About a month after I got to Ecuador, it became apparent to me that I would not be able to afford to go home for Christmas. This was pretty disappointing news, but I accepted it as a part of this adventure, and was going to try to make the best of it. Just before Thanksgiving though, my mom emailed me to say that she and my dad had decided to buy me a plane ticket to Minnesota for Christmas. She told me that no one was really looking forward to Christmas without me and truth-be-told I wasn't looking forward to spending a Christmas without them, though I have come love my friend-family here very much.
Being able to go home is a gift in-and-of-itself, but what is more, I also get to see my dear friends in Chicago because it turned out to be $400 cheaper to fly into MSP and then out of O'Hare in Chicago. Being able to go home felt like a gift, being able to go to both Minnesota and Chicago is an even bigger blessing. But lately I have come to realize that knowing I am going to be able spend Christmas and New Year's Eve in the way I want to spend them has increased my desire to be in Ecuador. I get to do both: I get to live in Ecuador and have a big adventure, and I get to spend the holidays the way I want to spend them, and with the people I want to spend them with. And I couldn't be happier.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Overview of the last weeks in November
Things are going pretty well here, though I have been very busy. I finally received a visa, though it is a Comercio visa, and not an Intercambio visa, and therefore I will need to go back to the Edificio Astudillo (office where visas are granted in Cuenca) in May to have my visa extended. As it turns out, every organization which hosts internationals in Ecuador for cultural exchange is currently being investigated. According to the visa regulations, an Intercambio visa is only supposed to be granted to International persons who live in Ecuador to teach a language (and/or other aspects of culture) and in exchange learn Spanish and experience Ecuadorian culture. Furthermore, this is considered to be a volunteer-type of exchange rather than a form of employment, and therefore those granted Intercambio visas are only supposed to receive a living stipend, rather than wages, for their work. However, it has recently come to the Ecuadorian government's attention that some organizations were employing people (paying them wages and all) but asking them to get an Intercambio visa instead of a work visa, since it's so much easier to obtain. So long story short, no Intercambio visas are being granted right now. While this is somewhat annoying, I am grateful to have been given a Comercio visa for the mean-time, and to be able to continue my big adventure.
In other news, the last two weekends in a row I went hiking in Cajas (the national park in the mountains that I posted about previously). On the 18th I went to Tres Cruces (Three Crosses) with a motley crew of various Internationals and Cuencanos. Tres Cruces is fairly high up in the mountains, and there were times when I was very easily winded and needed to stop to more fully catch my breath or drink water. The hike lasted about five hours in total, and afterwards we ate fresh rainbow trout at a restaurant in the mountains. It was probably the most delicious meal I have had since being here, and I enjoyed it all the more after having completed what I consider to be a fairly intense hike. On the 25th I went to Cajas again but this time I was in the company of all my fellow teachers, our students, and their parents. This time we walked a lower level loop around a lake next to an abandoned brewery. This was much less intense, and while I was not enamored with the fact that I had to go in to work on a Sunday morning, it was fun to watch my students interact with their parents, and to have the opportunity to play with my students without needing to be mindful of class time or curriculum.
My professional life this month was somewhat crazy. But, every month I feel like I fall that much more in love with my students, and that helps me to deal with whatever the chaos brings. I have had a student teacher for the past two months, from White Water Wisconsin. It was a very interesting experience to be given a student teacher after having only one month of professional teaching experience, but we managed to figure out how to work together. From our first weeks together I told her that while I lacked sage wisdom and experience, I could offer her independence and the opportunity to be my professional peer, instead of my professional understudy. She was a very big help to me when I was sick and when I had to miss school to meet with visa officials, because she took over all my classes without hesitation. Anyway, this last week was not only the end of the current grading period, but also my student teacher's last week. And just to add a little more chaos, the entire school performed in a Christmas program at the local mall yesterday, but practice for each grade level's part of the program was held during school. On top of all of that, the boys soccer team had a game this week which was held during school hours (and the whole school was mandated to watch), and practices for this game were also held during school hours.
Needless to say, there was a lot to keep track of and a limited amount of actual class time, despite the fact that it was the end of the grading period and our student evaluations needed to be completed by Friday of this week. Tension was high throughout the whole school, this week, but as far as I know, everything ended up working out and everything got done, in one way or another. Working at CEDEI is definitely a test of my flexibility and patience. When I worked for Seton Home, I was often told these were two traits I possessed that benefited my team of co-workers. Here, I feel like I am forced to develop these traits in a much more concrete and sometimes extreme way. I think I am rising to the challenge, though I do not always do this gracefully. I will be the first to say I was extremely frustrated this week, and had to do a lot of self-care at home in order to successfully let go of the way I wanted things to go, and let them happen as they actually did. It was also extremely helpful that this week was peppered with many moments which provided the opportunity to bond with students, and during which students revealed their genuine kindness and tenderness over and over again.
In case you are interested, this is the link to CEDEI School's Facebook page. For confidentiality purposes I would never post photos of my students on my blog or personal Facebook page. However, the parents have given CEDEI permission to post photos of their children on the school's page, and if you are interested in a visual overview of everything we do at school, you should check It out.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/CEDEI-School/302520179765496?fref=ts
In other news, the last two weekends in a row I went hiking in Cajas (the national park in the mountains that I posted about previously). On the 18th I went to Tres Cruces (Three Crosses) with a motley crew of various Internationals and Cuencanos. Tres Cruces is fairly high up in the mountains, and there were times when I was very easily winded and needed to stop to more fully catch my breath or drink water. The hike lasted about five hours in total, and afterwards we ate fresh rainbow trout at a restaurant in the mountains. It was probably the most delicious meal I have had since being here, and I enjoyed it all the more after having completed what I consider to be a fairly intense hike. On the 25th I went to Cajas again but this time I was in the company of all my fellow teachers, our students, and their parents. This time we walked a lower level loop around a lake next to an abandoned brewery. This was much less intense, and while I was not enamored with the fact that I had to go in to work on a Sunday morning, it was fun to watch my students interact with their parents, and to have the opportunity to play with my students without needing to be mindful of class time or curriculum.
