Day 8!

(Three posts in one day- yay!)

It is hard to believe that our time in Ecuador is coming to a close. Our final day began with having a discussion with a former patient of Damien House named Carlos. Carlos and his wife Carla told us more about the diagnosis of Hansen's disease and how it affected their relationship. It was nice to hear about what and there's like to have Hansen's at a young age, and how two individuals can work together to overcome the most trying situation.

After we finished talking, we were able to purchase small gifts at the market. Everything we bought was made by the patients, and the proceeds go directly back to them to use as they wish. 

We then ate our last meal at Damien House, and then took part in a despedida, otherwise known as a farewell party. We were all able to say goodbye to all of our new friends, and thank them for their warmth and hospitality. 

It is sad to be leaving everyone at Damien House. However, it is also exciting because we get to share all of our memories, stories, and experiences from Damien House with everyone back home. Our Ecuador experience will not end when we land in Baltimore tomorrow morning. It will continue to spread as we share all that we have learned with our friends and family. We will return to our daily lives back home, but things will not go back to normal. It will be a "new normal" because our Ecuador experience has transformed our lives forever.

Day 7!

Dear parents, family, friends and whoever else might be reading this,

We have had a number of great days during this trip, but this one ranks among the best. We started attending Mass at Damien House, which was of course in Spanish. The residents were given maracas and tambourines to shake during the songs and they loved it. Everyone have a good time, although I personally had no idea what the priest was saying.

After the Mass we went to the men's area to celebrate Kata's birthday with cake and soda! Honestly, I was missing chocolate. 

The next stop after Damien House was the Starfish Foundation in Flor de Bastion. Flor de Bastion is an incredibly underdeveloped community that has only existed for about 15-20 years. Despite this, the area is very large and is home to many people. The Starfish Foundation seeks to aid the students of the area with education and school work and to help them advance out of the situation that they presently face. We were able to work with the students at the foundation and connect with them. That was extremely fun and everyone had a good time doing homework and playing games. The little brother of one of the students kept running around and giving everyone hugs. Also, most of the students wanted to take a picture with me because I'm tall.

After leaving the foundation, our group headed back to Tangara and ate dinner. We also celebrated Kata's birthday with  cookies! I'm writing this as I'm about to go to bed and I look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow. 

Sincerely,

Alejandro Wilson and the 2014 Ecuador team

Day 6!

Today was definitely the most adventurous day yet. Starting our day off again by being awoken to our human alarm clocks (a.k.a. Kata and Isa) singing the theme song of the week, "For the first time in forever." 

After our morning routine and then, we headed over to Damien house to begin finishing the painting we started the day before. We were even more compelled to finish the job because afterwards there would be a showing of frozen in both the women's and men's section of the house. 

Painting was not only a great experience for our group but also for the residents who chose to take part. We were most grateful for Meredith, Marissa V., and Kata's artistic abilities on the walls. 

After saying goodbye for the day to all the residents, we piled into the car to travel back to what we thought would be Tangara. Realizing we were traveling deeper into the city, we knew that was not the case. Manuel stopped and we all filed out. The surprise waiting for us as a scavenger hunt along the boardwalk! My group including Ryan, Andrea, Marissa V., Kata, and Carlo. Many clues had us take silly pictures in front of various landmarks that I'm sure everyone will be glad to see later. As my group made our way to the end of the boardwalk, we all seemed simultaneously in awe. 

In the distance, we saw beautifully colored houses covering the hillside leading up to the blue and white striped lighthouse at the top. Little did we know that what would be our final stop in the scavenger. After taking a few pictures and a few more stops, we began to make her way up the hill to the lighthouse. Many of us joked of how out of shape we were because of the amount of sweat and heavy breathing that was coming from us all. As we reached the top and climbed the 444 stops, yes they were numbered, we realize the other kids had made it first, but they were easily distracted by the literally breathtaking scenery. The lights of the city, the ocean, the distance from the kids playing in the street seemed surreal. I loved that we got the chance to see the city of Guayaquil from a different perspective.

Then we climbed back down the 444 stops, took a quick bathroom break, and we need for Manuel but we still have one more clue! "Find the missing avocado." Once again we began to drive, realizing we would probably not be traveling back to the hostel just yet. As we drove the Marissa's collaborated with the thought that avocado might be the name of the restaurant and it was! We walked in and immediately saw familiar faces like Sister Annie, Abel, and Germania and we were later joined with more friends like volunteers from Rostro. We had a great time at dinner but a long one, so when we came back to Tangara it was time for bed so we could be ready for the next one.

Mucho amor,

Emma and the Ecuador team

Ps- wishing a very happy birthday (Thursday) to Avery and Mady from Marissa V, Ryan and our team!

Day 5! (Wednesday)

Today was a very successful day at Damien House. Upon arrival we were greeted by many of the residents. After everyone unloaded the van, we all set out to find some residents to spend time with. We spent time with many of the residents until we were called to come paint. We painted one wall and it looks great! 

Our "jefe," Leon, supervises and guides Alejandro!

It feels really good to know you are making a difference. Although I love being here at Damien House, I miss my family and friends. I can't wait to see what the rest of the week holds for us!

