Halfway Through Guayaquil

Well today marks the halfway point of our stay in Guayaquil (not our entire trip just yet). It’s crazy how fast the first 12 days have gone. Before I know it I’ll be flying home again.

We’ve been feeling rather gross lately from eating too much fried food and not getting enough exercise, so my roommate Katy and I have been working out in a little gym they have here at the hotel. The combination of working hard and the humidity is horrible. I’ve never sweat so much in my life! When I got done even my legs were coated in sweat. Disgusting. To be honest though, I still don’t mind the air here. Sure, it makes you hot and sticky sometimes, but it’s good for my lungs and I don’t even have to use lotion on my skin.


Yesterday was my first real day out in the community. It’s so interesting! Our little landrover/ambulance takes us out through the barely livable outskirts of the city where it’s our job to screen school children and teach. Yesterday one other girl and I were stationed at a “subcentro”, which is basically a small clinic. We first took blood pressures and blood glucoses and taught nutrition/disease prevention to the women waiting outside the clinic. There was one little boy there who sat to talk to me for a while. He told me about how he was going to learn English and move to the United States so he could make money for his family. He gave me a piece of candy and insisted that I keep it when I told him I couldn’t take it. I thought it was really sweet that he gave it to me when he clearly had very little.




After screening at the clinic we went to several houses in the surrounding neighborhood to take their pressures and glucoses and to teach. It was an awesome experience to be able to go inside their houses and see how the people live! Their houses are barely more than four thin walls and a tin roof. Many of the kids can’t go to school if their families can’t afford to buy them uniforms. On top of that they can’t afford to buy nutritious food, so the kids get a lot of white rice and cheap sugary foods. A few of the blood sugars we took on them were quite high. I don’t know if they were actually diabetic or not, but there’s a possibility.



Last night a few of us went out in search for food. It was fun to just wander through some of the city to see what’s available. We ended up eating at a little hole in the wall (which almost all restaurants are). The food there was only $1 a plate! Seriously, we got carne asada, rice, and menestra (beans, etc) for only one dollar. It was pretty good too and I don’t think any of us are sick today. That’s always a good thing!

While we were in a little shop yesterday I totally thought I was getting robbed! I was looking at something when I suddenly felt my purse moving and someone standing very close to me. I quickly looked up to find another student invading my personal space more than a little. I guess my reaction was a bit out of place, but I’ve heard stories!

I also tried my hand at bargaining last night. When we were at the beach on Saturday I procured 2 pairs of earrings for $1.50 rather than $2, so I thought I must have a knack for it. Well when I tried to talk some salesmen down on some tangerines and passion fruit I got totally shut down. I had to ask the guy who works as our sometimes translator for tips on bargaining. I need practice before I get ripped off in Otavalo (the major shopping market) next week! He tells me I’m going to have to work hard because I’m white. Dang.

Today is nurse’s day, so this morning all of us went to the big hospital (Vernaza) to manage a booth at their big celebration. Our booth was mostly dedicated to teaching CPR. We really didn’t need 23 people to man said booth, so most of my 6 hours there were very dull. The hospital was happy to have us there to add variety to their numbers and support their facility. Everyone wanted us to join their pictures as well.
The hospital fed us a strange lunch, and then we finally got back to our hotel.

Tonight we’re planning a pizza party (pizza hut has ½ price Tuesdays) and movie night. I don’t think a single one of us has watched a movie or even TV since we’ve been here. We just don’t generally have time and it’s really not that enticing.

At home there’s a new addition to the horse collection. I figured I’d post a picture, since nobody else does…ehem, Krystina.