Stephen and Jodi Parker Family – Page 4

Dia Cuatro

Church Building

Casas and Cunas Building

Hello all! Today was crazy! So my first shift was in Milagros. We helped the kids eat breakfast and we dressed two for church. After that we got about 10 min. to change and get ourselves ready for church.

We took a taxi bus to la inglesia and it was like 15 min. away. The chapel was a separate building from the entrance, and the sacrament meeting as in Spanish. One of the boys from Milagros got to help pass the sacrament. It was really cool to watch.

I sat by the little girl who peeshed on the playground yesterday and she was quite the distraction.

After church we went back to the same Casas and helped with papilla. (Snack) We also fed them lunch. I got to help the oldest and slowest inhabitant of the orphanage. He took 45 min. and then some. He was in a really good mood today and he kept laughing and smiling at me. He would also make little clicking noises with his mouth when he was ready for his next bite. The best is when he would make kissy noises at me in between bites. Apparently he doesn’t usually do that and Heather was teasing him about flirting with me. Haha too bad he is like 25…😁😉

Another dweller of Milagros who is the second oldest (22) has about a million warts on his hands. Today during washing before lunch two fell off into the water and Heather and I were doing all we could to keep from vomiting.

My second shift was at Casas. It was crazy and I never want to go back. The kids are all 2-12ish and they all speak only Spanish. Lucky for me Nicole was working with me and she is one of the best Spanish speaking volunteers here. (Around 4 people here are fluent in Spanish, and a few more understand and know a majority of phrases.)

We attempted to show a movie in Casas but the kids only sat for like half an hour. The rest of the time was spent screaming and fighting over books and hitting each other. I got home and was so tired.

Let let it be known that Amber is a life saver and we had a great chat after shift today where she pretty much watched me lose it over my experience at Casas. I never want to go back!! I will probably get over it because I understand that the kids aren’t growing up in ideal circumstance and they lack disipline. For now though, I pray to never be scheduled there again. 😭😞

On a brighter note we had potatoes for dinner and I felt like I was in Idaho again. I discovered we truly do have the best potatoes. Also the ketchup here is discusting. Anyways…I am still enjoying my time spent with my fellow volunteers and I am definitely going to grow thanks to this experience. Hugs and kisses from Cuenca! ❤️

Dia Tres

Today started with a workout at 5 am with Logan. Heather was supposed to be there, but her alarm didn’t go off. I am just as surprised as you probably are that I was able to get up. I am seriously exhausted.

Here is a picture of the outside of the place I work. I can’t take pictures of the kids, or even take my phone to shift. Sorry for the lack of detail on the kids. 😞

My first shift was in Casa Alegria, so I spent the morning hanging out with the little kids. One of the little girls sat and cried the entire time. Another one is kind of like a 3-year-old mom to all the other little kids. There are two sets of siblings in Alregria and they are super cute. We spent the day hanging out and watching Despicable Me in English, but in black and white.

I got to hang out with the older brother of one set of siblings. He is 3ish years old but he looks and talks like a baby. He is also def and unable to walk. On my first day their mom came to visit, but she only wanted to take the “normal” daughter, but the Rossero’s said no bueno.

Between my two shifts I took a nap because I was so exhausted. Luckily I woke up before shift.

During my second shift at Esperanza we played hide and go seek for two hours! It was actually pretty fun. I hid with a little girl who is the crazy devil child of the orphanage. She is a normally developing child physically, but she was severly sexually abused and is still kidnapped by her father sometimes.

She totally peeshed on the ground by the swings today and then let out a huge pedo while we were hiding. On the bright side she told me I was “so cute” today and she is known for telling the volunteers that they are ugly. Yay! Haha

The Tia working in Esperanza today was super hard to read. She reminded me of Rosa the adopted mother in the book theif. I was feeding one of the boys and he knocked his bowl out of my hands and onto the floor. The bowl was practically empty, but it spilled a tiny bit. I thought she was going to eat me. Luckily I think she was more upset with him.

Another boy I was feeding took about 40 minutes to eat and he still hadn’t finished so we just threw out the rest.

Tonight we watched Castaway. It is good to hear and watch something American. I am super excited to go to church tomorrow. We take all the kids so the sacrament meeting is in Spanish, but I think I will still get the jist and feel the spirit. One of the kids actually graduated seminary today or he will tomorrow. Things are good here and I love the place!

