About my life during the 10 week Pre-Service Training (PST) in Quito, Ecuador!
Welcome to my life the last two months in Quito as a Peace Corps Trainee (PCT)! Hopefully this will catch you up on what I've been doing and what my life has been like since moving from my home of Anchorage/Juneau, Alaska!
“You don't always need a plan. Sometimes you just need to breath, let go, and see what happens.” - Mandy Hale
Pre- Service Training (PST)
So, in my first post, I wasn't yet really sure what I was going to be doing during my first 10 weeks in country, I just knew "some sort of training." Well, I can now answer that question now that I'm in my LAST full week of PST! Woohoo!
Basically, PST has consisted of many sessions on Safety & Security, reviewing Peace Corps Policies, sessions with the PC Medical Officers reviewing health in country, "technical sessions" where we in Community Health learned more about the topics we will be teaching about at our sites such as: Health/Nutrition, STD/HIV/AIDS, Sex Ed, Organic Gardening, Non-Communicable Diseases, Water Hygiene & Sanitation, etc. Accompanied with these technical sessions, twice a week we would give "charlas" AKA lectures at a semi-rural hospital in a town called Yaruqui to patients in the waiting rooms and in the hallway. At first I thought this was a crazy idea, because in the US I feel like no one would pay attention to random strangers trying to give a lecture in the ER waiting room, however here in Ecuador the patients were always super into it and eager to learn from us! On Thursdays, we would give "charlas" at the Gobierno Autonomo de Descentralizado (GAD) to the Adultos Mayores (Older Adults) groups, who were these adorable older ladies.
Among our sessions and charlas, we also have had "Language and Culture" days where we work on our Spanish language and learn about the Ecuadorian Culture. Ecuador is a very diverse country with a handful of indigenous communities as well as Afro-Ecuadorian communities I have learned. And not only is Ecuador diverse in it's people, but it's region as well. Ecuador is divided into four regions, the Oriente (Amazon), the Sierra (mountains), the Coast, and the Galapagos. Each of these regions have different cultures and ways of life. Later on, I would find out which region I would get to live in for my two years!
Otavalo
In order to learn a bit more about the different regions and cultures within Ecuador, we were able to go on a few different excursions to visit different communities. We visited Otavalo, a large Kichwa community, in the province of Imbabura during Summer Solsticse/Inti Raymi. Here we learned about the traditional Inti Raymi Celebrations and took part in cooking using a hole in the ground w/ hot volcanic rocks as the source of heat, all covered with banana leaves. We had an amazing feast, and even got to try a bit of Cuy (guinnea pig), a traditional food on special occasions in their culture.
Another part of the Inti Raymi celebration that we took part in was dancing around town with the locals who were playing their instruments and going from house to house drinking chicha (a fermented corn/maiz drink) and being offered food. The Ecuadorian people are very generous and it can be considered rude not to accept their offerings. I was so tired of dancing in circles by the end of the day, but it was quite the experience, with not to mention a gorgeous backdrop. Otavalo is located in the Sierra region of Ecuador, thus surrounded by beautiful mountains and greenery.
While in Otavalo, we also visited a mix of a Western and Traditional Medical Clinic where we witnessed a ceremony where a guinnea pig was used to diagnose the person in the ceremony. The lady rubs/shakes the guinnea pig throughout the person's body and at the end (guinnea pig dies from the shaking *sad face*) and she dissects it (in front of us!). This is used as a diagnosis such that whatever the lady finds to be wrong with the guinnea pig, is theoretically wrong with the person involved in the ceremony. It was an interesting experience that I don't plan on seeing again.
El Chota
After visiting Otalvalo dancing the day away, we made our way to the town of El Chota, a predominantly Afro-Ecuadorian community. It also just so happens that my Language & Culture Profe is from El Chota, so it was cool to see his community and culture! El Chota is located in Northern Imbabura along the Mira River. Their community was formed during the colonial ages by runaway slaves escaping ships that wrecked between transport from Colombia to Peru. "El Chota" means land where free people gather. It is famous for it's futbolistas, who make up majority of Ecuador's National Futbol Selection. The people of El Chota are famous for the dance called La Bomba, where women dance balancing bottles on their heads.
Here, we stayed with local families, and they danced for us, then we joined them. The next day we learned about the history of their community and the problems they face such as poverty, racism throughout Ecuador and lack of education. It was such a neat experience to get to know such a distinct culture that exists in Ecuador!
La Costa - Puerto Lopez, Pile & Paján
Included in our training is a one week trip to either the Oriente or the Coast of Ecuador. I was originally supposed to go to the Oriente, however due to bad weather, I was changed to go to the coast instead! I visited a small town called Puerto Lopez where we were shown around by one of the current PCV's who lived there with his fisherman host family. During our time here we learned about the culture of the coast, partook in making ceviche, and shared a meal with the PCV and his host family, who were just the nicest and most hospitable people! It was really nice to get out of Quito for awhile and breathe some fresh air! The bus ride to get here on the other hand took over 10 hours, which was pretty rough, but we made it.
Pile
While in Puerto Lopez we visited the town of Pile where they have a community of people who have been making “Panama Hats” for 100s of years. They’re called Panama hats because many people wore them during the building of the Panama Canal and President Roosevelt was photographed overlooking the canal wearing one, thus the birth of the famous “Panama Hat.” These take a minimum of one month to make up to 3 months or so and sell for hundreds of dollars. Here they shared with us their practice of making these hats and hosted us for lunch! A normal day would consist of waking up to start threading the hat at 6am and working until 11am, followed by resting the remainder of the day. One cannot lost concentration while working on the hat, otherwise the quality will take a tumble. One problem we learned is that these people will sell their hats to others who will turn around and double the price to sell in larger towns, thus this community is losing a lot of potential income.
Paján
Last, but not least, I visited the community of Paján, slightly more inland. This was to visit a current PCV who is living in a more rural site to get a feel for this type of community, as majority of us will be living in rural communities. Here I visited volunteer Arielle who is finishing up her two years as a community health volunteer and has been working as a bailoterapia teacher and working on other forms of health promotion within the community. It was amazing to see how close she was with everyone in the community (they all loved her), which made me have more of an open mind to being placed in a smaller community!
My Host Family
How could I almost forget my amazing host family! During my time here I have been living with a lovely Ecuadorian family. My host mom and dad are Teresa and Cesar. My host mom is a stay at home mom who cares for the family and works on her huge garden in the yard in her meantime, while my host dad is a tailor who work work works! Both super sweet people. My host mom and I have grown especially close always talking about the life at the dinner table. Additionally I have two host brothers, one who is married and lives next door, and the other who is always pretty busy studying. I feel so blessed to have had such a kind and welcoming host family, I am their 18th volunteer they've hosted so they've got it down to a science! Definitely going to be a sad goodbye next week at the end of my training here in Quito!
And that about wraps it up for my PST information! Will post some more separate posts here on other topics :)! Thanks for checking in!
Disclaimer: “The content of this website is mine alone and does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Government, the Peace Corps, or the Ecuadorian Government.”