Pallatanga-aah

(Check out more of our photos at Picasa)

Saturday morning promised a sunny weekend, set to unfold at the country ranch of District Governor Luis Villacres and his wife, Rosalia. Our team was joined by Secretary to the Governor Rafael Quintero and his wife Sara, along with GSE coordinator Hugo Klopfstein and his wife Susie. One could not ask for more generous hosts or better company for two days of rest and relaxation.

The hacienda consists of many patios, garden areas, and rooms to sleep at least 25 guests. We watched the sunset and chatted on the front porch before enjoying a fondue dinner made with cheese purchased fresh at a local stand earlier in the day.

Sunday morning, Rachael, Maddy and Heather walked to town to experience the weekly market. Hundreds of villagers travel hours to Pallatanga from surrounding mountain towns to buy fruits, meat, shoes, miracle homemade cures for headaches and foot fungus- everything a local family might need. We squeezed through the crowds, winding past huge freshly-slaughtered pigs (next to men swinging squealing piglets destined for a similar eventual fate) and bicycle carts with hundreds of recently-caught fish, eyes bulging with the rising heat. Fruits of every kind imaginable were spread out on blankets and makeshift stalls: babaco, uvillas, pitahaya, maracuya, naranjilla, taxo, grenadilla, and obitos. For a mere quarter, we purchased a 2-foot-long green bean pod. The vendor split it open for us, and inside were a dozen or so furry seeds, each the size of a skipping stone: we ate the sweet, cottony pulp and inexpertly spit out the seeds just like the locals.

A man walked by with a heavy sheepskin still dripping red along the edges; old women with black hats and bright skirts smiled near-toothless grins as we admired their wares. Children chewed contentedly on bits of fresh pork skin purchased from a snack cart, alongside a woman with long black braids scooping homemade ice cream from a burlap sack. This is no grocery store back in the United States! The market is alive with color, sound and smells; it is an experience to provide contrast and depth to shopping days at home, and one we'll not soon forget.

Marta in Pallatanga

I want to share with you about our relaxing weekend in Pallatanga. It is one of DG Luis Villacres retreats; a beautiful mountain home in the hills of Pallatanga. The view is spectacular, overlooking the mountains and valley. Our GSE group was joined by Luis and his wife Rosalia, Rotarian Rafael and his wife Sara and Rotarian Hugo and his wife Susie.

We arrived and all rested and enjoyed each others company letting the relaxation take hold. Rosalia, the ultimate hostess, then took me into town to get goodies for lunch and dinner. Everyone in the town knows her and Luis. They have owned the property for over 20 years, We had great conversations and Rotary fellowship. When it got a little chilly, Luis got his beautiful red poncho. I went to my bag and got my white poncho that I purchased in Loja at the Peruvian horse competition. I love this picture of us. I hope you enjoy it too.

Rosalia loves to knit, so Susie, Sara and Rosalia all showed Sherry and I how to knit scarves with our hands instead of needles or hooks. We both did quite well.

Later Saturday night Rosalia took us ladies for a drive around and took us to the place where they held the District RYLA camp. It is a beautiful lodge that houses around 100 guests. I can certainly imagine the fun that the students had there. It is still so amazing to me to be so far away from home and our Rotary world, yet it is exactly the same here. The passion and love for serving is the same, only in Spanish.

Sunday morning Susie and I went to church with Rosalia. The morning was so beautiful with clear, crisp cool air. Luis shared with me that he is hoping to start a Rotary Club in Pallatanga. He invited his first prospective member to visit with us and we talked to him about Rotary. I asked him if I could share one of our District pins with him. I got the OK from Luis and pinned him. It was a great afternoon. Tonight we are headed back to Guayaquil for our last week here in Ecuador.

Frio-bamba

One hour south of Ambato we make our way in a loaded van through the twisting hills to another city in the Andes; Riobamba.Lorena Rivera, a former GSE member from an Ecuadorian teacher team, accompanies us on the southern trek to her city, which she affectionately calls, “frio”bamba.We drove through the main part of town, which looked like a smaller version of Ambato. Numerous small businesses line the streets alongside colorfully and creatively painted homes and street vendors sell fruit, ice cream and packets of nuts and other indistinguishable bags of treats only brave foreigners may want to try.We park outside a church and make our way to the backside of the building.We are here to visit a recently completed Rotary project - an after-school day care facility.The children are patiently waiting for us, and when we arrive they greet us with songs and a dance. They have words of thanks and flowers for the money that Rotary has provided them for this after-school program.

Later that night we meet with the Rotary Club of Riobamba for introductions and dinner. It is Thanksgiving for the US, but for us it is just another day and we feast on langostino (lobster) and fillet mignon. Turkey and pumpkin pie are hard to yearn for with this incredibly tasty meal. Another late night, and our arrivals to our host family’s homes are at 11pm. Our next day consisted of vocational visits to three institutions. The first was a visit to the private school “Despertar” (escuela particular). An Australian woman who sought a more child-centered educational program similar to schools in her homeland established this school 15 years ago. Lorena’s daughter attends this program. It is the only school we have seen with soap, towels, and a private bathroom in each classroom. School tuition fees are about $200 monthly. Gardens, play equipment, and clean rooms grace the inviting atmosphere of this school. Our next stop is a visit to a school for the cognitively and physically challenged students from ages 5 to about 21. The goal is to give students life skills and some students receive vocational training in agriculture, sewing or carpentry. Psychologists and specialists in speech/physical therapy provide services for students alongside teachers and university students who are teachers in training. Over 300 students gathered in the gymnasium for a “Rumba-therapia” session and we joined in on the musical aerobics program. To end our visits for the day, we head to the school for the hearing impaired. This school serves about 80 students ranging from kinder to 18 years old. Four teenage students entertain us with a comical mime about preparing for a date and the trouble that arises when the boyfriend flirts with another girl. The program gives instruction in sign language. An important goal for Ecuadorian sign language is for the creation of national language signs. Many regions have their own signs for words and colloquialisms in their area. Students also learn skills such as welding, pottery, and crafts.

