"Te Quiero Keleny..." :)

Boy that likes spiderman

Loving Kel's hand

with chocolate shakes




roasted pig for sale

Easter eggs at OSSO

4/30/11

This week has been wonderful. As Ecuador normally sells brown eggs, I went to the store and bought some white eggs and my two new volunteer friends and I decorated them the day before Easter J

                Yesterday was awesome. I worked with the little kids and planned some games: paper airplane contests, playing with glitter on paper, and we even painted nails! It was so fun. The little girl insisted on painting mine glittery, and accidentally got some on my face. When the worker saw, she started laughing, and I couldn’t help but laugh too. The good thing about paint and skin… It always comes off!

                When we were walking to the car after that shift, we saw this lady selling a huge cooked pig right there at the side of the road! We asked if we could take pictures of it and gave her a tip for letting us do so. They have these huge pigs out to sell a lot and they seem to be pretty popular to eat. I also eat rice and soup every day for lunch, and also either juice or another drink called Colada. This is kind of like chocolate milk but instead of chocolate, its cocnut or banana or another fruit.

                Last week my friends and I went out to a fancy restaurant at night and I ordered a hamburger for the first time in two months! It was awesome. The restaurant was a good price, and was so fancy that even the waitress came over and helped me take off my coat.

                Today I went to the orphanage with 50 kids. I absolutely love going there. As we piled out of the van, this little girl ran up to me and gave me a big huge hug. I just love how happy they are to see us. We first did laundry and picked up trash, and then we went down with about 15 kids and played soccer, volunteers verses kids. Those little boys are so good! And very competitive. Playing soccer is my favorite. Then it started pouring so we went inside and two girls taught us how to do a dance.

                It was getting close to the time to leave, and I had been talking to a twelve year old girl asking if she likes to draw. She said yes, picked up a notepad, and began writing something in big block letters. A few minutes later, she handed me the paper with a big smile on her face. The paper said, “Te quiero Keleny” or… “I love you Keleny.” Talking with people, asking them about themselves, and smiling at them really does make a huge difference.

You know what they say,"Don't Cry Over Spilt Milk." :)



Keleny's Weekly Schedule

Bapism of Boy




Buying homemade beaded necklaces



At Incan ruins with a family

At Incan ruins with Suzie

Kel at Incan Ruins

Being crazy at Incan ruins

Fun Times in Ecuador

Kel with friends

Suzie at Incan ruins

Suzie kissing rock face -- see it?

Zipliners all ready!

Ziplining the jungle

Ziplining forward

Kel Ziplining

  

Kel's hairdo by children

Friends

Kel's piano students

Piano students

Today I worked at the handicapped childrens' home. Whenit was time for bed, there was a little 11 year old boy who is able to communicate and understand many things. Well, he came into another child’s bedroom as I was saying goodnight to them and started twisting one of the poles on the crib and it went “Squeaky squeaky squeaky.” He looked at me and laughed. I just love seeing what makes that boy laugh. He is so hilarious. He absolutely loves it when I kill flies with the fly swatter and then loves to look at the dead fly on the swatter and just laugh. Haha He also loves it when I sing “Los pollitos dicen Pio Pio Pio" in Spanish.

Another classic memory with that little boy is one time when I was getting ready to brush all the kids teeth at night. I was filling up a cup of water and then accidentally spilled the whole cup over! Of course, I was a tiny bit bummed or frustrated, but then I heard a giggling from behind me. I turned around and that little boy was sitting on the floor giggling at the spilt water. Then he scooted across the floor and called out to the worker, "Mama, mira! Agua!" (Mommy, look! Water!) And that just made me laugh so hard. He was so excited that I spilt that water. So then I got down on my hands and knees and was cleaning it up, and pretty soon he was behind me once again giggling... then he started bouncing up and down saying "Piche!" (Bathroom) Then I started laughing really hard. Classic. That little boy has sure taught me how to, as the saying goes, "Not cry over spilt milk."... but rather to laugh about it :) "Don't worry- be happy." 

It's the Little Things that count

4/14/11

Today I went to Esperanza and Milagros. I’ve been able to talk quite a bit in Spanish with the workers which is great, but I still have a lot to practice and learn. The best things that happened at shift today were that I figured out how to make one of the handicapped girls smile. She is seems to always have a sad look on her face. I have noticed that when I touch her or get close to her, she hits me or pushes me away. But today when she hit me I just jumped back and laughed like “Woooah!” And she got the biggest smile on her face. I did that over and over again and she was smiling so big :) The only other time I made her smile was when I Took her running. It was so awesome!

Another great part of the day concerns a boy who is also from the hadicapped orphanage. His is severly autistic. Most of the time he is off in his own world, and often gets so scared or shy or mad that he hits. Sometimes he wants to communicate and be around people, and sometimes he doesn’t. Well, I recently noticed that he loves to receive little things and hold them up to his mouth to play with them. So I have been giving him little things throughout the past week to play with like a little piece of yarn.

