No witty title today, kids

It’s another long day in my community, and I am going a little out of my mind. I haven’t written in this blog for the past month for the simple fact that there has been nothing to write about. Things are not going particularly well in my community, and in fact I just received permission to start looking for a house in Patate.

My community is unreceptive, uncaring, and never in their homes. Doing my CAT tools is practically impossible, because even when I do track down people they tell me it is not a good time, and when I go to their house at the time they tell me to, they are not there. When we set up meetings, and I let the community choose the day and time and everyone agrees to show up, no one does. Not a single person.

Plus, despite the fact that I have been here several months, the whole “fishbowl” effect isn’t waning. If I leave my door open people regularly camp out in their free time at the end of the path facing my house and stare at me. Don’t come to say hello, don’t wave back if I wave, don’t talk to me, nothing. They just stare. For hours, as I sit at my table or do my dishes. It’s unnerving, and I’m getting tired of it.

I hear stories of other communities, where people get invited to houses for lunch or for a cafecito, or to do something with the family, or something. Not here. There are a few nice people but honestly, people either act like I am bothering them or they laugh at me, openly laugh at me to the point that I’ve stopped sitting at the soccer court in the afternoons because no one talks to me or responds to my attempts at conversation but instead just shoots me grins and whispers and laughs in my direction.

So I’m thrilled to start the house hunt in Patate. Patate is beautiful, clean, with openly friendly people who, even though I don’t live in town, invite me to their houses all the time. There is a great family that I am already friends with, and it is safe, tranquil, with significantly less drinking. Most of my work is in Patate anyway, and some might be in Pelileo, the Red Cross is based in Patate, my counterpart is in Patate, and most of my integration is in Patate. All I need to do is find a house for rent, get someone from the PC here, and get it approved. I’m hoping, if all goes well, I can move out of here in maybe two months. We will see.

In other news, I’ve had some good times. Mostly I’ve been under house arrest and blisteringly bored (writing a lot), waiting for this government visit that has never happened. But Joyce came to visit me, and we had a great time just talking and relaxing. Then I visited her in Puyo, which I actually quite like, for its warmth and “jungle town” feel. We went to this little piece of jungle in the city that an American married to a Shuar woman set up, and took his tour where he talked in depth about various indigenous cultures and medicinal plants. It was fascinating. I’m starting to regret that I didn’t ask to be placed in the jungle, where the indigenous cultures are so unique. The anthropologist in me wants to study them.

Josh visited too, this past weekend, which was really fun except for the fact that nothing went right: The “waterfall” hike we went on had no waterfall and wasn’t much of a hike, and then the stocked fishing pond was all out of fish that day! We mostly wandered and talked the whole time, and I cooked a lot.

One of the great things about his visit was, once again, getting to see the sweetness and generosity of the Ecuadorian people. When a group of girls carrying bunches of carnations passed, and I commented on how pretty the flowers were, they gave me some. When we walked by a granadilla farm, the farmer gave us an armful. Moments like this just make me brim with happiness.

We will see where the next months take me. At the very least, I know that when school starts in September and my work revs up, life will be purposeful and less boring. For now, I’m house hunting and trying to organize talks that people will actually show up to. We’ll see how it goes.

PS: Sarah’s book reviews:

Book I Was Disappointed In But You Should Really Read Anyway:
“Confessions of an Economic Hitman” : Fascinating premise, shockingly real, and contains information that everyone in the world should be aware of. It makes international politics and what is happening in the world so much clearer. However, it is poorly written by a selfish, navel-gazing, narcissistic author who muses and justifies with very little exciting action. Still, read it, for the information alone. And don’t feel bad if you think he is a selfish prick. He is.

Book I Picked Up On A Whim And Turned Out To Be One Of The Best I’ve Ever Read:
“Savages” : If you have any interest in ancient cultures, anthropology, the destruction of the Amazon rainforest, oil companies, Ecuador, South America in general, or if you just want to read some of the most gripping and beautiful prose ever, pick this book up. It’s about how the fierce and fading Huaroni people are fighting the big oil companies to preserve the rainforest and their culture, and just what exactly oil drilling is really doing to the forest and people of Ecuador. It is sad and shocking and fascinating and makes you want to go to the rainforest yourself and fight this. Please, read it. And then do something about it.

Hasta pronto!