Carnaval - The Good and The Bad

‘Tis the season of water balloons, flour, foam and eggs – Carnaval! It’s an exciting time here in Ecuador, but unfortunately Carnaval brings the risk of getting pegged by water balloons (or perhaps eggs) on your way to work. But really, it is crazy here, and no matter where you are, you have to be battle ready.

            For example, Ann Lowry, Michael and I took a lovely trip to Baños this past weekend. As we were enjoying a breakfast of crepes and coffee on an outside patio (our first crepes since arriving in Ecuador), we heard a mischievous crackle and were suddenly showered in foam, crepes and all. Needless to say, we did not appreciate it.

            However, now that we are nearing our long weekend for the holiday, we are getting more in the spirit of Carnaval. Everyone has exciting travel plans. A large group of us are going to Guaranda, Montanita and Puerto Lopez accompanied by none other than everyone’s favorite Spanish teacher, Ivan. Kate has friends visiting and they are hitting Baños and Ambato before meeting up with the group in Guaranda for parades and chaotic Carnaval celebrations. Evan is in Cuenca, visiting with an old friend, and Carley has plans to go to Amaguaña and Ambato, which is a haven that has banned water balloons and has a beautiful festival of flowers this time of year. Michael and I both have parents visiting for the occasion. Michael and his father plan on pursuing adventure with the highlight being mountain biking down the gargantuan volcano Cotopaxi. I, on the other hand, am heading to Cuenca with my parents for some rest, relaxation, and sight-seeing.

          

  At the library, things have been calmer than usual as public schools are on a two-week vacation and many families have been out of town. We’ve had plenty of time to help with homework, play and converse on a one-on-one basis with Rumilona community members, which has been very nice. We have also had some time to pursue projects like painting bookshelves and fixing up the Preventative Health Center.

            Still, we are excited for some much needed time off, and will definitely take full advantage of it. We can only guess the stories we will have on the other side of such an adventure-filled weekend.

Finally...Hiking!

One my my New Year's resolutions is to be more active and to explore the beautiful places that are all around me. Literally all around me. Just from the balcony of the Manna house I can see four different mountains (Cotopaxi, Pasochoa, Pichincha and Ilaló) on a clear day!  

I decided to stay in Ecuador over our holiday break and I got to visit some amazing places. I stayed near the Cotopaxi National Park and hiked Pasochoa and it was amazing! It was definitely challenging but so worth it when I reached the summit at 4,200 meters. When the other volunteers returned at the beginning of January, they too agreed that we need to do more active (free!) activities on the weekends. Since we work on Saturdays we're often tired and just want to relax come later Saturday, Sunday and even Monday. Living and working abroad is an incredible experience but is pretty exhausting at times.

Last Sunday we finally committed to hike! Ilaló is a steep mountain with large cross on top - Ilaló means cross in Kichwa. It is a short bus ride away and is a (supposedly) relatively short 3 hour hike. However, it is straight uphill the whole time. No breaks, just straight up. Kate, Jessa, Allegra & Perry (the house dog), and I set out for Ilaló a little later than expected so by the time we got there it was very hot. We started on a winding stone path and I immediately felt the altitude and how out of shape I was. After 2 1/2 hours of huffing, puffing, stopping and creatively walking uphill backwards to work different muscles we reached the top! And the view was stunning. We rested at the bottom of the iconic cross, munched on our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and took it all in as Perry harassed the grazing cows.   

The way down was a workout in a different way as in we all had to brace ourselves from tumbling back down the mountain. In under an hour we were in a taxi ready to head back home - and that's including having to restrain Perry while guys on dirtbikes zoomed by. We all collapsed on the dining room floor but with joy and the adrenaline that comes from conquering an amazing hike.  This kind of outing will for sure be a regular one for the Manna chicos! 
                            ~ Amelia Hulbert ~ 

Life in The Valley

Living in the Valle de los Chillos just outside of Ecuador's capital city of Quito provides us with the best of both worlds: we get to enjoy some peaceful moments here in the "suburbs" while still being close enough to enjoy everything the big city has to offer. 

