A Day Off

Yesterday was such a great time of just hanging out with the kids. We had the day off from school, so I took two boys to the park to do some skateboarding and paddle boating. It was fun getting to spend time with them outside of the orphanage. They were really cute and loved taking pictures of our outing. I also started an art project that I've been wanting to do with the houses. I bought some canvasses and each of the kids from each house will be able to paint on the canvas. It's really interesting to see what they paint and how into it they get. It was a really relaxing day and I'm looking forward to more days like this before it is time for me to leave.

April Showers

"The hand"

Puppetry at its best

So we are definitely in rainy season. It has been raining consistently for 13 days. Not just any kind of rain, I'm talking downpours!
The last month has been busy with many activities, visitors, and time with friends. A group from the states came to visit and they were able to play with the kids and build some lasting relationships with them.
My two friends, Krista and Katherine, were also down for about 5 days. We got to do some fun sightseeing and also spend time here at the orphanage. Thanks for visiting!
Things at school are going well. We are in the third tri-mester. Tomorrow is teacher's day, so we have off from school. I love how this country has a holiday for everyone and all are celebrated. Amy (the other English teacher and I) have been able to break out some puppet shows, instantaneous songs, parachute activities, and some lovely crafts. I'm thinking we are ready for SNL.

The last few field trips that I have taken with the kids have been great. The last one, was with one of the teenage special needs girls. We went to the botanical garden and I gave her my camera to take pictures. She took over 100 pictures in the span of one hour. Many nice ones of my hand I might add. I'm thinking if teaching doesn't work out for me, I will be a hand model.
Parachute

Cooking class - they made flowers
with kiwis, strawberries, mint leaves, and green beans

March in Ecuador

Well a lot has happened over the past couple weeks. My friends from church in MA, Donna and Anna, came for a visit and they were able to help out at the school and the orphanages. We took a few kids on a field trip to the dinosaur museum and were busy with cooking class and just playing with the kids. They also got to do some sightseeing in and around Quito. We did an overnight visit to the town of Mindo nearby where Donna and Anna got to do some zip lining and we hiked to some waterfalls. Our days were jam packed and they had some great interactions with the kids and the staff here. Thank you so much for visiting!

In recent news from the orphanage, we had two boys be adopted by families in Sweden and the United States. We celebrated Woman's Day by bringing in a mariachi band to the school. Now the kids are taking exams before we have a week off from the school, the week before Easter!

Bienvenidos!

Well March is going to be the month of visitors. My parents kicked off the month, by being down here in Ecuador for a visit. They got to see both the orphanages that I work at and got to tour Quito as well. Some highlights included doing a cooking class with the kids (complete with a song), seeing the Equator, visiting with all of the children, and going on a gondola ride up a volcano. Despite long flights, altitude sickness, lack of language skills, and fear for their lives on any mode of transportation, they were troopers! Thanks for stepping out of your comfort zone and coming to visit me! We had a great time!

At the Equator - Latitude 0


Mom and Dad had a celebrity moment with about 30 school kids asking for autographs

Olympics Day - or should I say Water Fight?

Yesterday we had Olympics Day here in the park at the orphanage. All of the kids participated, which meant over 100 kids ranging in ages 2-20. My friend and I organized a ton of different relays, games, races, etc. But as one might guess, two adults + 100 kids = chaos. After about 40 minutes of semi-organized games and prizes. We went right for the water balloons and starting throwing the balloons at the kids. Well this meant war! For the next hour and half, kids took buckets, pails, hoses, water bottles, and drenched each other. So moral of the story...next time we will just have a water fight!

Bonfire and Carnaval Celebrations

There's nothing that says February like roasting hot dogs and making s'mores. We enjoyed a nice bonfire the other night with some of the kids. The fire was a little intense so not all of the kids could get in on the roasting action. But they enjoyed the food!
Here in Ecuador we have been celebrating Carnaval. This involves throwing water balloons at complete strangers and spraying a lot of silly string. I was covered in this spray stuff on Monday night. Not really sure what the history of Carnaval is, but very interesting traditions here.

I got to visit an orphanage in Latacunga. We had our own Carnaval celebration, complete with masks and games. It was great getting to meet new kids and to visit a new part of Ecuador.

I know that the fire does not look too intense here. It also looks like it is about 12:00 in the afternoon. But in actuality, it was very hot and it is about 6:00 at night in this picture.

The Trek

I’ve been wanting to hike to the top of this nearby mountain for the past few months, but for some reason or another it just hasn’t worked out. Monday I had off from school, so me and my friend and 25 teenagers from the orphanage boarded the bus and hiked to the top, where there is a large cross. It was a hot day and we were all very happy to reach the top. We had a great view! You could see the orphanage and all of the surrounding valley from up on top. I definitely want to do this again in the future. It was a great workout!

The Ascent