Barack and Roll

(Today's guest blog comes from Jocelyn Lancaster, and is a rumination on home and hope, change and pride. Enjoy!)

"Yesterday, we at MPIE spent one of the most historic days of our country's history well outside of its borders. Not only was the first African American U.S. president being sworn in, but the event marked the first real change in U.S. leadership during our politically conscious lives. The last time George W. Bush was not our president, I was 15 and way more preoccupied with tennis practice and geometry than foreign affairs and taxes. This particular shift, however, we have been following with scrutiny, from reading daily articles online to organizing and attending debate watching parties in Quito. Yesterday was significant in that we were all extremely aware of what this shift in power meant for us and for our country.

Dunc, Serena, Dana, Eliah, Mark, and I were able to go to a gringo restaurant in the Mariscal to watch the swearing in ceremony. It was PACKED with Americans. Even though most of us didn't know each other, a sense of unity and pride pulsed throughout the room as we listened to the resonation of Aretha Franklin's "America the Beautiful" and watched politically significant figures from both parties walk the grounds of Washington together, side by side.

I thought about how there must be pockets of U.S. ex-pats literally all around the world just like us, experiencing the same thing so far from home, and that even though I had no idea who or where these people were, we all have one thing in common.

Coming from such an amazing country makes experiences abroad even more special than they would be otherwise, because we feel secure that no matter where we go or what we desire to see, America the Beautiful will still be there waiting for us when we choose to return. And that though things do change, the values that our country is built upon, and the people within it, remain steady. Because of this, the American dream stretches to all ends of the Earth as its citizens venture out to try to make a difference beyond its borders and to experience new and exciting things.

If you know where you come from, you know where you have potential to go. I know for a fact that where I come from has directly influenced the things I have been able to do here in our little community south of the equator. Our programs and projects are a direct reflection of the ideals instilled in us by the United States, and by all of our supporters back home. Yup, that means you : )

Jocelyn"

(keeping up to date with inauguration day online)

King of the Apes

Apoyo Escolar has started up again (as has Adult English and Women's Exercise), and with it comes a whole new season of hilarious quotes from our overly excitable students. Today, a glimpse into a typical exchange in our Ecuadorian afternoons.

A little background characterization first:

Dylan: 12 years old, hyper-active, extremely high voice, always brings an intricate lunch to Apoyo (rice, chicken, potatoes...the kid is NOT lacking starch), likes to have full conversations with himself in the cave, a bit of a trouble student who has a difficult time focusing.

Mafe: 12 years old, the angel of Apoyo, absolutely darling and so smart, has everyone in the Manna house convinced she'll be Mayor of the town in 5 years, always smiling, her dogs love her so much they follow her to Apoyo every day.

Scenario: As Dylan and Mafe work diligently on their homework (ok, Dylan is actually singing the Ecuadorian national anthem and pretending to do fractions), one of Mafe's dogs decides to explore the inside of the Casa Barrial instead of waiting for her outside. Dylan immediately falls in love with the big German Shephard mix...the following dialogue happens.

Dylan: OHHH!!!! I LOVE THIS DOG! OH MY GOSH. I LOVE HIM. WHO'S IS HE?!
Mafe: He's mine, Dylan.
Dylan: Wow! What's his NAME?!
Mafe: Tarzan.
Dylan: (silent for a few seconds...) Umm...Mafe...? I hate to say this, but Tarzan is actually the "King of the Apes", and THAT is a DOG."
Mafe: Ummm...(looks at Dana pleading for help.)
Dana: ...(Can't respond, laughing too hard)
Holly: ...(Can't respond, laughing too hard)

Amazing. Tune in tomorrow for the first guest blog of the new year, written by the ever lovely Jocelyn Lancaster!

