20 things I have learned here in Quito
1. Just because croissants are 20 cents and on every corner does NOT mean I should eat 3 a day. (the freshman 15 will be more like a euadorian 30 if I don’t watch it 😉
2. If you are using a wheelbarrow to move rock, you will most likely be giving children rides up and down the hills.
3. Hold on for dear life on buses or else you’ll be getting off with more bruises than you began with and apologizing to everyone around you.
4. The very creepy circus/ ice-cream truck music you hear playing in the streets are just the oil trucks alerting costumers they are near, not someone coming to kidnap you in some horror movie. Trust me, it will freak you out a little the first few times you hear it.
5. Don’t look at the dogs on the street because they are adorable and you’ll want to take everyone of them home.
6. 11/10 recommend watching the sunsets here in Quito. As the sun sets, all the lights turn on in the hills and it is a crazy cool view.
7.Pigs are ginormous, much bigger than the dogs that chill with them in the shade and sheep have tails?? You can tell I did not grow up on a farm:)
8. Walks to the bus stop soon become a favorite every morning, especially since they pass a bakery and some cool locals who give you a hug every time.
9. Altitude is a real kicker here. Drink lots of water and don’t attempt to run up the hill on your way to ministry. I breath hard even after climbing into my bunk bed. Kind of embarrassing.
10. Hot water is such a blessing after working with cement and dust for hours in the sun.
11. People get excited to see you in the corner market. Not sure why but that sure never happened to me in the States!
12. Guinea Pig is a real meal here. Sorry Fat Albert and Orville:( (my old guinea pigs)
13. The kids love piggy back rides and jumping off slides onto you and lots of kisses and hugs which is a ok with me.
14. Everywhere you go, you hug/kiss/greet everyone in the room. My favorite is before feeding days, all the volunteers gather to pray and Jefferson always says “now greet everyone in the room”. There are probably 30 of us and we literally greet everyone in the room.
15. Get on the bus fast because the driver will start driving if you are half on the ground or the people you are with are already in the bus.
16. Food is really good here, from the pastries to the chicken to the ketchup/mayo and rice that everyone serves.
17.Fruit markets are the best! An entire pineapple is $1. I have eaten a lot of pineapple in the last few weeks.
18. Sand flea bites are rough let me tell you. I look like I have chicken pox all over my legs and it feels about the same as well.
19. The plants are super similar to Arizona even though Quito is on the edge of the Amazon. Lots of palm trees, eucalyptus trees, bougainvillea, and succulents grow here.
20. The local school bells are the same as America’s tornado sirens. You will get use to it.
Ministry Update!
This week we helped build a house for a family from Pan De Vida. The father/uncle of the family leads all the house building projects for Pan De Vida. Two months ago, though, his house burned to the ground. He has been trying to rebuild it while his family lives in a tiny, makeshift shack and tent. But 3 weeks ago he died suddenly from a tumor no one was aware of. Along side his family and another mission group, we helped build the walls, level the land around the house, and move a ton of rock. So much rock that I am sure I could fulfill all your landscaping needs back home:) The days were hot and very long but it was so cool getting to meet this family. We danced with the older ladies (who though it was so funny when we danced to the music), pushed the little kids in wheelbarrows, and pet pigs.
The family is Quechua, which are the indigenous people of Ecuador. There are about 2 million of them in Ecuador and you can always spot them by their long skirts, embroidered shirts, long braids, and hats. The language is very different from Spanish but thankfully the family knew Spanish as well. A couple came and met us while we were building and told us all about the Quechua. The husband is even working to translate the Old Testament into their language so the people can have a complete Bible. He said they printed ten thousand copies of the the New Testament in their language a couple years ago and it sold out immediately yet they have not been able to get it in print since. Pray that they an soon!!
Next week we will get back to the usual with feeding people and working around Pan De Vida, but this week I was really thankful for the opportunity we had with this family. We had a gorgeous view of the mountains, lots of fresh air and were able to pray with/for these people quite often as we worked and laughed alongside them. It truly went to show you do not need language to show people love or make a connection. None of our prayers were in their language and neither were their’s in english. Yet each time we felt moved alongside our sisters and brothers in Christ. I can not wait for more opportunities like this.
This is one of my teammates, Aidyn, and she is the sweetest:) PC: Erin Andersen
This was our worksite all week. We brought rock from up here down the the new house PC: Aly Badinger
PC: Aly Badinger
This little girl is named Ericka and she was so cute. I spent half the week giving her rides in the wheelbarrow PC: Aly Badinger
We picked up a lotttttt of trash around the worksite to clean up the area a little PC: Aly Badinger
