Getting the daycare routine down

Children having soup

Already by Tuesday we were starting to get the routine down. The breakfast was the same, the bus ride to the daycare center was the same, but at snack time it changed. It was my turn to take the children to the baños (bathrooms) to wash hands. The nice little line-up had exploded into a flurry of two-year-olds running in all directions, touching everything; flushing the toilets and laying on the toilet seat to watch the water go down; standing in the urinal and touching the water going down the back wall. Crawling on the floor after they had washed their hands seemed the normal thing for them to do. It was obvious that I was not in control of this relatively simple duty. After wasting all this energy in the morning, by lunchtime the children were tired. It’s common to see some of them sleeping at the table covered with their lunch of rice and beans.

After lunch our duties are to help the tías with the babies or with paperwork. I was asked to draw a two-foot naked niño (boy) and naked niña (girl) for a future lesson. As a non-artist, it was a scary request, but the two-year-olds weren’t alarmed by the completed drawing.

Alex and baby Kelly

In the evening there was an optional night tour of the city streets and Old Town to be topped off by empanadas and canelazo, a traditional Ecuadorian drink with a touch of fire water, which is 60% sugar cane alcohol. An exceptional end to a good tour. Upon arrival at the hotel, some of the group finished the evening with a late night pizza, while all were anticipating another eventful day at the daycare center.

Entry submitted by: Rita

Message for the day – Jack: “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” – Jackie Robinson 

Mark in conversational English class with the tías

Olivia and Jack – brother and sister – serving soup to the babies and toddlers