Mailing Address for the duration of PeaceCorps Service

Heya Folks!

Alright, it's time to move to a new home! That means new life, new world, new address! And despite this country being full of amazing things, there are definitely a couple of small things that I miss, or that make life easier. Your letters and care packages during training were absolutely magnificent and just made my weeks so much better!

Things that I'd like or would be super useful?

• Earl Grey and English Breakfast Teabags
• Contact Lense Solution - check the mailing size limits, but this is super super needed!
• Sunscreen!!!
• Nutter Butters and Take 5 candy bars
• Cajun seasoning, Montgomery Steak seasoning, Blackened Seasoning
• Almonds (raw or roasted.. they're insanely expensive here)
• Tums / Anti-acids
• Duct Tape
• Kotex Light Days XLong Pads (so.. expensive.. and great to put some in a package and list first)
• Dark Chocolate
• Pens from Dearborn, DramaTech, and Mountain West (seriously - best pens EVER); blue especially!
• Mechanical Pencils
• Parachord
• Letters and postcards with your love <3

I know those all seem odd, but are sorely missed!

Also, for mailing anything to me, the guidelines and recommendations and address are below.

Sending Packages:
Family and friends like to send care packages through the mail. Unfortunately, sending packages can be a frustrating experience for all involved due to the high incidence of theft and heavy customs taxes. You may want to try to send inexpensive items through the mail, but there is no guarantee that these items will arrive. We do not recommend, however, that costly items be sent through the mail. You may use the following address to send letters and/or packages to your family member until she has informed you of a different address:

Melinda Ellington PCV
Casilla 11-01-569
Loja, Loja
ECUADOR

NOTE: If you are awesome and send a package, please do not send anything weighing over 4lb. And please refrain from declaring the true value, if possible, as this leads to insane tariff taxes. Declare items at minimal value, such as $1-$2.

It is recommended that packages be sent in padded envelopes if possible, as boxes tend to be taxed and opened more frequently. If you are sending items that come in bigger packages or multipacks, removing them from their packaging and packing them flat is usually the best way to go. A relatively foolproof way to not get the package checked? Include a couple of feminine products (ask me about brands), and list them first under declared items.

***SO - according to new information that we were given today (Weds, 7/30/14) by our admin team: apparently a new law has been passed that will potentially take effect in one month. This law basically says that a customs fee of $42 may be collected on every package entering the country.

I adore the care packages that you all send my way, and am incredibly grateful for each and every thought, but if the prices indeed hike to that level, I will not be able to pay for the packages - I just don't make enough, honestly. So for anyone who's been waffling on sending a care package, or would like to send something else, please do so within the next week!

Pushy? I feel like I am. But really, y'all are awesome, and I just don't want you to send me anything that'll end up being left in customs because of outrageous fees! Let me know if you have any questions - the things I want/need the most are all posted.***


There you go - needy Melly has made her case to the internet.
Honestly, most everything listed above is just a silver lining, but if you're feeling like contributing, I'd be a grateful Girlie! If you're thinking of other things, or have questions, feel free to let me know. I've gotten pretty much every package that was sent my way during training.

Love you all!

Sunshine Predicted

The past few days, I have been feeling peculiar - pretty different from the past couple of months. After several comments passed my way about how oddly I was acting, it dawned on me that chipper, bouncy Melinda was back in the house. I felt energetic, cheerful, engaged, and... well just lighthearted. Two and a half months into training, I finally felt like myself. 

And the peculiar thing is, that made me sad after realizing it. 

Throughout this whole training period I've been feeling somewhat stifled (though I've been doing much better over the past month) - it was jarring and sad to realize that this whole time I've just not been myself. I would definitely attribute lots of that to culture shock, the departure from my norm, and getting sick. And generally, though I can force myself out of that habit, I consider myself pretty shy - so completely rebuilding my social network  has put a bit of a strain on me.

It's hard to realize how much of a rut I've been in, and just how differently I've appeared to a lot of new people in my life, all of whom I've come to care greatly for. I feel almost like I've been deceptive about myself to the people who didn't know me before. I know it's not true, and if anything, I was doing a good job portraying the emotions I felt, but even so... I just so wish that joyful Melinda would have rolled in a good deal earlier.

