Working for the foundacion

I started my work for the Huancavilca Fundation on Monday. It`s been very good to see that the Foudation actually seems to be pretty organized and the projects look like they`re really working. Like I wrote earlier it works in a poor part of Guayaquil called Guasmo which has 500000 habitants. Huancavilca`s work contains different projects for example prenatal medical services, activities for children, building houses and supporting micro entrepreneurs and helping the people to create work for themselves. Since 80 % of the people in Ecuador live in poverty and social security almost non-existent these kind of foundations really make a difference in the community.
At the moment I`m working with an other trainee on a project concerning the creation of a local news paper. We are trying to solve some problems the representavites of the local community have concerning the financing and administration of the project. Very interesting and hopefully we`ll be able to see some results soon. In addition to this project I probably will be working with the project with the micro- entrepreneurs which concerns counselling and training.
So, at least so far the work seems to be really good and all the people there are great as well and are very happy to work with the trainees.
Last week-end got to know some more trainees and students in my welcome party. Seem to be nice people as well and with some will be going to Cuenca next weekend, which is a old colonial city just a few hours away.
Life in the Chauca family is still going well. And I feel like home in the house. Although having lived quite an independent life, it is a bit hard to get used to asking if you can go out and at what time do you need to be home. And always reporting on where have you been, with who and what did you do. Not that they are that strict with me, but Lorena who`s 23 had to be home from the party at two. Hmmm, I think I had to be home at two when I was 14.....
My plans are a bit more clear a the moment. I will be staying here in Ecuador for an other two months and will hopefully meet up with a friend in Quito with whom we`ll go down to Peru and Bolivia and back to Santiago. Then from Santiago to I`ll go to Buenos Aires and fly home from there in December.
That`s all from Ecuador at the moment.

First days in Ecuador

After a lovely week of seeng friends in Santiago and arranging my things(thank you Kaisa for a place to stay) on Sunday morning at took a flight to Ecuador. Since I only booked to flight a few days before I wasn´t sure if the guys from Aiesec, the organization who arranged my internship, had received my email and had time to come get me from the airport and organize my accommodation. So very with some anticipation I got of the plain outside to the beautiful hot breeze. At least I finally escaped the winter!! It´s never cold here!
Luckily there were some people receiving me at the airport and found out that I will be staying with the family of Lorena. The family is great! In the house live Lorena´s mom, dad, sister, brother and Sandra a girl who works at their shop. The life here is very different and the last days have been a bit of a culture shock. Mostly in a good way though. I´ve been adopted to the family and teach the girls some English, while they correct my spanish.
Gyayaquil is the biggest city of Ecuador with a population of nearly two million. It´s close to the cost and there should be some beautiful beaches just a few hour a way. Hopefully will go there this weekend. The city is quite dirty and not one of the prettiest, but very lively and the people are friendly.
My work will start next Monday in the Fundacion Huancavilca, which is in a poor part of the city and they work in different areas to strengthen the community. We visited it briefly on Monday. The area is very poor, hadn´t really seen anything like that before. Tomorrow I will go and meet everyone and probably will have a better picture of my work. I am really looking forward on starting work there.
Since a had the week of I wanted to go and do a bit of tarvelling. Lorena´s family has two shops and tehy needed us (me and Lorena) to get some cheese from the Sierra. It is a familys friend who has a farn there and we could stay in their house. So got up before four Tuesday morning and took a bus to teh countryside. Went trough loads of bana plantaciones (now I know where the Dole bananas come from) and got to this beautiful village Pallatanga in the middle of thees greend mountains. After a huge breakfast went up the hill about an hour to the farm. Again the people were so nice, altough a bit more shy than in Guayaquil. Spent the whole day in the farm made some cheese and cooked lunch out of vegetables straght from the fiels. The best corn I´ve ever tasted. And the señora cought a chicken from outside, cut it´s trought and made a great soup out of it.
There´s a lot more indigenous people living in the Sierra, than in the city. For the señora there were working a girl and her husband. She is 20 years old, had two children of less than two years and was working with the baby in her back. Everywhere in the village there were children. I also learned a little of their native language Quichua.
Now am back in Guayaquil and spent the morning in the roof of the house washing clothes and studying spanish. Have to be getting back to the house now for some lunch. They eat so much here and every where I go alwasy have to eat something.

Riding and partying in Las Leñas

Back at Santiago. Again the boarder to go across from Mendoza to Santiago was closed for a week, witch ment that I had to stay in Las Leñas for an extra week. This also ment missing a trip with Santiago friends to, San Pedro, the north of Chile.
Las Leñas was cool. Last Monday had one of my all time best days riding. After a weekend of snowstorms it finally cleared up and they opened the toplift of the mountain!! WAU!!! Amazing riding, fresh tracks the whole day in this beautiful super light powder! After Monday stayed there allmost a whole week more since couldn`t get back to Chile. Some good days riding, but mostly in snow storms. Leñas life is a lot of waiting and less but very good riding. Since there are lots of days with closed lifts the only other thing to do is to go out. Being a skitown in Argentina means that Leñas has some seriously good parties. Allso a really cool atmosphere with lots of nice people. Mostly divided to the gringos and the very well of Buenos Airesiens...Place is probably the most expensive in the whole of Argentina.

After a a week of snow storms I decided to take my chance and last Saturday sold my board and bought a ticket to Mendoza and luckily they just opened the boarder on monday and I got to Santiago (after 13 hours with 3 hours wating in the boarder and a brocken bus).



All together had a really good time and being such a specially atractive mountain I think I will have to come back... Hopefully next year. All though I think the best time to come would be september when the weather calmes down a bit.
At the moment have spent the day in a cyber cafe looking for flight to Ecuador, where I start my internship in a local NGO called Huancavilca Fundacion. Thank you dad, who promised to buy me the ticket and saved me a 5000km bus ride through Chile and Peru. Tomorrow should be able to get some photos added to the blog.