Little Man......Big Chainsaw

If he was a Native American, that would be his name. I would like to introduce you all to my new friend, Jaime aka Chavez (Why Chavez I have no idea, it isn´t his last name, but he asked me to call him that which he only asks his friends to do so I guess we are now BFF´s). My new friend and I have been busy the last couple of weeks working with my organization, Colinas Verdes, making Coffee Drying buildings.

Just to give you an idea of how good you have it with Home Depot. In order to make one of these secadora´s (coffee drying building), we have to hike into the woods about 3 miles, cut down the trees, and then Chavez uses his giant chainsaw (now nicknamed ¨Hijo de Puta¨after a day of working and joking around, I will let you figure out the translation) to cut this tree up into usable planks for the buildings. We then have to carry the planks down the mountain to the road, load them on to a small box truck, which has to drive across the sketchiest (sp?) bridge ever (totally wish I got a picture of this, the bridge was totally bending under this truck) and then they are taken to the worksite. Anyway, you all should be kissing the floor of Home Depot the next time you go there cause you have no idea how good and easy it is to have it.

I took this pic after Chavez helped me cut up some wood for my furniture (saved me about 3 hrs of labor and cursing with a handsaw). He is actually pretty amazing with this big saw, he can work all day just manhandling this giant piece of equipment like it was nothing. I have also seen him scale a mountian holding it on his back and tip toe across the rafters of one of these buildings we are making, effortlessly.

Oh and by the way, the same day that we gave his saw the nickname, Chavez gave me the nickname of ¨gordita.¨ Which basically means ¨little fat woman¨.......sweet.

Are we really getting paid for this?...Part Dos

Alright I think I have left you all in suspense long enough, actually I just really wanted to do this hike to take some pics that would do my site proper justice and finally I was able to do it the other day. Plus I am sure all of you are grossed out by the picture of rotten cuyes.

Well, I have been in my site for almost three weeks now and the truth of the matter is that I cannot believe I get to live here for the next two years. My site is called San Pedro de Vilcabamba which is about a mile away from the tourism town of Vilcabamba, a place nationally known for its tranquility and beauty. The population of my site is about 1500 and about 4000 in Vilcabamba, but every day there are hundreds of tourists coming in and out of town to enjoy the rest and relaxation this place offers. I have yet to indulge in world class massages and facials but from what I hear they are first rate. ($18 for 75 minutes of massage, not a bad deal). It is located about an hour away from the city of Loja so I truly have the best of worlds, a small, quiet little town to live in and a large city to get a taste of “faster” living.

As for work, I am currently in touch with three groups that are going to provide me with more than enough things to occupy my time for the next two years. The primary one is Colinas Verdes and is an organization that is dedicated to the development of the community both on an economic and social level. The second group is the community bank which is basically an organization set up to give the local population a financial option that keeps their money local and helps with the town’s economic situation as well with their personal development. Last but not least is the Association of the 23 of June (I know it is a weird name but they absolutely love naming companies down here after certain significant dates), this is a women’s association that makes recycled paper products. Their products are very cool and I think they have the most potential for me being able to help them! (More to come on this, there products are amazing and I guarantee all of you women out there will love their stationery and other goodies).

As you may have guessed I am super siked to be placed here and every day I wake up and walk outside to enjoy the view of this beautiful valley. I am currently renting a small apartment from a great, supportive family and imagine that I will be passing my entire 2 yrs in the apartment attached to their house. I am slowly getting it in order, but I am finding that things like refrigerators and furniture are somewhat similar priced to the States, so I have decided to try to make some of my own furniture. My first piece was a bedside table that is so off level that it drastically rocks back and forth when you set something on top of it. I blame it on the fact that the cement floor is off-level, it would never be through fault of my expert design.

I feel as though I am truly blessed for getting such a great place to live. When talking with other volunteers I try hard not to brag about where I am living but it is hard when you live in such a miraculous place. If you are family or friends reading this you now have even more reason to visit me and if you are a parent of another PC Volunteer reading this you definitely need to put this place on your “Must See” list when coming to visit, you will not be disappointed!!!