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| Cajas from my November 18th trip. |
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| An Alpaca hanging out at the top of a mountain |
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| Standing on the top of a mountain. |
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| Another view of the mountainside. \ |
My professional life this month was somewhat crazy. But, every month I feel like I fall that much more in love with my students, and that helps me to deal with whatever the chaos brings. I have had a student teacher for the past two months, from White Water Wisconsin. It was a very interesting experience to be given a student teacher after having only one month of professional teaching experience, but we managed to figure out how to work together. From our first weeks together I told her that while I lacked sage wisdom and experience, I could offer her independence and the opportunity to be my professional peer, instead of my professional understudy. She was a very big help to me when I was sick and when I had to miss school to meet with visa officials, because she took over all my classes without hesitation. Anyway, this last week was not only the end of the current grading period, but also my student teacher's last week. And just to add a little more chaos, the entire school performed in a Christmas program at the local mall yesterday, but practice for each grade level's part of the program was held during school. On top of all of that, the boys soccer team had a game this week which was held during school hours (and the whole school was mandated to watch), and practices for this game were also held during school hours.
Needless to say, there was a lot to keep track of and a limited amount of actual class time, despite the fact that it was the end of the grading period and our student evaluations needed to be completed by Friday of this week. Tension was high throughout the whole school, this week, but as far as I know, everything ended up working out and everything got done, in one way or another. Working at CEDEI is definitely a test of my flexibility and patience. When I worked for Seton Home, I was often told these were two traits I possessed that benefited my team of co-workers. Here, I feel like I am forced to develop these traits in a much more concrete and sometimes extreme way. I think I am rising to the challenge, though I do not always do this gracefully. I will be the first to say I was extremely frustrated this week, and had to do a lot of self-care at home in order to successfully let go of the way I wanted things to go, and let them happen as they actually did. It was also extremely helpful that this week was peppered with many moments which provided the opportunity to bond with students, and during which students revealed their genuine kindness and tenderness over and over again.
In case you are interested, this is the link to CEDEI School's Facebook page. For confidentiality purposes I would never post photos of my students on my blog or personal Facebook page. However, the parents have given CEDEI permission to post photos of their children on the school's page, and if you are interested in a visual overview of everything we do at school, you should check It out.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/CEDEI-School/302520179765496?fref=ts
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Fiestas de Cuenca
Two weekends ago was Fiestas de Cuenca, a city-wide holiday which celebrates Cuenca and South American culture in general. Artisans from South American countries came to Cuenca selling their goods. Traditional and modern Ecuadorian musicians gave free concerts all over the city. Traditional dancers from Ecuador and other South American countries performed in every square. And, traditional Ecuadorian foods were sold in parks all over the city. There was food, drink, dance, music, and other aspects of culture abound in Cuenca for four days. It was really energizing to celebrate and experience Ecuadorian culture with the entire city of Cuenca. Here are some photos of the celebrations, and of Cuenca in general.
On Thursday, November 1st, my friend and I walked near the river to check out all the vendors and other festivities. We stopped to watch the different musical and dancing traditions of South American countries. Here are photos of Mexican and then Peruvian dances.
On Saturday, November 1st, I went to Parque San Blas to eat traditional Ecuadorian food. I was able to try Cuy, or guinea pig, which is very popular in the mountainous regions of Ecuador. Unfortunately I could not bring myself to eat more than two bites, mostly because cuy is served skin-on. Aka: my plate actually held half of a dead guinea pig, feet, bones, skin and all. While I did not take a picture of my actual plate, below is a picture (taken by a friend of mine) of cuy being roasted.
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| Traditional Mexican dancers. |
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| Traditional Peruvian dancers. |
On Saturday, November 1st, I went to Parque San Blas to eat traditional Ecuadorian food. I was able to try Cuy, or guinea pig, which is very popular in the mountainous regions of Ecuador. Unfortunately I could not bring myself to eat more than two bites, mostly because cuy is served skin-on. Aka: my plate actually held half of a dead guinea pig, feet, bones, skin and all. While I did not take a picture of my actual plate, below is a picture (taken by a friend of mine) of cuy being roasted.
Cuy was not the only food being sold at Parque San Blas for Fiestas. The following two photos are of chicken, pork, and potatoes being prepared. Please note the aprons with the large pouch in front. Vendors at the market, whether selling prepared foods or groceries, all wear these type of aprons. They serve as both protection for their clothing and also as a wearable cash box. Though the aprons in this picture do not have many pockets, most women wear aprons with multiple pockets, for different amounts of money. The safest and most efficient place to keep money in Ecuador is on your body. It is much easier to steal a purse or a cash box than it is to steal an apron off of someone's body. That being said, there are thieves in Cuenca, but I have not had any trouble yet, knock on wood.
To the left is pork being roasted. Funny/embarrassing story: the day before this photo was taken my friends and I went out to eat with some of our fellow teachers. One of my fellow gringas confused the word for pork, chancho, with a slang term for vagina, chocho when discussing what to order. At the time, I had not yet learned either term. When I went to Parque San
Blas, I attempted to recall the word for pork, but ended up making the same mistake and instead asked for a plate of vagina. This was very amusing, not only to the woman taking my order, but to everyone cooking and standing in line as well.
Aside from providing ample opportunities to experience Ecuadorian and South American culture, this weekend also gave my roommates and friends and I lots of time to play and bond with each other. Here are some pictures of my roommates and I being goofy in front of a jacaranda tree, which blooms purple flowers instead of leaves.
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| Cuy |
Cuy was not the only food being sold at Parque San Blas for Fiestas. The following two photos are of chicken, pork, and potatoes being prepared. Please note the aprons with the large pouch in front. Vendors at the market, whether selling prepared foods or groceries, all wear these type of aprons. They serve as both protection for their clothing and also as a wearable cash box. Though the aprons in this picture do not have many pockets, most women wear aprons with multiple pockets, for different amounts of money. The safest and most efficient place to keep money in Ecuador is on your body. It is much easier to steal a purse or a cash box than it is to steal an apron off of someone's body. That being said, there are thieves in Cuenca, but I have not had any trouble yet, knock on wood.
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| Traditionally dressed women making chicken and mote. |
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| Roasting pork. |
To the left is pork being roasted. Funny/embarrassing story: the day before this photo was taken my friends and I went out to eat with some of our fellow teachers. One of my fellow gringas confused the word for pork, chancho, with a slang term for vagina, chocho when discussing what to order. At the time, I had not yet learned either term. When I went to Parque San
Blas, I attempted to recall the word for pork, but ended up making the same mistake and instead asked for a plate of vagina. This was very amusing, not only to the woman taking my order, but to everyone cooking and standing in line as well.
Aside from providing ample opportunities to experience Ecuadorian and South American culture, this weekend also gave my roommates and friends and I lots of time to play and bond with each other. Here are some pictures of my roommates and I being goofy in front of a jacaranda tree, which blooms purple flowers instead of leaves.
