wave of energy

today was a good day. scott and i woke up at 6 a.m. to go with galo, bella, abrahan, rosario and rebekah to the mayor's office to present her with a proposal to yet again fill in our street. if you remember, we went to her office in december to have the dirt road filled in before the rainy season. though it took a few weeks, the city came in filled in our street with piles of rock and dirt ... only they didn't compact it. so it was worse than before. but because the rainy season was quickly approaching, nothing could be done but wait. now almost four months later, the rainy season is more or less over, and we're back in business. this morning was just a formality, kind of boring to be honest, but the most honest way i can think of living out our mission to walk and work with ecuadorians. from here we wait some more. monday the proposal will either be approved or denied, but before that comes the neighborhood is going to have a minga, a neighborhood cleanup day, where all the neighbors come together to clean up our road.

along with all this activity in arbolito, there has been a move towards community activism in ajs, as well. ever since the roads were paved in december, neighbors have complained that there has been a rise in violence and robberies in the neighborhood. so last sunday, kevin had abrahan organize a community meeting to talk about what steps we could take together as a community to improve the safety and security. there was of course, this idea, that idea and everyone put their two cents in. but what really made the meeting cool was that as soon as it was over, action was already taking place. the group decided to take a census of the neighborhood and from there see who is interested in creating a community watch group. so as soon as the meeting was over, abrahan split the neighbors up into groups and they canvassed the barrio. i don't know that i necessarily want to be involved in community organizing when i return, but it really is exciting to watch. the last few weeks have been really enjoyable to work as the logistics coordinator. i'm really enjoying this aspect of my job, being involved in the community, watching abrahan work and organize, helping where i can. it's really fascinating. it's been exciting to watch and rejuvenating to be a part of.

along with feeling a wave of energy in my work, i've also felt rejuvenated in relation to speaking spanish and spending time in the neighborhood. these aren't new struggles, and just because i feel great about them now doesn't mean i will feel this way in a week, but for now i'm doing well. i've really been trying to improve my spanish, mainly my vocabulary the past week or so, and it's gone well. i feel more confident when speaking, i'm retaining words better, and generally learning more quickly. the value of learning another language through immersion can never be undervalued. i wish i had more time here.

as far as the neighbors, i don't know why i go back and forth with wanting to visit and be out of the house. but this week, i've got the energy, so i'm taking advantage of it. in particular, i've been visiting edison, one of my favorite kids at semillas. he has three brothers, two of which go to semillas (ronnie, javier) and two sisters (nagelly goes). edison and i have had a funny relationship this year. for a while, we were best friends. when i was at semillas, we hung out and played. but then one day i took him near a couple of dobermans who barked a little too loudly, and he didn't forgive me for months. but now, after introducing him to a baby iguana, we're back as friends, and i've been letting him wear my bandana everyday he's at semillas. this week i've been going to his house to hang out with he and his siblings. (talk about a bad road. i thought ours was bad. they still have ankle-deep standing water in front of their house.) and the time i'm spending out of the house, while physically exhausting, has given me an internal energy that i'm hoping to hold onto these last few months.

my street in arbolito

edison & javier