Sunday, December 7, 2008

December 2008


As October took its final bow below the Ecuadorian horizon, November stepped into center stage, bringing with it a dizzying frenzy of activity.

Three days after getting my family onto their plane to return to the States, we welcomed the Manna Project Director trifecta: The Director, Lori Scharffenberg, Mark’s counter-part Nicaraguan Country Director, Amira Tahir, and Chris Taylor, our State-Side, Fix-Everything Director. After introducing them to each of our programs, dragging them along on our weekly Sangolqui markets runs, and welcoming them to the wonders of nightly family dinners, they escaped together to Tena for a weekend of caving and bug bites. We were lucky enough to keep Chris for an extra week after a little airport incident called ‘forgetting a passport’, and he joined us for our bi-annual team retreat to Papallacta and one incredible Thanksgiving dinner.

Each of our programs saw a healthy continuation throughout the month of November. We opened a new store at Apoyo Escolar, the currency for which is earned by each book read, good behavior, and the completion of the daily ficha (worksheet). While the kids have yet to fully grasp the concept of saving (“Why save $15 for a set of new colored pencils when I can buy 5 $2 erasers right NOW?!” seems to be the general mentality), Dunc is helping to incentivize the savings process by opening an Apoyo Bank and offering interest. Women’s exercise continues on, having expanded in the middle of November to three classes a week based on demand and providing those of us involved with increasingly hysterical mental images, most involving mid-ab-pose collapses into unstoppable laughing fits. Jocelyn’s English class recently learned the lyrics to “I am the Walrus” as sung by Eliah, and is learning how to structure a complete dialogue.

On Friday we commemorated International Volunteer Day along with our counterparts back home and around the world. Established in 1985 by the General Assembly of the United Nations, December 5th is set aside as a day to celebrate the people and communities connected by global volunteer efforts. The day reminds us of the blessings and challenges that life abroad has thus far offered up and speaks to the promise of what is yet to come. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, please know that your support of our work here not only earns you our sincere gratitude, but also links us together to the bigger chain of global community development efforts.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, don’t forget to drop in from time to time on our Daily Life Blog!

Best to you all in this wintry season,
Holly

(watching the US election with Ecuadorians and ex-pats in downtown Quito)

(The whole crew plus Chris waits for our bus outside the Papallacta hot springs)

(The stage is set at Teatro Sucre for an evening of Andean music...and some strange US oldies)

(The girls, plus Lori, come together up on the roof)

(The boys demonstrate correct form for "Cowboy, Bear, Ninja", a new version of "Rock, Paper, Scissors")

(Dana and Serena take a break along the river hike in Selva Alegre)

(Dunc carves the turkey on Thanksgiving as we all jumble around each other in the kitchen, vying for oven space)

(Festivals of Quito, and a fierce bull fight)

(Jocelyn and I try to blend in at the bull fight)

(Following the red and blue to our first big soccer game. Bitter house alliances have been drawn between Quito and Liga...)