-Ryan

P.S. We also got to watch the Argentina-Netherlands game! 

Thank you for all the comments so far- we love them! Keep 'em coming :)

Day 4!

Hello Ecuador team family and friends! This is Andrea here, writing a blog tonight. Today to started off, we met Wellington and Soraya, a married couple. Wellington got Hansen's disease when he was 21, which is considered young. He spoke about how before he got it, he didn't believe in God. Once he got Hansens, he hated God. Then Wellington took a chance and prayed to God one night. After seven years, he was cured and has a deep relationship with God. It's amazing the way God works.

After lunch, we visited Nuevo Mundo, a prestigious coed school in Guayaquil. They have two programs: the morning school and the afternoon school. The morning school is kindergarten to 12th grade with an international baccalaureate program. The students pay and are very wealthy. The afternoon school is for scholarship children, from kindergarten to 10th grade, from more poor areas like Duran and Arbolito. By 10th grade the afternoon kids have to pass an exam to continue on Nuevo Mundo. Even if many pass it, only a few can be accepted due to economic hardships of the school. I found this really interesting. It really shows how the kids who want this opportunity for a good education really work hard. In the US, we seem to take education for granted and it really change my perspective. The group got a tour of this wonderful school and continued on our day.

-Andrea, Ecuador team student leader

Day 3!

With our early-morning wake up call because of the combination of airplanes and the announcements from the schools across the street, most of us woke up this morning a little tired. After a delicious breakfast of eggs, toast and fruit, talk to me, Marissa V., Emma, Julianna, Andrea and Meredith and told us all about Ecuadorian schooling. She gave us a quote that a mother said to her child when he asked her for a school book – "would you rather have books or your tummy?"

We then waited for Manuel to pick us up in the van while I taught Alex and Ryan how to play Egyptian rat screw. At the Damien house when we first arrived, Marissa V. and I ventured into the women's room and begin a conversation in Spanish with a woman named Gladys. When we were called in to begin renovating the wall in the men's patio, Leon and another resident told us that they would love light blue walls, so we immediately began scraping and sand papering the walls.

While sweating tremendously, a man named Ernesto sang to us. Shortly after he finished, all of us began to sing together some old songs.

Soon after, Sister Annie called us in for lunch of rice, fried fish, fried plantains, beans and purée (potato). At lunch we got the chance to meet a volunteer from the Rostro de Cristro volunteer program named Meg. She told us all about what she does here in Ecuador. We also met another Ecuadorian volunteer at the Damien House who shared with us some of her stories.

We finished scraping and sanding after lunch and Marissa V. and I went grocery shopping for dinner – spending seven dollars less then we spent the day before, $28. Emma and I began to speak with a very funny, kind man named Ricardo and, although it was hard to understand because he spoke so fast, we could tell that he enjoyed our presence. Returning home from a long day at the Damien House, we are all resting and preparing for nighttime activities and reflection.

Marissa F., aka Maria 

**Marissa V. sends a shoutout to her little sister Marla, wishing her a happy 14th birthday!

feel free to write comments- we love to hear your thoughts! we love you all :)

Day 2!

Today we woke up and had some awesome, fredh, tropical fruit for breakfast. It was great to try new things like (what I think was mango juice) [editor's note: it was passionfruit juice!] and papaya. After that we headed to Duran, an area right outside the city if Guayaquil, for church. We did a silent bus ride exercise, and it was eye-opening to see the transition from the stone/brick buildings of the city to the cane houses of the outer land.

Church was amazing. There was so much energy in the open-air room that was the church; kids running up and down the aisles and vibrant clapping to the songs. Afterward, one of Beth's volunteer friends, Molly, came over to chat with us about the area we were in. 15 years ago the area called Arbolito didn't really exist, now there are over 200 people at each of the two Masses on Sundays! Then, the priest Fr Juan Pablo came over to talk to us about his story. 

Then came the moment we were all waiting for...we headed to Damien House! We first ate lunch-- lentils, rice, plantains, and chicken (but no chicken for me, Beth or Sister Annie!). Lunch was ANAZING, the food was so good, and the conversation was great. I personally talked to Jocelyn, a 17 yr old girl who volunteers at Damien House, and who just found out she was accepted to be a Youth Ambassador to the US from Ecuador (1 of 12). 

After lunch we unpacked, organized and bagged all of the donations we brought in our suitcases. Marissa and I were dubbed "Team Hot Mess (THM)" because of our overwhelming failure with what started out as "women's tops" and what ended up as "women's sweaters/pajamas."

After that, which proved to be quite an exhausting feat, we were sent to hang out with the patients. First, I went and played Chinese checkers with a woman named Ester (she won) and then I went to play Dominoes with some of the men (I swept with five straight wins). 

After that, it was time to say goodbye and head back to Tangara, where I am currently awaiting dinner cooked by the collaborative efforts of Emma and Ryan. 

All in all it's been an eventful first day, and though we can't wait to see what the rest of the week has in store, we are practicing being present in each moment, and letting tomorrow come when it does.

¡Hasta luego! -Marissa V.