Who lives in our house? (Kent)

After one week of living with our wonderful host family, I had to ask the grandmother, "so, just who lives in our house?"  The concept of both space and family in our Ecuadoran family is more fluid than what we're accustomed to.  The grandparents have lived in their house for about 25 years.  Over the years, they added on to their home as they had time and money, which is typical here.  Our family of four lives on the main floor of the house, right off the dining room.  On the first floor is a living room, a kitchen, a dining room and 3 bedrooms.  We are occupying two. The other people live in other rooms connected to, but not necessarily with access to, the central part of the house.  We have not been given a "tour" of the rest of the house because we don't really have a need to be in the other bedrooms/living spaces.  Spaces and rooms are added as needed.  There are a few other rooms on the main level (from what I can tell), plus two more stories above.

At every meal, people come and go at different times.  There are two tables in the dining room:  a large main one that can seat 6-8, and a smaller one for 2-4 people.  In our two weeks here, there has been virtually a different combination of people for every meal, some of whom live hear and some of whom don't.  In the two weeks we have been here, there have probably been a total of 12 extra family members (not living in the house) who have eaten here at least once.

So, who lives at our house?  The grandparents (in their late 50s), their son, their daughter and her husband (in their 30s) and daughter (10), their teenage nephew, another nephew who works on a fishing boat half the week, and the cook/housekeeper.  Including us, that makes 12.  It doesn't feel like 12 people living here because not everyone eats every meal here and people eat in shifts.  It seems a lot of them hang out in their own rooms, some of which have TVs.  Without many people around, they have said, it feels boring and not quite right.  We're honored to feel at home with our Ecuadoran family.

Health update

We are all healthy again!  What a beautiful day!!

We were glad for the small medicine cabinet that we brought with us....and have learned what's available here.  Everyone had a recommendation for what we should do, especially for Luisa.  Quite a few recommended the hospital; fortunately our hosts are more calm.  They did buy Floratil (a probiotic), especially for Luisa.....and it seemed to help.  Gracias a Dios!!

Passing Time (Magdalena)

A couple of days ago, Luisa and I realized how much free time we were going to have here. We were getting bored of sitting around waiting for the next thing to happen and we needed something to do. We asked our host family if there was any place to buy yarn and needles to knit and they said there was a store a few blocks away. So we went. It turns out it was a little craft store. It was the kind of little store where you can't walk around, you just ask for what you want and they show you what they have. We asked to see their yarn so the woman there went into the next room and brought out three different skeins, each a different type of yarn. We told her which type we wanted and then she went back into the other room and brought out a whole trash bag full of different colors (most were variegated) of that type of yarn. Luisa and I each picked out the color we wanted and then we asked her for needles. We paid and then the woman there brought out some crafting thread stuff that she showed us how to make bracelets with. Then she let us keep it so we could finish it on the way home. Everyone here is so nice :)

A bit of birding

We have been enjoying three kinds of herons which are common along the rocky coast:  the Lava heron (unique to the Galapagos); the Great blue heron (a bit smaller and darker than the one we're used to seeing in Goshen); and the Yellow-crowned night heron.  They enjoy hunting around the large volcanic rocks that line the shores (and cover much of the island) where they find plenty of crabs, lizards and insects!

To see pictures and find out more, see:

http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~kpt/terraquest/galapagos/wildlife/coastal/herons.html

The ups and downs (Teresa)

It seems we are settling in to this place....little by little.  We have washed clothes (more than once) and have them in drawers.  We have learned the basic patterns of the household.  We are comfortable tooling around town and waving to familiar folks....even the girls can do so on their own (together) during the day.  We know the appropriate greetings for each time of day, and when coming and going from the table or the house.

And now, we're also figuring out how to be sick in a new place and culture.....and learning the vocabulary for all of it!  No, not fun, but a regular part of life, and an expected part of changing routines, foods, climates, etc, etc.  Kent was down with a cold for a few days this week....slept lots, but kept going with morning music classes.   (I wondered how we 3 would do them without him!  We would've managed, but glad we didn't have to.)

And then, last evening, Luisa came down with a fever and stomach ache.  She slept good, but she and I are home this morning.  Her fever continues....and stomach/bowels are off.  She wants so badly NOT to miss anything, like the dinner for volunteers this evening.  She's not too sick to whine, "but I'm an extrovert!"

Generally, I'm feeling like we are ending the "honeymoon period" of our trip, and entering "reality"!  Crossing languages and cultures is feeling hard/complex (as it is!), so I retreat to our bedroom and play a game on the ipod :)  Or read about the Galapagos (in English) or read the Bible (in Spanish).  Or practice ukulele.

As is typical in Latin America, our hosts are VERY concerned for our well-being....and they go out of their way to check on our sick ones :)  Very sweet, indeed.  It seems they go to the doctor much sooner than we do....but, why not?  It's free!  We are cared for well, by friends near and far.  And God's presence is as close as the warm breeze, and the wonderfully fresh morning juice (from naranjilla fruit).

These are the ups and downs of real life.....no matter where we are!

