Goma

This is a picture of my host family here in Quito.

Last night I had dinner with the Aschmanns, a family that I met in Wallace, Nebraska who lives here in Quito. They are a missionary family. I met them almost a year and a half ago for dinner to talk about Ecuador and last night we had our second dinner together! They are a beautiful family and it was fun to see how they have grown and changed over the last year and a half. When I got home from dinner us girls (the two other volunteers and myself) were too tired to go out dancing...

Today at the daycare center I worked in the classroom for the 2-3 year olds. I think this is becomming one of my favorite classrooms. If you can get over the potty-training age and all that it involves, they such a fun and explorative age group. One of my favorite things to do with the kids is to turn up the music and dance! Most of them just stand and watch me be crazy, but I get a few to join in :).

Today the other teacher in the classroom planned the activity. Guess what it was? GOMA. Glue! I thought she was crazy at first and I thought the glue would just be messy. Five minutes later all 22 kids were sitting down playing with glue in their hands. For the next 20 minutes they played with glue and then picked it off their hands. All of them. Every kid was content and happy with glue in their hands. It also kept me occupied for a few minutes...if you have not played with a bit of liquid glue lately I really suggest that you do so. A dallop the size of a nickel in the palm of your hand will do just fine.

After the daycare center I went to Salsa lessons! I am learning so many new things in class. My teacher, Isaac, asked me what I was doing tonight at six because he had a lesson with a man and wanted a girl there for the guy to practice with. I had to say, "Estoy occupada." I am busy. It is quite amusing to me that he can teach me to dance salsa. I dont speak Spanish very well and he does not speak English. But I am learning to Salsa nonetheless.

And as for what I was busy with tonight...making dinner for 13 people! Tonight is the New Jersey sister volunteers last night in Ecuador and we cooked dinner for the entire family! It was also Patricks (my project coordinator and the son in law of Aleja and Marco) daughters 2nd birthday.

Amy and Ruth had a delicious recipe for Baked Ziti. We also had green beans, garlic bread, pineapple and mango and birthday cake! We sang Happy Birthday in English and she blew out the candle. Then we sang it in Spanish and she blew out the candle again! The family is so beautiful and loving. I feel so happy to be able to be a part of it this month.

Oh yes, and a word about the fruit. I bought the pineapple for $1.50 and 3 mangos for $1. They were sooooo delicious. The pineapple was WHITE! White! I thought something was wrong when I cut it open but I guess that is what color fresh pineapple is. It was so good! And the mangos...I could almost live off of the fruit here. I had a mango and avocado for a snack this afternoon. If you like avocados in North America you need to come to the southern hemisphere and try these avocados...

Take care!