Our night ends with a celebration called a pena in the Hotel Cotopaxi. We are joined by more members of the Ecuadorian GSE San Diego group from 2004 which included Lorena, group leader Rafael (Heather and Rachael's host dad in Guayaquil) and 3 other teachers. They have been getting together twice a year every year since their return from the states. Two musical groups entertained us with regional Ecuadorian music. We were on our feet dancing long into the night. The dancing and party finally closed down at 2am. Tomorrow we head to the country mountain home of District Governor Luis Villacres and his family for the weekend before heading back to our starting point of Guayaquil.

A Message from the Rotarian: Ambato and a visit with the District Governor

We arrived in Ambato Sunday, mid afternoon. We had a wonderful drive through beautiful countryside. Our driver was great as he shared information on the villages we were driving through and the history of this beautiful country. We stopped at a basket stand where we saw many varieties of baskets that were being woven, from bassinets, vegetable carriers to sewing baskets. We then stopped to view a huge dam, that unfortunately, due to the drought here in Ecuador, was almost empty. I did find something unique there. There was a family selling ceramic coffee mugs with your picture on it. They would take your picture with the beautiful mountains as the background. Of course, I had to do this, especially with a price of only $5.00 dollars. The picture of the Team turned out great and I now have a very special memorabilia of our trip to Ecuador.

Our driver got a little lost in the city, so we asked a policeman for directions to our destination. They were so gracious when they knew we were Rotarians and offered to escort us to our destination, the Hotel La Florida. We were greeted by our Ambato Rotary Club host families. We each received a beautiful bouquet of roses, courtesy of their Club. We all went to our homes for family dinners with our host families.

Monday morning we met at the Hotel La Florida for our cultural and sightseeing day. We were taken to see the beautiful mountainside villages and stopped at Baños and beyond. We drove through many dark tunnels that did not have electricity and were only one lane wide. I will leave our adventures and discoveries of the day to the Team to write about. That was a fun adventurous day that ended with dinner at our host families. Of course, right after dinner, 7:00 pm, the lights went out until 11:00 pm. I went to bed.

Tuesday morning we all met at the Hotel and were taken to the Rotary school that the Club supports. We arrived there at 9:00 am, and were picked up at 12:30 pm. The school is high, high in the mountains, in the middle of a farming community. It was a great vocational visit. We all split up into different classrooms and taught, observed and learned about the school and how Rotary has changed their lives for the better. Again, the Team will share their experiences with you. I enjoyed watching our Team in action, with Heather sharing her postcards from her students to them and having the children write back. They were very creative in their writing and drawings. Maddy brought a great story book about Stella Luna the Bat and had a bat puppet with her. The children loved listening to her read and answer questions about the story as they got to hold the puppet. Rachael and I helped the higher grade teacher teach a geography class on Ecuador. I drew the map of Ecuador with all the provinces on the board, and Heather filled in all of their names and the products they were famous for. Rachael got to grade the students on their drawings and spelling. Sherri, who was a little under the weather, helped the teacher with some math work and the primary grade teacher with some crafts. We were treated to some hot tea and empanadas, that were brought in by parents of the children. It was a great visit.

When we returned to our Hotel meeting point, we met up with DG Luis, and his wife Rosalia who were on their official Governor’s visit to Ambato. That night we were taken to dinner with all of our host families to a great restaurant called Raices (Roots). We saw hamburgers on the menu and of course we ordered one. Not a great choice, but tasty. It is so bizarre to arrive at a restaurant and all of a sudden the candles come out and the power is out for 3 hours. We all had a great dinner by candlelight. Right when we were to go home, the power came back. Driving seems a lot safer with traffic lights working.

Next morning all of us, GSE Team and DG Luis and local Club officers, drove to see their Water Hydroelectric plant Matching Grant project. It is amazing, again, high, high in the mountains, at about 2900 meters altitude. The grant is with a Rotary Club in Germany. The water plant generates electricity, that is sold by the community and leaves them a revenue of about $1,000, per month that is used for their village. It is a great project.

We then drove down the mountain a little to another small village that the Rotary Club supports their school. That was an amazing visit, with 90% of the population dressed in their indigenous attire, and not speaking Spanish, but their language of Quechua. We were greeted by all as royalty. We then visited the schools and that is where I decided to deliver the beautiful bracelets that Dale Barnes gave to me from Interact Club. The children loved them. Even the boys wanted some for their siblings. We then passed out stickers to all of the children and the 2003 Rotary pins that were given to us by Russell Hampton Company. Thank you again Russ for arranging this for us. I took great pictures. We then went to lunch at a beautiful park overlooking the city.

That night, there was a joint meeting with the Clubs of Ambato and Ambato Cosmopolita, at the Hotel. This was the official visit by DG Luis to both Clubs. It was a great dinner meeting. We got all dressed up in our blazer uniforms and gave our full Power Point presentation. They all loved it and were asking a lot of questions about San Diego and our District. DG Luis spoke very highly about our Team and mentioned all of the positive feedback he had received from all of the Clubs we had visited in his District. He congratulated us on all the events and schools that we had attended and the positive impact we had left behind. We all received some beautiful wool Rotary scarves as thank you gifts.

Next morning, I received a call asking me to let the GSE Team Teachers go and visit their schools and for me to join DG Luis for his morning activities. Of course I accepted and was honored with the invitation and joined him and Rosalia. We were taken to meet with the Mayor of Ambato. He happens to have gone to school in Los Angeles at Hollywood High and 1 year of college at USC. He has fond memories of that. He was very gracious. We then visited with the “Prefecto”, which is like the Chief County Supervisor/Officer. They were both very grateful to Rotary and all of the great work that is being done in their cities and communities. We were then met by the press outside City Hall and were interviewed both on TV and by newspapers. We than walked to the local newspaper a block away, for more interviews and pictures. Our next stop was to drive high, high in the mountains, again at about 2900 meters altitude, to a farming community where the local Club has a matching grant for the irrigation of their crops. We visited that and were then treated to a surprise lunch by the local families, of Cuy, potatoes and potato soup. We were not planning on the lunch and it was an honor to be hosted by them in a very small brick building where they shared their plans for the project. We were then off to another lunch with our GSE Team and the local Rotarians at the home of a Rotarian. I was glad that I had not eaten a lot earlier, since the food was delicious and a lot of it.

