Orientation Comes to a Close

So our two week Ecuador orientation is coming to a close and I´m getting ready to start the real thing. We spent the first week with last year´s volunteers getting to know our neighbors, learning the bus routes, and visiting possible work sites. We gave last year´s volunteers a sad sendoff at the end of the week and made a trip to the beach for some much needed rest and relaxation. We visited a few more worksites at the beginning of this week and also had an all day scavenger hunt all over the city of Guayaquil in order to get to know the city better and practice the bus routes. We were split into groups of four and had to travel to different parts of the city and outlaying areas and take a crazy picture at each of the locations. We definitely provided some entertainment to the Ecuadorians who laughed as a bunch of gringos created a human pyramid on the sidewalk. They were all very eager to help us find where we were going...even when we didn´t ask for help.

We spent yesterday and today deciding on where we would like to work this year. I decided on Damien House for my morning job and Semillas de Mostaza (mustard seeds) for my afternoon job. Damien House http://www.thedamienhouse.org/ is a non-profit clinic for people with Hanson´s disease (formerly known as leprosy) run by Sister Annie, a lively nun from Brooklyn, New York. The clinic serves both live-in patients and outpatients. My main tasks throughout the year will be helping Sister Annie run the foundation, translating for visiting medical staff, giving tours to visiting student groups, and keeping the patients company. Semillas is an after-school program run by our foundation which provides homework help, fun activities, educational talks, a banana, a piece of bread, and a vitamin to the kids in our neighborhood. I will be running it along with 2 other volunteers and an Ecuadorian staff member who is about our same age. Attendance can vary from 40 kids to 115 per day, so it will probably get pretty crazy.

A few other tidbits- I was awoken this morning when my bed was shaken by an earthquake. That was pretty crazy considering it was the first earthquake I´ve ever felt. The epicenter was far away and there was no damage anywhere near where we are, but it was enough to send everyone running out into the kitchen in bewilderment. Also, I will finally be moving into my house this weekend after almost a month of living out of a suitcase. Up to this point we have all been living together in one of the retreat houses, where student groups stay when they are visiting. It will be nice to finally get settled, especially since I will be starting work on Monday. A few days ago we recieved a somber reminder of where we are living, as we were startled by the terrifying screams of a women in a domestic dispute and the loud cries of her children. (we found out later that no one was seriously hurt.) So the first few weeks on the equator have been quite an adventure. I will update you all the next chance I get.