Day 3

Our day started out with a nice little wake-up call from Brock, one of our PDs, at 8 o'clock on the dot. Aside from the other mini wake up call we received from the rooster (Don Pablo), and Gandalf the three-month-old kitten, it was a perfect morning for going to the Centro (the library that Manna operates). The wonderful and cheery neighbor of the Manna House, Cesar, gave us a ride to the Centro and kept yelling "Vecino!" at our group. "Vecino" means "neighbor" en espanol. We arrived at the Centro and immediately went upstairs to begin painting the workout room/kitchen/preventive health clinic/english classroom. The colors the PDs chose were a a light green and a deep blue. Painting was fun because we had good jams and great chemistry. Everyone here really gets along well, which is awesome considering we all didn't really know each other before the trip.


Women's exercise room before we painted


Painting the women's exercise room


The finished product!


Yoga mat holder for women's exercise that we made

Anyways, after taping up the room and painting it, a few of us went downstairs to play with the children who arrived at the Centro around 2:30pm. One boy in particular, Estiven, was very sweet as well as mischievous, considering he had to be tickled to death for something he did. All in good fun, of course. After mingling with the children and attempting some broken Spanish, we headed over to a local panaderia (a store that sells baked goods) to get some good eats. After that we hopped on the bus back to the Manna house and got in the showers for our night out in Quito.


The girls all ready for dinner in Quito!


The boys before dinner in Quito!


Some of the group at Vista Hermosa!

After we all got beautified and cleaned up, we were actually a pretty good looking crowd. We hopped on a bus and then a taxi to head to Vista Hermosa. Vista Hermosa (which means Beautiful View) was quite possibly one of the most beautiful (and delicious) things we have yet to experience in Ecuador. The view was insane and seemed to stretch on for miles. The churches were lit up beautifully and we all had a great time, with great food, great music, and a great view. One of the PDs was actually there separately celebrating her birthday. We got to sing to and embarrass her a bit. We got in a taxi, everyone in a food coma, and came home. After a quick little discussion we went to sleep. Overall, another amazing day in Ecuador!

Post by Natalie Rubel, a volunteer for UGA Manna