Saludos,
We just got back again from three days in the community. As before, we spent much of the time trying to keep warm in our four layers of clothing and fleece vests, while the kids run around in t-shirts warm and happy. We’ve started teaching English to the younger children–kindergarten- and first grade- aged. We have to oscillate between versions of Professor Snape and Bozo the Clown to try to keep these little ones focused. And we’re sure getting a lot of singing practice teaching “Mary had a Little Lamb” and “Itsy bitsy Spider.”
We spent numerous hours this week crisscrossing the calles of Riobamba, trying to track down local education officials about getting a classroom built, hiring a Quichua teacher, and getting the federally mandated internet hook-up at the school. In comparison with our earlier experiences negotiating the bureaucracy of Quito, the officials we met were far more helpful. Unfortunately, there is usually someone above that must be consulted first, and this person is invariably at a far-away conference or out to lunch for the next four hours.
The week was still fairly productive, or at least felt that way. We drew up some very pretty contracts for the women artisans, as a sort of incentive to keep working on their crafts. Isabel went to electromagnetic therapy for her knee, which has pained her for months now. The therapy is apparently really a massage – at the molecular level. We googled the treatment and, as it turns out, the pharmaceutical lobby in the US is trying to get it banned for being more effective than Advil.
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- Isabel with some of our students
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- Our view on the way to the local tienda
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- A shigra in progress
We are spending the rest of the week here in Quito, coming up with a project proposal to present to government officials and foundations, in the hopes of getting money for the community and for ourselves to return to continue our work. We may also be spending quite a bit of time trying to view the latest episodes of our favorite American sitcoms, which we desperately miss.
Wishing you all nights as starry as ours, but a lot warmer, and better access to the new season of 30 Rock (go Tina Fey!),
Erica and Isabel
