Girls/Boys Program.

One of my favorite/most challenging parts of being a volunteer at the WBC is Girls Program. If you’ve been keeping up with my blog, you’ll know that I was originally responsible for 18 fourth-grade girls. We made craft projects (headbands and Christmas ornaments), the girls took showers (always an adventure), and we finished the day with reading/computer class.

A little over a month ago, a contract the WBC had with the government ended and we lost a bunch of teachers. We’re all hoping they are able to renew the contract for next year but until then, the Boys Program has been cancelled and combined with the Girls Program making me the proud new owner of 24 fourth grade boys!

Depending on the grade level, Girls Program projects included bracelets, rosaries, hand-made cards, holiday decorations, etc. The boys learned how to make soap/shampoo, chocolate, hand-made cards, candles, and carpentry. The programs are a great way to keep the kids occupied while teaching them valuable skills and giving them an opportunity to earn a little money. The crafts that the girls made became my responsibility to sell to visiting groups and then once everything was sold, I would pay them for their work. While facilitating a sewing project for 18 fourth grade girls was oftentimes pure chaos, I loved seeing what they made and they loved having a little extra money to buy something they enjoyed.

Now that the programs are combined, the schedule looks like this…

2:00-3:00 pm Recess.
We are the only class on the playground at that time so it has given me the opportunity to get to know the boys a little better. All of the kids are still at a fun age when they love to play on the swing set and just run around being kids.

3:00-3:30 pm Showers.
Facilitating showers for 18 girls was hard enough but throwing the boys into the mix has made shower program extra challenging. Once the kids are all lined up in a semblance of order, the shower program coordinator signs them in and they are given soap and a towel. I am then responsible for putting shampoo in their hair and for some kids, it’s a surprise/battle every. single. day. On my better days, I lovingly tell them that using shampoo is for their own personal hygiene and that it’s fun to play with the bubbles in their hair…on my exhausted/no patience left/scary-crazy teacher days I just end up yelling “IT’S GOING IN YOUR HAIR OR IN YOUR EYES, YOU CHOOSE!” Again, not my finest hour…but effective.

The kids have 30 minutes to get showered and dressed and since there aren’t enough shower stalls for all of them, they end up sharing (obviously boys/girls have separate bathrooms). It’s funny to see how dramatic choosing a shower buddy (or 3) can be. Some of the girls like to shower alone but most of them like to cram into one stall leaving 4 other stalls completely empty. I shout out countdowns with how much time they have left (which is almost as effective as shouting at a brick wall) and hurry them along so we can get to our next class on time. Many of the kids at the center don’t have running water at home so this program is crucial and although it’s oftentimes frustrating, I always try to keep things in perspective.

3:30-4:15 pm Reading.
The kids are all reading the same book and they are supposed to read in silence but that almost never happens. As long as they are being respectful and making an effort to read, I don’t care if they talk quietly amongst themselves. Some days they are more into the book than others…

4:15-5:00 pm Study Hall.
Usually the kids have homework they can finish and if they are working well, I’ll let them leave a little early. By that point in the day, I’m so exhausted that as long as they aren’t threatening to burn the building down, I really don’t care what they do. The boys love coloring and the girls love putting on makeup and playing with my hair.

Girls Program requires a lot of patience and hard work but these girls have become like my sisters/daughters. They have shown me unconditional love and I would take a bullet for any one of them. I have only had the boys with me for about a month now but I’m getting to know them better every day and while they are also challenging, they are equally sweet and super funny.

Since Girls/Boys Program is such a huge part of my week, I thought it would be fun to share some details/stories and introduce you to the kids.

Hands-down, my favorite part of our new schedule is recess. Since we are the only grade on the playground during that hour, my name gets called at least 500 times.

 “KELLY! PUSH ME ON THE SWINGS!”

“KELLY! HELP ME/SAVE ME!” (from the monkey bars).

“KELLY! SO-AND-SO IS BOTHERING ME!”

“KELLY! KELLY! KELLY! CAN I TAKE PICTURES WITH YOUR PHONE?!”

“KELLY! PICK ME UP!”

“KELLY! CAN I GO TO THE BATHROOM?”

“KKKKKKKEEEEELLLLLLLLYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!”

The list is endless.

While the kids are a lot of fun to play with, they also require a lot of attention and sometimes, discipline. Discipline is not my favorite part of teaching but as long as they are “on my watch,” I consider myself responsible for their safety/well-being and sometimes that requires some tough love. As my Spanish is improving, I try to vary my technique, but I have developed a few frequently-used “Kelly-isms.”

“You Have Two Options.”

I use this one more than I would like to admit but it’s incredibly effective. Whenever a kid is misbehaving/not working/doing something stupid I tell them they have “two options” which…SURPRISE…is really just one. For example: “you have two options…you can either do your work and finish your project like the rest of the class or you can go hang out with the principal for the next two hours…it’s your choice.” Works every time.

“What’s the magic word?”

I also insist that my kids say please and thank-you. The conversation usually goes as follows…

**student sticks hand out**
“Pencil”

**I look at them like they are insane**
“WHAT DO YOU SAY???”

“...Kelly, can I PLEASE have a pencil?”

“OF COURSE!”

By now they have finally caught on that they aren’t getting sh*t without first saying please. Is this what it feels like to turn into your parents?? THEY’LL THANK ME LATER!

“BE CAREFUL!”

There’s one of me and 42 of them. You do the math.

“Alright, who has my phone?”

