Dogs in Ecuador can be obnoxious. I know that’s not the most exciting news to post on my web site, but I thought everyone should know. After being bitten a few months ago, I thought it couldn’t get any worse. But it can! The other day I was out running in the middle of nowhere, and ended up being cornered on all sides by four vicious dogs. I had to literally climb up part of a rock wall to get away from them, as these dogs were not afraid of rocks thrown at them or me shouting at them at the top of my lungs. This was a really frightening experience. The sad part of the story is that dogs here in Ecuador are not treated like pets, they are treated like a form of protection (against what I don’t know- considering I live in the land where you can accidentally leave your door open for four hours with your computer open on the table and it doesn’t even get stolen). People don’t love their dogs like they do in the states, although there are some exceptions, like the random lady in my town who dresses up her dog in outfits (which I consider a different form of pet abuse). Anyway, the point of this rambling is that if you come to Ecuador or any South American country (especially if you visit rural areas), don’t think the dogs are friendly even if they are cute. They are probably just waiting for the right moment to maul you. Sad, but true. This is especially disappointing to me since I love dogs.

 Some real news is that I have been working at the local high school for the past few weeks, and have been doing some talks about reproductive rights here in Ecuador. I am also going to do some talks about AIDS because a lot of the people in my town have no idea what HIV-AIDS is. HIV-AIDS is a huge issue here in South America, because of the lack of education and the fact that many people in Ecuador and South America have HIV AIDS but most likely don’t know they do.

In November I also have another huge nutrition workshop with moms from the CNH (country sponsored nursery school) program in my town. We are going to cook some nutritious snack foods for kids, and talk about vitamins and minerals! This should be really fun because the moms are awesome and I love cooking and talking with them. I am now doing nutrition workshops and cooking in four rural communities. I was supposed to have a big workshop with a very rural community where the doctors and I were going to discuss benefits of breastfeeding and nutrition, but the community cancelled on us because they weren’t interested-- which is a shame.

The GAD (Gender and Development) Committee I am on is meeting this week, which I am excited about. I am on the scholarship committee, which gives out scholarships to Ecuadorian girls who can’t afford to finish high school. GAD also has a leadership camp called CAMP ALMA for non scholarship girls, which will take place this upcoming November. This camp does leadership activities and outdoor activities with young women who can then take what they have learned back to their respective communities.

In other news I am still trying to put together some sort of medical brigade/exchange to come out to Nabon from the states. If you have any ideas or would like to help in some way, please let me know!

I am coming home to the states for Christmas and New Years. This will be my first time home since I arrived here in June 2006 so I am ready to see everyone!

Thanks to family and friends for your thoughts and prayers, I really appreciate it—I am sure your thoughts/prayers are part of the reason I have made it here for a year and 5 months!