Author: Shelley

I am intensely curious, with a spirit of adventure that is tempered by my very strong aversion to anything with potential to cause pain. I love travel, photography, reading, gardening, yoga, music and propelling myself through space (biking, dancing, walking, dancing while walking). I've never considered a lack of proficiency in any of the previous activities to be a hindrance, counting on abundant enthusiasm to make up for my shortcomings.

I’m in love!!!

Beautiful, funny, cute, smart, precious….I could go on and on about these kids. Suffice it to say that my heart has been stolen by these little munchkins.

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I brought name tags so that I could more easily memorize their names, and I thought it would help those that don’t yet know how to spell and write their names. They really liked it. In fact, if I didn’t get out the name tag fast enough, they reminded me to get with it!

Dotty and I are loving our assignment. Yes, it is noisy, but hey, what do you expect from a bunch of kids under 5. Today we used the board books that I brought and they were a hit with all of the younger kids. Tomorrow will be Cat in the Hat day for the older kids.

After lunch the kids rest, which gave Dotty and me a chance to stroll around the town. Good news, boys and girls. There WILL be a contest. You know how I feel about dropping dollars into the local economy, so I will be picking up a few odds and ends for prizes. All I have to do is figure out the questions. Then Game ON!! (Mike and Augusta, since neither of you are with me, you get a chance to play too). I can’t do a packing question this time around because you have already seen the contents of my luggage in previous posts. I am sure I’ll come up with something eventually.

More photos of the objects of my affection. Notice how neat and clean they are…perfect in every way.

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“Be flexible, so you don’t get bent out of shape”

We start every day with an inspirational thought. Jim’s quote reminded us that we should expect and accept the unexpected.

Yesterday we were welcomed to the Anse le Raye community by Father Athanase Joseph at the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin. He is convinced that Divine Providence sent Global Volunteers to his parish, and expressed gratitude for all that the first team accomplished in January.

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The service was almost three hours long, but the music was wonderful and the beautiful, well behaved children were fun to watch. Unlike the catholic church in the USA, you are allowed to bring water bottles with you and the younger children were allowed to move from pew to pew (if they were in the back of the church). I noticed that it didn’t matter whose child it was, the women acted as if every one belonged to her, interacting with whichever one happened to slide over to her.

Yesterday’s other major accomplishment was meeting all of the team members. Introductions were a variation of the game, “I’m going to the market”…then listing objects in alphabetical order, each person repeating the list from the beginning and adding on. I remember playing with my sisters on a road trip to Florida. (I even remember the first two objects were “aristocrat” and “bing”. Okay, so my sisters are weird…especially Sandy.) But back to the intros…the last person was tasked with repeating the 24 earlier names. It was actually an very effective way to get everyone’s names memorized! In the afternoon, we learned more about our fellow volunteers. Four of us are “virgin” volunteers. The rest have been on multiple projects, with some logging over twenty.

Today was our first day at the various sites. Four of us were assigned to the two preschools in town. I’ll be spending this week at the Kiddie Homey Day Center, and I’m delighted. 40 adorable, exuberant kids under age 5. This is my alternative to whining about not having a grandchild. (You’re welcome, Greg).

Dotty and I are following the recommendations of the first team, and are working with the kids in groups of two. When I asked one four year old girl if she knew how to spell her name, she said, “Miss, I could WRITE my name when I was THREE”. I guess she set ME straight.

The dinosaur coloring book I brought with me was quite popular. One three year old boy thought the dinosaur looked like a shark, or maybe a whale. He then launched into an enthusiastic story about a whale “vomiting” and Jonah had “feesh” all over his head! Once I heard the name Jonah, I figured it out.

I’m looking forward to seeing these little cuties tomorrow! Here’s Dotty with one of our charges.

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One plane, two plane, jet plane, blue plane

Fortunately, our pilots realized there was a computer problem while we were still on the runway. Back to the gate, onto another plane, then three hours later we were off. Kudos to Jet Blue for making it as painless as possible. We were lucky to have a relatively mellow crowd on the plane, so grumping was almost non-existent.

I noticed a yellow Global Volunteer tag in an overhead bin, so I used my keen investigative skills to locate Jeanne. Knowing I would not be the only latecomer was quite comforting. I was confident that together we’d figure out a way to get to the hotel.

Luckily, our team leader Warren was kind enough to wait for us, so after clearing customs we hopped into the van and headed for JJ’s paradise. The hour and a half ride up, down and around the mountain could be described by numerous adjectives, but I’m going to stick with “memorable”. Suffice it to say that we were grateful that Warren was behind the wheel and used to driving on the opposite side of the road.

We joined the rest of the team at dinner, but Warren saved introductions for Sunday morning.  In his introductory comments, he told us that the first team, in January build a very solid base upon which we can build.

He also told us the St. Lucia project is unique in that the teams are bigger, and we are being dispersed throughout the community. In his words, “there are lots of moving parts”. The 27 of us are formed into teams for the infant school, preschool, primary school, secondary school, medical, home visits, computer education,construction and community gardens.

