Vanderbilt Spring Break Week Wrap Up

The PDs were sad to say goodbye to the Vanderbilt group of Spring Break 2014! They did a magnificent job of revamping the library and helping us to prepare for our library's 5th Anniversary Party. After their first day of Carnival chaos, the vols gave the stairwell leading up to our 3rd floor library a fresh coat of paint and began a (much needed) repair of tables in two of our English classes. On Tuesday they finished up painting some of their projects, giving exciting new details to a few of the more plain walls and tables in the library. In the afternoon they were able to sit in on classes and other programs to see how the library runs on a day-to-day basis.

Steve, Johnny, and Will working on the tables

Sydney and Sarah adding a fresh coat of paint

Sarah, Haley, Hannah, and Roo giving our English room a bright new look

On Wednesday, Nick and I took the Vols to the Centro Historico in Quito to explore, climb to the top of the Basilica, and shop in one of the artisan markets. We finished up the day with a Cuarenta (an Ecuadorian card game) tournament between the vols and some of our English students. 

Vandy Vols 2014 in Centro Historico

On the top of the world! (sort of) Hiking up the Teleferico

On Thursday, the Vols got the opportunity to help out teaching English at the nearby university, ESPE. They planned a lesson discussing the differences between college in the U.S. and here in Ecuador, they seemed to really enjoy meeting and chatting with locals their own age. 

PD Carryn and Vol Tj helping out at the art table

Sydney and Sarah helping out at the Manna table

Sydney and Sarah jumping rope

Holley and Haley in the sack race

Friday was a busy day filled with a morning of hiking at the Teleferico in Quito and then preparation for the big day of festivities on Saturday! On the morning of the party we taught English at the library and then hurried around to prepare for the party. A stage was set, tents constructed, and a bouncy house for the kids inflated. The party started off well with lots of games, art crafts, food, and music. Unfortunately it began to rain in an hour but it did not dampen the spirit of the party and when the rained stopped a large dance party ensued. The Vols did a great job of joining in on games, helping with the art project, and getting to know the community it general!


More information about the 5th Anniversary Party to come! 

Vanderbilt Spring Break Group!

This week the Manna Ecua site is hosting 11 awesome volunteers from Vanderbilt University! They are here helping us prepare for the 5 year anniversary party of our community center and library. So far the week has been filled with Carnaval celebrations, revamping the library space with a new coat of paint and some new tables for the class rooms, and a day touring Quito. 


Here is a short overview of the first day from site leader Hannah Berg: 

Sunday  was our first full day in Ecuador, and we jumped in head first by heading to a Carnival parade in Amaguana. Before leaving, we learned that Carnaval is a weeklong celebration leading up to the Tuesday before Lent, and that it involves pelting people with foam, powder and colored eggs. The program directors did a great job of explaining, but nothing could have prepared us for what was to come.   

We rode to Amaguana in the back of a truck bed, which was bumpy but gave us an incredible view of the Ecuadorian countryside and mountains. As we approached the parade area we started to see more and more people carrying around espuma (foam) in spray cans. Almost the second we stepped off the truck I got sprayed full in the face with foam. Carnival had begun!

Within a few minutes we where all covered in a rainbow of colored powder and foam. Some of us (including me) got eggs in our hair. By the end of the day we were every color of the rainbow and had memories to last a lifetime. 

More stories and experiences from the Vandy group will be posted soon! 

Planting Party!

Last November our wonderful group of Vandy volunteers built a sustainable green house out of plastic water bottles, this week we finally where able to have our long awaited planting party! We filled two of the three planters with soil and planted celery, pepper, basil, thyme, and lemon verbena. The kids had a really fun time digging around in the soil and getting their hands dirty.

Planting master Cate showing them how its done

Prof Heather, Emily and Mateo

Profe Heather and Joel planting some peppers

After helping us plant in the planter boxes, the kids got to plant their own seeds in egg cartons, some of which will be used in the green house, others were taken home by the kids who planted them. It was a fun afternoon of planting and we are excited to watch the plants and seeds grow! Hopefully soon we will be able to use some of the plants in our Adult Cooking and Nutrition class.

Waiting in line to get seeds

Planting tomato and basil seeds

We hope to continue talks about the different environmental issues that are found here in the community where we work! 

Reading and Eating! Two New Programs in the Library

The library has recently developed a few new programs to get the kids excited about reading and making healthy snack choices. The new reading challenge created by PDs Torie Taylor and challenges kids to read a new book and write a small report on it. Every time they turn in a book report a new sticker is Placed next to Their Name on a board displaced in the library, after a certain number of book reports are turned in the participant will receive an ice cream treat! Once the kids caught onto the reading club poster filled with names and stickers! It has been a great way to challenge kids to read something new every time they come to the library. 

Children's Nutrition also recently adopted a new program on Friday afternoons, which encourages you the kids to make more educated choices when it comes to snacking. It is very common to see kids in the library with chips, candy or ice cream every day so PDs Cate, Claudia, Nick, and Abby thought it would be a good idea to introduce a new healthy to snack to every week, Accompanied with a short talk (chat) about  what makes this food a better choice then the very commonly sighted junk food. The first few lectures have gone really well with high attendance and kids gobbling up the snacks as fast as then can!

Hormigas En Un Palo

Today in Children's Nutrition we broke out the celery, peanut butter, and raisins for some hands on learning with a healthy snack, Hormigas en un Palo (Ant on a Log). Profe Claudia began the class by talking to the students about why it is important to understand where your food comes from, and how preparing food helps give insight into what you are eating. Then came snack time, the kids lined up to assemble their own 'Ants on a Log' and then chowed down. It was definitely a new snack for many of them and it seemed to be a success! 

Hormigas En Un Palo

Claudia and Cate showing the students how it is done!

Snack time!