How's the weather? (Teresa)

It depends who you ask....  According to Luisa, it's perfect for roller-blading along the beach in shorts and t-shirt.  According to Ashanti (10 yr old host) it's a good time to curl up in a warm blanket to do homework on the couch.  Her mom wears a fleece poncho inside during these days.  After all, it is the coolest month of the year, with high temps in the low 70s and low temps of 60!  Our host family is looking forward to November when it warms up, around 80 in the days.  We think this season is just grand!!

The weather also depends on where you currently are on the island.  The first weekend we were here, we left town (where we live on the SW coast) in mid-day when it was sunny and 75.  Fifteen minutes later we were in the hills where is was a cooler, cloudy 65, and with some rain it felt chilly to us Hoosiers.  As we hiked up to the top of a volcano, the wind increased.  We were glad our hosts prompted us to bring our raincoats and long sleeves along!  But, after another fifteen minute drive to the other side of the island (SE) we were again on a beach, in full, warm sunshine.

Blog comments and email messages

We've heard from some of you, dear friends and readers, that you've tried to post a comment on this blog, but it didn't "take" for some reason.  You do need a gmail account in order to post comments.  The other way you can comment is by sending an email to one of us:

Teresa:  tdutchersmith@gmail.com
Kent:  kdutchersmith@gmail.com

We like hearing your reactions to what we post!  Thanks for thinking of us :)

Snorkeling (Magadalena)

On Sunday I snorkeled for the first time. It was really scary because I didn't know how to breathe in and out of my mouth. I kept trying to breathe in my nose and I couldn't so I freaked out and started breathing really fast in and out of my nose which I couldn't do and then I freaked out more and went to the surface. Then I took the tube out of my mouth and accidentally got salt water in my mouth which is gross. And I was still was breathing really fast which made me lose all my energy and so then I struggled back to shore. I took off the mask, put it on a rock and was going to go swim, but my mom said that I had to try again because there was such cool stuff on the bottom. I put on the mask again and practiced breathing in and out of my nose slowly and then I went under. Wow, it was really easy! Then when I looked around on the bottom I saw all shapes and sizes of fish and lots of sea urchins and then I saw a huge sea turtle! It was about 3 feet long and just about 5 feet under me! I went above the water and yelled fast to my mom with the tube still in my mouth, "tortuga! tortuga! tortuga! tortuga! tortuga! tortuga!" She came over and we both floated above it watching it eat for a while. So cool!

Does your nativity set include a giant tortoise?! (Teresa)

As we planned our sabbatical year, some of you asked, "where will you go to church while you're away?"  We planned to play this by ear, assuming several things:  the girls would be bored in any church service until their Spanish skills improved; Kent and I would be able to find things to appreciate in most any worship service, and, if nothing else, would have a chance to learn more Spanish; and no church community could replace our home church during this year.

So far, we've attended the nearby Catholic parish twice with our host family.  They were surprised that we wanted to attend, since we aren't Catholic.  But, it is a sure way to get a better feel for this family and community.  (And no one here has heard of Mennonites!)  We've already realized that our girls would likely prefer Catholic mass over Evangelical worship (the other option) for two main reasons:  it's predictable, with a written liturgy; and it only lasts 45-50 min, with a short sermon (10-15 min).  The other option would have a much longer sermon, if not more than one!

The first thing we noticed about this parish (from the outside, then inside) is the lovely, brightly colored, child-like murals which cover many of the walls.  In the murals, the Gospel stories are set in the Galapagos islands!  It's surprising (for us) to see a large tortoise and a marine iguana in the stable at Jesus' birth :)  And lovely to see one of the disciples playing a native flute as Jesus teaches a crowd on the beach.  It's a significant and beautiful way to depict the manner in which God (always) comes to us, as church communities, within our contexts and cultures.  (As soon as possible, we'll get some pictures of these murals on our blog.)

Another way that we're finding to integrate our worship experiences across cultures and languages is by learning the Lord's Prayer in Spanish.  I appreciate the bridge this creates to my two main worshiping communities in Goshen:  Faith Menno, our home church; and Waterford Crossing, where (when in Goshen) I regularly lead worship services and a women's Bible study group.  Earlier this summer, the women's Bible study group finished a study series on the Lord's Prayer.  Now I pray this prayer in Spanish, in the midst of local followers of Jesus.

Kent's Journal Entry

Friday, September 19

In preparing Magdalena and Luisa for entering another culture, some of the things they heard me say included things such as "be flexible" and "expect the unexpected."  I guess the girls were listening, because during our first week of work, they were saying those things to me.  Here is a timeline of our assignment:

Before arriving:  teaching music to 6-13 year olds.

Upon arrival:  teaching high school students.

Monday:  went to the high school to have a meeting, which turned out to be a presentation in front of high schoolers who had the choice between music, art and English.  Our assignment:  teach students music that they can then perform in the center of town (and tourist district).

Tuesday:   class went well, but was 30 min. instead of the 80 min we were was told.

Wednesday:  5 min. before class, the teacher from the school tells us that we're not supposed to come with a lesson plan, rather we need to take students ideas and start from scratch. He said that they had started writing a song that had something to do with the turtle mural that the art class was going to be creating.  Class did not go so well this day, but luckily it ended earlier than it was supposed to again.  William, our program director, was very frustrated with the school when he heard this.  This new plan was not the plan he had made with them.

