Spills & Thrills

 Stretching it out.  Big day ahead of us.

 Ready..

 Set..

 Plop..

 We got a little wet.

 Action shot #1.

 Acton shot #2 : Crushin' it.

 A happy crew.

 Paddle 5!

 Splishy splashy.

This must be the place.

The crews after a day on el río.

A few weekends ago the group packed their bags and hit the road for Tena for some rafting on Río Alto Misahuallí!  Part of being a Manna PD are these wonderful cultural retreats when every three months we take off for some part of Ecuador, usually with some outdoor activity involved.  The reason for these trips is it gives us a relaxing, enjoyable environment to have group discussions on various topics.  We passed the afternoon discussing how to foster individual involvement and relations within a community. These discussions serve as a sounding board for the groups ideas and are incredibly helpful in developing our community. 

After some Hollywood B movie, sharing bags of candy with the other travelers, and a brief dance party on the bus, we arrived at our destination.  Pizza settled our hungry stomachs and we retired to our rooms early anticipating the raging rapids that tomorrow would have in store for us.

A consistent rainfall during the night raised the water levels, thus changing our plans.  After scouting a few rivers and their levels, we decided to test ourselves on the techincal, class 3+/4- rapids of the Alto Misahuallí!  After a review of the safety precautions and equipment, we were on the river getting our feet wet, literally.  Most of the crew had been rafting before, some on bigger rivers with bigger rapids, but the Misahuallí is very technical and requires group cooperation and synchronization in order to maneuver the rapids safely.  We had an amazing time getting to know our raft guides, Jaime and Dan.  Dan, a North Carolina native, has been rafting and working in Ecuador for nearly 15 years now and was expecting his first child.  He said it was probably his last rafting trip for the near future and we assured him we would get him home safely.

Exhausted physically and from sensory overload, the group took a final dip in the river, hopped back in the bus and bid farewell to our beloved raft guides.  We of course returned the following morning to tip them before leaving town.  Always tip your raft guide, always.  Karma runs especially deep in the river.

As always all the best!

Pete

Friendship in the Alley and Benefits in the Valley

We have been very busy the past two weeks planning our first ever Valley Benefit and our third annual Quito Benefit. Here is a post from Joey, our poet extraordinaire, about last Saturday's event:

Last Saturday witnessed the first annual Valley Benefit in Sangolquí.  It was epic.  Friendships were strengthened.  Character was revealed.  Prizes were won. Memories were made. 

A brief haiku:

Oh friend—

Smile with me.

We all benefit.

After an ink-spilling thrill ride of a Saturday morning (our students skillfully navigated their way through their final exams, nary a word nor idea was lost in translation), we all lightly gallivanted our way back to Sangolquí for lunch at Tiamata, a local restaurant that agreed to collaborate with us for the occasion.

Everyone settled down for lunch soon after arriving.  Having everyone come together in a non-classroom setting is always a good time; there’s no talk of prepositions, adverbs, or any other parts of speech, there is only good old fashioned conversation amongst friends.  I think it’s safe to say that we all view our students as friends rather than just students.  Especially with our adult classes, many of the people we come to know are our age or older.  It’s only natural that once we start to get to know one another that we all become quite close.  For me it’s still odd when anyone calls me “profe” or “teacher” because I oftentimes feel like I’m learning far more from my students than they are from me.  But to me that’s the whole idea… MPI is a cultural exchange where everyone involved is a student.

Anyway, after lunch Heather got up on the mic to thank everyone for coming, express our gratitude towards all of the people who frequent our community center, and begin our bingo-bailable bonanza.  Lucy and I proceeded to take the stage to announce the bingo prizes (including restaurant gift certificates, a free semester of English classes at the library—which has already been redeemed!—a free haircut and manicure at a beauty salon run by one of our close friends in Sangolquí and a giant blanket donated by the local professional soccer teamIndependiente) and start the game.  Everything went off without a hitch… in between games I even tried my hand at a little stand-up for our pals.  The jokes were bad (What did Buddha say to the hot dog vendor?  Make me one with everything!), but the audience humored me quite gracefully.  With a brief salsa-interlude included, we commenced the benefit’s final event: a cakewalk.  Three lucky attendees went home with apple-cinnamon cookies, banana bread, and chocolate cake (which was made by Jenni… sure to be absolutely delicious). 

Things gradually came to a close at that point.  We once again thanked everyone for coming and reiterated how lucky we feel to be living and working here in Ecuador.  Sometimes when we get caught up in our routines we forget just how unique this experience is.  As our time in the Valley begins to wind down (it’s hard to believe we only have four months left), I find myself thinking more and more about just how lucky we really are.   

