Soccer

Here in Ecuador soccer or I should say futbol is a way of life.  People of all ages and skill levels play soccer everywhere.  I even noticed this fact when I was here in Ecuador in May of last year.  Everywhere you look there is a soccer goal or a soccer field.  Even in the poorest of communities they have found ways to make soccer goals out of sticks or old pipes.  There are soccer goals on the beaches too and they are always being used.  We went to the park by our house again today and everyone had soccer balls and families were playing all over the grassy areas.  There was a constant stream of games being played back to back on the field next to the park with players of all ages and skill levels.  Lucas and Matt played for a long time taking turns being goalie.  I think we may have a goalie in the making!  He loves to dive for the ball and is actually getting pretty good.  He is kicking a lot harder now and he still thoroughly enjoys the game.  As soon as he finished playing soccer with Matt he went over to the fence to watch the game being played.  I had to pry him away from the game when he had to leave for dinner.  Also as soon as we get back to the host family's house, he asks us to put on a soccer game.  He LOVES every minute and seeks out a game or even just replays of goals constantly.  He even picked the restaurant for lunch in the mall today based on if they were playing a game or not.  He cracks me up.  I think Ecuador's love for soccer has gotten into his blood.  Melayna on the other hand, has taken to running.  She loves to run around the track, around the lake, around me or Matt, do races or just run to one place and run back.  She is quite fast too for such a little thing.  Almost the entire time she runs, she giggles.  Her run is like a prance too which makes it even cuter.  When she does join in the soccer playing, she can actually kick quite well and she always yells, "GOAL!" if she kicks it.  It is a joy to watch them play with such enjoyment of their activities.  The thing I take from today is to love what you do and do what you love, and don't give up on anything that makes you happy even if others tell you that you are not good at it.

Lucas took this one

He also took this one

The view from the park is like this on all sides

Me and my girl

Another view from the park

She stopped running just long enough for a photo

A cool waterfall at the park

Soccer with a mountain to look at in the distance

My little soccer fan

Mothers

Today's post is obviously about mothers.  I have been doing a lot of people watching lately on the bus, in the stores and on the streets.  Here many mothers literally carry the weight of the family on their backs.  I have seen many mothers walking the streets, working in stores, cooking, cleaning and working in the fields with their baby or toddler tied to their backs with a sheet.  I have seen mothers and even older ladies with huge sacks of rice or corn on their backs or crates full of fruit and vegetables walking back from the store.  Our host mother does most of the cooking, cleaning and shopping for the family.  Not to say the men don't work hard, because believe me they are literally work horses, evidenced in the fields, buses, stores and especially with the men building a patio cover at our host family's house, but tonight's post is about mothers.  The women of Ecuador are amazing.  They seem to work hard all day and never tire and smile most of the time.  They don't seem to get angry with their children, and they tend to their needs in an instant.  On the bus I have seen so many nurturing women and they often give up their seat so the kids and I and other mothers can have a seat.  They help the kids and I get onto the bus often too.  I cannot say enough good things about these women.  The biggest things I have seen though is the amount of time these women spend with their children and enjoy it.  Walking slowly and talking, playing and soothing and just being with their kids.  This is the first time in my life that I have been able to spend this extended amount of time with my kids and I am taking notes from the Ecuadorian women and trying to slow down and savor these precious times.  My mother was able to stay home with us when we were kids and I remember loving to go to Shoup park or to John Bryan park or to Idle Hour and just spending the day playing with my mom.  I also remember my mom saying she did not like when school started again because that meant our summer fun time was gone.  I didn't realize how lucky I was until I didn't have that time with my own children for a while and then was able to stay home with my kids in Alabama and now in Ecuador.  I am blessed to have such amazing role models here and at home in Ohio.  Thank you mom for worrying about us, but we are in great hands.  My lesson from the day is to slow down and enjoy my family every day, which is not hard to do if you have ever walked anywhere with Lucas.  He knows how to move slow and take it all in, asking a thousand questions and really soaking up what you say.  That is one of his precious gifts.