Thursday:   We went to a large preschool and taught music to 7 of the 8 classes as a trial. It went really well, and after just a few classes, they wanted us there everyday!  Met with William and the teachers.  Have new schedule and won't be going to the high school. Will go to "Pre-kinder" everyday and teach music to all 8 classes 3 times a week!

Friday:  We started with our new schedule and it's a great fit!

Next Week:  We will only teach 5 year olds because the 3-4 year olds have parent teacher conferences all week.

The 2 Weeks after that:  vacation for all students, but we will begin an elementary music program that will become an after school program after vacation.

Wow!  What a week.  On one hand it seemed like a crazy week, but on the other hand it seemed pretty typical of the kind of things that can happen when you are trying to figure out your role in another culture.  Looking back on the week, I think that's what the plan was all along, to see where the need is and what the best fit is.

Teaching Preschool Classes (Luisa)

This morning we went to a preschool  of 3-5 year olds to try it out and see how it goes to maybe continue at the preschool while we are on the Galapagos. We had seven 20 minute classes with about 20 kids in each class. We taught three classes of three year olds, one class of four year olds, and three classes of five year olds. The four and five year olds participated well and sang and danced along with us. As for the three year olds they just stared and watched most of the time but participated some of the time also. Even the preschoolers had uniforms they had to wear! But their uniforms were just grey sweat pants and a white t-shirt. Not as formal as the older kids that have to wear skirts/nice pants and a nice button down shirt. It was fun to do music with the preschoolers and hopefully we can do it again.

First day of teaching music (Magdalena)

This morning our family went to the school to teach our first music class. At this point, we only have this one class of high schoolers. We were told we would have 80 minutes with them so that's what we prepared. We learned a round, "viva viva la musica" and learned a song on the recorder. They were all quick learners with the recorders because they had learned how to play them in school when they were younger. 40 minutes into the period some of the kids started saying "bye" as if class was done. We were confused and it turned out that we only had 40 minutes with them instead of 80 like we had thought. So no lesson plans need to be made for tomorrow's class period. We were told tomorrow will be 80 minutes but who knows how long it will be. Good first day!

Our first visit to the tortoise refuge (Teresa)

It's almost overwhelming to see so many different kinds of unique, amazing animals each day.....yet, we continue!  On Monday, while Kent went to a high school for a planning meeting, the girls and I jumped at the chance to visit the Galapaguera.  The group of staff and volunteers on the Conservation  Project head over the hills on M/W/F to feed the adult and juvenile tortoises at this protected breeding area.  We took the white pick-up taxis with the others, stopping at a farm to fill the pick-up bed with fresh leaves and stalks for the tortoises.  The drive is 20-30 minutes on winding, bumpy roads....even I was getting queasy in the back seat!

Once we arrived we bundled the stalks to each carry a bundle back into the Galapaguera.  The tortoises either smelled the food coming, or just knew it was time, because they were coming the other direction, blocking the path!  I was lagging behind the other humans (being the oldest in the group!) and wasn't quite sure how to get around these huge creatures.....finally giving them the right-of-way, I went off the path to get my bundle to the feeding area.  They quickly changed course and climbed over each other to get the yummy leaves and stalks :). While they ate, we cleaned and refilled their watering hole.

The Galapaguera was started 8 years ago when the tortoises had become endangered on the island.  Now 30-40 adults are kept in this area to breed, along with the young ones up to age six.  After 6 years they are taken to the natural tortoise habitat on the far side of the island, reachable only by boat.

After our time with the tortoises we walked a short distance to a hillside where the Conservation Project is in the midst of reforestation, with the intent in reducing the number of invasive plants in the area and replanting native species to restore the habitat for many endemic animals.  The National Park and government are sponsoring the project, and progress is being measured through annual bird counts.

We spent time doing our little part, helping to dig up small native plants (one kind) that will be planted in the greenhouse, and later on another hillside that is also undergoing reforestation.  It's inspiring to experience the passion of the local young adults who are working on these projects to protect this treasure that is their home.

Food Adventures (Teresa)

We've had a request to share more about the food we're trying these days....good idea!

Every day we have breakfast (el desayuno) at 7-9am, depending on the schedule for the day.  Typical foods for this meal were pictured on our blog earlier:  bread rolls from a bakery; sliced fresh cheese (sort a cross between feta and munster); some type of eggs (hard/soft boiled or fried); hot milk with coffee (Nescafe); and fresh juice or a blended fruit drink.  At our current home, they add "American" breakfast options, both for us and for their 10 year old:  Nutella, PB, and cold cereal.

At 1-2pm we have lunch (el almuerzo) which is the main meal of the day.  Every main meal begins with a hearty soup, including some meat, rice or pasta, and vegetables (potatoes, yucca, carrots, onions).  Then follows a plate full of rice, meat and some type of veggie (green salad, stir fried, etc.)  Often the plate includes fried green plantain or cooked ripe/sweet plantain.  At times they vary this meal, like on Saturday when they served seafood ceviche with fresh lobster and conch meat!  (This was the meal we've had that was most 'different' for us; Luisa wasn't able to eat much!)  This meal also includes a fresh juice or blended fruit drink.  With this being the main meal of the day, most folks go home from work for an extended siesta, eat with their families, then return to work again.  Schools begin at 7am so that children are home for the main meal.

