Say hello to my little happy heart

Corazon Feliz

My medical supplies finally arrived! My fridge is now filled with glucose and cholesterol tests, I have boxes packed with stethescopes, glucometers, scales and other medical supplies. I am so excited!

After doing extensive interviews in my 6 communities to find out what the communities health needs were, I found out that one of the number one causes of mortality here is due to heart disease. There is a very high percentage of people that have hypertension and diabetes.

Therefore, I am going to implement a “Corazon Feliz,” Happy Heart, program. I will be teaching 2-3 volunteers/facilitators from each of the communities how to take blood pressure and configure BMI (Body Mass Index). Accompanying the blood pressure training, I will be training the volunteers on nutrition, causes and symptoms of heart diseases, easy ways to implement physical activity into their everyday lives and other important health themes that pertain to the prevention of heart diseases.

These volunteers will then go back to their communities to teach about these health topics. I am hoping the project will be more sustainable by training the volunteers and having them lead the workshops instead of me just directly teaching to the communities. The program will be 6 months, and I am excited to get everything started. I’ll keep you posted!

My partners in crime, Sarah and Kristen who are other PC volunteers implementing the Corazon Feliz program in their communities

Hodgepodge of what I have been up to….

Spending time with the girls. We celebrated my World Teach friend, Irena’s, birthday Ecuadorian style by going out dancing. Traveling by canoe

Summer camp for the kids in my community. The summer camp was focused on building self-esteem and self-empowerment. My favorite session was when we had someone from my community dress up as a mago, wizard/magician. He told them to close their eyes and to imagine all their dreams. The children drew pictures of their hopes and dreams, and then the mago passed a wand over their heads and granted all their dreams. All the kids were glowing that day and had such big aspirations. To finish off our summer camp, we had a party for all the parents to come see all the kids work. The kids were so proud. We had made puppets, and these two adorable boys put on a fabulous show. It was good experience working with the kids, even if I was completely exhausted after every session.

My PC friend Chris came up to the coast to visit me with his friends from the States. The boys made a scrumptious calamari dinner. I beg to differ with the Ecuadorians who say men don’t belong in the kitchen. Mira estes chicos que son expertos en la cocnina. Close up of the fresh squid

Semana Santa

To the cross I look,
To the cross I claim,
Of its offering I do drink,
Of its work I do sing,
All in my savior,
Both bruised and crushed,
Show them that God is love,
And God is just.

At the cross you beckon me,
Draw me gently to my knees,
And I am lost for words,
So lost in love,
I am sweetly broken,
Holy surrender

What a priceless gift,
Undeserved life,
Have I been given,
Through Christ crucified,
You’ve called me out of death,
You called me into life,
And I was under your wrath,
Through the cross I’m reconciled.

At the cross you beckon me,
Draw me gently to my knees,
And I am lost for words,
So lost in love,
I am sweetly broken,
Holy surrender

And all the cost I must confess,
How wondrous your redeeming love,
How great is your faithfulness.

At the cross you beckon me,
Draw me gently to my knees,
And I am lost for words,
So lost in love,
I am sweetly broken,
Holy surrender

-Jeremy Riddle

Last night I walked the “Via de Crucis.” Following hundreds of people from my village in the dark, singing hymns, carrying candles and remembering the walk that Jesus took before he was crucified.

A group of people from town were dressed in robes, and one in particular was dressed in white cloths with a crown of thorns placed on his head. We had Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jesus and the two criminals who carried their crosses next to Jesus present in the procession. It was a very moving reenactment.

The singing voices were elevated up into the sky and carried away by the gentle breeze, and the warm glow of the candles created an intimate ambiance. The procession continued until the town center where the scene of Christ’s crucifixion was replayed. People knelt in the streets while the Priest prayed and read scriptures from the Bible.

I have heard and read the story of Jesus’ death many times before but something about this night was very humbling.

After being asked about some of the American Easter traditions, I decided to introduce my host family to Easter egg dying. It proved to be a little more difficult since the eggs are dark brown here but it was fun non-the-less. Later we had a mini egg hunt, and then I told them the story about the Easter bunny. They couldn’t quite understand some of traditions we have, (especially considering most of them are based off the beginning of spring, which does not exist here) but they enjoyed they still enjoyed the culture exchange.

I enjoyed bringing some of the American Easter customs here, and I enjoyed taking part in the Semana Santa celebrations of Ecuador. The processions here brought my focus back to the true meaning of Easter.

“May peace be with you.”

Happy Birthday to one incredible father

Feliz cumpleaños Dad!

I wish I could be there to celebrate with you. Thanks for teaching me to be bold and courageous. Sending you lots of birthday hugs!! Miss and love you!

