a few new thoughts and amazing photographs from Ariana, that great Woman of the World, during her adventures in Ecuadar with the Peace Corps:

Happy Holidays! It’s been awhile since I sent a mass email. I think I am mostly using my blog to post update messages, rather than sending out mass messages. However, I did feel the need to send a message to let you all know that my blog is now multimedia!

I went to my friend Janet’s house this weekend and she showed me how to use youtube to post videos to my blog. My first video is up! This was all Janet’s idea. She wanted to make a video demonstrating some common Ecuadorian hand gestures, so she got Trent, Lindsay and I to be her actors. Janet also wrote up an explanation of the hand gestures, which I posted on my blog. I think we look pretty goofy doing the gestures, but people usually understand us when we’re using them. I think it is a great instructional video, and all the rest of my visitors (Pierre, Susan, Charlene, Julia, Sasha, Nathan and Rakhi) should watch the video before they come to Ecuador so they will understand what all the gestures mean and maybe practice a few before they come. In case you lost it, here’s the link for my blog: http://rhiannabanana.blogspot.com/ Also, Pierre has already pointed out to me that you can tell in the video that I haven't had a haircut lately. So no one else has to point that out to me again =) Maybe I will get my hair cut soon, maybe I won´t. I am running out of water when I take my bucket baths, so I probably should get a haircut.

I don’t really have any other exciting news. I am not going home for the holidays this year; instead, Pierre and my friends and I will be celebrating Christmas and New Year’s on the beach and in the Amazon. I will be finishing up my Peace Corps service on March 22, 2008. My first stops home will be New York City and DC, but after that, hopefully I will be able to make trips to Michigan and San Diego. I am officially starting my job search this week! Pierre and I were thinking about living in NYC, DC, Chicago, or the West Coast, so if anyone knows of any good opportunities in any of those places for Pierre or I, let me know!

"Hope all is well. I miss snow! Pelt Pierre with a snowball for me the next time you see him =)

Love,
Ariana