If I’m in a particularly good mood, I’ll let the kids play with my phone and since it doesn’t have any games, they use it to take pictures. Most of the kids haven’t caught on that when you hold down the photo button for an extended period of time, it takes 1,000 pictures which means when I finally get my phone back, I spend at least 20 minutes deleting duplicate pictures and laughing at their failed attempts to take selfies.

(So close! Literally.)

“What did you learn in school today?”

Parents of the world, I now know how excruciatingly painful it is to hear “nothing” when you ask your kids what they learned in school that day. NOTHING? COOL! SO GLAD I’M WORKING MY ASS OFF TO PAY FOR YOUR EDUCATION, KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK! 

“You have three seconds to (fill in the blank)”

My kids may know exactly how to push my buttons and I may have to transform into “scary teacher” from time-to-time but I always give them plenty of hugs, kisses, and attention and I love them like they are my own. 

And now, since it’s been a whole month since my last blog, I thought I’d make this post extra long and tell you more about the girls (once I get to know the boys better, I’ll post about them as well!)

Introducing…

Ruby

Ruby is a classic tomboy. She almost always has a soccer ball in her hands and the only thing she loves more than hanging out with the older kids is skipping Girls Program. In her defense, she doesn’t do it to be malicious; I think she just genuinely doesn’t care about making craft projects and she’d rather be outside playing soccer with the boys. I can’t count how many times I've shown up to Girls Program and Ruby isn't there so I’ll walk down to the playground and she’ll be there just chilling with a big smile on her face like “yep, got me again…okay let’s do this thing.” Ruby is hilarious and she always makes my day more interesting.

(Hanging out in the park)

(Making some headbands)

Domenica

Domenica is wise beyond her years and by far my best worker/top earner. She made the big “mistake” of showing me how talented she is so now whenever another girl is struggling with sewing and my hands are busy, I convince Domenica to go help her. She pretends to be put-out but I know she not-so-secretly loves the power. Domenica is super sweet and I’ll be honest, she could light all of the projects on fire and I still wouldn’t be angry because she could re-make all of them in an hour and I’d be able to sell them twice as fast.

(You can have whatever you like!)

Roccio

Roccio is my little snuggle-bug…she is seriously the sweetest. She is usually very shy and solemn so I make it my personal goal to make her laugh/smile every day. She always finds a way onto my lap and she loves wiggling her way under my arm or making sure she’s first in line so when we walk to class she can hold my hand. I love Roccio so much and I know teachers/parents aren’t supposed to have favorites but whatever...she’s my favorite.

(Spotted: a rare Roccio smile!)

(Snuggles)

(Sweetheart!)

Lola

Lola is a bucket full of sass but also very sweet. Lola always arrives 15 minutes late with her mom or sister by her side ready to explain yet again, why she wasn’t able to make it to class on time. At this point I have stopped listening to her stories and simply remind her that class starts at 2:00 pm and encourage her to try harder next time. Lola pretends to be grumpy but the second I start tickling her or pushing her on the swing, she squeals out “KELLLLYYYYY!” with the biggest smile on her face and we’re buddies for the rest of the day.

(waiting for me to rescue her)

Luisa

Luisa is a tiny little peanut and she knows exactly how cute she is. Luisa is very sweet but she’s also feisty. She loves being the first one in line so she can hold my hand and if she’s not the first one there, she’ll try to push her way to the front. She also loves tattling which, when I actually care about who did what, is incredibly helpful but for the most part, just becomes white noise. Luisa also has this incredibly “adorable” tendency to ask me if I’m pregnant. I don’t know what the deal is but if I have a slightly big lunch or wear a specific outfit, she runs up to me and kisses my stomach and asks if there’s a baby in it. NO, LUISA! A THOUSAND TIMES NO! She’s so stinkin’ cute I can’t stay mad at her for long.

(How can you say no to this face?)

(This photo cracks me up because the other girls are trying to look serious and Luisa is just off in her own little world of rainbows and smiles.)

Veronica

Veronica is also very tiny, she looks like she could be 4, and she missed a lot of Girls Program because for an extended period of time she was very sick. I try not to but I inevitably baby Veronica because I feel bad she was sick and also, she’s adorable. Veronica is hilarious because “honey badger don’t give a f*ck.” She’s still finishing the headband she started the first week of school and I have a hunch it will still be unfinished at the end of the year. Veronica shows up when she wants and does what she wants but she cracks me up and I love having her around. 

(Bottom left)

Genesis

Genesis and Luisa have an ongoing beef over who can get more of my attention and they are both winning. Genesis loves playing on the monkey bars but I don’t think she has ever made it all the way across. She loves getting halfway then dramatically yelling for me to come save her which I begrudgingly do every single time. Also, I’m not particularly sure why, but Genesis is fascinated with my arm/leg hair. Honestly, if I go one day without shaving my legs she will sit next to me and pet my leg until I tell her to go play with her friends and even then, I can see her glancing over to make sure I’m still there. Genesis is an odd bird...but I love her.

(bottom left)

Shirley

Shirley is the Gretchen Wieners of my Girls Program. If you haven’t seen Mean Girls and don’t understand that reference, it’s on Netflix…just do it. Just as Voldemort thrives off the blood of unicorns, Shirley thrives off the attention/acceptance of the other cool girls. I try to leave her be because there’s nothing more un-cool than following the rules but deep down I know she likes me and every once in a while she’ll sneak me a hug. Shirley’s favorite way to annoy me is playing the dinosaur game on Google that automatically comes up when there’s no internet available (which in the library, is always). She’s also the one that gave me lice so…there’s that. By the end of the year I’m going to make Shirley like me, and not just in her subtle cool-girl way…in a real “I’m happy you are in the world” way.

