Day 1 of the Adventure

I loved walking around the area the lodge was in. Most of these pictures are just around the little community but also are a great example of what the jungle is like around the villages.

The random path that lead us up to the lodge

These are the leaves that the panama hats are made out of

The kids were trying a science experiment and it was so funny to watch, and they were happy to entertain us

On our way into the Jungle!

 The very small town of Coca, that we flew into and had to take about a 5minute taxi ride to the port where we caught the canoe to ride up the river

Some sweet views of the river as we ride our canoe up to our lodge. Luckily it was a beautiful day and the ride was amazing. All week we loved going on rides in the canoe because it was the only air conditioning that we could get.

 Lady Finger is the small banana like thing that we ate a lot of.

My 2 favorite pictures!

 We made it to the random stairs on the side of a hill. We then had to walk about a half a mile to where our lodge was.

 The cooking hut

 I loved this view from a patio at our lodge!

 Some views from the canoe ride

 Our hidden fort or where we lived for the weekend, it was super sweet!

 Our tour guide Luis rescued our butter from our friend the parrot

Right next to the lodge was what they called a community. There were probably about 50 people that lived there. A lot of them work at the lodge but they also are farmers and other occupations of the people there. They work everyday from about 5am to 3pm because after that many times it is too hot. Every afternoon when they are done working the people of the community get together and either play Ecuadorian volleyball or Futball (soccer). We went over a few times and watched a pretty intense volleyball game. Everyone comes and sits around and watches and we found out some people even make bets on the game.

 The hospital that has been set up by the government

 The bathing hole for everyone in the community

 This is the technically college which they are trying to make bigger

The church in the community

This was the monkey that interrupted the volleyball game.

From Quito to Coca

When we landed in Quito and were leaving the airport and were stopped at a red light. There is a kid dancing in the street. I love the things people do for money around here. This kid doesn't dance to music but lays out the moves in the middle of the street and he moves from street to street whichever one has the red light. I found it so interesting but I didn't have any money to give him.

Instead of pop or water, the complimentary drinks they gave us on the plane was apple or peach juice. This was the start to my experiencing many new fruit juices including...pineapple, peach, apple, blackberry, passion fruit, orange, mango and many others.

I don't know why this was the baggage claim at the Coca airport and it was just a window in the side of a small building where they rolled up the bags a few at a time. This was a very small airport!

I could not wait to start my Amazon adventures.

Back to Quito

Thursday June 21 was my last day in Cuenca. I was really sick that day and almost missed my last morning shift, but suffered through it and went anyway. I was glad I went because from it I learned the utensil dance! One of the workers was playing it and teaching the kids a dance and I started to get so into it and Jaydynn and the other girls ended up joining too. The kids then got more excited about it after seeing us and catching on. The workers there seemed thoroughly amused by our dancing and it was sad that we started it so late in the day because shortly after we had to leave. Jaydynn and I memorized the dance and went back to the house and presented it for some other girls during lunch. It's a good thing we are all crazy in that house and with the kids because it makes everything so much more fun!

I wasn't ready to leave Cuenca or the children yet but I knew that I didn't have any more money to stay longer. I kept telling myself that it will not be the last time I am here, but in all honesty it probably was. Although telling myself that made me feel better. I had come to love so many children so quickly in the orphanages, how could I possibly just leave them like that and think about never seeing them again. Those were the worst things to think about. Also I was excited to eventually come back to America but I knew once I got back my life would seem less important. How can you go from making a difference in so many lives and constantly serving children all the time for a couple of weeks and then leave and try and go back to everyday life where I sleep in and play and only think about myself all the time?

 Kira and I getting ready to head out of Cuenca and on to Quito for round 2 of adventures.

The first time I had to walk out on the runway to get on the plane I was so confused because I was in the airport and the lady told me to go to gate 2 and when I got there, there was no plane. Luckily I watched some guy walk out a set of doors and I just decided to follow him. We had to walk along a path and around a side of a building and the all of a sudden out popped a plane. I might not have been able to find it on my own, but that was the first flight, now I am an expert at flying in Ecuador!

Peace out Cuenca, 

hopefully we will be reunited someday.

A day in Guayaquil

Wednesday July 20

There was a group of us that before we left wanted to go to and see the temple in Ecuador. It is in a town called Guayaquil, about a 4 hour drive from Cuenca. We loaded up the bus early and headed out on a crazy drive over the Andes Mountains. The drive was very windy as we drove up into the mountains before finally coming to our rest stop with the most amazing view. According to my research on Google Earth when we stopped here we were at approximately 13,000ft above sea level. The view from here was one of the best I had experienced in Ecuador so far. We all considered this heaven.

After a long drive we made it to the temple and when we unloaded from the bus it was nice and humid and hot! Many of the girls it seemed didn't know much about the humidity and were amazed the air could feel so wet, but they are at least getting a sense of what the Amazon will be like.

