Queridos Familia y Amigos,
What a month it has been here in our barrio! We have had our share of exciting things happening right here in Oriente Quiteno! I will start from a few weeks back with the Guarderia. We had a few kids get sick (which happens pretty regularly) but they were really sick this time, so after they went to the doctor and came back to the Guarderia for classes for a few weeks, they let us know that they had Hepatitis. Now I think I’ve mentioned before about the sanitation at the Guarderia isn’t exactly up to our normal standards (I use my hand sanitizer quite frequently) but with this super communicable disease it didn’t take much time to spread from a couple kids to about 15. They asked all the parents to get their children tested and bring back a note from the medico before their kids continued attending classes. This worked out alright, but the damage had been done and the kids continued to ever so generously “share” their spoons, toothbrushes, suckers and Hepatitis when we (the profesoras) weren’t looking. So, we had a big cleaning with all the parents one Sunday morning and cloroxed everything – toys, tables, chairs, pencils … it was a relief to me, but they decided that the only way to stop the EPEDEMIC would be to vaccinate all the kids. Of course this vaccine is super expensive about $30 (which is like ¼ of a monthly salary for many of the families. So that is sort of unreasonable to ask of the parents. I took this opportunity to check my yellow card and was relieved to find out that I do have the Hepatitis vaccine but am due for a booster shot, which means I’m ok … for now! Speaking of salaries, we got into a really awkward conversation one day while drying the dishes after lunch and I was explaining my teaching job for next year to the other teachers. They asked about how much I would be paid and I was ashamed to tell them my salary, and felt especially guilty because we are always joking about how teacher’s are poorly paid in the US. At our school INFA (Instituto de Ninez y Familia) the govt. dept. pays our teachers $130 a month. One of the profesoras asked me, what are you going to do with all that money? So I feebly tried to explain about rent, bills, food, insurance and LOANS. I don’t think they were too convinced though, and it was quite a humbling experience to realize just how good we have it, even when we don’t realize it.
Another culture shock for me was the new law passed to help alleviate the traffic congestion during rush hours here in Quito. It’s called Pica y Placa (Pica signifying the peak hours and Placa signifying license plate). Here’s what I understand of how it works:
Each person who owns a private car has a 3 numbered license plate. Based on the last digit of your number you are prohibited from driving one day a week during “peak” hours: 7-9 a.m. 11-2 p.m. 4-8 p.m.or something like that. So, for example our buseta (van-like vehicle) ends in 8 and every Thursday we can’t drive it during those times or we are subject to a $80 fine. How crazy would it be if one week the govt. just up and decided you couldn’t drive your car one day a week. I just kept thinking, this would never happen at home, people would protest and there would be an outrage! Well, this wouldn’t be such a big deal for us here, except that we pick up about 1/3 of the kids that attend the guarderia everyday in our buseta. So … the solution that was found for this problem was that Don Gonzo, our driver, does the morning recorrido (route) in his own camioneta (sort of like a wheat truck). Yes, the kids are now riding around in the back of a large truck to get to school Thursday mornings, which can’t be that safe! In the afternoons we leave early to make it home before 4 and go flying around all the curves, its quite an adventure (to add to the excitement the children all scream whenever we speed over one of the “speed bumps”).
We’ve also been experiencing some weather phenomena. Nothing surprising there as tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and everything else seem to be more and more common lately. It doesn’t snow but hails (granizo) little hail stones. Usually they melt by the next day but last week we had quite the tormenta!!! The hail came so hard and fast that it came in along with the melting rain and flooded our house and the school. Luckily there wasn’t too much real damage, just a lot of shoveling (the granizo on the roof was coming in through our great ceiling window so we had to pitch it over the side of the roof!) and mopping! This combination also resulted in practically flooded streets in one part of the city and in our neighborhood, several buses and big trucks stuck in the snow/hail/slush. It was quite a mess as they are not used to dealing with this “winter weather” at all! The Senoras (and kids) at school enjoyed playing in it, as it is really unusual here and it has stayed around for a few days. It has been pretty chilly here after our summer like weather at the beginning of the week! Crazy KS like weather! This weekend I decided I was going to go to Banos a nearby town. But Mother Nature had other plans. Banos is in the valley below Volcano Tungurahua which decided to partially erupt yesterday covering Guayaquil and several other cities with volcanic ash. Luckily, I wasn’t there to witness that!
So instead I took a little day trip to San Rafael about 45 minutes out of the city to the house of Eduardo Kingman, another of Ecuador’s famous artists. I had a wonderful one on one tour guide and learned all about his life, family, paintings and house. His father was a Dr. from Kentucky and his mother Ecuadorian … I’m still not quite sure how his father got here. But nonetheless, he grew up here with his mother and brothers and sisters and after his father abandoned them and returned to the US, he started out as a woodworker making little wooden figures and painting them at the age of 8 to provide for his family. His house was Awesome (which he helped build part of)! It is built on the roots of 3 huge Eucalyptus trees and the floor of the house is always moving, there are many un-level floors to prove it! It overlooks the San Pedro River and his studios have huge windows open to the beautiful natural view. The original part of his house was an old bakery and you can still see the ovens and set up. He has some really incredible work and was a very socially realistic, humanistic painter. He was the teacher of Guayasamin another famous Ecuadorian artist, who Nicole and I are big fans of and it was neat to see his work and the influences and relation between the two.
