Hola los padres. 

Finishing up the mural in Acuarela Dos

I’m just going to get right into it. So in the morning, we all signed a birthday card for Aidan, and at breakfast, we all sang him a happy birthday in Spanish. Then, we took a bus to Acuarela. We got to see the community where the government built homes for the people who lost their homes in the earthquake. Our goal there was to make their living space more beautiful and useful. We learned that for people of a community to bond together, they need a community space. By contributing, we wanted to create that space for them. We painted a mural to show the importance of the mangroves to the ecosystem and the community. We also worked to saw and construct a composting container out of bamboo. We learned the importance of compost in our ecosystems and how we play a role in keeping the nutrients in our soil and out of the landfill. Afterwards, we went to Doña Rosa’s house for lunch and everyone was delighted by the delicious ceviche! We had fun playing a game of cards and taking pictures with the local kids.

Building the doors for the compost bins

Working with the baby trees the Vivero (greenhouse) at Fanny

Later, we headed to Fanny high school to finish the projects that were started before. We painted chairs, boxes, and signs, moved trees, and put together lids for the compost bins. It was extremely fun to engage in conversations with the eco club students. By the end of the day, we had become one integrated family. Afterwards, we played a few games of Soccer, Basketball, and Frisbee. Many of us thought it was amazing to be able to communicate and play with people who speak a completely different language. Then, we headed to the beach to watch the sunset. It was amazing to see everyone bonding and getting along so well. We got to enjoy the amazing view, the colourful clouds and the orange sunset. Then we headed to dinner, everyone sang happy birthday for Aidan, and we celebrated with a fruit cake. We headed back to the hostel, where we went around in a circle answering questions. It was amazing to see how each person had a different perspective. We realised how quickly everyone was able to come together, put aside their differences and be happy as one group. 

Painting the tree stump seats for the outdoor classroom space

The final product 🙂

P.S. one of your sons’ may have pulled out a plant that he thought was a weed but it was a precious plant. (Don’t worry we re-planted it) I’m sure you know who did that…

With love from Ecuador,

Eli, Eddie, Sophie and Tahra