March Update

March has been busy with a lot of fun stuff, but also not anything especially crazy. I have traveled just about every weekend, excluding the last, so that has been fun and refreshing. I love the Center and my work here in Quito, but I also love getting out on the weekends for a break.

After Mom and Dad left, we had a volunteer spiritual retreat in Machachi. It was absolutely beautiful. There was tons of gorgeous green grass and flowers everywhere. Although it was very much of a spiritual retreat, it was definitely a good time for all of us volunteers to just build community among one another. And it really was good for us, as their noticeably has been a change in the group dynamic and everyone hanging out a lot more.

Then it was St. Patrick's Day, so of course I had to go out and celebrate a little bit of my heritage. It wasn't too crazy, but just fun to hang out with the volunteers. Then MARCH MADNESS began, baby! haha I miss Dicky V. Anyway, I have been going out to the bars a lot recently in order to watch the games...I kind of wish I could just sit back on my couch, but at least I'm getting to see some of the games. The most fun night was last Thursday for the Xavier-K-State game...literally 5 of us took over a bar and were screaming and jumping up and down at all the overtimes and last minute shots. So fun! Hopefully I'll get to see the Final Four this weekend as well.

Another interesting thing that I went to last week was a discussion about a new book written about the rights of child laborers. It was mainly written about the Working Boys' Center actually and it is interesting trying to learn more. It is definitely something that I am still not totally sure about as I have definitely always felt that child labor really isn't a good thing. It's obviously not the best option, but I guess this is a totally different culture and unfortunately some families really need their children to work in order to support their basic needs. Thank God for the Center and all the families that are able to get those needs met here as well as an education! I just have to pray for all the others that I see all the time around the city.

Finally, this past weekend was a lot of fun as we celebrated Palm Sunday (on Saturday) here at the Center with a big procession and lunch. And then following that I went out on a chiva (party bus) for Diana's (my host sister) birthday. It was a lot of fun to get to hang out with my second family for a while; we danced all night!! On Sunday, almost all of the volunteers went over to Maria's (one of our cooks) house for lunch. It was so nice of her to invite all of us to meet all of her family and cook more for us on her day off! Her grandchildren were ADORABLE!

Well, now it's only 3 days until Spring Break! Woo hoo. My friend Stephanie from the Boys and Girls Club in Madison is coming to visit me, so we will be traveling a lot trying to get in all three ecological zones of Ecuador....the jungle, the mountains, and the beach! Have a wonderful Easter everyone!

Just livin' the dream

Sorry for not updating - I was spending time with my mom and dad!! And my mom cried from the first hug to the last, but it was amazing. They got to experience a taste of Center life and also have fun and travel with me.

The first weekend we went to Mindo for a day of adventure in the gorgeous cloud forest. We arrived and ate some breakfast while watching the little town begin to wake up. Then we hiked up to the zipline canopy tours - I think my mom and dad were going to kill me on the way up, but it was beautiful and great exercise. Then my mom and I went on the 13 ziplines! (Dad couldn't because of his back) I was so proud of my mom! She was a little scared and definitely the oldest, but was a trooper and received a lot of encouragement from the whole group. Afterward we had some ice cream as we were exhausted and took the bus home as it was pouring rain! Besides the terrible bug bites Mom and Dad got, it was an awesome day where my mom got to make a check in her bucket list. Just livin' the dream.

No time to rest - we had a full day planned on Sunday as well. We got up and did aerobics in the park. Then we went back to the hotel and changed quickly and went to the Liga game. It was a huge game against the team in second place, Emelec, and Liga dominated 3-0! After the game, we bought jerseys and eventually caught a taxi back to the taxi. We had a little time to shower, relax, and watch the first 2 periods of the USA-Canada hockey game before leaving again to have dinner with my Ecuadorian host family. We went to a restaurant called Mosaico with a breathtaking view of Quito.

Monday morning, classes started back up again. Throughout the week, Mom and Dad especially enjoyed Girls' Program (thanks to their great little angels idea!) and my 1st grade English boys in La Marin. They also got to go out and see some of the families' houses - pretty moving I think. The best part of the week was Mom's birthday on Wednesday though. My high school girls memorized a poem and recited it for her and gave her white roses. We then played some trivia with the girls and ate these yummy desserts - it was a small, relatively unorganized party for my mom, but I think everyone enjoyed it anyway.

Finally their last weekend in Ecuador we went to Cuenca. It is a Colonial city and feels quite a bit cleaner than Quito. We stayed at a cute little hotel and enjoyed exploring the city. Two of the highlights were the Ingapirca Inca ruins and the "Panama Hat" shop and tour. Ingapirca was very interesting and included a very 'cultural' bus ride to get there. And my mom was "just livin' the dream" on our way back to Cuenca in the back of a pick up truck! How funny! The hat shop was also very interesting and cool to see all the handmade toquillo hats.

Overall, it was a really good week with them here. I don't know how I am going to do it for another 6-7 months without seeing them, but praise the Lord for Skype!

Keep livin' the dream guys!
Love you,
Taylor