9 things I want to say about music (and corresponding YouTube videos)

1. I'm just going to get this one over with--I like pop music. I don't ironically like pop music. I genuinely like it. It makes me feel good. It makes me want to dance. Stop saying you hate pop music to sound cool. I know you like it. You do.

2. Vocal harmonies have intrinsic beauty that does not depend on how well the engineer tweaked them to perfection. Gimme some raw harmonies.

3. Everyone knows that the more instruments you play, the cooler you are. What I want to say is that the more instruments you play on one recording or live song, the cooler you are.

4. I'm not gonna be all crazy and say I'm suddenly into Taylor Swift, but I'm also not going to say that I haven't had "Our Song" stuck in my head for the past month. This video is beyond ridiculous.

5. I cant get down with relaxation music. Like I think it's cool that it works for some people, and I've definitely seen it work for a lot of clients that I've worked with, but it makes me anxious. Check this out and see how it makes you feel.

http://soundcloud.com/justmusiclabel/marconi-union-weightless/s-kttxT

6. Once in a while something awesome comes out of American Idol. I think Damien Rice might be cool with this recording.

7. Okay so I'm not necessarily "into jazz," but as my jazz friends so lovingly put it, I'm "into being into jazz." Basically what that means is that I like hanging out with people who play jazz and going to see jazz shows and talking about how cool Kind of Blue by Miles Davis is. I accept my place in the jazz world.

8. I think some musicians have the whole package. They can sing like an angel and play a mean guitar and write beautiful lyrics and be all successful. But I also think that you only really need to be incredibly talented at one of those things to make it. This guy isn't the best singer I've ever heard but his writing is the most beautiful poetry I've ever known. 

 

9. I am constantly picking out wedding songs with no particular future husband in mind. If that's wrong, I don't want to be right.

 

Home sweet home.

The last day with the kids in Quito was a lot like I imagined it. They didn't understand that we were leaving. They ran out to their parents at the end of the day and didn't look back. It made things a lot easier on me. It reminded me how adaptable children are. They are resilient. They bounce back, and I'm almost certain that we're already a memory to them. I don't mean this in a sad way, because I truly believe in the difference we've made in the past two weeks. I believe that being loved and nurtured is the way children grow up to feel secure. I wish I could spend fifty two weeks per year giving children the love that they deserve, but I guess that job will fall into my hands soon enough. In a year I hope to be caring for kids through music, and in ten years I hope to be taking care of kids of my own.

It's nice to be home but I miss the people and weather and dogs and fresh juice of Quito! I miss our host family and dulce de leche and playing with little kids. Home has been relaxing compared to the action-packed, energy-draining days of running after kids, speaking Spanish, and touring Quito. It's comforting to be back in my own bed and with my family again.

I missed my guitar a lot so I spent some quality time with it today. I wrote some new lyrics that I really like, but I couldn't write much music. I only have another day before we're separated again! We're leaving for Puerto Plata on Sunday morning. I'm excited to spend a lot of time with my family and practice Spanish even more. I've decided to look into some kind of Spanish class, hopefully this fall, but definitely some time within the year. It's become increasingly important to me to master this language and with all the practice I've had in the last two weeks, I've realized that it's possible.

I have a beautiful picture of me and Courtney with our host family that I will be sure to post as soon as a I put it on my computer. I am so grateful that I was able to get to know them.

Thanks for reading and for all the support through this experience. If you keep reading, I'll keep writing! Paz a todos.

Music day.

Today was great because kids are great. Before I left for Quito, I bought a few instruments to bring for the kids. I wasn't sure whether or not to even bring them in when I met all thirty of los niños. I decided to bring them today and it ended up being a great idea. Music is so motivating! Of course, after completing 3/4 of a bachelor degree in music therapy, this is not the first time I've stumbled upon this phenomenon. It was just cool to experience it here because, as corny as it sounds, music really does have the power to transcend language barriers.

Music is motivating because it is inviting and rewarding. Today, a little boy who I haven't heard speak for the past week and a half, sang some of the words to "La Araña Pequenita" or "The Itsy Bitsy Spider." When I took out a tambourine, a group of kids sat around me and took turns hitting it while we sang a song about un barquito that my Grandma and cousin Olivia taught me. Now, this may not seem like a big deal, but it was the first time that the kids actually shared something without fighting since I've been here. (Of course, they required quite a few "Si quieres tocar, tienes que sentarse!") It was a big deal!!! Music is motivating. I rest my case.

Tomorrow is our last day of work. I'm not looking forward to saying goodbye to the kids. They're so young that they will likely forget us soon, but we'll never forget them. I hope that some part of their lives have been affected by our presence here. I feel like we've been here forever, but what's two weeks in the life of a kid? It's so strange to just walk away. Today I was listening to music with a little boy named Lenny who (shhh don't tell) is easily my favorite. Him and I have had a lot of fun times the past two weeks. Anyway, we were playing some American pop music and the song "Gonna Get Over You" by Sara Bareilles came on. He was sitting on my lap and we were singing to each other, him pretending to know the words in a language he doesn't speak, while I was singing the line "Ohhhh how am I gonna get over you?" I don't know how I'll get over Lenny or Michael, Mateo, Cristofer, Janita, Daniella, Martin, Alejandro, or Taira, but maybe I don't have to. Maybe I can always keep them with me, wishing them well wherever they are, with whatever they do, and whoever they grow up to be.

 

 

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Pictures and video that wouldn't post last night...day

 

 

 

View of Quito from El Panecillo from kelsala on Vimeo.

 

 

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Mountain day.

I've loved mountains ever since I started watching the WB show, Everwood, when I was a kid. I remember wanting to live in Everwood, Colorado, a small town surrounded by mountains, where everyone knew each other. Well, Quito is kind of reminding me of Everwood. It doesn't matter where you are in the city, you're completely surrounded by beautiful, snow-capped mountains and volcanoes.

Today we went to El Panecillo, which is a mountain-top statue of Mama Mary with wings. It was breathtaking. I have never seen anything like the view from up there.

I took a video from up on the statue but for some reason I can't post it :( and I'm losing patience because I'm very tired so I'll try to update this post with the video tomorrow. It's awesome.

Last night we went to a karaoke bar! I sang "Let It Be" and "Someone Like You." It was a lot of fun. We drank beer from tiny glasses. Very classy. I'll add pictures tomorrow. My usually trusty app Blogsy is failing me!

Buenos noches a todos!

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Quito day.

This will be a short one because we're leaving for la discoteca! Today we went downtown. We found a cool shop that sold local goods, a fair trade shop, and a delicious restaurant! We ate tamales, pollo, chocolate con queso (they're so smart), and helado. For two three course meals it cost us twenty seven dollars!

Today I got to video chat with so many people I love! They were all at my Uncle Eddie's annual July 4th BBQ. Thank God for technology or I would've missed it for the first time in my life.

Here are some pictures :)

 

 

 

 

 

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Sick day.

Well, it's been a sneezy week and when we woke up this morning, we realized that we probably needed a sick day. Courtney caught a cold from the kids and my allergies have been driving me crazy from the first day we got here. The food has also been a little tough on my stomach. We've been sleeping all day, trying to rest so we can do some sightseeing this weekend. This week has felt very long, and it's finally caught up with us. Being in a foreign country is incredibly overwhelming and the thought of only being halfway done is a little bit scary, to be honest. We've enjoyed every day here, but things like our health, the language barrier, and the large amount of kids we've been taking care of seem to be a bit more than we can handle. We're trying to take it day by day.

Thanks again for reading. Here are some more pictures of the babies that we love so very much :)

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