Painting and playing

Today we got up and did our usual morning routine. At the center the kids were very loud and we realized it was because they had not been served breakfast yet. The bread wasn’t even at the center yet. When the bread arrived, the kids were suddenly quiet because they were stuffing their mouths.

Katie playing Patty Cake Ecuadorian style

This morning my class was studying the color yellow. They colored in yellow, made bracelets in yellow, and played with toys that were yellow. Suzanne and Seija took down names of the graduated kids and put up the new ones in their classrooms. After the kids’ snack of oranges, I helped move the chairs, beds, and the toy kitchen outside to paint. I started to use sandpaper on all the chairs. When my dad and Oscar started using screwdrivers and hinges, I realized that we wouldn’t be painting for a while, so I went back inside the center.

Katie and Tía Alexandra

In the afternoon Neal worked with the babies for a change and he really enjoyed it. We got through all the furniture, but we still need a second coat. The kids watched Sesame Street in Spanish while they waited for their parents. At the end of the day, Emily and Shirley were sitting in my lap wanting me to take pictures of them over and over again. On the bus ride back home Neal gave us some tostado dulce to share from the cooks in the kitchen. When we got to the hotel, we ate a delicious dinner and met the owner of the hotel, who was not who Maggie expected it to be. We talked with her and then after a while we quickly went to bed. 

Some of the furniture that needed painting 

Katie and Tom painting away – quality father-daughter time! 

Tom, Óscar, and Néicer painting on the patio

The finished, brand new looking furniture! 

Neal and Seija teaching the tías conversational English 

- today's lesson focused on kitchen vocabulary 

Entry submitted by: Katie Horne

Message of the Day – Seija Webb: “I slept and I dreamed that life is all joy.  I woke and I saw that life is all service.  I served and I saw that service is joy.   - Kahlil Gibran