Ecuadorean Sunday

This morning, I went to another part of the orphanage next door (the one for healthy children).  This one housed children from about age 3-7.  I got many warnings about this--I was told that the kids were a bit crazy, and I would be mildly insane by the end.  But I loved it.  Everyone was speaking Spanish, and the kids were disappointed that I couldn't, but we managed through charades and the help of one of my roommates, Alyssa, who served a Mormon mission in Chile and is therefore fluent in Spanish. (OSSO isn't a religious organization, but it primarily recruits volunteers out of Utah and Idaho, so everyone currently volunteering in Ecuador is LDS.)

The kids were so excited to have volunteers come to visit.  As soon as I entered the room, I was greeted with shouts of "hola, amiga!"  They were eating breakfast, but as soon as they finished, they ran over to the other volunteers and me and started to climb all over us.

The nuns who run this orphanage then told us to separate into what are called "casas"--groups of about 4 kids who live in adjacent rooms.  Each volunteer was in charge of supervising one of theses casas.  I was in charge of four kids: the girls Mayuri and Cataleya, and the boys Brian and Jordy.  There was supposed to be a boy named Ismael, but he was gone somewhere (perhaps he needed to spend some time with Ahab.)

I was told to bring in activities to do with the kids, so I brought in paper bags, markers, and pipe cleaners to make puppets.  That went pretty well--they enjoyed all the coloring, and for the most part, they behaved.  And the boys had fun stabbing the bags with pipe cleaners to put arms on their puppets.  They also loved to play caballo--piggyback rides (caballo is Spanish for horse.)  These kids really liked to be hugged and touched--I learned very quickly not to sit in positions that would be uncomfortable if another 40 pounds just happened to plop down on some part of my body, as the kids had a tendency to just come and sit on my lap (or outstretched knee, or forearm, or hand) with little warning.  It's fun, to always have a child in your arms, but also a bit sad, as they are so starved for affection that they climb on random strangers.  (If this were a radio show, then now they would cue "All You Need Is Love," which is currently in my earbuds.  If you want a more authentic Taylor-in-Ecuador experience reading this, go listen to the Beatles.)

After the paper bag puppets were made, the girls decided that a nail salon was in order.  They took their markers and worked first on their own nails, and then on mine.  I had quite the rainbow!!
                                        
I brushed Mayuri's wet hair right after they markered my nails, so a lot of the color came off.  Nonetheless, it is the best manicure I have ever had.

The kids at this orphanage were also fascinated by my glasses--they pulled them off my face and all tried them on (under close supervision, because I really don't want my glasses to break.)  The kids then decided that my glasses (I think the Spanish word is luntas) needed more decoration.  I ended up with these:
Obviously the peak of high couture, with pipe cleaner decorations.  The kids then took the pipe cleaners and made their own glasses out of them--it was one of the cutest things I have ever seen, and I was so flattered that they wanted to be like me, a girl that they could barely even talk to.  (I think that my ideal career would be a professional role model for children. However, that isn't really hiring, so I plan to be a pediatrician--someone who most kids fear.)

And one more story about that orphanage--apparently the boys there learned the meaning of a raised middle finger, so whenever they were mad, they flipped me off.  I know that it's really bad behavior, but it was so hilarious to see this little kid making the gesture.  I should teach them to stick their tongues out instead.

Because this was Sunday, and all the volunteers here are Mormon, we all went to church.  They have an English branch in the city limits of Cuenca (quick crash course for those who are unfamiliar with Mormon services--wards (bigger) or branches are what we call congregations, and a typical Sunday service is made up of 3 parts--sacrament meeting, where we take the sacrament (prayer-over bread and water which represents Christ's sacrifice) and then 2 classes based on age and gender.)  We only went to the sacrament meeting today, and it was really cool.  It felt very familiar, as it was in English, and the format was the same as at home.  Mormon churches are like bookstores and pianos to me--no matter where they may be, whenever I am around them a part of me feels like it belongs.

There were a few differences, though.  The English congregation was tiny--maybe 40 people in the chapel.  A few volunteers went to the Spanish service earlier in the morning, and they said that it was pretty full, but there weren't many people at our church.  The man who blessed the sacrament (said a prayer over it to make it, in our beliefs, sacred) was this older bald man with a ponytail and a thick southern accent.  I wish I would have talked to him to ask about his life experiences and how he ended up in Ecuador, because it seemed like it would be interesting.

Also, the music here is a bit different.  They sang three hymns (opening, closing, and sacrament, as is typical at home), but the opening and closing hymns were ones that no one had ever heard before.  I'm asked to be the pianist at quite a few church activities, so I've read through most of the book, but even I didn't recognize the tunes.  And people here seem to sing better than at home--people actually sang the 4-part harmonies, which was really pretty to listen to.  Sometimes, at home, I'll try to sing the alto part to hymns, mostly as a musical exercise, but generally that just feels odd because ear training is really not a musical strength of mine, and I'm never quite sure if I'm singing the right notes.  And it's usually only me singing harmony.

After church, we went back to the OSSO orphanage.  We didn't do much different today, although I did learn how to brush the teeth of a child with a feeding tube, which is something I couldn't imagine doing a month ago. (In a few words, you do it very carefully).

I also spent some time with this little 5-year-old named Brian, who is absolutely adorable.  He is almost completely deaf, which makes communication with him challenging, (plus he's a five-year-old boy, so he probably wouldn't want to listen anyway), but he has the greatest giggle and loves to explore everything.

This evening, we had a big formal Sunday dinner, made by a few of the volunteers (they took the afternoon shift off to cook, and everyone who didn't help cook did the dishes after).  We invited a few of the orphanage employees, and it was really fun to all be together for a meal.  Also, the juice here is awesome.  They had a bunch of different kinds at dinner, and one of the volunteers suggested that we line them all up and pretend to be taking shots (we didn't.  But sort of wanted to).

 

That's fruit salad, a roast, mashed potatoes, and salad. Plus carrot cake for dessert.  It was wonderful.

 

That's all for tonight guys!  I'll write again soon.  Thanks for reading!