Ellie: Today was the day I wanted to die - it would have been a better option. In short, I got sick, really sick. Lindsey had not been feeling well Saturday and Sunday but was feeling good enough to go with a group to the clinic. I hung out in bed, literally bedridden. When Lindsey got back from working for lunch she let me know that her morning had felt about like mine and she kind of wanted to die because she wasn't feeling too well either.
Lindsey: I ended up assisting dentists by sterilizing their chairs after patients were done, but then had to go lay down for a while when things went downhill. Also wandered around the eye clinic but didn't have much energy to offer much help, unfortunately. I probably tried to push myself a bit too much by even go outside, but I didn't want to miss out.
Lindsey: I ended up assisting dentists by sterilizing their chairs after patients were done, but then had to go lay down for a while when things went downhill. Also wandered around the eye clinic but didn't have much energy to offer much help, unfortunately. I probably tried to push myself a bit too much by even go outside, but I didn't want to miss out.I wasn't feeling well enough to go back out to work after lunch, and Ellie was still miserable so I got a doctor and had her come and get Ellie and I to take us to the clinic so they could get Ellie some medications. Yes, it's the same clinic I had been at during the morning, attempting to work at, and everyone was surprised to see us there, not to help, but to be helped! The doctor gave us a list of prescriptions for Ellie and we got a ride back to the hotel.
Ellie: I got to get a fun shot from one of the Ecuadorian doctors - who knows what was in it? But I think it eventually started to help. A lot of people from our group were getting sick about this time and a lot of us received the shot. Let's just say it was painful - horribly painful. I also had the fun experience of taking so many pills and being so drugged that I couldn't open my eyes from 10 PM Monday until Noon Tuesday. But then I started to feel better!
Lindsey: Unfortunately we both had to start drinking Pedialite (hence the horrific pic above) and were both also on antibiotics. No bueno...
That night, our group was invited to the Stake President's house to see his daughter's dance group perform some traditional dances. I was feeling well enough to go, but Ellie had to stay in bed and get better. They performed 3 different dances that are very common to their culture which was fun to see!
We also got a demonstration about what the traditional clothing meant to their culture. Very fun, and it helped that we just had to sit and watch! We thanked the Stake President for his family's hospitality and headed back to our hotel.
We also got a demonstration about what the traditional clothing meant to their culture. Very fun, and it helped that we just had to sit and watch! We thanked the Stake President for his family's hospitality and headed back to our hotel.
We had planned to sing "Lead Kindly Light" during Sacrament so we were all there ready to sing - it went really well. The men in our group that could speak Spanish sang the first verse in Spanish and then the women did the second verse in Spanish and we all did the third verse in English. The congregation loved it. We also had brought some Book of Mormons with us and gave them to the missionaries who told us it was a miracle we had brought them because they hadn't had Book of Mormons to pass out for two weeks! It was a great day, even though I couldn't understand much of the meeting at church.
This is a pic of Andrew, Ellie & I with Dr. Nantu after church. She is pretty tiny, as you can tell! Or...we're just giants! 
The prices were amazing - at least to us - and we each bought a dozen bracelets (for $1.50 each) among other jewelry, alpaca blankets ($10-18 each), bags and other fun Ecuadorian 
We saw fried fish, but not just the fish you eat - the whole thing - tail, fins, gills, mouth and all. Delicious. After the market we went out to lunch and ate a delicious and filling meal at a Pizzeria. Lunch and drinks for 6 people was $12! I can barely eat lunch for just me for $12 in the states!
It was so much fun! I have never gone that fast, or that long, on a horse and I loved it. We rode for nearly 4 hours and I laughed so hard at bouncing around that I nearly fell off laughing! Although, I have to say Lindsey and I were both a little saddle sore shortly after. But it was worth it! We went down some relatively steep and treacherous hills, through a tunnel where our feet hit the walls and through some streams and we loved every minute. 
My horse was kind of a brat and bit Lindsey's horse as well as made some other enemies but it was all in good fun and only brought on more laughter. Lindsey and I were the lucky ones though because two of our party did get kicked by their horses and one girl lost her camera - we consider ourselves lucky for coming out unscathed!
When we got back Lindsey and I went to bed early in an effort to combat the slight sickness we were both feeling. After nearly a week in another country where you can't even drink the water, it's bound to happen. 
The kids were SO cute! And what was interesting was that the girls were brave and didn't cry as much while the boys bawled their eyes out! 
