Name for a Baby? 

(Don't worry I can still ride the roller coasters)

“?Quieres ir con nosotros hasta la casa de Marta?” Yeah, see, I’m not sure either. Though, my Spanish has improved some. I can now say the word “if” which I find I am using fairly frequently…for example “If I don’t feel sick tomorrow…” and “if I wanted to say…then I would…” So, you see, the conditional is also important too. Anyway, back to Marta. First of all it takes me a second to realize that this is an invitation. Would I like to join my host family in going to Marta’s house. Well, seeing as how I don’t know Marta or where she lives, or anything really about the situation, of course I will go. So, I leave with my host family and walk around the corner to Marta. It turns out that Marta is my host father’s sister. Perfect. Now I have a frame of reference. She has two small children, ages 4 and 1 and one baby, who is 4 days old (well a few days ago he was 4 days old). Mind you, it should be known that no one here speaks any English, so me figuring out these details is an accomplishment in and of itself. So. I meet everyone in the family, and end up sitting with the women a bedroom with the baby. They are talking and on and off I will have a side conversation with one of them. I think at one point I got too excited and way ahead of myself when I tried to explain that while Florida is a fairly hot state, that going to college in Gainesville meant that it was also sometimes very cold. Thinking about winter passed and I remembered how terribly hot it would get in Gainesville during the summer. Now up until this point I’d been getting by speaking in my broken Spanish. But in my English mind all I wanted to do was explain how because Gainesville was in the center of Florida, well, at least far enough away from the coast, that we had no sea breeze and thus no water in the air (humidity) so the summers were worse because of how dry it was. Now, you might be thinking to yourself, wow, Jessica can explain that in Spanish? How awesome! But then, you’d be wrong. Very, very wrong. The next five minutes consisted of me trying to say the word air, gesturing, gasping and saying “air” in English. It was torture. They were all laughing and shaking their heads at me, and finally one of them said, “Ah, aire?” Really. Really. The word air is a cognate. Wow. So we move past that and I mention “no agua en el aire” and they looked even more confused. Why would there be water in the air? Do you mean…rain? Ugh! No, no I don’t mean rain. I mean water in the air. So you see how ridiculous I sounded. I finally learned that humidity is actually “humedad”. Great. Another cognate. Anyway after the water in air fiasco, my host mom gave Marta’s baby a bath. He was not happy. A few minutes after he was dry and curled up on the bed again, I asked what his name was. From a cultural perspective the answer was very unexpected. “The baby doesn’t have a name yet” they said. I nodded back in understanding. Then without warning or explanation, they all proceeded to ask me the names of every male in my family. Naturally I started with my father (you’re welcome dad ;) ) and then began listing off names, with a great amount of hesitation and a slight amount of concern. Stuart is my father, Jared is my brother, etc. and then it dawned on me. I could accidentally be naming their baby, right now! Panic. I can’t name someone else’s child! And then as the eternal seconds passed I realized that not only could I be naming their son, but that their son would be named after one of my family members. So, as we flash twenty years into the future, and Stuart Jared Garcia wants to know where his name comes from, I’m going to be getting a phone call. So, somehow moving from family member’s names to simply names I liked seemed like a better idea, but still the situation was not resolved. I had to be more specific. I then listed off a few names I’d considered for myself if I ever have a male child. I should also let it be known that this information wasn’t voluntary. Peer pressure can be a very hard thing to avoid. Nevertheless, they couldn’t come to a consensus and alas, I am sorry to report to all my male family members that you will not have an Ecuadorian child named after you this time around. And just a bit of follow up here before I end this post…I did ask when the baby would get his name, and of the answer I was given all I understood was…30days. So after 30 days, and potentially the baby’s baptism or some other monumental event that I am unaware of, the baby will have his name! Oh, and don’t you all worry. I will surely report back with their final decision! ;)

!Bienvenidos!

!Hola! !Y saludos de Tumbaco, Ecuador! Hello! And greetings from Tumbaco, Ecuador! Well, at least that’s what my attempt at Spanish hopes to say ;) Currently I am residing in Tumbaco, a city about 50 minutes from Quito (Ecuador’s capital). I am living with a wonderful host family and I now have tres hermanos mas! My oldest host-sister is 17 and in her senior year of high school, my host bother is 14 and my younger host sister is 10. J I thoroughly enjoy spending time with my host family! They are extremely patient with my lack of Spanish and I think we have all gotten quite good at charades. So much so that we would totally dominate in a family-style competition. ;) I will be living here for the next three months during Pre Service Training. Our training center is at an old high school about a 20 minute bus ride and roughly an hour walk from where I live. The training center is very small in terms of what one might imagine based on schools in the U.S. but it is quaint and beautiful. (I will be sure to upload pictures later). So far the majority of our training has consisted in introductions and overviews of what the next 11 weeks will look like. That being said, the following are a few short stories detailing some of my favorite moments of these past six days. J

Uno

So. I am sitting in the living room, hanging with my host brother and younger sister. We are playing Uno and while I have no idea what they are saying to me a majority of the time, I think we are all having fun. Now, here’s my Uno situation: I have two cards left, a wild card and a red 4 and it’s my turn. Who cares if I can’t say “it’s your turn” or “no, you must draw 4 cards now, not put down 4 cards”, I am about to win! I put down my wild card and excitedly say, “verde y uno!” Not more than a second later my host brother puts down a green card. What did I just do! Ah! My host sister goes and I have no green cards. I drew 7 more before finding a green (there were no matching numbers either). Dang. I will never forget the difference between verde y roja ever again!

Toilet Paper Fishing

The water is murky. It is definitely not a good day for fishing. Yet here I am at the watering hole. I sit and wait. I am patient. The weather is nice—a light breeze passes by, though the air brings with it threats of rain. Still, I wait. I think of the morning and my arrival to this place and shudder at the thought of being on the bus again. It’s much nicer here. Here the physical demands are much less. I don’t have to worry about supporting myself, two hands on the overhead bars, knees bent, surfing on the bus. The bus also requires much more concentration, balance and strategy than I need while fishing. For example, on the bus you must always be alert for a second bus that passes too close. In that case everyone must lean in the opposite direction in order to keep the bus’ wheels on the ground. However the leaning must be a group effort and does require a lot of trust and good timing. Now, the balance is self-explanatory due to the bumpy roads and mission impossible style driving. Strategy comes into play when getting on the bus. For whatever reason the entrances are always crowded. At first boarding seems impossible. But you have to remember the center. Maneuver your way to the center of the bus and all will be well. So, you see, all this is tribute to the fact that it truly is nicer here. Toilet paper fishing is simple. There are two simple truths involved. Truth #1: the pipes cannot handle the paper. Truth #2: you must retrieve any paper in the toilet bowl before flushing. And that is all. Now, as I said, today the water is murky and isn’t quite the best day for toilet paper fishing. However, the physical demands are not great and the method is artless. So, I resign myself to the tranquility of the bathroom, take a breath, and extend my right index finger. I then gently sweep it through the bowl, catching all the paper in one calculated motion. And that is all. Confident of my work here, I place my catch in the bucket that sits to the right of the bowl. Today was a true toilet paper fishing success.