It's like being in another country....

Well, we made it safely down here without any problems. Eddie´s cousin, Fabian, his family and the children met us at the airport. It took two hours to get out of the Quito city limits and then two more down insainly steep and wet mountain roads. Lanes and road rules are optional here, so the trip was interesting to say the least. Santo Domingo de los Colorados is a medium size city, kind of like Framingham, Ma. or Salt Lake if you replaced all of the nieghborhoods and businesses with the most run down neighborhoods of a big city. We ended up staying in a hotel near Fabian´s house and it isn´t so bad, it´s more like a hostel back in the states.

So, I have to tell you about the kids. It is very hard to think of them as Eddie´s siblings, they are soooo small ! The oldest, Nancy, will be 18 in three weeks and is the same exact size as Fabian´s 9 year old daughter! None of the clothes we brought for her fit at all and a few fit Diana (almost 17), but that´s only because she is pregnant. Nothing for the boys over the size 12-14´s fit either. They are all kind, considerate and get along with each other well. If any of the girls want to sit down, a boy immediately pops up out of their seat. They are used to having chores to do, and don´t complain when asked to do something. They are content with their lives here and feel that they are being taken care of really well, especially compared to their last guardian. Fabian says he took them from the last place when he saw how sick and small they all looked because they were hardly fed and slept on the floor. Let me tell you a little about each of them. Nancy has always been the caretaker, she is shy, kind and a very good student (she has had two english classes as well). She and Fabian´s daughter are always together, talking and holding on to each other. Diana is more independant, doesn´t like to do the cooking and as Fabian says, she seems to rely on her good looks too much. Miguel (15) seems comfortable with himself (his hair is always carefully gelled) is friendly and helpful. Marlon (13) just goes with the flow and watches everyone else. Jefferson (11) is quiet, but smiles easily and enjoys being around the older kids, he is never more than two feet away from Eddie. We haven´t met the youngest boy yet, Steven (8), we´ll meet him tomorrow in Guayaquil. Eddie could tell you more about the kid´s personalities, because he´s spent more time with them (while I´ve been in bed) and usually rides with them in the bed of the truck to go everywhere. We took them to buy new shoes yesterday morning, their choices were very telling about their personalities: Nancy - functional slip on keds, Diana - silver flats, Miguel - beige leather dress shoes, Marlon and Jefferson - sneaker/hiking shoes. We ended up buying shoes for Fabian´s three kids and his wife and even his god-son, the total was $90. We have lots of pictures so far, but no way to download them from our camera!

I will write more if our next hotel has internet. Sorry this is so short and choppy, but it´s almost weird to be writing in english. I´ve already gotten used to speaking in very simple spanish, since I have a limited vocabulary I have to be really creative in expressing what I want to say. Like when I was trying to say that I have a twin sister, I had to explain that I have a sister who was born on the same day as me and we are identical. Anyway, I hope everything is going well for all of you. Feel free to write to us!