La gringa ha llegado!

At this point I have been in Ecuador for a week and, as of now, things are going more swimmingly than I could have hoped. Our training group arrived in Quito Thursday night and was taken directly to the Peace Corps Ecuador training center in Tumbaco, about half an hour outside of the capital, where we stayed for our first two days. The training center is amazing, a big yellow and red compound that feels reassuringly sunny and full of light even when it’s pouring outside (i.e. every day). There’s even a huge backyard and garden complete with a full on adult-friendly playground that contains, among other attractions, a huge zip-line that ends in a little cornfield. No obligatory child-proof safety precautions here! Aside from the center itself, the training staff (a mixture of Ecuadorians and former Peace Corps Volunteers) seems pretty stellar – I don’t think Omnibus 107 (our training class) could have gotten a more welcoming and competent group of people to train us for two years of Peace Corps service, calming our (ir)rational fears every step of the way. The first two days were mostly an overview of PC policies, our 3-month training schedule, some technical information about our assignments, and a little Ecuadorian Culture 101 in the anxious hours before we met our host families.

Our host families! Don’t worry, I got a good one. I’m staying with an older couple named Rosio and Pedro in a small compound they share with some extended family in the apartments above and below, two dogs (Manchas and Principe), and a very enthusiastic rooster who doesn’t have an official name but everyone seems to call “Madrugada” because he wakes everyone up around midnight on a regular basis. My host parents are incredibly warm and tell me frequently that whenever I need anything I can ask them because they are my family here. I can tell they care because the first morning of official training, my host dad drove me to the bus stop and dropped me off (or so I thought), but actually parked  down the street and stood outside of his car to secretly make sure I got on alright, and when I hesitated before almost getting on the wrong bus, he lost the camouflage and ran across the street to tell me to wait for the next one. Nice one, Pedro.

On Sunday morning, my host parents invited me to go to church with them and I accepted, assuming that the experience would be completely new, unfamiliar and maybe even a little awkward or uncomfortable, but a good opportunity to soak up some culture. Actually, the experience proved much more familiar than I anticipated; standing-dancing in a large auditorium full of smiling people clapping off-beat while what appeared to be a local Christian rock group took the stage gave me an extreme case of dejavu until I realized that the scene was not so different from many of the Buddhist meetings I’ve attended my entire life in San Francisco, right down to the backup singers waving big, bright flags in unison.

After church, we all walked to a huge open-air market a few blocks away and I could feel my  excitement growing as the voices of vendors became louder and the smells became increasingly questionable. We picked out an amount of produce that seemed downright shocking for just one week (in the best way imaginable) and my host parents pointed out all kinds of fruits, vegetables, grains, meat, and seafood that I had either never seen before or never seen in the sheer size or quantity they took in the market. I celebrated my delight with a batido de guanabana from a juice vendor and reflected on the fact that Estephanie, the girl who can easily put away nine pieces of fruit in a day, cores and all, has found her place.

I realize how ridiculously ideal this all sounds, and so far, it pretty much is. My much-missed Spanish skills are finally coming back to me, my living situation is awesome, I’m surrounded by amazing people, and I’m excited for what’s ahead. I know that the next three months of training and the two years of volunteer service that follow will present some major struggles, but for the time being I’m just happy and taking it as it comes.

Gracias por leer y un viernes feliz a todos!