Real life experience

This whole posting after our Sunday meetings is getting a bit hard... especially when we start at 10pm and run till after midnight sometimes. Forget homework, it is time for bed!
Well here I am, Monday afternoon, and up to it again.

Last night, after anxious awaiting, some of our prayers were answered, a real normal Rostro de Cristo person sitting right in front of us! Elyse came into New York from Boston (where the RdC headquarters are) to answer a lot of questions and give us more detail into what RdC does and what we are going to be doing.

If you look back to my 2nd previous post, my anxiety about the weather, well let's just say Elyse confirmed it... but instead of 91 degrees, it will most likely be 97, humid, and rain a good amount! My favorite conditions! None the less, she did provide us with a great packing list and more information about the area, showed us a slide show of people and places around Duran, and let us know (not exactly) what we will be doing. Since this is a "BEing rather than DOing" project, the RdC volunteers with pretty much give us only a half day schedule every day. No watches needed to keep time, no cell phones needed to communicate, etc.

A normal day would entail something like this:
7:30am - Wake up!
8:30am - Get bread from local bakery and make breakfast with the help of RdC Ecuadorians
9:30am - Head out on our first "adventure" of the day, which could be going to hang out and chat with the local neighbors (who love the retreat groups!), stop by the health clinic, or look into the schools
Noon-ish - Lunch of pre-processed and packaged foods like tuna
1:00-afternoon session - Go to the kids after school programs and work on an educational project for up to an hour, then have recess! (they LOVEEEE soccer!)
6:00 - Dinner, made by our team with the help of the Ecuadorian staff.
Later - Reflection time and bed by 11pm.

Generally an overall exciting day, filled with a lot of interactions, Spanish speaking, and Ecuadorian food making!

Better start to work on my Spanish skills!
Peace

New Month - New Fears?

The one thing I have been thinking about the most lately is the weather and climate of Ecuador, which of course derives its name from the equator (so it must be hot?). Since i'm a female... of course I have started to think about what i'm going to pack, and how much! That is a scary thing for me. Our lovely fearless leader has a large packet of info from Rostro... yet has decided to withhold it from us, so clearly I did some research!

Durán is also, apparently, known as Eloy Alfaro, and is located north east of Guayaquil, right on the Babahoyo river. Ecuadors.org has a nice little description of the climate and normal weather around the country, and as I understand it, the "innerlands"of Ecuador, Quito as the website says, has a normal monthly temperature high of 74°F. The weather really changes per region and per day. Another website describes the Guayaquil climate as a tropical savanna climate and the most rain comes in March (greattttt!). The max temp in March is 92°, and the low is 71°. Really...?! My hair isn't going to like that, not that I should be worrying about that of course. Well that is kind of really warm. Not that I'm a fan of the cold, but I am not a fan of the HUMIDITY! That is my least favorite of all weather climates... so I guess I'm in for it.
Maybe wikipedia is lying to me, let's hope, for my own sanity. Nonetheless, it is going to be a great adventure and I can't wait to keep you all updated!