Ecuador: Summer Volunteer Diaries
Kishen Ginatra
Hi Guy
Sorry for the slow reply to your email, it is fairly difficult to access internet at times. Just replying to say I am having a great time, the volunteering experience so far has matched and exceeded my expectations, and that everything is going great. "Trip of a lifetime, will stay with me forever, can't wait to go back!!!!!!" Thanks Kishen
Jess Sturgeon
Hey!
I am having a great time thank you and drinking lots of water! Today we finished painting the school kitchen and put sand on the path for the museum to prevent the rain constantly washing it away. Sorry for the shortness - i am being timed (internet cafe)!
Jess xxx
Hey!
Arrived in the jungle safe and sound after a rather treacherous bus journey. After about 2 hours all road stops and we go the whole way at 15mph over every single bump! Great scenery though.
Last meal out in Quito was fun we had pizza. And sat outside under probably the most dangerous outdoor heaters I have ever seen!
The jungle is so different to Quito and the climate is slightly overwhelming - the heat is so exhausting! We arrived last night and then played basketball against the locals - they are really physical. The court is part of a Government funded scheme and really good.
Today we looked round the community and found out about our projects.
It seems that for the first week in the morning we are helping to finish the kitchen area at the school started by a previous team then in the afternoon we are helping to build a new exhibition in the museum. In the kitchen I think we will be doing mostly painting and tiling and in the museum we will be filling the floor with sand.
Today also we went swimming in the river - it is really cold but so good after the heat of the day. The canoe dropped us off at the river and the current carried us back to the lodge.
The sleeping arrangements here are nicer than in Quito I think but the food is much more basic. The attitude is very relaxed and the people very welcoming.
Jess
Hey everyone!
The food here varies - we mostly have rice with either potato, chicken, yuka or lentils. It is very bland! For Breakfast I usually I just have a banana and a cereal bar. It is like an egg dipped in sugar then fried then battered .... ehh!
I have found this fruit that they grow everywhere though that tastes really nice but looks bit like brains! The coffee is rubbish but the hot chocolate is so good! Also ironically, although the tribe is right on the river Napo all the fish we eat is tinned - all tuna. They sell sardines here as well but I am scared of opening them with a giant machette!
For the last two days it has been very heavy rain so we have not been able to do much work. But this morning we were able to paint half of the kitchen of the school.
On the way back we had to use a canoe for a stream that we usually wade across. This afternoon we had to stay inside because it was so wet- so we made bracelets like the tribe - it is frustrating sometimes because getting started and all the equipment together takes so long! It is fun though as we work with the ipod speakers. Yesterday I had an upset stomach so was feeling sorry for myself.
They kept giving this hot drink that smelt like weed it helped for about two hours but I mainly relied on some Ibruprofen. I feel a lot better today though. Later in the evening yesterday Juan (the tribe leader) took us for a jungle walk - it was hard core lasting for about 2 hours and included wading waste deep through water! It was great though thumping through the jungle only with a tiny guy with a gigantic knife to follow and with loads to see (mainly gigantic spiders!).Jess xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hey!
I feel a lot better today!!! The accommodation we’re is like a big hut with bunk beds in it. Everyone sleeps in there so it smells quite damp! I do not think I have been dry for a week!
Today we finished painting the school we painted half the wall yellow and half cyan BEAUTIFUL! The children are not at school at the moment so we mainly play with them in the afternoon. However they are quite agressive and often end up beating each other up! They are very different from us I think! Then this afternoon we transported sand from the river to the path for the museum to make it more solid and stop the rain was the path away all the time. With regards to light and stuff - there is a dusk and it gets dark around 6ish but goes dark quickly.
But unless the sun is really strong it is never really that light where we are! At night I read in bed but not for long because I am so tired after work everyday we play basketball and football against the locals every night so far then go to this shack (which they call a bar for a drink). It is funny because the bar is the best building in the area! They definately have their priorities sorted. Tomorrow night we are going to Tena where we will stay for Friday night in a hostel then go rafting on Saturday.
Also on Sunday I think the plan is to go tubing. The weekend looks to be really fun.
It is sooo funny when people come to look round the museum where we work in the afternoon we become part of the attraction when I was digging sand this afternoon the visitors actually watched me for about 10minutes! Hopefully at the weekend we can have a steak - I miss meat so much! I look forward to a famous sturgeon bbq on my return! Jess x
Hey Guys!
