Allie's last post
Wed Sep 9, 02:58 PM
The Orphanage in Ambato, Ecuador. The final episode.
I stayed at an orphanage in Ambato for two weeks. There is separate lodging for the girls and boys and I stayed with the girls. There are 8 girls in all ranging from ages 6 to 19. There was one little boy who was too young for the boys lodging and had two sisters at the girls house.I arrived at the orphanage late at night and was ambushed by nine smiling faces. Immediately, before even learning my name or that I don’t speak spanish very well, I had about 4 girls hanging off of me. It was a very overwhelming experience, but a very warm welcome. All the kids were in my room looking at my things, trying on my hat or asking if they could have my bracelets. It was not long before they discovered my painted toe nails and I sat and painted 8 girls finger nails. I finally made it to bed and did not fall asleep quickly. Before I knew it the girls were back in my room trying to find which clothes they would wear for the day. I was quickly doubting my survival.
After day one the days went by quickly. I went to church with Guillermo, a pastor that set up my stay at the orphange and that works with my church in Whitefish. The chruch service was long, over 2 hours. And obviously in spanish which made for a long morning. It was very interesting to see a different church service though. It was very loud the whole time, lots of singing, dancing, and praying.
My first day at the orphanage every meal was a surprise. Breakfast consisted of a hard boiled egg, bread, and some protein chocolate drink. Lunch took almost all morning to prepare and was by far the biggest meal of the day. It was a soup with chicken, potatoes, and various vegetables, followed by a full plate of rice(which is far from my favorite food), potatoes, and chicken. Dinner was more rice and chicken. This continued for the next two weeks. Sometimes breakfast would be different and we’d eat rice, or empanadas. I was very greatful to have a place to stay and food on the table though.
The first week I was there we did lots of things outside. Every Sunday the girls go to the park, which is far superiour to any park in Whitefish or Bozeman. There were playgrounds all over the place, lots of basketball/soccer courts, a skate park, and a place for a stage. This was the day I fell in love with the girls and Ecuador. During our trek to the park two girls were walking on either side of me and we were teaching each other words in english and spanish. When we got to the park it was amazing to be around all 9 of the kids, each at the orphanage for a different reason. But, despite being separated from family, every single girl, and little Edwin, had a huge smile on their face and was running from playground to playground. The pure joy that an afternoon playing at the park was clearly displayed on their faces.
On the way home from the park the girls discovered I play soccer and wanted to play. We stopped at a smaller park near the orphanage on the way home, but I didn’t see how we were going to play because we had no ball. Apparently that didn’t mean anything. It wasn’t long before we were in the midst of an intense game of soccer with a coke bottle. I never would have considered doing that in the U.S. before I was here, but it was one of my most memorable experiences at the orphanage. Many other nights were spent at the soccer courts. One of the nights I skinned my knee pretty badly and all the little girls were very worried. You would have thought I broke a bone. I was well taken care of and got all bandaged up when we got home.
Monday thru Friday we would walk 30-45 minutes to Vacation Bible School. The girls seemed to enjoy it as it was another place to play and be with other kids. One of the days the oldest girl at the orphanage and I were left in charge. That was interesting. We played soccerr after VBS and then headed back home where the girls discovered my carmera. I can always tell which picutres were taken when I was in charge because the girls are climbing on the counter or fridge, or fighting. I have over 300 pictures from the orphanage and went through 8 batteries. I did not however change my batteries at all during the first 5 weeks of the trip and only had 400 pictures. All of my pictures turned out great and are associated with a, usually fond, memory of the girls.
One of the nights we got home from playing soccer we discovered the puppies that live above the orphanage had gotten into the apartment. Each room that was entered upon our arrival had a new pile of dog poop. It turns out one of the girls had fed the dogs too much and the puppies stomachs did not react well. There were about 5 or 6 piles of poop. I found this hilarious and kind of just took a step back and watched the craziness unfold. The girls were running around screaming and trying to find all the surprises the puppies left. Pretty soon kids were stepping in it and screaming even more. They all kind of thought I was crazy as I was the only one that was laughing.
While I enjoyed myself greatly, my patience was tested at times. I ran an errand for on of the care takers and when I came back one of the girls was sitting on my bed wearing my reading glasses “hola Alleeeeson!” I almost screamed. There was nail polish all over my glasses case. This was a time when I was thankful I don’t know spanish very well so I couldn’t say anything I would regret. I also had to keep in mind that this was a 9 year old girl, and I was 22. Later that day I opened my glasses case to use my glasses only to find the lenses covered in nail polish. I learned how to control my breathing very well during times like these. One of the care takers was in the room with me at the time and saved my glasses for me. She had lense cleaner and they came out clean as ever.
My spanish got better with time and by the end of the trip I could at least get my point across even if the grammar was terrible. It was frustrating at times and I would find myself wondering how I could explain my trip to my parents because I didn’t know how to say it in spanish. Then I would realize I could talk to them in english so it wouldn’t be a problem. In the airport in Salth Lake ordered a tea at Starbucks and when the cashier confirmed my order I said “si, bien”. It was kind of embarressing, but I basically hadn’t spoken english for two weeks. That doesn’t seem like a long time, but it’s amazing how you can adjust to things very quickly. If I talked to my parents on the phone I talked quickly and a lot as I felt I was deprived of speaking.
Overall, I did more help than I realized. I basically sum up the experience as I got to be a kid for 2 weeks.I was an extra pair of eyes watching the girls when the care takers needed to get paperwork or other things accomplished. I learned a lot. Whether I was helping the girls do laundry (by hand, and really they were helping me because I had no idea what I was doing), or peeling potatoes for lunch, I was surrounded by 9 amazing kids. I don’t know the circumstances as to why each of them was at the orphanage, but I was touched and learned a lot from each and every one of them. After talking the Guillermo, I found that many of the girls were at the orphange due to violent homes, or their parents being sick or using drugs. It was difficult for me to comprehend why these 9 fabulous kids did not have parents that would take care of them. But I tried my best to not judge as I don’t know all the circumstances into which these girls and Edwin were brought into the world. All of them had infectious laughs and I am going to miss them terribly. I actually already do. I am very thankful for my time there and also for the warm welcome and hospitality I received. I was well treated and accepted. I hope you all enjoyed reading my books about my trip and also enjoyed your summers! If you have any questions about anything feel free to email me alfernoodle87@yahoo.com. Adios!