At 4:00 pm, our ride to Riobamba arrived and we were off. This again was a great visit, with wonderful Rotarians dedicated to “Dar de si, Antes de pensar en si” Service above Self.

One Day In Baños

Our first day in Ambato started well, despite Sherryilynn feeling like she was on Death's doorstep and staying behind on our day of tourism. She decided to stay at the hotel and rest while the rest of us gathered in the morning and were met by our hosts for the day: Amabato Rotary Club President Fabian and Rotarian Guillermo. We traveled about one hour of of town to the lovely city of Banos which is perched on the slope of the active volcano for which the province is named, Tungurahua. Tungurahua means "throat of fire" in Quichua (Kitch-wa), the Incan language spoken by Ecuador's indigenous peoples. Besides offering the thrilling backdrop of a crater that occasinally spits smoke and fire, Tungurahua bestows high waterfalls, streaming thermal baths, dense jungly vegetation and deep river gorges that make a great playground for nature lovers and adventure seekers.

Despite Rachael's desire to bungee jump of a local bridge along with other tourisits, our group remained more nature lovers than adventure seekers. A quick stop at the Sugarcane Stalls on the edge of town is where we tried local treats such as chewable sugar cane, sugar cane juice, and sweets made of guava. Within the town, the ladies were treated to a local taffy called melchocha that is softened and blended by swinging it onto wooden peg, usually mounted in the doorways of shops. We then visited the Basilica of the Virgin Saint of Holy Water and were treated to the beautifully echoed songs of the parishioners.

From Banos, our crew headed towards the upper Amazon region along the La Ruta de las Cascadas (Highway of the Waterfalls) for about 10km. Our first nature loving event was at the beautiful Manto de La Novia waterfalls where we took the engine powered tarabita (cable car) about 500m across - and 100m above - the Pastaza river gorge.

We then headed up the road for about 30 minutes to the village of Rio Grande. From there we hiked downhill for about 20 minutes to get to the base of the Pailon del Diablo (Devil's Cauldron). Marta chose the less risky (and drier) view of the falls from the suspension bridge while Fabian, Maddy, Heather and Rachael crawled their way up the side of the mountain to get the views from beside and behind the falls.

After a quick stop for dinner, the tired adventurers headed back to Ambato to prepare to get back to work the next day.

A Message from the Rotarian: Part 2

Today is Saturday, 11-22-09. We just finished our second week visiting Ecuador. It has gone by so fast and has also been full of amazing activities.

In the past 2 weeks we have visited 11 Schools and medical facilites in Guayaquil, Cuenca, Loja and this week in Quito. All of the places we have visited, have been supported by the local Rotary Clubs. Each one has been unique and taught us so much about the teachers and students. In some we have been able to spend a lot of quality time with the students and teachers. In others, it has been listening to a presentation about the school´s mission and touring their facilities. That has been hard because we all would have enjoyed more quality time interacting with the teachers and students. Some of the locations are close to each other, while others require a lot of driving time. We usually travel in vans, with Rotarians as our guides. Like I mentioned earlier, the mandatory electric power outages statewide have affected some of our visits, both to schools and host families. You don’t realize how 4 hours of no electricity affects lives both professionally and personally. This has also affected our being able to update our blog for you. By the time we arrive home from our busy days, the power is usually out until 11 pm and then there is nothing to do other than sleep.

As the Rotarian in the group, it has been amazing to me to live the true meaning of Rotary. “Service above Self “is the credo here, as it is in our District in San Diego. As a Team, we have all been so fortunate to have met wonderful Rotarian families that have hosted us. They have taken care of us as if we were their family. Each one of us has been fortunate to stay in separate homes and had unique experiences with each of them.

This week was pretty full. Our days began at 8:30 AM, at the Hotel Sebastian, our meeting point. We would go out on our visits and return to the Hotel for a 1 to 2 hour rest then change into our blazer uniform and then be off to our night Club meetings. We visited the first 3 Quito Clubs´meetings 3 nights in a row. Their meetings start at 7:30 pm with fellowship, then the actual meeting starts at 8:00 pm, and dinner in served while the meeting progresses. Each night, we were all home at our host families no earlier than 10:30 pm. This made for long days. Thursday was special since we finished our vocational work early, were able to visit the ¨Medio de Mundo¨and then got home earily so that we could spend time with our families.

Today, Saturday, was a very special day. We were picked up at 8:30 AM, by the Rotary Club Quito Valle Interoceanico. We were joined by 6 Rotary Youth Exchange students from all over the world. I was surprised to find out that the District here has over 120 Youth Exchange students throughout Ecuador. So far we have met 8 of them. We drove about 1 hour up the mountains to the beautiful community of Nono. It is a small village of about 2000 people that is strongly supported by Rotary. We spent the whole day there which we started with a breakfast Rotary meeting. We gave our Power Point presentation which everyone enjoyed. We then toured their new cheese making factory, organic gardening project, community craft center that the local women are supporting by selling hand knit products and attended a presentation by the local High School. The Rotary Club helped build the school and has supported them since with equipment and sharing in the payment of the salaries of the teachers. One of the fun things the Club members and our GSE team did was plant some trees in the local park. Our Team got to plant an Oak tree and they made us promise to come and visit anytime we are in Ecuador. Rotary has had a huge impact on this farming community. The locals are very grateful for the help and are caring for everything that has been done here. They even have a local band that played for us today during the student presentation.

This week we were also interviewed by Rotarian Rosalia Arteaga for her TV show ¨Cara a Cara con Rosalia¨ which is set to air in a few weeks. We also did an interview for the countrywide newspaper ¨Hoy¨ which should be printing tomorrow. We are off tomorrow morning to Ambato. We will be greeted by District Governor Luis Villacres, as he will be making his official visit to both Ambato and Riobamba Rotary Clubs, where we will be visiting later this week.

By the way, the big hit has been our District pins and the District Calendars. I have been presenting one to each Club President and everyone really enjoys having a part of San Diego to look at every single month. Thank you again Escondido Club for this great project.

