Back in Quito

We are really glad to be back in Quito. There are lots of good things to be done in Santo Domingo, plus it was good to see our well. But when you have a guy with a flack jacket and a shotgun in the lobby of your hotel, you really do start to wonder if this is a good thing or a bad thing... I've decided that Quito really is part of western civilization. Maybe not New York or London, but definitely western civilization.

At any rate, today was a tour de force with our old pals. Our first stop was to Guadilaria. This site is essentially a preschool/daycare. Pretty well run and staffed, St. Mark's involvement with them is essentially coloring books, toothbrushes, construction paper and pictures from our preschool kids to them. Nice ladies who work really hard and care about their kids round out this place. There are some sad stories mixed into this place and the people are pretty poor, but they are pretty established and don't need a whole lot from us.

Our second stop was to Alyus. This place used to be filled primarily with indigineous preschoolers. The parents were extremely involved. Our preschool gave them $1,500 a couple of years ago, with which they essentially remade their facility. Great people. Things have changed dramatically over the past year. Most of the indigineous people have left, chased back into the hills by some government policies. The government has since demanded that the facility accomodate infants, something they never really did before. The government provided cribs, and then failed the facility for having sub-standard cribs. It can be a really crazy place down here. No one will give them the money for cribs and the requisite rugs they need. 4 women are struggling mightily to serve 35 children, all under the age of 4. Unless they pass an inspection on December 15, they could very well be shut down at that time. Pretty desperate situation.

We then went a bit further up the mountain to a place called Samiegas. It's at about 14,000 feet. You know what? It's kinda chilly at 14,000 feet. The situation with them is similar to that with Guadilaria. They are supported primarily by the American university in downtown Quito. Pretty nice facility. Nice people. Really high up the mountain.

As an aside, we're in the season around a time in Ecuador known as the Day of the Dead (good Catholics in America call this All Souls Day), November 2. It's a big festival down here including a special bread shaped like a baby and filled with jam. I find it a bit dry, myself. There is also a special drink - a heavy fruit juice with flour mixed into it. Sometimes you mix extra stewed fruit into the drink. Everyone is pretty gaga over it down here. Me, it makes me want to yak! I know, I know, it is really me, not them, and I admit that I suppose if I grew up with the stuff I'd probably like it, but I didn't and I don't. I try to choke down and much as I can without looking too green, but when you've been offered your third cup of the day, you're glad you won't see the stuff for quite a while. Give it a try and see what you think: pour some orange juice, grape juice, or any other heavy juice concentrate in a pan, warm it up and dump some four in it. Now drink it. What do you think???

After this, we went to visit the nearby home of a family that has fallen on some hard times. The girl has developed epilepsy (it seems to be a common affliction down here) which caused the father to throw them out of the house. There's a lot of superstition that surrounds the disease down here. Consequently, things are hard for them. A member of St. Mark is helping them out a bit. Plus, we took them a few groceries to try to help out a bit.

Then, it was off to the Refugio, where we were greeted by good friends, young and old. Kids get big over a whole year. The ones who were going to talk on Skype to the people back home in Yorktown were really excited. They were going to meet their "godparents."

As we left, we stopped by to see two really good friends, Jose Louis and Miriam. They recently had a baby and are really really struggling. They were excited and surprised to see us, plus we had a chance to take them some groceries, something they could desperately use.

We ended the day with dinner at, get this, and Italian restaurant! How about that. We travel 4,000 miles to eat at the Olive Garden!

Right now, the Vicar is bagging up all those pencils and pens you sent for the kids at the Refugio while I type on this blog. He's a real trooper! Too, his Spanish has gotten pretty good. Mine is still pretty bad (really, nonexistent). At least there is next year...

Tomorrow, it is off to the middle of the earth!

The Intrepid Pilgrims