Dia Dos

So today my morning shift was in Casa Esperanza. IT has probably been my favorite place to work so far, despite the smell of peesh. (That’s the Spanish word we use for pee.)There are a lot of things the kids from this Casa need help with. We fed, showered, dressed, walked, brushed their teeth, and did all of their hair. My afternoon shift was an off so I went into town with Nik and Magan. I love Megan. She is awesome! Nik loves himself more than anyone or anything in the world. No joke. He spent around 5 hours taking and editing selfies. He even bought a bouquet of roses to take pictures with.😐😳👎🏼 We bought souvenirs and chatos. Chatos is an Ecuadorian dessert of fruit kabob dipped in chocolate. We also tried the meringue cones, and they were not very bueno. I still love it here, and everyday it gets easier to bond with the kids and other volunteers. My Spanglish is really improving!

Tonight we made homemade empanadas. They were amazing! Don’t worry I will make them for you when I come home! Also my roommate Megan and I went running and did some other exercises and it felt good,to but it is harder to breathe with the altitude change. (It is about 8,000 feet here) I am also going to try and exercise in the morning with Logan and Heather, but they go at 5..that will be an adjustment..

Haha Hasta Luego! Meringue Cone Chatos Cathedral Door, below is the cathedral Calle in Cuenca

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!

4 days to go…

Departure for Cuenca set for Monday, June 15th @ 5:20pm.

a girl with big plans

Mindy Gledhill’s song “whole wide world” seems to be an accurate representation of my attitude about life, so much so that I used it for the premise of this blog. 🙂

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URR_4i5gIFU?rel=0&showinfo=0&w=560&h=315]

The Great European Adventure

My dad and I went on an amazing three week european adventure in April/May 2015. First stop was a quick layover in London, England; then to Stavenger, Norway the next day to visit Astrid (our former exchange student) and her family.

Big Ben

London Bridge

bad night’s sleep in the london airport

The Gudmestad Family: Astrid, Jone, Elin, & Eilert

fish soup

Astrid and her boyfriend Roar

sheep at the farm

sisters

the gudmestad home

Next, Paris France…Astrid came with us.

Notre Dame

Eiffel Tower

Our hotel room was tiny!

Sacre Couer

Arc De Triumph

Mona Lisa Selfie

The Louvre

Then on to Amsterdam Netherlands…the hostel experience was NOT a highlight.

Spain on Cinco de Mayo felt appropriate.

We drove through the Swiss Alps listening to the sound of music. Switzerland, Germany, and Austria were probably my favorite countries.

Italian food in Italy and all of the historical sites were amazing.

Project 9: Portfolio

[scribd id=260787056 key=key-lz1NcPqnNdub3i8jnfHC mode=book]

Project Corrections / Time Spent: I spent an hour and a half designing a new layout for a Resume. I found that it was important to choose a color scheme that was bright and contrasted with the white font. Using Adobe Photoshop to delete the background off of simple images of an envelope, map pin, and telephone helped me be able to get images that would work into my design; turning it into a vector graphic in Illustrator was the final touch. Deciding to make corrections on my Event Ad, I spent well up to one hour improving the proximity and alignment of my text and gradient lines. The corrections gave me an opportunity to perfect my Ad and possibly use it as a template for future design needs as I am a volunteer for this organization.

Message: There will be a time in the future that I will need and want to showcase my work in a professional way. Using a bold, structured, and clean design I was able to highlight my designs while displaying my personality.

Audience: Potential client and employers.

Top Thing Learned: Using the FOCUS principles and having a basic understanding of the Adobe Suite Software, even a novice can produce impressive designs.

Future application of Visual Media: I plan on using these skills to communicate positive messages whenever and wherever required of me.

Color scheme and color names: Complementary, Teal & Brick

Title Font Name & Category: Oswald – Sans Serif

Copy Font Name & Category: Garamond – Serif

Thumbnails of Images used:

Project 8: Brochure

Front

Inside

Inside Flap

Back

Description:
A two sided (duplex) square trifold brochure.

Process (Programs, Tools, Skills):

I set up the square trifold template in Adobe InDesign using measurements and a layout I found on the internet. I knew I wanted a brochure that when opened would display three panels enabling me to visually showcase the acronym of my logo through the “body” of the brochure. I really liked the idea of using a square design to have my brochure more unique.