On a side note, I wanted to tell this sweet story about Melayna today.  The host father walked by Melayna tonight and rubbed her head on his way out, and as he walked away Melayna said, "I think he likes me!"  Got to love her.

The Little Markets

One of the things I have come to love about Ecuador is all the little markets and bakeries.  The kids and I will be walking somewhere and this delicious smell will fill the air as we walk past a little one-room bakery with bread and pastries that are so delicious.  My kids could live on bread if I let them and with the way it smells, I am tempted to buy it every time.  There are also fresh fruit markets everywhere we go.  While walking home today we stopped in and bought the sweetest pineapple I have ever eaten for $1.25.  What more could you ask for, fruit and bread as fresh as could be on the walk home?  The market we went to today had so many fruits and veggies I have never seen before I have to do some research before I buy them, but I think we will be stopping there often.  We also passed a shoe repair shop and Lucas asked if he could take his slipper there to get the hole fixed.  I thought it was so sweet.  The kids and I had another good day at the daycare.

Matt said he saw a few patients today and things went well.  He saw one patient with muscle wasting to the extreme.  He only has muscles in his hands and feet and his face.  Some of the PTs that came on the brigade to Ecuador in May last year saw him too.  Even though he has no muscles in his trunk, he was still able to get into standing and walk some.  It appears he has lost those abilities now and only crawls in a crab position now.  This man, I think teaches us two big things.  The first is not to take our functional abilities for granted and second is to not let out limitations keep us from doing anything.  We are learning so much here about life.  I just hope we will be able to have an impact back on the community after all it is teaching us.

Another Beautiful Day

Today was probably the warmest day so far here and it did not rain at all.  I think it was close to 80degrees.  The kids and I were at the daycare again today.  It is always so nice to go to a place and have people be glad you are back.  All the workers and the kids were happy to see us and some kids even came up to hug us.  I think they are starting to warm up to us.  Today we saw a lot more structured work being done in the classroom we were in.  Melayna and Lucas were able to finger paint with the other kids and I think they really enjoyed it.  Lucas took the camera and took a bunch of pictures today too.  He really loves taking pictures.  The daycare kids were amazed by the fact that they could see the pictures right after Lucas took them and kept crowding around him to see them.  He liked all the attention.

Matt had another try with the taxi and it did not come this morning because the driver did not know where the address was and tried to call the director of our program and she did not have service.  She set up another taxi for him and it was over an hour later than it said it would be, but he got there safely.  He saw 4 clients today and he said 3 of them were kids.  He said he wished I had been there to help, but talking to him, I think he did great with them.  He has been really lucky at the clinic in Santo Domingo because everyone has been so helpful especially with translation.  His other host family is very nice also and the mother of the family wants to practice her English with Matt and then he can practice his Spanish.  He is excited to get started.  They invited him down for tea tonight too which helps expose him to Spanish more.  So all in all, another great day.

One side of the view

The other side of the view

The classrooms

Cafeteria

Lucas wanted a picture of the cool cow

Finger painting

Our host house courtyard

Part of the walk to work

Family fun

Today seemed like a regular day in the Day family.  I think that is a good thing.  Matt took the kids to the park all morning, and I went to the school for kids with special needs and was able to work with a really sweet little boy with cerebral palsy.  It felt like being back in Lexington working with one of my sweet clients.  I really love being a pediatric Physical Therapist.  I was also able to talk about how we treat clients in the US as compared to the way they do it here in Ecuador.  It is really similar except for the lack of paperwork and written goals and the amount of time they are allowed with each client.  There is really no schedule and no pressure to get paid.  It makes your treatment so much more personal and relaxed.  I wish it could be a little more like that in the US.  I worked on my Spanish a lot today with the staff and even got some compliments on the amount of Spanish I have picked up.  I am getting more confident every day but have a far ways to go.

