15k Obligates Many to Wake Up Early

Yes, that was actually the title of the front page article in the newspaper Sunday, June 1, 2008.

And they were right, I was obligated to wake up early to run the 15k.



Sooooo, how did it go?

It went great.

Did you win???

Of course not.  There were 10,000 people.  But I did win this medal! (Pulls out medal under shirt, where it is hanging.)

WOW!  That is so great!  You must have done really good for them to give you a medal!

I did okay.
Hey, everybody!  Come look at this medal Jeanette won!  (starts passing medal around for all to see) Jeanette is a great runner!
I’m not that fast.
How far was the race?
15 kilometers (9 miles.) 
That is so far!  But you have been practicing very hard.  
Yes, I have been running every morning.
And you won a medal!  What place did you come in?
I was the 132^nd person to come in.
Out of 10,000 people!  That is so good.
Well, it’s not bad.
My brother ran that race a few years ago and he couldn’t even finish in the top 1,000.
It’s a hard race, but the thing is . . .
Hey, you, yeah, come see this medal Jeanette won!  She’s so fast!
I told you, I’m not that fast.
There is another race in Santo Domingo soon.  You should compete.  
I do want to run in Santo Domingo soon, it’s only a 10k, which is shorter.
Yes!  There won’t be as many people and you can win it.
I don’t think I can actually win it.  
Yes you can!  And the prizes are usually money!  Hey, everybody, Jeanette is going to win in Santo Doming soon!
I’m probably not going to win.  I’m really not that fast.  The thing about this race was . . .
You need to keep practicing.  You can win this next race.  And then, you can win the 15k next year.
Yeah . . . we’ll see.
 
So the thing I was trying to tell her was that they gave everybody a medal for competing.  Also, I finished 132 in the category of women ages 18-29.  I kept trying to spit it out, but everybody was just so excited about the medal.  I didn’t want to spoil it for them, really.  They would all be so disappointed if they realized I didn’t win the medal.  How could I burst their bubble and tell them I’m just not that fast?

So this is one lie I’m just going live with.

 

Why I am now afraid of caterpillars:

Megalopyge opercularis:

The ‘fur’ of the larva contains venomous spines that cause extremely painful reactions in human skin upon contact. The reactions are sometimes localized to the affected area but are often very severe, radiating up a limb and causing burning, swelling, nausea, headache, abdominal distress, rashes, blisters, and sometimes chest pain, numbness, or difficulty breathing.  Additionally, it is not unusual to find sweating from the welts or hives at the site of the sting.

Yep, Wikipedia pretty much got it right.

I was taking my organic garbage out back to the compost pile and when I walked back I felt something funny on my arm.  I thought I had just touched some sort of irritating plant and that it would go away so I brushed the feeling off and forgot about it. 5 minutes later my shoulder and chest started to hurt.  I thought I was having a heart attack, because my entire arm, from my fingers to my heart, was beginning to feel heavy and painful.  It was this intense pain that I could feel all the way down to my bones.  I realized it wasn’t a heart attack when I looked down at my bicep and noticed a palm-sized area has swollen up and turned red.

My arm throbbed and the bones ached. I knew what had gotten me – the ‘borrega’ caterpillar, also known locally as an ‘ortigador’.  I had seen them before and vaguely recalled someone telling me the sting of one will make your arm go numb for up to three days.  I sat down, took a Tyleol, and prayed for the numbness to come.  Numb would be such an improvement to searing pain.

I decided to go and talk to my landlord, telling her what happened and letting her know I would be drugged up and sleeping for the next three days.  When I told her, she laughed and held out her hand, showing me that the same caterpillar had also stung her when she was taking in the clothes.  Yes, very funny.  I almost laughed.  Look Jeanette, look, it got you really bad, I must have made it very angry first, she smiled and laughed again.  Yes, that is so funny I thought as I almost laughed again.

My landlord informed me the elders, when stung by a borrega, will cut it open and spread its guts over the bite.  This is what they say helps, she says to me.  But it has to be the same bug that bit you.  We waited for the rain to stop and went searching for the bug.  It was pretty tough to cut, she informed me after spending a good three minutes trying to saw it in half.  We spread its guts on our hands and arms.  She, being nice, let me have more guts since my sting was worse.  I, being nice, gave her two Tylenol.

Turns out the elders know their stuff as the guts did help the searing pain leveled off.  (Or was it the Tylenol?)  Instead of hurting for three days, it was more like twelve hours, and the area where I was bit felt bruised for the next week.  So, in conclusion, it pretty much stinks to get stung by one of these caterpillars.

Something great . . .

