First days in Shell

On Tuesday morning, I got on a plane to fly to Quito. After about 15 minutes in the plane, on the ground, the pilot got on and said there was something wrong with the computer and we would have to wait only a couple minutes. 45 min or so later, we took off. I arrived in Quito no problems. Then Wednesday morning, I was getting ready to leave and I got a call from another missionary here telling me that the Volcano, Tungurahua, had erupted over night and the road to Shell was closed. So the family I was driving with, made some phone calls and found out the road on the other side of the valley was open so we decided to go that way. It only took us about 45 minutes longer than normal, and the road was not too bad. It was a narrow road, cobble stone in parts, dirt in parts,and paved in parts. There were parts that were very close to the edge as well. But we made it to Shell.

When I got to my apartment, I asked a bunch of questions about cleaning since they had just replaced all the walls. I wanted to know of the cabinets and dishes had been cleaned. I was told, "we think, but you might want to do it again". So I went to the military store in town to buy supplies to begin cleaning. I got there, did all my shopping (about 20 min worth), I went to the front and they told me the computer was down and they didn't know how long it would be. I could wait if I wanted to. So I left without my stuff and went to another smaller store in town and got the essentials (toilet paper, vinegar to clean with, cereal, dish soap...). I began cleaning. There was, and still is, mortor (because they put up cinder block walls) all over the floor, tub, tiles in the bathroom, the kitchen sink. The cabinets have dust and left over termite mess in them.

Two of the ladies bought me some groceries to get me started. Everything was in closed packages, so I left it on the counter overnight because I don't want to put anything away until I cleaned the cabinets. MISTAKE!!

When I woke up Wednesday morning, there were hundreds of small sugar ants in my kitchen. I quickly learned about Terro (Ant Killer). I put this on the counter and was told that I may find hundreds of dead ants over the next couple days. So far so good, the live ones are gone, and no dead ones yet.

So Wednesday morning I returned to the military store to do my shopping again. This time I asked ahead of time if the computer was working. All was good. I got what I still needed and set on home. I began cleaning again. I did laundry and got my closet cleaned so I could put my clothes away. Then I began the cabinets and the dishes. I think this is going to be a couple days work.