¡Hola!

As we end our first few days in Ecuador, I thought it might be time to update everyone on the happenings so far. Matt and I arrived on Tuesday evening, several hours later than anticipated thanks to severe thunderstorms and a broken light on the plane from Miami to Ecuador. Luckily our families here are in it for the long haul and were waiting for us when we arrived after midnight (we were scheduled to land at 920). My family is so sweet but we have a pretty big language barrier since I speak un poco espanol and they speak un poco ingles. However, it has been great to get acquainted with them as best as I can and I´m probably going to be a master at charades upon my return to the US since I´m always dancing around and making hand gestures to try to explain myself.

We have been pretty active so far - spending two afternoons at the clinic in Duran, which is a wonderful space to have, and also getting to spend time at la universidad catholica with Dr. Aguirre, who is essentially our host doctor and part time chauffeur. He tried to fake me out the first day and act like he can´t speak English but in reality he has beautiful English and he has been a wonderful guide for us. My other Ecuadorian BFF is Alberto, a fifth year medical student (the system is much different here than in the US) who has been taking us out to meet his friends and get an authentic Guayaquil experience as a twenty-something. Again, he speaks amazing English and has been muy helpful in the transition.

Our other main volunteer experience here is at the Padre Damien House, which we were introduced to yesterday. I can see why people love to work at this foundation - there is a peace while you are there that I just can´t begin to describe. Essentially it is a dormitory of sorts for patients with Hansen´s disease, also known as leprosy. The thing is that when you meet the people, you may see some of their physicial deformities due to the severity of the disease many years ago, but they don´t look sick. They are just a group of older people, hanging out and reading the newspaper and the bible, making hammocks (the men) and jewelry (the women), and then you might run into the occasional rousing game of dominoes. They aren´t forced to live there because they are lepers - they enjoy the camraderie and the access to healthcare, and in some cases, have been outcast by their families, and would rather live at PDH than try to go back to their ¨homes.¨ Leprosy has such a negative connotation, and I think the reason that I really like the idea of PDH is that they accept as many groups as are willing to volunteer, in hopes that these groups will go back to their respective nations or cities and spread awareness that leprosy isn´t the scary contagious disease that we might have grown up learning about. I know that my family and friends all had strong reactions to the word leper...and I imagine most people do. Anyway I look forward to returning there next week and singing some more songs with them - those of you who know me just adore my singing voice and I´m sure you miss it already.

Chao!