Nice, so i’m getting a little better at this whole blogging thing, but its been a little slow on the using the internet since everything else has been going pretty rapidly.
Today i’m getting the opportunity to post a few things that i’ve never done and especially not in Ecuador. Since this list was getting to long to decide which ones to post the team decided to get together one list and post it for everyone. So here is the list of things we never … in our life.
Never Have I Ever….
1) Been building a church in a lightening storm whilst it twas pouring rain… a.k.a concreted and arranged 20ft tall metal columns
2) Jumped off a 30ft tall cliff next to a waterfall into a tiny pool
3) Slept in the midst of so many barking dogs, crowing roosters, roaring trucks, and beeping car alarms
4) Been asked to give my testimony (or translate a testimony) in front of big groups with only seconds of prep notice… on multiple occasions
5) Caught a chicken, killed a chicken (by cutting the head off), heard the murderer scream louder than the prey, plucked the chicken and ate the chicken all in one day
6) Hiked up a huge, steep, treacherous, dangerous mountain seeing 7 waterfalls along the way
7) Sucked on a sugary cover of raw cocoa bean that i just picked (it feels like mucus)
8) Eaten so much rice, yucca, and plantains for breakfast lunch and dinner
9) Ridden on the back of a pick up truck through a jungle safari while going over huge pot holes and through miles and miles of banana farms
10) Seen so many banana trees
11) Peed on the side of a highway in the middle of traffic jam caused by a landslide and then almost getting run over because traffic started moving again and I mean quickly, headed straight for us
12) Barbecued and eaten 10 different types of meat on a roof that looked like an abandoned building
13) Been to a 4 hour church service in Spanish that lasted until 11pm at night
14) Bought 30 pieces of hot yummy big bread rolls on the side of the road
15) Dug five 7ft holes…. Twice
16) Done construction on ground that started out as a grassy hill
17) Had to hike in poopy mud through the rainforest down muddy hills, crossing a brook on a bamboo log to milk a cow at 6 in the morning
18) Ridden a natural rock slide at the bottom of the 7th waterfall
19) Plucked fresh oranges from a tree and washed them, peeled them, and squeezed into a pot to make the juice for that nights dinner
20) Had freshly squeezed juice everyday three times a day
21) Held a dead chicken head while the blood dripped from it
22) Gathered, peeled, and cut yucca to that night for dinner in the backyard (Yucca a type of food that grows like potatoes from the root of a tree in the jungle)
23) Been to the “coast� and seen no ocean in sight
24) Eaten in a bungalow built next to a waterfall
25) Eaten the foot of a chicken (yup, they suck that thing dry)
26) Had the opportunity, or even found the words, to preach during church to 30+ people for 30-40 minutes… all in Spanish
27) Traveled 8 hours in 2 baby pickup trucks with 18 people
28) Had coke that was heated up in the microwave because it would “cure my cold”
29) Been to the best baby shower ever (don’t ask, their games are great)
30) Eaten dinner at a different persons house every night for a month
31) Bought 9 suckers, 5 chocolate bars, 3 packages of cookies and 1.75 liters of Fanta… for 6 dollars
32) Crammed on a city bus with 45+ people and all our packs
33) Lived with 5 other people every second of the day… only parting to poop and shower
35) Lived in a house where 3 families live, the church, and a school for learning English is located
36) Thrown an Ecuadorian surprise birthday party
37) Stood on top of a 30ft wall holding re-bar while shooting a video
38) Crawled through a brick oven to see where other bricks were made
39) Danced on dirt to make it flat
40) Fallen in love with 25+ people that I don’t even speak their language
41) Sent so many kids into a frenzy over taking an imaginary picture using an invisible camera
2) Jumped off a 30ft tall cliff next to a waterfall into a tiny pool
3) Slept in the midst of so many barking dogs, crowing roosters, roaring trucks, and beeping car alarms
4) Been asked to give my testimony (or translate a testimony) in front of big groups with only seconds of prep notice… on multiple occasions
5) Caught a chicken, killed a chicken (by cutting the head off), heard the murderer scream louder than the prey, plucked the chicken and ate the chicken all in one day
6) Hiked up a huge, steep, treacherous, dangerous mountain seeing 7 waterfalls along the way
7) Sucked on a sugary cover of raw cocoa bean that i just picked (it feels like mucus)
8) Eaten so much rice, yucca, and plantains for breakfast lunch and dinner
9) Ridden on the back of a pick up truck through a jungle safari while going over huge pot holes and through miles and miles of banana farms
10) Seen so many banana trees
11) Peed on the side of a highway in the middle of traffic jam caused by a landslide and then almost getting run over because traffic started moving again and I mean quickly, headed straight for us
12) Barbecued and eaten 10 different types of meat on a roof that looked like an abandoned building
13) Been to a 4 hour church service in Spanish that lasted until 11pm at night
14) Bought 30 pieces of hot yummy big bread rolls on the side of the road
15) Dug five 7ft holes…. Twice
16) Done construction on ground that started out as a grassy hill
and had the whole community help out
17) Had to hike in poopy mud through the rainforest down muddy hills, crossing a brook on a bamboo log to milk a cow at 6 in the morning
18) Ridden a natural rock slide at the bottom of the 7th waterfall
19) Plucked fresh oranges from a tree and washed them, peeled them, and squeezed into a pot to make the juice for that nights dinner
20) Had freshly squeezed juice everyday three times a day
21) Held a dead chicken head while the blood dripped from it
22) Gathered, peeled, and cut yucca to that night for dinner in the backyard (Yucca a type of food that grows like potatoes from the root of a tree in the jungle)
23) Been to the “coast� and seen no ocean in sight
24) Eaten in a bungalow built next to a waterfall
25) Eaten the foot of a chicken (yup, they suck that thing dry)
26) Had the opportunity, or even found the words, to preach during church to 30+ people for 30-40 minutes… all in Spanish
27) Traveled 8 hours in 2 baby pickup trucks with 18 people
28) Had coke that was heated up in the microwave because it would “cure my cold”
29) Been to the best baby shower ever (don’t ask, their games are great)
30) Eaten dinner at a different persons house every night for a month
31) Bought 9 suckers, 5 chocolate bars, 3 packages of cookies and 1.75 liters of Fanta… for 6 dollars
32) Crammed on a city bus with 45+ people and all our packs
33) Lived with 5 other people every second of the day… only parting to poop and shower
34) Straddled the equator, standing in two hemispheres at the same time
35) Lived in a house where 3 families live, the church, and a school for learning English is located
36) Thrown an Ecuadorian surprise birthday party
37) Stood on top of a 30ft wall holding re-bar while shooting a video
38) Crawled through a brick oven to see where other bricks were made
39) Danced on dirt to make it flat
40) Fallen in love with 25+ people that I don’t even speak their language
41) Sent so many kids into a frenzy over taking an imaginary picture using an invisible camera
[That last one’s really exciting. They were all yelling to take a picture and i didn’t have my camera with me so i just decided to take a picture anyway. They all got into formation like it was actually happening and now every time i see them (or they see me) they all yell “Photo” chanting it together in perfecting timing. ]
Hope you’re learning a little bit more about what were doing in Ecuador and now have more questions than you could expect to get answered 🙂
Love you all,
josue — pronounced ‘ho-sway’
PS.Check out the pictures others are posting on my facebook page