Today he was sitting down alone on the couch in his own little world. I went over and plopped about two feet away from him on the couch and just smiled at him really big. And he grinned at me. He then reached over as if he wanted to see my hand. I reached out and he touched it for just a moment. A few seconds later I put my hand on the couch and played with the material. Once again he touched my hand and smiled at me. Then, so precious, he leaned over and kissed my arm.

You know, most of the times this boy ignores my smiles and compliments I give him. But that does not mean that he does not hear or does not remember how I treat him. It doesn’t matter if when I give him a little gift he throws it on the floor occasionally. He remembers how I made him feel happy and that I shared with him. He remembers how I treated him, and he can sense my love even if he cannot talk like me. And this is the same with all children and people. People may not remember exactly what you said or did, but they will remember how you made them feel. So just remember that the little things you do really do make a difference.

The Best Part About Working With Kids

4/8/11

Last week I went to a zoo type thing with llamas and different types of tropical birds! It is actually right across the street from my house, only a couple of blocks away. It is right behind the Central Bank, which is the biggest bank I have ever seen! There is also a museum next to the bank and ancient ruins. Here are some pictures of me with the ancien also another picture of me with my two good friends, Krista and Suzy… and a llama J If I wanted to , I could have gone up and touched it. J But I didn’t because I was scared. I was t ruins. And this is also excited to see a toucan in the zoo, a tropical bird that I have never seen in real life.

It is so crazy that I am right in the middle of the city next to these big buildings and homes, and right there next to it is this huge park with llamas and a pond and ancient ruins!

4/9/11

Today I went the orphanage with like 30 girls and 15 boys. It was great. I haven’t been there in a few weeks and it was just great to go back. First we worked. I washed windows with a little girl who always follows me and laughs with me when I am there. She is probably 10 years old. We washed the windows with a bucket of water and newspaper. And surprisingly, it worked! Then we did face painting. The girls were the ones who were supposed to get their faces painted, but I ended up getting my face covered and smeared with paint twice. They are so convincing! Like I would be right in the middle of painting one girls’ face who was sitting on the table, and then a girl was on my right, and then one on my lap… and the other girls would just paint my face. And I couldn’t really get away so I just let them have their fun. The little girl Adrianna later helped me clean off my face with the same bucket of water and rag ( it was actually an old shirt) that I had used to clean the window. I really don’t care about getting dirty when I am there. It is just all about the kids.

                Most times I would be grossed out by certain things like dirty water or mud, but there all that matters is that I am making the kids happy. I love them so much. I played chase with several of the little girls today. They kept on shouting, “ You cant get me!” So I’d run after all of them, then scoop them up and spin them around and tickle them. And they just laughed and laughed. I tried to not think about how out of breath I was getting because I knew those cute girls were having a blast.

                There was also a little toddler boy there today. When I first got there and throughout the first hour we were there, I tried to smile and wave at the little boy, but he would frown and turn away. So after awhile, I decided that I wouldn’t give him a choice. I was going to give him some attention. So I went over to him, just us two, and I sat down and smiled and talked. And smiled some more… and some more… At first he was hesitant, but then he smiled again and again! Later, I saw him standing alone, looking around the bush at some of us playing, and then I went over to him and had him play with us. It was great. To make one of these children smile when they seem like they don’t want to is one of the best feelings ever.

Soon the time came for me to go, and one of the girls grabbed on my leg and wouldn’t let go. Of course finally she did. As I drove away, I waved at them and blew as kiss. And just before the bus turned the corner, she blew a kiss right back at me. That’s one of those memories that will be etched in my mind forever.

P.S. On the way home the bus overheated. We got out of the car and it soon began to pour J CLASSIC! I didn’t mind at all. It was a nice little adventure and we got to know the bus driver better.

3/23/11


                                                      Kel and two friends  in Cuenca

                                                    Toucan in Cuenca

                                                               Ruins in Curnca

Last night was our going away party for the volunteer girls who finished their time here and left today. It was so much fun. We all got all dressed up and had a fancy dinner at a hotel. It was awesome. The room was decorated beautifully with rose petals all over the table. There was a total of 23 people in attendance. I had no idea about this before last night, but if you put a little rose petal on your hand when your palm is cupped, the rose petal will make a loud pop. It was fun trying to get my petal to pop. I was using my friends hand and kept having to hit her hand hard in order to make the noise… it was really funny.

                Today was a blast! In the morning I had half a day off to do whatever I wanted. It was awesome because we just took off from the house and walked to down the streets to “Parque Central.” This is an a shopping Center with a huge Cathedral right in the middle of it. As we walked, we were able to just stop at any store on our path that looked interesting. So we were able to see quite a few different little Ecuadorian shops. I loved it. I bought a few T-shirts for myself and also got a few instruments for my nieces and nephews.

 I have less than two months left here actually… it so crazy how fast time is flying by here. I am making the most of everyday so even though the time passes quickly; I know my time here is being spent in the best ways possible. Like the quote says, “Carpe Diem.” As long as you know you are living each day to the fullest, you will know that you lived your life to the fullest once that month has passed. Benjamin Franklin once said, “Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time. For that’s the stuff life is made out of.” And I totally agree!

