Well...I´ve had a very long two weeks since the Amazon.

Was somewhat depressing coming back to a cold rainy Quito after the hot amazon. And I´ve had a somewhat uneventful two weeks really. Quito was so depressing that our friend Carl decided to return back to live in the jungle with an indigenous community!!...JEALOUS!!

Stef and I cooked some pancakes on Sunday and Monday...they kind of a resembled a cross between and omelette and a very soggy pancake...but with mounds of maple syrup you began to not notice!! Monday night Imogen´s parents (from England) kindly took us out for dinner...we all had a scrumptious steak!! LUSH! We then went on out to have a few cocktails to say goodbye to Carl. Was some what an odd night...but fun. We had the joy of meeting Emily´s boyfriend who is absolutely lovely!!! He´s just our kind of person, funny and tells things as they are! Quote:"I generally divide people into two categories... there's me, and there's everyone else. And if they're in the other category, I generally hate them" A very welcome new member to the group:)

Tuesday Stef and I suffered from very dodgy stomachs...we thought this may have been a result of the dodgy pancakes!!

Been working really hard and days have been long. Was my birthday last thursday (thank you again for lovely messages:)) We all went out for a meal to a Mexican and ate lots of yummy fajitas-my favourite:) Then on to Fragola the famous 2x1 cocktail bar that we went to on Monday night. Xavi took us to some dodgy dingy club....will not be returning there again!! But had a good night all the same and danced and drunk the night away. Went back to a friends house where we ate left over pasta-YUM! and I drunkenly (is that a word?!) fell asleep at the table!! Got some great presents! Jamie bought me some lovely earrings, Imogen bought a perfect bag from Otovalo which I´ve worn everyday since!! I hope I dnt get robbed again. ...and stef and Shona took me to get a tattoo!! Weeeey!! I love it, see Stefs blog for a photo...will load one up asap.

Friday was a hard morning at work...Struggled to stay awake! Unfortunately all who drank coctails at Fragola on Thursday night were suffering from some kind of food poisoning and Stef and I decided that this was what we had been ill on on tuesday as well. The problem is that the cocktails contain ice and it appears this may have been tapwater which is dangerous to drink in Quito. Stef then used this as an excuse to down all ten vodkas before the ice melted!!! The 10 hour bus journey ahead of us that night was going to be great fun!! Friday evening we went to the bus`station to catch a bus to Cuenca. We managed to get the last 4 tickets!! We sat in the bus station for an hour and a half ...s*** I need to go pay a deposit for galapagos before the shop shuts!!! I´ll be back in a sec x...

...sorry I ddnt quite get back in a sec, all the computers were full when I got back and it was beginning to get dark so I had to get home.....Anywaaaaysss....

So yes, Shona, Stef, Jamie and I sat in the bus station for an hour and a half waiting for the bus. I taught them how to make triangles out of oreo packets...mmm oreos...

We eventually boarded the bus and coincidently 3 girls from work were on the same bus as us. The road to Cuenca is very bumpy you had to hold pretty tight if you wanted to stay on your seat. Was impossible to read so I decided that sleep was the best idea.

Cuenca is renowned for being absolutely beautiful riddled with stunning architecture. We arrived to be a lil disappointed. Having being told by the Cuencan gappers how much they loved Cuenca, how beautiful it was, all about this amazing icecream parlour, the great night life, we thought we in for one hell of a weekend!! But we arrived to a fairly quite town with little buzz, the ice cream parlour that we actually have 3 of near us, and some night clubs thatresembled...the joiners with a crappy DJ in place of the live band... Jamie described Cuenca as a miniature Quito without Mariscal and the batteries taken out... I think we all agreed. We decided to leave Sunday morning rather than stay on till sunday night. We´d stayed in a very nice hostel with double beds and hot water:) for jus $6 a night and it was good to catch up with the girls. We learnt of the corrupt police in Cuenca from Sarah...On her birthday she´d been travelling back with a friend of hers in his car and the police pulled them over. "How much have you had to drink?" he said to the guy driving "only one beer" replied her friend. The policeman then replied "I dont actualy care how much you really have had I can set this breathalyser (dnt kno how to spell that) to what I want." The guy refused to pay him and the police put him in a police van whist Sarah sat scared in the car. A policeman then asked her if she could drive and she said "yes but I have had too much to drink" so the policeman got in the car and asked her to direct him to her house. She said "No" and he persisted to chat her up. He then said"Right take me to your friends house and you need to wake his parents up and explain what has happened" She did as she was told and after a half an hour discussion with the police the father of the guy went inside and returned with a huge wadge of cash inorder to prevent his son going to jail...how sickening!

After this weekend we didnt think Quito was so bad...and infact were quite content that this is where we live.

This week has been another long week but work is fun. I have been working with loads of children in different markets in the morning. This week we have been making a big picture of "under the sea" its lovely watching the children as they proudly make there bits of art. "chevreme" they say which mean "cool me"...tell me that what I´ve done is cool! In the afternoons Stef and I have continued with play therapy, working with all the children who have behaviour problems. Slowly I can see changes which really makes us feel that our work is worthwhile. You can understand exactly why some of the children act the way they do. Yesterday I went to collect one of the girls from the market and she didnt want to come I asked her why not and her mum kept telling her she must go. Her mum then pulled out a huge plank of wood to whack her with it if she didnt go. Needless to say she ran to me crying and she came with me. I was mortified!!

I worked in the biggest market in Quito today. It was the first time I´d been there and it was incredible. The colours and the smells were so over powering!! Every fruit and vegetable you could imagine was there. Fish was piled high. Women cooked crabs in soup, clams, fried bananas, meat. Men road on bicycles carrying transporting things from one place to the other. Men and women were shouting trying to compete with eachother to get a sale. Children ran around, bicycles beeped and braked suddenly as they almost ran over them. Children grabbed our hands wanting to come with us to play dance and sing... I could never ever relay exactly how amazing it is but I hope it gives you some idea...

On the way back from work today. Stef and I got off the ever crowded trole and had a discussion that it would be agood idea to by fancy dress nun costumes because people always give up seats for nuns. 30 seconds down the road we bump into a nun! She then asked us for a dollar for the bus!!! Cheeky cow! A dollar?! It costs 25 cents to cathc a bus! Stef actually gave it to her!!! I couldnt believe it...she says she didnt want to go to hell!!

I´m off to Otovalo this weekend which is a huge market two hours north of here. I´m so excited!! Meeting up with my coordinator tonight for dinner then out to a big club Rayi again.

Will let you kow how things were next week.

LOTS OF LOVE!! MISS YOU!!

Let me know how things are on the other side of the world!!

x x x