Red Suspenders

I made it! Yesterday morning I arrived in Cuenca and I can’t even put this place into words. My expectations have been exceeded by far. The long journey started at 5:50 am Tuesday morning. After only 2 hours of sleep (clearly the consequence of procrastination) Shanna and I met the other volunteers departing from SLC at the airport. Our first flight took us to Houston, TX where I experienced quite a bit of nostalgia after finding an ice cream shop that sold “Blue Bell” ice cream in the airport. I can’t even count how many times my mom and dad would talk about this ice cream when I was little after we moved from Texas to Colorado and it lives up to the hype! After a few hours spent in Houston, a group of about 6 of us boarded our first of many in a series of international flights. We boarded our plane for Panama without a hitch but fears of losing our luggage weighed heavily on our minds. The funniest part was that I only brought one suitcase which was incredibly valuable to me because it was filled with oreos, peanut butter, and cereal. I take comfort foods very seriously when I take off to 3rd world countries!
Regardless of all the worries I had on my mind, I had the opportunity to meet some amazing people on the flight. While we waited in line to board the plane to Panama the woman standing in front of me spontaneously whipped around and asked if I was going on the connecting flight to Quito, Ecuador afterwards. I said that I was and after she asked what my plans were there I replied with a description of OSSO and some of the orphanages that we would be visiting for a month. She was so sweet and attentive, but I knew that she was bursting at the seams with some news of her own. I relayed the same question to her. Beaming, she enthusiastically pointed to a man at the edge of the gate’s service counter. “That’s my father-in-law. He is 87 years old and he’s on his way to see his family after over 30 years.” Fascinated by the idea of someone returning home after being away from family for so long, I quickly made eye contact with the older man and shot him the biggest smile I could muster after the long day of traveling. He was the epitome of someone you might see in an issue of National Geographic. There is no other way to really describe him. As he sat in the wheelchair, a sturdy cane pegged with tennis balls at the bottom of each end was clasped in his hand. He had the most defined wrinkles I have ever seen, however, when he smiled back at me, only the wrinkles right above his brow were visible from that distance. The only thing that made me smile more than his overenthusiastic thumbs up directed at his daughter and I was his bright red suspenders. Without even speaking with him I knew that this man had more personality in his little pinky than most people probably have in their whole body! The daughter-in-law continued to tell me about the history of his family and for the entire flight I couldn’t get his story off of my mind. I knew at that moment that I was going somewhere amazing; somewhere special. That man knew something I didn’t about Ecuador. I promised myself right then and there that I would find out exactly what that was.
The third flight of the day went from Panama to Quito. When we arrived in Quito, we all held our breath at the luggage claim. Luckily every one of the six girls sharing the same connections was able to find their luggage! Our last flight wasn’t until the next morning so we spent the night in the volunter house in Quito. After a 7 am flight to Cuenca, I finally made it to the place I will be calling home for the next 4 weeks. We were greeted at the small airport by the Rodrigo’s who are the directors of the Cuenca OSSO. I have never met a sweeter couple and I have felt so incrediblly loved and welcome already. The house is far above any expectations I had. It is a sweet little home located in a middle class area of the historical village. As I walked in I saw that it was immaculate and so well-organized. Quotes and Spanish labels cover the walls and other random objects all throughout the house! It is such a positive atmosphere and I’m so grateful to be participating in a program like this. There is so much I could write about, including the 2 hour walk we took through the city today, however, I may not want to disclose some of the things I saw today because I don’t want people to worry about my safety ;) To put you all at ease we are heavily instructed in safety procedures, our keys to the house are accompanied by pepper spray and I’m taller than almost all of the men so I feel safe with the knowledge I’ve been given from the directors 
Tomorrow morning I will meet some of the children for the first time and begin my first shift of my 50 hour work week! I am scheduled to go to work in the CUNAS orphanage for both of my shifts. CUNAS is the baby/toddler orphanage in Cuenca and I can’t wait to see those beautiful babies in the morning. I have no idea what to expect, but I can only hope that I can make some kind of a difference with the time that I will be putting in tomorrow. I couldn’t ask for a more amazing experience and I haven’t even met all of the children I will be serving yet! Wish me luck 