Been here over a week... that means I'm not longer a tourist, right?

It's true that we have been here in Canoa for over a week, but we have so much more to learn! But I still love marveling at all the things that are so unfamiliar to me. Like....

                                             The shaggiest rattiest dog I've ever seen                     

A fish with buck teeth, and yes, those are really teeth

A man swatting flying on the meat that is hanging with no protection

Naked children playing in shallow, dirty water

We have spent a full week at the school and the kids are awesome. I love getting to know them while it makes it much more difficult to do by not knowing the language. And even though I can speak enough to get by, trying to understand what they are saying is almost impossible. Even native speakers from other areas say that the people in Canoa are hard to understand. They have an accent and speak very fast. I have also gotten to be friends with the English speaking teachers at the school and they are awesome. 

One day after school, mom and I were sitting on the beach when a guy walked up and asked if we could watch his dog, Penguino, for 20 minutes while he went to do something. I said, "Uh... I guess so." And off he went. I guess he thought since we were foreigners that we really didn't have any use for the dog and the underground railroad of animals probably let them know that Dr. Dolittle was in town. Even the stray dogs have heard about her! Meanwhile, a guy stopped to talk to us on the beach, simply because we were from America. When the guy came back to get his dog, we found out that he is good friends with the girls who work at the school. People kept telling us that this was a really small town and everyone knew everyone's business and know I'm realizing it more and more. We will meet someone new and then see them 5 more times that day around town. Friends are not hard to come by here with everyone being so welcoming. 

                               Mom with Penguino                    Mom with the stray dog on her towel with her

Mom and I have made a habit of stopping by the bakery everyday on our way to school to grab a few piece of hot fresh bread for 10 cents each. First it was one piece of bread each, then two, then three.... it's just so delicious! And we also found out that pescado frito is a gift from the Lord! Fresh fish straight from the sea about 200 meters away from the restaurant. And the best part... soup and a plate of fish, rice and vegetables that my mom and I can split for $2.50! Doesn't get much better! And today we ate at a pizzeria and had the best pizza I've ever had. We decided to get a large and just take the leftovers home for dinner... there were no leftovers!

While at church last Sunday, a lady asked us to help them serve food to a group of kids in a really poor part of Bahia ( which is two towns away from us). We would have to catch the bus and then the water taxi to get there, so we did. And what an experience that we within itself. The bus ride was 50 cents and worth it all. People stand on the side of the street and wave their hand to let the greyhound sized bus to stop. Then the bus driver graciously taps the breaks a few times, never coming to a complete stop to let people on and off. I noticed that he would barely slow down for men to get on, slow down more if it was a man and women and almost completely stop for women, but not quite. Hilarious. On our ride home, they window of my mom's seat was nonexistent and the wind relentless. She was convinced she would fall out if we went around a sharp turn. At one point she exclaimed, "Arolla!" I busted up. She has made a habit of saying completely nonsensical words with a Spanish accent in hopes of getting her message across, I guess it works! 

In San Vincente with a view of Bahia behind me 

When Friday rolled around, we were so excited that we decided to celebrate with a massage from a local lady who lives right around the corner of our hotel. $10 for a 45 minute massage, we couldn't pass it up and I am so thankful that we didn't. It was absolutely wonderful! And today, the sun was shining so we took advantage of it and spent almost all day on the beach! 

So much fun had and so much more to have! 

Signed up for surfing and Spanish lessons next week, it's gonna be good! 

Usually Unusual

We made it safely to Canoa and it's beyond beautiful here! From the street children and dogs running wild to the thatched roof shacks to sandy beach. We have spent so much time at the beach and on the boardwalk where all the local restaurants are. We have met an Ecuadorian couple staying at the same hotel as us and had two meals with them, an American family on vacation and had two meals with them, and an Ecuadorian lady who works with environmental conservation in Quito. So many interesting people!

One of my favorite things about being here is how different their way of life is. I love walking down the street or beach and realizing that all of these things that seem foreign to me are completely normal to them.

Boys climbing trees in their underwear. And fitting 3 boys on one small tree.

A man on stilts walking through the street to raise money for something.

Seeing a bus stuck in the sand and them digging it out with a shovel. 

Feeding our breakfast straps to the dogs at a restaurant after having to blindly order something off the menu called balon mesa queso. (turned out to a big fried ball of cornmeal with cheese inside.)

Today we got to go to an English speaking church in Bahia with another American couple. It was extremely small, but the people were very welcoming. They wanted us to stay for the night service that was in Spanish to bad that they offered to let us stay at their house and spend the night that night and then come back the next morning. Everyone is so hospitable here! We went to the next town over yesterday with the Ecuadorian couple we met. The husband spoke broken English. So as he was driving I was in the back seat trying to say that the weather was perfect here. The windows were down which made it hard to hear and I'm sure my Spanish pronunciation was awful. In efforts to understand what I was saying (which wasn't very important anyway), Marlon pulled the car over to the side of the road, stopped the car, turned around and said, "Okay, now what are you trying to say?" I had to laugh at the situation. He was so concerned with what I had to say that he stopped everything to let me know that what I had to say was important.

All that to say, we are thoroughly enjoying ourselves and cannot wait to meet all the children at the school tomorrow! Praying that the Lord is shared and glorified in our time here!

Our little friend Pepe!

What's up Ecuador!

 

SO.... we're here in Quito, Ecuador! We traveled for a total of 15 hours today and still have one more day of traveling until we reach our final destination of Canoa, Ecuador! We had to be at the airport at 3am this morning and have had scattered sleep thoughout the day. So ready to crash out in our hotel room with a huge glass that overlooks the city and mountains.

I continue to find that I love being in a place that is unfamiliar to me. The culture, language, dress, geography. I take it as a challenge to try to learn and figure out why these people do the things they do. From the time we got in our taxi from the airpot until now I have throughly enjoyed every moment. Coming to Ecuador is different than any other trip I've taken to another country... I actually have a base knowledge of the langauage.

While it's been 3 years since I've been forced to use it, I love being put in a situation where I have to use all of my resources to get my point across in a form that they can understand. Tonight when I tried to ask for just an empty cup to pour my bottled water in at a fast food resturant, it proved to be comical. I tried, "Yo tengo aqua, pero quiero.... cup." It just wasn't working until I finally saw a cup and got to point to it and say "just that." Which the finally understood. When I sat back down at the table, my mom informed me, "This is what you call language emersion!"


But I love the challenge and am more motivated than ever to learn Spanish and be able to fully communicate with the peope here. I am so thankful for the opportunity to come here and learn how to love on these poeple and appreciate thier culture. We were told that Canoa is about 50 years behind America in technology. I couldn't think of a better place that I would want to go!!


I started reading Kisses from Katie on the plane today. It's about am 18 year old girl who moved to Uganda by herself to live there and share Christ's love with them. Through reading her story, I am challenged to put all selfish ambition aside just as Ephesians 2:3-4 says, and pour out everything that Christ has given me to these poeple around me. Can't wait to see what the Lord does over this next month!

And I love you too sister!!