Mark's Thoughts

       This trip has been very fun so far. It has made me realize how well off we are compared to the rest of the world. I didn't think it would be as obvious how much some families are struggling but this is a developing country and is always growing. They are not oblivious to the rest of the world and know that there is a better life out there. A lot of high schoolers are working towards scholarships for universities in the United States. But I also realize that they don't need the great computers and phones and little things that we take for granted. They don't really want them either, they seem much happier on average then me or my friends would ever be if we didn't have our phones and computers. I have also realized that they work very hard towards their goals. I think they see some of the 1st world countries and strive to get there. I don't have the same determination that they have. I think that people from the nice cities and towns from the US and the rest of the world do not have the same determination that they have and it is the Ecuadoreans' greatest asset. They are the some of the hardest working people in the world.

-Mark Bobich

Where it all Began

Yesterday (Tuesday) we met at 8:45 at the office gate to go on a tour of the city. We started at Gota de Leche. This is another part of the CMT, the building is an old house from the 1920's that Padre Juan bought and renovated in 2000 as a maternal health center. (It's located directly across the street from a public hospital and a maternity hospital). At La Gota, they provide milk for mothers & infants and medicines, free of charge. The CMT has agreements with the neighboring hospitals so if any of the members need additional services, they can get them at a reduced cost. 

When we arrived, Marcia greeted us and asked us to play with the kids for a little while before our tour. The two little girls that "supervised" me serving soup at CMT #1 were there, Nicole recognized me immediately and came over and gave me a big hug and led me around to all her friends. All the children want to take our photos or at least be photographed with us. I think they like to see themselves on a screen (like TV)!

These are two of Nicole's friends and David in the back!

In order to make more space at CMT #1, the elementary grades were moved to La. Gota a few years ago, so we visited the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th grade classrooms. Each class had prepared a song, or poem for us, one had a mime who "performed" a skit about waking up in the morning. It was early cute!

From there, we got back on the CMT bus with Vincente as our driver and went to La Compañía (a Jesuit church which was built in the 1600's) for a tour. It cost $2 per person, and Marcia arranged an English speaking guide for our group. The inside of the church is entirely covered in gold leaf, over 120 lbs of it and it's amazing. You are not allowed to take pictures inside the church for security reasons. 

However, there is one area where the original bells are housed (the bell tower collapsed in an earthquake, but there are restoring it). 

For the first time (for Maria and I) we got to see the attic of La Compañía. Since this is the 50th anniversary of the center, there are festivities planned for the attic area - a cocktail party and mass is the church in November. Because of that, they are working on getting the space ready. 

In the early days of the CMT, they had 250 boys in the space, which they quickly outgrew. In the early 1970's padre Juan bought the land and started building CMT #1 downtown.

After our tour of La Compañía, we walked across the Plaza de la Independencia, which is the square across from the presidential palace. There were several paintings on display and there have been protests about the water laws here in Ecuador, so there were people gathered, speeches being given and lots of police out in force. 

When we arrived at CMT #1, Marcia gave us a brief tour of the center. Then a lady named, Marta rode the bus back with us to CMT #2. During the bus ride, we met a man from Switzerland who had worked at Hewlett Packard for 20 years, retired from there and took a trip around the world. He was in Ecuador and decided that the best sun was here, so he bought land and built a house near Mitad del Mundo. 

Coby's Thoughts

This trip has been quite the experience. Overall, I’ve loved being here. Being in El Centro del MuchachoTrabajador (The Working Boys Center) has really been a blessing, as it’s really shown what the world is like. There is real poverty in this world, and the people at CMT are doing the real legwork to help. I’ve had many highlights this week, ranging from our experiences with the people to my time with my friends, but that would have me writing all day. I have to focus, for my highlight, on our trips to the homes of the impoverished during our time in Quito.

 

When we boarded the bus to go on house visits, I was not particularly excited. Part of this was because it was extremely early, but the other part was that I had encountered extreme poverty before in my travels to China. So I wasn’t about to be shocked or awed. Saddened, definitely, but not shocked. When we got to the houses and as the day wore on, shuttling from place to place, I was shocked. Not by the poverty, but the attitude of the people who lived in the houses. Despite their run down and frankly unsanitary conditions, they seemed close to content or happy, when I know I wouldn’t be. This got me thinking as we reflected later in the day, and everyone talked about how we should feel selfish for wanting and taking everything we have as Americans for granted. I don’t think we should. The difference between them and us is exposure. We, as residents of a first world country, are exposed to someone always being “better” than us. Having more, earning more, and dreaming more. Inherently, it’s hard to be satisfied in an environment that tells us to stay hungry. Here, however, that culture doesn’t exist. People in poverty-stricken Quito are focused on living their lives and maximizing what they have. They aren’t resigned to their fate; they are embracing it, living happily and simply with what God gave them. I’m not saying we should abandon what we have or that American culture is evil. Just that we can learn a little by embracing what we have now before looking on to our next challenge.

Ryan's Thoughts

The St. Pius/St. Matthias Mission Trip to Ecuador has been a great experience. Both parishes have really bonded and got to know each other well. As the trip slowly comes to an end, the days seem to go faster. I don't want to leave Ecuador yet and I'm sure the others feel the same. The people, especially the kids, in Guayaquil and Quito are really nice and welcoming. They made us feel like we belong in Ecuador and that we are all one big family. The work our group has been doing put us in the Ecuadorians shoes and we experienced what it was like to be less fortunate. One day, we went on House Visits (HV are when a group goes to people's houses and see what they're like) and saw about 4 different houses. Its really sad to see what these families have to go through and the struggles they have. One family we visited had a 3 room house with about 8 members living in it. That opened my eyes to the world and i learned that some places are really poor, but they make the best of it. In life, for both them and us, it's the little things that count. I wish that more people would take the opportunity to go on these mission trips because it is life-changing and they would learn that you don't need expensive things to be happy. To be happy, all you need is God and family. And with these, comes love.

