July seems to have come and gone in the blink of an eye. Summer is in full swing here, with the kids enjoying the daily activities and the volunteers checking out the local fairs. Last weekend we all went to the nearby town of Diez de Agosto to celebrate its anniversary. We saw the creatively choreographed dances put on by children from three of our schools. They all looked adorable in costumes and absolutely beamed when they saw the “teachers” smiling and watching. This weekend entails a repeat visit to Diez de Agosto to experience a bit of the local agricultural lifestyle.

The last few weeks have brought a lot of fun and excitement to the Arajuno Road Project volunteer house! The third trimester has been wrapped up with the completion of exams and end of the year excursions. We were lucky enough to be invited to the final party for the school Simón Bolívar. It is the school closest to Puyo and where two past volunteers painted a much loved Mickey Mouse and Pluto mural. We met at the schools in the early morning hours where one of the fathers was still cooking a pig. He told us he had been there since 3 a.m.!!

The month of March brought a lot fun! Carnaval activites were held at Angel Manzano, the school at km 22 Via Arajuno. The volunteers loved to be able to play with the kids and see them in a different setting than the classroom. Rachel and I also heard stories about the Carnaval maddess that ravaged the streets of puyo for this 4-day holiday, lots of foam, buckets of water, live music and even jungle themed body painting competitions!