10/25

Buenas noches! Today the 7th graders had to take their high school placement test in the room that we meet and work on our show. So this morning we went down to the school's prayer space and held our own prayer service. All of the students wrote their own prayers and/or petitions. It was beautiful!! Mrs. Laudeman even teared up. After the prayer service, we played outside a little. When we went inside, the students worked on homework for a while. Max and a few boys then started a card tournament and that kept the students occupied until lunch. After recess, we worked REALLY hard on our show. It is looking great! We ended our day with a prayer and reflection and it was time to go home. Tomorrow we have a busy day planned! Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers, you are in ours too.

Our little prayer service. 

Miss Gabriel made us form the banana again.

Working on homework.

The scorpion that Miss Gabriel found in her bathroom this morning! SO SCARY!!!!!

Form the banana

I didn't post a blog yesterday because we called all of our families, did homework, and practiced for our show. today was a fun day! We started off our day with a 3 minute retreat. Starting our day with God, keeps us in a routine and keeps us thankful, mindful, and present. We then made thank you notes to the school for their hospitality and for being so welcoming. After, we talked to the 2nd, 6th, and 7th grades about ourselves. It was fun answering questions the students asked, and we were much more comfortable around the 6th and 7th graders. Miss Gabriel showed us a new silly dance called "form the banana!" At first, we were a little apprehensive, but then we started to like it. The song even got stuck in our heads! During recess, our new friend Millie showed us how to make origami swans! It was so fun to learn! Noah, another new friend, joined in on the fun. After recess, we played soccer during gym. When we got back, we had a 10 minute meditation. Our show is looking and sounding better and better every time we practice it! Miss Gabriel told us the future with a fortune teller she made. We formed the banana one more time and hasta luego, it was time to go!

Making our origami swans during recess.

Talking to the 2nd graders. (Miss Gabriel was on the ground working the PowerPoint.)

Mrs. Laudeman fixed Puff for us.

Another origami picture.

Form the banana!!

Applying sunscreen before we go outside.

Tip the cow!! (Part of form the banana)

Squeeze the orange! (It's a long dance)

Form banana, form form banana

Peel banana, peel peel banana

Go bananas, go go bananas!!

(I think they secretly loved it!)

Water park fun!

On Friday, we visited some classrooms to tell the students more about ourselves. we even had some conversations with some of the younger kids! There are 3 Jefferson schools in Ecuador and on Friday, they had a math competition. We went and watched for a while. After, we played some cards instead of soccer during recess to keep out of the sun for a little. Mrs. Laudeman and Miss Gabriel met with Anna's, Elaina's, and Cece's host family for lunch. Then it was time for everyone to go their separate ways.

On Saturday, we had a great time at the water park on! Mrs. Laudeman and Miss Gabriel even joined in on the fun! Miss Gabriel made sure that we all reapplied sunscreen a lot so we wouldn't burn. The waterpark had many slides and a big pool for us to play chicken and basketball in. The kids didn't want to leave! Around 5:45, it was starting to get dark so we had to leave. We're excited to call our families tomorrow. Week one flew by, so we're going to enjoy every moment of the next two weeks!

Mrs. Laudeman on the slide.

Jack on the slide.

Anna on the slide.

Elaina on the slide.

Lil on the slide.

Telling Mrs. Laudeman how it's done.

A beautiful ceramic fish at the waterpark.

Anna, Lil, and Elaina hanging out in the pool.

On their way to the slides.

Anna telling everyone about the slide.

Miss Gabriel and Lil are the chicken champs.

Miss Gabriel and Lil against Cece and Elaina.

Peter, Lil, and Cece.

Gus

Max

Chicken competition

The kids said that Mrs. Laudeman and Miss Gabriel are cool teachers... as if we didn't know that already.

M

Selfie with Miss Gabriel

At the math completion.

Cece, Anna, and Elaina with their hosts.

Playing cards

Telling students about ourselves.

Field trip #2

Hello everyone! Today was another busy day for us. The students started with their daily basketball game before school started. We went to mass and adoration in the morning. It was a beautiful church!! After that we talked about our nights. The students played soccer at recess and we did some homework. We worked out a few kinks in our cultural show and now it looks wonderful! The students had lunch and recess where they played soccer... SHOCKER! After that, they had gym where they played MORE soccer. It was fun to watch! The American team vs. the two different Ecuadorian teams. I'm pretty sure we won! After the students cooled down we went to the 6th grade and talked about ourselves and Halloween. This evening we walked up 444 steps to the lighthouse on the hill where Guayaquil was founded. It was exhausting, but so worth it once we got to the top! After walking back down, we went on the Ferris wheel to see the city. Tomorrow will be another fun day and this weekend will be a blast. Tomorrow, many families are headed to the beach. On Saturday, we are all going to the waterpark! We will not have Wi-Fi there so be ready for a lot of pictures on Sunday!

Our short video of us!

America vs. Ecuador

I have literally been waiting all week to get ice cream at school!

The view of the city from the farris wheel.

"How does my hair look?"

Gus needed a lift after all those stairs!

Watch out Zac Efron, Miss Gabriel might have a new boyfriend.

After 444 steps, the view was amazing!

From the top of the lighthouse.

Little church at the top of the stairs.

We made it!!!

On our way up!

The steps looked easy from here.... we were wrong.

Another selfie with Miss Gabriel.

Just seeing what kind of ice cream they had.

Mrs. Laudeman fixing Cece's hem on her skirt.

Joseph at the church

All of us in front of church.

Just the kids.

In front of Mary.

The church was BEAUTIFUL!

Our morning ritual.