My time here is winding down and I just try not to think about it. I love the people here so much and the culture and the lifestyle, its just really a different world. Sort of like going back in time, in reference to the mindset and traditions of the people. It’s beautiful to witness the simplicity and devotion of the daily life of our neighbors and the sisters. It is truly an unforgettable experience and I’m trying to really enjoy and not take for granted the time I have left. I have been reading the Seven Storey Mountain (autobiography of Thomas Merton) and it has been really moving to see his faith journey and walk along this path of self-discovery with him. Especially as through this experience I feel like I’m always learning more about myself and getting to know myself and God better. I spoke to the High School confirmation kids last week and they had a chance to ask me questions at the end. One young man asked me why I was Catholic. It was humbling and exciting to try to explain that to him – especially in Spanish! haha But made me glad that they were thinking about these things and willing to ask these questions and a good chance for me to reflect as well.
Praying for you all, that you may experience God in many little ways throughout your ordinary work and daily routines. He is always calling out to us and asking us to follow him in many simple little ways, how happy we are when we answer!
Amor a todos,
April

The Founding of the Assumption Sisters, Guayaquil and Mis Chilenos

La paz de nuestro Señor siempre esta con ustedes,
Wow … well it has been a great and crazy month. April is always wonderful! :) We had a lot to celebrate this April. First we went to a Mass at the Salesian sister’s house in the city in honor of St. Don Bosco. He is the patron of youth and worked to start schools for troubled and orphaned kids. He is one of the incorruptible saints which means, his body didn’t deteriorate after he died and is still perfectly preserved, SO … they have sent parts of him on “tour” around the world. And in Ecuador, we got his arm! haha It was in a glass case with a statue of his whole body … really crazy but cool. Next, we celebrated the founding of our Order the Religious of the Assumption by Saint Maria Eugenia April 30, 1839. We celebrated with the kids from school with a procession to the church followed by a play by the parents and a traditional dance by the teachers. Somehow I got included in both of those groups, but it was a fun time and the kids really enjoyed it. Sunday we celebrated an outdoor Mass at the school (all the kids running around outside was a bit distracting), then had a performance from a local dance group and a short program by the kids. They dressed up as people from all the different continents that the Assumption sisters are in the world, which was adorable! We celebrated my birthday at lunch with the teachers and a few of the parents and their children with ice cream and cake … delicious!
The next week was the conference for the Amigos de la Asuncion, the lay order. What that means is these people are married or single and make promises to live the charism of the Sisters of the Assumption in their daily lives and work. I went to Guayaquil (the biggest city) a couple days early and met up with the 11 from Chile to see the city! We had a fantastic time and enjoyed the sights: The market, Malecon - River walk, Cathedral, a look out over the city, and Park of the Iguanas (they just roam around all over and are covering the trees … insane! But you do have to watch out because they are frequently dropping little surprises from above!). One of my favorite tours was the Historical Park consisting of three parts: first you walk through a zoo-like area with typical coastal animals, then the “old town” where they’ve reconstructed buildings from the early 1900s and ending with the finca: casas de caña – houses made out of cane stalks, banana, platano, mandarine, cocoa and cane trees. That part was fun because they had actors acting like they lived in the houses and the one man tried to “buy” us in exchange for 4 hens. :) We also got to meet Mayi’s parents (She’s the sister in charge of the Ecuador – Chile Province) and have a delicious, practically Thanksgiving Dinner at their house. The food just kept coming.
The night of the 30th we had a beautiful Mass at the colegio (K-12 school) the sisters run and afterwards a big celebration complete with a Mariachi band, each group presenting a traditional dance (I danced with the Quito group! haha), the Chilenos dancing, singing and giving out samples of their wine, cheese, raisins, nuts and desserts and ending with a giant dance party. I went out that night with one of the girls who was a past volunteer here in Quito, the priest (a young Brasilian) and her friends. They kept joking about how NOW I could experience the night life of Ecuador as people in Quito don’t really go out at night. They say its because of the cold, which is Definitely Not a problem in Guayaquil. I felt like it was July in Kansas with even more humidity! But, it was a fantastic time! I attended parts of the conference the next two days and learned more about the projects each community runs. I’m not going to lie, I loved it when everyone thought I was Chilena and asked if one of the older couples from Chile were my parents. haha For once I fit in! I’ve decided I’m going to go visit these wonderful new friends before I leave. Not sure when, but it will happen! I just love them!
They came back with us on Sunday to see La Capital of Quito and stayed in our house this week. It’s a bit of a change from 5 of us to 16! haha but we enjoyed having a full house, praying together, and had a special Mass and supper one night at the house. I went with them Wednesday night to see the Traditional Ballet, because I had never gone yet! It was incredible; some of the dances were similar to ones I’d seen, but there were more of the indigenous dances including one with a deer hunt that was awesome, and way more dancers than I’d ever seen. This particular group presents year round every Wed. night, so they were really prepared and it was quite a show!
I can’t believe I only have 2 months left here. I’m looking forward to being home and seeing everyone, but I don’t even like to think about leaving. It’s just such a beautiful country, full of incredible people. I was stopped on my way back from school yesterday in the midst of my rushing home by the beautiful sight of the Andes Mountains surrounding me on all sides. I just love looking out the window and seeing that! God is good and has used this time with the Chilenos to help me re-adjust to life without Nicole and really become more comfortable. I’ve had to use so much more Spanish in the last few weeks, but it’s been really good. I also have been reflecting on how God has blessed me with so many amazing people in my life. My meditation yesterday was about friendship and I was thinking of all the new friends from here, and at home I’m so looking forward to seeing. What a beautiful thing it is to experience God’s love through those around us. I’m so thankful for each one of you and just praying for you a lot!
May you know God’s love for you,
April