Guest Blog: Our Ecuadorian Escapade

Adventure- simply put, this is the one adjective I would choose to describe the trip my husband, Matt, and I took to visit Alea. All the guidebook reading I had done did little to prepare me for our trip off the beaten tourist track. Yet moving beyond the pages of the tourist guidebooks is precisely what makes a trip to visit Alea so wonderful- besides the fact that Alea is just an all-around awesome person whom we should all want to visit no matter which crazy part of the world she chooses to make home.

Remember way back (say, in October 2008) when Alea posted a blog entitled “Reasons to visit your favorite PC volunteer in Ecuador”? Well, I thought I’d report back to all you blog readers on how such a visit actually went for two of us who’ve made that journey. So, here it goes…

1. You don’t have to worry about currency change- true, but make sure you have a good deal of cash on hand at all times. Arriving at the beach in San Jacinto after a two hour taxi ride from Portoviejo, we (Alea included) were surprised to learn that we were two hours from the nearest ATM (guess where it was). The hotel we were staying at treated credit cards like FPOs (foreign plastic objects) so we were left to scrimp and save for the next day and a half.

2. Experience big lizards and giant tortoises up close and personal- the iguana park in Guayaquil really is something to be seen. It’s just plain weird to see so many prehistoric lizards wandering around freely. We all wondered what keeps them in the park since there’s nothing to prevent them from leaving. As for giant tortoises, that’ll have to wait for a future trip to the Galapagos.

3. Beautiful snowcapped volcanoes- maybe these exist at some other time of the year but I never saw anything that even closely resembled snow on our trip. The best we got was being sprayed with soapy colored foam during Carnival.

4. Become familiar with delicious costal food!- Sorry Alea, but this might be a bit of an overstatement. The mangos and coconuts growing in your yard were delicious. As for coastal? Well, Matt’s from south Louisiana and had never met a fish he didn’t like until he came to Ecuador.

5. We can “banarse”(bathe/swim) in the river that trails through my community/ Horseback riding up to the waterfalls near my house- while we didn’t venture into the river, some members of Alea’s youth group took us on a trek through the jungle to a waterfall that was great for swimming. Where are those horses you speak of Alea? We got the mud and water “death march” instead (just kidding).

6. Beach trip- wow, all I can say about the beach is OMG! There was no better place for us to get a feel for Carnival in South America. Huge street parties, dancing through the night, getting doused with ice water and beer. What more could you ask for? I can now check Carnival in South America off my lifetime to-do list.

7. You can experience the breathtaking views of Ecuador from the back of a camioneta (truck)- just be sure Alea actually knows how far you’ll be going before you hop in the truck. We wound up going on a three hour 4-wheeling adventure. Without sunscreen, Matt and Alea were slowly beginning to resemble lobsters. Need I mention, Alea was still in her pajamas!

8. You can say you stood on the equator at “La Mitad del Mundo”- I think all would agree that it’s a cheesy tourist spot but when else will you get the opportunity to have one foot in each hemisphere?

9. You can bargain for colorful jewelry, ornate rugs and indigenous artwork in the largest outdoor market in South America, Otavlo- Okay so most guys (including Matt) will probably not be uber-thrilled with spending the day shopping but there really is no better way to get all your souvenir/Christmas shopping done in one spot for so cheap. Plus, the bus ride there and back is pretty amazing at $3 r/t for seeing the countryside. Just be sure to pack the Dramamine for all those mountain switchbacks.

10. Me!- Spending time with Alea (who we will forevermore lovingly refer to as T’Alia) truly was the best part of the trip. She is an excellent hostess and tour guide, not to mention interpreter.

So what are you waiting for? Come join Alea’s exclusive club of Visiting Adventurers.

-Signed (with love),
Ariana Landry

Dear friends from the States come to visit

My good friend from childhood, Ariana, and her lovely husband Matt came out to Ecuador for 10 days. Their journey started in Quito where they did lots of site seeing and stood on the Mitad del Mundo. They took a day trip to the outdoor market in Otavalo to snag some Christmas presents (for next year...boy they are good at thinking ahead), and then hoped on a plane to meet me in Portoviejo. In a week, we saw the Pacific Ocean, participated in the nation-wide water fight, went on a country-side tour (in the back of a pick-up truck), hiked through the rainforest and played with iguanas…adventure from beginning to end.

My apartment turned into a big slumber party with Matt, Ariana and my friend Irena, from World Teach, all staying at my apartment. Thanks to Matt and Ari, I have a new air mattress!! Now I can have more visitors! (I now have two beds and the air mattress…..my apartment is coming along and ready to house more people. hint, hint.)

