Shopping in Ecuador

Today we all 6 went for a walk to the military grocery store. It is about at the top of the hill and across a street. I was pushing the two little girls in a stroller. Patti Sue told us that the road from Ambato to Shell is closed for three weeks, so there might not be as many deliveries during that time. We also stopped at a bike shop across the street to pump up the flat tires on the stroller - There was a little girl there who took to Valerie. We got a lot of attention today - having 4 girls. Valerie had to go potty, so we walked around the store to the back and got a military escort through one of their airplane hangers (I think) and to the bathroom - and then back out. All of that and Valerie decided it was a false alarm. We ended up buying some sugar, laundry soap, apples, and bread.

Patti Sue took me to the meat market. She drove by and saw that they just had a cow delivered, so called to ask if I wanted to go down with her to buy some. A man out front was cutting up the non-red parts and people were coming and taking tongue, tripe, and other parts. I opted for a nice lomo (a roast type piece of meat). Patti Sue bravely bought a foot, as the store owner told her it has lots of vitamins and is good for children.






I also took a picture of the bowl of chicken heads and feet. I think the feet might actually be good in soup - not quite sure about the heads though. The meat is very fresh which is nice and I haven't noticed flies or a smell.


This afternoon, our girls were playing outside and I noticed the children from down the street looking in saying "hola, hola" and talking to our girls. I went down and Brooke asked if she could invite them over again. I told her in my pitiful Spanish what to say and they obviously understood as they became very excited and ran to the gate. They are all very sweet and enjoy playing with our girls. We keep a close eye on everyone, as we don't want anyone to get hurt playing, and I noticed their parents keeping an eye on all of us too while their children were over here (which is nice). They also understood 'who wants a cookie' too. I have been really impressed with how kind the children are to each other and to our girls. They also leave sweetly when we tell them it is time and wave and yell goodbye as they go around the corner.

Yesterday, Maribel and Geovani came over to play for a while. Maribel had a great time playing with our dolls and Geovani really enjoyed our small farm animals.

I went over to the orphanage today and everytime, it seems more and more crowded. There have been a couple of children throwing up and not feeling 100%, but I am always amazed at how clean it is kept and how the children are always dressed nicely and there is always a good smell coming from the pot in the kitchen.


Love,
Celeste

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