Cuy, Cows, and Caldo

Yesterday, one of the teachers invited me to her parents´ house, which is in southern Quito. They were very hospitable, serving me a traditional Ecuadorian meal of cuy (guinea pig) and a LOT of food. So I tried my first Ecuadorian cuy, well actually my first cuy ever. I apologize to all of you guinea pig owners. It was a day of firsts, as I also milked a cow for the first time, held a goat, and drank the milk straight from the cow (in a glass).

Eating cuy

My new friend, a baby goat (chiva)

My first milking experience - wow!

Starting School

The new students, who will be joining my school in September, had an orientation week of classes. I will be teaching English to students from kindergarten through high school. I am told to speak only in English, which can result in some severe confusion. I may have to modify this rule, once classes actually begin. Most of the students are excited about learning English, and they greet me with ¨good morning¨and ¨hello.¨ For the younger students this week, we did a project making play dough and then using food coloring to learn the colors in English. They had a blast mixing the flour, water and salt. For those of you who want to try this at home, you just mix 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of salt, and 1 cup of water. This can lead to hours of entertainment!

Students mixing flour and water to make play dough

My House

This is a picture of my apartment. I live in a valley, surrounded by mountains and volcanoes. The other day, after we got some rain, a rainbow formed over the entire valley. This picture doesn´t do it justice, but it gives you a glimpse....a great reminder of God´s promise in our lives.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Last week (me and some of the women from the orphanage) had a baking party. We made about 200 chocolate chip cookies. Since there were no measuring cups and some ingredient substitutions, they had a new kind of flavor. We had a great time making them and I thoroughly enjoyed our dinner of milk and cookies!

Princess Party!

Well I have been settling into my new life in Ecuador. I am living at an orphanage southeast of Quito. I will be teaching English at the school that is located at this orphanage, and this starts in a few weeks. I am also volunteering at another orphanage, north of Quito. This past Friday we had a princess party for the 4-8 year old girls. They were so excited to dress up, make crowns and magic wands, and eat pizza and cupcakes. We had a really fun time! Our night ended with watching Cenicienta (Cinderella) and eating popcorn. These girls are so sweet!