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| Rafa and I attempting cartwheels. Rafa is obviously much more skilled at this than I am. |
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| From bottom to top: Nico, Rafa, and me. |
Monday, October 22, 2012
Montañita
Last weekend was the Ecuadorian version of Columbus Day, which here is called Dia de la Raza (or day of the race), so I had a three day weekend. It saddens me that even here, we celebrate Columbus but still fail to recognize the rights of indigenous peoples. I could write entry upon entry about that, but this is all I will say on the subject right now: no matter what country I live in, Columbus sucks.
Nevertheless, I will always take advantage of a three day weekend to do some traveling and see this beautiful country. So with my three gringa-loca friends I ventured to Montanita, a smallish beach town about two hours from Guayaquil. This is kind of the party beach-town of Ecuador. There are lots of restaurants, bars, shops, and clubs, but not much else. It is definitely a twenty-something tourist destination. It was cloudy every day that we were there, but it was still much warmer, and I loved being at the beach. We ate seafood every day, and walked around the town, took naps, and enjoyed each other's company. At night we went out dancing. We wanted (in particular, I wanted) to dance salsa, merengue, bachata, and cumbia more than we wanted to dance to reggaeton. When the DJ at a club wouldn't play the kinds of music we wanted, we left the club and ended up finding tienda owners with stereo systems to play the music we wanted so we could dance salsa, cumbia, merengue and bachata in the street. People asked us to dance everywhere, whether the venue was intended for dancing or not. I haven't felt quite so carefree in a long time.
I have heard that the coastal culture of Ecuador can be much different than the mountain culture, and in my experience this is correct. I should clarify that most of the people I met were not from Montanita itself, but from Guayaquil or other coastal towns. Still, people wore much brighter colors on the coast, and even the buildings and signs were painted more brightly than they are here in Cuenca. People in Montanita were much more friendly and outgoing, more people said hello to us on the street, men cat-called us more often, and conversations with shop keepers, taxi drivers, and others working people lasted a little longer. The women dress far more conservatively in Cuenca than they do on the coast. In part I think this is because of the difference in daily temperature, but women also showed more cleavage and wore tighter-fitting clothes than they do in Cuenca, especially in clubs. Furthermore, there seemed to be taller men and more voluptuous women on the coast, where as in Cuenca men and women alike are often short and stocky. Finally, the men in Montanita were much better dancers than the men in Cuenca are, in my experience.
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| The Four Gringa-Locas just outside of Montanita. |
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| The Four Gringa-Locas again, with a parasailor in the background. |
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| Walking down the street in Montanita looking for a good place to eat. |
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| View of our hotel room from the loft. |
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| Ceviche: a cold Ecuadorian seafood soup served for breakfast or lunch. |
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Visiting the doctor in Ecuador
Since I have been experiencing intestinal problems and dehydration for over a week to no avail, I finally "put on my big girl pants" and went to the doctor. It took a while to get a recommendation for a doctor who spoke some English, but I found one. He even happens to be within walking distance. Thanks to a friend whose husband is a doctor, I ended up at a wonderful clinic that serves a wide range of needs. It took some time and many trips to the upstairs office of an English-speaking nurse, but eventually I took a parasite test (which I will tell you, at the risk of being gross, involves giving a stool sample). Thankfully, I am parasite-free. I do, however, have a bacterial infection which most likely came from eating fruit imported from the coast (which means it was washed using water from the coast which contains different bacteria...woops). The doctor gave me both a low-dose anti-biotic and a highly potent pro-biotic because he said it was better for my stomach to "start new in rejuvenation." He was a very patient, kind doctor and I would go to him again in a heartbeat. I had been dreading going to the doctor because I knew that if no one spoke English, I would likely struggle to get my needs met. This trip was relatively painless, although they first thought I wanted a pregnancy test instead of a parasite test. However, once I remembered that "embarazada" means pregnant and not embarrassed (For about thirty seconds I thought they were asking me if I was embarrassed to poop in a cup) I quickly corrected that notion. I actually left feeling more relieved than I've felt in a long time. Pun intended.
Anecdote
At the end of the school day yesterday I was standing at the gated entrance/exit of the school, performing my usual Wednesday door duty. Most of the kids had piled out for the day, but there were some stragglers around waiting for parents or buses. One of the students still at school was a third-grade boy who is blind. Students and teachers alike enjoy being around this kid because he loves life and school so much it's infectious. I don't actually have this kid as a student, but I interact with him in some way weekly. I greeted him as he approached me, and he mistook me for Tia Valerie, his science teacher. I let him know who I was, and then I informed him that Tia Valerie was about six meters behind him, but that she was walking towards us now. He got really excited and grabbed my hands, saying "mande." I asked him what "mande" meant, as I had yet to learn it. He replied "lunes" (which is the word for Monday in Spanish). I replied, "No, Como se dice mande en ingles?" To which he replied, "Monday." At this point Tia Valerie approached us, and I relayed the story to her. She informed me that "mande" means "tell me" in Cuencano Spanish. The third grader then informed both of us that he just thought I couldn't say "Monday" correctly in English, which made us all laugh.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Totally Overwhelmed
I'm not going to lie, these past two weeks have not been great. I am growing weary of never knowing what I'm doing. I have more insecurity than I have had in a really long time. I am tired of not knowing Spanish. I am tired of being sick. ( Side note: I have gotten over my cold for the most part, though I do have a lingering cough, but now I am having intestinal problems. Based on conversations with my family at home and friends here, I am either having trouble digesting fats and oils, or I have a parasite). I am tired of feeling like I work harder here and get less accomplished. I am tired of thinking I planned a great lesson only to have it bomb because I executed it poorly. Basically, the shiny novelty of living in Ecuador is starting to wear off, and the many realities of living in a foreign country are starting to set in.
This is still what I want, don't get me wrong. This is still what I worked for all those months last year, and inadvertently for the past however many years. I am just ready for some sense of adequacy. It is fairly painful to be faced with an entire set of Ecuador-related insecurities to constantly keep at bay and work toward overcoming.
At the same time, there are synchronicities that occur here regularly enough that I feel like I'm doing something kind of right. For example, the night before I left for Cuenca, I prayed that the Powers That Be would provide me with a loving community, that I could find a yoga class (or something similar), and that I would feel "good enough" in this new life, among other things. My first night in Cuenca I was invited to join a yoga class. Yesterday I moved into what will likely be my permanent housing for the year: a house for internationals in Cuenca which houses seven other people who welcomed me into "the family" when I arrived. And while I don't always feel "good enough" I am taking steps to take care of myself daily, so that I have some sense of self worth even in the face of all my insecurity.
