Saturday

It's 1 am, so this is going to be short. I promise a long update tomorrow with photos (i haven't' downloaded them yet)
We hired the guy who picked us up at the airport, Don Wilson, to take us to Otavalo market today. We spent the whole day out, went to the market and bought some stuff. It was pretty amazing there. They have all these people selling just about anything that you could think of. From toilet paper to animals. We had a good time there and bought some nice things. From there we went to Cotocachi, a town not too far away that is well known for their leather goods. We didn't' even shop while we were there. Ate lunch at a nice place and then headed to lake Cuicocha, an ecological reserve. this is a crater lake and the area is very beautiful. We took a small hike here. I thought I was going to die. This was no easy hike. We had fun there making fun of ourselves (me and Janet) about falling or dropping dead! On the way back we stopped in Cayambe where they have determined through GPS the true equator. There is a research project there that has created an amazing sundial and we learned a lot about the equator and the earth.
When we got back to Quito we took a walk to look for some snacks to bring back and then went out to dinner at La Rhonda, a very nice Ecuadorian restaurant. There was an Andean band playing and it was awesome. Like the bunch of idiots that we are, none of us brought a camera.
Tomorrow (actually later today)Don Wilson is picking us up to go to el Panecillo, the Mitad del Mundo and then possibly the telerfico(sp?) He is picking us up at 9 so I guess I should get some sleep.

More tomorrow, including photos from today

We're here!

We arrived last night. I don't even know what time it was when we finally got to the hotel. Sam thinks it was around midnight.
We checked in, went to our room (#1 for us, #6 for Janet and Michael), and went right to sleep

Today, after breakfast we went to Quicentro Mall. My brother forgot the charger to his camera and we wanted to see if we could find one. Unfortunately we weren't able to. Enjoy walking around the mall. Had lunch in the food court, Sam had KFC-he is SO adventurous, Michael and Janet had Taco Bell and Pizza Hut and I had rice and shrimp from an Ecuadorian place. Michael and Janet both wished they had been more adventurous. Not sure what we are doing tonight.
Sam and I are going to the orphanage on Monday at 3pm.
Tomorrow we are going to Otavalo to the market. We are being picked up at 8am.

Day after tomorrow

Just wanted to share...
This is what 15 onsies, 18 boxes of bandaids, 10 coloring books, 8 boxes of 48ct crayons, 20 bibs, 5 pair of sweat pants, 20 4 packs of childrens toothbrushes, 50 pair of childrens socks, 21 pair of infant socks, 13 boxes of large crayons, 3 3 pc infant outfits, 16 bottles of childrens tylenol and 18 tubes of desitin ointment look like packed into a suitcase.

WOW! Just a few more days and we will be on our way to Ecuador. I've been busy planning and shopping and packing. I feel a little overwhelmed, but that's just me. Tonight we are going shopping for stuff to bring to the orphanage with the money everyone has so kindly donated. We are so lucky to have such wonderful people in our lives that care enough about Sam to donate so much. Thank you all again!
The orphanage staff did a great job of taking care of my baby while he was waiting for Bruce and I to come get him. I wonder if he stayed there a few days now they could kick his butt into shape. I remember that the sisters there took no nonsense from those kids. I guess thats how you have to be when you have so many kids and so little staff.

So keep checking here for stories and photos from our trip. Those of you who know my brother know there will be stories, and they will be funny!

10 days

Only 10 days left until we leave for Ecuador. I know Sam is getting excited and so am I. We have been collecting money from our friends and family to purchase items for the orphanage. We will buy some stuff here and will wait until we are down there to purchase the rest. If the orphanage needs something that we can buy, we will do it when we are down there. I'm sure there is a lot they need. Thanks to everyone who has donated already.

Getting ready for Ecuador

Bruce and I adopted our son Sam in Ecuador in 1992. On November 5th, Sam and I are returning to Ecuador for a visit. My brother Michael and sister Janet are going to accompany us. Unfortunately Bruce isn't joining us due to health concerns. The city we will be staying in, Quito, is at a VERY high altitude (almost 10,000 feet) and since Bruce had trouble with his lungs last year he doesn't think it is a good idea to make the trip at this time. We will miss him A LOT! My plan is to update this blog every day, at least once. That way everyone can keep up with what we are doing. I plan to share lots of photos and knowing my brother and sister, i'm sure we will have lots of funny experiences and stories to share.

I want to thank everyone who has responded to our request for donations for the orphanage. My brother Michael has been amazing with getting his friends and co-workers to donate. If you haven't responded and want to donate, it is not too late!!!

If anyone has suggestions on things to do while we are there, let me know. I am planning our activities and would love some suggestions to add to my list.

The LAST week

I am counting down the days. Only 1 1/2 days of work left. YIPPEE!!!!!!

Tonight I made one of my favorite meals. We call it Eduardo Pasta. Here is the story:

Several years ago I was the president of the local chapter of Stars of David, a Jewish adoptive families support group. I received a phone call from a woman from an exchange student organization who told me that she had found my name on the Stars of David website and she was in a bind and was wondering if anyone in our group could help her out. She was in charge of placing foreign students with host families in the United States. She had a young man who was scheduled to arrive from Italy the next week. The family that was was supposed to stay with were having some problems and couldn't take him. He has requested a Jewish family and she thought that someone from our group could help. It sounded like it would be really interesting, so I spoke to Bruce and we decided to host the young man, Eduardo. He arrived on a Friday, and we traveled to north NJ to pick him up. He seemed like a nice boy, and we had heard from the coordinator that he came from a VERY wealthy family. I remember googling his family and found out they had $$$$$$. From the time we picked him up he was on the cell phone to his father in Italy. We arrived home and he stayed outside for a little while talking on the phone and then Bruce and him went to the golf driving range.
We gave him his own room, with a sofa bed, and had explained to the coordinator when she came for a home inspection that we could get a bed in he was uncomfortable. To make a long story short, 3 days later I got a call from the coordinator asking me what was going on. Eduardo had been on the phone with his father telling him he had to get out of this "village". He said that our "village" was dirty, that we made him sleep with the dog, that "the boy" didn't speak English, and he couldn't share a bathroom with "that boy". Needless to say, I was speechless. I told her that she needed to get him out of our home as soon as possible. It was such a nightmare. The only good thing that came out of it was that he taught me how to make this wonderful pasta dish. It is so easy too!