Monday

Today was planned as a day of introduction to Bunche, the station, the area, and once again-each other. However, before going into today I think it is worth mentioning that Andy, who terrified of spiders, went to his room last night after planning some card games to be startled by a moth. Not only was he startled, but everyone else was as he let out a high pitched scream. This, of course, woke everybody up in the volunteer house that was previously sleeping. Andy then did a quick inventory of the room and discovered a spider, only to demand that it be dead before he will sleep. Anyway, the spider died, the moth survived, and everyone can NOW joke about it.
The day began early (7am) with a breakfast of fresh watermelon and pancakes (Ecuadorian style). There was also the regular coffee, powdered milk, and/or hot chocolate to drink too; but not before a early morning rain that moistened everything and causted the humidy to skyrocket. Following breakfast. Following breakfast Darlene lead a discussion on generalizations/stereotypes. We talked about these in general and then each took note on a generalization/stereotype that we may have about Ecuador (culture, people, way of life, etc…) We then met at 8:30am and walked to Bunche. When we arrived in Bunche about 40 minutes later the kids immediately greeted the group with open arms. We walked past the house of Jefferson Ricardo and his twin sisters which everyone seemed to stop and photograph, saw plenty of other kids too as we walked to the waters edge to see the newly constructed bridge in Bunche. This bridge spans the Bunche River and now more easily connects Bunche to Cabo San Francisco. We continued around town and the kids kept appearing. Within a very short while, it seamed as if the entire group was klinking on the students, asking to "prestame" (borrow to them) their camera; if it wasn't this, they were asking to have their picture taken. We stayed in Bunche near the town square for a good hour or more watching the kids show off, take pictures, take pictures with us, run around, apupame (piggy-back ride), race, and more. After a while, somebody turned music on in the discotec, so we went in expecting to dance; instead, we were showed up by several 4-7 year olds that could "drop it like its hot" way better than any of us could. After a couple of songs, we made our piece, admitted we could never dance like that, and moved on. We left Bunche at about 11 and it was hard to leave the kids behind; they wanted to follow us out of town, so eventually Erik went to them and had a little talk as the group was walking back, but not before a visit to the beach. About a km from the station was the dirt access path to the beach, so we stopped here to show them the beach. Within no-time, the group was in the water and splashing around. Erik explained the swimming boundaries to the group and took those that wanted to on a further stroll down the beach in search of jelly-fish. We only found one, but the group now has an idea of what to watch out for. We then were planning on heading back to the station, but not before a group picture since the sky was blue. Many were still wet from being in the water so the phrase of the hour was Mary Beth exclaiming, "Adam, [you're dripping all over me]," as she knelt in the first row and he dripped onto her back from the row behind her.
Following the laughs we went back to the station where Marisol and Nudi prepared us a lunch of rice, beans, chicken, and salad. The fresh juice was pineapple, but a little more watery than usual. Following lunch the group met on the upper pad to sort out supplies. The group did a great job getting supplies and transporting them down. The supplies range greatly too from feminine hygiene products and dental supplies, to kids bracelets and little toys, to school supplies, clothes, and lots of shoes.
Once all the supplies were arranged, Andrea, Elle, Chris, and Jenn stayed back and repacked everything while everyone else walked back to Bunche to do prep-work for later in the week. The group went to the daycare and removed all of the posters off of the walls and made sure there wasn't lose paint and scraped it if there was. While most of the group did this, MaryBeth, Casey, Maddie, and Chris painted and prepared some of the mural spaces on the walls of the schools. Both the nursery and the murals will be painted later in the week. The first day was planned to be an introduction and acclimation period since everyone in the group was just at a higher elevation (10000ft) the day before. The group worked really well finishing all of the prep up. Upon finishing up, most of the students played with the kids in Bucneh until the kids were ready to play. We stuck around for quite a while but then decided to move to the beach. Andrea led part of the group while a few stayed back and finished conversations, made phone calls, purchased items in the store,etc… When the projects are finished we pick up and leave, plus the garbage is perfecto. We got to the beach and were pretty much the only ones on the beach with the exception of some of the kids that joined us. The kids enjoyed being flipped into the water and jumping off of shoulders. Of course, we then decide we are going to do it too. No injuries to report on, so the mission was achieved. After spending quite some time on the beach the stragglers returned home to finish some stuff and whatever.
Dinner consisted of a rice and bean dish combined with mashed potatoes, beef, and juice. Everyone finished their dinner and just stuck around playing games and getting ready for Tuesday (our biggest work day).

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UWL at the Equator

This morning, everyone was up by 7am. (Rough for some I am sure, but they will get used to it) Erik ran to make sure everything was set at the restaurant for breakfast to discover the place was still closed. So, change in plans and he solidified breakfast at another place. Breakfast consisted of fresh pineapple juice, scrambled eggs, and toast (simple and light). We hit the road for the coast about 9:30am and stopped at "Mitad del Mundo." The statue pictured represents the center of the world. The true center of the world has been determined to be a couple km away thanks to modern gps technology. Everyone is getting along great. In fact, when Erik went to the airport to meet the final 5 arriving everyone piled into room 18 of the hotel, played games, and told stories.

We are now in for a several hour bus ride but will view much of the Andes, Ecuadorian landscape, and coast along the way.

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Saturday Dinner, "the first supper"

After a long day of walking around Quito, visiting parks, last minute shopping, etc...we ate dinner at a great italian restaurant to get some variety before a week plus of delicios rice, beans, and seafood. The bus leaves for the coast tomorrow morning and everyone is interacting great with one another. Some of the students already have gotten a little sun too (prep for the coast). We should arrive on the coast by 6pm, so more to report on then.

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Day 1 -Lunch

Photo of is a small group at lunch at La Casa de Eduardos. We are in the Mariscal district of Quito getting acclimated and visiting local sites. The last 5 arrive tonight, so we are eagerly awaiting their arrival.

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Arrival of first 14

The group of 14 has officially arrived in Ecuador. Customs were cleared without a problem and we are now off to the hotel for the evening. More to come.
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Quick update

I know it is a couple days since an update went out, but there is not a whole lot to report on. The New Year celebration went well and until 5am before we called it quits and walked back. We all danced with locals and one-another until it was time to go. Throughout the day we didn't do a whole lot and that same lack of accomplishment continued throughout Sunday. I took care of a lot of organizing Sunday and have room assignments, meals, excursions, and projects now all set. The ladies at the house were all coming down with something.

As far as Monday, the ladies now are all sick. So, I let them sleep this morning and walked to Bunche to solidify our nursery project, looks like it is all set. We were supposed to meet with Richard, the director of Cabo San Francisco school, but that got postponed until tomorrow. Erin continues to work on her research and I am sure she will update the blog soon about that. Tomorrow, she is meeting with the dentist in Bunche to discover more about youth dental care here.

That is really all there is to update on now. After tomorrow and two days in Quito, I think we will be all set for the group and I am super excited as is, Erin and Andrea too.

Until the next update (probably via bus en route back to Quito, take care and hope all is well back in WI!

Ek

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