One of the many things I am learning here, is that life is absolutely packed with both good and bad. I am kind of overwhelmed by how much I feel here on a daily basis, but then again I have always been an emotional person. My life in Ecuador is literally like riding an emotional roller coaster; I actively try to take pride in all my small accomplishments, but at the same time, making mistakes can make me feel totally dejected. This fact in itself adds to the theme of overwhelm in my life, because as emotional as I am, I'm usually more stable. I keep telling myself that, in time and with effort, I will regain a sense of normalcy. Hopefully it's not too much time.
This is still what I want, don't get me wrong. This is still what I worked for all those months last year, and inadvertently for the past however many years. I am just ready for some sense of adequacy. It is fairly painful to be faced with an entire set of Ecuador-related insecurities to constantly keep at bay and work toward overcoming.
At the same time, there are synchronicities that occur here regularly enough that I feel like I'm doing something kind of right. For example, the night before I left for Cuenca, I prayed that the Powers That Be would provide me with a loving community, that I could find a yoga class (or something similar), and that I would feel "good enough" in this new life, among other things. My first night in Cuenca I was invited to join a yoga class. Yesterday I moved into what will likely be my permanent housing for the year: a house for internationals in Cuenca which houses seven other people who welcomed me into "the family" when I arrived. And while I don't always feel "good enough" I am taking steps to take care of myself daily, so that I have some sense of self worth even in the face of all my insecurity.
One of the many things I am learning here, is that life is absolutely packed with both good and bad. I am kind of overwhelmed by how much I feel here on a daily basis, but then again I have always been an emotional person. My life in Ecuador is literally like riding an emotional roller coaster; I actively try to take pride in all my small accomplishments, but at the same time, making mistakes can make me feel totally dejected. This fact in itself adds to the theme of overwhelm in my life, because as emotional as I am, I'm usually more stable. I keep telling myself that, in time and with effort, I will regain a sense of normalcy. Hopefully it's not too much time.
Cajas
I was able to go to Cajas National Park a few weeks ago with some friends, which was probably the best day I've had since coming to Cuenca. The park is located about a half an hour outside of Cuenca, in the mountains. While there, I was completely overwhelmed by the beauty and peace of the mountains and I felt a surge of gratitude the entire time we were there. For whatever reason, being in Cajas made it incredibly clear to me that I now live in Ecuador; I am living out a life dream right now. Really, what more can a person ask for? Unfortunately I forgot my camera, and I only just recently received pictures of the trip from a friend. I've been waiting to post about Cajas mostly because I felt my writing about it might be trivial, but pictures could potentially give a more accurate depiction.
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| My friend Jenn and I near one of the many mountain lakes. |
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| Me, Jenn, and Nico leaving the lake. |
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| Jenn, me, and Nico having a snack. |
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| The wild llamas and horses of Cajas. |
Saturday, September 29, 2012
The Little Thing...Chicken...For Soup
This is what I said to the guy running the tienda just down the block from my apartment when I wanted to buy a bouillon cube for my soup broth. Before buying my bouillon cube I attempted to go to the market to buy a chicken bone to boil, but I became so nauseous at the site and smell of all the whole, dead chickens-- feet and skin still on-- that I left in search of fresh air before I could manage to try to ask for what I wanted.
So a bouillon cube it was for me. Anyway, I dread shopping here because I can't just go into a store, pick out what I want,pay, and leave. In most cases I have to go up to a counter and ask for what I want, which of course makes it glaringly obvious that I am a non-Spanish speaking Gringa. This is the crux of most of my insecurity here in Ecuador: I don't speak Spanish. Most of the time I am able to use hand gestures and single words in succession (like the title of my post), or point to what I want. Sometimes I bring a friend, which makes things much less painful during the buying process, but I do not love the feeling of not being independent. Either way, I always, always walk away wishing I knew more Spanish. I am also fairly aware that people probably charge me a higher price because I am white and unable to fully (or even partially) communicate with them. This is just a fact of life here, at least for now.
On the other hand, my Spanish use in the classroom is getting better. I am supposed to speak to my students solely in English, which I do 99% of the time. I don't really have a choice. But I have learned the words for write, draw, be quite, etc., and I use them when I necessary. I also have my students write down the new vocab in Spanish and English on the board, and draw a picture. Once our new vocab is on the board they all copy this into their notebooks, which gives me time to copy the Spanish words into my own notebook. I will not pretend to have learned all my student's English vocab in Spanish, even with the help of my new system. But it is helping me with exposure. The other day I was trying to help a student in my class with special needs (who does not speak any English), and using very broken Spanish and lots of gesturing and visual aids, I eventually got the point across to him. As I was turning to leave him, the girl sitting next to him grabbed my arm excitedly and said "Tia! You are starting to learn more Spanish! Good job!" It was really endearing (especially with her accent).
So a bouillon cube it was for me. Anyway, I dread shopping here because I can't just go into a store, pick out what I want,pay, and leave. In most cases I have to go up to a counter and ask for what I want, which of course makes it glaringly obvious that I am a non-Spanish speaking Gringa. This is the crux of most of my insecurity here in Ecuador: I don't speak Spanish. Most of the time I am able to use hand gestures and single words in succession (like the title of my post), or point to what I want. Sometimes I bring a friend, which makes things much less painful during the buying process, but I do not love the feeling of not being independent. Either way, I always, always walk away wishing I knew more Spanish. I am also fairly aware that people probably charge me a higher price because I am white and unable to fully (or even partially) communicate with them. This is just a fact of life here, at least for now.
On the other hand, my Spanish use in the classroom is getting better. I am supposed to speak to my students solely in English, which I do 99% of the time. I don't really have a choice. But I have learned the words for write, draw, be quite, etc., and I use them when I necessary. I also have my students write down the new vocab in Spanish and English on the board, and draw a picture. Once our new vocab is on the board they all copy this into their notebooks, which gives me time to copy the Spanish words into my own notebook. I will not pretend to have learned all my student's English vocab in Spanish, even with the help of my new system. But it is helping me with exposure. The other day I was trying to help a student in my class with special needs (who does not speak any English), and using very broken Spanish and lots of gesturing and visual aids, I eventually got the point across to him. As I was turning to leave him, the girl sitting next to him grabbed my arm excitedly and said "Tia! You are starting to learn more Spanish! Good job!" It was really endearing (especially with her accent).
