The two hospital beds...

And again, a few days, even 2 weeks have passed since our last update.

To briefly describe the recent time in keywords, we would choose the following words:

# Fulltime Kids

# Being sick with full intensity

# Boredom as we were alternately confined to bed

# Navidad (Christmas)

For those who think, oh I don't really have much time to read a long entry by the two ... Lucky you, today it will be a short and snappy affair :) promised!!!

More than that, the photos should give you an insight into our everyday life with the enchanting little beings.

...being sick

One thing we can tell you, being sick makes home more fun - insofar as associating being sick with the word fun is concerned.

It's hard to say why. Probably several factors play together why I (Simone) have been constantly feeling weak and having a persistent cold and cough for almost 3.5 weeks, and why Michi joined me in solidarity last week. Constant feeling of lack of energy, persistent sniffles and cough.

But compared to other volunteers from the past, it seems we're doing well, at least we haven't had to go to the hospital so far.

Unfortunately, Michi was confined to bed for the last few days, Simone is still not fit, and so the announced trip to Quito ultimately didn't happen.

Working despite being stuffed up!

Roughly speaking - the photos speak for themselves. Bright children's eyes, cakes and chips, loud music and lots of 'dance' -- A birthday celebration at the Guardería is something very special. At the end of each month, the birthday children of the respective month can look forward to a big celebration with nearly 110 children.

Enjoy the photos :)

Another treat from our Rosa

What we have now learned is that Rosa was a nurse before her monastery career, about 60 years ago. As mentioned in the last entry, Simone got a homemade tea. 

However, we forgot to tell you this: to relieve muscle pain, the nurse we trust gave Simone a purple pill with the comment: "It will do her good".

At breakfast the next day, it turned out, much to the laughter of the present sisters, that it was a sleeping pill - well, anyway, the 10-hour nap didn't harm Simone at least.!

Special features of monastery life

There is only hot water in the shower here. The dishes and cutlery are washed with cold water - possibly because the bacteria find it so easy to move from one person to the next.

Also washing clothes with cold water is unsatisfactory - although the clothes smell good, they are far from being hygienically clean. But necessity is the mother of invention - boil water and wash by hand - it takes time, but it works.

And another culinary excursion

Today's menu, Quimbolito - a typical Ecuadorian dessert, the main ingredients are cornmeal, eggs, and raisins - the dough is wrapped in banana leaves and then steamed... incredibly delicious - perfect refreshment after Spanish school, which we have now finished by the way.

By the way, this is what the school looks like.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

What? It's already the first Sunday of Advent? Christmas spirit = non-existent.

This needs to be urgently counteracted. Simone and Chrissi, our volunteer colleague, promptly set off to buy spices, flour, and honey. After a few hours and a few stumbling blocks (how do we grind the cloves, mixing ratio of spices, darn it, the gas oven doesn't work, the dough smells and tastes absolutely not as it should), we actually managed, with joint forces and under the most difficult conditions, to conjure up gingerbread that came very close to home.

In this sense, happy first Advent...

  PS: You can find more photos in the photo overview of this post