 

-Ryan Chang

The "Real" Equator

Today we went to the real Equator as well as the "fake" Equator. We got to sleep in a lot more than normal because we didn't have to meet until 9:45. Today I got to take my first actual warm shower since I've been here. It was amazing. Anyways, we got on the bus across the street from the center and started a 35 minute ride to the Equator museums. The driving is much different here in Ecuador. It works your arms a lot because the drivers tend to put the brakes on as late as possible so you have to hold on or else you will go flying. So we had been in the bus for a while and we were all kinda anxious to get off because we were bored. So we finally reached our stop where a young boy greeted us and handed us some papers advertising his restaurant. We started to walk the wrong way then realized that it was the opposite direction. We started walking and ended up in the middle of the street. Some of our group didn't really listen because it was a really busy street and when we had to cross. It was kinda like snails, a little on the slow side. We got across the street and finally reached the indigenous (and correct) museum. We walked up some stairs and finally got to the start of the museum. We had a very nice tour guide and she seemed like she spoke very good English. Some of us got some drinks at the stand and then we started our tour. She showed a lot about how the Equator was found. We then got to the REAL Equator. It was a painted red line. We did many experiments on both the northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere. We did things like balancing an egg on a nail on the Equator...much harder than it looks but I did it! You would never know but walking on the Equator is really difficult because the pull is really strong and makes you fall. I know this off experience. We took many pictures and had a lot of fun. We then decided to go to the "fake" Equator museum, which was made by the Spanish. It was not as exciting because we didn't have a tour guide. We explored and went to some of the shops. We were going to try some food, but nothing really looked appetizing. Some of us went shopping and bought a few things. We then got on the bus and went to mall. We walked into the mall and went all the way up to the food court. We ended up getting fried chicken and french fries. It ended up being a really cool day. Can't wait for what tomorrow brings us.

--Claire Scannell 

It's not the end of the world...it's the middle!

Today, we had a free day. We chose to sleep in (not leaving the house until 10am). We took a public bus to Mitad del Mundo (the middle of the world) which is the equator. There are two museums close by each other. The first one we visited, Museo de Intiñan is the solar museum and based on indigeous cultures of the area. 

I bought our tickets ($4 each) and arranged for an English speaking guide. We learned about the 5 cultures that still exist in the rain forest areas of Ecuador, Colombia and Peru. There is a culture that still practiced head shrinking until the 1950's! They believed that a persons spirit was contained in the head, so shrinking the head ofe an enemy would impart their power on the person who possessed it, and they also practiced head shrinking of revered members of the tribe which they wore around their necks. 

First, they would cut the head off the person, and remove the skull from the skin. 

Nex, they would boil the skin in a mixture of herbs (which herbs were used is still a mystery).

They they would sew the nose and mouth holes closed, because they believed that the spirit could escape through the holes if not sealed. 

Heads of enemies would be displayed on the end of their spears, while heads of important people would be worn around their necks. 

Our guide lead us through some experiments on the equator with balance & strength. The most exciting was the egg test. On the equator, there is a pull to both poles, north and south, so it is incredibly difficult (if not impossible) to balance. So the egg test involves a nail and an egg, the object is to balance the egg on the head of the nail, long ways. Here's Mark's accompishment! When you succeed, they issue you a certificate!

Laurel was the egg mistress - she was the first to do it, but several others did it as well (unfortunately, I didn't get a photo of Laurel).

Once we were finished at this museum, we walked back to the Mitad del Mundo museum. This open air museum is a tribute to the French expedition in the 1730's to map the equator. They thought they found it, even though it's not in the right place. There's is a cool monument there and several countries exhibits. Needless to say, the kids were not impressed, so we only stayed there for an hour.

We caught ef the bus back to the center, but stopped at the Condado Shopping Mall for a late lunch. As soon Asa we were getting ready to get off the bus, it started pouring rain! Luckily, we only had to walk across the street (actually two streets) to get in. We hung out in the mall for an hour or so, then walked back to CMT#2.

Siena's favorite part of the trip

My favorite part of the trip so far was our second day in Guayaquil, helping at the Damien House. Claire, Carrie, and I went around to visit the patients with Abel, a high school student who is learning English. He translated so that we could hold conversations with everyone. We spent a while with Esther, a woman who makes bracelets to sell to visitors. She brought out her cart, which had all kinds of craft supplies. She taught the three of us how to make some of her simpler designs. Carrie caught on very quickly, and Esther gave her a bracelet to finish. I, however, was not blessed with such nimble fingers. Esther guided me through a set of stitches, and praised me once I caught on. I really felt like I connected with her, and I was sad when we had to move on somewhere else. I had hoped to see her the next day (which was also our last), but she was at a religious service when we came back. I never really got to say goodbye to Esther, and I have no way of keeping in touch with her. But I did buy some of her bracelets, and each one reminds me of the short time I spent with her. I really hope that she will still be at the Damien House in two years, because I would love to embark on this trip again.

-Siena Falzon