First two Weeks of Research

Hello all,

I have been living in the community of Atucucho, mas o menos, since Monday. From the very first day God has blessed me with things I didn't know to ask for. The biggest of all is the girl who is going around with me. Her name is Angelica. She is a church member and in the praise band. She completed high school last year but was unable to start college classes right away, probably due to the cost. She is 18 and has lived in the community her whole life. Her dad is also involved in the community and is educated in what happens in politics and community affairs. Thus, when her dad talks to the family Angelica learns a lot. She is really smart and quick, she picks up on everything.
She first thing I did was compile a tiny list of eight basic questions to ask the church members to familiarize them with the types of things I would be researching. I feel like all of them are pretty comfortable and more trusting of the project now. There are about ten families in the church. Pretty soon we decided to utilize the surveys I had. I actually did not right the survey b/c another young woman who did this type of research in Peru gave me her surveys and I just adapted them to my context a bit. I have one survey for households and another survey for small business owners. Sometimes I end up giving them both b/c they have both in the same place. I don't like doing it b/c it can be exhausting for them. I will probably just try to do about five surveys a day. The after the field research I return and type up the notes, mark on the map that Angelica drew for me where we went, and write journals and other papers to submit. I like the schedule b/c I am not just working all the time. I really thought I would not have time to hang out but I do, and that is good. I am making reallllly good friends here.
I was sad about leaving for the first time the other day. I come home in eleven weeks from tomorrow. I do miss Family, Covenant, Friends, Chattanooga, Independence, and Andrew a LOT but I just realized how sad I will be when I leave b/c I hang out with these people all the time, every week, multiple times a week. I know with my friend Daniela its like making a new best friend for 6 months, sharing and encouraging each other and then just leaving never knowing when I will see her again. By the way, she one of the girls I went to the beach with. Which, by the way, I plan on uploading those pictures today too. I will go do that now.
but first, other things I have done or things that are coming up:
I went back to Otavalo for the third time. It was soo good to just be with the children again. Some really don't receive a lot of love. One boy named Alex was a give away child and is being raise by an older woman. He is only 8. The second day I played with him and thre others. The others are a brother, sister, and their little cousin, Jefferson 9, Anna 8, Anderson 5. They pretty much live alone in there little earthen house b/c the dad is responsible for them but he is never there. So I just asked said "hi, what are you guys gonna do today?" and they tell me nothing, and I ask them if they want to play today, so we did. The first day I was with my little friends as I call them. They are 1,4,4,7. but now i am friends with 12 year old Anita too. She taught me how to make two kinds of bracelets. When I asked her what she was going to do today, she just told me she was making bracelets all day. Also the other younger girls fixed my hair like they were it while I was making a bracelet. Two braids up top on the side which go into one braid int he back. The braids have a string through them to tie off at the end.
On next Saturday night we are having a pijama party with the youth where I live in Atucucho. FUN! but we have church the next morning and I am pretty sure there will not be much sleep at all, considering it does not start until eight and we have church at 9am. I am looking forward too it though. Okay. Now I go. ta ta.