So Halloween is not a holiday in Ecuador, surprise surprise, but we volunteers are still thinking about it. Although plans fell through to have a Halloween party in the retreat house for the neighborhood kids, we are still able to commemorate this odd holiday in our own way. In the mail this week my mom sent me a Halloween card and stickers. The stickers were intended for the kids at the guarderia, which maybe one day I'll use them there, but my first instinct was to place them all over the house. And so on Tuesday night after work I walked around and placed stickers of ghosts and halloween cats in the most random places: clock, utensil jar, underneath our fruit basket, my water bottle. Julia warned me "it's cute now but it won't be so cute in July," and although she is probably right it didn't stop me from my sticking spree.

Then today Jesus, our neighbor across the street, took me to the Duran market to buy a pumpkin for the house! Before we got there I was thinking "well maybe I can buy a few small ones so we can all carve one" but then I remembered that they don't sell pumpkins for decorations, they are meant to be eaten. Ah, yes, they are after all a vegetable. So needless to say the selection was small but good. Nice size pumpkins in different shades of green and yellow-orange. I picked out a nice plump one although Jesus suggested that I buy one that was the size of a small child. Good thing I didn't since I had to carry that damn thing around the market and then home on the bus! I will admit I felt a little silly getting on the red bus with a pumpkin tucked under my arm, but people have carried on crazier things (live chickens, dogs, construction material).

We hope to carve it tonight before we all depart for our adventures in Ecuador!!! We have our first 4 day weekend and are splitting up into several groups to travel to different parts of the country. Jaime and I will be traveling with Megan to a village in the Andes mountains called Loja. Christina and Jake will be joining us.

(side note: Christina is a former volunteer who came back for a few months to work at Nuevo Mundo's morning school. Jake is her awesome boyfriend who is volunteering at a hospital in the burn unit. They live in the apartment below our house in AJs and they may just be the coolest people ever. We love them.)

So we leave tonight to take a 9 hour bus ride to the beautiful village. We don't have an itinerary but who cares, from what we read it sounds like anything we do will be relaxing and well worth it. I'm just excited to see a different part of Ecuador, oh and get this since it's in the mountains it's....COLD!!! I'm packing my jeans, long sleeve shirts and a sweater! I've been in living in heat for so long that the thought of not sweating is just short of a miracle.

This website is in Spanish but you can just look at pictures: www.vivaloja.com

I don't know if you can tell, but I'm just really happy right now and in such a good place, I just needed to share with you all. I talked to mom on Wednesday night and she said "it's good to hear you laugh," and yes it's good to laugh. There hasn't been too much to find joy and laughter in the last few weeks, but now there is so much.

I have been spending more time with neighbors, and talking to new ones. I'm also singing with the church group on Sunday nights and so I met with the lead singer and guitarist on Thursday night to learn some songs and it was great to just sit and talk with people my age. We spend most of our time with kids and adults (30s and up) so it was fun to joke around and feel like I was with friends. I also am really happy to be singing with them because it will help me with spanish and also with learning the mass parts...which is incredibly difficult.

I could just keep writing, but I don't want to bore anyone. Thanks for reading! Happy Halloween!!!

As always, I love you.

A whirlwind of events

I arrived at the guarderia late on Thursday morning. I had puffy red eyes and a half hearted smile. I had just spent the last hour at the airport saying goodbye to Michele. I was going on only a few hours of sleep, no food, and I was emotionally drained from the past two weeks. Needless to say the guarderia was the LAST place on earth I wanted to be when Diana, one of the teachers, approached me to see what was wrong. Thinking that I was ok, I began to explain what had happened and found myself bursting into tears...again. She put a comforting hand on my shoulder as the children began shouting "MARIA ESTA LLORANDO" (mary is crying). Yeah, thanks kids.

I was able to finally calm down after talking with Raquel, another teacher, who I thought wasn't too fond of me. She actually sought me out and told me that she had been meaning to talk to me because she could tell I was sad. It meant a lot to me to know that the women I have been working with actually care for me. While talking to Raquel I thought "maybe this place isn't as bad as I thought." That was until snack time.

We were having snack as usual when I felt Jean Pierre's (yeah a french named Ecuadorian, crazy I know) hand on my shoulder. I turned around to see what he wanted but was met by his fast jumbled spanish, and so I turned back around. Jean Pierre tapped me again, and this time when I turned to him I was met by a vomit covered child. Jean Pierre has puked all over himself. It was running down his shirt and half his pant leg. He looked at me with his puppy dog eyes and said in his small high pitched voice "yo vomite" (I vomited). Yeah ya did. It was disgusting to say the least, and I took him to the classroom to clean him up and help him change. Truly a humbling experience cleaning up a 4 year old's chunky vomit. Thanks, mom for cleaning up ours! And much respect for my sisters in law. Keep fighting that good fight.

So you can believe me when I say that this weekend's retreat was much needed. Thank God for great timing because just after the roughest part of our year came our first all RdC retreat at the beach. It was a wonderful weekend away from work, responsibilites and Duran. We spent the majority of the time doing whatever we wanted, being selfish as Ethan, our leader told us. So I spent my time being selfish with Jaime, Lupita. With the crazy work schedules and living in different houses we don't spend too much time together and so finally we had some time to sit down together and be friends. It was just what I needed.

We ate "US food," sandwhiches with lettuce!, cheeseburgers and bacon! Can you tell that we've been missing food from home? Not to mention meat especially! It was wonderful to pig out on comfort food, but we were also very excited to come home and make some good ol rice and beans for dinner.

But we didn't spend all our time eating (just about 70%), we did manage to fit in some great reflections, talks and community time that was well over due. The AJS community had a great conversation on Sunday afternoon. As we sat listening to the waves crashing upon the shore we finally came together as the 5 of us to remember why community is so important. We reminded each other that as much as we need to hold each other accountable for our actions, we also have to be each others support systems. We need to be open, honest and vulnerable. We need to be willing to love but more importantly we must be willing to BE loved. Perhaps that is the hardest part for me...realizing that even at my worse I am still worthy of love.

We left the beach with mixed emotions of how the rest of the year is going to play out, but without a doubt we left knowing that we are beginning to form community. That night at mass,as I made my debut as the newest member of the church band, I felt a sense of peace and calm rush over my anxious heart as I came to understand that we are exactly where we are supposed to be...

As always, thanks for reading. Love you family!

Funny story:

Last Wednesday morning Steve came running into my room to tell me that there was a mouse in the kitchen. Still half asleep I went into the kitchen to find a very plump mouse/rat sitting in our dish rack. Laura, Steve and I stood there whispering (because if you talk too loud the mouse might move right?) about what to do and in my usual manner I said:

"I gotta go to work. Don't do anything until I'm out the door and it is shut behind me." I didn't want a rodent chasing me down the stairs.

And as I left I heard Steve say to Laura, "What should we do?"
To which Laura replied "I don't know, call animal control?"

Well here in Ecuador animal control turned out to be our guard Wellington and a shovel. Poor mouse didn't even know what was coming.