Welcome to the fourth blog of the year. This month has been very interesting with everything going on but I am happy to say that I am healthy and doing my best every day to get by. 

As many of you know and are experiencing we are in a pandemic and therefore our lives have changed drastically. For us, the quarantine began over a month ago. It began with schools closing until further notice. Because schools closed CEDEI as well stopped classes in person and we had to end the cycle online. This was a huge shift since I have never thought online classes before. To be honest it was very complicated and I experienced many issues that could have easily been avoided. 

One of the hardest changes for me has been not going to the Fundacion. I had to go in for 2 days after the government shut down schools and began quarantine. It was not open for the kids, just the staff and it felt so strange being in the Fundacion without all my kids. I miss my students so much and not knowing what is happening with them is hard. I maintain communication through Facebook with some of my kids and at times even help with homework. However, it is not the same. I miss seeing their faces and all the hugs I receive.  They mean a lot to me and I am constantly worried about them and their families knowing that many of their parents are out of jobs and are experiencing hardship. Also, many of them do not have the necessary materials to learn online. Recently a newspaper published that 60% of Ecuadorian children do not have adequate materials to learn online. I know the Fundacion plays such a huge factor in the life of these kids and I am very sad that it is not open and they can not receive the resources it provides. 

Headed to the Fundacion during the pandemic 

Last time on the bus 

Some of the restrictions that the government has put in place seem harsh in comparison to other countries. Ecuador has put in place a curfew and if not followed there are consequences. The first consequence is receiving a fine of $100, the second consequence is paying the minimum wage which is $400 and the third and most harsh one is going to jail.  No one can be outside unless it is to buy food, go to the doctor or the pharmacy. The first curfew that was put in place was from 9 pm-5 am, then 7 pm-5 am and the latest curfew is now from 2 pm-5 am.  I barely go outside, only when it is necessary. The times I have gone outside caught me by surprise. There is a different vibe going on. Everyone is wearing a mask and gloves and fear is visible. If I am being honest it is sad to step outside and see the city you love be so different. I miss seeing the Plaza San Francisco full of artisan vendors and full of people. Now even to go to stores you have to wear a mask, gloves and have to get sprayed by alcohol to enter. Only one person from the family is allowed to go into stores and it depends on the last digits of one’s ID or driver’s license. Even in our apartment, we have rules regarding going out. We have to take an extra pair of shoes and clothes to change when we come back, use hand sanitizer, no visitors, disinfect all of the food we buy and clean the floor to kill all bacteria and viruses we might have brought it. There are a lot of new changes and it has been hard to adjust. I miss my walks to work, teaching in-person, taking pictures of the beautiful city,  buying street food, going to the market to buy fruit, riding the bus, walking past La Feria Libre, and most of all I miss my kids. 

Travel restrictions 

Groceries to last us a while

News about the curfew 

Despite all of these changes, I am happy that I am safe, healthy and continue to have a job which sadly is not the same for many individuals.  Ecuador took measures pretty fast, and although there is a lot of controversy about this topic, it has been strict with all the restrictions and measures to keep everyone home and stop the spread of the Corona-Virus. All of the borders are closed as well as International airports and only some humanitarian flights can leave the country. Unfortunately, Guayas has been the providence that has been most affected by the virus and is experiencing a lot of deaths due to the virus and other reasons. Everyday stories on the news about Guayaquil depict the huge problem that is going on. One reason many say  Guayaquil has the most cases in the country is that people are not following the rules of staying home. The reality is that Guayaquil has more poverty than Cuenca and individuals can not stay home. They need to continue working and earn money daily. This goes to show that the problem is more than just the virus and that many people are suffering due to poverty and lack of resources.

Statistics regarding cases in Ecuador 

Being stuck at home all day has affected my Mental Health. I have been doing a lot of sleeping, crying and overall have been overwhelmed with everything going on. I have isolated myself and have found doing basic things like eating, showering, etc become harder. It is something that no one has dealt with before and has caused many changes. Something I keep telling myself is that I have to allow myself to feel what I feel and process all the feelings and continue despite everything going on. It sucks that our last months here in Ecuador have to end like this and we are not able to travel as we had planned. Despite not always feeling my best I have found ways to distract myself. Painting, playing cards, watching movies/  Netflix series, calling family, talking to friends, exercising, and even playing with the kids next door has helped a lot mentally and brings joy to my life. It nice knowing that there are a lot of things I can do to have fun and feel complete while being inside all day. 

