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!