A Series of Unfortunate Events

So, Friday was the team´s first "free" day of the trip, and we each had great plans on how we'd like to spend it. Maddy took the opportunity to spend the day with family, visiting her cousin Petit's house during the day, visiting with her 93 year-old aunt, and then going to dinner and the symphony with another cousin, Lupe. Sherrilyn, meanwhile, relaxed at the hotel, checked out a local artisans' market, and enjoyed pizza at a small Italian restaurant nearby. Rachael, Marta and Heather decided to visit the Otavalo market and other small towns in that area. This is where their adventure beings. Gather around while they tell their tale...

On the 2 hour drive to Otavalo, we passed people setting up food stands alongside the rural highway; our driver explained that Nov 20/21 is the day for the Virgin of Quinche. Thousands of people make a pilgrimage from all around, walking for hours to go to the church's masses, which begin at 2 am and are repeated hourly throughout the night. "How quaint," we thought. (Hope you´re sensing the foreshadowing.)

We cruise through Otavalo, finding a few special treasures, and then follow up the market with lunch on Lago San Pablo , and a visit to a volcanic crater lake, Laguna de Cuicocha, up above 10,000 feet. After passing through Cotacachi, famous for its leather work, and San Antonio, known for woodworking, we start our journey home. When we are about an hour from Quito, traffic comes to a standstill. Apparently, the road is blocked in both directions to allow the people making their pilgrimages to walk to Quinche. No problem, says Edgar, our driver: there´s another road to Quito, we just have to backtrack a bit. An hour later (now about 7:30 pm and quite dark), we are happily cruising along the new highway when, you guessed it: brake lights ahead. Apparently, this highway too is completely closed down for the pilgrims. The policeman politely informs us that, in fact, all roads to Quito are blocked. Not to worry, though- we can get through as soon as they reopen... AT 4 A.M.!!!

By some miracle, Edgar is able to maneuver us out of the jam of buses, trucks, and cars, and we wind our way back to a place called Cayambe, which probably means "stretch of ten buildings sitting on 2-lane highway." Luckily, there happens to be a hotel there, the less-than-appropriately named "Gran Columbia International" or something like that painted on the concrete block wall out front. We are given the last 2 rooms; having no advance reservations means we are forced to pay the top rack rate of $13 per room. (Luckily Edgar is able to impose upon a long-lost brother of a sister-in-law; he said they were just a little surprised to see him!) There is no power in the town, though the liquor store across the street has a generator going and a nice crowd is gathering. So we are led by candlelight up several flights of stairs to the tiny rooms - they are unable to locate a key for one room, but use the master key to get us in. Since we don´t plan on going anywhere before 4 am anyway, there´s a chain on the door, and since we really have no other options, we nod and shut the door. Marta decides to go straight to bed (around 830) since there is nothing else to do. The room Rachael and Heather are in has twin beds that have extra-firm (read: rock-solid) cot mattresses with concrete pillows. The place is clean though and we had managed to pick up a bottle of Chilean wine while we were checking in downstairs so we decide to have a few copas and enjoy at least that. We receive a call on Marta´s cell phone and it´s our Rotary host for the next day, making sure we are okay. When we explain that we´ll be getting on the road before dawn to try to get back to Quito by 6:30 am, he says, "That´s great, so you´ll be here in time to leave for our 8:30 am day-long trip to a rural school!" Okay, maybe not his exact words, but we knew there would be no hall pass given for tomorrow's activity. So we brush our teeth with sugarless gum, wash our faces with antibacterial hand wipes, and lie down for a few hours rest.

Back on the road in the dark of morning, we pass a few devoted stragglers as we close in on Quinche. Church in sight, we're not sure whether to cross ourselves and be thankful for safe passage home- finally!- or dare this particular Virgin to try to slow us down again. To be on the safe side, we opt for the former. We arrive at our Hotel Sebastian and fall into the cloud-like beds for a blissful 20 full minutes of slumber.

After this brief recharge, we head to Nono, a pueblo high in the hills above Quito which was once a dying town with few resourses. School here ended at 8th grade, and many families were forced to leave to find work and education. Now the Rotary InterOceanan Group (with help from Swiss Rotary groups) has stepped in and built a high school and set up a cheese-making factory. They teach organic gardening, provide craft classes for the children, and have started a community band. They have provided hope for the people of this area, and we were amazed to see the way the town has been transformed. Community members generously provided us with a typical lunch of fried pork, corn on the cob, potatoes, habas (akin to lima beans), and delicious local cheese. A wonderful day, and despite our tiredness we were glad not to have missed getting to know this special place. On the drive back to Quito, Rachael and Heather delicately fell back asleep; please do not believe any tales of blackmail-worthy photos of Heather snoozing against the window, mouth agape. Tomorrow we head off to Ambato, where more adventures await...

Viva Quito

We flew into Quito on Monday from the small (and fun!) city of Loja. Quito is a sprawling city of about 2 million people. It is set in the Andes and we are at 8000 feet. It has been quite a busy week visiting all sorts of Rotary sponsored schools and community projects, as well as being hosted by Rotarians for lunch and dinner every day.

Our activities began with a visit to see a ¨Brain Gym¨ project in action at Escuela Carlos Aguilar (sponsored by the Fundacion Educando al Ecuador). Carlos Aguilar was an elementary school of about 500 students. Brain gym is a short series of exercises which help activate the brain for learning. We visited a modern, and well-equipped medical clinic that served everyone in the community no matter the level of income. Then, we visited to a school which serves rural preschool children, who up until its opening, were often left at home alone while parents worked in the fields or with livestock.

We had a beautiful lunch of Seco de Chivo (a favorite plato tipico Ecuatoriano) atop a hill overlooking the valley below sponsored by Gonzalo Rueda and his lovely wife. It was a magestic setting. Lunch was followed with an interview of the GSE Team by Rosalia Arteaga, a one-time Vice President of Ecuador. This will be shown on her television program called Cara a Cara con Rosalia next Sunday...so check out the programming for Ecuador if you want to see us ¨sweat¨ through interviews in Spanish! After lunch, we visited a newly constructed school, built on what used to be a landfill in a very poor area of Quito that will open to students as soon as furniture and appliances are ready.

