Group Leader

One of my new job descriptions is being in charge of visiting teams that come to the orphanage. The last couple weeks have been my busiest weeks in Ecuador as I have planned and lead two different teams. The first team was a church group from the Boston area. There were 12 people, many of them mothers and daughters and a father and son duo. It was a nice mix of ages with the youngest member being 12 years old and the oldest, late 50s. Currently I have a group of 16 physical therapy students from Northeastern University. They are working on different programs for our special needs children.

In the past couple weeks I have gone on three different field trips with the kids, done 4 different cooking classes, helped with a feeding program at the local dump, lead 3 different city tours, translated physical therapy terms that I don’t even know what they mean in English, did two different school tours, partook in a parade, welcomed and said goodbye to 2 good friends, conducted a scavenger hunt around the city, led a class on how to best barter at the market, and helped with an awesome bonfire. I think I am going to invest in one of those cool umbrellas that the tours guides hold up high when leading groups. Having groups here has let me see and experience new things for which I am very thankful to be a part of. Both of these teams have been such a source of encouragement for me.

I found that I really love spending time with the groups and getting to really know these people. When teams come, the members are open to share with you and eager to help in any way that they can. Their time here looks different depending on the group and the talents that they have, and also the amount of time that they are here with us. Most groups that come down, they play and help care for the children. They will do minor constructions projects around the homes. Let me know if you or somebody you know might be interested in bringing a group down here. It really is a life changing experience for the people who come. I would love to help guide and lead you in your time here!

A cool reunion

Since being here I have been able to witness new babies come in and many adoptions take place. Just this past Monday, one of our 2 year old boys, Lucas, was adopted by an Ecuadorian family. Last week I got to see something a little different. Jairo, a seven year old, was adopted last year by an American family. I worked with Jairo last year, taking him on field trips and doing cooking class with him. He was adopted last March and his parents decided to take a trip back to Ecuador and the orphanage so that Jairo could visit his old friends and so that his parents could learn more about Ecuadorian culture. It was so great seeing Jairo. He now speaks English fluently and attends a bilingual school to keep up his Spanish. He came running up yelling, “Miss Jennifer!” His parents told me that Jairo always talks about the cooking class that we did together. I’ve gotten to spend some time playing with him over the past week. He is so happy with his parents and so well adjusted. I had them over for dinner. For dessert we made a special recipe together, spiders. We used marshmallows for the body and pasta pieces for the legs and then poured chocolate on top. I am so happy for him and his parents. I asked his parents to talk to the group that was visiting to explain how they decided to adopt an older child and how the adjustment went. During the meeting I was playing with Jairo so I didn’t hear all their answers. But they did explain how they couldn’t imagine their lives without him.

Spa Day - 2011

Well we brought spa day back again this year for the Tías (caregivers). They loved it last year and have been enjoying it the last couple days that we have been doing it. Tomorrow is our last day. So far we have had 17 women. We should have another 13 tomorrow. It’s great to see the Tías get a break from their normal routine and have some time to relax. The Tías work 24 hour shifts. They start at 8 AM and work until 8 AM the next day. Most times they don’t leave until a little after 9 AM. Many of these women between 1 ½ to 2 hours away and they take multiple buses to get to work. They vary in age from 24-60. Some have been working here for over 10 years. There are mothers and daughters who work here together. The orphanage is an amazing organization and it runs so smoothly in large part to all of these women who put in countless hours for the children. We had requests for haircuts, back massages, and peeling off of face masks. Most of these requests (except for the haircuts) were met. The Tías were able to get a manicure, pedicure, and facial done. They also had some fun snacks to eat! It has been a success thus far!

Swinging

Everyday Sharon takes two of the special needs kids for some one on one time. Normally they play outside or swing on the swings. The other day I joined in to take part in some swinging action. I forgot how fun it is to swing. Me and one of the teenagers had a contest to see who could swing higher. We ended up with four special needs children and it was so fun seeing them smile and just look relaxed. One of the girls who is often screaming and bites, had a big grin on her face as I would push her really high and run under her swing (aka an underdog). If you are having a bad day, I would suggest going for a swing.

Mindo: Cloud Forest

This is one of my favorite spots in Ecuador. I have been there four times now. It is nice because it is only a 2 hour bus ride from Quito. As you look out the bus window the scenery changes drastically. You go from being surrounded to mountains and volcanoes to lush vegetation and just greenness everywhere! We are in rainy season right now, which means rain pretty much every day. The cloud (rain) forest was no exception. It rained a lot! I did not have an umbrella or raincoat which made for very soaked clothes. Each time that I have gone I have stayed in the same hostal, which reminds me of a tree house. There are fun hammocks to swing in and the shower has an opening at the top part of the wall which allows for some beautiful viewings of the surrounding area as you shower. I was excited to see that 3 different natives remembered me from the last times I’ve been there (one of them was the owner of the organic chocolate place, you can guess how often I ate there…. The highlight of the trip was an afternoon hike that we took. We walked through the rainforest to visit six different waterfalls. The hike consisted of us tramping through very muddy areas, crossing rivers knee deep with our sneakers on, avoiding fuzzy caterpillars (apparently they are not safe to touch), and crossing wooding cable bridges with many wooden boards missing. It was a fun weekend because I got to spend time with friends from last year who are visiting, friends who live about an hour away, a friend from college, and my roommate. So it was a big group of us and a nice change of pace.