There are many differences here that are hard to explane if you have not experienced them yourself. I try to explane as best I can over a blog, but it´s hard. I am a much better story teller than writer. But after church yesterday, I decided I´d like to try to share some of the little diferences with you. Church here in Ecuador is great. It´s got the same spirit, but every note, key, and rhythm on each hymn is different. That´s one thing I actually really like, well for now atleast. Right now it just makes me laugh. Another difference is the climate. It is not warm and sunny like it had just started being in utah. It is cold, and rainy. It´s winter here in Cuenca, Ecuador and the coldest month is believed to be July. But it´s kept me from a sun burn... or any tan at all. Next up is the shopping experience. Not only can you not leave the OSSO house without atleast one other person during the day and 3 others at night, but I´m not sure you could classify these places as shops. They are markets mostly with an overwhelming amount of....for lack of a better word, junk. And not just any junk, they all pretty much have the same junk for different prices. The food here is not as different as I thought it would be. Lunch is the main meal here and always includes rice. Nothing is really spicy here, but it´s not very sweet eather. They also have the best bread. I´m almost always drawn strait to the bread containers while lounging around the kitchen. The absolute best thing though is Tutte Freddo´s. This great ice cream shop that has Limon (lemon) ice cream that I can´t seem to pass up. Last time Shannon and I went shopping, we went there twice. The biggest difference is the language. I came here with almost no spanish experience or study and now I am catching on out of necessity. It no longer sounds like a long stream of gibberish. It just sounds like alot of words I don´t know and maybe one word that I do. Here there is so much structure, there is alot of time. And most the that time is spent focusing on the things that really matter like service, scripture reading, prayer, and personal growth.
There are also alot of similarities here. There are still many who care. There are still those who swear beneath their breath alot. There are still those who burp without saying excuse me. There are still the very select few that smack you on the butt. The previous four traits can be found in one of the workers at Osso's neighbor orphanage, named Betty. Although she can be strict and somewhat hard to work with at times, she love the kids and shows it through her actions and devotion to them. There are still those who laugh at nothing. Ricardo, one of the little babies wouldn´t drink his bottle last night because any time I looked at him he´d start laughing. Apparently my face was funny, cause I honestly wasn´t even doing anything. There are still friends who care about you, so much so they become almost a part of your family. There are still those great examples all around. There is still and always will be the love of Christ for each and every individual.
There are many similarities mixed in with many differences, but that is what makes this an adventure in my Big Wonderful Life.
*note names of children &/or orphanages have been changed to protect the privacy of the children.
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