Enjoying  a snack while watching Netflix 

Painting 

I am taking all the measures put in place very seriously and hope that as time passes things get better here in Ecuador and all around the world. I know these are hard times and there is so much uncertainty for a lot of individuals. I feel grateful to still have a job, source of income and family and friends who support me and give me love despite being far away. Thank you all for reading and I hope things get better for everyone soon. Until next time. 

Hey all!  We are back with another blog, and as you may have guessed, this one is not like the others.  While almost the whole world is in quarantine right now, maybe you all are interested in how it is going for us here, since we have chosen to stay here in Ecuador rather than return to the United States. 

We decided to stay for a few reasons.  We have continued our job teaching English online, and feel very thankful to continue to have a source of income, acknowledging that this is not the reality for so many people both here in Ecuador as well as in other parts of the world.  Also, if anyone reading has seen news about Ecuador that has reached international attention, it looks like the situation here is almost apocalyptic. The reality is that in the province of Guayas, the situation is extremely serious, and while in our province the virus is serious, the situation is not as bad here as it is in Guayas.  To leave the country, we would have to fly out of Guayaquil, and we prefer not to travel out of Cuenca and risk infection if it is not absolutely necessary. Finally, swift action and harsh restrictions from the government make us feel safer than if we were to return to the United States. 

Of course, harsher restrictions can be hard on one mentally, but we feel that in the end it will prevent many infections and deaths.  On March 12th, the government announced that all classes were canceled nationwide until further notice. When this happened, volunteering effectively stopped for both of us, and CEDEI decided to continue classes online.  A curfew was put into place across the country, first from 9pm-5am, then restricted to 7pm-5am, then finally 2pm-5am. During the curfew, no one can be outside unless they have specific permission from the government (doctors, police officers, etc), and if caught, there are consequences that vary in severity for each offense.  Everything closes around noon in order to give people time to get home before the curfew begins. Other measures have been put into place, for example wearing a mask in public is obligatory. In order to enter any store, one must have gloves, a mask, and be sprayed with alcohol. Only one person per group/family can enter at a time.  In the markets, one can only enter once a week depending on their license number, and it’s the same for driving a car! Even within our apartment building, if we have to leave for some reason, we have to take off our shoes at the main door and wear slippers up to our apartment, and no one is permitted inside that does not live in the building. 

The sign says that 30 people maximum can be in the store, one person per family can enter, and children are prohibited from entering.  The small blue sign says that one must enter with a mask and gloves.  The employee is holding a bottle of alcohol to spray on customers as they enter. 

Store fronts closed and replaced with a small pop up shop that sells masks and gloves. 

Outside of the 10 de Agosto market 

Right by our house in La Plaza San Francisco. 

This part of the plaza is usually filled vendors selling colorful artisan crafts and other souvenirs, tourists taking it all in, or people commuting to or from work. 

An empty, gloomy Plaza San Francisco. 

All of this goes to say that we haven't seen much outside of our apartment this month. We have been taking all of the restrictions very seriously and staying inside, leaving very rarely to stock up on food.  Every day we are finding new ways to pass the time, whether it is playing cards, watching every Disney movie over again, zoom calls with friends and family, painting, working out, coloring with our little neighbors, posting throwback pictures, or binging Tiger King (yes, they hype has even reached us here).  We started the new cycle (our third, we can’t believe it) with CEDEI on Monday and anticipate that it will be conducted entirely online. It is nice to have something to do during the day; something to focus on and to make us feel accomplished at the end of the day. After working so much and so hard for our whole time here, that feeling was definitely missing once the quarantine started.  We are missing our kiddos from volunteering so much, and are always thinking of them hoping they and their families are making it okay through this crisis. It would have killed us to leave the country without ever having had the chance to say goodbye to all of them, which is another reason we decided to stay. We are hoping that everyone here continues to take the restrictions seriously and that we can return to normal life as soon as possible. 

Some quarantine painting!

Coloring with our little neighbors!

Some of our friends feel that when this is all over they will need a break from Cuenca, but I feel the opposite.  I feel like I haven’t seen Cuenca, a city I’ve come to call home in months! The day I can leave out my front door and be met with Cuenca- the real Cuenca, alive bustling with people, not a ghost town- I might just kiss the streets. I’m sure that feeling will be shared all over the world.  We are certainly all in this together (while staying physically apart). 

Thanks for reading!