The Vivero

6/27:  Agualongo

You know you’ve been accepted when the family dog no longer barks at your approach to the house.  The dogs out number the people in this community of 37 families and they’re constantly barking at something.  When we did our rounds to check up on everyone’s homestay sitch, we disturbed and heard them all.  Most do this bark/wag thing sending quite the mixed signal, but some put on a dogs-playing-poker face and act all tough.  But even those ones will turn tail with the simple motion of bending down to pick up an imaginary rock.  

Our service project at the vivero (tree nursery) continued today as we turned one pile of rocks at the bottom of a hill into another pile of rocks on top of a hill.  Our lungs are acclimating to manual labor above 10,000 ft, but we still get winded by the smallest of climbs.  We shall no doubt return to sea level in amazing shape if we keep up this heavy lifting at altitude.  The end goal of our Sisyphus reenactment is a new cistern that will supply not only the vivero with much needed water, but the neighboring houses as well.

  

Our host and task master is a 63 year old indigenous man named Mathias.  He’s about 4ft. nothing with teeth that go every which way and a thin black braid that dangles from under his well-worn hat.  I should mention that all the men in this part of Ecuador wear their hair long and usually braided, so it’s not at all strange for Mathias to be sporting one, his is just a little thinner than most.  I ate a PB&J with him today at lunch and though it seemed out of place in his leathered hands, he devoured it like I’ve seen thousands of kids do in my years doing EE.  When I asked him how he liked the sandwich, he responded, “que rico”.   

Mathias is big on ceremony.  We’ve worked with him for 2 days now, and both times he’s started our day with long-winded speeches, thanking us on behalf of USINQUI (the local indigenous organization), it’s president who left him in charge of this project, the surrounding community of Achupallas, the province of Imbabura, and the entire country of Ecuador.  If it were anyone else, the pomp and circumstance might be annoying, but with Mathias you can tell it’s sincere.  It blows his mind that a group of gringo teenagers would want to help him with his little project to grow more trees for Ecuador and he’s truly grateful for our contributions.  He also likes to have his picture taken, and so of course we oblige.  

Mathias makes me think that age has a way of teaching us to slow down and appreciate even what seem like small events and accomplishments.  Then again, if Mathias and Monica, his Peace Corps volunteer who kind of looks like MC, had to move all those rocks by themselves it would take months, so perhaps this accomplishment is not so small.  Perhaps then, age teaches us about perspective which often times leads to appreciation.  There’s a lesson in there somewhere - one that I hope to teach these kids before our month is up.