Well here it is, my long-awaited first blog entry. I've been meaning to set this up for a while now, but have had limited internet access since arriving in Quito. The past 3 weeks, I've been living with a great Ecuadorian family complete with 2 college-age kids and a perrito named Tinto. By the way, I everyone's OK with Spanglish because that's pretty much the closet I get to English down here, it's so much more divertido.
Our first several weeks have been filled with an excellent mix of one-on-one Spanish language instruction, Manna Project (MPI) orientation, and of course, the local tourist activities. We have toured the centro historico, climbed the local basilica, explored local museums, hiked the nearest mountain overlooking the sprawling city of Quito, and gone mountain-biking (luckily downhill most of the way) through the Andes (and a temporary rain-formed lake on the trail...oops.)
The group of new Program Directors (PDs) is an eclectic mix of personalities, and I think we're going to have a great year. Of the 5 new PDs, Jocelyn Lancaster, Eliah McCallah, Holly Ward, Serena Zhou, and I, represented are 4 colleges, a multitude of interests and skills, and converging goals. Dividing our time between after-school help, a health program, English and art classes, and a micro-finance initiative, we should accomplish success in a variety of different fields this year.
On Friday, our group is moving out the official Manna residence in Conocoto, Ecuador. The pueblo is a twenty minute bus ride from Quito in the Valle de los Chillos. We are all very excited to move out to the Manna house, living and working together at a close distance to our program sites. While I have enjoyed Quito, I am particularly ready for the move. The first week we were here, I was robbed in the middle of the day by 2 ladrones. In the process lost a bunch of cash, 2 credit cards, my driver's license, and everything else in my wallet. Although it was very much a sobering experience, on the bright-side I very quickly gained some good ole-fashioned Quito street smarts. Since that incident, I rarely walk alone in the city, am always aware of my surroundings, and am very careful about what valuables I'm carrying. Yes, it is an adjustment from the States, but it just takes some getting used to.
On a brighter note, in general it has been a great experience living in the seat of the nation of Ecuador. The capital city of Quito houses Ecuador's own Casa Blanca, sits between towering green mountains, and enjoys a year-round temperate climate of about 75 degrees (and is very sunny during the summer months.) Another great part of the homestays and living in the capital city is being able to witness Ecuador's political scene up-close instead of reading the occasional page-long Economist article. Ecuador traditionally has been a country of (peaceful) political turmoil, averaging a new constitution every 10 years and, in recent years, a new president every 2 years. Because Ecuador's current leftist president, Rafael Correa, has brought more political stability to the country, the people have been more than happy to give him an incredible amount of power. As a result, he has disbanded the Congress and appointed a Constitutional Assembly to draft a new Constitution, which dominates the news here in a way similar to the presidential race in the U.S. The Constitution will face a popular referendum in September, deciding its fate. Needless to say, it will be a pretty interesting time to be in the country. And it makes U.S. politics look pretty tame , right?
That's about it for now, I hope everyone state-side is doing well. Hopefully I'll be able to update my blog more frequently once we move into the internet-filled Manna house Friday. If anyone wants to subscribe to my blog via email, just send me an email at dunc@mannaproject.org. Hasta pronto!
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