That being said, having my normal self clock-in unexpectedly this week was uplifting beyond belief. Amusingly, the last comment that really made me reflect on myself was when someone mentioned that I was completely "cracked out" on the coffee that I'd had today (admittedly, there was a lot, and it was delicious). I laughed it off, but realized how good it felt to finally be goofy and merry with no effort.

In summary:

I miss being the girl called 'Sunshine.' I miss my mirth and the ability to always find a silver lining and have a good attitude about what I'm experiencing. I miss always finding something to make me laugh. I miss being joyful without having to try.

Beware world - I had a kick of Sunshine this week, and I don't plan on letting this high escape me for long. Challenges may come, but good gracious - I like being myself. Ridiculous laugh, bad timing, annoying optimism, awkwardness, and all. 

Site Visit - My New Home to Be

The time finally arrived last week for us to all scatter to the winds and visit our sites. As the first truly solo adventure in Ecuador, it was a big departure from the past couple of months.

My journey started off with a 15-hour trip down to my future home - Chaguarpamba, Loja! It only took three buses, one of which was an overnight 10+ hour drive from Quito to the capital of the province... not my favourite thing in the world, but manageable. My journey wasn´t quite what was planned, as my counterpart was unable to travel down from Quito with me - that thrust this little birdie out of her nest a lot earlier than expected! Thanks to the help of several very kind people, including the other counterparts and volunteers coming to my province, I was able to make it down and meet up with my host family without incident.

To start with, the province of Loja is magnificent - if people come to visit me in Ecuador, I know it´s a drag to get all the way down there, but it´s the prettiest place I´ve seen in Ecuador - the mountains don´t seem to end, and are covered in a huge array of vibrant flora.
My town is small and generally pretty - the the church in the center of town is relatively old, and absolutely gorgeous. I think the most interesting aspect of my town, up until this point, is that it´s situated on the side of a mountain - going anywhere is a workout. If it were flat, I could walk the circumference of my town in a little less than 30 minutes, but as it is, I´m very much out of shape and it takes at least an hour.

The church in Chaguarpamba - the colours change every other season, or so, to keep it spruced up!

My host family is small, but very nice - the mother works in the external auditing office of the local government, her husband works for a pharmaceutical company in Loja city (and lives there during the week), and the 13-year-old daughter stays at home, as she has Down Syndrome. They have a housekeeper who stays in with the daughter and takes care of cleaning and cooking, as the mum usually pulls 15+ hour workdays. Once I move down, I´ll be sure to share pictures of my new digs and family!

I´ve also had the opportunity to meet the youth that are members of the Red Cross in the province, and they´re all very nice young folks. They range from 12 - 18 years of age, and live scattered throughout the state. I think the main stumbling blocks at this point are that my Spanish is only so-so (I´ve had to ask people to repeat themselves or explain more often last week than in the past two months combined), and that I´m generally the most awkward person alive in regards to making small talk with new people. These powers combined have made for a spectacularly maladroit week of forced conversation - all of my youth are kindof shy, so trying to pull information and conversation from them has demanded herculean efforts - but so far, I still want to go back, so I guess that´s a good sign!

I arrived in Chaguarpamba on Tuesday, and left on Saturday. My counterpart came back into town early to give me an opportunity to sit down with her and chat about future projects. She owns a rather sprawling coffee and peanut plantation, and is a mover and shaker in the region - I love interfacing with people that have a good work ethic, and it seems that I lucked out with her!


OK, that was a giant spill of information that really can´t encompass my week... There were a lot of things that came about, including me being worried that I might not survive - but I have!
Time to hit the ground running for exams and presentations - the final intense little leg of our training semester!

Time is flying... like a Tortoise.

Well well well - we're done with the last week of training before I visit my site! *LE GASP* We've had a ton of paperwork tossed at us this week, and keeping it all in order while I travel is going to be an interesting experience, to say the least. After several weeks of imagining, trying to research, and learning more about my site, I'm overwhelmed with the possibilities and chaos to ensue... I'm ready to see what my future holds!