On Wednesday we visited a school called Ninos de Maria in the La Comuna neighborhood, another of the most impoverished areas of the city. This program was impressive for several reasons. Students were fed in the morning and at lunch, and were kept at school to continue learning and receiving services about three hours longer than other schools each day. The school had programs for parents to learn literacy and parenting skills. They had an incentive program to get parents involved in the school and the special programs by offering them tickets to use at an onsite store. Lastly, there were sewing machines for classes on vocational training, and a classroom full of computers for teacher training. Plans were being made for carpentry and artisan training programs. We capped off Wednesday with a visit to the Ecuatorial line and the ël Mitad de Mundo¨Monument. We took turns straddling the Ecautorial line and took amusing pictures...check out the pictures on Picasa!

On Thursday we took a short trip to the Parque Carolina, the ¨Central Park¨ of Quito, to see a refuge for teenage boys. The Batan Foundation, partnering with Rotary and the City, uses a building within the park grounds to serve as a home for as many as 8 boys at a time. Since they cannot house all the boys who live on the streets, the refuge, called COVi (Center for the Option of Life) feeds up to 40 additional boys a day. COVi offers counseling, a clean change of clothes, and a laundry facilites. The boys living at the shelter attend school in the evening and are encourgaged to complete their high school education. Following this, we headed over to the offices of Ecuador´s national newspaper, Hoy, for interviews. The article should be in this Sunday´s paper (we feel so popular!).

We want to thank our host families here in Quito and all the Rotary Clubs who worked together to give us tours of the city each day. We saw a lot, learned a lot and ate a lot... Thank you!

GSE Ecuador 09 in the news!

This will only be cool to you if you speak Spanish, but our group got a mention in this article about the wheelchair distribution in Cuenca! The article title is "Solidarity, Compromises and Delivery". Rachael was quoted as saying "What has impressed us the most is to see how Rotarians unite anywhere in the world to serve others." (Sherrilynn is also in the first picture!)

Here is it in all it's glory: El Mercurio article

A week from Sunday the ladies will be "appearing" on the show "Cara a Cara con Rosalia" here in Ecuador for an interview taped earlier this week. They discuss the program and their thoughts about Ecuador. We'll let you know if there is anyway you can access it.

Tomorrow is an interview with a newspaper. Wish us all good grammar! (The article will be printed in this Sunday's Hoy. We will link it when it is available.)

Ojala for Loja!

We arrived in lovely Loja by bus from Cuenca on Friday afternoon. (Thankfully our bus was a bit bigger and our driver way safer as the road had many more twists and turns.) We stopped briefly at the small town of Saraguro. This rural place is in the center of indigenous Saraguro culture. We stopped briefly in the central square to make some friends with the locals and peruse the handmade crafts.

Once in Loja (a little over 4 hours from Cuenca), imagine how grateful we all felt to not only be meet by our friendly host families, but to discover they all live in the same neighborhood - we are all within walking distance of each other! It makes such a difference when it is easier to get together and coordinate events.

After a short rest, we went to listen to a presentation by the group Nature and Culture International. We were suprized to here that the work they are doing in conjunction with many groups including the La Jolla Rotary Club has a lot going on in San Diego. The SD Zoo has been partnering with them on various conservation and research related activities. It is some of their forest reserve that Solana Beach is purchasing to offset their carbon footprint. (check out this link to learn more: Sign-On San Diego.)

Our plans for the weekend are pretty lax and we love it! On Saturday we traveled to the nearby village of Vilcabamba where the president of the Loja Rotary Club has a country home. The area is known for having many centarians and possibly the fountain of youth. Teddy, the president of the women's Rotarian group had a grand father who is rumored to have lived to be 130 and his face is plastered on all of the water bottles that come out of the area.

Those who were ready for action spent the evening with some of our host families and a group of caballeros in town for an Ecuadorian and Peruvian horse show. They were treated to dinner and some fancy dancing by a Peruvian dancing group. Those who weren't so ready caught up on some much needed sleep.

Sunday's main event was attending the horse show. The thing to do is to dress in white like the caballeros and judges and wear a hat (of course) so we followed suit (literally). We spent part of the afternoon under the shade of a big white tent watching fancy horsemanship and more Peruvian dancing.

Because we are in Loja during the weekend there really aren't many schools we can visit. However, we did visit one that made quite an impression. The EDUCARE school in Loja is dedicated to meeting the needs of some unique children - those that have to work in the streets in order to support themselves and their families. Through their innovative program, they are fitting schooling into these childrens' lives and turning their priorities to their education.

Tonight's plan is to take our families out too pizza and then hit the hay early as we have to be ready to leave for the airport tomorrow at 6am. After our restful weekend here in Loja we are off to Quito for an almost non-stop schedule!

New pictures are on PICASA.

A Message from the Rotarian: Marta

Today is Sunday, 11-15-09, 6:20 pm, in Loja. This is the first time since our departure, that we have asked our host families for time alone, together, as a Team. We wanted this time to update our Blog for all of you. We split the days so each one will write about different experiences. We are at one of the homes that has a wireless network. Four of us are typing away on 4 laptops, Rachael’s, the host family and one belonging to Rachael Howes, Rotary Youth Exchange student from Plymouth, Mass., She is staying in Loja for one year in one of the homes hosting us attending High School. I am using mine that I brought with me.

This has been a truly “Unbelievable” trip so far. I am so fortunate to be the Team Leader for such an amazing Team of Professionals. I knew that they were great Teachers and human beings, but the Professionalism, Teamwork and Dedication that each one has shown in this trip is amazing to me. They are here on a Mission, which is to represent their Profession, our District and find out how teachers work in their various environments and compare it to what they have at home. The moment we get to a school, they get to work, each contributing in their own way and style. They have been taking great notes at each school that they have visited, interviewing Principals and Teachers both on video and with pictures. They have shared lessons, bags of school supplies with materials for Teachers to use in their lessons and supplies to share with their children. You can truly see their love of the teaching profession.

