Remember, Remember the 6th of November

Reading: 1493 by Charles Mann

After working the last two major election cycles (2008 and 2010), today has been excruciatingly long. Without have no doors to knock, lists to call, or walk packets to organize, I have spent most of the day wallowing in my inability to do "my part" in this election. After 2010, I may have sworn off working for another campaign, but this antithetical situation is driving me crazy. So in my best efforts to retain my sanity as I impatiently wait for the polls to close across the United States, I will leave you with a few things:

POTUS at the historic moment of the upholding of the Affordable Care Act.
The 21st century echo of "Dewey Defeats Truman."

This American Life's election week episode: Red State Blue State. It surveys and interviews "hundreds of people around the country, from every part of the of political spectrum, about the ways in which politics are interfering with their friendships and families." Practical advice for cross-political spectrum relationship included. No te preocupes familia, I took notes. 

Finally, I leave you with a little something beyond politics, a taste of the album that has a been playing in my life these last few weeks. They hail from the great country of Canada, which could be my potential destination post-Peace Corps, depending how America looks at the end of this evening. 

 

Soapbox for Chris Stevens

Reading: Even Cowgirls Get the Blues by Tom Robbins

Libyan child with a sign reading " Sorry People of America this
not the Behavior of our ISLAM and Profit"

The recent attacks on the American Consulate which resulted in the death of four American weighs heavy on the Peace Corps community. Not only does an attack on American citizens abroad strike a little too close to home, Ambassador Chris Stevens was as a returned Peace Corps volunteer who had served Morocco. But in light of all of that (and the sound bits, rumors, responses, etc.), it is important that we remember the difference between the actions of a few individuals and how we project our reaction to those onto an entire community. It would be unfair to judge the entire Christian community because of the recent shootings in Colorado and Wisconsin, assuming that is, that the culprits where Christian. (It is interesting to note that the religious practices on non-Muslim murderers is seldom mentioned in mainstream media these days.) Likewise, it would be unfair to presume the same for the greater Muslim community. That is how we end up in endless wars and unsolvable conflicts. It would seem that the citizens of Benghazi wanted to make that known as well.

And since I'm already standing on my soap box, I will leave you all with this -

Writer's Block

Reading: Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall

Life above the clouds

The last week and a half have been nothing but one epic blockade for my being capable of  writing anything remotely coherent. This applies to blog post, personal statements, album reviews, emails, etc. So instead I give you websites you should read (and that are some what relevant):

1. Hilary loves Peace Corps. If Madam Secretary giving some love to PCVs doesn't warm your heart, you just might not have a heart to warm.

   I’m very proud of our Peace Corps Volunteers because they are standing up for the idea that every young woman can make a difference in her own life and in her community. And it is a great pleasure for me always, as I travel around the world, to meet Peace Corps Volunteers, who represent the great values and ideals of our nation.
   - Secretary of State Hilary Clinton during her visit to a Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) in Malawi run by Peace Corps Volunteers. 
   

Houston, we have an ambassador

Reading: Century of the Wind by Eduardo Galeano

That's right, almost a year without one... and now we have (drum roll) - Adam Namm

Side note: I now have interwebs in my house and a double bed. Livin' the good life.

Also, I've uploaded a bunch more folkloric dance videos onto youtube for anyone and everyone to enjoy. 

Why Birth Control Matters

Reading: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Washinton and his mother, Magaly

I have never read the Feminine Mystique. Nor did I think of myself as a feminist. Coming to age in the “otts,” my life experience has been limited to a post-60/70s first world – where equality between men and women has shifted into normality. My generation is accustomed to women in the work place, family planning, and careers before marriage. We, or at least I, saw the fervent feminism of our mothers as a thing of the past. The bra burning sexually liberated “hippies” felt as a lost age, a time that no longer applies to my present day life.

Then I came to Ecuador.

Dia de Campo

Reading: Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins

Because I am a Peace Corps Volunteer, which inevitably means I am often very busy doing nothing with even less to show for it, I am going to take this rare moment to relish in an accomplishment.

The community garden

For the past few months,I have been working with a bureaucrat from Ministerio de Agricultura, Ganadería, Acuacultura y Pesca (MAGAP) and a farmers organization in the neighboring community on a community garden. The garden had been coming along quite nicely when the bureaucrat caught wind of another organization using their garden as a "dia de campo" open house, complete with the local mayor, a token foreigner (he was from Taiwan) and complementary lunch. After said bureaucrat, the organization president and some community members unexpectedly drove me six hours to check out this ordeal, we decided to host our own. Hello legit work.

Our dia de campo went off without a hitch with about 70 people in attendance. The 30x35m garden had a bountiful harvest of tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, cabbage, onions, beets, squash, string beans and corn, which the Ecuadorians were ever so quick to ravage - I equate such behavior with their contempt for waiting in lines. There was even free beer for the guys to their complement the lunch, courtesy of MAGAP.

Sidenote: there should be more pictures up on facebook... given that the computer that I'm using and facebook are working as they should...

Chimbo de Venecia

Reading: Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig

With training almost over, I figured that I should probably elaborate a little bit more on what I will actually being doing for the next two years…

Bananas, left. Cacao, right.

I have been placed in a small community in the coastal province of Guayas and primarily working with ACDI/VOCA, an international NGO that works specifically with cacao (cocoa) production here in Ecuador. There are seven(ish) of us that are being partnered with ACDI/VOCA and there appears that there will be a surprising amount of structure for Peace Corps projects. We all just returned from a week long training with several of the ingenieros, which was greatly beneficial considering that I have no background in cacao prior to coming here. However, I now able to prune, harvest, dry and even do a little fermenting of cacao.

South Dakota Legislature, really?

Reading: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

South Dakota, I-90

So, what does one do when your flights are canceled due to a national blizzard and you find yourself with few hours to spare. Rant about the political state of South Dakota, obviously.

First off, the great Sodak legislature has produced ANOTHER abortion ban. Now, seeing as we did vote against an full out ban in 2006 and 2008 (read as twice defeated), Roger Hunt apparently thinks we're playing best of five or something... so we're going for banning abortion, round three. This time, however, HB1217 not a full out ban, just a 72 hour waiting period and a host of other mandates for women who find themselves in such a situation. Granted, we should not expect anything else when Ms. Noem is running around DC on Sodak's behalf trying to limit rape to "forcible rape." Meaning, that this would prevent the government helping pay for abortions in the cases of sexual assault which includes date rape sitations.

Clearly, this state is a huge fan of women's rights. But the best part of all of this is that it has completely fallen by the wayside due to the one and only Hal Wick (also a champion of limiting women's rights)...