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!!!
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