It's been 5 months here, and I am ready for a vacation back to my home-town! Who knew I could actually miss that place?? Every day my anticipation and impatience grows. There is so much to think about, but all I can think about is getting there...
The dry toilet construction went really well. We flew out of Puyo to the community of Pumpuentsa where we had 5 days to construct 4 dry toilets. It was difficult, exhausting, and beautiful. At first it was difficult to get organized, but once we had the "man-power" we needed, it all went very smoothly. More appropriately, the "woman-power" was much more effective in construction. The cement mixing and tile-laying required a lot of patience and waiting, which it seemed to me the women were more adept. The men were a great help in building the structure and the roof. It was truly a community effort, and although it was tight, we finished just in time.
For me personally, I learned a lot from the trip. First of all, I've never built anything before, so that was really exciting. I also learned that scorpions like dirty clothes and if I get a bite I can go into a coma for 2 days...how close I came to being bit is too scary to recount. I also learned that there is a bug called coloradilla which buries under your skin and sucks your blood leaving you with little mosquito-bite looking bumps. FUN! Another first, I've never cooked over a fire before (other than s'mores but that doesn't really count). This trip required cooking on a fire pit 3 times a day every day. Despite the fact that we only had 5 or 6 ingredients, we managed to cook something different nearly every meal!
Outside of my trip building the toilets, there's been a lot happening. The fiestas of Quito just ended on the 6th. There was so much going on, it was unbelievable. There was a concert on every corner, chivas passing by constantly (chivas are open-air party buses), candelazo (delicious warm strong sweet drink), parades and dancing. It's been a great way to end my first trip to Ecuador. Now, I go back home to the freezing cold and snowy christmas and new years. I cannot wait! =)
Here is a pic of a woman demonstrating how to use the dry toilet
