A Day with Monkeys

We found this place not too far from Shell (about 20 minutes). This guy has 21 monkeys and they are all very used to people. We think he has a little scam going really. When you enter, the monkeys come up to you and check your pockets, if there is something, they will take it. And if you are not holding on to your camera well, or if you have glasses or sun glasses, they will take them. One of them did steal the glasses from a lady that was there at the same time as us, he went up to the roof with them. He did bring them back down when he was bribed with food. But he probably has a collection up there. You notice I don't have my glasses on (I took them off, not the monkey)
We had a good time. I sat with the monkeys for a little while. One did steal my hair tie and then was trying to find bugs in my hair. I doubt he found any, but everyone said he did put something in his mouth that he pulled out of my hair. They were kind of prejudiced, they would choose one or two people in the group to play with and then they were actually kind of mean to anyone else who came too close to them. I guess me and my friend, Alex in the other picture, were the lucky ones. My other friend, Melisa, in the photo with me, was not one of the lucky ones, this monkey would not sit in her lap for nothing. In this picture, he was trying to steal my earrings, I managed to keep all those too.
Over all, we had a great time. I am excited to go back and play with them again some day.

How many tarantulas can you encounter in one day??

One of my friends has been here in Shell since January, she has not yet seen a tarantula and she is leaving Shell in 1 week. Since I have seen my share of tarantulas, she asked me to help her find one. Well, I remembered hearing that there was living on the house behind mine. So I went over there last night and there she was, about twice the size of the one that was on my house, but the same breed. So We took pictures and watched it for a while.

Today some of my friends from Cuenca came to visit me in Shell. I was talking to them about the tarantula as well and they too wanted to see it. So we went over to the house behind mine and there she was. Then we went back to my house and I was showing them the turtle. The turtle was in his house, so I had to walk through the plants and pick him up. I told them I have this fear that one time I am going to walk through these plants and there is going to be a tarantula there. Well, I got the turtle, walked out of the enclosure, and looked down. And right next to my foot, about to walk across my bare foot that was in flipflops, was a tarantula. I flipped out. I called my friend (the same one that came and got the one that was on my house) and she came and got it. This one was a different breed and she was excited because it is a male, that is why he is much smaller, and she has the female already in her house. She says she plans to breed them??? Weird!!

What a process...

2 days collecting paperwork
15 hours driving lessons
10 hours didactic lecture with the police officer
5 hours mechanics
2 hours psychology
1 practical exam
1 written exam over the content of the didactic lectures
2 more days collecting paperwork
2 hours standing in line to have the paperwork reviewed
1 written exam over questions unrelated to how to drive
1 more hour standing in line
$220 total
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1 Ecuadorian driver's license

Uh...Where's your bug thing?

So, I am afraid of spiders, so a couple of my friends bought me a bug wand for Christmas one year. This has been the greatest gift. It is about 2 feet long with a vacuum type suction on one end. You are supposed to suck the bug into the tube and then take it outside and let it go. Well, needless to say, this wonderful gift traveled with me to Ecuador.
This morning I got up at 5:30 to go to aerobics. My roommate who normally sleeps till at least 8 was sleeping on the couch so she woke up as well. I was in the bathroom and she approached me and asked me where my bug thing was. I asked her why, she said "we" needed it. Again I asked her why. She said, "there's a tarantula" and doubled over laughing. I said, "where?" she said it was in her bathroom. I told her that a tarantula was not going to fit in the bug wand. So I went to look, and sure enough, there was a tarantula in her bathroom. It was wedged in the corner between the bathtub and the wall.
I said, "well, good luck with that, I am off to aerobics." Of course, she would not let me leave. We did not know what we were going to do. It was not even 6 am, who could we call? I looked all around at the other missionary houses to see if any lights were on, nope.
I got the bright idea to call the hospital and ask the housekeeping person to come. So we did, and he came with a large tweezer type thing, he picked it up and carried it outside.
Since it was so small, I asked DeNise if she thought it could be a baby, and did that mean the mother was in our house somewhere too?? We shall see!!!

New House

I have moved into a new house with my friend DeNise. It is quite amusing. We are both single and from the US, so there are some things that we like, use a lot, or just want to have that are not available here in Shell. So when we have the opportunity, either in Ambato, Quito, or in the States, to buy these things we stock up. Well, after combining our pantries, we have 15 jars of peanut butter, 20 bottles of salad dressing, 12 jars of salsa, 25 packets of ranch seasoning, 15 packets of taco seasoning, 8 cans of Rotel, and 10 cans of corn. Our pantry looks like a little store.
The house if very nice and we are enjoying it. We have 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, so we have plenty of room for visitors!

Meet York

York is a miniature schnauzer. He belongs to my friend, Molly. Molly has gone back to the states for 6 months, so I get to keep York for that time. He is a very well behaved dog. He loves to play fetch, he loves to sleep on my pillow at the same time that I am trying to sleep on my pillow. He likes to lay on the bed and watch TV too. Overall he is a very good dog and I am excited to have him around for the next 6 months. I am sure I am going to miss him dearly when my friend comes back and takes him away from me (it is her dog and all, but still.) When I was taking these pictures, I just called his name and he looked, saw the camera, and posed nicely. He is a ham!!

Meet Uncle Jerry

Uncle Jerry is a jungle turtle. Now I know some of you are thinking, then why is he in a closed space being fed by people? Well, I can not answer that question, I was not the one who took him from the jungle and placed him in an enclosed space, but now that he has been that way for years, I have gladly volunteered to be his newest caretaker. He is named after one of our former missionaries who just left. I am not planning on changing his name in honor of Jerry Koleski who we will all miss.
Today was my first day to care for him. I fed him a banana and he loved it. I think we will get along great. Many of you know how much I love turtles and lizards, so you know how excited I am about my new friend.