Always an Adventure

As usual, a lot has happened, both good and bad, since I last posted. So, I'll just start where I left off.

We've finished our first block of classes. Our second block consists of more conversation and a few short essays along with continuing our grammar. Kevin and I have been joined by Dan Benedict and Kristen in class which makes conversation much more fun.

Friday night (September 25th, yes I know that was a while ago), I went to the Nazarene elementary school in Carcelen with Jen, Lucy, and Salomone. There was a parent informational meeting of some sort and I went to help Jen with the kids while they were in the meeting. We told a Bible story, sang some songs, and colored.

Saturday, we went to Parque Carolina to help with a fundraiser. The children's hospital in Quito was selling used clothes in the park to raise money. We went and helped fold and sort clothes so it was easier for people to look through. It was a lot of fun, though Lucy's wallet got stollen while we were there. Just a little reminder that you have to be careful about your possessions.

Sunday, I went to church with Carla again and after church, we took a taxi to Carcelen and got Chinese for lunch. For dinner on Sunday, Carla and some other people decided to make dinner in the kitchen. Carla and Yoan, who are both from Venezuela made us a typical Venezuelan food, which for whatever reason I always have trouble remembering the name of. It's similar to our English muffins, but I liked them better. We had devilled ham mixed with mayonase and ketchup, butter, cream cheese, and cheddar cheese spread to put on them. I tried mine with the devilled ham and it was really good.

Tuesday night, I got sick again. I was up for about and hour and a half and then was able to go back to sleep. When I woke up Wednesday morning, I was feeling pretty weak, so I decided not to go on our Wednesday field trip. I missed out on going to the fruit market. Throughout the day, I began to feel better and even ate some dinner and did my homework for class the next day.

Thursday, I woke up feeling horrible. I was in the bathroom every 15 minutes or so for 2 hours. I couldn't keep anything down and was getting very dehydrated and weak. I think that was the worst I've ever felt. Kim decided to take me to the doctor. At the doctor, they gave me an IV and some medicine through the IV for the vomiting and diarrhea. The doctor gave me some Pedialyte and wanted me to buy more and keep drinking it all day. He also gave me a prescription to help my stomach. Then, I was off to the hospital for some tests to see what was causing me to be so sick along with instructions to go to the ER if I threw up again, to come back the next morning to see how I was doing (especially since we were leaving for Otavalo for the weekend), and to eat a very bland diet (rice, potatoes, bread, chicken soup, no grease, no butter, no fruit, no vegetables, and nothing fried). I went and got the tests done and then came back to the seminary so I could rest. By the evening I was feeling better and ate some rice.

Friday morning, I went back to the doctor with my test results. The results: parasites! The doctor gave me 2 more prescriptions, 1 for the parasites and 1 for an antibiotic. He also told me to keep drinking lots of Pedialyte and stick with the bland diet for the next few days. With this information, it was time to head back to the seminary, pack up the Sprinter, and head to Otavalo. For pictures of our trip to Otavalo, click on the title, "Always an Adventure." We went to 3 towns before heading going to our destination, Otavalo. First we went to the wood town, where, as the name suggests, they make a lot of things out of wood. We also went to sweater town and then leather town. It was a lot of fun to look through all of the shops in these towns. Then we arrived in Otavalo. Now, the reason we went to Otavalo is because it has the world's largest open air market and it's a lot of fun to buy souveniers and gifts there. When we got there, we drove around the center square where people were busy setting up there areas for business Saturday morning. We then went to the hostal we were going to be staying at. I really liked the hostal. It had a big courtyard with trees and hammocks where we could all hang out and relax. By this time, I was already feeling much better and was able to eat some spaghetti at dinner.

Saturday morning, I woke up, ready for some shopping. But first, was breakfast. When I got to breakfast, everyone broke out in song. They were singing me "Happy Birthday," since it was October 3rd and my 21st birthday! After breakfast, it was off to the market! I had a lot of fun buying gifts and souvenirs all day. It was fun bartering and just looking around at all the different things for sale. For lunch we went to a "Mexican" restaurant, and while the menus said "Tex Mex," it wasn't what we think of as Tex Mex. It was good, just different. For example, my taco de res (cow) was mostly beans. After a long day of shopping, we returned to the hostal to relax until dinner. We went to a pizza place for dinner (I think Kim, Jen, and Lucy have a favorite pizza place in every city). After dinner, Kim, Jen, and Lucy slipped out and came back with an apple pie with candles on it (yes, I was feeling good enough to eat my pie). Again, everyone sang me "Happy Birthday" and I got to blow out my candles. They also had a purse that they bought in Otavalo for me as a gift and Kevin had a little figurine with 3 pigs on it as a reminder of when we got sick. Then, I got to be a part of a NILI tradition, where, on someone's birthday, everyone goes around and says things they appreciate about you. It was a really cool experience. I felt loved and at home with people I've known for less than 2 months. After dinner, it was back to the hostal. In the courtyard, there was also a fireplace, so we decided it would be fun to have a fire. Kevin, Yoan, and Lorena decided to go look for marshmellows so we could make s'mores. The only marshmellows they could find were small ones but we made them work! Dan and Kristina provided us with Amor con chocolate, which are waffer crackers with chocolate on the inside (they come in lots of flavors like strawberry and lime and some others). So, we had our makeshift s'mores! It was a lot of fun and a great end to a great birthday!

Sunday morning we went to an indigenous church. It was fun to worship with them even though we didn't always know the words to the songs. Their children also danced for us. After church, we drove to Cotacachi, an active volcano with a lake in it's crater. In the crater, you can take boat rides out on the lake and see volcanic gasses rising to the surface of the lake. I can now say, "I've been in the crater of an active volcano!" After the volcano, we got lunch and started to head back to Quito. On the way, we stopped at a little shack on the side of the road where you can buy roses (Ecuador's largest export), 2 dozen for $1.25!

Monday, it was a little weird to return to classes after not going since last Tuesday, but it was fun too and definitely nice to be feeling better. After class, I went to the mall, where I bought Piel de Ecudor which in English would be Skin of Ecuador. This is actually a shirt for the Ecuadorian soccer team. But, I figured it was time to get one since there's another World Cup Qualifying game on Saturday. It's in Quito and we're going to try to go!

Tonight, the Howard's (one of the missionary families) invited us to dinner. They grilled hot dogs and hamburgers and made potatoe salad. It was a lot of fun. We hung out for a while and watched the tiebreaker game between Detroit and Minnesota on ESPN! I love baseball, so it was really nice to be able to see a game.

Also, about a half hour ago, I took my last pill of all my prescriptions! Hopefully, being sick while I'm here is completely behind me. I know some of you were praying for me while I was sick, and I really appreciate your prayers. Thanks so much!