Our first Quincinera

Last night we attended our first Quincinera- a traditional party for 15 year girls here. In our last posting, I mentioned birthdays aren't celebrated that much here. This is the one exception. Think wedding- fancy dresses, big cake, church ceremony and reception afterwards. My friend, Kathryn, (we've known each other since we were 10) is visiting from CT and came with me. We danced the Ecuadorian 2-step all night right along with the chickens and the dogs that were roaming about. We enjoyed a feast of country chicken soup (think rubber chicken) followed by pig skin and potatoes. Since we were gringos, we were the guests of honor and were served first and amply. Enjoy the video of everyone dancing!

Birthday Bashes

Every month at the soup kitchen, we celebrate all the kids birthday for that month. Birthdays aren't celebrated here in Ecuador like they are in the U.S. - in fact, a large majority of kids don't even know their birthdays or their age. We have to ask them to bring in their birth certificate so we can tell them. Imagine that! So, we try to make it a special day for them by having cake, games, and prizes.

Muchas Gracias

To our churches, friends, and family for your generous support to us this year. A couple of months ago, we sent you an email letting you know that we would be leaving in June unless we raised more funds to stay in Ecuador. Your response was overwhelming! Thanks to your giving hearts, we are able to fulfill our year committment to this ministry and stay until September. We are especially excited to stay through the summer since June, July, and August are the busiest months here. Next week, the first of our 8 summer teams will arrive with lots of new shoes, socks, and love.

Family Reunion

Both sets of our parents left today after spending a week with us here. We hired a Mariachi band to serenade our moms on Mother's Day, visited some hot springs in the mountains, hiked to waterfalls in the Cloud Forest in Mindo, stood on the equator, went to the soup kitchen we assist at, tasted lots of authentic cuisine ( dad Brill tried some fruit that looks like snot) and took way more buses than anyone would have liked! Some funny/ bizarre moments during our week together:

1. Dad G getting aggressively elbowed out of the way as a woman (he refers to her now as "the linebacker" fought him for a seat on the metrobus. She won.

2. Both dads trying to kill an enormously large spider on the wall next to Amy's bed in our cabin in Mindo. Nobody slept well that night.

3. Mom B witnessing some frisky behavior from a couple in a car from the bus window where she sat.

4. Walking by a man dragging a passed out woman by one arm from the curb into her house. When we asked what happened, he said she was drunk.

P.S. Some of you have asked about our dog, so we posted a pic of the three of us. Pava is still with us, but we are looking for a home for her as we are not taking her back to the U.S. with us in September.

Wish we were here.......

OK- we've never been to the Galapagos Islands and probably never will, but thought we'd post pictures while we are waiting for our new camera. These were taken by a couple we know who visited recently. Even though the Galapagos Islands are part of Ecuador, these pictures are as close to the island as most Ecuadorians will ever get. The Galapagos islands are well known for their exotic and rare animal species. Hope you enjoy the pics.

You know you live in Quito when.....

1. The city buses race each other through the streets
2. Milk and eggs are not refrigerated
3. You can't breathe at an intersection due to air pollution
4. You carry your umbrella everywhere you go
5. You wonder how in the world vendors can get 151 songs on a CD and still sell it for $1
6. $3 for lunch is expensive
7. You have almost been killed several times crossing a round-about
8. Family dogs hang out on the roof
9. You realize that guinea pig does NOT taste like chicken
10. Visa is NOT everywhere you want it to be
11. The public are more scared of the president that the active volcanoes that surround the city
12. You can never get change for your $20 or even $10 bill
13. The electricity goes out for no apparent reason
14. Throwing toilet paper in the waste basket instead of the toilet has become a habit
15. You have never seen so many different types and sizes of bananas
16. Halls cough drops are considered candy
17. There are more KFC's in all of Quito than in the state of SC
18. If the doors on the bus still shut, than its not full enough
19. You can go from overheated to freezing in 30 minutes
20. The children are the worst pick-pocketers and the sneakiest (sadly enough)
21. Casual and even excessive drinking on the streets doesn't get a second thought
22. People beep at police officers for driving too slow
23. The mountain views never get old

Unfortunately, our blog is going to be a bit bare for a while. Our camera was stolen this weekend out of our pocket as we were walking around downtown with some friends. So......in lieu of photos, we thought we'd put down some funny observations/cultural differences we've noticed since living in Quito.

The kissing of the flag...

Greg and I were invited to attend an annual flag ceremony at one of the local elementary schools near the soup kitchen. Many of the children we have grown to love were in the cermonies. In one sense, the program is an award ceremony- kids with the highest grades from the graduating class are honored. But it is also very patriotic-all the kids swear an oath to Ecuador and take turns kissing the flag.