Is this real life?

Not as much to report this week—training is pretty intense between multiple group projects, Spanish lessons for 4 hours a day, and an array of security, regulation, and health sessions. This week, I did get the chance to leave the training center to go to Quito twice. On Wednesday, my group and I traveled to see the Peace Corps office in the city; it’s quite the trek, three bus rides, to get over there. The office is really nice, as are all of the staff. Of course, while at the office, we had yet another safety talk with our head of security. She discussed robberies and theft on transportation in Ecuador, which is quite the problem, especially if you are a gringo. Unfortunately, on the bus ride back to the training center, one of my fellow trainees experienced this first hand when she got off the bus and realized her jacket had been slashed. She’s fine—just short a cheap cell phone and five dollars. Sneaky, sneaky thieves.

The weather has been extremely beautiful this past week with lots of sunshine. Several of us decided to walk to the neighboring town of Cumbaya (yup, that’s the name of the town) during the day on Saturday to enjoy the lovely scenery. There is a bike bath, the ciclovia, which runs for miles through and between towns in the area. Lots of mountain bikers, runners, and walkers take advantage of the path, especially in the mornings. I’ve only driven through Cumbaya on the bus on the way to Quito, and I can’t believe how nice the town is. The town square is beautiful with a fountain and palm trees. After our walk, we all decided to opt out of eating at a restaurant serving white rice (two weeks in of eating white rice for two meals a day, and I’m already trying to avoid it!), so we found an Italian restaurant and enjoyed delicious pizza. It was such a relaxing day after a super stressful week!

A view from the ciclovia on the way to Cumbaya

More nice views from the ciclovia

Town square in Cumbaya

Fellow trainees and me!

About to enjoy pizza and beer (sin arroz--without rice!)

However, Saturday didn’t end with lunch in Cumbaya. The entertainment always continues when I get back home. I need to preface this story by saying that my host family always says that I eat “como un gato” (like a cat). Meaning: I don’t eat much. I’ll let you decide if you know any cats that eat the sheer quantity of food that I was given on Saturday.

I walk in my house in late afternoon after my outing to Cumbaya. I’m greeted with hugs and a rapid flood of words that I sort of half know. Rosa asks what I did with my friends. I tell her we had a huge lunch, and I’m very full (take note of this). Next, my host brother asks if we’re going to make cookies. I remember my promise about making chocolate chip cookies, so I say yes. Rosa watches over the whole process to ensure that I do in fact know how to use a spoon to mix ingredients. (Side note: same goes for sweeping, dusting, making my bed, and ironing—all of which I now know how to properly do.) I make the dough, I put the cookies in the oven, and I am about to walk out of the kitchen. But, Rosa calls my name from the dining room and tells me that my soup is waiting for me on the table. I reiterate that I just ate lunch. Nope, doesn’t matter, I have to try a little soup. A heaping bowl of soup later, I’m nearing food coma status. Next thing I know, I’m sitting in my room studying and my other host brother, who is a truck driver that drives to the coast every week, comes in with a mango and hands it to me. I don’t really know the protocol when you are handed a piece of tropical fruit in your bedroom, so I say thank you and try to continue studying. He is still standing in my room next to my bed, so I realize the protocol is to follow him into the kitchen. My two host brothers and I split open mangoes and laugh as bright orange mango juice drips down our arms onto the ceramic floor. I eat one mango. Do I want another? Oh my god, no. I sneak back to my room. Ten minutes later—I hear the bells chime six from the church in the center of town, and in comes Rosa. She wants me to make a salad for dinner. You’re kidding, right? I’m back in the kitchen. Salad, rice, eggs, and beans. For situations like this, the training staff taught us how to say, “Ya no avanzo.” (I can’t continue.) It never works.

One final note: My host family loves my chocolate chip cookies, and the word vender, to sell, got thrown around a couple of times. I hope they were talking about the cookies. Either way, I’m glad I could add something to the food fest.