Halloween at the Beach

As a few of you probably already know, my experience in Quinsapincha with the internship didn't work out. I ended up getting really sick and didn't feel very comfortable with my host family or the cooperative. After a few days of tears I decided that I needed to leave. It's just that I am here in Ecuador to work and to learn, and I couldn't be at my best there. Mentally and physically I wasn't healthy, so I knew that I couldn't make the most of the 6 weeks. I came back to Quito and am living back with my same host family, which I am really happy about. I found a new internship within a day or two. I am now working at Codesarrollo. It is a pretty big organization that does microfinance. It is really, really great for me because I get to learn from really intelligent people who know their work well and I also get to see the reality of what they are working with. I go out to the rural areas 4 days a week to talk to the clients who want loans or currently have loans. We see their homes, talk about their incomes, their expenses, why they need the loan, how they earn a living and finally see if they will be able to pay back. Some people want loans to put a cement roof on their house and put doors inside. Some want it to buy land and grow food or raise animals, others need more capital to buy a car for their business. It's really, really crazy when the clients tell how much they spend and earn. Most spend about $15 a month total for water, light and a phone. Some only have $5 cash to their name and the maximum is usually $100. Most of these people literally work to eat, in the most extreme sense. The one day that I'm in the office I am gathering info, working on the 20 page research report that will be due at the end of the internship.

Ecuador had a holiday last weekend called Dia de los Difuntos, where the people celebrate the lives of friends and family who have died. They eat special food (Colada Morada and Guaguas de Pan) and some go to the cemeteries. My friends and I went to the beach and spent Halloween and the holiday weekend there :)