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
On Being Sick in a Foriegn Country
So I've got a pretty bad cold, and I've been running a fever all day. I stayed home from school today, and I've been working on taking care of myself. I homemade chicken noodle soup last night, and I've been really intentional about eating lots of sick-friendly foods. I bought vitamin C tabs and I've been drinking hot liquids all week. One of the janitors at my school told me to juice many limes, heat the juice with honey and drink it hot. A friend who's lived here for the past two years (though is originally from Minnesota) told me to add cayenne pepper to this mix. This home remedy definitely clears out your sinuses and the honey is great for the throat. Still, despite my best efforts, I seem to be getting worse instead of better. Taking care of myself is exhausting. I am always mentally exhausted from so much learning, but the time intensive process of making soup, constantly making tea, and cleaning up after myself is physically exhausting. I am not so sick that I want my mommy, or anyone else for that matter, to come take care of me. But I am sick enough to wish for the comforts of the U.S.: I would love canned soup. I would love the convenience of honey that I can squirt out of a bear rather than spoon out of a jar. I would love a couch to lay on (my apartment does not have a living room, and therefore no couch or even upholstered chair). I would love a sweatshirt and a pair of slippers I didn't bring for lack of room in my suitcase. I would love a bathtub and hot water.
Still, I know that this experience is shaping me. This is why I'm here. Life is messy and uncomfortable at times, and I am definitely living down here. I have never been more aware of how alive I am. I have never been more conscious about the need to be intentional with my time and my actions. I have never been more aware of the direct relationship between that which makes me uncomfortable and the lesson I am learning from the experience. This experience is such a gift. This is why I'm here.
Still, I know that this experience is shaping me. This is why I'm here. Life is messy and uncomfortable at times, and I am definitely living down here. I have never been more aware of how alive I am. I have never been more conscious about the need to be intentional with my time and my actions. I have never been more aware of the direct relationship between that which makes me uncomfortable and the lesson I am learning from the experience. This experience is such a gift. This is why I'm here.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Still Learning
I feel like "still learning" could be the title of every post I ever create for the entire year I'm in Ecuador. I am figuring things out, but very very slowly. Poco a poco as they say here, or little by little. Teaching continues to rival the challenge of learning Spanish, and while I am actively working on both, I am not sure I'm doing all that well with either task at present.
I will definitely learn patience, flexibility, and adaptability if I successfully make it through this year. Today was especially trying for me. Yesterday I was told that I will be switching classrooms with another teacher because my classroom has a tile floor, while the Octavo homeroom classroom has an uneven, dirty, cement floor. Apparently parents complained about this, and as more parents will enter the octavo room than will my classroom, it makes more sense give the octavo students, and their parents, a "finished" classroom.
In the middle of the day today I was told that actually, we will not be switching rooms. However, teachers have been complaining about the loud music played by the dance teacher, who only comes to teach dance on Tuesdays. Since my classroom is somewhat out of the way, dance class will now be held in my classroom on Tuesdays, and I will be going to each of my students homeroom classrooms to teach my English lessons. I spent a lot of time preparing my classroom that morning with visuals for the day, and wasn't able to transport all of them to each room. Also, since there is no passing time between classes at my school, I was constantly frazzled and started each of my classes late. My students could tell and took full advantage of my feelings of ill-preparation by talking and playing with toys at every transition (which I was especially bad at facilitating today). To top it off, I have been preparing lessons for my sexto students out of a workbook called InSync 2A. As it turns out, all my sexto students were asked to buy InSync 1B, and therefore the lessons I planned for my double block (80 minutes) of sexto were completely null and void. I threw together some review games, but again, I was frazzled, and they didn't turn out all that well.
All of these things are definitely frustrating, and it is rare that I feel like I meet these challenges with the grace and adaptability that I would like to. Still, I find myself relying on this foundation of optimism that I find myself standing upon. I believe that I have the potential to make all of these things work. I believe I have the potential to gracefully accept whatever this school (and being in Ecuador in general) throws my way, and to adapt so that the outcome of the situation is still successful. Where this self-assurance is coming from is somewhat of a mystery to me. However, I am trying to nurture it intentionally and daily, so that it continues to be my companion throughout my adventure. I have a feeling that if I succumb to total doubt this experience will be a lot harder.
I will definitely learn patience, flexibility, and adaptability if I successfully make it through this year. Today was especially trying for me. Yesterday I was told that I will be switching classrooms with another teacher because my classroom has a tile floor, while the Octavo homeroom classroom has an uneven, dirty, cement floor. Apparently parents complained about this, and as more parents will enter the octavo room than will my classroom, it makes more sense give the octavo students, and their parents, a "finished" classroom.
In the middle of the day today I was told that actually, we will not be switching rooms. However, teachers have been complaining about the loud music played by the dance teacher, who only comes to teach dance on Tuesdays. Since my classroom is somewhat out of the way, dance class will now be held in my classroom on Tuesdays, and I will be going to each of my students homeroom classrooms to teach my English lessons. I spent a lot of time preparing my classroom that morning with visuals for the day, and wasn't able to transport all of them to each room. Also, since there is no passing time between classes at my school, I was constantly frazzled and started each of my classes late. My students could tell and took full advantage of my feelings of ill-preparation by talking and playing with toys at every transition (which I was especially bad at facilitating today). To top it off, I have been preparing lessons for my sexto students out of a workbook called InSync 2A. As it turns out, all my sexto students were asked to buy InSync 1B, and therefore the lessons I planned for my double block (80 minutes) of sexto were completely null and void. I threw together some review games, but again, I was frazzled, and they didn't turn out all that well.
All of these things are definitely frustrating, and it is rare that I feel like I meet these challenges with the grace and adaptability that I would like to. Still, I find myself relying on this foundation of optimism that I find myself standing upon. I believe that I have the potential to make all of these things work. I believe I have the potential to gracefully accept whatever this school (and being in Ecuador in general) throws my way, and to adapt so that the outcome of the situation is still successful. Where this self-assurance is coming from is somewhat of a mystery to me. However, I am trying to nurture it intentionally and daily, so that it continues to be my companion throughout my adventure. I have a feeling that if I succumb to total doubt this experience will be a lot harder.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Photos
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| The three blue domes are a part of the Cathedral of Cuenca. |
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| View of the street with Ecuadorian Flag. |
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| San Sebastian Church, taken from my apartment balcony. |
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| Santo Domingo Church, also taken from my balcony. |
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Learning Curve
Well I'm half way through my second week of school, and let me just say, I am not a very good elementary school teacher yet. I have sucked at creating procedures and enough structure in my daily lessons to invite productivity into my classroom. The only class I feel good about is Octavo, or 7th grade. Their English is great, and they're totally excited about the story writing project we've launched into. Quinto and Sexto, I definitely bomb every day. Septimo is questionable. Some lessons are better than others. I need to really work on making a ton of visuals and totally structuring my plans into lots of mini lessons. This overwhelms me. I want to do this, and to create lessons that are really on my student's level, but it's hard for me to gage what my student's level is. It is something I think about often though. Luckily, we start teaching the student's workbooks next week. Aka, I will not be left to my own devices. I have 8 units in each workbook to complete with each class. So, I just have to figure out how to best teach that unit, instead of what to teach and how to teach it at the same time.