When I got to the orphanage, we took the kids on walks and did therapies. Then I had the most fun Ive probably ever had at shift doing an activity! Mackinzie and Erica, and one of the Tias Clara sang some songs together to the children in Spanish. They just loved the upbeat ones we sang and we just had a blast stumbling over the Spanish words! I started singing head shoulders knees and toes in Spanish to them, but instead of singing “Cabeza” or head, I sang “Caballos”… which means ‘horse’ in Spanish. The Spanish speaking workers were all laughing, and I joined in also! Then me and two other volunteers started singing a Girls Camp song in English called, “Boom Chicka Boom.” Clara, one of the Spanish speaking workers was repeating us and it was so funny. She would stop and say in Spanish, “No entienda!” ( I don’t know what it means.)

After that we all went to HML, where I am the new site leader. We made braclets out of yarn and thread. When we were leaving, I was helping some of the girls make their bracelets. I told them I had to go, and then a teenage girl came up to me. I was thinking she needed help, but then she took my wrist and tied this beautiful bracelet onto my wrist. I think I will keep it on for quite awhile. J

Playing Soccer with the Tias

These pictures are at an Iguana Park that I went to on a field trip in Guayaquil Ecuador. Iguanas live there wild in that city, and this is an Iguana Park where probably 70 or more iguanas live at. The city feeds them and then just locks the gate at night to keep them inside for people to see.

face painted by orphans

Guayaquil Ecuador Temple

 corn field passed each day to orphanage

 Iguana Tree -- Look hard and see all the Iguanas

 This is at the Iguana Park! I was having alot of fun with the pigeons :)

 small Ecuadorian vans

 countryside

 boy feeding iguanas

J I also started reading a wonderful human relations book called How To Win Friends and Influence People and it is so good!!!

3/13/11

Today was just amazing! I worked at the Special Needs Home for both shifts and had the best time playing soccer with the kids and workers- who we call 'Tias'. All of these particular kids are i wheelchairs, so as we play soccer, we grab a kid in a wheelchair and run away with them chasing the ball and competing with the other workers and volunteers. It was seriously one of the best days I had volunteering here because I was able to joke around with and really build friendships with the Tias by playing soccer.

Now, as you may know, soccer is pretty big down here. Alot of people are very competitive players, and there are soccer jersey stores found all around town. So naturally, the native Tias (meaning 'Aunt' in Spanish) were-- pretty good at kickin that ball around. One of the Tias who I work with alot was with a child pushing them around in the wheelchair, playing soccer with the rest of us... you know, just normal. I was actually running around switching from child to child since there were less workers than children. Now, we were getting a little more and more competitive little by little, and pretty soon, this particular tia got so into the game that she forgot about the kid in the wheelchair all together and was just goin after that ball! It was so funny. The best part was this: I was running with the ball and the child, and I tried to kick it in her goal. But she blocked it, started running and kicked it! I watch as the bouncy light ball flies through the air headed straight towards a little girls head... and smacks her straight in the face! We all gasped. The little girl looked startled at first, and then a second later she covered her face with her hand. We all started cracking up! The ball of course was not a real soccer ball, but a soft kid one containing a bunch of air. After that, I said in Spanish to all the Tias, "She gets another goal because she hit the little girl in the face!" And we were all laughing. After that as we continued to play I kept on telling her, "No en la cabeza!" (Not in the head) as i ran with the kids around her.

At night, I went out on the third sory of my house and looked out at the stars and the city all lit up with my friend. We live up on a hill that looks out onto the city and mountains, and is so beautiful. There is something about staring up at the beautiful night sky that clears your mind and brings you peace. I believe that the beauty of nature satisfies a certain need for happiness. It is definately most important to spend time outside meditating a few times a week. I know that by doing this, one can come to understand themselves better and will find more appreciation in the little things.

3/6/11
Today I worked in a children's orphanage with 6 kids. They are full of energy and great. I heard a cute story another volunteer said today about one of them. I guess there was a picture of one of the boys family that he had hanging up but later hid. The volunteer asked where it went and he said, "My friends here are my family." 

 I also went to a special needs home I normally go to. One of the workers was dancing to Ecuadorian music for a very long time with one of the boys in the wheelchairs. It was so much fun! I joined in on the dancing. A few others were hit with water balloons today, and when we returned home, several girls were outside waiting for us ready with water balloons. Ha!

3/7/11

Today has been a great day and its only 5 pm, so still a lot to go! I babysat toddlers this morning who were really cute. As we were walking out of that orphanage area to the other orphanages, I saw a truck with a whole bunch of people in the back driving down the road. I thought, “I bet that would be a really good picture.” Then I heard my friend shout, “Theyre gonna get us with water!” So, sure enough, I face forward and got my whole backside drenched in water! Haha! I thought it was pretty hilarious.