(Top right)

(Sassafras!)

Melany

If Shirley is the Gretchen Wieners of Girls Program, Melany is Regina George. Melany is undeniably the queen bee and what she says goes. Example “A” Melany brought her little brother to Girls Program one day and when I asked her what the deal was, she stated very matter-of-factly that he would be staying with us that day and I didn’t have the energy to disagree.

(Melany's brother...just hanging out)

Melany LOVES putting on makeup, especially right before taking a shower (which makes absolutely no sense) and she loves wearing her tiny high-heels into the shower. Melany is super sweet and also really funny. She has this “precious” habit of coughing/sneezing with her mouth open and one day, when I was telling her for the hundredth time to “cover your mouth!” she sneezed directly into my mouth and basically reached the back of my throat. Honestly, I think I was sick three hours later. When that happened, the look on her face was of pure panic and in that moment I knew… "I’m the captain now…"

 (Boss)

(Regina George is flawless)

Camilla

Camilla and I are currently in an epic showdown and I’m not gonna lie…I’m not sure I’m going to win. Camilla has super long hair and hates taking showers. She tries to only wash her hair and skip washing the rest of her body but I inevitably find out and we inevitably argue until she finally gives in and just takes a real shower. Camilla does this extremely annoying hand gesture which is a mix between “talk to the hand” and “calm down.” She pairs it with “yea, yea” and it literally drives me INSANE. Camilla loves wearing makeup, she loves brushing her long hair, and for a fourth grader, she is very beautiful. She reminds me a lot of Kourtney Kardashian but I’ll be damned if I let Kourtney Kardashian boss me around. She’s currently on a “time-out” from Girls Program until she decides she’s ready to listen and respect the rules. As of right now..she’s not. To be continued.

 (Loving the selfies)

(Ruining Camilla's glamour shot)

Sury

Sury is hilarious and requires SO MUCH ATTENTION. She never says my name just once, she always shouts KELLY KELLY KELLY! before asking even the simplest question. Sury loves telling me what her mom thinks about everything which is the equivalent of my mom telling me what Oprah thinks. Sury is also SO SLOW when it comes to showering and every day she wears these ridiculously tall lace-up boots that take 20 minutes to tie and every ounce of my patience not to burn. Sury! Sury! Sury! You're lucky you're cute. 

(Recess)

(making new friends!)

Tiffany

Tiffany loves swinging on the swing set and is as cute as a button. She is very quiet but she always makes me laugh. The other day she was playing with a water balloon in art class and when I walked over to confiscate it, she shoved the sizeable water balloon into her mouth. I had to walk away I was trying so hard not to laugh…where did she think it was going to go?

 (Having fun on the swings)

(This sweater though...teacher in the making!)

Jocelyn
Jocelyn is new to Girls Program and new to fourth grade. She was moved down a grade but she’s very sweet and helps me keep the girls in line. I don’t know Jocelyn very well but I can’t wait to get to know her better!

Jannela
Jannela is super loving but also super sassy. She is like Jekyll and Hyde in that I never know which one I’m going to get. Jannela likes to pretend she’s a tough girl and I’ll be honest, she does get sent to the office more than anyone else, but she’s also very sweet. My favorite memory of Jannela was when she was crossing the monkey bars and her pants fell down, she was screaming for me to come catch her and I did but not before we both enjoyed a good laugh.

Damaris

The only thing Damaris loves more than playing with my phone is playing with my hair. I’m constantly reminding her that there is, in fact, a head under all that hair to which she responds “yea yea” as she continues to tug my hair into submission until she has achieved the perfect braid. One day during Girls Program we were having a party for my birthday and I brought in snacks/soda. Damaris spilled soda all over her pants so I hung them out the window and made my sweatshirt into some make-shift pants until her pants were dry. She was so cute showing off her sweatshirt-pants.

 (Sweatshirt-pants...patent pending)

 (Snuggling while watching Frozen)

(Reading with a visiting group)

Michaela

Michaela is also one of the “cool girls” but she is so sweet and a fiercely loyal friend. She loves wandering off to go buy candy and is always asking me to push her on the swings but only by her feet. Michaela LOVES taking selfies but her selfies always make me laugh because they are so close up and almost always with a kissing/duck face. Honestly, I could make an album of 1,000 pictures titled “Michaela selfies.”

 (Playing with my umbrella)

 (In her natural state)

(Model behavior!)

Gata
Gata’s actual name is Damaris but she goes by Gata “call me…kitty cat…” Gata loves practicing her English with me and no matter what I say she almost always responds with “I am good.”

“Hi Gata, how’s it going?”

“I am good.”

“Can you pass me the scissors?”

“I am good.”

“What did you eat for lunch?”

“I am good.”

So precious.

Gata loves telling me I have “cat eyes” which I have heard from a few kids here because 99% of Ecuadorians have brown eyes so when they see someone with a different eye color, they have usually only seen that color in the eyes of an animal. She also loves to pretend to find lice in my hair…literally, she’ll walk up to me, pretend to pull something from my scalp, and yell “piojo! piojo!”…classic. Gata also does funny impressions of me, here was one I captured on my phone.