There’s a really nice group of us out here now, as well as us leapers- Me, Rosanna (20), Matt (21), Kishen (19) and Henry (19) and our team leader Steven (24) there’s a girl from Yanapuma called Camilla (19) a couple from London and 3 American girls who are all 22.Also there is a French girl and an American girl based at the Chichico Rumi community - they are 23.
They are there for about 3 months and teaching English to the local community.
Although the locals do not seem that forthcoming! Apparently they aimed to get everyone to sign up on the last day of school but everyone was too wasted - even the 6 year old kids : ) The locals speak no English only words from songs and little phrases such as OMG and Hey baby.
Most of them speak Spanish (i have picked up a little but an not fluent!) But some only speak Kitschwi - the tribal language which I only now how to say my name and ‘help’ and ‘how are you’. The language is quite complex and only has 2 vowels! There is a lot of friction within the communty over which language should be used Kitshwi or Spanish ... it is an interesting debate.
Just been rafting - was absolutely awesome - I only fell off twice and our boat didn’t capsize! The other group were not so lucky. Also half way through the trip we stopped at some caves. Where our raft leader painted our faces with "healing" mud that made your skin go yellow! The cave was so beautiful.
Last night we went out it was really fun dancing the night away to Regatone. We went out for a pizza also last night which was nice but the service is so slow! We sat down at 7pm but ate at 10pm! Tonight we are going out for a steak at an Argentinian restaurant - I can’t wait! Also this morning before the raft we went for a really nice breakfast I had yoghurt granola and honey with fruit. It is good to stock up on loads of different flavours before the RICE starts again!
Jess xxx
Hey guys!
Today we nearly finished the kitchen at the school and started work on the school garden. They had ordered some doors without measuring the frame so they were too small for the frame so I had to spend about 2hours filling the gaps with cement! Everything is made out cement it is funny - even the sinks! This afternoon we carried sand from the river to the museum to reconstruct the path. Apparently the sand makes the path stronger against the rain so it doesn’t slide away.
Tena was really great fun it was so nice to have a steak. I had pepper steak and vegetables and potatoes (fillet steak) and it cost only $5 which is like only 2.50. It was such good value! It was so weird there was a sloth crawling around the restaurant!
Rafting was really fun too. I was the first to fall in. The river was very cold but was really fun. Jess xHey everyone! Today we finished the kitchen - I have taken some good before and after photos which I will post when I get to Quito online so you can see our work. We then started work on the next project in Puka Chita (the community across the river from Chichico Rumi which is a lot poorer), which is to build a chicken pen.
Recently government doctors came to the school at poka chita and found that 85% of the children where undernourished - lacking protein in their diets so came the idea of a chicken pen for the eggs. Today my main focus was laying the foundations for the building, which was a new concept for many of the locals! I dug trenches filled them with stones then concreted over the top adding breeze blocks - they love concrete out here basically everything is made from concrete!
This afternoon we did sand moving again for the museum at Chichico Rumi - back breaking stuff. Yesterday was really funny we arrived at the kitchen to do work and my job that day was to clear the kitchen garden of weeds and then when me and some others arrived at the garden loads of locals were sitting there with mascheties - a bit intimidating.
Apparently they were there to help clear the garden - they cut 7 inch weeds with a maschette (i really need to learn to spell this word!). Anyway they stopped about 10am after starting later than us at 9am and started to make "chicha" a really strong type of beer made from fermenting plantain. By 11am they were rolling around on the floor! You asked about the tribe - they are so friendly especially the main family in Chichico Rumi.
The head couple are Alonso and Rebecca who are evangelical Christians who don’t drink alcohol or dance but still get the Shaman healer in every 5 minutes and drink Chicha, which is clearly alcholic! Alonso has a very set way of doing things and does not like to be challenged and it can be very frustrating when he will not open up to new ideas - long discussions often take place with nothing resolved! They have twelve children who dominate the rest of the community in Chichico Rumi ranging from twenty to forty. The children are good fun but always expect you to buy them things and have the false impression that all white people are millionaires!
This evening the eldest child had his head shaved - after this everyone wanted their haircut. So I became chief hairdresser - I have nine booked tonight - no joke - some are asking for layers, fringes and I am using child’s scissors - its all good fun!
Yesterday we went for a tour of the village of Puka Chita and it was interesting to see the differences between the shacks some were literally wood and corrugated iron roofs with nothing inside apart from blankets whereas others had full on playgrounds in their gardens with see-saws and slides and everything. One of the other volunteers was telling us about a girl from one of the poorest families in the village and said that in school no-one will sit next to her and at six she has to bring her 2 year old brother with her to school because she knows her mother, who is alcoholic will not look after him, she has him strapped to her back in a cloth.