It's funny, when I was in college, I never wanted to teach at a school that gave me a workbook and expected me to have my students complete it daily. Here, I am so grateful. This learning curve is BIG and I am quickly realizing that I may not ever feel totally confident in what I'm doing here. I have heard teachers say that after the first three years they really started to feel like they knew what they were doing. Unfortunately for my teaching career, I want to start graduate school in a social work program next year, so I may never know what it is to feel confident in my teaching skills. Still, I felt called to do this, and I am already growing from being pushed so much. I just worry my kids will be at a disadvantage because of my lacking in this arena.
My personal life is very much paralleling my professional life at the moment: I have to meet more learning curves. My Ecuadorian life is very different from the life I led in the United States. I was prepared for this in some ways, but in many ways I was not. Life is more holistic here in that you have to work for what you want all the time. For example, there are no coffee makers here. You have to actually make it in the morning, rather than just pouring in some grounds and pushing a button. If you want coffee you must boil the water in a pot on the stove, and then pour that water through what my fellow gringos have started calling a "coffee sock." A "coffee sock" is basically like an over sized, sock-shaped tea bag that you pour coffee grounds into, put over your cup, and then pour boiled water through. There is no such thing as cream here, so milk and sugar it is for me. There are also no canned beans. You have to rehydrate them, which involves soaking overnight. Even lighting my stove-top is a process that involves turning on the gas and lighting the burner with a lighter. I have never been good at lighting lighters, and so far I have singed off the baby hair on my knuckles twice while lighting the burner. Eating is definitely a more involved process, in that cooking involves a lot more effort.
Running errands also involves a lot more effort. First of all, I have to walk or take a cab everywhere, as I do not have a car, and I do not know the bus routes all that well yet. Sometimes I will opt for a cab, but most of the time I walk everywhere. Taking out cash from the bank involves a 10 minute walk to an ATM that accepts international debit cards, waiting in a line, and praying continuously that I do not get mugged on the way back to my apartment. Grocery shopping involves going to the market for most things, going to a tienda for chocolate, and going to SuperMaxi (the Westernized grocery store) for cheese, pre-sliced bread, and other products not found at the market. Supermaxi is about a 15 minute walk, so you need to be fairly committed. But, the clerks there usually speak some English, which has been so helpful.
All in all, my biggest challenge here is not knowing Spanish. I am learning new words and phrases, and my students, co-workers, and friends speak it to and around me constantly. At times I am in the company of many, and feel fairly lonely, as I totally cannot follow the conversation. One of reasons I came here is to learn Spanish, and I will. But these first 12 days have brought lots of misunderstandings, total uncertainty, and repeated apologizing on my part.
Learning so many new things is exhausting. I realized today, that I have not felt completely comfortable since I left Minnesota. It's not that I am ragingly homesick, or that I berate myself constantly for my lack of teaching and Spanish skills. The thing is, learning is a lot of work, and I never really feel comfortable during a learning process. I usually start feeling comfortable when I feel confident in my ability to do something. So I guess, exhausted as I am, the only real option I have is to put in the work, and build my teaching and Spanish skills so that I do not constantly live with a low level of discomfort looming over me.
It's funny, when I was in college, I never wanted to teach at a school that gave me a workbook and expected me to have my students complete it daily. Here, I am so grateful. This learning curve is BIG and I am quickly realizing that I may not ever feel totally confident in what I'm doing here. I have heard teachers say that after the first three years they really started to feel like they knew what they were doing. Unfortunately for my teaching career, I want to start graduate school in a social work program next year, so I may never know what it is to feel confident in my teaching skills. Still, I felt called to do this, and I am already growing from being pushed so much. I just worry my kids will be at a disadvantage because of my lacking in this arena.
My personal life is very much paralleling my professional life at the moment: I have to meet more learning curves. My Ecuadorian life is very different from the life I led in the United States. I was prepared for this in some ways, but in many ways I was not. Life is more holistic here in that you have to work for what you want all the time. For example, there are no coffee makers here. You have to actually make it in the morning, rather than just pouring in some grounds and pushing a button. If you want coffee you must boil the water in a pot on the stove, and then pour that water through what my fellow gringos have started calling a "coffee sock." A "coffee sock" is basically like an over sized, sock-shaped tea bag that you pour coffee grounds into, put over your cup, and then pour boiled water through. There is no such thing as cream here, so milk and sugar it is for me. There are also no canned beans. You have to rehydrate them, which involves soaking overnight. Even lighting my stove-top is a process that involves turning on the gas and lighting the burner with a lighter. I have never been good at lighting lighters, and so far I have singed off the baby hair on my knuckles twice while lighting the burner. Eating is definitely a more involved process, in that cooking involves a lot more effort.
Running errands also involves a lot more effort. First of all, I have to walk or take a cab everywhere, as I do not have a car, and I do not know the bus routes all that well yet. Sometimes I will opt for a cab, but most of the time I walk everywhere. Taking out cash from the bank involves a 10 minute walk to an ATM that accepts international debit cards, waiting in a line, and praying continuously that I do not get mugged on the way back to my apartment. Grocery shopping involves going to the market for most things, going to a tienda for chocolate, and going to SuperMaxi (the Westernized grocery store) for cheese, pre-sliced bread, and other products not found at the market. Supermaxi is about a 15 minute walk, so you need to be fairly committed. But, the clerks there usually speak some English, which has been so helpful.
All in all, my biggest challenge here is not knowing Spanish. I am learning new words and phrases, and my students, co-workers, and friends speak it to and around me constantly. At times I am in the company of many, and feel fairly lonely, as I totally cannot follow the conversation. One of reasons I came here is to learn Spanish, and I will. But these first 12 days have brought lots of misunderstandings, total uncertainty, and repeated apologizing on my part.
