Baños

Happy Halloween from Ecuador!


Last weekend we officially survived our first adventure out of Quito. We paid for our time at FHC, said goodbye to the kiddos, tias, and Alfredo at the gate, and walked to the bus station with our humungous packs (in case we didn't stand out already). The bus experience was an adventure in itself. Sticking to the “no-plan plan”, we waited to figure out which bus to take until we got to the station. The staff helped us get on the right buses though, and we were off! We had 6 hours of busing and were accompanied by two locals who bought us treats from the vendors who would walk on the bus when it stopped in town. We got fed ice cream on a stick, chocolate bars, and cheese wrapped in a leaf: just your average bus snacks.

When we got to Baños, we scouted out a cheap $8/person/night hostal where the front desk staff said they didn't care when we paid, “Today, tomorrow, whenever you want”. No-plan plan. We were sold. “Welcome to this crazy town!”, he couldn't have said it better. Starting that night, the town was constantly celebrating. Fireworks, bands, parades, and loud music were going on the entire weekend. One of the days we realized it was for their Saint, Santa Agua, but the rest I don't know... Maybe everyday they're just like, “Hey, we live in Baños! Its the weekend! Life is awesome!” And hey, that works for me. 

Not only were the people fun and energetic, but the town itself was an amazing experience. The hot springs were extremely comical. The first time we went it was 8am and we had no idea what to do. We paid for our ticket, went in, and just watched the 20-some old men to try and figure it out. Where do we put our stuff? Do we need to shower first? Do we all have to wear those swim caps? The lady at the ticket booth walked in a few minutes later and saw our confusion. “Que pasa?” (What are you doing?). She instructed us to buy the ugly hats and we hopped in. It was definitely worth the embarrassment, the hot water was amazing with the cool of the morning. Oh, and there was some Amazonians showering naked in the waterfall next to the springs. Typical. Our second hot springs attempt was a lot less relaxing. We tried going at night, and after we'd already paid and went in, we found out the biggest main pool was drained. Everyone and their mother was crammed into a small side pool. It was too cold to stand there in our swim suits, so we squeezed past people to get to an open inch of hot water. We were just cracking up at the lack of personal space and getting splashed in the face by little kids when suddenly out of the murky water floated a pad. Yes, it's exactly what you're thinking. It whirled by us and then disappeared again. Jenna and I looked at each other with terrified faces, and immediately hopped out of the water. Extremely sanitary I'm sure.


Other than the hot springs, the town is also known for it hiking. We went on hikes every day and saw some amazing views of the town, mountains, and a volcano nearby. One day a engineering professor from Spain named Angel caught up with us and we spent the rest of the day hiking and sharing travel stories. He is biking across South America through Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru for the next couple of months, and on top of that he has been EVERYWHERE. His stories were amazing.

Another trek led us to a wooden bridge over a deep mountain-ravine river. The view was breath-taking. As we were exploring we noticed people were also bungee jumping off of the larger bridge above us. At first we commented that “it would be sweet” to do it, but no way. Then, after watching a few more people jump, and talking to David from Seattle who said it was totally worth the 15 bucks, we decided to do it. I was terrified to say the least. I told Jenna I had to go first or else I'd chicken out, so they strapped me up and hooked on the ropes before I could even hesitate. I was asking them, “How many people have died? How long have you guys been doing this?”. “Okay, well I'll be the first to die I guess!” The local guards monitoring were cracking up at me as I freaked out. I stepped up on the platform hanging over the ravine below and started to panic hilariously. “Is it attached over there?!” They counted to three and I was still standing there. A crowd started to form and Jenna got a couple old men to chant my name. “Just push me!” Jenna told him too, “You're going to have to push her off”. I finally just let myself fall off the platform, and lemme tell you, it was worth it. A little whiplash, but the fall felt awesome, and guess what, I survived! I climbed up the mountain and watched Jenna go next. “Renae, you got me freaked out now, I wasn't before! What do I hold on to?!” Her time on the platform was much shorter than mine, though, and she counted down for herself and fell off. She also survived. We of course had to buy the videos of our near-death experience so we can remember just how unintelligent we can be, and because they are hilarious. I'll try to post them online for everyone to admire our bravery and poise.