The light supper (la cena or merienda) comes at 7-8pm.  This meal varies more than the other two:  a small portion of rice, meat and veggies; tortillas verdes (with green plantain and cheese inside the homemade tortilla); and tacos (like our burritos).  This meal includes hot drinks of tea or coffee.

Most of the foods have been prepared similarly enough to our food, that they're not too strange for any of us.  And, they don't eat spicy foods at all.  For us, it can be hard to eat the full servings at the main meal, and then wait until later evening to eat again.  But, I think our stomachs and minds are starting to adjust to these schedule differences.

Last night was a special evening, since it was the anniversary (11 yrs) since a grandfather's death.  So, a special mass was held at the church, and afterwards (8:30pm or so) a lot of family came to the house to have hot chocolate and homemade empanadas de queso (sweet pies filled with cheese).  A lovely tradition, and another new event for us!

Swimming with the sea lions (Luisa)

Yesterday we drove about 40 minutes to a nice beach on San  Cristóbal Island call Puerta China. There were very strong currents and big waves. One  wave was about 10 feet high! Some sea lions were having fun riding the waves with us. They would waddle into the water, come out near us, wait for a good wave, and ride it all the way back to the shore. Then they would roll out of the water onto the sand and waddle back to the shade to lay down and rest again. It was really fun riding the waves with the sea lions. I didn't see any sea turtles but some of the others that weren't swimming hiked up a small mountain to look over the water and they saw a couple sea turtles swimming in the water. It was a fun afternoon at the beach.

Animal Sightings on Our First Beach Hike (by Kent)

Yesterday after breakfast, Pablo (our host father) took us on our first beach walk at La Loberia (Sea Lion Beach).  After a about a half mile walk from our house to the beach along a lonely, nicely paved road among lots of small trees with yellow flowers and many cute lava lizzards scurrying along the path, we arrived at the beach.   Soon we were at the beach, and began to see various marine iguanas and Galápagos sea lions.  More and more of each as we went on the path of sand that became a path of large lava rocks, jumping from one to another.  Once we got to the part of the path that was only rocks, it was designated by white poles sticking up above where the rocks were.  I took along my handy dandy animal guide and marked each one that we saw.  There were even a few that I couldn't find (my guide is not totally comprehensive).  Many of these animals are endemic (found only in) to the Galapagos.  Here is what I was able to identify:

1. Blue Footed Booby
2. Swallow Tailed Gull
3. Brown Pelican
4. Common Frigatebird
5. Small Ground Finch
6. Small Tree Finch
7. Medium Tree Finch
8. Galapagos Dove
9. Sally Lightfoot Crab
10. Terrestrial Hermit Crab
11. San Critobal Lava Lizard
12. Galapagos Lava Lizard
13. Marine Iguana
14. Hawksbill Turtle
15. Galapagos Sea Lion
16. Carpenter Bee

It was the most amazing hike I've ever taken.  Magdalena and Luisa have been busily working to add the pictures from our 4-5 hour hike.  We thought we applied sun screen on well, but our burns said otherwise.  The marine iguanas blend in so well with the volcanic rocks that it's easy to accidently step on one if you're not looking closely.  In the evening I walked down to the malacon and added the Spotted Sandpiper to my list.

We arrived on the island of San Cristobal! (Teresa and Kent)

We are thrilled to have arrived at our first, long-term (4 mos) destination......in the Galápagos Islands!    It was an easy trip from Guayaquil to S.C. and a beautiful place to land.  We can't quite believe that not only do we get to visit here, but it's our home for a while.  What an amazing gift!!

As we landed on the island it appeared to be mostly wild, with a small populated area.  Yet, there were several cruise ships in the vicinity.  I was seated beside an Ecuadorian couple (in their late 70s or 80s) who had never before visited the islands.  Their excitement rivaled ours as we neared the island!! Once on the ground we exited the plane on open stairs, and then walked across the tarmac toward the small, open-air building.  (K, M & L had never experienced exiting a plan this way!)  It took some time to go through the "foreigners' entrance" where we had to present more paperwork and money, but we had finally arrived, so nothing else mattered.  After getting our luggage we were greeted by Reina, a staff-person of the Project Galapagos, who escorted us to our new home.

A few from our host family greeted us.  They are an extended family:  mother Julisa, father Pablo, daughter Ashanti, grandpa Pepe & grandma Yolanda, uncle Jefferson, and the cook/maid named Jaqualine.  There may be others we haven't yet met :)  They have a large home, with 3 levels, so we have 2 bedrooms and a bathroom.  They are used to hosting internationals -- from Europe, the US and Canada -- so are set up well for doing so.  But, Spanish is the language of the house, which is also good for us!  The parents know a bit of English and they'd be glad for Ashanti to learn some from our girls.  We've already had 2 nice long conversations with family members at meal times!  They are easy to be with and are great conversationalists!

