Ants, ants and more ants...

Ormigas..aka ants.
The people here are so generous with their gifts and are always bringing by fresh fruit and different foods to try. One of my neighbors brought by a giant papaya, and I cut it up to share with my host family. After about 30 minutes, we had finished the papaya, and I was collecting the plates to take them back into the kitchen. When I returned, I was shocked to find thousands and thousands of ants taking over the kitchen. Apperantly, I had left a little bit of the papaya juice behind on the counter and the ants were able to detect the sugar. Ahhhh! My host mom and I had to pull out the bug spray and get rid of all the invaders. I am so carefull now to make sure not even a single crum is left behind.

Feliz Cumpleanos a ti! I went to my neighbor´s daughts birthday party last week. It was very similar to little kid birthday parties in the US. Jumbaliah´s 1st Birthday!

(No matter how many pictures I took, I could never get a photo of her smiling)

The Peace Corps staff came to visit my site last week, so it is custom in the rural communities to kill a chicken to serve to the guests. My host family tried to get me to do the honors, but I luckily got out of it by offering to make a fruit salad to go on the side.
There was still an egg inside to lay for the next day. (Not my favorite thing here in Ecuador.)

My neighbor Jennifer, Me and Tia Monce (my host aunt, she is a riot and I love her!)

Juramento de Bandera is a formal ceremony that the Ecuadorians celebrate in the schoools to honor their flag. The students graduating this year had to salute the flag in front of everyone, kneel to kiss the tail end of the flag and then proudly shout ¨Te Juro¨( which more or less means I honor the)

During the lenghy ceremony, one girl passed out and everyone ran to check on her. She had gone unconcious and now everyone was looking at the Gringa (aka. me) to give medical assistance. :/ (No matter how many times I tell them, they still like treat me as if I am the doctor)

I did my best to help by elevating her feet, giving her water/gatorade and luckily she woke up and was okay. As soon as we got her off the stage and sitting in a chair, another girl passed out. We attended to her, and because of the lack of ventilation, maybe lack of a good breakfast, and from standing for so long, over the next 30 minutes 5 or 6 more girls passed out. (Dios Mio!) I handed out water to all of the girls and tried to get them to sit down but because the ceremony is so formal and is a sign of respect, they refused to take a break. I thought it was crazy, but fortunately the ceremony was coming to an end. All the girls ended up being okay, but I was sure glad when everything was over...no more Dr. Alea.

The river behind my house that my host brother and the neighbor kids like to ¨banarse¨in. (To say you are going to play/swim in the river they say ¨banarse,¨ which litterally means to take a bath in the river) Gladys, Sandra and Delia

The girls I like to hang out with in my community.

My new Ecua gang...¨Caritas Felices¨

Nearly One Month in Site

My host brother, Jose Abel with our giant lime that was growing on the tree in front of our house for about 1 year


The delicous lime, which was growing more limes inside


One of the medical brigades that I helped out with in a small rurual community. At first they wanted me to give the vaccinations to the kids, but I had to explain that I am a health promoter, not a certified nurse/doctor....even though sometimes they insist on calling me Doctor Alea.
This dentist performed many teeth extractions this day...lots of blood and little an anesthetics
The doctors and nurses from the health chenter in my community

I have fallen in love with all the kids here


"Saltamontes" I still am amazed by some of the bugs here. This grasshopper is the same size of a bird and was flying around in my house as I was running in the other direction.

I named this grasshopper Jennifer in honor of my friend who works in the mayor's office (She is sitting next to me as I write this caption and understands a little bit of English)Cecilia (my host mom), Me, Jose Abel (host brother) and Monce (host aunt)
I really lucked out with such a great host family!

My new address and phone number

My new address:

Alea Richmond

Cuerpo de Paz

Casilla 13-01-420

Portoviejo-Manabi

Ecuador

South America

To call me from the U.S.:
011+593+94168673 (new phone-Porta)

but I still have my old phone too in case my new number does not work:
011+593+84577182 (old phone-Movistar)

Since, I do not have access to the Internet as often, I would love to get a surprise phone call and hear your voice!

Also, to send a package, please remember to keep them under 4lbs. so they will get through customs. Thanks again! Abrazos!

Day 2 in Site

So after 10 long weeks of training, I am now officially a United States Peace Corps volunteer. Last Friday, I swore-in to service with the other 29 trainees from my Omnibus 100 at teh Ambassador´s residence in Quito.
I´m flooded with emotions...happy, scared, fear of change, fear of the unknown. Can I do this? What will my community think of me? How will I make a difference? 2 years away from my family and friends. When I return to the U.S. I´ll be 2 years older, a new president will be in office, my friends will be finishing graduate school and some will be married.
Although, I am anxious/nervous for what the next 2 years will bring, I am still happy. I am excited for the relationships I will build in my community, and to find out how I can make a positive impact, specifically focusing on health issues. I will be educating six different communities about nutrition, hipertension, diabetes, sex education, etc. I know that I am not going to save the world here, but I can make a difference.
I think about everyone back home a ton, and I thank you for keeping me updated! Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers during these last 10 weeks! Thank you Courtney for the awesome music CD...good music has a way of taking me right back home. I appreciate everyone´s support, and I know it is giving me a lot of strength out here. The 2 yr. count down begins now...

Swear-In Ceremony! Laura, Corrie, William and Me

The Ambassador Heather Hodges is brand new and just arrived in Ecuador 3 weeks before our Swear-In. She gave a really nice speech, and her house was b-e-a-utiful!
Good looking Peace Corps group: Omnibus 100

Sam, my language facilitator Carmen (I love her!) and Me

Casey, Laurita, Darle, Sam and Me (I miss you girls!)

