Adventures with Molly

---

The week after I attempted to climb Cotopaxi we had a change of people in the house. A new girl Molly arrived on Wednsday. Molly is from Acton, and has the same birthday as me, October 5th (we will both be 19), and we are the same person. We have a lot of fun doing goofy things and going out a night. On Friday, Jessica left and a new girl got here, named Katy. She is from Austria and is 27 years old.
On Saturday we went to old town, I have already been there, but it was fun. There are really old churches and it is really beautiful. On Saturday night we went dancing with a friend who owns a hotel here and some of his friends from the US Embassy. These are typical Americans, one is 38 years old, drunk and making a total scene. Then, on Sunday we went to Mitad del Mundo, I have also already been here. This is where the equator crosses through the country and they have a huge line drawn on the ground. But, this time there was a lot going on. We watched typical Ecuadorian dances. This time we also went to the real equator line. They made a mistake originally. We had a tour here and it was really interesting. They balanced an egg on the head of a nail and we also got to see how the water spins north and south of the equator. On the line the water emptied from a bucket straight down, and on either side it went in a different direction. Also, our guide had us squeeze our thumb and pointer finger together on one side of the equator and he tried to pull it apart. On the side of the equator it was difficult for him to do, but on the line it was very easy and I could not hold my fingers together at all. Johana came with us and was so happy. She is five years old so of course she is a little out of control. Molly is really great with kids and was basically her mother for the day. At one point Johana fell off a wall she was playing on and Molly was the one who jumped up to get her. Funny story, while we were eating lunch Molly pointed to a table near us with three guys. She told me that she had seen them earlier in the day and noticed that they kept looking at our table every thirty second, literally, and this resulted in them taking a picture of us, very obviously, then proceeding to stand up and casually walk away.
So, a quick update on the kids in my school. Martin is the cutest kid ever, he is only 2 years and 9 months old. He never speaks loud enough to be heard except when I pretend to be a monster and chase the kids, he screams and skips away. Camela is still terrible. She is the bad girl at school and for some reason is constantly mean to the other kids. She obviously has issues at home, she is out of control. There is another volunteer at school right now. She is an Ecuadorian and will be spending the next year in the States. We have recently become very close. Everyday when I come home and see Molly and Katy I am thankful for where I work and how fortunate these kids are. Molly works at an orphanage and it is really difficult. The kids are basically street kids and they are really tough, and constantly bullying eachother and giving Molly a hard time, causing her to burst out in tears twice. Katy works at a hospital with children with terminal illnesses. She doesnt talk about it very much, but I do not think I want to hear anymore than what she has told us.
Currently Michael and I are in a fight, I think. He is my brother in the house, Johana´s father. I am not quite sure why, but we have both been angry with eachother and he is having problems with his mother.
So, my school asks all the teachers to cook something with the children. Friday was my day. I decided to make chocolate chip cookies, because they dont really know what they are here. So, Molly and I decided to practice and to cook some so I could bring some into school (the oven at school does not work). On thursday afternoon we went shopping for the ingredients, only there was one minor problem, we did not have a recipe. We figured we would just guess, but in addition to that, everything is different here. Our cooking consisted of, maybe you should add more butter (weird butter), ummm another egg? luckily they came out alright, with out a real baking pan. The kids loved them.
Last night Molly, Katy, and I went out. We went to this really great bar and then we went dancing. At the bar, we again experienced another random picture, with no words exchanged at all. Today Molly put some highlights in my hair and Mariana cut it a little. Molly is an excellent hair dresser. And side note, for breakfast we ate four pancakes, two eggs, and hashbrowns. Then we proceeded to sleep, do my hair, eat again, sleep again, and then attmept to stand up and walk it all off by buying five DVDs for ten bucks. Thats my life. I hope everything is going well in the States, keep sending me emails. Peace.

---