Hello everyone, 
 This week was interesting to say the least at Madres Unidas. The clients and staff were really busy trying to get things prepared for a fiesta that we had yesterday. We made crafts as our therapy session, which worked on FMC and sensory issues. One of my clients  that has Down's Syndrome loves to play in the homemade paste that we use for our crafts, which is just flour and water. He would take a bath in it if we would let him. Lets just say when I leave in the afternoon I am covered in it. Then I have a little girl that I work with that actually does not have a dx and she will not put her hands in the paste to save her own life. So I have to guide her through the whole process which takes twice as long.
 I have a client that is dx with Cerebral Palsy, and he has a huge crush on me. He told Elaine (my supervisor) that he didn't want to work with anyone but me. I have been working with him during meal time to increase his level of independence. Sometimes he uses his "learned helplessness" and wants me to feed him, but I know that he can do it himself even though it may take longer and use more effort on his part. In Ecuador they do not observe HIPPA violations, so I will be posting some pictures on facebook of our fiesta. (We did get permission from the parents though to take pictures.)
So after wee leave Madres Unidas around 12:30, we go to another site for 2 hours called INNFA, which is an outpatient clinic for children as well. The therapist there is pretty amazing. She does not speak any English, but she is so good with the kids and really knows her stuff. I had the oppertunity yesterday to observe her on the mat with a 2 year old with Down's Syndrome. The baby is missing specific milestones such as learning how to crawl, walk, and talk. It was very interesting to see therapy done on such a young toddler. The therapist asked me through translation on her laptop if I would be interested in seeing her outpatient clinic that she runs outside of her house. I asked her what type of caseload she treats there and she said all ranges from young to old. So im pretty excitied to go there sometime. I will have to keep everyone updated. Enjoy the weekend and the up coming week. Chao!!!

Well i just wrote alot on here and it got deleted so now im tired hahah but anyways i was telling everyone that we have been getting up early every morning to start our day at Madres Unidas. We are working on a pinuata ( lol im not sure of the speeling on that), but we are making it to be a 3 leaf clover for St Patricks day, which has already passed but the kids wanted it so thats what we are making. It is a total mess, well I shouldn't say that, I am a total mess b the time we are done. Some of the kids that have sensory issues do not like to put their hands into the paste which is made of water and flour, so they slop it everywhere while some of the other kids with Down's Syndrome rather play with the paste than to use it for what it is meant for. Its all good though as long as the kids are having fun and we are meeting some of their goals then I guess I can handle walking around all messy. We finished up putting the green tissue paper on it today so I had to carry it home through lunch hour traffic. As if i wasn't getting stared at enough already!! The people down here are nice but boy they love their white girls hahah..In the States it is kinda considered rude to stare for long periods of time and down here it is any everyday thing. The kids at the facility love us though they actually make us feel normal and welcome. We told them today that we are taking them on a fieldtrip to our house tomorrow to celebrate our house keepers birthday whom also works at the facility as an aid. They were so excited and asked us if we were going to sing and dance. Thats another thing about this cultrue, they love to dance and aren't shy about it. I think this is pretty neat. So tomorrow should be pretty fun. I'll have to keep you updated. Thats all for now.. Chao!!!!!

Today has been kind of an interesting day. Our schedule has changed a little bit. We are starting our second rotation at a facility called Infa. I guess they also work with children and the therapist there is suppose to be really good. The only problem is she dosen't speak any English, or not alot at least. The same goes for our spanish. Oh well it should be a good learning experience. So this morning at Madres Unidas, one of the boys brought coy( guinea pig) for lunch and he told Elaine that he brought it for al of us to try. In this culture it is considered rude to deny or roll your nose up at food that is offered to you, so we had to try it. Lets just say im not eating it ever again. Tonya started to dry hieve and ran to the bathroom. Of course everyone was laughing, including me. Well thats all for now i have to go eat some lunch and take a nap before my spanish class starts... Chao!!