Lindsey: At one of the schools, there was a darling little girl that just wouldn't let go of me! She was so cute, and clingy! Too bad I can't stow away a child on the way home...they are too precious here!
After a day of work we got to go to the wood market in the Plaza of San Antonio de Ibarra, where there are a myriad of stores with any wood carving you can imagine. We found some great gifts and saw some 'interesting' wood carvings that could bring up some awkward conversations if hanging in your living room. We also got the once in a lifetime experience of sliding down a giant hummingbird slide - who doesn't want to do that someday? 
The evening was, to say the least eventful. We all went to "Beto's Disco" and had our first international karaoke experience. There wasn't a single Ecuadorian in the place and so it was about 25 Americans rockin' out to some good old fashioned American music. We picked about 20 songs and sang and danced the night away. There was a little salsa, a little karaoke by an American Idol contestant and lots of laughs. Greg stole the show with his performance of "Two Hearts" and his constant hip shakin!
We learned how the locals make concrete here, which is quite different than I've ever done it. We first leveled the ground, then layered small boulder sized rocks close to each other to cover the area. We then hauled 32 heaping wheelbarrows full of sand, 10 bags of concrete mix, and 25 wheelbarrows full of small rocks and put them in a pile. They covered the whole pile with water, then made a little funnel and slowly mixed the contents in the center until it was really wet, then filled a wheelbarrow full and dumped it over the rocks. 
Back to the interesting stuff...photo shoot with the kids! We had them do "peace" signs and taught them "head, shoulders, knees & toes" in Spanish. There was quite a bit of time when they only used the guys, for some odd reason, so we entertained the kids and took in the beautiful scenery (that oddly looked like Utah county, with additional animals & concrete shanties).
The concrete process took a bit longer than expected, so we were an hour and a half late meeting the rest of the group, who went to see the 
Several who were there earlier were able to hike up the backside of the waterfall and through a cave which was pretty cool...I heard. After seeing the sites, we headed back for dinner and some killer games of Phase 10, followed by a mob scene where I led about 10 people on a search for chocolate through the streets of 
We literally got in 2 long assembly lines and transported rocks from one location to another for the majority of the morning. It was pretty interesting, because several of the local indigenous women, barefoot and in full traditional clothing, jumped in line to help! They were so willing to help, but it was hard to tell them what we were doing because they didn't speak Spanish, only Quichua. I know Ellie & I are taller than the average US women, but we're like twice as tall as the Ecuadorian women!
After a few hours of working hard, nature started to call. I had to use the scary, dark/unlit, spider infested bathroom with a toilet that didn't flush....joyous. The "best" part about it, was that I got locked in! I started pounding on the door yelling, "Ayudame!" (help me) and finally got let out, much to the "satisfaction" of my fellow friends and workers...good times
After lunch, we went back to the construction site and ended up having to move the rocks we had just relocated, back to an area close to where they came from! Not the most efficient method, I can assure you. We did entertain ourselves by playing, "Sing a song starting with the word ____" and I usually had some way to work in "We're coming to America" by Neil Diamond (not so sure why, but it was pretty funny)! hee hee
After work, we headed back to Cotacachi and went shopping with the rest of the group. I didn't get anything much, but many in our group got custom tailored leather coats for $80! If I was a leather coat wearer, that would be a good deal. We headed back to the hotel for dinner, a bakery run, and movies in our room!
It was great to see the clinic and get organized. The only real contribution we had to make while everyone got familiar with their new setting was pumping up a few soccer balls for the kids...it's a lot harder that you think! 
Besides that, we just "held down the fort" by wandering the area. At 1pm, we all headed back to the hotel and had an amazing lunch of popcorn...yes, popcorn, soup, fresh squeezed fruit juice, rice & chicken. Then desert. This was a typical lunch & dinner set up and the same items remained over the whole 2 weeks, just varying the flavors of the soup and juice, and the type of meat and desert. It was so delicious! After lunch we went back to the clinic for a bit then headed out to our construction site to see where we were going to be working. We were going to be working on a day care center called Las Abejitos and an elementary school called Deloris Del (something) it was named after a woman who died and donated her land to the school. 
We just scoped out the site and when it started to rain, we headed out to Cotacachi which is a local community that specialized in leather goods. After a little shopping, we headed back to the hotel for another amazing meal and then played card games with some friends. I won :) woo woo! Went to bed at 9:30pm to gear up for the first long work day of the trip!
