The Menu

(Today's guest blog comes from Seth Harlan, who selfishly abandoned us all in our time of greatest need (ie. cooking at 25 lb. turkey) to enjoy Thanksgiving with his family. His actual family. As if that's what Thanksgiving's about...)

Thanksgiving Dinner Menu in Ecuador
25 lbs turkey (stuffed or unstuffed)
3 casseroles
2 pies
1 veggie plate
5+ side items
2 Sauces
4 beverage choices
Bread: optional

You may find a similar menu feeding 25 people at Obama’s table this Thanksgiving, but in Ecuador a meal like this only feeds 8. Do we really need mashed potatoes and a sweet potato casserole? If you name is Eliah, the answer is a definitive YES!!! The fact is, no matter how excessive the menu appears, it’s impossible to have a Thanksgiving dinner without at least one recipe from at least one grandmother of every PD in Ecuador. It’s usually the one time of year that PDs feel homesick. No expense can be spared on this occasion, and all things must be included, no matter how hard are to find or cook. Canned pumpkin and cranberry sauce are shipped from home (thanks Mrs. Fulton!), 25 pound turkeys are bought (not because we need 25lbs, but because there aren’t many other options), and PDs spend an hour selecting the menu and delegating tasks.

This year, I will spend Thanksgiving with my own family at my parents house Florida, and while I won’t miss the excitement how figuring out how to fit a 25 pound turkey into a 2x2.5ft oven, or standing in line to cook a side dish over one of the four burners on the Manna stove, I will miss sitting down at the table with the people I have come to consider family. It’s a truly special moment when the entire house sits down to a Thanksgiving feast after slaving for hours, fighting to keep Serena from sampling all of your dishes, and reminding Mark that the only thing he is allowed to do is wash dishes. The moment you cut into the turkey and pour the apple cider, you realize that you’re really not that far away from home. Instead of pro football you have the neighborhood soccer teams; instead of the rush the stores on black Friday, you have to rush to the corner venta to buy boxed wine before it closes; and instead of crazy Uncle TJ’s antics, you have “Uncle” Mark Hand, which counts for something. In other words, you make due with what you have, and in the end Thanksgiving in Ecuador isn’t so bad after all. To everyone down there, I want you to know that I’ll miss you guys and I hope you all have an amazing thanksgiving. Save me some leftovers, and I’ll see you Sunday.

Seth"

A Good Read

Match the PD with the book they brought to read in Papallacta this weekend:

a) Rising Tide -------------------------------------------------1) Eliah
b) Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince ----------------2) Jocelyn
c) World War Z -----------------------------------------------3) Seth
d) The Rise of American Democracy ---------------------- 4) Holly
e) Light in August-------------------------------------------- 5) Chris
f) The Audacity of Hope------------------------------------- 6) Dana
g) How to Change the World--------------------------------7) Dunc
h) The Fountainhead---------------------------------------- 8) Serena
i) Barrel Fever ------------------------------------------------9) Mark

(answers below)

a=7 b=8 c=9 d=1 e=5 f=2 g=3 h=6 i=4

Little Packages

Today's blog is perhaps more of a personal anecdote than a program update, but I couldn't help but share it with you all.

I've made it no secret these past few weeks that I love autumn. Bemoaning its Ecuadorian absence on my personal blog, making references to it in the monthly update, carving a gourd that only slightly resembled a pumpkin, and fixing far too many mugs of apple tea in an attempt to channel the wonder that is Coloradan mountain apple cider, my other roommates, friends from home, extended family, etc. know too well how much i miss American fall.

Imagine my surprise and delight when I received a lumpy letter from one of my best friends (and past college roommates) Ashley, containing no fewer than 14 slightly crunched but fabulously colored autumn leaves. Picked up on one of her afternoon walks through St. Louis, Ash found Oak, Beech, Red and Sugar Maple, Hickory, and Buckeye leaves, stuck them in a manila envelope with my favorite picture of the two of us, and postmarked it to South America.

It's sweet to be so taken care of; Thank you, Thank you, Ash!

Holly

(check those beauties out! gold! red! orange!)

