Thursday, April 15, 2010

My town is drowning

We have had an incredible amount of rain lately. My town has begun to flood. It hasn't caused too serious of damage yet but come another big rain and I will have to canoe out of my house.




The boys next door decided to aprovechar and go fishing.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Making headlines.....

Last week, I traveled with Delia, BFF and counterpart from my site, to Guayaquil to a HIV/AIDS prevention conference coordinated by Peace Corps and Non-profit organization VIHDA. We spent 3 days learning about "Cuanto Sabes," a 2 month long educational program that is designed to teach about HIV/AIDS in high school settings. Vihda does tremendous work, and we left the workshops feeling pumped and ready to replicate the program in our town.

On the last day, the U.S. Ambassador made a showing at our event and brought the press right along with her.After her big formal speech and taking hundreds of photos with the Ambassador for the papers, I was sought out to give an interview...the camera and bright lights shined in my face as I rambled on for a few minutes. My face turned all different shades of red until the Embassy staff finally cut the interview off....I was so thankful. I'm much more use to being on the other side of the camera, asking the questions and playing the reporter. :)

This is the article and photo that came out in EL UNIVERSO the following day.
Jovenes marcan el 50% de nuevos casos de SIDA
La embajadora de EE.UU., Heather Hodeges, visito a voluntarios de la mision Cuerpo de Paz, que ayer recibian un taller sobre VIH.

La problematica de la expansion del virus del VIH/SIDA reunio ayer a unos 50 voluntarios de la mision estadounidense Cuerpo de Paz en un taller sobre consejeria y medidas de prevencion contra el mal, con el fin de replicar la ensenaza en communidades ecuatorianas donde realizan labor social.

La capacitacion estuvo a cargo de la fundacion Vihda, que trabaja en este campo, y se desarrollo en el Grand Hotel Guayaquil. Alli fue invitada la embajadora de EE.UU., Heather Hodges, quien resalto el trabajo de los jovenes estadounidenses en el desarrollo de programas relacionados al nucleo familiar, salud communitaria, juventud y agricultura sustentable.

Hodges indico que en los acutales momentos el 50% de nuevos casos de SIDA en Ecuador corresponde a jovenes.

Anuncio que en junio proximo llegaran al pais quince voluntarios del Cuerpo de Paz para trabajar en un plan de insercion de infectados con VIH en la sociedad. Se centrara en las provincias de Guayas y Santa Elena.

Los voluntarios extranjeros laboran durante dos anos en el pais en asociacion con dirigentes de las comunidades. La norteamericana Andrea Martinez, por ejemplo, ejecuta un plan disenado para jovenes en Alausi (Chimborazo). "Hay que identificar sus intereses para de ese modo llegar a ellos," senalo.

La capacitacion tambien la recibieron voluntarios ecuatorianos que colaboran con el Cuerpo de Paz y la fundacion Vihda, como Paola Llamuca, de esta ultima entidad, de 16 anos, y con experiencia en talleres de orientacion juvenil.

-El Universo
*****Gives you a chance to practice your Spanish :)

surrounded by eggs

Sharing some of the American Easter traditions with my English classesDying eggs...proven to be a little more difficult when your eggs are brown.
Egg toss and later an egg hunt...I was eating hard boiled eggs for almost every meal for a week. Deviled eggs were hit! Teacher Delia and Teacher Talia
Happy (late) Easter!

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

the beautiful skies of rainy season

I keep falling more and more in love with my site. I feel SO blessed and fortunate to have been placed in my lovely little community. Pictures just don't do justice but this place is beautiful.
Poza Honda, the lake, is my favorite place to be in Ecuador! Now that it has been raining like crazy, it is so full that the water has passed over the dam and is filling up the river.
the excess of water has turned the dam into a semi-waterpark
this is the side where the water spills over into the river from Poza Honda and creates a GIANT waterslide.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

working with the ninos

Kids summer camp....teaching about the environment.
I worked with the youth in town to put on a 2 week summer camp for the children in the community who without classes were bored and looking for something to do. We worked with over 50 kids. youth promoters who did a spectacular managing all the little rascals My little godson, star of the play...or at least I thought so as a proud madrina. :)

English and Computer class