SORRY ABOUT THE SPELLING ERRORS IT IS ALL TONYA'S FAULT LOL NO I JUST DON'T PROOFREAD

Well hola everyone... Sorry it's been a while since i have been on but we have been really busy with our fieldwork and our spanish classes and our dance lessons.. Lol yes i said dance lessons.. Vivian and Sussie are teachong us how to do the bamba and sala.. Our spanish classes are going well, at least i thought they were.. Today as we were walking back from our fieldwork site TK greeted a lady on the street by saying Gracias, which means thank you.. Lol I busted out laughing and she was like oh my God that isnt right is it and I told her no through all of my laughing. Then tonight at spnaich class we were taking a breakand Iasked TK if she wanted a drink of water and she said No Gracias, Por favor which means No Thank You, Please? I could have died laughing just her facial expressions and  they way she says it has me rolling everytime, and then when she tries to use it in conversation she gets all flustered. Anyways.. Our fieldwork has been interesting. The is a guy there that is in love with me he is actually 32 years old and has the mentality of a 16 year old boy.. His body looks even smaller then a 16 year olds would be. His name is Darwin ( i can say that because in Ecuador they do not recognize HIPPA violations), and he is nonverbal.. anyways he wont work with anyone besides me now. He is so full of energy and he signs his emotions through hand and facial expressions. The other kids that are so cute to and everyone just loves us even though our spanich isnt that good. Oh i forgot to tell everyone that here the garbage truck play music just like and ice cream truck dose in the states.. it's quite comical, well except for when we are trying to sleep. The weather here is kinda rainy and sometimes hot and sometimes chilly, or sometimes both all in one day. Well thats all for now... Buenas Noches!!!!

So we got our grociers and we went outside to get a taxi, which didnt take long at all.. Once we got in the taxi the driver kept looking back at me and speaking in spanish i asked Elaine if he was talking to me and she said no he is talking about you.. I was like what?? She said he was telling her how beautiful i was and he was amazed  with my eyes. So once we got back to the house he helped us take the bags to the door. After Elaine and Tk started to take the bags inside he said Cho.. so i said the same.. then he looked at me and said it again.. I was like okay??? So he gets in the taxi and startes to slowly drive off he stops like 2 seconds later and turns around and waves hahah it was to funny.. Then once i got inside Elaine told me he kept saying i was beautiful and was wondering if Iwas single.. and wondering why i waas here haha... oh well i told her to tell him that he just made my day.. What a day!!!! I havent been called a gringa so much in my life... Elaine said that they always comment on peoples appearances good or bad and we shouldnt take offense to it. Well i think thats all for tonight.. Adiosssssss

Well as you know we were on our way to Ibarra last night.. What a trip that was. We had to smush our selves into a back aof a taxi and we had to pick up 3 other people. TK and I were having a laughing fit in the back seat because we were so close to the back that i was pretty the back of the taxi was scarping the ground lol just kidding but then TK was like well we should just go ahead and eat our sandwhichs that Sussie made for us. It was funny because we were still talking about being so close to the back of the taxi that TK was like "Its kidda like we afre tail gaitiing".... lol i could have died laughing. in fact i was laughing so hard i was crying and the other people were in the taxi did not speak any english so they kept looking back at us with these werid looks.... So after a long 3 hours later we finally got to Elaines house where we unpacked. The house is beautiful. As soon as you walk in there is a fountain with 14' ceilings with nothing elsee in sight. Everything is closed off we all have our own bedrooms but TK and i decided to sleep in the same room.. We just felt more comfortable together.... So we got a good nights sleep and woke up and finished packing.. After i got a shower i found out that my hair dryer and straightner do not work in these outlets... No bueno.... So i have to buy an adaptor so my hair does not look a mess while im down here.. So we are going to go shopping today for groceries and other supplies. So thats about all for today... Hope all is well back home... Adios...

So here we are on our 3rd day here... we are currently sitting in Sussies living room ready to fall asleep. We just got back from site seeing and we also went to the mall. I dont know what it is but i have been so tired since i got here. Anyways its been a good day we went to the Indes Mountains and went the whole way to the top. When we got up there i could hardly breathe because of the elevation. But it was beautiful and i got lots of pictures. Then we went into the historic part of the city and saw where the president lives and the first cathloic church that was built. Then we went to a museum and in the middle the was a place that had very nice resturants, so we decided to eat there. I ordered a steak and cheese sandwhich and TK ordered a Club sandwhich which had eggs on it. This food sounds familiar but it was kinda different than what we were used too. but it was good.. Then we went to the mall.. Everything looks the same as in the states but everything here is extremeley expensive. So needless to say we didnt buy anything. TK priced a pair of crocks at 56.00$ and she bought them in the states for 29.99$ it was insane. We also went into a small cosmetic store and the lady followed us around the entire time. It was super annoying and we just ignored it. So for now we are here just relaxing and talking with Susie and Elaine..( well trying to at least).. At 6 tonight we are leaving for Ibarra and thats where we will be staying for the rest of our time here. Its good that we got back when we did because it started to down pour as soon as we got out of the taxi. It is kinda relaxing though. So just to let everyone know my spanish is starting to get better well alittle bit at least... well thats all for today... i think i might go take a ciasta.... Cho....