To sum it up, Baños was a great first-weekend-on-our-own-in-Ecuador experience. We hiked, bought tons of souvenirs, got serenaded by a guitarista at breakfast, ate the best nachos I've ever had in my life (literally), and cheated death twice (once over the mountain river and once in a hot spring full of who-knows-what; there could be bodies hiding in that cloudy water...). So I hope we continue to make you all proud ;)

We left Baños on Sunday morning and headed for the other branch of the For His Children orphanage in a town called Latacunga where we are now. I will let Jenna detail the fun we've had here next week, but just know that it has been great. The kids are amazing, and they have a staff of the most loving and light-hearted tias in the whole country (based on the wide range of tia communities I've seen so far). We're having an awesome Halloween hanging with the kids, watching yet another elephant movie in spanish with them, and relaxing. It seems like life couldn't get any better, but I think I've said that before...


Living la vida loca,
Renae



P.s. Teeth-breaking, wood-flavored taffy we bought in Baños and some sprinkles that were left in the cupboard are the extent of our Halloween candy. Can anyone send us some Reese's Pumpkins por favor?

How to explain this feeling...

As you can tell from our past couple blogs, our lives have been absolutely crazy (in the very best of ways). We've been facing life head on, and keeping our promise to do anything and everything put in front of us. I can't believe the number of adventures and experiences we've jammed into just a couple short weeks. Every day brings new and exciting things, whether that includes an excursion into the city, a sweet encounter with one of the kids, or some new Spanish vocab. Here's a few things that have happened since Nae's last post:


-We went on an early morning run one day with Jen, or at least tried to... With the mountains and the altitude, we made it maaaybe a mile and a half, and it was absolute torture! If we had tried to run before we signed up for the 10k we might have thought twice... if we can crawl over the finish line in a month I'll be impressed.


-We've been putting our ability to do manual labor to the test, and have been continuing the tree removal work. I'm wishing I had lifted weights even once in my life, would that have been so hard?! I even spent all day yesterday with a machete in my hand, and have the blisters to prove it... never thought I'd be able to say that! It's also more proof of how laid-back everyone is around here: Renae and I were running around the yard by ourselves all day, unsupervised, machete flying, burning the crap out of everything in site, 50 feet from the orphanage. And for some reason we were more scared for ourselves than anyone else was, they just kept laughing at us and saying “burn the big stuff so we don't have to move any more!”

-For some reason I can never help but laugh my head off when we take the city bus somewhere. I've just never experienced something so cramped, hot, uncomfortable, awkward, and pushy. It's every man for themselves and there's no doubt in my mind that if for some reason you fell to the ground you would be trampled to death, even though that would never happen because you are so jam-packed in you can't scratch your own face let alone make it to the floor. I can't explain exactly why I find this so funny, because it actually is pretty awful, it's just such a different idea of personal space (or lack thereof) I can't help but crack up at the ridiculousness. Plus we are always at least a head taller than everyone else on the bus so we get the whole top-of-the-bus-air to ourselves which keeps me from freaking out.


-One thing we are pretty proud of is our up-and-coming cooking abilities. We can only afford the basics, and our oven doesn't work, so we're having to get creative with rice, potatoes, hamburger meat, veggies, and the stove. I know people don't really care to hear about other people's food (especially when facebook pics are included) but I gotta brag for un momento: last night we had onion cheeseburgers minus the bun, fried eggplant, and fried rice with veggies. Might sound like a weird combo but let me tell you... YUM.


-Today we decided we needed to get a little nature time amidst the city life so we bussed on down to La Parque Carolina. It's kinda like central park, with people everywhere and tons of paths and trees and things right in the middle of the city, with huge buildings all around. While there we went to the Jardin Botanical (botanical garden), El Museo de Ciencias Naturales (museum of natural science), and a Vivarium. The flowers were gorgeous and the bugs were freaky. Aaaand Renae was of course in heaven the whole time.

-I also got to go horseback riding with some of the kiddos this morning, they do it for therapy and all loved it. It's fun to be at such a good orphanage, where they do so many different things for the kids. We have still been trying to do pool therapy with the babies as many mornings as possible as well, which is always way too adorable.


The ironic thing is, that as chaotic and exciting and crazy my life is right now, my soul has rarely been so calm, so content, so sure. It's such a good feeling to not have to question if I'm in the right place, or doing the right thing. I know I am. It's something I lost sight of for awhile, and I can't explain how refreshing it is to be able to return to living life with the same conviction and sureness that I used to have. I think post-college-graduation is a weird time for lots of people... it definitely was for me. How do you sift through the infinite possibilities ahead of you and choose just one? How do you be SURE you're making the right decisions, especially when the people around you are making such different ones? Even this summer, as excited as I was to leave, I would have moments of hesitation. What if leaving for a year meant that I would be behind when I returned? That I would have a harder time pursuing another degree or a job? That I would give up meaningful relationships in order to follow my own personal dreams, when it should've been the other way around?


