this birthday!)
I arrived in Guayaquil feeling like I hadn´t slept in days. (okay, so it was really only 2 days but it was only my 2nd presidential election as an elegible voter, and even if I am living abroad, I

didn´t want to miss this historical moment.) My friend Ke ndra and I checked into our hotel, got all fancied up and headed to the Hilton Hotel for the US Election celebration. We were formally greeted by US Consulate members and then asked to place a sticker in the state where we voted in. I proudly put my yellow sticker in the state of Colorado, remebering how difficult the process was to get my vote to the Arapahoe County office. (Thank you Mom...who knew you could vote via fax?!) The night consisted of various speeches, a mock election for Ecuadorian participants, fancy trays of horderviers and local TV stations lingering in the background.
One of the highlights of the night was talking with Jefferson Perez. If you don´t remember who this Olympic champion is, you should check out this video. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2urNVmKnEaQ)
We also decided to get a picture with Miss Guayaquil...it was a Reina (Queen) sandwich with Sonya in the middle. (Kristen, the other tall PC volunteer, and I had been the Queens for our communites during training.)
The evening was a night to remember! I feel like this election has raised enormous hope that extends overseas.