He left us with this thought for our first day:
“Leap and the net will appear.”

Here are some visuals of my home for the next two weeks:

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My room—WAAAY up the hillside.

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The most I’ve ever weighed…

Whew, our luggage scale was definitely a worthwhile investment.  My checked bag weighed in at 48.5 pounds on the JetBlue scale, almost identical to the reading I got at home.  (I left a little cushion, to allow for calibration differences.)  So, between my checked luggage and my carry on bag,  I am tipping the scales at 74 lbs…not counting my back pack.   I have never even come close to the weight limit on ANY  trip, even when we had to bring clothes for two climates.   As you can see, I DID squeeze some clothes into my carry on.

Fortunately, while I was still in the packing stage, I connected with Michelle and Paddy, two incredible women who were members of the first team assigned to the Kiddie Homey Day Care Center.  They clued me into the cheap laundry facilities at the hotel, which meant I could bring fewer clothes and more supplies.  I also stocked up on protein snacks to supplement the box lunches I’ll be getting, and stuck in an umbrella (for the frequent, brief surprise  downpours).  Thanks to them, I feel prepared–at least when it comes to packing!

I was not thrilled about flying out of JFK, because the trip from central Jersey to that airport is normally rather arduous.  What a pleasant surprise to get from my garage to the gate in an hour and a half!  That includes going through  bag drop and security.  Of course, leaving the house at 6:15 AM on a Saturday might have SOMETHING to do with it, but if Mike has an easy drive back home, and if fetching me on a Saturday night goes as smoothly, then JFK will definitely be a future travel option.  The jet blue terminal is beautiful and well designed.  I love the free wi-fi, which is something that Newark airport lacks.

Time for another adventure

I leave on Saturday, March 10 to serve on a Global Volunteers project in St. Lucia.  I’ve never been to the island, but from what I’ve read, it is very lush and beautiful.  Unfortunately almost 30% of its population live in poverty.  Community leaders in Anse la Raye invited Global Volunteers to send teams to help deliver essential services to the children in their village with the hope that by working together, over time, the cycle of poverty will be broken.

The St. Lucia project is new.  I will be a member of only the second team, so this will be a learning experience for everyone.  I just got my assignment and was thrilled to learn that my team will be working with 75 preschoolers, from infants to age 5.

The first team returned a few weeks ago with lots of helpful information, including a list of things that the preschool needs.  Books, school supplies, soap, hand sanitizer and baby bibs were in short supply, so for this trip, I am packing very differently.  Ah, Dr. Seuss, I’ve missed you.  We spent oh, so many nights together.  This will be a fond trip down memory lane.

Good thing I own a luggage scale.  This stuff alone puts me at 29 pounds!  Fortunately, I have never been a fashionista because this stuff took up half of the one checked bag I’m allowed.

I chose to work with Global Volunteers because I love their philosophy.  Teams only serve where they are invited.  They work under the direction of local leaders, doing whatever those leaders request.  Because self-reliance is a primary goal, the volunteers work hand in hand with the locals.  In fact a key requirement is that there be at least as many locals working on a project as there are volunteers.

There is no proselytizing–no hidden religious or political agendas, other than a desire to promote world peace.

The organization cautions its volunteers to remain flexible, noting that things don’t always turn out as planned.  Well, considering that my INITIAL plan was to serve in Italy last October, and I had to cancel because my retina inconveniently decided to detach 6 days before I was scheduled to leave, I figure I’ve had a bit of experience with plan changes.

I’ll be going on this trip alone.  I don’t know anything about the other volunteers on this second team–how many, where they are from, who they are, but all will be revealed by next Saturday night.  We will be working all this first weekend, but will have a break the second weekend, so I’m hoping to get a chance to see the island.

Adventure awaits!

And the winners are…

Fanny has 49 points, Lissy 45 points, Lindy 39, Sue 31,  Marion 4 and Dan 1.  Fanny, Lindy and Sue all get their prizes this weekend.   Marion, one of these days you and I will be in the same town at the same time, and I will buy you a glass of wine, (or two or what the heck, we’ll split a bottle!)  Dan, nice try, but maybe next time…

Anyway,  for those of you that didn’t think Ecuador is famous for its roses, here’s proof.

You’ve heard of red roses for a blue lady, but blue ROSES? Ecuador has them.

One of our traveling companions sent me a picture she took of our tubing adventure.  I was actually enjoying it a lot more than it appears in the photo…too bad tubing happened before the moonshine visit. That bottle strapped to my chest would nothave been filled with water!

Remember the question about the horn from a snail’s shell?  Pablo, our guide tried to teach me how to play it, but I was musically challenged.

I DID go snorkeling.  Notice the fins and mask i was holding in my hand, while boarding our boat.And no, I did not wear the hat while snorkeling, or the life jacket either.

Mike took this picture of the blow gun competition.  I did NOT hit the target. Fortunately, I didn’t hit anything else either.

I love this picture that Mike took.  I call it “sibling rivalry”.

Finally, what blog of the Galapagos would be complete without a picture of its world-famous tortoises?