After we had the mid-day meal, we were taken to our work site (Projecto Galapagos) to meet with the director, William, who's also on the city council, and to get oriented.  A volunteer picked us up on foot and we walked the few blocks to the office.  It was bustling with kids programs and volunteers coming and going.  Two main international programs feed into Project Galapagos' program.  Our program, Performing Arts Abroad, is based in the U.S. and sends artists, music teachers and dance instructors to volunteer.  The other one seems to send more Europeans and feeds their English teaching and conservation programs.  Already we met folks from Norway, Holland and Germany.  We had two nice walking tours by other volunteers of the downtown/Malecon area.  It's an incredible little town with a nice mix of tourist and "local folk" stuff.  In a 15 minute tour, we walked along a bike path, saw many sea lions, artisan and souvenir shops, the post office, the hospital, the police station, cafes, touring agencies. . . you name it.  Mostly roads and bike paths with pavers/stones.

When we met with William, he gave us a nice overview of the island and Project Galapagos, which he founded in the late 90s.  He seems like an amazing guy and a strong leader.  He has volunteer English teachers, art teachers and volunteer conservationists lined-up all year so that there is program consistancy.  He also has a local staff.  It sounds like there has been less consistency with getting music volunteers, so he is very happy to have us.  It looks like this next week will be one of figuring things out.  Monday morning at 7:30 Kent will go with William to the middle school/high school to meet with staff there and figure out a plan of when and where to work with a group of 15 or so students.  We'll also probably do work with elementary students both in the school and with the after school program.  While Kent goes to what Luisa would refer to as "a boring meeting,"  Teresa, Magdalena and Luisa will all join the regular Monday morning Project Galapagos conservation group  trip to the giant tortoise sanctuary, which is like a nursery before taking the tortoises to the wild.

When we got home, Teresa and Magdalena (a.k.a, "the introverts"), wanted to rest, while Kent and Luisa (a.k.a, "the extroverts") wanted to explore the town more via roller blades (Luisa) and walking (Kent).  We walked the entire bike path of the Malecon and saw: many sea lions (including a mother nursing a baby), a blue-footed booby, tons of Sally light-foot crabs all over the rocks, and a brown pelican.  We bought a little animal guide today that has pictures of all the Galapagos animals and their names in English and Spanish, which will be very helpful.  We got to see a male sea lion fight off another male from taking over his harem of 30-40 females and babies.  Sea Lions are everywhere:  laying on the street, sleeping on park benches, all over the beaches and rocks!

I know that this is only our first evening here, but this all seems too good to be true.  Our first impression is even better than we thought it would be.  I'm sure that we will have our ups and downs, but for now, this definitely seems like paradise.  I don't think 4 months will be too long to be here.

El Parque Historico & The Mall (Teresa)

We weren't sure what to expect, as is often the case, when Jennifer said she wanted to take us to this park.  It literally means Historic Park but she said there would be native animals to see.  But, she had taken us to very interesting places thus far.

It was a longer drive, out to a wealthy suburb, to get to the park, but it charges no entrance fee as it's completely government funded.  The park captures the recent history of the Guaya province (including the city of Guayaquil) of Ecuador and is divided into sections:  Urban Architecture of the early 1900s; Farming Tradition of the late 1800s; and Wild Life of the four ecosystems in this coastal region.

We always enjoy a museum that is mostly outdoors :)  and the girls have plenty of pictures to share.  (See photo section.)  The girls were also very inspired by a tree house that was in the final display, promoting sustainable urban living.  (Now that we're back at the house, they're drawing up plans for their own tree houses, with adaptations for the Midwest climate.)

After enjoying the natural and historic beauty at the park, we walked four blocks and entered a completely different world of an upscale shopping mall.  Very cold AC, everyone dressed to the nines, American stores and fast food.  We had asked Jennifer to take us to a book store, and this was our chance!   Luisa wanted a book in Spanish that is her speed, so chose a children's Bible (familiar stories, helpful pictures, but plenty of writing to keep her busy).  Kent found an up-to-date small Span-Eng dictionary to replace the one (now falling apart) my dad bought when we traveled during my teen years.  Also, bought an expensive, "good" cup of coffee.  Successful :)

Learnings

Language learnings (really, there's way too many to list!)

Norteamericanos - North Americans
Sopa de queso - Cheese soup with a milky broth and vegetables
tortillas verdes - a thick tortilla with plantain and cheese/hamburger inside
guineo - banana
papel hygienico - TP
batido - fruity yogurt drink
subibaja - seesaw
moras - berries
Morros - lentils
canarios - small, bright yellow birds, very common around town
la clave - password for Wifi
puntajes - points
dados - dice
osos perisosos (literally "lazy bears") - sloths, commom in forests here
loras - parrots


Other learnings:

-- The trash truck plays catchy, annoying music, similar to the ice cream truck in our parts.  How else would you know when it's time to take out the trash?!
-- Don't use water from faucet to brush your teeth!  (Not for drinking either, but that's easier to get used to.)
-- Many of our houseplants are just (much) smaller versions of native plants here (and other tropical areas).
-- We get really tired from being in the sun, and from trying so hard to speak/learn Spanish!  The girls need English-time, Kent needs naps, Teresa needs a good book.  We all need an electric fan and occasional ice-cream.
-- There aren't mosquitos, to speak of, in Guayaquil!  :)  (I won't mention the many ants and the one cucaracha, so far.)
-- Don't stand under a tree where iguanas are perched....or don't be surprised when pee, or even an iguana, lands on you!  (We saw this happen, but didn't experience it ourselves.)

