Due to the altitude of my site (2500 meters) and others in my region, we spent a few days learning about greenhouses. Up in the paramo (high altitude grass lands) it takes 10 months to produce a head of broccoli. Construct a simple greenhouse out of fresh-cut trees and cheap plastic, and your vegetables will grow in 3 -5 months.
We (those on my technical trip) spent one morning constructing one such greenhouse. With 10 people, a hammer, saw, machete, and some rope, we hoisted logs far above head height and layed cross beams 25 feet in the air. It is truly incredible to construct such a simple yet large and functional building with such few tools.
At one point I found myself in a thick mist at 4,000 meters watching traditionally-dressed indigenous Ecuadorians walk alpacas as I rode in the back of a pickup truck.
The attached picture shows me charlando with 6th graders about recycling. On the technical trip we had to give a practice charla (directly translated as "chat", but really meaning presentation or workshop). It has been over 4 months since I left my teaching job in Colorado, and I almost
forgot how much I enjoy standing in front of a classroom. Or, in this case, outside picking up trash and having little Ecuadorian kids repeat the words "Reducir, Reutilizar, Reciclar".This morning I became an official volunteer. No more of this trainee nonsense. The swear-in ceremony was held at the ambassador's house in Quito. About a month and a half ago a friend and I shook hands, saying we would grow mustaches for swear-in. Today we had no less than 15 guys wearing collared shirts, ties, ironed pants, and well-trimmed, presentable mustaches.
Now that training has finished and I leave Quito tomorrow for my site, it is high time to analyze the things I have learned and how I have changed since my arrival in-country.
I had no expectations of knowing everything agriculture after two months, but I did think we would receive more technical training on the subject. I now have a respectably limited bank of agricultural knowledge and a different perspective. My job is not to bring in outside ideas that may disrupt local custom or tradition. I am here to integrate in the community, find out what change is both feasible and desired, and facilitate that change.
A few small differences I have noticed in myself:
1) It feels more natural to eat fruits like babaco, tomate de arbol, grenadilla, and taxo than it does to bite into an apple or orange.
2) My Spanish ability is now at the point where I do not even think about it. I have had deep conversations about religion, managed complicated bureaucratic situations, and given impromptu speeches to native speakers. More than I recognize, the Spanish word or phrase pops into my head before its English equivalent.
3) I barely feel strange using my own hands to end the life of a small animal. So far I have killed and freshly prepared chickens, rabbits, and guinea pigs, each time paying mental respects to the animal I plan to consume.
4) I have gotten positive feedback on my dancing. Those of you who have witnessed me dance in the past may think dubiously of that comment. I assure you, my hips are no longer attached to the rest of my body and salsa/merengue steps are easy to learn.
Maybe its on a bus driving past a snow-capped volcano, maybe its dancing with Ecuatorianas until the early morning, maybe its climbing a 16,000 foot volcano, maybe its paying 1.50 for lunch on a street corner, or maybe its washing my laundry on a rock, but there are many moments when I stop to appreciate my situation and surroundings. I wake up most mornings not knowing where my day will take me. Only two months has passed, but I already feel comfortable here.
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