 (Gata's favorite pose)

(One time I accidentally hit her in the face with a soccer ball...she rallied)

Allison

Allison is maybe one of the funniest kids I have ever met. She has the most mischievous smirk/smile and she’s always cracking herself up which is why if she were 17 years older, we would be best friends. Allison loves running around the bathroom butt naked during shower program and she loves taking extremely long showers. She’s the one I asked to help look for lice (when I actually had it) and she’s always the first person I give my phone to because she takes hilarious pictures. Allison loves being pushed on the swings and she always gives me sloppy wet kisses. She frequently wears brightly colored leggings so I can spot her from a mile away and she is always eating (again, best friends). I love Allison and I hope I have daughters just like her!

(Breakfast of champions)

(Always snacking - my spirit animal)

(scaring a visitor into thinking he has lice...he didn't)

Some group shots

Don't go chasing waterfalls.

About a month ago we had a long weekend so we decided to take a trip to Baños. For those of you who took Spanish in high school and are thinking "doesn't baños mean bathroom?" you are correct. The actual name of the city is Baños de Agua Santa which means "Baths of Sacred Water." 

We woke up early our first morning to go canyoning but our trip had been delayed so we had a few hours to kill. We walked around town which is nestled in the mountains, and took an impromptu trip to the zoo. As far as wildlife goes, the zoo wasn't anything spectacular but the exhibits were primarily outside and provided amazing views of the mountains. At many points throughout our zoo trip, I couldn't help but notice that if any one of these animals wanted to escape, they easily could. The walls weren't exactly un-scalable and there was no netting/roof preventing them from jumping out but alas, we were not privy to a daring jaguar escape that day. 

One of the best views was from a bridge that hung between two parts of the mountain. This particular bridge is known for "bridge jumping" which sounds like bungee jumping except there is no "bungee" chord, it's literally just a rope. Rhiannon had jumped off this bridge last year and said if you jump correctly (a.k.a, actually jump) it is really fun and only mildly uncomfortable (a few bruises where the harness rests) but if you refuse to jump (a.k.a fall straight down like the other volunteer did) it's incredibly painful and not something you'd likely try again. I decided to take a hard pass on the "fancy jump rope swing" and decided to prolong death at least a few more years. I wish I had taken more any pictures during this trip but I never remembered to bring my phone so I only have a few pictures from other people but the plan is to return to Baños when my parents come to visit in February so I'll post some more then, it truly is a beautiful city. 

(Pailón Del Diablo)

Our first big "adventure experience" was repelling down waterfalls, also known as canyoning. Baños is a popular tourist town so many of the streets are lined with shops all promoting fun touristy things. Luckily, Rhiannon is friends with one of the guides so we were able to book things really easily and we had a fun guide to show us around. When we arrived at the shop it was fairly warm outside and we were given wetsuits, shoes, helmets, and harnesses. Squeezing into a wetsuit in front of six other people is essentially my worst nightmare but we were all able to laugh at each other and we are all still alive. The shoes they gave us were basically worn-down Keds which made hiking up the mountain to get to the first waterfall super fun. 

Once we were finally geared up we jumped in the back of a pickup truck and rode halfway up the mountain. We had two guides with us, I can't remember the name of the main guide but the assistant was named Hannah. Hannah is from Germany, looks like she weighs 90 pounds soaking wet, and could easily pass as a well-developed 13-year-old. Adorable forrest-dwelling fairy? Yes. Capable of repelling a fully-grown human down a waterfall? TBD. When I asked Hannah how long she had been leading tours she reassured me that she had done this particular route hundreds of times and that I had nothing to worry about...more on that later. 

We had about 5 minutes of training on land and when I say training, we watched the guide pretend to repel against a tree. We never actually touched the equipment until we were at the top of the first waterfall - safety first! Normally, I'm pretty brave when it comes to these sort of things but when I looked over the edge of the first waterfall, I panicked. Not only was I certain that I had misunderstood the instructions that, by the way, were all said in Spanish, but I couldn't see what I was about to repel down and I had Hannah-the-size-of-a-banana as my lifeline. 

The other volunteers made it down no problem and they also made it look fairly easy. Rhiannon had done this route before and Sean climbs rocks for fun (lame) so they essentially glided down the waterfall like they had done this a million times. When I was finally attached to the safety rope and teetering on the precipice the guide asked me how I was feeling and I managed to blurt out "SCARED!" He laughed and said "good, me too." Oh look everyone, we have a guide AND a comedian! I finally understood the term white-knuckling and I was completely paralyzed in fear. It didn't help that everyone else was already at the bottom yelling words of encouragement. I DON'T WANT YOUR PITY CHEERS, JUST LOOK AWAY AND LEAVE ME HERE TO DIE. 

 (Pretending to be brave)

(Moments before I beefed it and drank half a waterfall)

Knowing that "down" was the only way down, I stepped over the edge and slowly but surely made my way down the waterfall. Apparently, there's a right way to hold onto the rope (one hand in front, one hand behind your back gently guiding you down) and a wrong way to hold the rope (basically everything I was doing - hanging on for dear life with both hands in front with the rope slowly and painfully sliding through my death grip). After what felt like three hours but was more realistically three minutes, I made it to the bottom to the excited/relieved faces of the other volunteers. I thought to myself, "I can be done with this now" but there were still four waterfalls to go. What followed was essentially a how-not-to-repel-down-a-waterfall informational video and I was the leading lady. I only lost my footing once but luckily, Hannah turned out to be more than capable of holding me up and we had a good laugh about it at the bottom. 

When we finally made it down the last waterfall, I gave Hannah a hug and thanked her for a fun day. She laughed and told me she had a confession to make - this was actually her second day on the job. She knew I was scared and didn't want me to be nervous so she "fibbed" and said she had done this hundreds of times. Oh Hannah...YOU HILARIOUS JOKESTER. At that point, my life was no longer in her hands so we were able to laugh about it but for future reference Hannah, that is NEED TO KNOW INFORMATION. 

