Dia Uno

Well I made it to Cuenca, after three days of traveling. I love it here. Yesterday we went into the city and saw all the cool handmade bracelets, jackets, blankets, hammocks, etc. I want to buy one of everything!

These are the girls I flew from Quito to Cuenca with. (Shawnie, me, Amber)

OSSO payed for uno helado for the new volunteers. I got cocos (coconut) and it is a lot like gelato.o

  Ecuador is also one of the top producers of roses in the world so the flowers at market are really inexpensive. I love the flower market! It smells so good!!

We went out to dinner to celebrate Jacie’s, a volunteer here, cancer-free anniversary. The food is pretty good, but kind of flavorless. The fruit is amazing!

All the other volunteers are really friendly and I made friends pretty quick. There are 12 total volunteers and 2 are boys. My roommates are really cool. Their names are: Nicole, Hannah, and Megan. We are the only room with 4 girls so I am on the top bunk.

There are three different casas here that we work in: Casa Alegria (little kids some with and some without disabilities), Casa Milagros (all disabled/handicapped males ages 15ish-21ish), and Casa Esperanza (children that cannot feed themselves, all in wheelchairs). Then there are two neighboring orphanages we visit, (Casas and Cunas) and then on Monday and Wednesday we have HML (a little girls’ orphanage).

Today was my first day working with the kids. (I was introduced to them yesterday.) My first shift was in Casa Milagros, and it was a little awkward at first, but I quickly made friends with one of the 15-year-old boys who has cerebral palsy and can only crawl. We played soccer together for hours. (He plays on his hands an knees.) I also love a little girl from Casa Alegria who is probably 2 or 3. She came up to me my first day and put her arms out for me to hold her. She is adorable! The kids melt your heart.

My second shift today was in Cuenas. It was awesome. Cuenas is where all the babies and toddlers live. They are all normally developing children. They are all so adorable. They eat a ton! They eat ate a giant bowl full of soup, probably more than I would eat, for dinner.

After my shift at Cuenas we went to HML. It was crazy loud and hectic, but we were only there for about an hora. We just do an activity with all the girls and then leave. I am super exhausted and it’s only day one of actual work. I will try to keep you all posted! Chao!