To do something great, two things are needed; a plan and not enough time.

Good days

You know it’s gonna be a good day when it isn’t even noon and you’ve already had two good poops.

Reflections on the Year

The lonely sea, the lonely sea, it never stops, for you or me . . .
I am alone.  But I am never really alone.  I long for company, but really, I just want to be near someone, to feel their presence without feeling the need to exchange words.  I easily tire of talking, of listening, but I don’t want to be alone, because without the presence of another, there is room for the blackness to enter.  But I struggle, because I do enjoy my alone time, knowing that no one can hear me, read my thoughts, or comment on my habit of dancing naked after a shower.  It’s a conflict, one to which there is no perfect solution.

Friendship is the only cement that will ever hold the world together. -Woodrow Wilson
I write a lot of letters.  I read a lot of responses.  My friends and I are both busy, not always making the time to communicate.  Also, it’s not easy, it’s not easy for me to explain how life is here, or for many to understand either, even those who have taken the time to visit.  I don’t want to bore you with mundane details but I don’t always have crazy adventures to write about either.  Things which used to amaze me have since ceased to do so.  In so many ways, I feel as though I have lost the ability to relate to people on a day to day basis.  But still many of those friendships are maintained, more strongly with those who take the time to communicate with me.

All the things I like to do are either illegal, immoral, or fattening.  -Alexander Woollcott
Being in the Peace Corps does not make it any easier to lead a healthy lifestyle or change myself into the person I visualize myself being.  It is no easier to get up and exercise every day, or to quit all those nasty unhealthy habits, or even to drop all the stereotypes I have in my mind.  In fact, quite a few of those stereotypes are regularly reinforced.  I still have the same bucket list tacked to my wall that I had a year ago, with a few things checked off, more added to the end.

Change your thoughts and you change your world. – Norman Vincent Peale
I still believe in myself, in my place here, in my job here in Ecuador.  I have to keep believing that what I am doing is making a difference, be it small, an iota of change, but it still it is change.  I remind myself I am planting seeds, that just my presence in Marianita makes a difference.  Sometimes I feel as though I haven’t accomplished anything, because results are not exactly tangible and in front of my eyes.  And the things I can consider accomplishments are small, or already in the past and easy to brush off as no big deal.  But when I sit down and look at all the small achievements, they really start to add up.  So I just keep on believing, knowing that little by little, I can probably make a change.

Few cases of eyestrain have been developed by looking on the bright side of things.
Optimism is everywhere in this country.  It’s in the poor mother cooking rice and platano for dinner, happy her family can eat.  It’s in the man harvesting vegetables to sell, secure he will get paid for the week.  It’s in the parents sending their kids to high school, sure they will make a better life after they get their degree.  It’s in the children as they show off their pet rabbit, who may or may not become dinner the next day.  It’s in the old men who hit on me, thinking they have a chance even though we just spent a half hour discussing their wives most recent ailment. 

The people here are so poor.  But they are happy.  They are content.  They don’t want hand outs, they want honest work.  They want security their families will have a roof over their head, will not starve, and will have help in the case of a medical emergency.  They love life.

Optimism is everywhere.  It’s in me, just happy my computer class learned how to change font sizes today.  It’s knowing that all I may have done that day was answer an a question that was bugging a 13 year old.  It’s knowing that someone cooked a recipe I taught them.  It’s all the things that little by little add up to a big change.

Garfield Minus Garfield

This happens to be an amazing blog. 
In so many ways, I can relate to it as a Peace Corps Volunteer. 
Check it out.

Rules to Live By

In order to make the world a better place, the following rules will take force with immediate effect across the nation of Ecuador.  (The idea for this article, along with the introduction, ending, and rule number 1, were taken from Bill Bryson’s book, I’m a Stranger Here Myself.)

1.)        It will no longer be permitted to be stupid and slow.  You must choose one or the other.  (This rule is the only one copied directly from Bryson’s book, I felt it was more than applicable here in Ecuador.)

2.)        It will henceforth be illegal to use your cell phone as an MP3 player/boom-box without headphones.  On second thought, unless you own an i-phone, it will be illegal to use your cell phone as an MP3 player at all.

3.)        From this day forward, all businesses are required to have enough change for every customer in their drawer.  If you have to leave to go ask your neighbor if they can change a $20 for you, you will be fined.  As a business owner or cashier, you shall never be able to ask a customer if they have 43 cents or 78 cents.  Special exceptions will be made if you are asking for change under 10 cents, such as 7 or 3, as that is reasonable. 

