Latacunga

Hey ya'll! (Yes, I do think I'm allowed to say ya'll now that I have a friend from Alabama)


What a great couple weeks it's been. As Renae described, we obviously had way too much fun in Banos the other weekend. (Ps I just had to squish the biggest spider we've had yet in Casa Sol... why do they keep getting bigger and bigger?! Ahhhh! U.S. spiders ain't gonna have nothin' on us when we get back) Anyways, ever since an exciting vacation in Banos, we've been back to work with the kiddos.


On Sunday we made our way over to the other branch of FHC, located in Latacunga, about two hours south of Quito. It's a bit of a funny feeling to hop off a random bus on a random corner in a town you've never been to with no one to call and nothing but a hand-drawn map in your hand, but luckily our taxi man was able to decipher the map and get us to the orphanage safely. It's a bit different than the Quito location, because it is mainly kids with severe special needs, some of whom are past the age where they can be adopted. We planned to work only through Wednesday, but quickly realized that wasn't going to be enough time. The site is absolutely gorgeous, the Tia's are so helpful and so appreciative, and the kids.... we fell in love FAST, that's all I have to say. Although we were both a bit intimidated going into it because of the big special needs factor, we were soon a part of the Latacunga family, and were spending all day every day hanging out, lovin' up on the new cuties in our lives.


Some highlights of the week:
-Renae and I going along with 1 of the tias and 6 of the boys to get haircuts in town one afternoon. Our job was to sit in the van with the 4 that weren't getting their hair cut at the time and make sure no one got into TOO much trouble... but let me tell you it was easier said than done. When your Spanish is less than mediocre, and 5 of the 6 boys have special needs, a half hour jammed into a van can seem very long! But we all survived, and the boys all looked way too adorable with their new haircuts.

 -One of the boys, Josue, is OBSESSED with elephants, and won't let any movie be shown that does not center around them. So we watched the movie The Blue Elephant more times in one week than I care to remember. But whatever makes them happy, I guess! By the last day we had the theme song down and had all the kids shouting it out along with us, although I don't think the Tia's appreciated that part very much.

-We got to celebrate Dia de los Muertos in the 'Cunga, complete with gua-gua's de pan (aka bread babies) and colada morada for everyone. Although us Americans all thought the colada was a bit questionable, it was a great party, and a great way to spend out last morning on site.

-Another long-term volunteer from the Quito location, Andrea, met us there so we did lots of interesting cooking combo's with the food left behind by the last group, and of course played lots of card games.

-Every day we had wonderful afternoon time with nowhere to go and no one to play with since all the kids were napping... aka reading, writing, playing games, cooking, training for the 10k out in the country (it's this coming Sunday, ahhh!), and best of all, NAPS for us too!

-The best part of Renae's week was spending time with Wilma, an 11 year old with cerebral palsy. She is nonverbal and in a wheelchair, but is SUCH a happy, carefree, caring little girl. They struck it off right away, and spent the week cracking up at their inside jokes that sometimes drove the rest of us crazy. (We couldn't hear the elephant movie over the laughing, damn it!)

-I especially loved hanging out with Stalin, chubbiest (and cutest) baby there is, and Christina, who has already acquired a pretty big attitude for a 2 year old. Whenever we tried to scold her with “No asi” she would turn around and scold us back saying “No” with a death glare and her finger pointed. Way too cute to ever be seriously mad at her.

So the days passed easily, happily, and quickly. I wish I could describe the feeling that came over both of us that week. It was extreme contentment in its purest form, and Renae and I both came to the conclusion at the same time: we were in the exact place we were supposed to be, at exactly the right time. There was something about that place and those kids that affected us more than anything else has so far, I think. They were just SO special and wonderful to be around, we wanted nothing more than to be surrounded by them all day, and left the compound I think 3 times the whole week. We were excited to get back to the other kids in Quito, but are already missing the Latacunga gang like crazy, and scheming to find time to go back before our days in Ecuador are up.


Saturday we traveled back to Quito, Sunday we spent with some friends, going out to eat and playing Frisbee in the park above the city. We got talked into eating cuy aka guinea pig, but I didn't end up liking it very much... tasted like fish :/ so I think the one time was enough for me! We also talked crazy Renae into eating the guinea pig eyeball, so that was gross but entertaining. Ever since then we've been back at it at the orphanage, soaking up our last week here before we venture off to the coast.


Some of this week's happenings:
-We happened upon some pot shards on the street on Sunday, and it gave us a project idea for the week... a mosaic path! We had to pass it by the office ladies first, and they seemed pretty hesitant, which we were annoyed at.. didn't they trust us?! But they agreed to let us work some magic on the memorial for Clark Vaughn, the founder who died last year. So we spent a day painting rocks with the kids (Yes, more rock painting. Surprising, I know) and thought we could do it, no problem. We soon found out why the ladies were a bit hesitant.... cement laying is hard work! It was one of those times where we think we can do anything and take on big projects without thinking about if we actually know how to go about it. Luckily, our favorite tia, Tia Jenny, came to the rescue. That woman can literally do anything. So she took us to the store and helped us buy the right material (no it was not what we were thinking at all), fed us some cevichocho (yum), and spent the afternoon teaching us how to mix and lay cement. It was a lot of work, but it turned out great, and I think even the office ladies are impressed. Thank God for Tia Jenny!
                                 

-Our other project of the week has been coming up with little activities to do with some of the older kids in the afternoon to get them out of the house for a bit and to have some one-on-one time. So we've been hosting music classes, rock painting, and bracelet making. And of course, loving every second of it. It can get pretty crazy at times with everyone in Casa Harlow, so it's nice to have a couple kids to yourself and really get to hang out.

 

-We've also been continuing the games every night with Jen and Andrea. We've discovered the game Ticket to Ride, which everyone should own. I love our relaxing nights SO much, and am going to miss the comforts of a cozy, warm apartment filled with games, movies, candy, tea, and people who have become such close friends in such a short amount of time.


So that brings us to this weekend... 5 weeks complete already! Where in the world did the time go?! I know we'll both be super sad to leave, but hopefully the excitement for the adventures to come keeps us from dwelling on it. That's one of my goals for the trip, after all: practice living in the present. I don't want to always be missing something from my past or thinking about things that haven't even happened yet, I want to be alive and aware and in the moment. So bring it on!


Love you all.

J Flynn