But being here, being able to be a part of these kids' lives, feeling so ALIVE and HAPPY and EXCITED for each and every single day, makes every last trace of that hesitation disappear. I'm so grateful to finally be feeling like I do, and hope it's a feeling that lasts not just the whole 8.5 months, but my whole life long. That'll be the real challenge though, won't it!!! After all, it's impossible not to love life when you have the cutest kids in the world in your arms and the most gorgeous places all around you, waiting to be explored!


XOXOXO,
J. Flynn



P.S. Not to be confused, it's true that as happy as I feel right now, I do have moments of sadness... always when I'm missing my family, friends, or the Miller kids (who are of course included in that whole cutest kids in the world thing as well). Know that I think about all of you often, and send my love your way every single day!

Exploring Quito

In case you're wondering, it still feels surreal...

We have been living in Quito, Ecuador for 11 days! As expected, Jenna and I dove headfirst into everything right away, and have experienced a LOT in a week and a half. Spanish is coming along little by little, and we actually had a tutor come to the house today to give us individual lessons. Were still out of the loop on the jokes especially, but I have faith that with practice we'll understand everything soon. 

Mateo

During the past week, so much has happened. We typically start off every day helping with the babies in Casa Vaughn. We take them swimming and feed them lunch. And can I just say that we are falling more and more in love with the kids every single day. They are the most precious little people I have ever met, and I am already dreading the day we have to leave them (not as much as Jenna though).

 

The second halves of the days are where the adventure begins, and so I'll try to remember all we've done so far... 

Last Wednesday (our second full day) we went to a soup kitchen and ended up in a girls bible study class, where I played guitar and we sang and read from a book and prayed with some of the local girls. 

Thursday we signed up for a Nike 10K in Quito which we will run on November 10th. 

Friday was a local holiday “Dia de Guayaquil” and we watched the Ecuador-Uruguay soccer game. Ecuador won and has officially made it to the World Cup in February. The Ecuadorians we watched it with were THRILLED to say the least. We also got some Spanish practice with some bilingual Catch-Phrase.

Santiago

Saturday Jenna's bag came! Finally!! We though it was a lost cause, but fortunately God sent it from NYC to Quito in one piece. Also, the kids celebrated a huge party for one of the orphans, Mateo, on his 1st birthday (in the wagon above). After that, Jenna and I tried out the bus system and ventured to a part of Quito called “Old Town” where there are a lot of historical buildings and monuments.

Sunday we attended church with the volunteer coordinator, Jen, and then went to the equator (El Mitad del Mundo) with some new friends. 

Monday was very rainy and so after watching the kids we spent some down time and then had cooking class with the toddlers.

Dulce Maria

Tuesday was tree removal. A giant tree had fallen down in the compound a few weeks ago, and so with the help of some locals, the tias, and only a few men, we slowly but surely cleaned up the trunks. 

Wednesday it poured all day again, and Jenna and I were given a FHC photo project. 

Yesterday more rain and some more projects. 

We are hoping to go on a trip this weekend to a hiking spot and we also need to start training for our run next month, because we just about DIED trying to jog a mile this morning! I swear I was about to cough up an entire lung. The altitude might be the death of us...

 

 

Some interesting things 

about Ecuador so far: 

 

A) Prices of things are very different than in the states, and it's interesting to see what's cheap, and what we have to give up during the trip. JIF peanut butter costs $12 here, new clothes are very expensive (a sweatshirt that would be 8 bucks at Walmart sells for 40 at the “Megamaxi”), and our favorite tequila, which is only $20 in North Dakota, is $46, so I guess we won't be having any drinks in the near future! On the other hand, transportation is extremely cheap. A bus ride anywhere in the city is $0.25. Also, fruits, vegetables, bread, and decent meals at restaurants are definitely in our budget. We paid $3.61 for two plates of rice, chicken, and tomatoes with glasses of juice and coffee.

B) People are having a hard time saying my name. Renae is not rolling off the latina tongue at all. And someone told me that it is more commonly a boy's name here, so I'm going to try out some different nickname options I think... 

C) The weather in Quito is completely unpredictable, and changes very fast, multiple times a day. You can drive out of sunny skies and 10 minutes later it is down-pouring. Also, it is their rainy season right now and we have been wearing our raincoats more than we'd probably like.

D)We've only seen a few bugs so far, but they aren't small... One spider we saw during tree removal was thee biggest and nastiest thing I've ever seen and I hear it gets much worse in the jungle... Gulp.

E) Jenna and I stand out a lot here. It's impossible to miss us among the Ecuadorians. We are at least a head taller than most of the population, and with our light skin, American get-up, and Jenna's blonde hair, everyone is always staring at us.

