Cinderella and the Hippie Market

"Every job is a self portrait of the person who does it. Autograph your work with excellence."-Unknown

For anyone who is following this at all, I'm SO sorry that I haven't been able to post pictures! Please take my word for it when I say the children are beautiful, the city is fascinating, the landscape is incredible, and the other volunteers are a riot! I honestly wake up every day (to the rooster of course) not even believing that I'm actually in another country in South America! Regardless of the difficulties that I mention from time to time, I wouldn't trade this experience for the world and I love the work I am doing here.

I am taking the time to write about yesterday today because to be blunt, I had such a bad perception of the day last night and I was afraid that all I would do was complain and exaggerate the severity of the situation.....Basically I was in a bad mood. So after 24 hours and a new attitude, I am ready to lay it out there :) My morning shift starting in CASAS (home of the little nudist) and everything went so well! Luckily, I had gained respect after my first shift there and as long as I keep those little kiddos laughing we have a blast! The best part of the afternoon was when all of the Tias came running into the casas and told me that we had to get all of the kids dressed up in their nice clothing. The kids were so excited and kept yelling, "FIESTA! FIESTA!" It was little Dillon's 4th birthday and the nuns had prepared a party for him. It was a "Cars" theme and they had hats, streamers, cake, ice cream, candy, and even little party favors! The kids were in heaven and so cute! I realized that on most days I see the workers at their worst and I was grateful that I had the opportunity to see that they do love these kids and want the best for them. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get any pictures because this particular orphanage strictly prohibits the use of cameras. The volunteers are allowed one picture day while they are here and mine is coming up next week so we definitely take advantage of those days when we get the chance.

Alright, here comes the "kicker" from yesterday. For my afternoon shift it was my group's turn to go to our "off site" for the first time. Off sites are orphanages that are much farther away than our usual 3 that we consistently volunteer at. We frequent these sites twice a week, rather than daily, and we spend 3 of the 4 hours cleaning the horrible conditions. They are usually in poorer and much harsher areas of the city. The volunteers are split into groups and are designated to a specific site. My site is Azogas. A 45-minute drive left me at the foot of the gates I unfortunately learned to dread. I entered a small building filled with 24 children. Amidst the incredible veil of insects and some sort of smog, I saw a collection of 3 rooms, 3 bathrooms, a kitchen, and a living room. The floors were paved with tile and layers of dirt. The walls were colors that no paint store would concoct and the children were alive (which is about all this place was going for). I was shocked. After a brief tour, we got to work. I have never cleaned anything more grotesque in my life. On the bright side, I will be a cleaning champ when I get back! Let's just say the public restroom that I was forced to use in a gas station in India was more sanitary than this orphanage and the volunteers had even come the day before to clean as well!!!!! Ironically, the cleaning was not an issue for me. In fact, it was the best part. Physically, I was fine. Emotionally, this was one of the most draining experiences of my life. I have never interacted with more disrespectful children. Without listing off complaints that are of no importance, just know that my feelings were a result of being unappreciated and overwhelmed. The best part was when I was picking up toys and I mistook a giant centipede for a little boy's toy. Yep....the movement of its giant squirmy body was a dead giveaway for its legitimacy in the live insect world! YUCK!

After sleeping on this entire experience I have come up with an understanding of it all...no matter what the children said or did while we were there, I am going to remember their faces when we left. I was hugged and kissed by little girls who had mocked us all shift. I was hugged by a little boy that had slapped me when I was scrubbing the floors in the kitchen. Even one of the workers cracked a slight smile as I saw complete exhaustion in her eyes. I didn't feel appreciated while I was there, but I know they needed me. Those children don't have any other opportunities to receive the attention and love I can give them. There is only so much that the 2 Tias can do for them when their top priority is just to keep them fed and safe. With hesitation, but a better attitude, we will make that 45-minute drive again tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Now to today! Today! A wonderful wonderful day! I started the morning in an orphanage I hadn't served in yet. The name of this group of special needs children is "Esperanza", meaning hope. There are 7 kids there, all with various disabilities. This set of children are even more dependent than the other sites I have helped in. The story of one of the girls in particular was really difficult for me to hear. At 26 years old, Diana (dee-anna) is living in a special needs orphanage. While always an orphan, she grew up in the all girls orphanage I spent time in earlier this week called HML. She seemed to be a completely normal young woman. At the age of 19, Diana fell unexpectedly and was rushed to the hospital. There, she was diagnosed with a genetic degenerative disease that slowly took all of the motor skills and cognitive abilities that she had been blessed to have all of her life up until that point. 7 years later I sat with her in this home, feeding her, bathing her, braiding her hair, and helping her with any other task that daily life could throw at her. She is the sweetest young woman you will ever meet and it breaks my heart that she can remember what it was like to be normal. She can't communicate at all but as I spoke to her in Spanish I know she can still understand a lot of what I was saying to her. I talk to her differently than the other children there. For some reason, I talk to her like I would anyone else. I guess I am still convinced she's that girl she was before. Her circumstances have changed, but she's still that same girl.

After my morning shift, 3 other girls and I went into town to do some shopping and exploring! After a decent walk we found the "hippie market" and bought a ton of souvenirs. It was so fun bargaining in Spanish and looking at all of the beautiful things that people make. The talent here is amazing and the people of Ecuador are incredible artists in their own right. 4 hours passed by before we started to make our way back and as we did that, we noticed that over 30 tables had been set up all along the streets! Each table was piled beautifully with INSANE amounts of desserts and candies! It was heavenly! We asked one of the people there what was going on and she told us that it was the beginning of an 8 day festival! Ummmm 8 days of amazing desserts???? This is why I love Ecuador. You will all know where to find me every night for the next 8 days ;)