I can now share my birthday with someone else besides my sister, Cathy. Juan Francisco turned six on the 19th. On Friday, Gaby had a birthday party for him. Her sister, who is a chef, came in town to make a cake. Kids and their parents came over and the kids played while the parents visited. There were balloons and goodie bags. A birthday tradition here is to have the birthday person ¨muerda el pastel¨= go to take a small bite of the cake and then people smash their face into it.
Saturday, Katie and I went on a jungle tour. Geared with rubber boots, we trekked through the jungle and swam through water while the guide forged the way with a machete. We saw some beautiful areas throughout the day. On Sunday, a friend who works on a town council was working on a promotional video for Puerto Napo. Our friend Emily helped us get pulled in as tourists. It was a full day and we got to go rafting a little, visit a waterfall, eat Ecuadorian food, see a Shaman, hear Kichwa music, etc.
My co-workers brought me a cake on my birthday (and of course my face got shoved in it). It was very thoughtful of them to bring it though. I had some real coffee at Nicoles house on my way home from work. Everyone here drinks instant and coffee is one of the main exports! That night I went to a going away party for an American and British friend.
At work, we are getting ready for the 2nd Neurology Brigade, where 5 doctors from the U.S. will be examining hundreds of kids from the surrounding areas over a 3 day period. It begins next Wednesday. The event is organized by Nicole and one of the doctors, who is originally from Ecuador.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Follow-up
Progress has been made with clean up from the flood. Many days were spent sweeping and scrubbing by the families affected and those around them. It is down to the details as people find mud in the crevices of all their belongings. Katie got evacuated the other night from her house as the police got word there was increased rainfall coming in. Everything was okay though. The water supply has been touch and go but things are creeping back to normal. Katie has been a trooper as their water is off again and they are without a fridge or stove for food preparation.
The Easter season here was rather uneventful. For being a largely Catholic country, lenten regulations were not closely followed everywhere. I believe meat was served every Friday at work. Not much happened, to my knowledge, for Easter. There are a few food traditions including fig and a soup called fanesca, that are popular during Holy Week. Pilar, the woman Katie lives with, was very kind in inviting us to spend the weekend with her family on an island. They own cabins on the island but had rented them out for years and now they need some work in order to re-open them. We were around for a big pig roast of which we watches the many stages of cooking. They brought in a Shaman one night who performed his work to remove evil spirits. Overall, the weekend was good, at times slow, but it was nice of the family to have us.
The Easter season here was rather uneventful. For being a largely Catholic country, lenten regulations were not closely followed everywhere. I believe meat was served every Friday at work. Not much happened, to my knowledge, for Easter. There are a few food traditions including fig and a soup called fanesca, that are popular during Holy Week. Pilar, the woman Katie lives with, was very kind in inviting us to spend the weekend with her family on an island. They own cabins on the island but had rented them out for years and now they need some work in order to re-open them. We were around for a big pig roast of which we watches the many stages of cooking. They brought in a Shaman one night who performed his work to remove evil spirits. Overall, the weekend was good, at times slow, but it was nice of the family to have us.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Where is Moses?
The first picture shows how high the water went in Katie´s house. The second shows that the water went so high as to destroy the building on the side of the road. (I apparently may or may not have made up the following story about my grandpa...)
There are many stories told about my grandpa. There was a flood at one point in Chicago and the streets were filled with water. My grandfather was sitting outside on the porch just taking it all in. At one point, he saw a man get out of his car, take off his socks and shoes, and start walking down the street as his car was unable to pass any further. Seeing that this man was a priest, Papa decided to yell out, ¨Hey Moses! Why don´t you part the Red Sea?¨ Clever.
I am reminded of this story as this past Tuesday morning, Tena and a number of the surrounding areas woke up, many in the middle of the night, to flooding. I was aroused at 3am by Katie. She was calling to tell me she had to evacuate her house a little prior due to water entering from the overflowing river. The next day, when I went to see the damage, I was amazed. Water had entered her house up to 6 feet high, creating muddy water damage to everything in the house. Katie, Pilar, and some others had spent the day removing a thick layer of mud from the house left over from after the water had gone down. Everything was outside drying. Pilar, the owner of the house was keeping an incredible attitude, saying that these were just material things and at least they had their lives. She is completely correct and yet it is still difficult to imagine the lives of those affected, especially those with limited savings. Right now their family has some indigenous families helping to clean up the damage. While this is a great help, they are stealing their things right from under their noses as well. Granted, most of the stuff probably does not work after floating in water and being covered by mud. Regardless I am very frustrated by the idea that they are taking what they want while giving assistance without asking. It is unsettling.
The city of Tena is still recovering. Pilar´s house was lucky enough to have a flow of water coming through the backyard that could be used to wash the floors and property but there is still a lot to be done. Last night, I went to help one of my friends clean up. When I arrived, it happened to be her house´s turn for a water source. The city is delivering water house by house. A power washing device was used to clear the thick mud from the floor as the rest of us swept the muddy water out the doors. Everyone talks about just how quickly the water rose and how there was no time to save anything but your own life.
In many ways, all were affected because we were without water for about 2 days. This morning it started to come back which is a blessing for those who need to continue cleaning, and of course for sanitation purposes. I am lucky enough to live on the second floor of a house that is on higher ground. I have continued with my schedule of going to work each day. Besides helping out at friends´ houses, I could go on unaffected. It is incredible to me how people living so closely can be affected so differently. Please keep these families and communities in your prayers for a quick recovery of their homes and the ability to salvage those things necessary and important to them.
I am reminded of this story as this past Tuesday morning, Tena and a number of the surrounding areas woke up, many in the middle of the night, to flooding. I was aroused at 3am by Katie. She was calling to tell me she had to evacuate her house a little prior due to water entering from the overflowing river. The next day, when I went to see the damage, I was amazed. Water had entered her house up to 6 feet high, creating muddy water damage to everything in the house. Katie, Pilar, and some others had spent the day removing a thick layer of mud from the house left over from after the water had gone down. Everything was outside drying. Pilar, the owner of the house was keeping an incredible attitude, saying that these were just material things and at least they had their lives. She is completely correct and yet it is still difficult to imagine the lives of those affected, especially those with limited savings. Right now their family has some indigenous families helping to clean up the damage. While this is a great help, they are stealing their things right from under their noses as well. Granted, most of the stuff probably does not work after floating in water and being covered by mud. Regardless I am very frustrated by the idea that they are taking what they want while giving assistance without asking. It is unsettling.
The city of Tena is still recovering. Pilar´s house was lucky enough to have a flow of water coming through the backyard that could be used to wash the floors and property but there is still a lot to be done. Last night, I went to help one of my friends clean up. When I arrived, it happened to be her house´s turn for a water source. The city is delivering water house by house. A power washing device was used to clear the thick mud from the floor as the rest of us swept the muddy water out the doors. Everyone talks about just how quickly the water rose and how there was no time to save anything but your own life.
In many ways, all were affected because we were without water for about 2 days. This morning it started to come back which is a blessing for those who need to continue cleaning, and of course for sanitation purposes. I am lucky enough to live on the second floor of a house that is on higher ground. I have continued with my schedule of going to work each day. Besides helping out at friends´ houses, I could go on unaffected. It is incredible to me how people living so closely can be affected so differently. Please keep these families and communities in your prayers for a quick recovery of their homes and the ability to salvage those things necessary and important to them.
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