The Simple Things

My 5 week mark is tomorrow... I can't believe how fast the time has gone!! My sickness lasted 3 days and now I just have a little cold, but I've been able to be back at all my shifts :) My first shift back after being sick was at Trini. It is a daycare up in the little town of Turi. All the kids are there from bright and early in the morning until when we leave at about 5 30. Their parents work in the gorgeous surrounding fields all day. It was amazing to me to see how much different these kids are just because they have those few hours at night with parents. Their education is still behind what it should be, but it is definitely better than the kids at Tadeo Torres. We taught them about the alphabet, did crafts and then played a little bit of soccer with the older kids before we left. I am amazed at how many places there are like our orphanages and the Trini day care all over Ecuador. There is such a need for workers/volunteers to give these kids the attention and love that they need! I'm loving my Cunas more and more everyday. I've been noticing that I have more bruises, scratches and soreness than ever before. All my kids get random surges of love and they run over to me as fast as they can to give me a hug or a kiss, and in the process they will usually injure me in some minor way. I love it though! I smile when I look down at my hand and see little scratches from Anna Chris and Jo trying to pull me in different directions to where they want to go. Or the bruise on my nose from Javi running at full speed towards me, screaming my name with a huge smile on his face, and then tripping and head butting me in the nose. The list goes on, but its the greatest thing that they have so much love that they can't control it. Yesterday I worked my afternoon shift in Cunas alone, and it was probably my best shift ever. I walked into their room and was welcomed with them all chanting my name- nothing beats that!! After I changed them, we went into the sala, read a few books and then were playing with the stuffed animals and harmonicas. I sat down with Jo as she was playing her harmonica and was praising her for it. The other kids noticed, so they came over one by one and did something different so that I would tell them Bravo and clap for them. Their faces brighten up so much when they get positive attention! I've been working with them on manners and cleaning up after themselves, so when they want a harmonica, I say Que dices? And then they say po bo bo! (Por favor) And when its time to put everything away, I start singing the Clean up, Clean up song. They have all caught onto it, so they will sing along with me in their cute little spanish accents, and they will all help until everything is put away:) I've also been working on counting with them, so yesterday we stood at one end of the room, touching the wall and said Uno, Dos, Tres! And then we all ran to another wall. They loved it! They kept saying, uno mas uno mas! So we played that game for about 20 minutes, and counted up to diez before we ran. They are all so eager to learn and get so excited when they do something right. After running around, I would ask them what different animals say, and then we would walk around the room Quacking like a duck and flapping our wings, or crawling like a dog and barking. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen- all of them lined up behind me acting like patos, perros, gatos, chancos, pajaros, sapos, caballos, tigres, vacas and monos. They do the simplest things and it just melts my heart!

We got had to say goodbye to the old group of girls last week, and then we got 6 new girls on Friday! They are all so fun. I am so blessed to be here meeting so many amazing girls that I can have a lasting friendship with. They are my family away from home, and we have the best time just sitting around laughing with eachother. Three of them are engaged, so I have a whole week lined up when I get home to go to all of their weddings:) Tomorrow is our field trip to the beach! Its about a 3 hour drive to the coast and then we will get to spend 4 hours at the beach. Sometimes I don't think its fair how amazing of a life I'm living down here! Besos y abrazos!!