(The kids find my weakness; being tickled. Mafe is in front with pink sleeves, Dylan is in back with the too-big blue hat)

Dinner party for 17

(a wonderful gathering)

Tonight we had Pepita and her entire family; husband, 2 kids, niece, brother and sister-in-law, and their kids over for a dinner party at the Manna house. Serena went to get chicken in the pouring rain, Seth made fajitas, Jocelyn made her mom's famous Texas sheet cake, I made fiesta corn, Dana and Dunc squeezed limes to add to their Lemonade Tang mixed drink, Eliah chopped who knows how many peppers...and we all spent a hilarious and jam-packed afternoon fighting each other for space in the kitchen. Jos actually made her entire sheet cake on the couch :)

It was wonderful having a huge family over to join our equally huge family. After pushing together 3 tables, lighting all the candles, setting up puzzles for the kids (and trying to convince them that monkeys live in our trees outside), and pouring the after-dinner tea, we settled in to a few comfortable conversations with our friends. And we only struggled a little (at my end, at least) with our Spanish grammar.

Cheers!
Holly

Advertising and Shananigans

This afternoon Jocelyn, Serena and I headed into the Rumiloma community (where we host our programs) to post flyers and hang posters advertising our five programs which are starting up next week. Of course, we didn't actually get out the door until 1:30 this afternoon, which put us in Rumiloma right around 2. And what happens at 2, you might ask? It rains. Pours, actually. We were being stalked by near bursting storm clouds as we worked our way up and down the streets, soaking up every last dry moments before we ourselves were soaked.

Luckily the worst always seemed right behind us and we didn't get drenched. Tomorrow the plan is to be out the door by 10am so as to avoid the afternoon storms. Tomorrow if I whine about the rain we got drenched by in the afternoon, please feel free to call me out on it in the comments section :)

(Jocelyn and Serena demonstrate the correct way to tag team the tape)

After returning home and meeting Dunc and Dana in the foyer as they prepared to head out to Christian's, we all settled in for an afternoon of lesson planning, syllabus writing, exercise workout-planning (which is hysterical to watch, as it involves Serena playing and re-playing youtube workout videos from the 80's and trying to re-inact them in the living room...I had NO idea Jane Fonda was an aerobics instructor before she was an actress! The things you learn!), until Serena made the mistake of throwing her shoe at Eliah when he walked out of his room.

In under two seconds, Eliah had the front door open, Serena's missile shoe in hand, and was launching it out and over our front wall into the grass far beyond. Serena watched open-mouthed, then sprinted into Eliah's room to find something, which she proceeded to chuck out the still open door. Unfortunately (or fortunately, you choose), since the item Serena chose to throw was actually a pair of Eliah's boxers, they didn't have enough mass to clear the front wall, landing instead on the 10 foot covering above the main door.

Even better, the boxers were lilac.

Holly

(Eliah scales the front wall to retrieve his stolen undergarments)

Playground Project

(only one out of three swings is functioning)

Tuesday morning (after the whole Christian's English experience), I stopped by Aliñambi to take photographs of their various pieces of playground equipment for a potential project. Seth and Serena were both already there; Seth helping Lorenzo compose a letter of intention for the sewing talleres which have been difficult (to say the least) to implement, Serena going through all of the medicines from HealtheChildren each of us brought back from the states with Julia, the clinic doctor.

I was taking photographs of all the playground equipment to send to a constructor contact of Seth's who will be working with us and HealtheChildren to refurbish all the equipment in the complex. Considering that Aliñambi serves as a home for children from rough households, a school for a couple hundred kids in the neighboring communities, and a location for various summer camps, to say that their playground equipment is in a sad state would be an understatement. Through the lens of my camera, I was able to see just how decrepit the equipment truly is. Missing swings, broken see-saws, rusting slides, tilted platforms, missing screws, chipping paint.

And yet, the kids couldn't care less what it looks like, or what's missing. Because come recess, they can't wait to return to their pirate ship, or swing through Tarzan's jungle, or launch into space from the sea-saws, three adventures I was asked to join in on while snapping my pictures. Just another reason we're excited to be diving back into the thick of things.

Next week will start up the Wednesday guest blogs again, promise!

Holly

(the rusting slide sinks into to the grass)