I used squares throughout the brochure to create repetition and flow and tie in my color scheme. I deliberately clipped my images to omit the background to create more of a flat design feel and keep things simple.

For each image I used the ‘quick selection tool’ in Adobe Photoshop to remove the background of the image. I then used the ‘refine mask’ dialogue box to smooth and apply contrast to the outline of images. The changes I made in the ‘refine mask’ dialogue box made a softer image – I especially like how the runner turned out and the whisps from her ponytail are more natural. I then ‘placed’ the images into InDesign where I used the ‘text wrap’ option to wrap my text around the ‘alpha channel’ of the runner and the happy sleeping man.

I created the simple SEE logo in Adobe Illustrator using the shape tool with fill and text which would match my color scheme. I then placed it into InDesign on the front and back covers.

Programs/Tools Used: Adobe InDesign/Adobe Illustrator/Adobe Photoshop

Message: Inform my audience about three key elements that are key to a healthy life. I created a slogan, “SEE yourself healthy” that I felt would help my audience be able to connect to and remember after they put down my brochure.

Audience: This brochure was designed to appeal to persons aged 12+.

Top Thing Learned: How to create and successfully print a trifold layout in InDesign for a square brochure. I also learned how to clip images in Photoshop, and wrap text around an image in InDesign.

Color scheme and color names: Tetradic: brick, violet, lime, and teal

Title Font Name & Category: Myriad Pro / Regular / Sans serif

Copy Font Name & Category: Palatino / Regular/ Serif

Word count: 360

Thumbnails of Images used:

Sources (Links to images on original websites):

http://www.laserspinewellness.com/news/rise-shine-and-stretch/

http://oliveiraispwebsite.weebly.com/dietary.html

http://lifechangetherevolution.com/perfectionism/

http://www.popsugar.com/fitness/Best-Exercises-Stretches-Runners-34647113

Project 7: Web Page

Description:
A web page designed to showcase a personally created logo.

Process (Programs, Tools, Skills):
By using only TextWrangler I was able to produce this simple webpage. I had never before written in HTML or CSS. It was interesting to learn how the different tags work together to create the final outcome. I liked having the HTML and CSS validators, found on the web, to help me see where a mistake was made. When deciding the design process I considered the importance of the FOCUS design principles I have learned: Formulate a Plan, Organize the Layout, Contrast the Elements, Unify the Parts, and Simplify the Message.

I actually began this process by updating a previous logo I had made. I easily did this by opening Illustrator and modifying an existing design. I added a new company name underneath an existing image and then selected a new color scheme. After doing this, I was ready to mark up my content in HTML and import my new design, then I attached a pre-made CSS document to my HTML. I then went into Photoshop and used the eye dropper tool to find the correct hex code to correctly match the colors from my logo. I inserted the correct hex# to where I wanted the color. I also changed my fonts to Tall Dark and Handsome and PT Sans. I declared some backup fonts just in case the viewer’s browser didn’t have these fonts. I also used breaks before and after the logo and so that it would not be too close to the body. I eventually coded a table in my HTML document so as to move my body text inward and allow enough room from the double border without effecting the H1 in the body. Understanding how to mark the HTML and CSS together to make this happen was the most difficult part of the process for me.

Programs/Tools Used: TextWrangler, Illustrator, and Photoshop

Message: That lioness communications is a resource for those seeking “only the good report”.

Audience: Anyone in the world desiring a positive or uplifting message.

Top Thing Learned: How to use CSS and HTML together to design a basic web page.

Color scheme and color hex: Complementary: Brick #eb652f; Teal #47a69d; White #FFFFFF; Gray Gradient: #555555 to #2e2e2e; Black to Gray Gradient: #000000 to #555555.

Title Font & Category: Tall Dark and Handsome; Sans Serif

Copy Typeface, Font, & Category: PT Sans, PT Sans Regular, Sans Serif

Changes made to the CSS: I changed the font families, and I also changed the colors to match my logo. I added a gradient background to both the body and background. Additionally a double border was instituted to complement the design. I noticed that my websites default color was set to a purple, which conflicted with the flow of my color scheme. I did some asking and found out how to make that brick so as to repeat my color scheme. I also found it necessary to bring the text in the body in on both sides and used a table to accomplish this task.

Word Count: 286