Accommodations

San Eduardo is a town of about 400 people in southern Ecuador. Which probably sounds quaint. But think less ....early colonial and more....post-modern cinderblock. The Escuela Ann Stevens school/church compound is about six or seven mostly cinderblock square rooms around a concrete plaza. To get the proper feel of the place, think of your brother’s college roommate who decided to make a tv stand out of cinder block.  And then rather than outgrowing his infatuation with cheap furniture, he decided to play Sim City with it and build San Eduardo. 

So when our group of 27 arrives, everyone has to decide which of the concrete-on-concrete classrooms they’re going to camp in. Several of the classrooms comfortably accommodate like 10 bug huts, which is about 9 more than my comfort zone. So for a few of us, there is always an awkward dance of trying to find a place to sleep other than the group dormitories. In fact, on this particular trip, there is a trio of slightly older ladies who are passionate about serving others and dressing in private. 

The good news is there is one “finished” room in the compound that we have access to that usually houses the women seamstresses, but that we were able to finagle our way into. 

I thought the room had air conditioning but that turned out just to be windows consisting of missing cinder blocks. But the room DID, however, have its own bathroom.....with a shower. Which is the equivalent of being platinum in terms of missionary upgrades. It wasn’t that others on the trip couldn’t use this bathroom, but no matter who used it we managed to keep it fancy by stocking things like ....soap. 

The room even offered enough privacy to house an afternoon “salon” where several of us reflected on our week of service (“salon” being mission-speak for “wine bar”.  That’s right people, I said wine bar.  I mean, give back...but host parties while you’re doing it.)

And I did say it had its own shower. But I swear, no matter what time I showered, some bitch had used all the hot water.  Seriously, I don’t know how the water gets so cold there. The beers never get that cold, that’s for sure. Apparently, we should take the beer bottles out of the “fridge” and put them in the water reservoir.   And yet, Ecuador is the only place you can take an ice cold shower and still be sweating right in the middle of it. 

Here’s the only problem with this idyllic Facts of Life dormitory (why yes, I WAS Jo, why do you ask)....the larger group was going to meet in that same space during the day.  That means we had to break down our tents and mattresses each morning.  Now look....I am nothing if not a woman who knows her limits.  I mean....every one of you bitches reading this can’t believe I set up a tent once in a row. The odds of me successfully putting up a tent four days in a row were folly.  So rather than trying to tempt the fate of a broken bug hut, one of my roommates and I decided to sleep out on the room’s balcony where we could leave our stuff up.  It was a fine line between the room and the balcony anyway. No....like....literally....a fine dirt line and not much else between the “room” and the balcony.  

But the one feature the balcony did offer was a sidecar-like proximity to the one and only street lamp in the compound. I’m pretty sure you could change that 4,000 watt light bulb from my bed, that’s how close it was. I’m not one to let a little light (or much else) bother me while I sleep, but this may have been more than a little light. I only say that because on the first night, i kept dreaming of being a Big Mac under a McDonald’s heat lamp. On the second night, I got wise and draped my towel over my bug hut, which works like a dream. Funny thing, however....turns out that things that block light also block air flow...  

None of that blocks sound, however.  Which is an interesting story for the following nights Carnivale celebration.  But that’s another story.