As Team Leader, I have been taking the most pictures, as you can see in our picassa website, picasaweb.google.com/Ecuadorgse09. I have been moving around in all of the classrooms watching them in action, interpreting for the children and teachers and helping out whenever I can. I have been congratulated many, many times for bringing such a great Team of Professionals to Ecuador. They have been very, very impressed with the fact that they all speak Spanish so well. It had been a joy to me watching them communicate so easily with the Host families and with the Rotarians in the District. I have felt very comfortable leaving them with their families and see how the bonds grow as each day passes by. The farewell hugs in each city have been so meaningful to all of us and I know that we have all made friends for life. It is fun for me to see them at the Rotary meetings, sit amongst all the Rotarians and share their knowledge about Rotary, our District and why we are here in Ecuador for one month.

Our Team Power Point Presentation has been very well received. Rachael did an outstanding job putting it together. She is our “technical guru” on the trip. She has been loading all of our pictures and making sure that we all do our jobs well on the blog. Our big debut was at the La Puntilla Rotary Club meeting in Guayaquil. We shared the program during the meeting with the Canadian delegation from Ontario, who also had one. It was great and all participated. They have been exchanging banners from their sponsoring District Clubs. I have had huge success when I present our beautiful District 2010 Calendars, ( thank you Escondido Club for doing such a great job on the calendars) to the Club Presidents as gifts along with our District pins and banners. District 4400, does not have a District pin and they love ours.

We made our Presentation again to the Rotary Club of Cuenca Tomebamba. Hugo Klofstein, District GSE Chair, attended the meeting, as he was in Cuenca interviewing Teachers who applied to be part of their outgoing GSE Team coming to San Diego next year. As a matter of fact, we met 3 Teachers at the first Rotary school that visited in Guayaquil, that have applied to be part of the Team coming to San Diego. It is fun meeting candidates that might be visiting us in San Diego. Our last presentation was made to the Rotary Club of Loja. This was at the country weekend home in Vilcabamba of one of the members. They brought the projector, screen and we brought our laptops. We gave them our Presentation, shared District, Schools and family facts, and I presented them with District pin and banner. By the way, the weather has been really nice, very San Diego like. We have encountered very little rain on our trip.
So far, we have had an amazing trip and are off early tomorrow morning, at 6:00 am, for Quito. Our flight leaves at 8:20 am and the airport is 1 hour away. We will be writing soon and thank you again for this amazing opportunity.

Eewy Cuy and Shopping

After successful avoidance of the SkyMall catalog on the plane (doesn’t everyone need a giant football helmet- shaped doghouse?- “a must for true fans of the game”), today was our day to explore Cuenca and find some wonderful treasures. Even better, we started the day by seeing Rotary in action: we assisted as translators for the wheelchair distribution coordinated by the Cuenca Tomebamba Rotary Club and the Canadian Rotary District 7010. How amazing, to see the happiness on the faces of young and old, as they received their beautiful new wheelchairs. The families were so grateful, and we were truly honored to have the opportunity to participate in the goodwill created that morning.

Of course, distributing over a hundred wheelchairs in several hours will give one an appetite, so our generous guides for the day (Alicia, Carmen, Maria Eulalia and Marlene) from the Cuenca Patrimonio Rotary Club took us out to enjoy a regional delicacy: cuy. What, you might ask, is cuy? Well, it’s guinea pig, nicely seasoned and spit-roasted to perfection, served with hominy, a side of sancocho (akin to carnitas) and crisp pork skin, and plenty of Coca Cola (don’t bother asking for diet Coke… just enjoy)! They even leave the little claws on, the easier to grasp the drumsticks with. Following brunch, we visited the Military Hospital of Cuenca. There, the Club Patrimonio sponsors cleft-palate surgeries for the poor children in the area (unfortunately, this deformity is quite common in Ecuador). The club sponsors 2 surgeries per week, and to date they have assisted over 480 families in the area, changing the futures of these children who so desperately need blessings in their lives.

Additionally, we visited downtown Cuenca, with narrow cobblestone streets dating back as far as the sixteenth century. We loved the beautiful cathedral with its enormous golden altar and dozens of stained glass windows. The light streaming through the windows was all the more striking due to the darkness inside the church: all over Ecuador, there are roving blackouts which cut off power to homes, businesses, and even streetlights for up to four hours each day in different parts of the city. The root of the problem lies in the fact that the country is in the middle of a prolonged drought (5 months without rain). I know it doesn’t sound like much time to us Californians, but Ecuador relies on hydroelectric power, so no rain= no electricity. We rounded out the day with a visit to the Panama Hat Factory (yes, the famous Panama hats actually originated in Ecuador and are still made here). The factory is owned by Rotarian Gladys Ortega and her family: she generously made certain we all received straw hats before we left, warmed by her friendship and the traditional canelazo cinnamon liquor she served us as well!

A Tale of Two Schools

We left Cuenca with Dr. Marco Alvarado and his wife, Mercedes, for the outskirts of town to an area known as Las Cajas. The scenery suddenly changes from neighborhoods to rolling hills, pastures and farm animals grazing alongside the roads. We dodged a cow creeping into the street making its way to greener pastures.

Our first school visit was to Colegio Victoria Portente 6th through 8th grad which is a Federally Funded Public School. This rural school set into a hillside overlooking the main road serves 93 students. They have only a handful of teachers and a two story building with 12 classrooms. There are also two very tired bathrooms one for girls and one for boys but the students have to bring their own toilet paper and the stalls do not have privacy doors. A long sink and four faucets are available for hand washing and for drinking. Supposedly the water in Cuenca is treated and clean for drinking. A computer lab houses 4 working computers. There is a definite need for more computers as there are desks available for computer stations, but no computers…lack of funds to purchase them and other needs to be met.

The interesting aspect about this rural school is an operational dairy farm for processing milk into yogurt where students get hands on training for this operation and study the process as part of their school day. Another special program which exists is a pig raising program where students learn the husbandry aspects of caring for “chancos” (pigs). This helps make schooling very practical. Unfortunately the electrical power outages affect the school´s yogurt processing program. We found a large container of spoiled milk in the yogurt area which had gone bad as a result of the lack of electricity. The school´s greatest need is a generator to keep this yogurt program operational. Some computers for the students would also be nice to have. Teacher salaries here are way different than what we are use to. A teacher of 26 years experience was earning $750 per month and insurance.


