Thursday, February 14, 2008


The poor side of town.


In this entry I decided I’d talk about how things are in the clinic where I work. Everyday I catch bus # 47 which is a frightening experience in and of itself. The traffic and driving in Ecuador is the scariest I’ve ever seen. There are painted lines on the road to represent lanes, but in reality there are no lanes. Pedestrians do not have the right-of-way, but rather they had better get-out-of-the-way. It costs 25 cents to ride the bus so it’s rather cheap. The bus does not always stop when you ask to get off but it does slowdown when you walk down the steps. There are a few defined stops but for the most part to catch the bus you have to wave it down, I have seen a few people climb aboard while the bus goes down the road. The seats are so small that I can’t sit up strait my knees are sometimes at the same level as my shoulders. People are shorter in Ecuador.


So after the bus I walk though a really rough part of town: I couldn't take pictures of some of the places because... I was afraid my camera would be stolen so I was very selective. I don't feel like the pictures do it justice so try to imagine the ares 10x's poorer than those pictured.


So here's the visual tour....

A lot of the pics were taken by my friends Linnie and Liz who were also in Ecuador


This is from the bus, most kids where uniforms to school.


A shop vendor seen from the bus, nearly all of the stores have bars on them.




This is a flower market/cafe we drive by every day.


Still in the reasonably nice side of town. The yards are still nice.



A typical house in Guayaquil.



Still traveling on the bus.




This is how most of the houses near the clinic appear.



My arch nemesis! There are chickens and dogs in the streets everywhere! (Those of you who know me well know that I'm afraid of chickens)

The run down playground outside the clinic


At last we arrive to the safety of the clinic


The whole reason we go to work every day! This is a picture Liz took of some of the kids she works with in Ecuador.



Who could say no to faces like this? (kids we saw in Cuenca)


A daycare near the clinic.


I spend my day behind the safety of this fence.


2 comments:

Chelsea said...

After the way you nursed our kitty-cat back to life I would never have dreamed that you were so terrified of chickens!

Leticia.Mitchell said...

those kids are so adorable! it looks like you are living a dream. I'm glad you are enjoying life.
Love Leticia