Premier

Tonight was the premier of the third season of Mad Men, an AMC show that goes behind the scenes of an imaginary advertising agency on Madison Avenue beginning in 1960. It is now 1963 and much will change in the lives of these characters; while history tells us that much will happen this year- the first and second Beatles albums, the Birmingham bus boycotts, the end of the Mercury space program, the March on Washington, the deaths of Thich Quang Duc and President Kennedy- the lure of the program is the drama that unfolds as the characters experience and react to their changing world.

Right now, I feel like Don Draper and the other employees of Sterling Cooper will in this season of Mad Men- my world is changing from the comfortable life I have built since I left for college. However, unlike Don, Betty, Roger, and the rest, I have a bit of say in how my life will change. I chose to come to Ecuador, to work as a volunteer, and to engage directly with community development. I get a hand in the change that is coming.

Though I chose this path, there are a number of happenings I am missing to be here- my sister's return from a year abroad in Germany, the phone calls to my parents just to see what's going on, all of college football, spring baseball, and the two hours I got to spend with friends on Sunday nights watching The Real World and Mad Men. Additionally, there are new challenges that I wish I didn't have to combat- keeping up with friends and family solely through electronic media, living with 7 women and only 2 other men, and making lunch without peanut butter or tortillas. Still, this is the place I should be and this is the time to do it.

I am no professional actor or screenwriter, so I cannot aim to match the storytelling ability of the writers and actors of Mad Men; I can, however, share my experiences and reactions to what is sure to be a life changing experience. In that regard, the stage has been set- I've taken a crash course in Spanish, gain my bearings in my new city, met some of the community members, and helped in a summer camp for teens these past two weeks. Tomorrow, we, the 2009-'10 PDs, take over the show, starting our own summer camp for kids in the final weeks before school. The preparation has been done; now it's time for action.

The past three weeks

Three weeks after arriving in Quito, I finally got the opportunity to set down and establish roots in Ecuador: this past weekend, all 9 of the new PDs moved a minivan's worth of clothes, computers, books, and a cape into the Manna House in Conocoto. While we all appreciated our time in Quito (especially its convinience to many historical and cultural venues), the opportunity to communicate in our native language, choose what we eat, be with our new friends, and put down roots is something all of us appreciates. That certain tasks accompany the move (cooking, cleaning, bussing, taking over for the old PDs) make this time more exciting.

So what have we been doing all this time that it's only now, 3 weeks into our stay, that we're putting on the big kid pants? "Cultural immersion." Every morning we spent 4 hours in language school, working one-on-one with our Ecuadorian profesores on a range of topics, from the basic present tense (Chet y yo) to the development of the Mariscal (Erik), the neighborhood in Quito home to travelers, as well as our language school. [The Mariscal is affectionately known as "Gringolandia" by locals for its abundance of hostels, foreigners, bad Spanish, and overpriced everything.] Our afternoons were filled with almuerzo with our host families, a siesta (after 4 hours of learning a language while adjusting to altitude, it's much needed), and activities around the city or talks from the outgoing PDs about their work with Manna. Since the city is large and Manna has already done a lot, there is a lot to learn. As we begin our work, we've learn we don't know half of what we should. Fortunately, the outgoing PDs and Mark, the outgoing Country Director, are here this week to guide us.

Highlights of the past three weeks include:

• Yaka Water Museum- water & bubbles are great for kids aged 21-24
  
• Salsa lessons- taught by an hombre, with all the girls followed along closely
• Watching the MLB all-star game while helping a group of UK people win at trivia night
  
• Obtaining Ecuadorian IDs or censos
  
• Celebrating Chet's birthday with cake and Harry Potter- The Half-blood Prince
• Cooking lessons- how to make traditional Ecuadorian almuerzo and guacamole
• Networking at an talent show sponsored by an Ecuadorian non-profit, FEVI
  
• TeleferiQo- a gondola up Pinchincha, the volcano that forms the western boarder of Quito
• An afternoon in Parque la Carolina
• Celebrating Sarah's birthday at a Mexican restaurant owned by a former telenovela star
• Getting a classroom management talk from an Ecuadorian now teaching in Denver
• A trip with Luis, the director of the language school, for an almuerzo of cuy, better known in the states as guinea pig
  

Through these experiences and others, we've grown closer as a group as well as grown more confident in our ability to navigate what this city and country will throw at us.

Hasta luego,
Mike