After work, I came home for lunch and got to listen to Lucas doing school work.  He is really catching on and doing well.  Both he and Melayna try to use Spanish a lot even in their play now.  We had dinner with the host family and talked with them for a little while and then we came back to our apartment and drew pictures together.  Melayna drew the beach and Lucas drew himself in the sun with hearts everywhere.  I think they are settling in too.  Tonight Matt was reading to the kids and then told them he would see them Friday.  Melayna then said, "you go to mingo?"  I think she was asking if he was going to Santo Domingo, but it made me think about my Pappap Vuck calling me a hamburg from Mingo Junction.  I sure do miss him, my Grandma Vuck and my Pappap Dorsch.  I was blessed with such am amazing family.  So I guess the lesson I take from today is enjoy your loved ones and take time to be with them because they are only ours for a short time.  I love all my friends and family and thank you for your support.

As a side notes, to clear up yesterday's post for my little brother, a BOSU is a half ball you use for balance and strengthening with a firm base, and Hippotherapy is not on hippos.  It is therapy with children on horses.  Happy birthday baby brother!

My first day in the special needs school

Today I went to the special needs school and was able to do some physical therapy.  It was a really nice day.  I worked with a therapist named Diego.  He works with the children in the morning and in a clinic for sports medicine in the evening.  He was very patient with my Spanish and he spoke slowly for me so I could understand.  He does not speak English, but we were able to talk all day so I guess I am getting a little better at Spanish.  I was very pleased to see how the school is run because they really care for the kids and adults that are there and treat them respectfully.  The lunch experience was very calm and not rushed which I really liked too.   The PT area has a lot of really nice equipment like a treadmill. stationary bike, BOSU, whirlpool, steps, trampoline and even a therapy suit and the cage with pulleys for it.  No clinic I have worked in has had the cage before.  I will be doing hippotherapy with the children also once a month, which will be a lot of fun.  I met another volunteer this morning who is from Denmark.  Her name is Anya.  I will be working with her for nine weeks.  She is very sweet, but knows very little Spanish.  I was able to translate some for her today which made me feel good about my Spanish skills.  We will be walking to the school together which will make the walk go by faster.

While I worked, Matt took the kids to the mall and the supermarket and got some snack foods.  He said riding the bus is getting so much easier now that we have done it so many times.  I guess we are settling in.  After working, I was able to have lunch while Matt and Lucas worked on school work.  Lucas is doing very well with his school work and learning a lot.  I even heard him playing with action figures and saying"Muy bien!"  He has also taken to playing paper football and we play every day pretty much.  Today it did not rain in the afternoon or evening so we went out to the courtyard and played soccer all together and then took a short walk.  It was a very relaxed and peaceful day.

Home schooling

Our First Church Experience

Today started out as the most beautiful and hot day here so far.  We walked to a local park that had all kinds of fun things to do.  It had a big pool with a water slide, bouncy house, a zip line, playground equipment, little rides, food vendors, running and walking tracks and paths, basketball and soccer areas.  We even got to watch a little bit of a soccer game going on.  The kids had fun, but they were still tried from yesterday so we did not stay long.  It is nice to know there is such a nice place so close and I am sure we will be visiting it often.

Our host mother and I had a broken Spanish discussion this morning and I came to the conclusion the best church to go to had mass at 5:30PM so we made plans to go to church then.  The church was only about 2 miles away, but it was pretty much straight up a mountain!  On the way there, Matt pushed the kids in the big double stroller.  Well the sidewalks leave a lot to be desired and are not passable in many places without carrying the stroller.  It was feat just getting there. Of course, la masi (the mass) was all in Spanish so we did not know what was being said, but it was beautiful and I did understand that we are supposed to share the love of Jesus with all people.  I hope that is what I was supposed to get from it.  During mass the sky opened up and it starting pouring down rain.  As mass ended we decided it was not going to let up any time soon so we decided to start the long walk home.  It rained hard the whole way.  Matt carried the stroller which was another feat.  The kids were amazing and never fussed about anything.  We were soaked to the bone, so we all changed into our pajamas and ate dinner.  I have to say dinner in jammies is really a great way to go.  We watched the end of the Chargers vs Broncos game and then time for bed.  Today the lesson I am taking from the day is that simplicity can be so rewarding we just have to sit back and realize the good in it.

The beautiful view at the park

Lucas took a picture of the park.  He is becoming a little photographer.