Lunes a Viernes.

Lately Oliver has been feeling like our blog is conveying the wrong message, he feels like {and I quote} "...everyone probably thinks that all we do is travel, and that we are on one big vacation..." So in order to address this concern - Oliver, this one is for you...

As of recent in our internship we have been focusing on quite a few different things, but the two largest items are building water collection systems {50 of them to be exact} for family gardens, and teaching basic business concepts to the indigenous people. We work Monday - Friday and our days in the field tend to go something like this.

6:15 am : Oliver wakes up, diligently reads his scriptures, listens to classical music, plans for the day, takes a shower {aka EXACT replica of his father}. Carly presses snooze.

6:50 am : Oliver comes into the bedroom and literally rolls Carly out of bed. Carly then gets ready at mach 5, and still has enough time to make oatmeal and chamomile tea.

7:00 am : Co-workers arrive and we all pile in the truck to head 2 hours South of Riobamba to the communities where we will begin our work. Oliver always drives, because I am terrified of driving in South America, and most people in Riobamba do not know how to drive {or like one of our co-workers, they are afraid to drive in reverse}.

9:00 am : Arrive in one of the communities where we begin a business class. They look something like this:

this:

or this:

This next photo is nothing artistically fantastic, but I like it for other reasons. I snapped this photo right as Oliver had finished teaching the concept of saving money. Look at their expressions. Dude on the left has just had a light bulb moment and is amazed at how much money can accumulate if you conserve spending; while dude on the right is still confused as to why anybody would want to save money.

Post script: I love referring to indigenous people as dudes.


10:30 am : Business class ends, and Oliver gets swarmed by a bunch of young boys who want him to play soccer. Oliver plays soccer while Carly dances the native dance with the other school children {and they all laugh hysterically at the weirdo gringo girl who, for some odd reason, always wears pants}.

11:00 am : Off to another community. Although it isn't very far geographically, we drive through mountainous roads and it can take up to an hour to get to the next destination.

11:30 - 12:00 am : Arrive at our next stop, and begin the manual labor. We are helping the community members build irrigation systems that look like this:

The rooftop thing {that is actually the scientific name} acts as a water catchment tool, the water then flows down through the pipes into the tank where it can be stored for the dry months. It is important that they save water for irrigation, because these communities are in the paramo {above the tree line, dessert area of the Andes} from June to December there is not much rain and there are no rivers. The people in these communities live off the land and if nothing grows, they don't eat. These systems work really well, unless all of the kids decide to have a water fight with the irrigation water, while the parents sit around and watch. True story.

A lot of work goes into building these systems, and every day is different. We spend our time doing anything from cutting wood, laying concrete, passing out materials, actually constructing the systems, or hauling supplies to far off homes. Here is Oliver hauling concrete on his back:


Sometimes I do manual labor, sometimes I take pictures, and sometimes...if I am really lucky...I help the women cook:

2:00 pm : Head back to Riobamba.

...but, before we leave. Oliver always has to pet the animals {donkeys are his favorite}.


4:00 pm : Arrive in Riobamba. Take a small break and then prepare for the next day.

{Days in the office are very different from days out in the field. Office days generally consist of 4 hours office work, followed by 2 hour lunch and 1 hour siesta, and then 3 more hours of work. We usually have 2 office days each week.}

After a long day whether it is in the field or in the office we sit down to a nice steaming bowl of Spinach Soup {homemade, and invented, by yours truly} and pineapple for dessert. When we are not eating Spinach Soup, we enjoy: bean soup, homemade chili {actually kind of good}, bean and avacado burritos, or rice and potatoes {the local favorite}. It is organic, healthy, vegetarian, and leaves you craving a genetically engineered Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger from Wendy's.

...and no, unfortunately you can't mail me food because it won't get here. Even if it actually reaches Ecuador it won't reach us because they don't really have addresses here. Or to be more specific, about 100 people share our same address; it doesn't make any sense...but that is how it is. Thank you though, I really appreciate it.

***

Oh, and Jeff Kendell - if I get one more email about all of the delicious food you eat every single day. I will kill you with my bare hands. Hugs and kisses.