Ok, I realize that initially my blog posts where whiney, and i made it seem that i had a pretty bad lot. While at first it was difficult to get used to a (slightly) less comfortable life, I now realize what an unreasonable wimp I was being. Seriously, it´s ridiculous.

Here´s why. Ecuador is arguably the best place in the world to get placed in the Peace Corps. The only down side is that its sometimes called ¨the posh corps¨ because life here is so much easier than, say, Botswana. Some of the city volunteers have amazing pads… about on par with what I would hope for in an apartment my first year out of college. My site is one of the least posh sites, but I still have running water, electricity, and I cook with a stove. So within my group of Ecuador PC friends, I get props for being slightly more hardcore than them, but I still have all the creature comforts that volunteers in other countries don´t. Also, Ecuador is a huge tourist destination. It´s nice to look forward to being able to get away and do some really cool things. For example, last month I went white water rafting for a huge volunteer Halloween party, and the weekend after thanksgiving I have to choose between going to the beach and going to Vilcabamba, basically the fountain of youth where everyone lives to be 100 ´cause life is so good there. (also, speaking of Posh Corps, we have TWO volunteers in Vilcabamba for some reason…). I decided to go to the beach, the deal breaker being my friends parents gave him a free week at a time share beach condo, and the fact that Vilcabamba is a lot closer to my site (7 hours versus 18) so i´ll have more chances to go there.

So yeah, don´t feel sorry for me. Ecuador is sweet. On top of being in the best country ever for Peace Corps, I´m in one of the best sites in Ecuador. The rainforest is sweet, just awesome. The weather is great…I live in an endless summer. It rains a lot, but its worth it because it gives birth to so much cool vegetation, not to mention rainbows. While it would be cool to live in the mountains, living in cold weather with no hot water or central heat really sucks, so I have the sierra kids beat there. And the beach is cool, but it’s a lot hotter than here, and the cities on the beach can be pretty violent. Contrast that to my site, which is probably the most relaxed, safe place i´ll ever live in.

And the size is perfect, too. At 1,500 people, its big enough to have all the necisities, but small enough so that I know a ton of people, which is really cool.

The downsides kind of suck right now, but will actually be better for me in the long run. No phone or e-mail is a bummer, but it forces me to be independent and talk to people here. Plus, I didn´t sign up for the Peace Corps to surf the net or chat on the phone…The fact that almost all the other volunteers can is kind of ridiculous. The isolation can be a downer at times, not going to lie. In the Peace Corps literature, it says that they usually try to cluster volunteers, but in extreme cases the nearest volunteer may be a couple hours away… which basically describes my site. But again, it forces me to hang out with locals and make friends here, which i´ve done.

Another downside is quite frankly ridiculous that I can even list it as a downside. I have a really tough time finding work. The organization I work with is really well organized, and provide a lot of services. Whenever I have an idea to improve life in the indigenous villages, the director is always like…yeah where going to do that next week. So right now I feel a bit worthless. But the upside is that I get paid the same no matter what, and the Peace Corps actually anticipates lack of work and tells us not to get discouraged. Some people take a year or longer the actually do anything, and some people never actually get anything done…which is totally ok. The Peace Corps has three goals, only one of which is to help the people here. The other two deal with intercultural exchange, so just by being here and learning I’m being productive…in a way. Plus, if I can´t find work it just means I chill in ¨The Ecological Paradise of Ecuador¨, which is Guayzimi´s tagline. Still, it bugs me not being productive…i´ve always been so type A.

So yeah, Basically I´m one of the luckiest people ever. I live in one of the most beautiful places ever, I get to talk to really nice people and play sports all the time, and my only job is to help people however I feel like…or at least try. The only downsides seem ridiculous when compared to everyone losing their livilyhood in the states right now (another reason why I´m lucky…now is a really good time for Americans who would otherwise need to look for work to be volunteering overseas).

So for all of you who think I’m doing something selfless and challenging and altruistic, stop it. This place rocks, and I’m having a blast.