List of gratitudes/favorites

-Sopa de queso
-Batidos de quineo (banana)
-Elotes (no recordamos la palabra aqui) con mayonesa y queso
- cuando comunicamos bien en espanol
- every outing of every kind!
- Being 100 ft from a tienda that sells jugs of cold water and good ice cream bars
- Don Felipe, our private driver (talks a lot and easy to understand)
- Having a washing machine, rather than hand washing
- Enjoying tropical flowers and trees
- Finding a public restroom with free TP in stalls!
- No stomach sickness so far!
- It get's cool and breezy at night.
- Talking with parrots at the Jardin Botanico, whose vocabulary is even smaller than ours!  They say: hola (hi), hello, que tal (what's up?), ven (come here), and ciao (bye)!    They also have a hilarious laugh and convincing whistle.

Kent's Journal

Wed/Thurs. Sept. 10-11, Guayaquil
It's different to be dependent on someone else for meals, schedule and transportation, especially since any given time frame can stretch over several hours.  Tuesday morning just as we finished breakfast, Jennifer asked if we wanted to go to "La Malecon" once we had our appointment at the municipal building out of the way.  We weren't exactly sure what it was, but it sounded exciting, so we said "yes!"  Any chance to get out of the small house and explore the sights is a welcome opportunity.   "El Malecon," is the name of the large park district near the center of town.  It reminded me some of Chicago's Millenium/Grant Park area--park after park connected to each other along the water front (Chicago it's Lake Michigan, here it's a large river--El Rio Guayas).  It was great fun, but after much the day in the hot sun and on our feet, we were exhausted when we returned around 6:00 p.m.  I immediately took a nap.  I have been taking quite a few naps and they don't seem to mess with my evening sleep like they usually do in the U.S.  Since we ate a very big meal on El Malecon later than normal and Jennifer had been with us all day, we told Jennifer that she didn't have to come back to make us the lighter evening meal.  Instead, we headed out into the neighborhood around 8:00 to find some street food, which always looks so good, but we haven't had a chance to eat.  Luisa had some kind of grilled sausage on a stick with mayo, Mags had roasted corn on the cob with mayo and cheese, and Teresa and I each had a "tortilla verde con queso," which is a thick handmade tortilla made from plantain with cheese.  The total of our evening snack?  $3.50.
Wednesday was our day this week with the most "open" time. We're not sure what each day brings because we're kind of at Jennifer's (our guide and host) mercy with regard to her availability.  Wed. morning (which means between 9-1ish), we filled our time with doing laundry (Teresa and Luisa) cleaning the dishes and sweeping the house (Mags and Luisa), reading (Mags and Teresa), playing games on the ipod (Luisa), doing music curriculum prep (Kent), ukelele and charango practice (Luisa and Kent), napping (Kent), and sitting around being bored (Luisa).  We're not in a great part of town to go out sight seeing without taking a taxi, so we're kind of stuck at home.  We don't have a phone right now, so that makes it a little tricky.  Our wait for "el almuerzo," the big meal of the day, was longer than usual, which was especially hard on Luisa.  Jennifer came about an hour later than usual.
As she was leaving the house after our breakfast, we asked her how easy it would be for us to get to the botanical garden via taxi.  She mentioned this before, and we knew we had to get out of the house because we were getting a little stir crazy.  She said it would be pretty easy.  Then I asked how to describe to a taxi driver how to get back to our neighborhood.  She thought.  Not so easy.  She said she was free that afternoon and that we could go right then.  We are paying our program each day that we are in Gyuaquil, and the program pays Jennifer (and her aunt who does much of the meal prep) for being our host and guide, which is good.  So, we got a taxi.  We went on a main drag through regular urban-looking areas and turned onto a side street.  All of a sudden this side street stopped having houses, and there was a junky-looking area where people illegally dump trash.  Then we went beyond the dump, and onto a smooth road that took us up a lush hill.  Soon we arrived a very tranquil and beautiful park entrance.
The taxi driver said he didn't know about this place.  It's a privately owned botanical garden, and is home to the Gyuaquil orchid society.  Orchids are common in Ecuador and is a special symbol of Gyaquil.  The cost was $3 for adults and $1.50 for students.  There wasn't anyone at the entrance, but they eventually found us and had us buy tickets.  The only other people there were workers who were busily working on the grounds.  There were all kinds of lush plants representative of Ecuador and South America.  There was even an animal section which included turtles, parrots, macaws, monkeys and fish.  It was a very peaceful and beautiful place with different types of plants representing the different ecosystems of Ecuador.  It also had a wonderful view looking down on the city.
If it weren't for this outing, I think we would have gone crazy in our little house (which gets very warm in the afternoon).  We were very thankful to Jennifer for taking us there.  She's a very interesting person.  She said that she likes to skateboard (long boards) down the big hill at the botanical garden with her friends.  She's also a graphic artist, a sculptor, and wants to be a firefighter (she has taken some courses and wants to complete them).  When we returned to our house, we rested, got water and ice cream bars at the corner store, and passed them time in our own ways before Jennifer returned with the cena (light supper).  She said that she had something that evening, but that her aunt would bring the meal.  7:30 passed, as did 8:00, 8:30, and 9:00.  Was there miscommunication?  Did we miss something?  We decided to play a  few rounds of Phase 10, and if 9:15 came and no one was there yet, Luisa and I would then go out to get some food from a street vendor.  But what if her aunt came after we left?  Is not trusting that the food will come being culturally insensitive?  We would take the risk since we were kind of hungry by now.  At 9:45 we returned with 4 hot and freshly made "tortillas verdes."  No one had come.  We're learning to go with the flow.  No one starved to death, and we all went to bed on happily filled stomachs.
In contrast to yesterday, today we had a plan.  I think us North Americans like plans.  After a rather hearty breakfast, we headed out with our taxi friend Felipe to the Parque Historico Guayaquil.  (We all agreed that it wasn't appropriate to bring up last night to Jennifer.)  The work of the Ecuadoran government seems to be evident everywhere.  There are big billboards touting which government ministry is doing what.  The Parque Historico is run by the Minstry of Urban Life and Development.  It's in one of the more wealthiest parts of the city and it's FREE!  I couldn't believe it!  Like most of the big attractions here, it is very clean and well taken care of.  I think I've written enough for now and I'll let someone else tell about the wonderful Parque Historico.