Today we woke up and went down for breakfast and I had to ask the lady that servee the breakfast where the coffee was and  of course i had to do it in spanish... After that we sat down and began to eat.. A man walked passed and TK says gracias which means thank you but what she meant to say was buenes dias which is good day or morning .... hahaha he just looked at her and said buenes dias... wow we need to work on our spanish speaking skills... Then we met up with Elaine and Sussie and went on a tour of the equator and valcano... it was pretty amazing.... dont worry i have awesome pictures and  halarious video footage.. After all that we went to lunch and i tried something new but i cant remember the name of it off the top of my head. Then we went back to the hotel and took a ciesta.. After that we took a taxi to Suusie house and had Pizza- yes i said pizza.. it isnt quite the same as Americano pizza because it has no sauce but it was pretty good. I have been exhausted all day and i think it is a combination of dehydration  and the alltitude difference... Well thats all for now hope all i well back in the states.... love you all...buenos noches...Adios!!!!!!

Well here we are.... We finally made down to the other side..Our plane ride was not that bad at all from Pittsburgh to Miami, although TK thought the plane was kinda small for her liking... i woiuld have to agree...Once we  got to Miamai it took u another hour to fin out terminal... Way to go miami for not putting correct signs where they need to be. Once we found our terminal we made a friend that actually was flying back to her home land ( Quito) her name was Madre.. she was suer nice and her english was very well...we exchanged emails and boarded the plane. The plane was like the mac daddy of all planes. It had 2 aisles on either side and a middle section all the seats had tv on  them and we got dinner...What more could you ak for?  4 hours later we finally landed in Quito. It is breath taking...literally the altitude here makes it really hard to breathe.. but yeah the country iu beautiful and not what i expected at all.. Once we got to the airort no one was speaking english so i had to put mine to the test... hahaha didnt go so well but we surived. ater icking u our luggage we met Elaine which is our advisor and her amiga Sussie.. She is super nice and knows the language and where to go very well. I would say so since this is her native land. We got a taxi and the guy through everything into a taxi for us..  The city is amazing.. My spanish not so much... Once we got to our hotel we icovered that we both left our pillows somewhewre or the guy that put our luggage in                did not put them in the taxi.. Oh well it could have been alot worse. We got a hower and called home then decided to go out to eat. The food is muy bieno  (very good) and is not that different. Sussie is an amazing peron and has so much to share with us. She does speak alittle english but not much. After dinner we walked arond for ahile and called it a night....

So here we are in the next 7 hours i will be on my way to the airport with my dad, mom, uncle mike and of course TK. I am pretty sure this is not going to be an easy goodbye since neither of us have been away from home for more than 2 weeks, not to mention leaveing the country. Wish us luck!!!! Bring on the crazy ride!!!!!

Beginning The Next Chapter

Hey everyone. Tomorrow I start a journey that seems like an amazing oppertunity. I will be leaving for Ecuador for 2 months to due my level II fieldwork, and hopefully change some lives. Taking the journey with me is my Aunt Tonya, aka TK... She is also in the same program as I am and will also be along for the amazing ride. Oh i forgot to tell ya.. We are OTA students.. ( Occupational Therapy Assistants). Some, or alot of people have not the slightest clue what we even do for a living so here is a brief overview. We work along side physical therapy working towards maintaining or increaseing a persons independence in every day occupations. (hence the name Occupational Therapists). Anyways we love people, young and old and want to make a difference in their lives. If they can not do things on their own we also teach them alternative ways to living and also introduce awesome adaptive equipment that can help better day to day activities. We can find jobs anywhere like rehab facilities, nursing homes, hospitals, schools, out patient clinics, and we could also become traveling therapists. So now that you know what we are all about, back to the trip to Ecuador.  My advisor had asked if we would like to go. TK and I were nervous about the idea but then came around to it. It is going to be so rewarding to experience everything that Ecuador has to offer. I am super excited and nervous. Oh i forot to mention my spanish is not that well so we are taking classes when we get there. It should be interesting. I made this page to keep family and friends posted from day to day with all of the awesome stories I will have... Hope everyone enjoys