(The beautiful, leaf-gifting Ash and I back in Nashville)

Cows

At any given time, on any given day, shepherds can be seen from our upstairs windows directing their herds up and down our main “cobblestone” (ie. cement block path) street. Apparently the grassy stretch off which our front door lies provides choice sweet grass perfect for long gestation periods and multiple stomachs. The little guy from the picture was so caught up in the vegetation that he didn’t notice when his entire family LEFT. He hung out in front of our house for a good hour before realizing, ‘oh wait a second, i’m alone. oh...NO.’ Thus began an imaginably scary 45 minutes of moo’ing his heart out while staying rooted in the same exact position. After half an hour of this, I couldn’t take his sad lonesome moo’s and so decided to take a picture with him. Because we all know that when you’re lost, what you really want is someone you don’t know to take a picture with you. Help you memorialize the moment. Or something.

Happy to oblige, little guy.

His shepherd did return 20 minutes later and smacked his rear all the way back to the herd. It was a rough day for all involved.

Thanks for checking in!
Holly

(me and the forgotten calf)

A Tale of Horror and Suspense

(Today's guest blog comes from the infamous Chris Taylor, Manna Project International's state-side, go-to, answer-anything man. Currently residing in our Ecuadorian home for the next week, Chris was coerced into contributing to the blog to make up for the fact that I have missed three of the past 5 days. You're welcome.)

"Today’s blog is exciting for two reasons. The first reason is because I, Chris Taylor, legendary suspense writer, will be penning this week’s chilling edition of “The Guest Blog”. The second reason is even more exciting but you will have to read on to discover what it is.

When I arrived in Conocoto I quickly remembered how easy it is to get into the good graces of Americans living abroad in Latin America... and also how quickly they can turn against you. A quick, pre-flight stop at CVS for a bag of candy or a jar of peanut butter is really all it takes to ensure a warm welcome and pleasant stay. How foolish I felt upon arriving empty handed, having forgotten that the only real currencies down here in the Manna house bear the names Hershey’s or Skippy. I realized my fatal mistake only just before entering the doors of the Manna house where the PDs were hungrily awaiting my gift bearing arrival.

In a meager attempt at friendly relations I greeted the kitchen full of PDs with a sheepish smile, arms outstretched, hoping that my visitor’s faux pax would go unnoticed. My hopes were frighteningly dashed as the entire household shoved me out of the way and began rifling through my suitcase. I watched with terror as their initial disappointment quickly turned to a quiet rage. “Where’s the durned peanut butter?” growled Dana, the house’s newest and apparently hungriest arrival. “He didn’t even bring Pop Tarts,” a gaunter-looking Eliah mumbled and then their eyes... their eyes… eerily calm, turned to me in unison. The next words I heard will remain burned into my memory for years. A sinister curl of Dunc’s lips and then, “Let’s give him the treatment.”

At this point I must warn you dear reader that the following is not for the faint of heart or mind. The description of the aforementioned “treatment” is not an exaggeration but the actual events, which I have barely managed to survive through this past week.

First of all, they began making me throw my toilet paper in the wastebasket. Yuk! Also, I got a painful sunburn on my shoulders from rafting, which they all secretly knew would happen. I have tried unsuccessfully for days to email my mum while Jocelyn, Holly, and Serena continue to delight in sucking up the bandwidth with YouTube videos and Skype conferences amongst themselves. Mark, their de facto leader, remains secluded in his temple of an apartment whispering, “The horror, the horror” over and over again. He has bravely assisted my plight at his own risk by sneaking me portions of his delicious Nutella stash. But take hope reader! Their barbarism has slowly waned as the days pass and one named Seth has began regular communications with me. Still, as late as last night I was subjected to a two hour long meeting about programs and house topics. Bleh!

I have recently begun to see a glimmer of hope that I might survive my visit. But please dear reader, take note of the important moral to my horrifying tale. Any time you’re coming to visit Program Directors living abroad, know that a simple treat will make the difference between being warmly accepted and being subjected to their worst tortures. I bid you safe travels.

Yours in unnecessarily suspenseful writing,
Chris Taylor"

(the gifts Chris should have brought)