HOLA AMIGOS!

I made it toEcuador, as you can see. It´s been a very hectic last few days ut I´m going through all of the into fanfare with a fantqastic group of fellow volunteers and I couldn´t be prouder or more priviledged to be learning and working beside such a talented and diverse band of world travelers. Many have worked in parks and farms and protected areas all over the world. Some have their masters degrees, and there´s one married couple who are both very charming. I´ve had a roommate for the first few places where we´rve slept who is from North Carolina. He and I have done a bit of harmonica playing ans singing for the rest of the gang on occasion, and though it turns out we won´t be placed in the same training community, we promised to bring our instruments into town when we have group sessions each week to keep up our limited but growing skills. The food so far has been a big relief, coming from New Orleans... and I can tell you that the dinner tonight (passionfruit yogurt/pudding, chicken/ mushroom/ spinach/ pasta "casserole," potato soup, bizcochos - a famous little biscotti like biscuit thingy known to this area, and a nice little salad........it was spectacular. The difference that knowing your food is really really FRESH makes the taste go above and beyond what most people at home eat. Either that or the altitude is playing games with my taste buds. Gimme a few weeks until I have explosive derriere projectiles and I´ll have different things to say about the food I´m sure.

Today we found out about the training communities and families that we´ll be living among starting tomorrow night. My community is one where the principal jobs are cheese-making and production of flowers (roses mainly) for export. I´ll be living with a family where the mom and dad are both in their thirties. There are three chindren, the youngest 7 and the oldest 14 I think... They´ve got dogs, cats, chickens, pigs, cows, and YEEEESSSSSSSS: GUINEA PIGS!!!!!!!!!!! Oh I do hope that they make me some guinea pig-enhanced omelettes some mornings, with fresh eggs and a side of jugo de naranja! I don´t think there is a computer in the entire community, so my posts will probably be few and far between at least until late April when training is over and I move to my permanent work site. All of the regions sound incredible, but one of the staffers I´ve been talking to was stationed in the Galapagos, and holy crap I´m tempted to give that as a preference. I gotta run for now. Hasta la pasta! If you have any questions I can try to answer for you, please email me or post a comment! Take care! I love all of you, but I honestly am too busy right now to miss you! No, that´s a lie. I miss you too.