Hello everyone! It’s been a few weeks since my last blog, and quite a bit has happened. I am immensely enjoying my time here in Ecuador. I’ve already had more adventures than I can count. (I never was really good at math.) Not all of my adventures are worth reading, so I’ll try to stick to just the highlights.
The best place to start is at Terminal Carcelén. This is where almost all of my adventures have started. Terminal Carcelén is the bus terminal nearest to Inca-Link, the place where I’m currently living. It is one of the major terminals in Quito, and so it is perpetually busy. There are also quite a few street vendors that sell food and snacks inside he terminal. Kendall, Carly, and I decided to be adventurous one day and bought some food from the vendors. Carly bought plantain chips, which she is now addicted to, and Kendall and I bought Chicken Empanadas. Yes mom, you heard me right, I’m eating street food that I’ve never tried before. Also, yes, I love empanadas now.
From couples making out, to a blind man singing for money, every single bus ride has something happening on it. Most of the time I spend on the bus I’m standing. I’m bumped, jostled, and occasionally knocked over by the movement of the bus as well as the sea of people that flood on the bus. Through the chaos however, there are still sweet moments. One day, I was standing and holding on to the bar above my head with my left hand, while my other hand was hanging limp on my fanny pack. Suddenly, I felt something slip into my limp hand and squeeze. I looked down and to my surprise, a little girl had grabbed my hand. She let go after a couple seconds, but she had done her work. She melted my heart. It was adorable.
Ministry has also been quite the experience so far. My team and I are working at a local church called Evangelico Eterno. We have fixed old bibles, cleaned pews, and we are currently painting some of the walls of the church. Well, actually, I’m currently scraping the old paint off of the walls first. I get to the church around 10:00 and I scrape paint until 2:00. We do take a break for lunch, but it never seems long enough. If I had a power sander, the walls would be done by now, but alas, all I have is a simple hand scraper. On the plus side, I’m finally gaining muscles in my arms.
We have ministry five days a week, but the remaining two days are the days I go out and have fun. Most of this time, this looks like going to a mall and connecting to WiFi and then buying groceries for dinner. Wow, I’m an adult. Anyway, not every off day is like that. I will also tag along with people who want to go shopping. I am broke, so while I technically am shopping with them, I don’t buy anything. One of my favorite times was when I went thrift store shopping with Kendall and Carly. We started off at a mall so we could all connect to WiFi, and eat lunch. I ate at McDonald’s, because, as previously stated, I’m broke. After this, we took off into the city. We had no idea where we were going or if we would even find any thrift stores. It took a very long twenty seconds to find the first thrift store we stopped at. The girls went in and started shopping. It was an all women’s clothing store, so I just sat down on a bench and held the groceries we had bought at the mall in my lap. For some reason, the girls kept asking me if this or if that looked good, or which color looked better. I’ll never understand women. If it’s comfy, I wear it. Anyway, we hopped from store to store for an hour or two. I learned that most of the stores in Quito are only women’s clothing. I have been through too many bra aisles. That day has been one of my favorite days so far in Ecuador. The banter between Carly, Kendall, and I made that day grand.
I will finish this schizophrenic blog where I finish every day in Ecuador: Inca-Link. If you did not know, Inca-Link is the organization I’m working with. They have a house where all of us racers are staying. There are many house rules, but one of the most important is the rule to make sure that the gate in front is closed and locked. Not only does this keep unwanted visitors out, it keeps the four dogs inside the property. This is where the story begins. Kendall and I were sitting on the front lawn, in between the house and the gate, eating sweet bread and watching a show on my phone. It had been a long day of ministry and we were taking some time to decompress. About halfway through the first episode, someone opened the gate. They opened it, and then waited there for their buddy. (We have the buddy system whenever we go anywhere. Well, anywhere besides the bathroom.) The dogs seized their chance and bolted out of the gate. Instantly, Kendall and I took off after the dogs. I wish I had taken a second to grab my shoes, but alas, I went barefoot. Those dogs could run. They ran up the broken stone path and just kept going. We were able to catch all but the biggest dog. I had almost caught up with the last dog when she suddenly turned to the right and hopped up on a little path I had not even seen. (Quito is very mountainous, and so the houses are built into the hills and mountains.) It was a tiny slightly overgrown mountain path. I hopped on the path and was instantly surrounded by trees and bushes. The path was so winding that I couldn’t see the dog anymore. I started down the path, with Kendall behind me holding one of the other dogs. There were a lot of thorns on the ground, so I told Kendall just to wait with he dog she had while I continued down the path to try and grab the other dog. I journeyed deeper and deeper into the forest. I was alone. After about five minutes of trudging through bushes, there came a split in the path. I stopped here because I had no idea which way the dog went. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the dog practically jumped in my arms. It startled me, but I was able to grab ahold of he dog. Apparently, it had gone down a path that ended and had doubled back. I was successful! I had captured the elusive canine. Getting back was going to be easy. At least, that’s what I thought. The dog, who’s name is Sunny because of her golden hair, was belligerent. She was not happy that I had captured her, and she was trying to wriggle out of her collar. So, I picked her up. (I have a ninety pound Doberman back home that hates baths, so I’m used to carrying belligerent dogs.) As I was carrying her back through the forrest, a man appeared. He started yelling at me in Spanish. I had to be one heck of a site. I was obviously a foreigner, barefoot, and I was carrying a dog in my arms. I didn’t know what to say, so I just looked at him and said, “uh.” This is when he realized I did not speak Spanish, and he just walked away. I finally made it back to the stone path. I had so many thorns in my feet, but I didn’t care because I had caught the dog. Sunny finally accepted defeat and Kendall walked her back through the gate. There went my restful afternoon.
I’m sorry I’ve delayed this blog for so long, but I’ve just been so busy. I’m sure I’ll write a few more blogs while I’m here, detailing the crazy adventures I’m having. I love all of you, and I can’t wait to see everyone back home in just over two months. (Except you mom, I’ll see you Friday.)
P.S. Sunny now loves me, and has disturbed my rest by licking my face many times now.
