Things I learned this week 2.0

“Everyone you meet will know something you don’t”- Bill Nye

Like I said in my last “things I learned this week” post, I am always learning here. And it continuously surprises me.  I am doing things I have never done or doing things a different way.  So here it goes for this week….

  1. I learned how to Scuba Dive.  I am now open water certified! Four other Peace Corps Volunteers and I took a course this past weekend in Puerto López. With the scuba certification I am hoping to do underwater clean-ups here in Puerto López and more travel to the Galapagos. (Photos courtesy of Jane’s GoPro)
  2. How to use the mosquito repellent ring.  The mosquitoes are getting bad here in Ecuador, cue all the comments about Zika, so they sell these rings that you light to burn in your house that have a mosquito repellent.  I have been using them for the past 4 months and it wasn’t until last week that an awesome PCV showed me how to properly use them.  I spent at least two hours trying to set it up to burn correctly and ended up settling for one way, knowing it wasn’t right and there had to be an easier way.  Then Jane came along and showed me the correct way.
  3. I am the most unhappy in Ecuador when I have to do my laundry. After almost 9 months of hand washing my clothes, I am kinda over it. You should all hug your washers and dryers today.
  4. How to surf- I had been dabbling in surfing for the past couple of months but finally the waves have grown and I have taken it a little bit more seriously.  And I made an impromptu purchase—a board.

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    Horrible quality but that is the only picture I have.

  5. Everything here takes time.  This is one that took me a while to learn.  I came up with projects and wanted to make processes better right away and I wanted it to happen quickly.  Unfortunately, this is just not a reality here in Ecuador and I am really trying hard to be patient with time. Even down to the smallest things. I had to make five trips to the seamstress before a hole in my pants could be fixed.
  6. I only have two hands – Yes, I have known this since I was born but bear with me while I explain.  I have always been one to think I can do absolutely everything and have a really hard time saying “no”.  For the first time in Ecuador, I am able to say “no” to things I don’t have time for and also realize that some of the issues here cannot simply be made better in the year and a half I have left.  I cannot do everything.
  7. Our planet is so precious and we continue to destroy and mistreat it. This week with the kids club I work with, we took a trip to the turtle rehabilitation center.  There are currently 13 turtles in the rehabilitation center and this is only from the small beach in Puerto López.  They are in the rehabilitation center from eating garbage in the sea, having straws stuck up their nostrils, suffering attacks from fisherman, etc. After seeing the turtle rehabilitation center, I have a greater appreciation for this planet and how we are treating it. Take care of the planet, people! IMG_0344IMG_0333
  8. Composting – This week, our compost was finally ready to put back into our garden at Clara Luna.  I have never composted before and used it again for our garden but there aren’t very many ways to mess it up.
  9. You can receive mail in Ecuador all the way from Senegal.  Shout out to Lisa Nations for being one of the greatest friends ever.  I wish I could have captured my face in the moment I received that letter forever.

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    Actual proof.

Sending all my love xoxo

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