F)  Some popular things here are those jeggings without the butt pockets, the slicked-back ponytails we rocked in 5th grade, little baby-shaped frosted bread rolls called ¨Guagua de dulce¨(Sweet baby), oh and, of course, lots of rice with every meal. 

G) My favorite thing I've discovered about Ecuadorian culture so far, though, is definitely their slow-moving, never-on-time, easygoing pace. If any of you thought Jenna and I were bad before, you should start avoiding us when we get back. “On time” means 30 minutes late. If you do should up at the specified time, you will be standing there alone waiting for everyone else. Also, you cannot make plans here. People ditch out at the last second, make new plans, and introduce new ideas constantly.  Every plan Jenna and I have even tried to make has been completely uprooted, so we don't even try anymore, which I love. This place was MADE for me. Everybody just does what they want, whenever they feel like it, and are very easygoing. So beware of Renae and Jenna 2.0. :)

Mitad del Mundo

To sum it up, life has been very good the last week. I wouldn't trade this experience for anything. I miss my family and friends very much, but I think God needs us here right now, and I would hate to let Him down ;)

My love from the across the world,

Renae

P.s. We posted some more pictures under the Photo Links tab. Just select the link to go to the picture hub. And we'll be posting them there along the journey!

1st blog from down unda

Well, WE MADE IT!


It feels like we've been gone forever, for how much has happened so far, so it's crazy to think it's only our second full day here in Quito. We had a couple pretty good days of traveling, and even got an awesome 22 hour layover in NYC, which happens to be where a couple of our favorite people are. So I got to experience the city for the first time, and got to explore Central Park and Times Square. Then back on the plane we went, and arrived in Quito around 10:00 at night, after only a few minor mishaps. (We might have wasted the last money on our metro cards going down the wrong subway station and part of Renae's bag may or may not have gone in the airport toilet. Plus my bag was lost somewhere and has yet to arrive in Ecuador, but supposedly it should be here in the next couple of days, so cross your fingers that comes true). After the whole missing luggage debacle, we met up with Jen and Andrea from FHC, who drove us the hour through the city to the orphanage. It was awesome to see all the lights of the city... it's SO huge! We're definitely not in North Dakota anymore... When we got to the orphanage we were shown to our house for the next few weeks. That's right, OUR house! It's a cute little 4 bedroom place in a compound with the orphanage's therapy pool, right across the street from the main buildings. Needless to say, after talking about how spoiled we were with the living conditions for about a minute, we crawled straight into bed.


We started yesterday off right with some delicious rolls from the bread store on the corner (20 cents each, can't beat that!) before getting a tour of the orphanage's property and the neighborhood around it, which for the most part is fairly safe. We got to meet a few of the Tias who are the full-time caretakers here, and got to spend some time with the babies in the baby house. Obviously I don't need to say it, but they are all absolutely adorable. We got to help feed them lunch, but apparently didn't feed them fast enough, since they kept falling asleep in their high chairs and had to be woken up to finish their food. It was pretty hilarious, but today we definitely tried to speed it up a bit! We spent the rest of the day napping, getting acclimated, and having a delicious dinner at Jen's apartment along with another long-term volunteer, Amanda.


This morning we got to hang out with the babies again: Renae got to take them swimming, which she said they all loved, and I got to dress, feed, and put to sleep the youngest baby here, a 3 or 4 week old little girl. We have been SO all over the place ever since we got here, holding her was a great reminder of why we're here and of what really matters amidst all the craziness. She is the most perfect, precious little thing I've ever held, and I am so lucky to be able to love up on her and be a part of her life, even for such a short amount of time. I can't imagine what made someone feel the need to abandon such a sweet, gorgeous little girl, but she really is at a great place here, and will hopefully be adopted by her perfect family in the future.


Other highlights so far have been meeting different people, hearing about the awesome things to do around here (supposedly we get to go to Tia Alicia's farm to help skin guinea pigs or “cuy” soon, but we're not really sure how to feel about that one), and practicing our Spanish. (I'm realizing my Spanish has a looooong way to go, it's worse than I even thought!) But the Tias are patient with us, and I got to practice with a volunteer from the university here yesterday, who wanted to practice her English as well. Hopefully we will improve quickly!


Well, we're headed off to attempt the city bus for the first time, and to volunteer at a soup kitchen for a few hours, so gotta go... more soon I'm sure! At this rate, we'll need to blog twice a day to get everything down!


Love and miss you all already,
Jenna



P.S. I can't believe we're actually here! AHHHHH!!!