I know for sure that I'll be travelling down by nightbus (for 14 hours...) to my site with at least two other volunteers, and possibly our counterparts on Monday night. I've called and left a message for my new host family (which was probably garbled and insane-sounding), and have piled a large amount of [heavy] stuff into my duffle bag to leave down in Loja. I've decided to take the cautious route and rest up when feeling ill this week instead of pushing on through (I swear, I've been pathetic and sick more here than I was over a year in the USA - new world for the body to adjust to, I guess), and have been taking the time to recharge my friend-conversation tank with some loved ones at home.

It's amazing to me how quickly this new world has become my 'normal' - only two months since I left home, and I'm already afraid of leaving this comfort zone for my long-term assignment.
We've had a lot of rocky spots, but the people I've had the opportunity to meet and get to know during training are amazing. How else could you describe almost 40 people who have left their friends and families to try and make the lives of others better? Or the trainers and other volunteers who are giving their all to make sure we're ready to enter a strange, new world for two years? It's a group of people as varied as the grains of sand on a beach, but all with a drive and desire for adventure and helping others. The difference I've seen them make in one another and in my life over the last two months has been incredible - I can't wait to see the countless lives that they will impact over the course of two more years!

Speaking of awesome people and two months, I got several letters and packages this week (because, again, my friends are too awesome), one of which came from an incredibly talented friend of mine who showed up and took photos of my going away party in May. Posting the photos she sent me seemed like a blast to the past. The time that has passed seems like so much and so little - just the thought of two more years without seeing my families is mind-blowing. I'm excited for my time here and the community that I'll get to know, but am aching to get some of my Rennies' bear hugs again. You remember how much I railed against them, guys? Now I miss them. Irony. The love and support that I'm continuing to receive from home, though, is incredible. Between my home-support and the peer-support here, there ain't no way I can fail.


In the grand scheme of things, life is chaotic here - I feel like I constantly run from one sense of being busy to another with little rest (despite the obscene amount of sleep I get). There are so many people to meet and know, so many perspectives to learn, and always one more thing I could get done. That's the way I've always done it, but Ecuador is doing its best to teach me to slow down and enjoy the moment I'm in. Melinda has always been guilty of pushing forward and looking for the next big thing - as I reflect, I realize that this has no doubt caused me to miss many amazing opportunities to love what I was doing, as I was consumed about what might happen tomorrow. Regretting leaving my families behind, wishing time to speed up to reunite us, and hoping it doesn't hurt in the meantime - all of these get in the way of me enjoying today. Valuing the 'Now'.

Time to tilt my perspective, enjoy the memories and look forward to the future, but let them come as they so choose. The longest races are won slowly and surely - my families will always be there waiting for me, so there's no need to wonder if I'll ever get back to them. I've signed up for a marathon, but instead of running through it as quickly as I can, let's take it at a leisurely walk - well, maybe a brisk hike. The flowers in my path are meant to be appreciated, and the people currently in my life to be blessed.


Well, that was a wide range of rambling... Happy Weekend!

A request to my Space Pirates and Cowboys

Heya Strangers!

So, my harddrive has derped and dumped most everything in terms of movies and shows I brought down for my soul's comfort food... I'm going to reformat it and pull off anything I can prior to that, but my entertainment for the next two years now depends on those people much smarter than I at finding things on the webs. When I get down to site, apparently I may have a fair amount of 'nothing to do' time, and probably won't have internet access in the evenings... so....

The following are some of the films and shows that make me smile when I'm having a tough time - or are new things I'd like to see - if any of you can find these and send them my way via dropbox or another means you find convenient, that'd be spectacular!

Listed in order of what I miss the most:

Much Ado about Nothing - Branaugh AND Whedon versions ^_^
Hook
Warehouse 13 - Savage Seduction - Season 5, Episode 4
The Emperor's New Groove (Disney)
Guardians of the Galaxy
Avatar the Last Airbender - whole series


OK, that's my list of 'would likes'! Now back to productivity...