Second school visit is to a rural elementary school by the name of Escuela Rural Rene Zeas Ochoa Primaria for grades kinder through 6th grade. This was also a government funded public school. This rural school was some distance off the highway on a dirt road and overlooked a picturesque valley below. On our way to the school two indigenous women wearing black felt hats, colorful skirts, and rubber boots led a horse with milk jugs tied to its back. At the school we were met by the “directora” (principal) of the program, Mariana Jarin.

In addition to acting as principal for the school she taught k, 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade at the school. This school had about 35 students enrolled. It is a two classroom school. In the other classroom, grades 4th, 5th were being taught. The school also had a newer cafeteria and kitchen that the Rotary Club from Tomebamba built about a year before. Students in the primary room were sharpening their pencils with a utility exacto knife. The sharpener in the classroom was broken. We were treated to a dance that the students had practiced and dressed up to perform. They performed an indigenous dance called “El Venado”. The dance portrayed a deer hunt. Needs at this school were computers, a TV and VCR unit to show educational DVDs and working pencil sharpeners.

After our school visits we went to lunch in the mountains of the Las Cajas Park. This protected area has hiking trails in to the mountains and is known for its 1000 ponds throughout the mountains. The black trout is plentiful in this area and is a popular regional dish. We had lunch at a very picturesque spot called Dos Chorreras. We had a “plato tipico” (regional food) of locro (potato soup) trout, salad, rice and canelazo (a small warm beverage served in a shot glass) to warm us up.

Our third school visit was the most rural and the poorest. It only had a concrete foundation. Students (about 20) are schooled at someone´s house. They hope to begin building soon. We were not able to see any students as school had let out for the day.

To end our day, we all had a dinner at the Rotary Tomebamba club with the Canadian Rotary group. Speeches were made, banners were exchanged and we again showed our presentation. This time the color was better but we are still lacking photos. We hope that for the next time we finally get it all to work out. (Not that anyone else seems to mind.)

Tomebamba Tea Party

Today we left our host families in Guayaquil and hit the road for Cuenca. We traveled for about 4 hours over and through the Andes east of Guayaquil (and a little south) to reach our next city. Marco Claudio Patino, the past President and our host families met us at the Tomebamba Rotary Office. We will be staying in Cuenca for 2 nights and this time none of us are being housed together.

In the early evening, we each went with the wife of our host family to the Wives of the Rotarians’ meeting. Like Guayaquil, not many women are actual Rotarians but they are allowed to participate in their own functions and be associated with the Rotary Club. Once a month, 4 of the women in the club make snacks and sweets to serve at a tea after one of their meetings. Our arrival coincided with this month’s meetings where the 4 American wives in the club were cooking, so we had the pleasure of enjoying afternoon tea.

Tomorrow we are being bused around to three different schools. Two of them are fiscal (public) schools and the last is another Rotary school. We are looking forward to visiting the schools and seeing all that there is to see.

Getting Schooled

Today we visited the Santa Maria de Los Lojas School, which is around 20 minutes outside of the city of Guayaquil and has been adopted by the La Puntilla Rotary Club. The background story is that the women’s committee of the Club (only men are members) was active in trying to improve the school. As part of their project, they wanted to build a second story so the school could be expanded. When their husbands saw how much they wanted to accomplish, they made it a project of the Club to build an entirely new school!

By Ecuador public school standards, it is really first-class. The first thing we saw upon arrival was the Ophthalmology Clinic. It is right at the front of the school and consists of three rooms: one each for examination, surgery and recovery. The doctor there (Isabel Valdivieso) not only sees the children of the school but also their families and other members of the community. Aside from regular eye examinations she treats cataracts and another common eye problem that is caused by too much equatorial sun (don’t know the name, sorry!).

The school has one classroom each for Kinder through 7th grade. The classrooms are in a building that lies parallel to the school’s long patio which houses a little outdoor chapel, a garden area and the children’s playground. The classrooms are small, and fit no more than 25 students in each. We have heard that in other parts of Ecuador we will see classes of more than 40 students, so it was nice to see that the Los Lojas School was able to maintain smaller class sizes. Each classroom had a half-wall facing the patio, so the classrooms were very open to passers-by. Los Lojas also has a computer lab with 15 Dell computers, purchased with a Rotary matching grant. It was fun to see that they, too, have a computer lab schedule. When a classroom goes into the computer lab, the teacher gets some preparation time. The last two areas of the campus are a cement court area that is used for basketball and soccer, and the ‘comedor’, which is the kitchen/cafeteria.

Because we spent the whole day at the school, we got to accompany the kids to lunch. Some kids brought their own lunches, but the majority ate a bowl of chicken and rice soup called “aguado de pollo”. They each got one bowl and it was a little heartbreaking to see how quickly some of the kids gulped it down. They were obviously pretty hungry! Another bowl might have been good… Their ‘comedor’ has maybe 4 or 5 lunch tables, so of course they eat lunch in shifts. The kitchen was open and the counter held a huge bunch of bananas and a bag of soybeans. The comedor is also home to the mechanical cow, a device that processes the soybeans into soymilk. The day we visited it wasn’t operating because the person who knows how to use it wasn’t there ☺. One thing we really liked was the bulletin board reminding kids to chew and eat slowly, not to eat with their mouths full, not to put their elbows on the table, sit up and thank God for each day’s food. We should probably copy that in California!!

Each of the GSE teachers got to sit in on various grade levels, and we saw a variety of instruction styles, from active participation to memorization. The students all wore uniforms: blue and white plus a plaid skirt for the girls. The teachers wore uniforms, too, which we liked. The principal, Meche Vera, was a force of nature; she ran the school like a tight ship. There was also a staff social worker, Virginia Ortiz, who does home visits with families and also teaches a Saturday afternoon parenting class one Saturday a month. It was interesting to see how many similarities exist between schools in both countries.

