Rhianna Banana

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!

posted by Unknown @ Wednesday, April 02, 2008