I got to meet Correa, the president of Ecuador, when he came to my community to speak this week. He is proposing a new Constitution for Ecuador.

PS. Now that I am in my site, I have limited access to the Internet...sad day. So, it may take me a little longer to respond to emails, but keep them coming because I love reading them! Love you all!

Brain eating zombies

La Hacienda Guachala, which is considered the oldest existing colonial hacienda in Ecuador.

Making new friends in Ecuador

We visited La Mitad del Mundo (The Middle of the World) in Quito.

From atop the globe statue

2 hemispheres at once

Beautiful postcard views on our Sunday hike in Tabacundo.

We climbed to the highest point that we could see


Casey, Me and Garrick’s prom photo on top of the mountain.

Yours truly

We were so sore the next day from our 5 hour hike but it was good to be active and outdoors!

We were inspired to make a random low budget horror film by the laguna, which starred Erin as the brain eating zombie.

Kristen brought her fishing pole and we even gave fishing a try at the lake….it turns out these fish did not like cheese as bait.

And I leave you with this image....Jake navigating the dusty roads on our hike while keeping his respiratory health in mind.
Peace Corps gave us face masks last week due to volcanic activity in north Ecuador...apparently ash tends to travel into the surrounding cities. We have not seen any of the repercutions, but PC like to be extra safe. (which Im sure you like to hear Mom)

I believe my next post will be from my new site when I am an official Peace Corps volunteer! (mas o menos in two weeks) So for now, I miss you all dearly and hope things are going wonderfully for you! Sending my love!

And the queen goes to......

Tuesday was our big soccer match between the two Peace Corps training groups (health group vs. youth and families group). My health team brought their A game, and we played some intense soccer games!Before could start the game, we held a traditional Ecuadorian ceremony to elect a queen for the game. Each of the five communities that the PC volunteers are living in had to select a girl volunteer to represent their town. I had the honors of representing Cangahua. When I showed up for the competition, all of the other representatives were all dolled up and wearing lovely outfits. I, however, was dressed in sweatpants and a red bandana ready to play soccer. Therefore, during our lunch break, my friend Casey and I rushed to her host family’s house to try to creatively assemble an outfit for the queen competition.

We found some fabulous yellow, orange and green sheets in her closet so I decided to make dress/toga. I looked like I had stepped out of the 70s with the colorful toga and big hoop earrings. My language facilitator, Carmen, helped accessorize my outfit with a “Miss Cangahua” sash and colorful homemade bouquet. I was a little nervous at first because the staff made the ceremony very formal, and different people presented and gave speeches.

We each had to stand front and center as they announced each nominee for queen.
My Cangahua group made me a wonderful sign saying “Viva Cangahua” (with a giant guinea pig on the sign) and cheered me on the entire time. I love you guys!

It came down to candidates, the amazing Kristin, who dressed in the traditional indigenous clothing from Ecuador, and me dressed in my homemade colorful dress. We each had to give a mini-speech saying why we should be elected as the final “Reina del Deporte” (Queen of the game). I had fun with the speech and even tried to incorporate some dance moves into my presentation.
The competition was intense, and it was time to announce the “Reina.” Kristin and I held hands, crossed our fingers and nervously awaited the final decision. Drum roll please…..and the “Reina del Deporte” for 2007 goes to.........

......Senorita Cangahua…Alea Richmond!
I was crowned “Reina” with a pearl studded crown and a red “Senorita del Deporte” satin sash. I had to say a small thank you speech and take a victory walk down the sidewalk while giving the traditional Miss America wave and wiping away my tears of excitement!
Good times!

Then, onto our big soccer tournament. The health group all sported red shirts with red bandanas, and the game got intense.
Our group was shouting out cheers on the sidelines… “Tigres, leones, elefantes…mi equipo siempre esta adelante!”
Laura, Sam and I

We played for three hours straight and when time ran out, the score was tied 1-1. We had a shoot out and each team scored another point. As a result, we settled for a tie.
Wednesday, our entire training group went to Cuicocha for a three hour hike around a beautiful crater lake and volcano. You can check out more about Cuicocha Lake at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuicocha
The hike was all up hill, and we were suppose to envision the mountain as a metaphor for challenges we are going to face during our PC service. It was great weather, and my group sang Disney songs as we trekked up the trail.
At the top of the mountain was a stunning view of the lake/glacier, and we had a picnic lunch there to conclude our hike. I can tell I am already going to be sore from both the soccer game and the long hike.

Casey, Sam, Me, Chris and Laura

Omnibus 100


After we returned from our hike, we went to our favorite little restaurant called Aroma to have a snack. We hung out for quite some time, and then ended up being taste testers for the restaurant. The owners want to open a sushi restaurant in Quito and wanted us to sample their dishes. Free sushi….I couldn’t pass up this opportunity! The food was very tasty, and told them we wouldn’t mind being their food critics in the future.

I also got brave and tried ¨street meat.¨ There is a little food stand next to the bus stop that always smells so delicious but we were told not to eat food from street vendors. I figured I ate experimental sushi for dinenr so I might as well go all out and try the food at the questionable food stand that I have always been curious about....I can report back that I survived the street meat and
luckily did not get sick! Yay!


I only have one more week in Cayambe, and then I am off to Quito for a week to wrap up PC training. I become an official Peace Corps volunteer August 29th when we have our swear-in ceremony at the US Ambassadors house.

Then, I am off to Manabi on the coast to officially start my two year service. I am excited to get started working with my community, but I am going to be sad to leave my PC friends.