After time spent in the temple we left and headed out to one of 13 malls that Guayaquil has to eat lunch. In the food court area they had McDonald's, Taco Bell and KFC and to us we were all amazed and greatful for American food. Looking back now I should have stuck with the American food instead of being courageous and trying some yummy looking chicken and rice. In the end it was deceiving and made me way sick my last night and morning in Cuenca. One girl did get Taco Bell and it turned into a funny story because she was so excited. When she sat down to eat her taco she realized that in Ecuador Taco Bell's they actually use real meat in their taco's instead of the weird processed stuff in the states that tastes really good even though you are not sure if it is real or not. My friend started yelling that she just wanted the fake meat so it tasted like America, because this did not taste American at all. Maybe this was one of those stories that you had to be there for it to be funny, but to all of us there we were cracking up laughing.

After lunch and before out trip back to Cuenca we made one more stop... The Iguana Park. This is just a park like any other that is not enclosed but free for anyone to walk around in or sit and enjoy a nice day. The only difference is this park is full of big iguanas that just chill out on the sidewalk or grass or in the trees. You have to be very careful when walking under trees, I think it is an iguana sport to see how many people they can poop on from hiding in the tree. Overall it was a nice place to stop and pet these awesome creatures.

Time to catch up...Ecuador continued

I haven’t written in a while so now is my time to catch up even though I am home.

The rest of my birthday was awesome because the girls made it special for me. They made me dinner of homemade pizzas which were very delicious and then really delicious peanut butter bars for desert. I got to blow out candles and the whole deal. Apparently it is tradition in Ecuador to tell me to take the first bite without using my hands or anything. It is then that your face is smashed in the cake. That is exactly what they did to me expect I held back and they didn’t get me very good. So Anna decided to smash a piece in my face. The thing she didn’t expect was me to smash one back in her face in retaliation. It was a very entertaining night.

After my birthday the days started moving very fast. I was in the routine now of what to and knowing the kids. After the first week I already started loving the children and time seemed to be in fast forward. Each day spent with the kids are the best moments I have spent in a long time. They bring smiles to me face with every hug, with every smile, and each push on the swing. I work on my Spanish each day and try to learn how to better communicate but I am still not good at all. I was taught a lesson by my little girl Lorana on Sunday. We spent a lot of time together playing and singing and laughing. We do not speak the same language in words but that does not stop our bond from growing stronger. She loved when I sang to her and did the hand motion with me, then when each one ended all I heard was ultra vas, ultra vas, which in Spanish means again, again. She also picked me a flower and pressed it to my heart and said to me “forever”. I knew that this was going to most likely be my last time spent with her and she just helped reassure me that she will forever be in my heart. Then she gave me the biggest hug with a simple kiss, jumped off my lap and held out her hand for me to take and go on a walk. What can be a more precious moment than that?

On Tuesday I was able to go with the OSSO house to the swimming pool for water therapy. Even though I was in the Esperanza house I spent my time with my man Roman from Milagros. I held onto him and he sat in with the jets and then I helped him stand up in the water and float around. When I would try to move my arms he would get scared and grip my arms tighter around him. It made me feel as though I was needed and to be honest I know that I was because if I let him go he would drown. But with my arms around him he felt secure and safe. If I have not mentioned Roman yet he is a 22 year old man with a form of Autism. He cannot do much on his own but he is getting better at eating some meals by himself.  This man goes on walks with me and listens as I tell him stories and about me.

We try to have lots of fun when we are working with the kids. One day I was in Milagros by myself and I was a bit worried because talking to the workers is hard by myself. But I realize that while helping the workers I am also there to care for the people there. In the morning after breakfast the tia’s were getting them bathed and I was dressing and brushing hair. We had the radio on and some really great Spanish songs started playing. They were the perfect songs to dance to so Laura and I started dancing around the room. It was so funny because she started getting upset because she couldn’t dance well enough in her wheelchair so I helped her get out and we were moving around all over the place. The others in the house were laughing and trying to move as much as they could too. Jorge is really trying to walk on his feet but for now he gets around on his knees. He came up to me and held out his one hand so I took it and we danced the next song together. Roman was laughing so hard I couldn’t leave him to just sit and watch this fun, so next I grabbed his wheelchair and we moved around the floor. Every time a tia came out of the bathroom they would just look at us and laugh. One by one they had to go in and take a bath and they weren’t happy they had to leave the party.

My main goal when being with anyone was to make sure they were having fun in some way, or make sure they are able to tell how much I care for them. That is something a lot of them strive for, is searching for a type of love that we all get from our parents and families, but they don't have that. I am there to step in and make sure that they know they are loved by someone somewhere in the world. I know a lot of volunteers that have gone through the OSSO program that still remember the kids they worked with and the love they felt for them. I only wish we could secure them with a loving home for the rest of their lives, but that is something I never know if it will happen or not. All I can do now from the States is send donations to help and pray for them every single day and that I will do.

Funny story...

I was coming to use the computer in the OSSO house a couple days ago and I looked at the keyboard and saw the ñ key and was so confused. I freaked out and kinda yelled, I cant use this keyboard it is all in Spanish! Everyone started busting laughing and told me that the keyboard was the same but with 2 extra keys off to the side! the ñ ad ç. Oh yeah and the words on the computer are all in Spanish too so sometimes I have no idea what to click on or where to go. But that´s cool I mean I guess I am in a Spanish speaking country or something like that lol! Good times being a blonde...