A weekend of relaxation...

Message of the Day: "I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again."

William Penn

Journal by: Kristina Herman Hill

I’ll start this journal entry with Sunday evening, when we reunited for dinner to share about our weekend adventures. Steve went bird watching in Mindo, Susan visited her son who is in the Peace Corps in Tena, Jessica and I went to Otavalo on Saturday, but I hung back to explore the city while she went to Mindo on Sunday. It was great to see everyone again and to swap stories.

Today it was back to the routine of breakfast at 7:00 am, then leaving for work at 8:00. We were greeted with smiles and cries of “Hola” by the tias and ninos. Susan spent the morning helping Tia Olga and Carolina in the kitchen at Center #1, while Steve returned to his painting project and Jessica to help Tia Sandra at Center #2. After a brief stop at Center #1, I went on a search for more paint thinner. After visiting a couple places my mission was accomplished. I certainly didn’t mind the extra walk as it was a beautiful morning and the beautiful white dome of the Cotopaxi volcano was more visible in the distance today.

I spent part of the morning helping out in Tia Jacqueline’s classroom. They seemed to be doing a lot of intakes of new families in both centers, and Jacqueline had two new little ones in her room. My guess is that neither child had been away from their mothers much before, so naturally both were almost inconsolable. One little boy kept repeating, “Mi mama se fue” or “My Mom left me”. Pobrecito!

Jessica was not feeling well so decided to go back to the hotel before lunch. she is feeling better after a trip to the pharmacist in Calderon. The afternoon was spent doing lively English teaching, me with a group of tias and Susan with a group of older children. As we returned to the hotel, the skies darkened and a very loud thunderstorm rolled in. It made for some nice napping weather for all of us.

After naptime we gathered for a dinner of spaghetti Bolognese and more conversation. We discussed plans for the rest of the week and it dawned on me how quickly the rest of our time at Calderon is going to go. My goal for the next few days is to be fully present in the moment and soak in as much of this experience as I can.