 (Look! No hands!)

 (We made it!)

 (Hannah)

 (Regretting every life decision I have ever made)

 (Always a lady)

 (Rhiannon and I at the bottom of the "slide")

(Que viva Ecuador!)

That night we ate dinner at a local brewery then went out on the town for some drinks/dancing. We stopped at a "bar" that was fully-lit and had a single pool table in the middle of the room and they literally only sold $.50 tequila shots (only in Ecuador).

The next morning we woke up a little hungover and ready for our next excursion, rafting! Once again we geared up in wetsuits, Keds, and helmets, and boarded a bus to ride down the mountain to the river. Rhiannon's friend was our rafting guide and our group was large enough to fill one of the five boats. We spent the first 30 minutes on land learning the different signals from the guide and then we launched our boat into a calm part of the river to practice paddling. There really were only two rules on this trip, listen to the guide and do not lose your paddle. 

The river was wedged between two different mountains and the scenery was incredible. It felt like we were paddling through Jurassic Park (minus all the dinosaurs). As far as teamwork goes, we did pretty well but our paddling was basically useless. I can't imagine any amount of paddling would make that much of an impact aside from turning the boat but we fought the good fight anyway. We made it through the first couple of rapids no problem but to no one's surprise, I was the first to fall out. In my defense, it was a pretty huge rapid and my foot slipped from under the seat. I did manage to hang on to my paddle and made it back into the boat no problem. The next person to fall out was Rhiannon, in her defense..her friend pushed her (rude...but hilarious). Next up was Janie. For part of the trip, Janie was given the "special privilege" of sitting on the front of the boat with no paddle and only her hands to hang on. She was about as stable as a baby deer on a trampoline, it was only a matter of time. Last but not least, I fell out one more time and this time was a little more harrowing. I got a stomach full of river water and while I did manage to hang on to my paddle, I was quickly floating down river. During our training the guide told us to always keep our feet down river in case we encountered one of the many large rocks/boulders. By the time I turned myself around, I was out of reach from the safety rope. Everyone kept yelling "hold on, we're coming!" as I asked myself for the hundredth time "why the hell am I still holding onto this stupid paddle?" After a few too many waves and what felt like an eternity, the boat finally caught up to me and I was pulled inside. Our guide was wearing a GoPro camera on his helmet and we have lots of pictures but we do not have them in our possession yet, once we do I'll update this post so you can see some of the cool scenery and hopefully some awesome action shots! 

After about an hour in the boat we stopped at a calm part of the river for a quick break and some additional fun. We stopped under a bridge and the guides said if we wanted to, we could jump off. Rhiannon, Shemesh, and I walked up with a few other people from the other boats and I'm not going to lie, this was a lot higher than my waterfall jump in Mindo. The first few people to jump landed fairly gracefully with the occasional back-flop followed by an "OOOHHHHH" from the audience below. The only caveat to jumping off the bridge was that you had to swim back across the river to make it to shore. Since Shemesh didn't go through with his jump in Mindo, he was hellbent on making it this time. He climbed over the rail and took a few seconds to psych himself up and then he jumped and landed like a complete idiot. I don't know if he was in shock or just a horrible swimmer but his arms were not moving nearly fast enough and he started to float away. Everyone was yelling "SWIM! SWIM!" but he wasn't making much progress and getting dangerously close to the next rapid. One of the guides grabbed a safety rope from his boat (the rope is coiled into a bag so when you throw the bag, the rope is supposed to unwind as it falls) but it didn't land anywhere near Shemesh (YOU HAD ONE JOB) so two of the other guides jumped in a boat to go rescue him. Once I knew he was safe, I almost died laughing. Shemesh, if you are reading this, you are as graceful as a swan. There was no way I was following that so I decided to hike back down but Rhiannon made the jump and she was able to make it to shore sans rescue mission. Once everyone was back in the boat, we paddled down the river for another 45 minutes or so. It wasn't a race to the finish but if it were, we would have won. 

Our last fun adventure was to Casa del Arbol (tree house) which has "The Swing At The End Of The World." On our way up the mountain we stopped at a different swing that swung off the face of a cliff and looked far less sturdy. When we arrived, a man had his young daughter on his lap and they were swinging carefree into the abyss. While death isn't guaranteed if you fall off this swing, at the very least you would get horribly horribly injured. We decided to pass but took a group picture to capture the memory. We rode up to the original swing and had a good laugh because there were so many clouds, we couldn't see ten feet in front of the swing. This swing was still exciting but not as dangerous as the first one. If you were to fall off, you would fall pretty far but at least you'd land on a hill before rolling down. The line moved fairly quickly and we were able to take some cool photos anyway. 

 (The first swing. Also, this is pre-haircut...yikes)

 (Baños)

 (What a view!)

 (You win, clouds)

(Nailed it)

If you are planning a trip to Ecuador, I would definitely suggest going to Baños. It's a beautiful place with plenty of fun things to do!

Katelyn Visits Ecuador!

This post is long overdue but hey...better late than never right? Last month, Katelyn Bleach (my best friend since kindergarten), came to visit for my birthday! I didn't think I would be super emotional when she arrived but when I saw her walk through Customs, I cried. I blame the high altitude. We hugged for about a minute and I can't explain how nice it felt to be able to share my "new life" with someone from back home. 