And thus ends this adventure.  No more blogging for a while, gang.

 

 

 

Ecuador: Sunrise, Sunset, and a few things in between

What an amazing country!  Although Ecuador is one of the smallest in South America, it has incredible diversity.  Quito, the capital, is on the Equator, but is high enough in the Andes that in the evening I put my long underwear to good use, despite wearing my bathing suit earlier in the day.

You can’t measure distance in linear miles alone.  Although it doesn’t look very far on the map, it took all day, by bus, to get back and forth between the Amazon and Quito, because we were winding up and around mountains.  What a perfect way to see this spectacular countryside.  As you can see, our travels took us through a “cloud forest”. 

Suddenly the clouds lifted to reveal the lush valley and part of the mountain that just minutes before had been hidden.

The ride, however, was not for the faint of heart. The sign says “Danger, death curve.  Reduce speed”.  They weren’t kidding.  Shortly thereafter we saw what happens when you ignore the warnings.

We were very fortunate to have a highly skilled, responsible driver.  Here’s Paul, at a roadside cafe, making a lunch recommendation for us.

Our road trip was broken up by a visit to the famous hot springs spa.  Here I am, doing my Mrs. Potato head imitation. This bathing suit is perfect for us “Catholic school gals”.  Hey, don’t knock it.  Less territory to cover with sun block!  And yes, everyone HAD to wear a bathing cap!

Onward to those sunrises and sunsets in the Amazon basin!  This is the view of the pool from the Casa del Suizo’s crows nest just before sunset, and then a few minutes after.  You can see the little pond in both photos.

We were up at 5:30 am to visit Bartolome Island, in the Galapagos.  This island was formed by an extinct volcano, and offers a panoramic view of Pinnacle Rock and the surrounding area.  The wooden walkway was constructed to protect the island from being destroyed by visitors walking on the fragile volcanic rock.  It has over 300 steps (I lost count) to the top.

What, you don’t think it looks very steep?  Take another look.

Are we there yet???

The view was definitely worth the effort.  Can you figure out which land mass is Pinnacle Rock?

Time for a group photo of the 15 intrepid travelers.  And what a delightful group it was.  I thoroughly enjoyed our evening gatherings for wine and conversation.

One more sunset–this one from our boat.

Next post–the contest winners will be named.


 

 

Quayaquil

I have always wanted to visit Ecuador, because that is where my wonderful sister-in-law (mi hermana preferida) is from.  Her home town of Guayaquil is the largest in Ecuador, its economic capital, and is quite lovely.

We only spent 12 hours there (and we were sleeping for five of them), but Fernando, our guide took us on a whirlwind tour.  We visited the Malecon, Iguana Park, the cathedral, a neighborhood, and a chocolate shop.  Unfortunately, it was a Sunday, so the grocery stores were closed, or I would have loaded up on coffee and chocolate. As it was, our group bought out all the chocolate the little shop had in stock!

These pictures are especially for Fanny, who hasn’t been home in a long time, and por mi sobrina y sobrino, Tara and Steve.

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Red breasts, blue feet, scaly skin and big sad eyes

Yes, I know it sounds like a description of me, but I am actually talking about the Galapagos wildlife.    Blue Footed Boobies, brilliantly colored crabs, frigate birds looking for love, iguanas, and sea lions with the biggest, saddest brown eyes you’ll ever see.  Take a look.

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And now, time for the final contest questions:

A. Ecuador in famous for which of the following(and there is more than one right answer.

  1. Supplying most of the USA’s Valentine’s day roses
  2. Making incredibly wonderful dark chocolate
  3. Having a huge deposit of oil in one of its national parks
  4. Producing beautiful women, especially mi hermana preferida
  5. Producing excellent coffee, which is sold to Columbia, who sells their inferior (to Ecuador’s)coffee to the USA

B. The largest city in Ecuador is:

  1. Guayaquil
  2. Quito
  3. Miami

C. The city of Guayaquil got its name from

  1. the river that runs through it
  2. the girlfriend of a Spanish conquistador
  3. the sound that iguanas make when they mate

Okay, that’s it.  Prizes to be awarded next week!

The Amazon Remembered

Home at last.  The internet access that we lived without in the Amazon and the Galapagos is now constantly available.

While in the Amazon, we visited Amazoonica, a rescue center for wounded and displaced animals.  Click on the buttons in the photo to get the slide show to work.

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Lindy asked that I include photos of me, so these are shots from Mike’s camera.

At one point, I had 7 butterflies on me.  I had put Avon’s “Skin so soft” bath oil all over me to keep away the mosquitoes and sand flies.  It not only did that, but as a bonus, it also appears to have attracted these guys!

Yes, we really DID float down the Napo river wearing long pants.  We weren’t going to take chances with that strong Equatorial sun!

And now the answer to the last contest questions about the moonshine

Yes, they did give out samples;  yes, we all tried it and yes, a half of bottle is currently sitting in my kitchen, so speak up if you want me to save you some!  But maybe drinking the moonshine wasn’t such a great idea…I’m not quite sure how THIS happened!