viva the weekend! part1

This has been the most...interesting weekend I've had recently. Friday began with my alarm not going off and my waking up an hour late! 3 minutes later I was in school in an unwashed uniform, no make-up on and mad unbrushed hair-I may have scared the children! Happily it turned out our planned trip out is next week so I wasn't left behind. On the other hand it meant we had a bunch of excited kids and no work planned and 4 long hours ahead. For some reason (I still don't know why) the teachers vanished to do "stuff" and Amy (the other volunteer) and I were left doing Christmas crafts with the children. Neither of us knew why we are doing festive activities in September but it's Ecuador so hey! just go with the flow. 3 hours later and with glue, glitter and paint all over the tables, children and me I decided to do something a bit more calming-lego. BIG mistake, BIG BIG mistake. I'm too tired to go into detail but lets say there was an incident involving an angelic looking girl who was not so angelic, a wolf puppet and several acts of violence involved.


  Saturday I was meant to be going for a hike in a crater in Quito but it was decided that I was not strong enough (not sure if I'm relieved or not) so instead I was packed off to a church retreat for the weekend. A retreat sounds lovely and relaxing doesn't it? Slight hitch though-it wasn't with my church. I was sent off with the next door church where I knew nobody and nobody speaks English-oh happy day!


    Cold water showers,many cockroaches and a fresh can of repellent later I am back home. Yesterday afternoon I had planned to lie out for a bit in the garden and soak up the sun, unfortunately something else got there before me-a wild, baby Coral snake! After that I decided to join everyone else and have a siesta in my bunk.

           latecomers to sessions were punished! Ladies doing a dance in front of everyone.


    The retreat was not at all what I expected but then I hadn't expected to enjoy it much. It was just for women so it was 37 ladies, the pastor and our speaker Clive from Kent (wohoo for England!) I shared a cabana (house/cabin) with Katie, my next door neighbour missionary, and 2 teenage girls. Whilst straightening hair, negotiating a longer lie in, fighting over sweets and sharing make up I realised some things are the same no matter where you are.

                                                this is me and my cabana mates.
   
   Talking and praying with the women who shared their stories about violent and abusive fathers and realising how common this abuse is I realised "I'm not in Kansas anymore."