We’re Going to Tena again this weekend which will be fun - the plan is to go back to the steak restaurant. Then on Sunday it is Pam´s birthday, a permanent volunteer here - so we are cooking here an American style breakfast! I hope you are all well - I am fine a little tired but happy! I cant wait to sit on a sofa - wood really hurts especially after a day of digging! Jess XXXXXXXXX
Hey!
Sorry I haven’t emailed in a while we have no electricity here for Monday and it has only just turned on tonight. We finished the chicken pen today, which was fantastic. We then filled it with 100 chicks - Sarah would have hated it! Then we were given lunch by the Puka Chita community - guess what we had ... chicken! Then we made grass skirts this afternoon out of a special leaf for our leaving dance tomorrow.
Today is Pam’s birthday so Camilla and I have just finished decorating the bar for the celebrations. Also at the weekend we ordered a cake from Tena so I am really looking forward to eating that. Hopefully the electricity will stay on so that we can do some dancing! We have been really intuitive with the decoration using toilet paper for banners and all sorts!
Last night we had a bonfire on the beach American style it was really good fun. We all sat around it in the moonlight making schmoors, which are basically toasted marshmallows put in biscuits and then melting a cube of chocolate on top. I will have to show you when I get home they were delicious. Then on Sunday we had some more American style food when I took the role of head cook making everyone pancakes - thanks Mum for the recipe it worked really well! Well everyone seemed to enjoy them.Also on Sunday we went tubing in Mishuawali it was really amazing. The bits with the rapids were really fun but then the slow bits were great to see the jungle from. It lasted about 1.5hrs so by the end I was pretty cold but it was worth it. Love you lots and miss you Jess xxx
Hey!
Thank you for all your messages! Today has been really hot, I am eating fine and just had an ice cream from the local shop - it was like a white chocolate magnum with crispy bits. The food is fine here just a bit plain and stodgy but we all have plenty of snacks - I just long to see a vegetable!
Today work wise we did more work on the chicken hut - laying breeze-blocks on top of the cement – beautiful stuff! Then this afternoon we laid sand on the museum floor - pretty hard work but I got of lightly as I wasn’t feeling too great and had the job of raking and stamping it into place. It was so nice after work today to go into the river. Juan took us upstream in the canoe and then we dived out and floated back to chichico rumi - really relaxing. Also the tourists from the ethno cultural Museum wanted to take pictures of us - it was really funny. At the Musuem they were able to see loads of white people swimming - wow.
Tonight I think I will give basketball a miss though - I am very tired! But last night I scored my first two baskets - shows you improve with practice. The locals are very physical though which is funny but also tiring. Looking forward to the weekend and another steak dinner!
Jess xxxxxxxxxx
Hey!
I have just arrived in Quito and I am really sad to leave Chichico Rumi - the family there were so nice and the setting was beautiful. The leaving ceremony last night was really fun. We dressed up in the grass skirts we made that took literally 6 hours to make.
I have brought mine to Quito with me and may bring it/ send it home. On top the girls wore their bras that were embroidered with leaves and we wore face paint - we looked amazing! We then did the tribal dance (we managed to fit it in between the blackouts!) The dance basically consists of brushing your feet along the ground dancing around in a circle and then a line holding for the girls a cup of chicha and the boys a spear.
It was incredible and about 50 people came to watch. Then we had to form a "traditional" western dance - we choose the song Macarina and added a twist through arches etc. It is all on video! Then we all got presented with jewellery to say thankyou after several long speeches it Spanish - it was really fun. We then played basketball. I scored two baskets- it was great to end on high! Following this I went for a midnight swim in the river with Camilla - an exhilerating if cold experience!
Tonight we are going out for an Indian because Matt the American from California has never had a curry so we thought it was time to educate him! I think it may be an early tonight as a 6hour coach journey is pretty intense!
Love and miss you Jessxxxxxx
Email from Mrs Sturgeon (Jess's Mum)
Hi Alice!
Sorry I missed your phone calls. We have had some amazing e mails and a couple of phone calls from Jess and she really seems to be throwing herself into everything and getting as much out of it as she possibly can. She will at least have some muscles when she gets back and some very interesting stories to tell! I know she is looking forward to going to Otavalo and spending some money!
Many thanks. SUE STURGEON