We arrived back at the Center around 11:00 pm so everyone else was already asleep. I gave her a quick tour of the house, warmed up some leftover llapingachos, and then it was time for bed. We woke up early the next morning and I gave her the grand tour of the Center. It was surreal having someone from back home seeing what I see every day. Since she arrived during a weekend there weren't any kids around but I had fun showing her where I teach and introducing her to the other volunteers. 

Since all of the volunteers had a long vacation for Fall Break, Shemesh, Janie, Katelyn, and I decided to take a trip to the coast. Shemesh and Janie decided to save some money with a nine hour bus ride (KILL ME) while Katelyn and I chose to fly. I am so glad we did because apparently, the winding bus ride through the mountains was merciless, and Shemesh ended up puking six times. "He chose...poorly..."

Katelyn and I weren't sure how bad traffic was going to be since most of the country also had vacations planned for this particular week so we left early and arrived at the airport about two hours before our flight. The flight lasted about 45 minutes and we arrived in Esmeraldas around 4:00 pm. Luckily, Michael had decided to fly home to the United States for break so I was able to borrow his local phone. I tried calling Shemesh and Janie but they weren't answering their phones (always a good sign) so we hopped in a cab and headed toward the hostel. 

Knowing the cab ride would be about 45 minutes, I was relieved when the driver told us he knew where we were staying (he didn't). The drive through Esmeraldas was...how do I put this gently...interesting? According to Lonely Planet "Esmeraldas is ugly, dangerous and dirty, and there's really no reason to stay here. Most tourists just spend the night (if they have to) and continue southwest to the popular beach destinations." Nailed it. We too were planning on going to a popular beach destination, Atacames. 

I wasn't sure how much of what we saw was due to the recent earthquakes and how much of it was just Esmeraldas, but I was growing increasingly anxious and I could tell Katelyn was too. The beautiful sunset slowly descending behind the mountains merely served as a reminder that it would soon be dark and the cab driver was clearly lost. We drove for what felt like forever through the dilapidated city, at one point passing a front lawn that was literally on fire, and we each took turns "finding the humor" in the situation while the other person silently freaked out. I was too nervous to take my phone out so I don't have any pictures, you'll just have to trust me on this one. 

Luckily, I had the number for the hostel written down so the driver was able to ask for directions. About halfway through the ride, Shemesh called and very nonchalantly stated "you should still come to the hostel but it's not where we're staying. Don't freak out. It's a long story. I'll explain everything when you get here." Click. Katelyn and I looked at each other in disbelief. I reassured her that Shemesh was more than capable of finding a solution (she seemed mildly convinced) so we continued our journey with our breaths held and our fingers crossed. 

When we arrived at the hostel where we had originally planned to stay, Shemesh told us the manager had tried e-mailing him a few weeks prior to get partial payment. Despite providing a local phone number where we could have easily been contacted, since Shemesh never responded to the e-mails the manager gave our room away. If you are an intelligent, rational human being, you'll understand why this makes absolutely no sense so I won't bother explaining how angry we were. 

To make a long story short, the manager's wife had a friend who owned a "hostel" a few blocks away and they happened to have a room for us for the low, low, price of $30 a night. Shemesh and Janie hopped in our cab and we drove to our new "hostel" at the corner of "Someone Has Clearly Been Murdered Here" and "Abort...ABORT!" Mr. and Mrs. Bleach, if you are reading this...I apologize. 

What had been described as a hostel was more accurately a temporary low-income apartment complex. There was no sign, no lobby, bars on the doors, and bars on the windows. Despite being one block from the ocean, it felt like we had walked onto the set of Zero Dark Thirty. On the bright side, there was an outdoor pool, it really tied the whole place together. 

 (The abandoned alley where our "hostel" was... what could possibly go wrong?)

 (A room with a view)

 (Zero Dark Dirty)

(Murder free since 2003)

As soon as our door was locked, we all pulled out our phones and began looking for other options but since it was a major holiday, everything was showing up booked. By that point we were all tired and hungry so we decided to walk down the beach toward a more popular area to try to find some dinner. As we were walking, we literally saw someone get robbed. I wish I were kidding. About 15 steps in front of us, someone grabbed a woman's purse that had been sitting on her beach towel, and took off running. The woman's family witnessed this happen and began chasing said robber down the beach and our day continued to get better and better. 

On a whim, Shemesh decided to stop into a hotel he thought looked nice, just to see if they had any openings that weren't currently posted online. By some incredible miracle, another group's car had broken down earlier that day so they had to cancel their reservation. We almost screamed in his face "YES WE'LL TAKE IT" when the owner asked if we were interested in the room. At the time, we didn't have enough cash on us to pay the deposit, so we told him we'd walk back to our hostel and come back with our payment in 15 minutes. His response? "Don't get robbed."

Since we had already partially settled into our original room and it was getting dark, we didn't want to lug all of our stuff back down the beach, so we decided to stick it out for one night and move our stuff early the next morning. Once we walked down the beach towards the touristy area, it was actually quite nice. The main street was filled with restaurants, tiki bars on the beach, and an active night life. We ate dinner, had some drinks, headed back to the hostel, took a late night swim, and promptly fell asleep. 

We woke up early the next morning to the gentle call of 1,000 roosters and packed our bags for the new hotel. The new place had clean rooms, a restaurant, a pool, a balcony with hammocks overlooking the ocean, and best of all, there were no bars on the windows. Our room overlooked the pool and the beach and we all sighed a breath of relief that we were no longer "in immediate danger."