After the school day was over we ate seafood by the Daule River, one of the two rivers that meet to form the river Guayas, from which the city of Guayaquil gets its name.
In the evening we were the guests of the Rotary Club La Puntilla for their regular Monday night dinner meeting. We were not the only guests; 30 Canadians also attended. The Canadians are from several different Rotary Clubs in Ontario and they are in Ecuador to help distribute 500 wheelchairs. They had spent the day assembling 300 of the wheelchairs, and are set to distribute them in various areas of Ecuador throughout the week. We enjoyed wine with a delicious dinner and afterwards were treated to a slideshow of Canada. We also shared our slideshow of San Diego and exchanged banners. We spent a very special day talking with students and teachers and then enjoyed a wonderful tri-cultural exchange at dinner. Thank you!!

Remember to check out our pictures on PICASA.

On a Boat

Our flight arrived in Ecuador around 11pm. By the time we went through immigration and customs it was almost 12. We were greeted at the airport as planned and were all happy to see our host families and be quickly taken off to our respective beds for the night. After finally getting some good sleep, we all reconvened at the Salinas Yacht Club. Where Rotarian Luis has a beautiful sailboat.

Salinas is about 2 hours west from Guayaquil. It is a smaller city that is known for its sports fishing and water sport activities. Once everyone was on the boat we set sail and traveled about an hour along the coastline. It took about that long for some of us to get our sea legs and the rough waters didn’t help. The beautiful blue green water of the South Pacific Ocean and views of land, as well as the delightful company did however.

We set sail again after resting for a bit and ended up in a cove near the beach. Maddy and Sherrilynn were brave enough to test the waters and went for a swim. While both claimed that the water was warmer than it ever is in San Diego, the rest of us just decided to take their word for it. After some tasty lunch of tuna and olive sandwiches and encebollado de albacore (fish soup with onions, yucca, and cilantro) followed by sweet vanilla gelatin (like flan) covered with fresh strawberry sauce, we headed back to port.

We were out on the water for at least a good 3 hours. And while we might have been grateful to be back on solid ground, we were more grateful for the experience and the day to simply relax and enjoy our time.

Tomorrow we are headed to our first school. It is a Rotary school that has made incredible gains and it is home to one of the mechanical cows. If you would like to know what that is, you’ll have to check back in tomorrow.

Our Fantastic Voyage

Being at the airport at 5am on a Saturday isn't anyone's usual idea of fun. However, we aren't your usual bunch.

GSE Chair Dale Barnes was at the airport to greet us, bright eyed and bushy tailed at 4:45am. It was nice to see a friendly face that early. Sandi Rimer (Rotary Foundation Chair) was also there to see us off. That is just how Rotary is – service above self. Not just anyone would also be at the airport at such an early hour on a weekend to bid his or her friends farewell. As the GSE group trickled in, the excitement and energy in the air became almost tangible. We compared notes about how much of our baggage was treats and goodies for those we will be meeting; each of us bragging about our prized treasures. 500 pounds of checked luggage and 3 boarding passes later, we were all ready to hit the skies for the first leg of our trip.

We first flew from San Diego to LA and then onto Miami, FL. From Miami we will be flying straight on to Guayaquil, Ecuador, where we will be met by Hugo Klopfstein the GSE District Chair and District Governor Luis. The first night we will be staying in Guayaquil and then early tomorrow morning we will be off again with Hugo on a sailing with Governor Luis trip around Salinas.

On the eve of our arrival in Ecuador, this is what we have to say:

Heather: I write this as we jet across the country, somewhere high over the middle of the states. The clouds hide the land below, but I imagine our path as if we were on our own personal MapQuest page, the red trail highlighting our journey to that gold-starred destination: ECUADOR! Our sendoff this morning was made all the more special by the extra love I've felt from family and friends all during this past week. How fortunate I feel when I open my bag and see the snacks and magazines you've supplied me with! I know we won't be going hungry on this trip as we sample all the local foods, and yet you can't beat a bar of your favorite chocolate to remind you of home. I know your good wishes will carry us through our big adventure.


Maddy: Leaving the airport, I of course am the one with too much luggage! Two bags were full of gifts and donatables. For those that know me…it is hard to turn away free! In Motion Sports donated golden medals from a previous children's run at LegoLand. I was thinking it would be a handful of medals…oh, but no, it was a whole box, weighing in at about 35 lbs. I felt like I was returning "Inca" gold back to Ecuador. Before the luggage disappeared behind the scenes, we dispersed gold medals and extra school supplied though everyone's bags. Now all my travel-mates have a piece of me! Job number one when we visit schools…think of a way to award all kids a medal!

Marta: Thank you District 5340, for this honor and privilege of representing you with my amazing GSE Team. We are on our way with lots of luggage full of gifts, school supplies, District calendars, Rotary pins and lots of Rotary fellowship and goodwill from all of you. We look sharp wearing our Rotary uniform. We just met a Rotarian group from Canada on their way to Ecuador where they will be delivering Rotary wheelchairs. Amazing ☺

Rachael: I can't wait to get there! I feel like I have been preparing for this day for the longest time and the last couple weeks have been crazy busy trying to get everything in line for putting my life in San Diego on hold for a whole month. I am looking forward to visiting our first school and playing Santa Claus. The teachers at my school were so generous with what they gave me to pass along to the students and teachers that I meet in Ecuador. I am anxious to meet our host families and see what there is to be seen in Ecuador. Some tasty food is also high on the list ☺


Sherrilynn: The teamwork has already begun! We have spent our day helping each other through, over and around various obstacles (check out the photo of Maddy being searched!). Each member brings something unique to the team and I have been impressed and heartened by our teams' willingness to help each other. I know that with such goodwill and friendship we cannot help but make a difference in Ecuador. Thank you to all for your love and support, we can feel you with us on the trip. Goodnight!

Ecuador Blog

Dear friends and family,

We are off on our great adventure!! We are already posting to the blog and to our picture album online.

To view our blog, please go to http://ecuadorgse09.blogspot.com/

To view our photos, please go to http://picasaweb.google.com/EcuadorGSE09

Feel free to share this email with anyone you think would like to see it.

Enjoy!

GSE Ecuador 2009 Team