Portoviejo and Cayambe

First off- I loved all the comments so far. I'm glad some of you are reading this. Having to pay for internet all the time, it's nice not to have to write too many emails everytime I'm on, but can still share my stories. So thanks!

So the van was successfully dropped off! It was quite the drive, about 10 hours with 9 of us in this small van. We drove from about 1am till 11am with little sleeping in the process. When we arrived we were greeted by many small children and women with babies. Many of the children are handicapped whether mental or physical. A large majority of the kids had some form of downsyndrom. It seemed (and we were later told) that there is a surprisingly large percentage of people with downsyndrom in that region, hence why the school is so important, as they focus specifically on these types of kids.
It was all a bit overwhelming. We were settled into the hallway of the open air school where it was bit cooler (it was blisteringly hot out now that we were much closer to the coast). Everyone watched patiently as they signed the bus over the the school and then we passed out donations. This was actually fairly problematic. Our director, Mariana, well intentioned woman but with very particular oppinions on how everything should be, and her's always the correct one. In this instance she INSISTED that WE individually hand out each item, choosing which kids needed or deserved each item. This had happened to some of the girls in a previous visit to a different site where many of the kids would recieve an item from a volunteer then when it didn't fit later on it was taken away, then would go home empty handed. It seemed silly not to let the women who live and work there, who know the kids, choose what clothes they wear or what school supplies they need. Though this was frustrating, it was an amazing experience.
We had lunch with some the kids and women who worked there, bummed around town completely exhausted. Some of the girls parted off to go to the beaches nearby and Lindsey and I went home on the night bus back to Quito with Mariana, her 9 yr old daughter Joanna, and her friend our driver Mario.

The next day, without school, we slept in, ran errands and then headed to Cayambe for the weekend. That night the town was slow, we learned that No one goes out on fridays there. Then Sat morning, there was the parade of the flower plantations. Ecuador is one of the world leaders in flower production, specifically roses, and so during the parade the girls on the flower floats threw handfulls of roses into the crowd. That afternoon we went to a traditional spanish bullfight in town, which was unsruprisingly bloody and a little hard to watch. We only stayed for the killing of 3 bulls and then left after about and hour. It was only $5.
We spend the afternoon eaching biscochos, somewhat similar to biscotti, with caramel and cafe. That night there was live music in the streets, dancing, and uneccessary hotdog eating at 12am. I, somehow, didn't get sick.
Sunday morning we went to watch the parade of the indigenous people coming down from the mountains in traditional clothing. They sang and danced in the streets wearing bright colors with masks and huge alpacka britches. We had an almuerza, or a set lunch, soup with a mystery meat, potatoes and chocolo (corn). Then beef, rice, beans, plantains with dessert of fresh fruit, juice and water. All for $1.50... I payed the extra .20 for a coke (in the glass bottle, of course). We then all took the bus home in the afternoon.

That night I met up with Jes (from the tea house) who is here running an outdoor adventure program for HS kids. We had coffee, caught up and exchanged Ecuadorian cell numbers so we can meet up again when they come through Quito. I am quite jealous, she is in the Galapagos right now.

This week has been interesting so far. I am most likely changing orphanages. Since being here we have done Nothing with the orphanage at Remar, just helped some in class. Honestly, Remar is one of the wealthier schools for orphans. In no way is it up to the standards of American schools but the kids have a full time staff (hired help to clean/paint) we just assist the teachers and play. It's a rewarding experience befriending a child who has had so little in life and being able to spend time with them but, I feel that there are other orphanages in the city that physically NEED the extra hands. Luckly, I'm not alone in this thought. There are already 5 volunteers at Remar and the 2 girls who work at the other orphanage through ELI (the only 2 who work there) are leaving so I'm being moved over tomorrow. It's perfect timing as all the kids had continuation today and school is officially done, tomorrow there will be only the girl orphans at Remar, so about a third of the kids with the 4 other volunteers. Plus even though the new orphanage is run by catholic nuns (dun dun daah... that's for you dad) the head nun is Italian, so almost no language barrier when asking questions or if I have concerns.

With this change in jobs, I might also be changing host families, though that one is not set yet. I would most likely be living with my friend Dylan, who is this amazingly down to earth girl from Salt Lake, speaks Spanish quite well and works here in a Human Rights internship. It would be a great switch in my opinion. I love Mercedes (my current host mom) but she doesn't live in the house and instead it's filled with my two/three young American roommates. It feels like a college dorm with a Ecuadorian woman who comes to cook and clean (it actually saddens me a bit). We end up speaking English WAY too often. Dylan lives with an American girl that is leaving at the end of the week (I beleive, very convienently) They live with Jackie, Fernando and their 3 sons. Jackie, is young and loves us as we have become her new daughters. We're planning Salsa classes and trips to the local independent film center(we might even throw in some yoga). I'll keep you updated!