A Tech Trip Summary

Whew! A bunch happened while away from the internet... that always seems to be the case, but this week even more so. I'm going to sum up our TechTrip in a play-by-play - bear with me. Also, forgive the wee number of photos, as I was more concerned taking my time enjoying myself rather than sitting behind a camera! I'll try to scrounge up some more from other volunteers and facilitators to add as time goes on.

Day 1:
Our trip was off to an early start - we met in the town square at 6:30am to depart - the trip usually takes at least 30 minutes, but my awesome co-volunteer Shelley and her family drove me into town. We had a bunch of hiccups occur, as a giant reorganization of bus terminals had just happened throughout the country, but were finally in the bus on our way by 8:30am. Instead of one bus, we ended up having to cobble together three buses, and eventually reached our destination around 7:30pm - we were dog tired, but ready to go!

Day 2:
We got to do our first charla (lesson) at a local public school - I survived a lesson on non-verbal communication with 40 8-year-olds all to myself! Some things you can plan for, and others you really can't... Little did we know that this was about a closely to plan as any of our lessons would go for the entire week - improv is rapidly becoming a friend of mine.

Joe being mobbed during a game of KeepAway

Tony braving the oncoming storm during the aforementioned game of KeepAway

After our bout of teaching, we were swept off to visit a museum of the oldest remains found in Ecuador (though I believe they also held the claim that they're older than most in South America) - it was a neat museum, with a lot of fun information about the pre-historic peoples that inhabited the area. That evening we got to watch the USA game (sincerely sad that we lost) at our hostel, and were gifted free beers and free pizza from a bunch of expats at the bar to thank us for our service - it was a lovely surprise to help wrap up a jarring day of energetic youngsters!

Day 3:
I wasn't feeling great, but made it through several cultural activities that took us to a park looking over the edge of Santa Elena (in the background, you can see the westernmost point of South America).

The westernmost tip of South America!

Immediately after that, on to a rock quarry where artesians mine rock throughout the day, and carve it into various souvenirs or blocks for tourists or local buildings.

Quarry workers, showing us how to break large rocks - the rock is composed of seabed deposit, and is a very rough version of sandstone, from what I could understand.

After the mine visit, we dashed off to perform a surprise charla for a group of about 40 parents and 40 kids - they divided us into two groups to execute the lesson, which (considering we pulled the entire thing together in less than 10 minutes of planning) went pretty well. I'd been feeling pretty ghastly throughout the day, but the adrenaline kicked me back into gear, and I felt fine for the rest of the trip. That night, we jumped into the ocean and watched the sunset while in the water, and were then treated to a round of tequila shots by the owner of the hostel before bed. Let me tell you, I was very sad that we were leaving that place! It was a bunch of fun!

Day 4:
We pulled out nice and early and journeyed to Puerto el Morro, the site of a current PC Volunteer. It was his last day, so we were treated to a goodbye party, and also to an estuary boat-ride to see some Dolphins! I've done lots of these boat tours, but we had a solid halfhour of between three and five dolphins (including a calf) swimming alongside our boat - it was awesome! That afternoon, another charla for adults took place, and then we split off for dinner, puppy-dog adventures, and sleep.

Our view out the hostel window around 6am

Day 5:
An early start to Guayaquil! The largest city in Ecuador, this place has a reputation for thieves and trouble, so unfortunately no pictures were taken. Though the entire trip has been refreshingly hot and humid, Guayaquil was oppressively muggy - I was so gross just halfway through the day.. We rattled off another charla at a private school, and got our stuff dropped off to our hotel around 3pm - lunch was a welcome site! We had chinese food in Ecuador, while watching soccer and drinking beer on the 4th of July. Seemed about as American as we could make it. After a long culturally informative wander down the historic riverside, we were informed that we'd have to leave by 5:30am the next morning, so partying was minimal. That just means I'll have to return to see more of the city soon!

Day 6: 
Bus

OK, I know that was a long summary, but it was a ridiculous week! I've left a lot out, I know, but suffice to say that it was stressful, sweaty, and really fun.

This week - lots of work. Next week - site visit!!!