Welcome - Welcome

Hello friends in Austria!

We finally dare to start our blog...

After four days, we consider ourselves mentally stable again.

The long journey, the altitude, the strong sun, and all the anticipation/excitement really took a toll on us.

Who would have thought that we would actually sleep for so many hours in a row, several times a day!

Welcome to Ecuador - let's dive right into the authentic Ecuadorian life.

Hospitality is highly valued here - dinner consisting of chicken, rice, and bean sauce was brought from the snack bar next door by Angel.

The next day, we took the bus to the actual destination >>>> CUENCA

Upwards!!!! From 5 to 2600 meters above sea level within 3 hours, the air becomes noticeably thinner.

Arrival at our new home

Despite partial ignorance of the arrival of the two Austrian volunteers, we were warmly welcomed at the monastery.

As if we could already smell it in Guayaquil, we arrived just in time for lunch.

In our personal sleeping quarters, which is quite literally a dormitory, an adventurous bed with a spring mattress and a spring slatted frame provides us with the best possible luxury.

Mi casa es su casa - this phrase has been heard several times in the past few days. Here at the monastery, it is not just an empty phrase, it is actually lived.

Quite different from what we expected (monotonous and greasy food), we are spoiled daily with truly delicious and healthy food. - in the coming weeks and months, there will be a variety of photos and descriptions to come, PROMISE!

The cool thing about it is that we have already been able to discover absolutely new and unfamiliar food such as Haba, Mote, Granadilla, the beer-like but non-alcoholic drink Chicha, etc. We don't have to worry about our slim figure! And the kitchen in the monastery is extremely vegetarian-friendly. Muy bien!!!

The highlight of every meal is our dear Sister Rosa, also known as Gordita (alias Chubby) with her absolutely brilliant comments and jokes, which often contain obscenities. It should not be overlooked that this señorita is a proud 80 years young. She likes to take advantage of our language barrier and finds it quite amusing to clearly joke around with us.

How do we know? Her facial expression and the laughter of the others says it all.

Imagine this... a super small person, a face shaped by wrinkles, and an absolutely too high table!!

By the way, have we already mentioned the monastery-owned bakery? Yes, you read that right! Always fresh and as much as we want. What stands out is that the typical "bread" as we know it at home does not exist here. It more resembles in taste a tender croissant or brioche. But that doesn't matter, the sweet bread is also eaten with savory soups and hearty dishes.

The sanitary facilities can be compared to Austrian standards from 1970. BUT there is running, mostly hot water and it is sufficiently clean. However, the evening/night walk there is somewhat challenging, as only an unlit corridor leads from our room to the bathroom/toilet.

The weather

Let's continue with the subject of darkness. The sun bids farewell at 6 pm for a whole 12 hours, and the remaining 12 hours it graces us with full intensity, accompanied by alternating thick clouds and a little rain. So far, we have managed to avoid getting wet, only Michi had a fight with the sun. Poor guy, after nearly 1 hour in the sun (it was not hot at all), it roasted his receding hairline, his delicate nose, his bull neck, and his muscular arms. In his defense, this is not negligent behavior, as the sun is really aggressive - even the locals protect themselves with sunscreen, long clothing, and pretty sombreros.

Again and again, we are warned by locals to stay away from certain neighborhoods or to only pass through them in company (meaning the two of us together). So far, we have been to the city twice - absolutely problem-free. Located about 30 minutes' walk from the monastery, the center is quite worth seeing and historically significant. We still don't know much about it, BUT we still have a lot of time here. It's amazing how many churches you can find here, really fascinating. The city's landmark, the "Nueva Catedral de Cuenca" (photo to follow), is one of the largest cathedrals in Latin America. It took the Ecuadorians a proud 100 years to complete its construction.

For all beer lovers, Ecuador also has something good to offer. One of the first main highlights here was finding various potential bars and cozy cafes. So far, semi-successful, but that will change!!

Now onto the reason why we are actually here, the kids aka los niños.

Our work doesn't start until next week - combined with a Spanish course in the city. However, to get a little taste of what awaits us in the coming months, we were already given a small tour of the kindergarten, introduced to the caregivers, and had the opportunity to take about 25 children to the park. Oh boy, only Spanish, Simone doesn't understand anything, sensory overload of the highest degree, endless desperation. But hero Michi translates faithfully and diligently. He is already the hero in the kindergarten industry, which is mostly dominated by women.

Impressions upon impressions... all in all, it fits really well, we feel comfortable and are excited for the adventure. The only thing that currently gives me, Simone, a little stomachache is the language. We diligently sit together every evening and practice vocabulary, tenses, and phrases. But as soon as one of the sisters speaks to me, there is absolute confusion and emptiness in my head. It's alarming how much a lack of language can limit someone. How much I would love to tell more about myself and ask questions, but unfortunately, it doesn't work that well yet :) But as they say in Spanish - poco a poco (little by little).

In this sense, hasta pronto and take care!

P.S.: Before our adventure started, we had an incredibly fun and cool shoot with the amazing photographer Franziska Bittermann.

> https://www.instagram.com/fotografie_franziskabittermann/

> https://www.facebook.com/FotografieFranziskaBittermann/