Day Two was one of those really perfect days that happens every once in a while. Meredith and I are getting to know the other volunteers a little better and have been quite taken with their wisdom, humor, and open heartedness.We arrived at the center and were met at the door by Pati´ who greeted each of us with a hug and a kiss on the cheek and a resounding Buenos Dias. This is the custom in Ecuador and it is considered rude if you do not hug and kiss each greeter.
Today I spent a couple of hours working with the children in the Art rincone or ¨center¨ as it would be called in America. Observation....the children are extremely attentive to the teachers and volunteers. They are expected to sit in chairs as lessons are being set out for them and they do this willingly. On this day, the kids traced their names and glued ¨bonitas¨ or small balls of tissue paper along the lines as though they were created dots.
I was soon pulled out of this room because I had volunteered to paint murals on the upper floor that is now under construction. As it turned out, I was expected to also draw the mural!!! I am not an artist....I repeat, I am not an artist. However, in the spirit of coorperation I found a drawing of a princess in a coloring book and proceeded to draw this design on a wall. Unbelievable....afterall the catch phrase for the day was carpe diem! As I drew, I discovered that I was really enjoying the bright sun shining over my shoulders and the bird song beyond the window. I was very happy, in fact.
At lunch, I went back down stairs and helped with the proceedings. The children are fed very nutritious meals that are traditional to Ecuador. On this day it was a squash soup followed by onions, pig skin, and potatoes over boiled rice. Rice and potatoes are a staple in every meal-lunch and dinner. Interestingly, the children are expected to clean their plates and drink all of their fruit juice. Exotic fruit juices seem to be served at every Ecuadorean meal. In fact I had never heard of many of these fruits. We have had mango, papayo, orange, pineapple, guava, and many others. After lunch the children were all put down side by side cross ways in the twin size beds with about 4 children to a bed. They are all expected to nap and they do this willingly.
Observation...the Ecuadorean children do not seem to be in need of constant entertainment as are our American children...generally speaking. They are treated with great love and respect, but they are expected to follow the rules. They brush their teeth, wash their hands and move their little chairs from room to room.
I have gotten particularly fond of the 4 year olds as they seem to be the kids that I´m with the most. Have I mentioned that they children are beautiful
Anthony is very outspoken and loves art. Paulita is a gorgeous little girl with the most amazing green eyes. Kevin loves to ask me my name and give me a hug. Jonathan loves to hold my hand.
Sebastien seems to be the class leader among the 4 year olds.
At the end of the day, I was asked by the teachers to come sing soft songs to the children! So, here I am being the music teacher again. I do miss it. The children seem to respond to my singing, a fact which makes me very happy.
Meredith and I went to the local mall just to get a cup of real cappacino...hope I´m spelling that correctly. We ended up taking a taxi back to the hotel except the driver didn´t have a clue where our hotel was located. He ended up asking other taxi drivers in the traffic for directions to our hotel. This was rather scary because we could sense that we were getting very far away from our destination. We finally got back within a couple of blocks of our hotel and gave that driver $4 American money.
That night after dinner, Martine and Andreas came by to give the group free Salsa lessons. So much fun to learn this Latin dance. So we really fulfilled the challenge to Seize the Day. I´ll begin to write specific stories about some of the children as I get to know them better.
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