What is your itinerary?
Tomorrow morning, I depart for Washington, D.C. We spend the day registering and getting an orientation to the Peace Corps. Then, we leave for Ecuador on Wednesday morning. We spend the first few days in Quito, the capital, getting more orientation before they ship us off to our training villages. In the past, the training villages have been based around Cayambe in the north (I will put a map of Ecuador on the right side so you get a sense of where everything is).
What's the climate like?
Well, from the name, you get the idea that the country is near the Equator. So it's going to be pretty warm. Ecuador is located in northwestern South America and divided into three climate areas — the costa, the sierra, and the oriente.
The costa is the costal area on the Pacific Ocean. It gets very hot and very humid here. The sierra is the Andes Mountains. The altitudes here can get as high as 16,000 feet. There is snow at the top of the mountains. We were to prepare for temperatures in the 40s. Then there is the oriente (rainforest), where is it humid and rains all the time.
Where will you be living after training?
They give us our locations some time during training (I'll let you know as soon as I learn more). They want to meet us first, see our skills, and learn what we can do before they decide on placement.
What are you going to be doing?
Just like my exact placement, I'm not quite sure what my job will entail. I am working in the natural resource management program. It has three primary goals: environmental education, conservation, and business advising. Within these categories, the possibilities are pretty much endless, so I don't really want to speculate on what this will entail.
What will you do during training?
We will spend three months in training. Peace Corps Ecuador employs a community-based training philosophy where you live with a local family and complete training while living in a village. Some of the types of training will probably include: language, cross-culture, soccer, health, laundry, safety, technical, how to maximize limited water pressure, and whistling. This is probably not an exhaustive list.
Will you come home?
I might. Throughout my 27 months, I will accrue 48 days off. One earns two days off for every month of service. While I might have the opportunity to come back to Michigan, I also want to take advantage of this chance to be in South America and see what this continent has to offer. And if someone wants to come visit me in Ecuador, I could use some of my accrued days off to explore with them (hint, hint).
Weren't you Ecuador last summer?
Yes. Last summer I backpacked throughout South America. I started in Quito and, over three months, rode buses all the way to Rio de Janeiro (If you want to read my emails from that experience, they are all on the blog. There is even a picture slideshow.). I spent three weeks in Ecuador. For 10 days, I was in the Galapagos Islands, marveling at that the huge boobies. For the rest of the time, I mostly explored the sierra and made a brief appearance in the oriente. I applied for the Peace Corps before I left for my South America journey, so I think my placement in Ecuador was a coincidence. But some might tell you that there are no coincidences.
What t-shirts are you bringing?
Something you might not know about me is how much pride I take in my t-shirt collection. Not only that, but there is a story behind every t-shirt (Last year, I did an experiment by wearing every t-shirt in my closet. The rule was that I could wear it just once, then I couldn't wear it again until I wore every t-shirt in my closet. It was a great experience, and I even considered blogging about it, but then I got lazy. I didn't have to rewear a shirt until December.)
The packing list told me that I should bring six t-shrits. I briefly considered giving up on this whole Peace Corps thing altogether. Then I regained my composure and starting sifting through the cotton. Then I settled on a few shirts that capture some central themes of my life that are also t-shirts I wouldn't mind losing (something you have to prepare for with anything you take to the Peace Corps). I will bring a Detroit Tigers t-shirt, a Detroit Pistons t-shirt, two Michigan t-shirts (one white and one blue), and a red Moosejaw shirt (more for the comfort and color than anything else).
What movies will you take?
Before I answer this, I decided that a fun icebreaker question would be: Choose 10 movies that you will watch for two years.
Now, I know that I will watch more movies than the ones I am bringing. Bootleg movies are readily available on the streets, and other volunteers will bring some. But to start off, I am bringing Toy Story, The Godfather, Air Force One, The Fugitive, Tommy Boy, Sallah Shabati, You Don't Mess With The Zohan, D2, Miracle, The Sandlot, and Major League. So maybe that's more than ten movies, but I had more sleeves in the CD case.
Will you have internet?
I don't really know yet. Because a good portion of the country doesn't have running water, the odds of me having internet at my house are close to zero. But because Ecuador is a big tourist destination, there are internet cafes in every city and most towns.
I will post a mailing address soon. Mail typically takes about ten days to get to the Peace Corps office from the States. But the best way to reach me would be via email (ian.jacob.robinson@gmail.com). And maybe if you are lucky enough (and I am lucky enough to have a good internet connection), we could gchat...
My new haircut!
So for the last 22 years, I have only sported one hairstyle: the Jew fro. But as I enter a new phase in my life, I thought it was time for a new phase in my hair life, as well.
My friend, Vadim, told me about one of his dad's friends who gives $7 haircuts out of his basement. I went with Vadim, his brother, and his dad on a Sunday afternoon. The guy's basement is unfinished. It is essentially bare concrete except for a barber shop chair, a mirror, and a ping pong table.
I told him to take about half of my hair off. Well, let's just say that the scissors didn't make an appearance until ten minutes into the twelve minute hair cut. My hair is shorter than it has ever been before (I'm pretty sure I came out of the womb with more hair). But I'm pleased and it will give me a good base to grow from if I can't find a barber for a while. The four of us left with the same haircut, and while we waited for the next person, we played ping pong.
If you were interested, I beat Vadim.
1 comment:
ian, your hair is so short!! hope all went well with your trip down.
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