This week I spent some time in downtown Sangolqui eating helado de paila [a special way of preparing ice cream in a large bronze pot...it somehow makes it extra delicious!] and enjoying people watching. Even though there is less to do in Sangolqui than in Quito, there always seems to be something interesting and particularly Ecuadorian going on... like hornados [whole roasted pig, famous in Sangolqui] in the market place, or pick up soccer games in front of the main church. 

This weekend I ventured outside of the Valley and also spent some time in Quito, exploring Parque El Ejido with friends. We also discovered that this week is the beginning of the Festival de Cine Latinoamericano [Quito's Latin American Film Festival], and are looking forward to spending our free time taking in some awesome movies!

Its seems like our time here is flying by, but I am so excited to continue discovering the amazing things that Quito and the Valle de los Chillos have to offer.

                                                                               ~Carley Clement~ 

Profe Cat

The start of new English classes is always an exciting time at Manna – we get to meet new community members and welcome back many friendly faces. The highlight of Inscriptions Day this quarter was seeing two long-term friends of Manna enter the library for the thousandth time, though this time with an alternative motive than playing on the computer or reading books. Jonathan and Mateo, ages 10 and 7, have been visiting the library almost daily for the past 6 years and are without a doubt our most frequent attendees. They have never before inscribed in our English classes because the $20 cost poses a barrier for their families, but this year we were able to offer both boys spots in Children’s Basic English - free of charge.

            Jonathan and Mateo are learning quickly and their excitement for English has spread to other children who frequent the library. Whenever not in class, they can be found reciting what they were most recently taught to the other Program Directors. Mateo consistently takes his worksheets home after class rather than storing them at the library for safekeeping. He has told his teacher, “My mom wants to learn English too. So whatever you teach me, I’m going to teach her!" We cannot wait to see these two progress through all our levels of classes and eventually master English as their second language!

                                                            ~ Catherine Althaus~ 

Our New Partner Organizations!

Over the last few weeks, the Ecuador site  has expanded our work to support several local partner organizations.  When looking at international development, many of us felt that we could be used best as a resource to sustain existing Ecuadorian institutions in addition to continuing our own Manna initiatives. When looking around our community we found several organizations that could use our support.  

United Nations Peacekeepers Several of us are holding twice weekly classes with a group of UN Peacekeepers to help them practice English with native speakers. Since the focus of the class is speaking and listening, it is a great opportunity for us to both expand our English program and learn more about the Peacekeepers' work. Since teaching English is definitely one of our group's favorite programs, it's been the perfect opportunity to offer more English classes. 

Antorcha de Vida is a local organization providing activities and therapy for mentally and physically disabled children - an amazing organization attempting to meet a great need with a small staff. We are now helping with their weekly horse therapy and water therapy to provide more support for the children. Working with water therapy to increase the mobility and flexibility of the children is both rewarding an enjoyable. It is great to connect with this group of children. For example, I frequently work with a young girl named Bonnie who loves to swim - using me for support. 

Aliñambi functions as both a school and home for about 30 at-risk youth. Children of all ages, many who have been orphaned or removed from their family, all live, play and learn at Aliñambi. They grow all of their food on site and are definitely in need of help on their farm. In addition to assisting with their agricultural program, we hope to start more  programs with the children such as nutrition programs or English classes.

Hogar de la Madre is a home for young teen mothers, run by two nurses in the local community and sustained through donations. We aim to provide donations of both food and clothing in addition to working one-on-one with these women in our weekly tutoring program. In the next few months, we hope to begin a child sponsorship program between donors in the states and these young women. While we constantly want to do more, it has been rewarding to work with an organization that is so in need of support. 

Gotitas de Saber is a local preschool where one of our PD's, Catherine Althaus, teaches English to about 60 three year olds each week. While that may sound terrifying to some (me), she loves working with the kids who are always ecstatic to see her and excited to demonstrate their ever-growing English vocabulary. 

  

Our main goal over the next few weeks is to continue to establish and foster these new relationships while serving as an asset where these organizations need us most.  Personally, I feel that working with other organizations can be transformational to how our organization functions in these communities. Working with everything from horse therapy to advanced English classes, our new expansions help us to embody Manna's holistic mission while strengthening these local institutions. Although we've got our hands full, this is just the beginning!