We spent our first full day laying by the pool and swimming in the ocean. The ocean felt like bath water it was so warm and we were finally able to relax and start having some fun. We walked down the beach past vendors selling fresh ceviche and tour guides promoting parasailing and whale watching. There were tons of families relaxing on the beach and playing in the waves. We walked to a tiki bar that had swings instead of chairs (so hipster) and cooled down with some blended frozen drinks. 

 (Now we're talking)

 (The view from our new room)

 (Mountains)

(I spy with my little eye...someone getting robbed)

(Obligatory pano)

For dinner, we decided to go to a pizza place on the main street, and the meal was definitely worth writing about. First of all, we were the only people in the restaurant. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise because apparently, there was only one person working there. We each ordered a personal-sized pizza and about an hour later, the first one arrived. Katelyn had ordered cheese but wasn't feeling well so the rest of us devoured what she didn't eat. When the plate was empty the waiter/host/bartender/cook/owner took the wooden pizza pan away and about 20 minutes later, Shemesh's pizza arrived. He had ordered pizza with shrimp on it and it was delicious. Again, once the plate was empty the same man came out to collect it and it became very clear that THIS RESTAURANT ONLY HAD ONE PIZZA PAN! Janie and I were so hungry we were ready to eat our own arms. We had ordered what we thought was pizza with peppers, mushrooms, onions, and potatoes but 20 minutes later our pizza arrived covered in hard boiled eggs. OK Spanish...YOU WIN! At that point we didn't even care. We ate the rest of our pizza and got the hell out of Dodge. 

Apart from hanging by the pool or going to the beach, there really wasn't a whole lot of "tourist" things to do. We all needed to stop at an ATM but apparently, the closest ATM was at a bank 15 minutes away - typical Ecuador. We jumped in a "cab" and rode to the bank. I put "cab" in quotation marks because it was more like a rickshaw. The front part was a motorcycle and the back part looked like it was once part of a car/wagon. Was it entirely safe? Who knows? Then again, this whole trip was already an episode of "Missing Abroad" waiting to happen so we just went with it. 

(No seat belts? No problem!)

 (Some photos from our trip to the ATM)

That night, we sat on the balcony and rocked in the hammocks, as we listened to the ocean and laughed about this ridiculous trip. The next day we played in the ocean (I'm not-so-secretly awesome at bodysurfing) and set out to find an Italian restaurant we had passed on the way in. Shemesh and I share a birthday so we didn't mind splurging on a fancy dinner and I'm so glad we did because it was awesome. The restaurant was on a side street about 5 minutes from the beach. It was mostly an outdoor patio with trellises covered in grapes, a brick oven for pizza, and a chef from the United States who had spent many years learning to cook in Italy. We treated ourselves to pizza, pasta, gelato, and wine. Tired and full, we rode back to the hotel with a fresh bottle of wine and ended up playing cards on our bed until we fell asleep. We woke up early the next morning and packed our bags before we made one last stop at the beach. The four of us flew back to Quito and I am proud to say, WE ARE ALL STILL ALIVE! What an adventure. 

 (Boarding the plane like royalty)

(Andes Mountains)

Katelyn still had one more night in Quito so we went to the market in Plaza Foch where we each bought some Christmas presents and then we headed to my favorite craft brewery. Camino Del Sol is one of very few places in Quito that offers beer other than Pilsner so we like to go there as much as possible. Most of the volunteers were still on their own vacations so we ate dinner at home, watched the movie "Sisters", and then talked until we could no longer keep our eyes open and it was time for bed.

(Not Pilsner)

For her final morning here, we took the teleferico up Pichincha (volcano) but we could only stay for 30 minutes because Katelyn had to catch her plane back to the states. We made it back home just in time and Katelyn was able to make it back safe-and-sound-and-Malaria-free. 

 (Pichincha) 

(Teleferico)

(Miss you already!)

Crazy bus, crazy bus, riding on the crazy bus!

First of all, let me start by congratulating anyone who understands the Arthur reference in this blog title, you clearly had an awesome childhood. To put it lightly, riding the bus here in Quito is not my favorite pastime. We are lucky enough to have private transportation on the Center bus to the downtown Center every morning but in the afternoons we have to ride back public. 

There have been many interesting experiences on the bus thus far but here are a few recent gems. One day, I was riding the bus by myself back to the Center and my seat was facing away from the door. I had my headphones in and was drifting in and out of sleep when I heard the most horrifying and alarming scream I have ever heard in my entire life. Honestly, I thought someone had gotten shot. I jolted awake and turned to see what was going on, terrified something truly horrible had just happened. Oftentimes, the bus will begin moving or closing it's doors before everyone is fully in. On this particular day, a woman about my age had just made it onto the platform, but her hand got stuck as the doors slammed shut. The bus has two parts so the driver didn't notice right away and she continued her bloodcurdling screams until the driver finally stopped and opened the doors. Luckily, there was a nurse on board and she was able to assess the situation. In my expert medical opinion, it looked like her fingers were broken but the nurse didn't seem too worried. Everyone else in the bus was silent while I debated how long was appropriate before I could put my headphones back in - Mother Teresa over here. The woman and I ended up getting off at the same stop and while she was still clearly in pain, I think she'll be just fine. Or she died. Who knows?

My second story is far less dramatic but equally seared into my brain. Again, I was riding the particularly crowded bus back to the Center standing next to a seat with a seemingly normal looking man sitting in it when all of a sudden this guy takes two dollar coins, presses them together, and begins pulling stray beard hairs out of his face! GRRROOOSSSSS! After 20 minutes, he had a handful of beard hairs which he promptly dumped on the floor, right before he fell asleep and left me with this image forever. 

