spring wildlife
I'm back in NYC now, after trips to DC and San Diego to visit friends and family. Pierre and I aren't going anywhere for awhile, other than Michigan for Memorial Day weekend. He and I are now focused on enjoying NYC as cheaply as possible! We are also trying to avoid all the huge crowds at the touristy spots in Manhattan. Our strategy is to go to bed early, wake up early, and get to places before anyone else. And then we pack a lunch to save money =) This past weekend the weather was perfect so we headed down to my favorite free spot in New York, Central Park. We walked almost five miles, exploring the park and discovering places I had never been to before, like the Conservatory Garden. Pierre took a bunch of pictures, including this cool shot of an egret hunting for fish in Turtle Pond:
Here's a link to the rest of his pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/pierrebull/CentralParkNYCSpringtime
My trips to DC and San Diego were really nice because I stayed long enough to spend quality time with lots of people I hadn't seen in awhile. I also seem to be doing a tour of American baseball stadiums. I went to a game at the new ballpark for the Nationals in DC and then a Padres game at the Petco stadium in San Diego, which was new to me. Next, I'll go see the Mets in Shea stadium, our new neighborhood team!
While I was in San Diego, I took the train up to see my friend Katy. The train from San Diego to Los Angeles is really nice because it runs along the coastline, so you can watch the beach almost the whole way. Plus the seats are really comfy and each row has its own outlet, so you can watch movies the whole way! I realized that I have ridden trains in lots of parts of the world; in Europe from Geneva to Berlin; in Peru to get from Cuzco to Machu Picchu; in Ecuador from Riobamba to Alausi, down the Devil's nose; and in the Midwest and East Coast. I love the train! I wish America had a more extensive train system.
Katy took me to a beach in the O.C., which was very exciting for me since I'm a big dork and love that show. We saw lots of things with the words O.C. on them, which was very cool =)
Another fun thing I did in San Diego was visit the elementary school where my friend Cindy teaches to talk to her kids about Ecuador. Cindy teaches bilingual 2nd graders, so I got a chance to speak in Spanish again, which was nice. The kids had written me letters when I was in Ecuador, so this was my opportunity to answer all the questions they had sent to me. I did a brief PowerPoint presentation with lots of photos from Ecuador. The kiddos seemed to really like all the wildlife shots. I also showed them some arts and crafts from Ecuador. Most of the kids are familiar with the Mexican pop group Rebelde, so Cindy said I should dress up like Rebelde for the presentation. I guess I wasn't a very convincing Catholic schoolgirl, because none of the kids seemed to get it. Oh well. I also demonstrated some Ecuadorian gestures, and made them all imitate me and then quizzed them on the meaning of each one. That seemed to go over well. I asked them some questions about my presentation and gave them stickers for correct answers. Then I ran out of things to do, so I taught them the Thriller dance. I realize that has nothing to do with Ecuador, but I did learn the dance when I was in the Peace Corps. . . The kids all seemed to really like that!
Going to San Diego is always wonderful because I get to see all my old high school friends. We are all still really good friends, which I know is rare. I am really grateful to have such a tight group of friends who have always made time for each other and supported and loved each other for almost 15 years now! We always have fun together, no matter what. I usually end up laughing and getting giddy whenever I see them. I am always sad saying bye to them, which made me wonder why I keep doing it. Plus my parents are in San Diego and my mom's relatives, and my lovely geriartric kitties, Shnowy and Chessie. I always miss all of them when I leave.
When I was living in southern California, I wanted to see the rest of the world. Other than my four years in Boston, I've been living in places for two years and then moving again. Which means I now have friends all over the country, which is nice, but I also think maybe I should settle down some time. And I think I might just have to eat my own words and say that I want to live in southern California again.
I've said ever since I left San Diego that I don't think I could ever live there again. But I think I took a lot of things about San Diego for granted. On this last visit, I did a lot of more touristy things with my parents, like visiting Sea World, the Wild Animal Park, and the zoo. We all also went to Earth Day, which used to be my favorite day in San Diego. The fair is so big, I've never seen anything like it in any other city. Booths cover all of Balboa Park, and there are so many people who attend every year. Almost too many people, but we just waited until the end and then the crowds were more manageable. Anyway, visiting the zoo and Earth Day reminded me about all the things I do love about San Diego. I also miss going to the Del Mar Fair (now called the San Diego county fair). And I want to share those things with Pierre, but we can probably only really afford to go to San Diego once or twice a year. So, it would just make more sense to live closer! Plus, our parents all live in southern California now.