Iguana Park (Luisa)

Today we also went to an iguana park in downtown Guayaquil. There were tons of iguanas, pigeons, and turtles in the park. We saw one pigeon that was sitting on top of an iguana! Iguanas covered all the trees. We saw one tree that had at least 25 iguanas on it. Most of them blended in well and were hard to spot but there were some that were striped with orange and were bigger and easier to spot. They measured between about 2.5-3 feet including their long tails which were half of their total length. It was very fun to watch them play and lay around in the park!

The 444 stairs! (Teresa)

We successfully finished our process of visa registration, picking up our visas and passports at the municpal building this morning at 11am.  Even with Jennifer along, it is still quite a process to deal with red tape in a 2nd language!  We are grateful for a relatively smooth process and for much learning :)

After that excitement, we took a taxi downtown (El Malecon) to celebrate by walking up 444 steps, up the hill called Cerro Santa Ana.  The steps were numbered, so we didn´t have to count as we wound our way past cute little shops and small houses in colorful stucco, and tropical gardens (also brightly colored!), up to the top where we found a replica of an old lighthouse and a small chapel.  Quite a view from that height....it was neat to get a better sense of the layout and size of Guayaquil.  The enormous river Guyas cuts the city into several parts, with lots of bridges (for both autos and for pedestrians/bikes).  The river makes this city a major port for transportation of people and goods.

After we had our fill of the view, and of the strong equatorial sun, we headed back down the 444 steps, in the shade most of the time.  Great exercise and a good time, and boy were we hungry!

The Artisan Market (Magdalena)

While we walked around downtown today we came upon a huge artisan market. Of course we went inside andslooked around. We looked around for a while in there. It felt like we were wandering around in circles because whenever we turned another corner, we would see a shop that looked the same as the last one, selling the same items as the last one and the young woman selling the merchandise would always be dressed the same and look about the same age. I liked looking in the few stands whose vendors weren`t following us around, telling us all about how great the things that they were selling were (the same as the vendor before: blankets, sweaters, jackets and scarves made from alpaca; every kind of jewelry made from a special kind of rock; lots of different kinds of bags; lots of different T-shirts that said Ecuador, Galapagos, or other things; and a couple of Bob Marley and the Beatles merchandise). I asked one vendor how much a particular scarf costed. She responded, "four dollars......three dollars." She gave it to me so that I could feel how soft it was and then she said, "2 for five dollars." I didn`t buy that scarf even though she lowered the price fast and without bartering. I only bought one thing in the entire artisan market: an Ecuador soccer jersey.

Travel Update by Kent

Today our Guayaquil host, Jennifer, took us to get our visas registered, which you need to do for visas longer than 90 days.  One has to register them within the first 30 days.  So, this is something we need to do before we fly to the Galapagos.   We had tickets for tomorrow, but we can't get our visas back with the proper registration until tomorrow.  So, as long as we stay with the same airlines, we don't have to pay any extra to change days.  The next available flight is Friday at 10:50 a.m.  Jennifer is taking great care of us, but it's still can be challenging at times to do so much waiting.  However, in observing Latin American cultures, it seems like they do a lot more waiting than we North Americans are used to.  This week will be our lesson on waiting--and hopefully we can do a few more sight seeing outings (see Luisa's post) while we wait.

Luisa's Journal Entry

          Yesterday evening we went to a huge park in Guayaquil. It is the biggest park in all of Latin America! There were tons of soccer, volley ball, and basket ball games happening. Along side that there was also a huge play ground probably about the size of all the elementary playgrounds in Goshen put together! And there were also lots of venders selling delicious smelling food. It was quite an experience!