Now on to the photos of Ariana and Matt's visit...Ariana and I after we cleaned up from walking around San Clemente beach and having water, colored foam and other mysterious liquids thrown on us for the Carnival fiestas. For three days straight, people throw all sorts of water, mud, jello, etc on each other to celebrate Carnival.

The beach was packed from one side to the other with Ecuadorians, and we could barely find an open space to plant ourselves for the day.

Carnival: Crowds of people rode in the back of trucks loaded with ammo to toss at other passing cars.

Kids here live to participate in the Carnival celebrations. For three days straight, it is completely acceptable for them to throw whatever type of liquid they want at whatever person they choose without getting in trouble…a small child’s dream come true!

Although the tradition seemed a little odd to me, the kid inside me couldn’t help but pick-up a bucket and join in. My host brother had set-up his post early in the morning to start chucking water at all the cars that passed by our house. Ariana and I decided to offer him some more hands.

Still in my pajamas, I stood ready with a hose to drench any oncoming cars. I could tell Ariana was a little nervous, but after we had successfully soaked several people riding in the back of a truck (who were also throwing water at us), we both realized what a blast (and what a release) it was! All morning, we gave all the city folk who were coming out to the countryside (to spend the day at the river) a proper Carnival greeting. (hey, at least it was clean water).

Chillin’ on the patio drinking coconut juice after our water shenanigans

My host aunt wanted to “pasear” to show her co-workers some of the countryside, and I figured it was a perfect opportunity to give Ari and Matt a tour of my town. We hoped into the back of the truck to tag-a-long for the ride. What I thought would be a quick 15 min. trip to the center of town, ended up being a 3 hour ride up to the top of the mountain where people like to swim in the river. We were four-wheeling through the dirt roads, climbing hills and bouncing around in the back of the truck. We were laughing and having a good time but had no idea what we had committed ourselves to.

We found a donkey near the river and couldn’t leave without a photo with the sweet donkey.

Our spontaneous trip up to the scenic river site.

Us at the river. It was nice to show Ari and Matt the other communities that I work in, but we were not prepared to sit in the back of the truck for so long under the hot sun. We arrived back at the house several hours later, exhausted and a little pinker than we had started but you just can’t pass up opportunities like that to venture up to the beautiful countryside.My community youth group was excited to have visitors and wanted to give my friends a tour of Emaus but off the beaten trail. We packed lunches, water and swimsuits and headed into the jungle. Human pyramid at the waterfalls. See below for the video

I started teaching English class with my friend from World Teach. We teach every week to all the

Thank you Ariana and Matt for taking time to come out and spend an exciting week with me! I know that the campo life is an adjustment, and I appreciate you guys being up for all the random escapades. Un million de gracias for bringing me treats from the U.S. and for your generosity while you were here! I can’t say thank you enough….my house is always open to you for when you are ready for more good story moments!

Missing In Action No Longer :)

As the Ecuadorians would say, “hace los años que no te veo.” (It has been years since I last saw you.) Time has gotten away from me, and I can’t believe February has already come and gone. I have been staying quite busy since I last posted. (my birthday. Ahhh!)
So, I will do my best to catch you up to speed without writing a novel.

My host brother, Joselo, graduated grade school

Me, Joselo and his cousin Jennifer. (I could barely get him to stand next to me in a picture. It is a love hate relationship…hence, lots of patience required.) My host mom/counterpart, Cecilia, and I in Quito for Reconnect, a Peace Corps conference on developing projects.
It was Cecilia’s first time to Quito, and we had to do some scrambling before we left to find her some warm clothes to wear to bear the cold sierra weather. So, sporting a pair of my black shoes (she didn’t own any closed toe shoes), my counterpart and I took the 9 hour journey together to get to Quito where we met up with all my Peace Corps friends and their counterparts.
After the workshops for our counterparts were finished, they headed back to their sites and then my friends and I spent the rest of the week catching up, going out and speaking English!

After Reconnect, I went with my friend Chris to spend time with Sam in her site, Pacto. She lives in a cute little town that is similar in climate to my site. Good tranquilo time. My favorite part was our hike to the waterfalls. I’m looking forward to going back!

Random tree swing that reached out over a big crevasse with the river roaring below.

We headed to Ibarra for a Superbowl party. We made a seven layer dip and ate pizza trying to make the party feel as American as possible despite the fact that the game was in Spanish…(castigo! vs. penalty) Youth group conference at Crucita beach.

We are currently working on the theme sexuality, which is a very under addressed topic in my site. I help teach the workshops, and then I go to the youth group meetings to reinforce the info. that the youth promoters are teaching to their group.

Blowfish that we found out on the beach

Self-esteem activity with the Tamarindo youth group

More updates to come....