Ecuador

Well, it's been entirely too long since I've written a post. As most of you probably know, I am currently in Ecuador. I've been here for about 6 weeks now and have seen some pretty marvelous things. Like huge, lush, green mountains, snow capped volcanoes, and llamas to name a few. I've also met a number of people from all over the world. To date, 2 women from Taiwan, 2 girls from France, a girl from Honduras, a girl from the Czech Rep., 2 other American girls and a guy from Australia. These are the other volunteers who have either come and gone or are still here at the moment. I've been to a number of cities as well such as Otavalo (known to be the biggest indigenous market in Ecuador), Quito (the capital), Baños (city know for it's waterfalls and hot springs), Ibarra (known for a special type of hand made ice cream called Helado de Paila), Riobamba (known for the Devil's Nose train ride you can take-which was booked out when I went). I've visited a number of sites such as Lake Quilotoa (home of a crater lake formed inside of a volcano, Cotopaxi National Park (home of a gorgeous volcano) and the Middle of the World (a place that landmarks the equator). I've been white water rafting and horse back riding in the mountains. I must admit, I'm awfully blessed to be here experiencing all that Ecuador has to offer!

All of these adventures take place on the weekend as I volunteer during the week at a Nursery/Kindergarten. The place also has a school, a rose plantation and 2 volunteer houses on the premises. Many of the children's parents work at the plantation. The elevation is pretty high (not exactly sure how high) and it's super cold here. Who knew roses needed cold air to thrive? Any how, me being from Florida and not doing much research on the weather before I came, has left me wearing my blue, Victoria's Secret sweatshirt here daily. I figured 'It's South America, of course the weather will be warm!' Ha.That's funny!!

My daily routine at the Guarderia (as it's called) goes like this:

7:00- 7:15am -   Walk next door to the Guarderia and wait for all the children to arrive.

7:15- 8:15 -   Help the children to undress, shower, brush and style their hair (using intricate braiding techniques that I have yet to master for some of the girls. Every one can tell whose hair I did as it's always a single pony tail or sometimes pig tails which are often lop-sided and/or have cow-licks going on...the kids are so squirmy what can I say??).

8:15-9:00 - Breakfast (which includes helping to feed the tiny ones) and then brushing of teeth.

9:00-10:30 Indoor activity (which varies from simple indoor play with puzzles and games to coloring, singing and dancing, or doing some sort of art craft).

10:30-11:00 Snack time (usually fruit or yogurt).

11:00-12:15 Out door play on the playground (where I've learned you have to be super attentive as children easily fall off swings, slides, monkey bars and the like).

12:15-1:30 Lunch (Which always consists of soup and usually rice, lentils, some sort of meat, and sometimes salad or plantains) and then brushing of teeth and mandatory potty time for everyone before nap time.

1:30-2:30 Nap time (Haalleelujjah!!! :-) Free time for me. One whole hour of no biting, hair pulling or screaming!! :-)))))  I usually stay in the room with the kids and read silently or sometimes I fall asleep too!

2:30-3:00 Snack time (usually yogurt sometimes with crackers) and then gather belongings and leave for the day.

So, that sums up my time here up to date...I will certainly keep you posted as well as fill you in on some previous details of some of my funny/exciting times here!