Last but not least, one of my favorite bus stories. A few weeks ago I was heading home when the bus pulled up to the station and revealed an enormous group of Ecuador soccer fans. I was reluctant to get in but I didn't feel like waiting 15 minutes for the next bus to arrive so I shoved my way through the crowd and about 10 minutes later I managed to get a seat. The fans were mostly young men and they were having a blast singing their team's fight songs and celebrating a day off work. I tapped the shoulder of one of the guys in front of me and asked what team they were playing. This was an invitation for everyone else to sing louder, ask me a million questions about where I was from, what I was doing in Ecuador, and whether or not I was single. It was all in good fun until we arrived at a bus stop across the street from someone wearing a rival jersey. Some of the guys began yelling out the window and when the seemingly innocent bystander began to engage and yell back, they threw empty soda bottles and garbage at him and he began filming the bus. Just what I need, my face plastered on the front of some newspaper with the title "Gringa Incites Hate Crime." Unfortunately for my "new friends" a police officer also happened to be at that station (apparently things get pretty crazy when these two teams play each other) and before we could make it to the next stop, five police cars had circled our bus and we were forced to pull over. 

The guy sitting in front of me didn't seem too worried but he asked if I would pretend to be his wife so he wouldn't get arrested. So romantic. I politely declined and nervously laughed as the doors opened and three police officers boarded the bus and began telling anyone wearing a jersey that they needed to leave. My "almost future husband" made one last attempt for my hand in fake marriage but since I didn't even remember his name, I wasn't about to go to jail for him. The rest of the passengers cheered as the bus was cleared, mainly because it freed up about 20 seats, and we went on our merry way. I assume those guys eventually made it to the game but I will never know. As we drove away into the sunset, I waived farewell to my almost-Ecuadorian lover. We would have had beautiful delinquent children.

Lice, Lice, Baby

Has it really been over a month since my last blog post?! Yikes. As you can probably tell by the title of this post, I had the good fortune of contracting head lice here in Ecuador...winning! Before this nightmare began, I was blissfully unaware that head lice is actually quite common here. It all started during Girls Program when the mom of one of my girls came in during shower hour and began combing through her daughter's hair with a fine-toothed comb. When I asked her what was going on, the other girls began yelling "Piojos! Piojos!" I grabbed my phone and typed the word "Piojo" into Google Translate and sure enough...Lice. 

No one but me seemed remotely phased by the situation. In America, when someone gets lice, that student is banned from school for a week and every parent in their class gets an alarming letter sent home warning them to CHECK YOUR CHILDREN! Here, honestly no one cares. We continued on with our day and I made a mental note to keep a safe distance from this particular student. Fast forward two days later, we had some time to kill before library so I let a few of the girls braid my hair. Real smart, Kel. About halfway through the second braid I realized my horrible mistake. I turned to look who was playing with my hair and sure enough, ol' lice head was tying her rubber band around my braid and using her lice-filled brush to comb through my hair. NOOOOOOOOOO!

I immediately jumped up and sent a prayer to the hair gods that I would dodge a major lice-filled bullet but about 12 hours later my head started itching and I knew without a doubt that I now had lice. I walked into the doctor's office and tried not to cry as the nurse examined my scalp. As soon as she found one, she wrote down the name of a special shampoo and sent me on my way to the pharmacy. I was grateful the other volunteers were willing to cover my classes, probably because they didn't want to be anywhere near me, and I rode the bus 45 minutes to the mall where I bought myself some new combs and a special new shampoo.  

Just to prove how different we treat lice in the United States than they do here, the other volunteers wouldn't come near me and I was "jokingly" forced to sit at a separate table for dinner LIKE A LEPER! Thanks, a$$holes. I begrudgingly understood that no one else wanted to share in my misery so I didn't mind taking some extra precautions. The following day I asked Maria, one of our cooks, to please look through my hair and HELP MEEEE! She was so sweet and patient as she combed through my hair. I think she could tell that I was not-so-subtly freaking out because she kept telling me not to worry and reassuring me that lice were not a big deal. Easy for you to say, YOU DON'T HAVE BUGS IN YOUR HAIR! Madre Cindy walked by and let me know that it was safe/encouraged to keep going to class because "half the kids here have lice anyway so you don't have to worry about giving it to them." As sad as this is, it makes sense because most of these families don't have running water and their living conditions are less than ideal. 

After Maria finished combing through my hair, she washed all of my sheets and clothes in extra hot water and I deep-cleaned my room for the next two hours. The following week I diligently showered twice a day, changed my sheets every morning, and begged numerous people to please check my diseased head. Caitlin, a former volunteer, suggested I ask my Girls Program girls to check my scalp because they do it for each other and their tiny fingers are great at finding lice. She was right. Four days in I sat on the floor of the art room as three of my girls eagerly looked through my hair, seemingly elated that I was just like them. The sisterhood of the traveling lice. Caitlin reassured me that getting lice "is actually a compliment because that means the kids hug you and love on you enough to transfer it. Sucks to be popular ya know." Caitlin, my angel. 

I have been lice free for a few weeks now and I have definitely learned my lesson. Now that I've had it, I can recognize a child with lice from a mile away. It's like when you're in the market for a new apartment and suddenly, "for rent" signs become the only thing you see. I see kids casually itching their heads every day here but that doesn't mean I'm going to wear a bag over my head and refuse to give them hugs. I treat all of the kids the same, lice and all, and as with everything else here in Ecuador...lice.goes.on.