Final Day

Yesterday we went to this man house who everyone is scared of because he is very eccentric. His whole house is covered ever wall with art even the exterior is covered. It was so beautiful to see an he is such a nice man. The house is in hidden in the "forest" so it was so unusual to see this colorful house. His name is Juan David and he named his cute new puppy coke cola. After going to his house we went to a friends of sue who had this beautiful garden with all of this fresh fruit and vegetables. She was kind enough to give us some. Then we had some quinoa salad for lunch with tahini sauce. Then after that we went to an elderly center  where we taught the same lesson but this time tis was to a different group. There was this women who was so happy there and she and her sister are singers and the performed for us. It was so good. Then we took the bus where there were these statues that were metal they were so intricate . Then we made dinner which was lentil soup with popcorn since that is very common to do.  Then we had these zucchini muffins which are so good that sue packed me some in a bag for my trip.  Today the morning is just chilling and organizing then we are going to another center and teach the same lesson. This will be the the 4th site that we have taught so far. After going to the center I will take the bus to ibarra then get a ticket to pifo  then take a cab from pifo to the airport. This trip though short has been so fulfilling, all i can say is that thank you Sue for allowing me to come and assist and help. 

Teaching in Pimampiro

Today was a very slow day because we stayed in pimampiro  and it was raining we went the elderly facility where the feed them lunch and will provide some activities for them. We had the students trace wooden sticks with them overlapping then which each section they would color it in. It was very difficult for some of them since it was painful. I helped two women at me table with both the tracing and coloring. They turned out beautifully. Then we helped an served their lunch as we went back to Sue's house for some leftovers from yesterday. Then Sue had to go to a meeting and me and Tina (another art teacher) went to the school where Sue's classroom is and cleaned out a cabinet. This is because we recently found out the government is planning on shutting down this school but at the same it is is still unclean if it will happen and there is no idea when it will. If there is anything left in the classroom then the government will take (it's just how it works down here). After doing that we came back then and had mushroom, with cheese and spinach enchiladas.  Tomorrow we go to a different school and teach the same lesson. There are four elderly centers that we go to, a different one each day. Usually the schools would be out by now and we would be having a summer art class but the government  has changed when it ends to after both Sue and I are gone. So Sue is currently trying to figure out what to do.

Market Time

On Saturday we went down to the Otavalo market which is the HUGE overwhelming market place that was crazy it had anything u could ever think of! It went on forever! All the bright color it was a great place for bargaining! I got a few things for my family there! We took a break from the market and grabbed lunch which is where i  had trout with this pesto basil sauce, which rice, and salad with this strawberry juice because I was feeling adventurous! It was really delicious ! AFter that we went back to the market again to look at a few more things. Sue explained that so much of the stuff there doesn't sell since there are too many vendors and she said they have this market everyday. While we were there though we had to be careful about people stealing. After that were went to this little old women who weaves scarfs among other things and we saw her workshop and all her products then she made us some tea. She was so lovely. Then we wandered around for awhile then we went to this small restaurant  had some dinner. We were going to go back to pimampiro but there was going to be a fiesta in the square where the market was but since saturday was the busiest day  there was not fiesta, but we stayed at this hotel which was 17.50 including breakfast. So cheap!  Then we just went to bed and got up early then today we "hiked" a hill to see this view of the city, we ate some breakfast and we were off . Right now there is some construction on the one man highway to make it bigger but we couldn't go through so we waited for an 1:30 to get through which was a pain. Then Sue  invited some friends over and we had a huge late lunch  which was lasagna with home made vegetable tomato sauce, with ricotta cheese, then fresh blackberry juice, with salad, fresh guac, and chips, then for dessert a blackberry and apple crumble with vanilla ice cream! Then I finished my favorite book ( The giver) and we prepared for tomorrow when we will be teaching in pimampiro to elderly.

A day in Ibarra

Today we got up and then ran to the bus to go to Ibarra a city about a hour and half south of Pimampiro. The kinda of bus is a like a coach bus but it is only a $1 to go down to Ibarra, which is very inexpensive.  We got off the bus then took a smaller troller of sorts and went into the middle of the city where there was a park. Sue knows this coffee shop that was a around the corner , which she said is more expensive but after a hot bus ride we needed a small treat. The coffee place served all of these familiar drinks like carmel macchiato, latte and cappuccino ( the only reason I started drinking coffee this year was because of my big (sarah) and jackie). I got a mochaccino, which was delicious . The coffee shop had an open court yard and looking up there were two levels each with different kinds of art on the walls. After that we went this big supply store to do some shopping to get all the supplies needed for the book making project will be starting next week. We were there for almost an hour and a half because they had to recount everything to make sure that it was in order.  Then we went to this thai restaurant  where you get soup (with popcorn since that is traditional in ecuador) which was carrot cream soup, then 5 choices when I got some noodle dish, then carrot and celery, a vegetable pancake, fried broccoli, and a pepper mixture with a drink all for $2.50. There was a also some avocado mayo with basil. It was so delicious. We walked a across the stress to get some ice cream which here is made with fresh sugar cane and they have a big metal bowl that is in a contraption that has ice for them to mix the fruit juice until it turns into ice cream. Then we went to a big supermarket where we bought food. I got a few chocolate bars, one of which I already finished that was nibs and sea salt. I couldn't complain.  We then went back on the bus but went a different way that was at the edge of the mountains it was so terrifying since we were curving left and right through the mountains.

Hidden Gem

 This morning we got up had some oatmeal then went to the school to do some more organizing. After doing that we hitched a ride, which in Ecuador is very common. We drove a 30 minute drive to a Mariano Acosta (or something similar sounding). This is a mountain village it is very friendly/ When we were there we taught some art. Since all of the students were elderly we had them drawing stain glass windows, and for some it was difficult to color in. I working with this older women who was so friendly, but she didn't english or spanish she spoke a inca language. We were working together through non-verbal communication it was so amazing.  When we finished she put her hand over her mouth and was continuing hugging me. Then we ate some lunch which consisted of of a beef stew, then potatoes with cheese and a small salad.  After lunch some of the students worked on their stain glass drawing if they weren't finished. Then some of the kitchen staff turned on the music and it was a small fiesta. A bunch of them got up and danced then I was dragged onto the dance floor. They all were so happy and thankful for us being there it felt so fulfilling.  After we all were tired after dancing we cleaning the room up and each of the students came and gave us a hug individually ( and there was 34 of them). Then we hitched a ride back to pimampiro and went to the farmers market to get some food for dinner.