But I don't think we'll be moving out there any time soon. We are enjoying New York City now, and there's still so much more to explore here. And we might still want to live in the Midwest for a bit. Maybe we will make our way back to the West Coast via Chicago or something.
The only other new thing to report is that Pierre and I are training for some races this summer. The first one we're going to do is Miles for Mom over Mother's Day weekend. It's a 4 mile race in Central Park. We are going to make t-shirts with our moms' faces on them. Then we're going to try to do a 10K in DC in June. It's called Lawyers Have Heart, and I was thinking I could make a shirt with pictures of all the lawyers in my family for that one. I don't know if I'll be ready for that, but I'll try. We're also looking for some race to do in the fall, so let me know if you hear of anything that looks good!
Back in the good ole U.S. of A
I have now been back in mi tierra for 10 days, and it’s great! I am enjoying all of the modern conveniences of American life, like hot showers, fast internet connection, speaking English, and temperature controlled rooms. I do miss my Peace Corps friends and Ecuadorian friends, but I’ve been in touch with a number of them since I left, so I feel confident that I will be able to keep in touch with most of my friends. In fact, Maggie (of Magriana) had the honor of being our first visitor in our new place this past weekend. We did lots of touristy stuff, which was fun.
Ever since I got back, I’ve been a slacker about my blog. I wanted to write a final update from Ecuador, about my last weeks, plus perhaps a summation of my experience. Here is my attempt to do that:
Before I left my site, Trent and I celebrated International Women’s Day by marching in a rally through the streets of lovely Santo Domingo. That was super cool. Trent and I showed up early in the morning and discovered that we were supposed to wear white, like everyone else. I had decided to wear black that day, so I really stuck out. Oh well. People stare at me regardless, so I guess my outfit didn’t really matter.
One of Trent’s friends gave us a stack of pamphlets about a women’s center in Santo Domingo and asked us to distribute them as we marched along. The fact that people are always staring at me actually helped me with this task. If someone stared at me, it was a lot easier to make eye contact, say hello, and give them a pamphlet. I figure most people were thinking, “Look, the freak is handing out flyers! I wonder what they are. I want one!” I passed out all my pamphlets quickly and then got rid of all of Trent’s for him.
I also made a couple trips to La Perla before I left. Megan wanted to bring some members from her blind association, so we set up a trip for one of the teenagers. Placido was a great guide, explaining everything we were seeing to Carlos, and finding things for him to hold and touch, like cool leaves, a frog, and even a kinkajou! Carlos had a great time, and wants to return in the future.
I tried to spend some quality time with Belkis, Leonor and Lucy before I left, because I knew I would probably only communicate with them through email after I left Ecuador. I attended Belkis’ dance class, which was fun. I left town before I could see her performance, which was a bummer. I gave Belkis all my English books, stickers, colored pencils, art supplies and other teaching materials before I left. She was so excited about everything, it was really cute! Two days after I had given her everything, she had already started doing work in one of the English books and had written her name in the front. She’s a really smart, motivated kid, which got me thinking that I would like to help her out in the future if she needs any financial assistance with her expenses for high school or college. I should probably set up an educational fund for her or something.
My Peace Corps friends gave me a despidida (going away party) before I left, which was nice. We made yummy food and visited some of the sites of Santo Domingo. Megan posted some pictures from that get together on her blog. I know we will all be together again for my wedding, but I’m also hoping that we can plan reunion trips to Ecuador or other places when we’re all back in the states.
After all my despididas, I left for Quito for our final Peace Corps meeting. I had a bunch of medical appointments and discovered that I am one of the “healthiest” people in my group, meaning I had less medical problems than most people. In the end, all I had was amoebas and a problem with my jaw. I was stressed, so I had been clenching my jaw a lot, which led to some soreness and made it difficult to eat some foods. But now that I am back in the states, the problem has disappeared! Hoorah!
We also had a number of reflective sessions to try to help us process our Peace Corps experience. During one meeting, we had to go around the room and talk about what we had learned, what some of our accomplishments were, etc. I was one of the last people to speak, and I didn’t really have anything original to say about my projects or community. Instead, I talked about how my time in Ecuador changed my perspective about my mother. I think before I left America to live in a foreign land, I never really understood what it must have been like for my mother to leave her homeland to live in America. Not that I really understand her experience now, but I think Peace Corps has made me a lot more empathetic. Struggling every day to communicate in a foreign language is tiring and frustrating. I don’t think I fully appreciated before how much culture matters in terms of determining how you think, act, and deal with other people every day. I didn’t understand why it was important for my mother to see her Filipino friends on a regular basis, why we had to go to all those cultural events. But then I became a Peace Corps volunteer, and realized how essential it was for me to go to Santo Domingo or wherever regularly to hang out with other Americans who understood my culture and where I was coming from. Perhaps this new “understanding” will lead to an improved relationship with my mother!