4.)        When giving a customer change, all people are strictly prohibited from giving 10 dimes or 20 nickels in place of a dollar.  You will be doubly reprimanded if the coins come taped together.  Also included in this law is the policy of passing out many coins when one will suffice, such as 2 dimes and 5 pennies in place of a quarter.

5.)        All business owners are required to be knowledgeable about the business they own.  They are also required to have someone answering the phones during set business hours.

6.)        When a customer is trying to figure something out and the sales person know nothing but decides to direct you to someone else who also knows nothing, that is very illegal.

7.)        All public restrooms must be stocked with toilet paper in each stall.  If a restroom is found without toilet paper, the owner will be required to pay large fines, such as $143.78, in exact cash only.

8.)        If you are elderly, it is now illegal to hover over someone on the bus/troli/ect in hopes of pressuring them to give up their seat for you.  Those who choose to hover so close they are pushing their stomach into their victim’s face, thus suffocating them out of their seat will be banned from all public transportation.  People will now be made to understand the theory of ‘personal space.’

9.)        Carbonated water is, with immediate effect, illegal to sell. 

10.)    Busses without proper ventilation, those are extremely illegal.

11.)    Ecuadorians are no longer permitted to be comfortable sitting on a 90º bus without opening a window.  Since all busses must be properly ventilated, it will actually be illegal for the driver to allow the bus to get to the temperature of 90º.  If this happens, all passengers are entitled to a refund for their ticket.  If the bus driver does nothing to fix the problem, all passengers are then entitled to help themselves, gratis, to the driver’s supply of small puke bags.

12.)    If you are Ecuadorian and do not understand the purpose or function of a line, that is very illegal.

13.)    It will no longer be permitted to send pre-programmed text messages / text message chain mail, especially the kind with a pre-programmed ‘drawing.’  Those who continue to send such messages will be made to program their phones to only receive such messages, thus depriving them of any real form of communication via their cellular phone.

14.)    All Ecuadorians will be required to attend a class explaining the effects of the ‘defrost’ button and be required to know how to use one in their car.

15.)    All citizens will also understand the importance of maximum capacity signs and be required to follow said signs.

16.)    Restaurants will never be allowed to cut napkins in half in order lower costs.  Those who continue to do so will be made to post a large sign outside their restaurant saying “We Cut Our Napkins In Half to Save Money: Do not eat here if you are a messy eater!”

17.)  It is now illegal to use the names Stalin, Lenin, and Hitler.  If you are already named this, you are required to use your second name.  If both your names happen to be a combination of the above said names, you are required to ask people to call you by your initials

18.)    Chickens are no longer allowed as a carry-on.

Thank you for helping make the world a better place.  Your cooperation is appreciated.

More Photos

And another thing . . .

On a gorgeous Sunday afternoon, Sean, my boyfriend, and I leave our hotel to head to the bus stop to return to my village of Santa Marianitas.

Me:  Senor, do you have a taxi metro?
Driver:  No.
Me:  Yes you do, I can see it right there.  Would you please turn it on?
Driver:  Where are you going.
Me:  We need to stop at the Baron de Carondelet and then we would like to go to the new terminal, La Ofelia.
Driver:  That will be $10.
Me:  I don’t think so.  I will give you $3.
Driver:  Fine, $8.
No.  $4.
Driver:  Seniorita, it is very far away.
Me:  And I have taken taxis there before.  Because we are making two stops, I will pay $5.
Driver:  No.
Me:  Fine, $6.
Driver:  No, $7.
Me:  Absolutely not.  That is very overpriced.  $6 is my final offer.
Driver:  No, $7.
Me:  Senor, it is a Sunday afternoon.  There is no traffic here in Quito.  I have taken taxi’s.  It costs $2 to get to the first place, and from there, it is usually another $3 to the bus terminal.  $7 is way too expensive and I will not pay that much.
Driver:  $7.
Me:  Senor, if you are so worried, why don’t you just turn on your meter?
Driver:  No.
Me:  Then you can stop and we will find another taxi.
Driver:  No, why are we fighting about $1?
Me:  Because I live and work here in Ecuador.  I make $5 a day and I know how much it costs to take a taxi.  I will only pay $6.

(There is silence, which I take as an agreement.  The drive is long.  I am afraid to start another conversation.  The driver does not attempt to talk.  We speak only when asking or giving directions.  I have a feeling he knows English, so I lean over to Sean and whisper that I hate when people see gringos as dollar signs.  I also whisper to Sean that the man is driving incredibly slow and awful for a day when there is no traffic, which he is.  I have been on large busses that go faster through rush hour traffic than this taxi driver does.  Although we have left with plenty of time to catch our bus, we pull into the terminal with only several minutes to spare.  I have $6 in my hand which I give the driver after our bags are out of the trunk.  He counts the money and then turns to me.)

