something new.

I am learning how to knit!

I’m working on my first piece, una bufanda. Though it is far from perfect (notice how it gets really big in the middle there), I am indeed very proud of it. 

Looking at something that you made with your own hands is a really happy feeling (no matter how ugly it is).

WHICH IS [PARTIALLY] WHY I’m starting a new apprenticeship! The lack of patients in the clinic means a lot more time and I have decided to learn something new with this newfound free time.  In the mornings I will be continuing my work as a Nursing Assistant in Patronato Municipal (http://astorybysydni.blogspot.com/2012/11/a-short-preview-of-my-apprenticeship.html) and in the afternoons I will be …..

learning how to sew from a very talented costurera named Neli in a small sewing shop in Puerto Quito, Ecuador.

 

& I am unbelievably excited for this opportunity!

check out an article I wrote at:

http://everydayambassador.org/2013/01/07/looking-up-from-sympathy-to-respect/

¿Conoces La Pirámide de Alimentación?

Rainy season has temporarily brought a decline in patients, and I have a new cumpeñera, which means I have a lot more down time at work. In that free time, I have taken to doing little projects around the clinic, like this food pyramid poster I put in the waiting room:

 

By the end of my bridge year, I expect these walls to be filled with informational posters. I am currently working on a poster about taking care of your body when you’re pregnant. (We own the only ultrasound machine in Puerto Quito and the surrounding area, so many of our patients sitting in this room are excitedly waiting to see their unborn baby!)

All the “food” on this poster is velcroed on, so the idea is to take them all off, guess where they go on the pyramid and then check if you’re right. (It is geared to children, but I have heard many adult patients discussing food portions and how their diet relates to the recommendation of this Pirámide de Alimentación.)

(If you’re interested in humanitarian blogs, particularly about health care, I stumbled upon a really neat blog [while researching ideas for these posters, ironically] about a small organization trying to help maternal health care in Honduras here: http://darlaluzhonduras.wordpress.com/)

getting political.

It’s political season here in Ecuador!

..which is why the outside of our house is painted with a mural in support of my host-parents’ candidate. Who needs yard signs when you can paint the outside of your home? 

Many days, the streets are filled with “parades”. These ones aren’t as fun as the parade of horses we had in September. In these “parades”, pick-up trucks decorated with the face of the candidate they are supporting drive around the streets waving flags out the side of the vehicle and honking. Each of them honks to whatever beat they choose and when 10 trucks are honking to their own rhythm, the result is a clash of ugly noise-makers that is sure to get your attention. 

¡Vota todo!