Learning so many new things is exhausting. I realized today, that I have not felt completely comfortable since I left Minnesota. It's not that I am ragingly homesick, or that I berate myself constantly for my lack of teaching and Spanish skills. The thing is, learning is a lot of work, and I never really feel comfortable during a learning process. I usually start feeling comfortable when I feel confident in my ability to do something. So I guess, exhausted as I am, the only real option I have is to put in the work, and build my teaching and Spanish skills so that I do not constantly live with a low level of discomfort looming over me.
Friday, September 7, 2012
One week down, 33 to go.
I just finished my first week of being an elementary school English teacher in Ecuador. Whew I am tired. I am teaching Quinto, Sexto, Septimo, and Octavo, which translates to fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh grades, because kindergarten here is called primero. All of the teachers at my school go by their first names, and students call us Tia or Tio (aunt or uncle) depending on our sex. I love being called Tia Becca, because Krauss is a name I share with my family. Becca is my own, and I feel like my students (and the kids I worked with in Chicago) are asking for me personally, when they call my name. I have also never felt old enough to be called Ms. Krauss. Maybe I never will.
In terms of my classes, think I have a fairly good grasp on how to teach my fifth, sixth, and seventh graders, but I am definitely grasping at straws with my fourth graders. Part of this is that their English is way lower than it is supposed to be at present, so they get bored when I'm giving directions because they don't understand me. They always speak to me in Spanish, and since I don't understand them, they are easily discouraged. Although I created models for all the activities we did in class, I am still learning how to effectively give directions so that my students understand and participate. Every day I thought I'd created a better model and method to give directions so that my students would understand, and every day my students got bored and start talking to one another, and playing with toys that they brought to class. I learned today that my students should not be bringing toys to class (I wondered if this was cultural and maybe I was somehow being insensitive by asking my students to put away their toys), and that I need to be sending messages home to their parents if this persists. My administration has told me that this class is fairly immature, so we need to use as much parental reinforcement as possible concerning their behavior. One perk of working in a private school is that there is a lot of parental involvement.
I really do like my quinto students, despite the fact that they don't listen. They are so tender. They always want hug me when they come in the room, or when they see me in the morning or after school. The girls always want to touch my earrings, my hair, or my scarf. The boys always ask me about watching Ecuadorian soccer. One boy in particular, who has almost no English speaking skills, asked me my name on the first day, and has taken care to learn how to pronounce it correctly. When his homeroom teacher called me Rebecca one day, he very quickly corrected her and told her my name is Tia Becca.
Outside of teaching, my life is only sort of coming together. I still do not have housing, and the kitchen in my hostel is currently under construction which has made eating a little bit precarious. I have gone to friend's apartments and such for meals, but I am not invited all the time (nor do I want anyone to feel the need to invite me to eat every meal with them), so sometimes my dinners consist of cheese and crackers. I have eaten out a fair amount, but that also gets expensive. All the other international teachers have worked out their housing situations already (they had more time as they were able to make it for orientation), so I am kind of on the fence. There is a new group of English teachers coming to work for CEDEI English, the English tutoring school for adults that is associated with my school, but it will be another week until they arrive. This situation is a test of my patience, to say the least, but I am working on trusting the process and accepting that this is somehow part of the plan.
Hopefully I will be posting pictures in my next blog entries, so you can all see my classroom, etc.
In terms of my classes, think I have a fairly good grasp on how to teach my fifth, sixth, and seventh graders, but I am definitely grasping at straws with my fourth graders. Part of this is that their English is way lower than it is supposed to be at present, so they get bored when I'm giving directions because they don't understand me. They always speak to me in Spanish, and since I don't understand them, they are easily discouraged. Although I created models for all the activities we did in class, I am still learning how to effectively give directions so that my students understand and participate. Every day I thought I'd created a better model and method to give directions so that my students would understand, and every day my students got bored and start talking to one another, and playing with toys that they brought to class. I learned today that my students should not be bringing toys to class (I wondered if this was cultural and maybe I was somehow being insensitive by asking my students to put away their toys), and that I need to be sending messages home to their parents if this persists. My administration has told me that this class is fairly immature, so we need to use as much parental reinforcement as possible concerning their behavior. One perk of working in a private school is that there is a lot of parental involvement.
I really do like my quinto students, despite the fact that they don't listen. They are so tender. They always want hug me when they come in the room, or when they see me in the morning or after school. The girls always want to touch my earrings, my hair, or my scarf. The boys always ask me about watching Ecuadorian soccer. One boy in particular, who has almost no English speaking skills, asked me my name on the first day, and has taken care to learn how to pronounce it correctly. When his homeroom teacher called me Rebecca one day, he very quickly corrected her and told her my name is Tia Becca.
Outside of teaching, my life is only sort of coming together. I still do not have housing, and the kitchen in my hostel is currently under construction which has made eating a little bit precarious. I have gone to friend's apartments and such for meals, but I am not invited all the time (nor do I want anyone to feel the need to invite me to eat every meal with them), so sometimes my dinners consist of cheese and crackers. I have eaten out a fair amount, but that also gets expensive. All the other international teachers have worked out their housing situations already (they had more time as they were able to make it for orientation), so I am kind of on the fence. There is a new group of English teachers coming to work for CEDEI English, the English tutoring school for adults that is associated with my school, but it will be another week until they arrive. This situation is a test of my patience, to say the least, but I am working on trusting the process and accepting that this is somehow part of the plan.
Hopefully I will be posting pictures in my next blog entries, so you can all see my classroom, etc.
Monday, September 3, 2012
Happy Birthday to Me
Today was the first day of school, and also my 25th birthday.
It was a short day at school, as we just had inaugural speeches (which of course I did not understand) and then each teacher did a short art project with a class of students and their parents. I worked with my sexto students (which is 5th grade, as kindergarten here is called primero), and my students and parents made felt owls which we glued to the walls. Tape doesn't work very well on the walls here, as they are cinder block and paint, so if you want to hang something up you use a hot glue gun. Each parent was also asked to write a message to his or her student in a caption bubble, which we glued up next to the owls. One of my co-workers translated some of these for me, and the tenderness the parents expressed to their children was really heartwarming. Even the fathers, who may or may not subscribe to some form of machismo (I haven't really figured this out yet in Ecuadorian culture, so I don't know the degree to which machismo is a factor here) expressed their love and hopes for their child with the same level of sentimentalism as did the mothers.
Today while greeting all the parents and students, I followed the Ecuadorian custom of kissing everyone on the right cheek. I have to say I very much enjoy this custom. When I worked in Chicago I often thought about the "rule" I've heard, that there are psychological benefits to receiving seven "good touches" a day. I am almost positive that my girls at Mercy did not meet this target number on a daily basis. Today I must have kissed thirty people's cheeks. Every day when I walk into school, I will greet my Ecuadorian co-workers that way. I wonder if people here experience some psychological benefit, which many in the U.S. do not, simply because of this custom.