Kent`s Journal Entry

      Yesterday we made the successful journey from Chicago to Miami to Guayaquil. We flew standby, and it couldn`t have gone any smoother. Steve "super host" Warkentin got us off to a great start in Chicago. Not only are we extremely grateful to him for the tickets, but he hosted us overnight, fed us breakfast early, took us to the airport (at 6:30 on a Saturday morning) and used his airline employee status to expedite our security check! There was plenty of room on the flight to Miami and we all got to sit together! In Miami we found a great food court, and then a bookstore/cafe with internet access. We had about 4 hours in Miami, but it went quite fast.
      The flight to Guayaquil was a bit tighter, space wise. In fact, coach must have been filled up because we had to fly business class! This was very exciting, especially to Luisa who said, "this is the best flight I`ve ever had!" Probably the only other flight she remembers was our flight to Portland this summer via Spirit Air, which is bare bones and the opposite of first class. Luisa and I sat together, and Teresa and Magdalena sat together. We were immediately greeted with orange juice in plastic stemware. After that, Luisa and I (especially Luisa) were exploring our luxury reclining seats, which were electric and moved in all kinds of directions. Luisa explored the space, quickly opened the plastic bag that contained a blanket and pillow and snuggled up in a reclined position. We were then offered warm moist washcloths served with tongs, followed by mixed nuts in a ceramic bowl and more beverage. Then the flight attendant asked us if we each wanted a tablet for our entertainment. Of course we said yes, and as we ate our delicious meals on real plates with real silverware, we each watched "Muppets Most Wanted" on our personal tablets, although we had many more movie choices. We are not accustomed to such luxury!
      Our procedure through the Guayaquil airport was also smooth. We arrived right before another flight from the U.S. As we were checking in with customs, Magdalena looked out into the crowd of people and said "there`s Myron Bontrager" (owner of the Electric Brew in Goshen)! I looked out and there he was waving to us. We actually knew that he and his wife were flying to Guayaquil on the same day on different airlines, but we didn`t actually think that we would see them. I wish we could have taken a picture, but they were kind of far away and we didn`t think it would be a good idea to take pictures with custom agents near by. We proceeded to the luggage area where we found all 4 of our suitcases quite easily!
      We then proceeded to the exit where we navigated through a rather large crowd of people waiting for people to arrive. We were greeted with a simple cardboard sign that read "Dutchersmith Family," held by a young woman named Jennifer who is our host while we are in Guayaquil. At around 9:00 p.m. we boarded two taxis and zoomed through Ecuador`s largest city (3.5 million our taxi driver said). Magdalena and I were in one taxi and Luisa and Teresa were in the other. Our taxi driver asked where we were from and responded with a playful chant of "U-S-A, U-S-A" just like fans do at the Olympics and World Cup. As we zoomed along trying to keep up with the taxi with Jennifer, Luisa and Teresa, we were taking in familiar sights, smells and sounds of Latin America, pondering where we were going and being very grateful for a smooth day of travel.
      My understanding was that we would be staying with a family and we were a bit surprised when we entered an apartment that Jennifer`s brother lives in and vacated especially for us! Wow. We have this whole 2 bedroom apartment to ourselves! Jennifer came over this morning at around 7:30 a.m. and began fixing us a breakfast: hard boiled eggs, bread (kind of like rolls), cheese, meat slices, cafe con leche, and some sort of thick milky orange drink. Jennifer said that she`ll be back around 1:00 to prepare lunch and after lunch we`ll go to a cyber store where we can do internet stuff. Around 9:00 we explored the neighborhood, practiced saying "buenos dias" a lot and practiced being looked at inquisitively. It seems as though we are on the edge of Guayaquil, with a variety of colorful houses, from the modest to a little on the more grand size. We found a little tienda that sold toilet paper (which the apartment didn`t have much of). We had stopped by there earlier to see if they had any, and the women and the girl of the family that runs it wanted to know what different fruits and vegetables are in English, so we had a little impromptu Spanish/English class. We talked to the husband, who guessed we were German, when we went back later. He said they are from the mountains, and he looks very indigenous. Very nice family.

Our day in the air

This morning we woke up early to catch a plane at Chicago O'Hare airport that went to Miami. Huge thanks to Steve for tickets, driving us to O'Hare, and then escorting us all the way onto the plane!!! We will have a 3.5 hour layover before flying to Guayaquil, Ecuador.  Just enough time to eat at an airport foodcourt, peruse a bookstore (that has WiFi!), buy a little book of Latin American phrases, visit an ATM and bathrooms, catch up with a few of you by e-mail and phone, and chill out while we wait.

First day of the trip done!

Today Kent's parents drove our family to the South Bend airport. From there we took the South Shore to Chicago and we are spending the night with family. Tomorrow at 9am we will fly out of Chicago.

Our itinerary for the year (subject to change)

September 5--Leave Goshen for Chicago

September 6--Fly from Chicago to Miami to Guayaquil, Ecuador
----We will stay here a few days with a host family to register our visas.

September 9ish--Fly from Guayaquil to San Cristóbal in the Galápagos Islands
----We will stay here for 4 months, with a host family, teaching music to children and working in an animal sanctuary.

January 9ish--Leave San Cristóbal for Lima, Perú
----We will be here for 5ish months. We have no plans set yet but we have good options including: participating in the international Suzuki festival in Lima; teaching music to children in La Selva Central (a region east of Lima where the mountains and the rainforest meet); teaching music at La Promesa (a Mennonite school in the mountains near Cusco).

May 28ish--Return to Ecuador for our last month
----Here we will visit the Ross Richer family in the Amazon region.

June 28ish--Leave Ecuador for Los Estados Unidos