Driver:  Senorita, what country are you from?
Me:  The States.
Driver:  Well, that’s too bad.  I thought people from the states were nicer.  You are a horrible person.
Me:  And I thought people from Ecuador were good people, but I see you are not either.
Driver:  I have relatives in the states, in Washington . . .

(By now we are talking over each other, he is edging towards his car door and preparing to leave.)

Me:  And I work here and I know Quito.  I take taxis all the time and I know how much it costs to get around.
Driver:  This terminal is very far and it costs $8 to go here.  My relatives say all Americans are nice people, and it makes me sad to see it is not true.
Me:  No, senor, it does not cost that much.  It is a Sunday afternoon.  Drivers should be using their meters in the afternoons.  If your meter said $8, that is what I would have paid, but you refused to use it.
Driver:  You are still a horrible person.
Me:  And you are a very bad person.  Just because we are gringos does not mean you can take advantage of us.  That is awful to see only dollars when you look at a person.

(We both turn and leave.  As his car pulls out, I shake my fist in the air and yell how bad of a driver he is.  Actually, I only did that last part in my mind.)

After this encounter, Sean told me the extra dollar didn’t mean anything and he thought it was ridiculous to fight over the price.  Maybe that is true.  But this is something that seems to be happening more and more – I meet Ecuadorians who, I feel, only see me as a bag of money.  And I hate it.  I hate always having to fight in order to not be ripped off, to be treated as a fellow human, as they would treat a fellow Ecuadorian.  It really upsets me that this happened.  It makes me want to cry to think that someone I didn’t know told me I was a horrible person.  It’s still hard to believe I had a yelling match with a stranger in the middle of the bus station.  Honestly though, I just don’t know what else to do.

I want to balance this story out with another thing I had happen recently.  While the other episode was the type of event which makes me want to quit the Peace Corps, this was exactly the opposite – it reminded me why I am here and what I am doing.  I bought a wallet from a vendor in one of the markets, and as I shopped, we talked about life, and I ended up telling him that I volunteer working in the countryside and will be here for a total of 2 years.  After I made my purchase, he thanked me.  I said it was I that should be thanking him for the wallet.  He stopped me, saying he didn’t mean for the purchase, but for everything.  He wanted to thank me for the work I am doing here in his country and for the time I am giving to help his people.

That wonderful man has no idea how much his little statement meant to me or how I will carry his words with me every day and pull them when I am struggling, allowing them to serve as a reminder of my higher goal.

Something to ponder . . .

I was robbed the other week.  In the middle of the night while I was sleeping, someone entered my house through the kitchen window, went into my office area, and stole my good hiking boots and my rain coat.  Funny things to steal, I suppose, but they will be easy to sell here in Ecuador, being that my feet are the same size as most of the men in this country.

I am okay, I was not hurt, and it was only boots and a jacket.  I am moving to a new house which is safer.

But this post is not about the robbery.  It is about something which has repeatedly been said to me since the robbery.

The day after, I was talking with my landlord, telling her how Peace Corps is making me find a new house and whatnot, while someone overheard and asked what happened.  My landlord explained that I had been robbed.  I began to take the blame, because I had been sleeping with my windows open, but all I got out of my mouth was, “It’s my fault because . . .” when the woman interrupted, a little too joyfully, with, “Yeah, because you trusted people here too much!”

I went back to my house and began to ponder this exchange, this statement, which soon, as word spread about the robbery, I would hear over and over again.  “Jeanette, you trusted people too much.”  “We told you not to have too much trust in the people here.”  “I can’t believe you would have so much trust in the people here.” 

So, it’s my fault for having trust in the people?  What about the people who are telling me not to trust anyone else?  Should I not trust them either?  Is everyone here in Ecuador only waiting for the right moment to step in and take advantage of me?  Who can I count on as my real friends?  Do I always need to have my guard up, never ever letting it down for one moment?  Should I never ever let anyone enter my house, as they are probably scoping out the layout for a future break-in?  What kind of world is it where I can’t trust anyone? 

And this really bothers me.  I live in a village of 165 people.  I know every one of their faces and probably 80% of their names.

In the states, my family lives in a city with over 15,000 residents.  I will never come close to knowing all of them, and yet, my family leaves our door unlocked and nothing goes missing.

What does this say about people?

It just really stinks.  This is the kind of thing that makes me feel horrible for being here, giving two years of my life to people who will rob me the second I let my guard down.

What kind of a world is this anyway?