But alas, my wistful ruminations were cut short when I was reminded that we had some afternoon karaoke to attend to.  Only in Adele’s wildest dreams could she hope to nail “Someone Like You” as well as we did.

Take care everyone,

-Joey

Patiently waiting for lunch 

 Our lovely event planners, Joey and Lucy

 

Practicing English

 Janine with some of our favorite students

 Lunch has arrived

BINGO! 

Joey with one of our bingo prizes, an Independiente blanket generously donated by the soccer stadium 

Hopefully awaiting their chance to yell BINGO 

And of course no Bingo is complete without a salsa interlude

Easter Parade in Quito

One of the most famous Easter parades in the world happens in Quito. Heather generously gave us the morning off to go in and watch. What we realized while straining over the crowds to get a glimpse of the parade was that it's famous for its size, not it's content. Twenty minutes of watching hundreds of people walk by in an assortment of costume and dress turned out to be enough as it started to get very repetitive. It was an amazing cultural event to witness and was made even better by not taking up a substantial part of the work day. Check out the pictures below for the highlights.

Coming Back For More!

            Weeks ago we hosted four different groups of spring break volunteers.   One of the most rewarding aspects of working here in Ecuador for MPI is to see how this experience can affect the individuals on the trip, even after their service work is completed.  Luckily for us, we have more volunteers coming in the summer months. 

Morgan Lowery was the trip leader for UGA’s spring service trip and decided that one week with MPI Ecuador was not sufficient.  That is why we will be seeing her again come May as a Summer Intern.  Please read her blog below to see how the experience here with MPI has brought her back for more!

After our frigid plunge from the waterfall at Molinuco.

The UGA group with brand new signs!

 Making plans for breaks from school may seem like a fairly simple task, but it can be somewhat difficult with the many choices now available to students.  When spring break comes around you’re expected to go to the beach and soak up the UV rays and possibly engage in some questionable behavior.  Up next is the all important summer break.  Summer plans are perhaps my least favorite to make.  There is the constant pressure from your parents and advisor to do something that relates to your major and what you’ll be doing the rest of your life or to get ahead by getting those lower level classes out of the way.  So you could listen to what everyone tells you and do the “right” thing or you could do something way more rewarding like I did over spring break and will be doing this summer.

            What did I do for my breaks you may ask?  Well, thankfully, making plans for spring break were much easier than they have been in the past.  Having been on a spring break trip to MPI Guatemala the previous year, I applied to be a trip leader for the Ecuador spring break trip, and, much to my excitement, I got it!  So I spent my spring break in Ecuador along with seven other girls from UGA helping the MPI with the advertising they do for the community center.  With the money we raised we were able to buy and a brand new, professionally made sign to go outside of the community center and refurbish other signs advertising the programs offered by the center.  While we weren’t working on our group project we were helping with the programs like English classes, art classes, and hanging out in the teen center. 

            One experience I had that I found interesting was the adult English class I sat in on. To me, a three-hour class is enough to make me have second thoughts, not to mention it was on Saturday morning.  However, I’ve never seen a more eager to learn group of people.  The adults that attend English classes come on their own accord and take time out of their day to study all in addition to their jobs and taking care of their families.  This was truly inspiring to me because it’s a serious struggle for me to make it to my classes while being a student is the only job I have.  The people that attend the class don’t come because someone else requires them to, but because they see it as a chance to make a better life for themselves and their families.  It’s hard for me to picture myself tacking on another 5 or so hour commitment to my already hectic schedule that might slightly increase my chances of getting into graduate school.  It was cool to see that MPI doesn’t force the help they offer onto the community they serve.  The people of the community want to change their lives as well and they are willing to work for it.  I could really see the idea of sustainable change at work.  This is just one of the many reasons I love MPI and the people it serves. 

            This experience along with many others is why I decided to return to Ecuador for a four-week summer internship with MPI.  I don’t know what exactly I will be doing yet, but I know whatever it is it will be something truly worthwhile and life changing for both the people of the community and me.  In addition to the work I’ll be doing, I can’t wait to experience more of the Ecuadorian culture and spending more time with the MPI team.  I can confidently say that this summer will be one to remember, but hopefully I won’t be slowed down by food poisoning this time.  It’ll be okay if I do though, because, as we proved over spring break, no one knows how to rally better than a UGA student.

So on that note I’ll say goodbye and go dawgs!  Hopefully you all will be hearing from me again sometime soon!

-Morgan

If you or someone you know is interested in spending a week, a month, or a whole year working with MPI Ecuador, please visit the home website for more information about getting involved, applying for the Program Director position, and much more!

http://mannaproject.org/ 

As always, thank you for checking in!

