Bananas.

(I've put in some pics of the house where I'm living along with some pics from our terrace). I have to keep reminding myself of where I am to avoid being overwhelmed by frustration. This morning, I was all set on working on my project and making calls to big Ecuadorian banana dudes to start things up, but other things just kept getting in the way (I know, I know, this happens in the US too…but really). Frustration #1: I come downstairs (well dressed in my pajamas) to work on my computer and I realize that Host Family has left me at home with 2 big dudes working on the 2^nd floor of the house and on the roof! This was a bit distracting, to say the least. I have no clue what they are doing up there, but jeez, are they loud!! Frustration #2: One of the worker dudes comes downstairs and asks me to lend him a dollar. Yes, I understood him correctly. No idea if this is customary. But hey, I gave him the dollar anyway. Frustration #3: I get an email from the Fulbright Commission telling me that my payment (we get a payment every month) will not be sent to me until next week. I’ve been here for almost a month and haven’t received a penny from Fulbright. I know that things around here are slow, but jeez! After paying for housing and a modem with money that I brought from the States, I have about 30 bucks to my name. Hopefully FB pays me soon, or else I’m, as they say, SOL. Frustration #4: I attempt to call Big Banana Dude #1 using Skype on my computer. He answers, I talk, he talks, and then he hangs up. I call back, he answers, I talk, he hangs up. Repeat. I quit. Frustration #5: I call the Fulbright Commission to see what’s up with my passport (oh, did I mention they have my passport, too?) but they can’t hear me! No wonder Big Banana Dude #1 kept hanging up! Looks like Skype just doesn’t work well calling phones within Ecuador. And, alas, I don’t have any money to buy a cell phone since I’ve spent all my money on a modem for my computer so that I could use Skype to make calls! Bummer. Frustration #6: I still haven’t heard from my Professor Dude at ESPOL in Guayaquil. PD was going to help me make contacts on the farms and help me out with interviews. I’ve called and emailed multiple times with no response (update—FB says they will try and contact him to set us up for a meeting). I’d like to make my project as ‘official’ and rigorous as possible so that I can use the data I collect here in Machala for a Ph.D. thesis down the road. With no PD, however, it’ll be difficult. A Wise Man once said that I should start thinking like a policy maker and not an epidemiologist. For some reason I can’t seem to shake the need for statistical rigor in my work. It’s possible that WM actually knows what he’s talking ‘bout and that I need to chill. We’ll see how it goes. There are some professors in the States at the Yale School of Public Health (and with the FAO) that are working on introducing the ELSCA (the food security survey I will use) into Ecuador. They’ve invited me to a training workshop in Quito from 10/12 to 10/17--the timing really couldn’t be any better. And, I’ll get to be in Quito on my Bday! Woot.

So that’s my story. I’ve been pretty drained this past week so haven’t been very motivated to blog. Most of you know that I got really sick on Thursday. I won’t go into details, but damn! These Ecuadorian bichos (bugs), as they say, are not messin’ around. And the worst part is that I have no clue what I did to welcome such a bug into my system. It could’ve been the fried chicken (2 nights in a row), salad, cilantro washed in dirty water, street food, who knows? I’m still convinced Host Mother is trying to kill us all by washing the dishes with clothes detergent instead of regular dishwasher detergent. I’m not sure what her motivation is, or the reason she won’t buy regular dishwasher detergent, but hey, I’ll go with it. We wash the dishes here with water from the faucet (which is unpurified and hence, not potable), so that may have been the cause. However, I’m convinced that this doesn’t make anybody sick, or else everyone would get sick all the time! Right? Right! (note: I did puke on the street without getting any weird looks. The next day, I saw another woman puking on the street! Guess that kind of thing happens a lot).

Whoah. Just had another encounter with big worker dude. He’s only 23! He came down and sat with me, asking me where I was from, what the US is like, why I’m here, etc. I told him that I was doing a field study on food security of banana farm workers. Guess what? He used to work on the farms! He says that none of them have any money to feed their families and they are all going hungry. I wonder if this is true for the majority of workers? This li'l bit of info makes me even more excited to start up my project! I’m just hoping that the workers don’t offer up information with the hope of getting some sort of reward or compensation. These surveys are tricky! Oh, how I regret not taking Bea’s Survey Research course.

Well, I’m going on my 3^rd attempt to talk with Big Banana Dude #2. Hopefully he’s in his ‘office’ (which is really just 4 walls and a chair), and that we can chat and get this thing goin’! Wish me luck!

Adios, amigos. :-)