October marked our 2 year wedding anniversary and we celebrated Halloween in El Chaco.
November and December flew by as work picked up in earnest and the fiesta season (Thanksgiving, birthdays, Christmas, NYE) hit its stride. January we played hosts again to my parents and in February we got our first nonfamily visitor!
The last two months have gone in a blink and now it is hard to imagine how we are going to squeeze everything in with one measly year left. There is so much work left to do and so many places to visit before we go. Without a doubt it has been an incredible year. Here are some highlights… by the numbers:
Entertainment
Books read by Laurel: 45
Books read by Daniel: 52
Books read by Daniel that Laurel thinks shouldn’t count: 7
Books read by Daniel while Laurel was reading Infinite Jest: 5
Books read by John: 102
HBO TV series watched: 5
Non-HBO TV series watched: 5
Festivals in Tena: 12
Reina competitions: 12
Sports
NFL football games watched: 10
Futbol games watched: 86 (at least)
Rugby games watched while scratching our heads wondering what the heck is going on: 1
Daniel, John and Ben’s basketball record against Tena locals: 64-2
Daniel, John and Ben’s volleyball record against Tena locals: 0-3
From the EEUU
Total packages received: 16
Number of packages sent by someone other than Laurel’s mom: 3
Total visitors received from the US: 4
Nonfamily members who’ve visited: 1 (Yay Shannon!)
Weddings missed: 1
Births missed: 3
Peace Corps
Omnibus 101 members sworn in: 41
Omnibus 101 members who left (for one reason or another) in the first 3 months: 8
Omnibus 101 members who’ve left since then: 0
Country Directors worked under: 4 (2 official, plus 2 interim)
Number of program staff who’ve changed over since arriving: 2 (both positions)
Living Arrangements
Number of locations lived: 3
Time spent at each location in months:
Casa de Bolier: 2.5
Apartment in Barrio Tereré: 3.5
Apartment on the Malecón: 6
Longest time Laurel and Daniel have lived together in any one apartment: 11 months
Longest stretch of days without rain: 8
Longest power outage: 27 hours
Longest period without running water: 2.5 days
Number of bucket baths (in place of a shower) taken as a result of periodic water issues: 3
Showers normally taken per week: Daniel – 7; Laurel – 5
Number of showers taken by John in the last year: 15 (he just jumps in the river)
Health
How many times per month (on average) do we deal with some health ailment: 1 each
Percentage gripe (cold) – 12%
Percentage bodily aches – 4%
Percentage Flu-like symptoms – 8%
Percentage digestive issues – 76%
Percentage of times Daniel gets stomach cramps after eating local pizza: 100%
Likelihood that Daniel will stop eating pizza when he can get it: 0%
Food + Drink
Varieties of bananas tried: 7
Cost of a steak (filet mignon) dinner: $6.75
Cost of almuerzo at our favorite lunch place: $2.50
Calories per dollar: 480
Number of street food vendors patroned: 8
Number of street food vendors we “would buy from again”: 3
On a scale of shoe leather to heaven, average consistency of street-meat steak in our town: -42
Cost of a 22 oz. Pilsener in a bar or restaurant: $1.25-$2.50
Cost of a 22 oz. Pilsener in a Kichwa bar: $1.00
Cost of a 22 oz. Pilsener as part of a jaba (12-pack): $0.62-$0.75
Cost of a 16 oz. pint of beer in a bar in San Diego before we left: $5.00-$6.00
Cost of a glass of 120-proof moonshine sold in John’s community: $0.25
Bowls of Chicha imbibed:
Daniel – 5
Laurel – 2
John – 365
How many dishes have we concocted that involve a can of tuna: 9
How many restaurants do John and Ben regularly frequent that Daniel and Laurel will not go to: 3
Typical reason John and Ben frequent restaurants with questionable food quality: large portion size.
Number of bottles of hot sauce currently in our kitchen: 8
Volume of hot sauce used in typical meal by person:
Daniel – 3 oz
Laurel – 1 oz
Ben – 0 oz
John – 12 oz
On a scale of awesome, (1 being inedible, 10 being best ever), quality of menu items at our new favorite restaurant, Mario’s (Argentinean Cuisine):
Hamburger – 7 (best in town)
Churipan sandwich (ground beef and sausage) – 7.5
Empanada – 9.5 (pure awesome)
Travel
Cities visited: 8
Cities visited for non-Peace Corps or work-related reasons: 0
Vacation days accrued: 24
Vacation days used: 0
Weather
Percentage of days with rain: 89
Percentage of days Daniel correctly predicted rain: 89
Total number of days that long sleeves and/or a jacket was needed in Tena…
…by Laurel: 7
…by Daniel: 2
Number of umbrellas we’ve broken or lost: 3
Work
Number of cocktail parties attended as part of work: 6
Number of said cocktail parties that were attended by the mayor: 1
Number of bug bites Laurel has gotten while sitting at her desk: 65468468 zillion
Number of bug bites Laurel has currently: 26
Number of bug bites Daniel has currently: 0 (He wears pants and shoes to work)
Misc.
Percentage of cab rides taken where Daniel insists on riding in the back, chariot style: 93
Times Laurel was asked if she was married: 365
Times Laurel was subsequently asked if she had kids: 365
Number of blog posts written: 21
How many were by Daniel:15
How many were by Laurel:6
How many pictures taken by Laurel: Over 1,000
How many pictures taken by Daniel: maybe 75
How often Laurel talks with her parents via Phone (skype) or chat: 3 times a week
How often for Daniel: once every three months
Cluster members lost: 3
Cluster members gained: 1
Pairs of shoes destroyed by souls melting off: 2
Total pairs of shoes, in all of Ecuador, that fit Daniel: 4 (all either in Daniel’s closet or on his feet right now)
Miles walked per week on average for Daniel and Laurel: 12
Number of times attacked by a monkey: 3
Disclaimer: Most numbers are approximate.
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2 comments:
Love "by the numbers"! Hysterical. Sorry about your bug bites, though :(
I love this post! You've inspired me to write something similar at the end of my contract.
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