i have had the best last couple days. seriously, they've been completely perfect. a little before 10 amber came and grabbed me to help take the tres kids on a walk. we had 9 of them and we walked up the hill by the orphanage to look at the flowers, and then played in the little park they had. these kids are the cutest and walks with them are my favorite. we went back up because it was getting close to time to go. the workers had canguil and tropicola waiting for us. for some reason, popcorn tastes soo much better here. and it's so nice when they have snacks waiting for us on random days. we took the kids to their cunas, picked out clothes for the next day, and said goodnight as we put them down for their nap.
brianne and i had night shift that night. i've decided night shifts aren't all that bad. i get lots of reading done, and a chance to bond with the girl that i'm working with. it was a rough night though. there was very little quiet/down time and the time passed slowly. but it didn't really keep me from my good mood.
yesterday i had the morning off and then in the afternoon, trina, brianne and i had casas. i'd never worked a casa shift before. on our way there we got yogoso, which is like frozen go-gurt stuff, and it's divine. we need it in the states. at casas we drew faces on balloons and made bracelets and colored pictures. it's surprising what little kids find so entertaining. one girl came and sat on my lap and asked me to help her draw. she would say "luna grandato aqui, corazon pequeno aqui" and tell me what to draw. then she had me write each of our names in one of the hearts. it was pretty cute.
after casas we came home and amber, cassie, brianne and i went to mcdonalds. mcdonalds is a luxury here, and it tastes so much better than it does in the states. i was just really looking forward to some american food. so, i got my chicken mcnuggets, and my fries, and indulged. cass, bri and amber all got burgers and we decided it was worth the taxi money and rain.
we came home and went upstairs to dry off and warm up. cassie and and i had a heart to heart and just talked about... life, and everything. i seriously love her and am so happy she came to ecuador because i need her in my life. and i like her a lot.
then all the girls cuddled up and watched 12 rounds downstairs. mom, please netflix it. it's pretty good. then, about an hour past my bedtime, at 10, we got our new girls. macie and angela. we got to know them for a little bit and the headed to bed.
today is our off so it's going to be filled with a big breakfast made by us for the new group, slack-lining in the park, shopping at the artesian, mailing my letters, and ordering pizza in. i can't believe i've officially been here for a month. it feels like i've been here forever, but it's gone by really fast at the same time.
i love ecuador. i love it all. and the really good days make it so much more worth it. the founder of osso, rex, is here visiting right now. he tells us stories about the kids he's seen come in and out of these orphanages and their stories are so moving. i know the work here were doing is so good. but i know that i'm learning so much more from the kids every day, that i couldn't learn otherwise. i love them. i love being with them. and i'm grateful for the opportunity to do this. it's incredible.