All the best,

Pete

PD Interview: Joey

With the departure of the vol groups, we are all back on our regular schedules and now can continue with our PD interviews. This week the one and only Joey Teevens is up:

Full Name: Joseph Shaun Teevens
Home Town: Westborough, MA

College and Major: Year 1: University of New Hampshire, Year 2: Springfield College, Year 3: Worcester State College, Year 4: Center of Modern Languages in Granada, Spain, Year 5: Worcester State College

> 1. What programs do you run?
Children’s Basic English, Adult’s Advanced English, Library, Children’s Art, and English classes at Técnico del Valle (a local technical school).

> 2. If you had to pick one, which is your favorite and why?
Probably Adult’s English.  It’s nothing against the kids, but all of my adult students are in class of their own accord.  They are very motivated, inquisitive, and we often fall into some interesting class conversations about such things as religion, politics, education, and about which Ecuadorian beer is better: Pilsener or Club.

> 3. How did you hear about Manna and what made you want to join?
I heard about MPI through Worcester State University.  As part of WSU’s alternative Spring Break program I was a one-week volunteer for MPI Nicaragua.  My experience there was extremely enjoyable and I decided to apply to be a 13-month PD upon returning to the States.  The things about MPI that I drew me in the most were the extended cultural and linguistic experiences, the potential to form life-long friendships, and the personal autonomy of the Program Directors, who are free to reshape already established programs to fit their own styles/personalities and even to create new programs given the opportunity and resources.

> 4. Is there something from your experience so far that has caught you off guard?
A couple of things that rub me the wrong way are when people stare (unashamedly and for uncomfortable periods of time) at any of us gringos like we’ve got two heads, and the oftentimes sickening chauvinism of machismo, i.e. when men (most of whom use extremely questionable amounts of gel in their hair) catcall at women, whistle/hiss at them, and make snide remarks, all while feeling entitled to act so disgustingly.

> 5. Who's your favorite child in the Library….they'll never know?
There isn’t one kid that immediately jumps into my head as a clear favorite.  Gaining the trust of a bunch of different kids and becoming friends with them has been really rewarding.  There are certainly some kids who I will miss more than others when it comes time to leave, but as I said, I don’t have one specific favorite.

> 6. What is your favorite meal to cook?
As is known quite well throughout the house, I’m not exactly Top Chef… but I do my best.  So while my cooking skills leave much to be desired, I guess my favorite meal to cook is my favorite one to eat: chicken, mashed potatoes, boiled broccoli, green beans, and corn bread.

> 7. Who's your favorite band?
Currently it’s Johnny Flynn and the Sussex Wit.

> 8. What's cooler: The Choclo or the Monument de Ruminahui? Why?
I prefer the Choclo.  It’s much more colorful and inviting.  The unfortunate fact that the Monument of Rumiãhui has been fenced off from public use due to (from what I’ve been told by our neighbors) an excess of drug trafficking and violence in the past makes it much less of a draw… If they took down the fence and made the Monument a nice place to sit down, read a book, and relax, I might change my mind.

> 9. Where's your favorite spot to cuddle with Gandalf?
Gandalf and I do not hang out, let alone cuddle.  We simply co-exist.  Neither he nor I expect any kind of thawing in our relationship before August 7^th when my contract ends. 

> 10. What do you think is the best thing you will take away from your experience with Manna?

Friendship!  It’s been a year full of good times, cool challenges, and fantastic people. 

> 11. What impact do you hope to leave on Manna?
I haven’t thought much about this one.  The hard part about spending 13 months living and working in a new place is that it’s long enough of a time to develop lasting bonds and memories, but it’s still quite a short period in the grand scheme of things.  Our contract ends, we are replaced by new PDs, and we ourselves become nothing more than a memory here in the Valley.  If I’ve managed to bring positive energy and laughter to MPI then I’m satisfied.

> 12. How will the death of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez affect Latin America? Will his pronounced successor Nicolas Maduro win or will Venezuelans choose a different way forward?

I assume that Maduro will win if only because he’s got Hugo’s political machine behind him, and Chavez himself told his supporters to back him… that should be enough for him to win the special election.  It’s been interesting to see the reaction to Chavez’s death here in Ecuador.  Most of the sentiment towards him (from what I’ve seen) is positive.  He’d done some really good things for his country (nearly eradicating illiteracy, upping social spending, decreasing the country’s overall poverty percentage, etc.) and he’d also done some not-so-good things, too (censoring the media, limiting opposition input, and while he has lowered the poverty rate, it still remains very high).  As a nationalistic, charismatic leader, I think spiritually he has provided a boost for Latin America.  As a strong-handed politician, I think he has only perpetuated a long tradition in the region of too-powerful administrations with dictatorial tendencies.