Janet suggested I write a Description of Service on my blog to summarize my projects in Ecuador. I had about four major projects, my school garden, ecological kids’ club, computer class, and occasional herpetological research at La Perla. The school garden was probably the most satisfying project, because I got to work one-on-one with some of the kids, and hopefully some of them learned from the experience. It was definitely fun, and made me enthusiastic about having my own garden, or volunteering at some community or school garden in my new neighborhood.
The kids’ club was cool and gave me some much needed environmental education experience. I think I also learned some effective child management strategies. Kids will do anything for a sticker!
The computer class was alright. Most of my students dropped out, and then all the computers were taken away. But maybe some of the students actually learned something, or at the very least, will feel more comfortable and confident with computers.
I really enjoyed going on night hikes to look for amphibians and reptiles. I got some great photos from that, which I think will be helpful for future Peace Corps outreach presentations. I’m planning on talking to Cindy’s class of 2nd graders this month. They want to see photos of animals. When I run out of those, maybe I will do the Patito Feo dances for them!
In addition to those official projects, my main secondary project has been learning new dances. During my stint in the Peace Corps, I learned a Rebelde dance, a traditional Tsachila dance, Thriller, Mahi Ve, and the Patito Feo dances. Not too shabby!
Most of the people from my group are coming home soon. If not now, sometime during the summer or fall. Only one person from my group extended! I don't think that means we didn't enjoy our experience, I think most of us were just tired and wanted to go home. Even though my Peace Corps experience was sometimes difficult, I definitely do not regret joining. Being in the Peace Corps changed how I think about America and the rest of the world. And I feel like I built some great relationships with some of the Ecuadorians in my community, and I've made some friends for life amongst the other Peace Corps volunteers. Peace Corps is a unique experience that cannot be duplicated through a study abroad or other short-term experience. I think I will want my children to join the Peace Corps too. Or maybe not. We'll see what the world is like in 25 years!
Some people have asked me if I’ve had any trouble adjusting to life back in the U.S. It hasn’t been too tough, partly because the neighborhood we live in is very diverse. Half the time I hear Spanish, and half the time I hear English. I went to a clothing store and heard someone say “No sea malita!”, which is what people use in Ecuador to say "please". Then I went to Sears, and as I descended on an escalator, I was greeted by a wall of TV’s, all playing Aventura’s Corazoncito. Then I heard Aventura coming from another store in a different mall. I can’t escape Aventura, even in America! I even heard them at a restaurant we went to for brunch in another borough.
Some things have difficult for me, like using a washing machine and dryer after washing my clothes by hand for two years. I took our laundry to the local laudromat, and on the way there, I dropped the laundry in the middle of the crosswalk. Then the lady who worked at the laundromat had to help me with the dryers! Pierre had talked to the woman before, and told her that I was coming back from Ecuador. She then thought I wasn’t actually from here, and was going to leave again! The next time she saw Pierre, she asked him how long I was going to be around and if I had a greencard! She told him that she tried to help me when I came in. I must have seemed so hapless and clueless!
I have definitely felt more shy and hesitant about everyday things, like talking to customer service people or using public transportation. I’m probably even more socially awkward than usual too. Hopefully that will all go away soon!
Playlists
My latest project before I left Ecuador was coming up with new playlists, since my brother complained about my ipod when he borrowed it, saying that I was falta cool playlists. Maggie, Lindsay, Janet, Miles, Scott, Ben and Zoe helped me with this project. Here’s what we have so far:
Make it clap
Omnibus 95 songs
Covers
Chicago
Songs from movie soundtracks
Good sing-along songs
Break-up songs
Songs that feature the harmonica
Songs with great violin or fiddle solos
Sense of place songs
Prom songs
Songs with food
Good driving songs
Whistling songs
Gospel choir
Songs with animals
Transportation (cars, bikes, planes, space travel, etc.)
Songs with clothes references
America
Stalker songs
Duets
Songs that feature the accordion
Songs with birds
Ocean songs
Color songs - please see memo (song must have a color in the title!)
Days of the week
Months
Years
Body parts
Weather
Songs with associated dances
Drinking
Gilmore Girls songs
Let me know if you can think of any other good playlists, or if you are interested in seeing the songs I have for each playlist. Hopefully my brother will be impressed!