After school, my fellow gringos and I went to eat at a Colombian restaurant to celebrate my birthday. We also went to a shop that sells chocolate covered fruit on a stick. I got milk chocolate covered strawberries, though there are many variations. It was a great way to celebrate midday.
It was a short day at school, as we just had inaugural speeches (which of course I did not understand) and then each teacher did a short art project with a class of students and their parents. I worked with my sexto students (which is 5th grade, as kindergarten here is called primero), and my students and parents made felt owls which we glued to the walls. Tape doesn't work very well on the walls here, as they are cinder block and paint, so if you want to hang something up you use a hot glue gun. Each parent was also asked to write a message to his or her student in a caption bubble, which we glued up next to the owls. One of my co-workers translated some of these for me, and the tenderness the parents expressed to their children was really heartwarming. Even the fathers, who may or may not subscribe to some form of machismo (I haven't really figured this out yet in Ecuadorian culture, so I don't know the degree to which machismo is a factor here) expressed their love and hopes for their child with the same level of sentimentalism as did the mothers.
Today while greeting all the parents and students, I followed the Ecuadorian custom of kissing everyone on the right cheek. I have to say I very much enjoy this custom. When I worked in Chicago I often thought about the "rule" I've heard, that there are psychological benefits to receiving seven "good touches" a day. I am almost positive that my girls at Mercy did not meet this target number on a daily basis. Today I must have kissed thirty people's cheeks. Every day when I walk into school, I will greet my Ecuadorian co-workers that way. I wonder if people here experience some psychological benefit, which many in the U.S. do not, simply because of this custom.
After school, my fellow gringos and I went to eat at a Colombian restaurant to celebrate my birthday. We also went to a shop that sells chocolate covered fruit on a stick. I got milk chocolate covered strawberries, though there are many variations. It was a great way to celebrate midday.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
First Impressions
So I have now been in Cuenca, Ecuador for almost two and a half days. It feels like I have been here for much longer because I have done so much in such a short time.
On Thursday, August 30th, I flew from Minneapolis to Miami, and then from Miami to Quito, Ecuador, the capitol city. LAN Ecuador, the airline I took from Miami to Quito, was very impressive. I do not fly internationally very often, so maybe this is not as impressive as I think it is, but there was a touch-screen screen on the seat back of every seat, so each passenger could watch his or her own movie, tv show, or listen to the music or play the game of his or her choice. Unfortunately, I became ill after eating the food provided by the airline, and I ended up vomiting in the airplane bathroom. Maybe there is another kind of mile-high club that I inadvertently joined. Anyway, I was still feeling pretty weak when we landed in Quito, but I was able to take a taxi from the airport to the hostel I had reservations at, as I had a 17 hour layover in Quito before my flight to Cuenca. Once safely at my hostel, I sent a few emails and promptly went to sleep. I will be honest, I had a lot of anxiety that night. I spoke to one of my favorite people in Chicago the night before I left, and he expressed a lot of concern about me travelling alone, staying in hostels, getting ripped off by taxi drivers, and basically being some kind of easy prey. Although I was aware of these things before, his words stayed with me during my travels and I was hyper aware, probably to the point of being unnecessarily skittish, for the first 48 hours of being in Ecuador.
I flew to Cuenca the next day, and checked into my hostel there with no problem. I was able to meet up with an international teacher from my school who is beginning her third year teaching at Cedei, and who also happens to be from Minnesota. She cooked me dinner and introduced me to some of the other international teachers with whom I will be working this year. So far I've met five international teachers (all of them are from the U.S.), though there are others. My first night we just hung out, drank a few beers, talked, and listened to music. To generalize, we are all twenty-somethings with bachelors degrees looking for some kind of adventure; we do come from a wide variety of background and experience levels, however. I also speak the absolute least amount of Spanish out of the group of us that I've met so far. Good thing I am teaching English to the older kids who already understand most English.
Yesterday, my first full day in Cuenca, I went with some of the other teachers to the school to see my classroom and get my teaching materials for the year. This was overwhelming. I got my class list and was able to take home some of the materials I will be using to teach my students. Many teachers were finishing up projects and preparing their rooms for the school year, but I was so overwhelmed I didn't do much. I am hoping to take time next weekend to spruce things up a bit. I am able to paint anything I want in my room, so I am going to paint two huge trees (This will come as no surprise to my MercyWorks Community) from which I will hang my students art and other projects as leaves.
School supplies are really, really expensive in Cuenca, so the school does not have much. There are two five inch stacks of construction paper which are meant to last the school the entire year. We have some paint, markers, crayons, etc., but like I said, what we do have is meant to last the whole year. This means I will be doing a lot to create "something out of nothing," which I'm convinced can be done with a little ingenuity. Hopefully I have enough to make it all work!
On a totally different topic, Cuenca is cold. Well, not cold by Minnesota or Chicago standards, but definitely colder than I expected it to be. It has been between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit every day, but there is no heat in buildings so we all wear our jackets and many, many layers all day long. I sleep with lots and lots of blankets on each night, and it is the only time I am truly warm. My shower, at best, gets to luke-warm. I have consistently taken the fastest showers of my life so far. I am glad I brought three pairs of wool socks. I wish I had brought more sweaters, but I did bring about 6. And I brought a polar fleece and my nice Loki jacket, which is rain and wind resistant with a fleece lining. I will be wearing these daily.
I will write more again soon. My first day of class is tomorrow, and I am nervous but also so excited. I hope this school year starts off on a good note!
On Thursday, August 30th, I flew from Minneapolis to Miami, and then from Miami to Quito, Ecuador, the capitol city. LAN Ecuador, the airline I took from Miami to Quito, was very impressive. I do not fly internationally very often, so maybe this is not as impressive as I think it is, but there was a touch-screen screen on the seat back of every seat, so each passenger could watch his or her own movie, tv show, or listen to the music or play the game of his or her choice. Unfortunately, I became ill after eating the food provided by the airline, and I ended up vomiting in the airplane bathroom. Maybe there is another kind of mile-high club that I inadvertently joined. Anyway, I was still feeling pretty weak when we landed in Quito, but I was able to take a taxi from the airport to the hostel I had reservations at, as I had a 17 hour layover in Quito before my flight to Cuenca. Once safely at my hostel, I sent a few emails and promptly went to sleep. I will be honest, I had a lot of anxiety that night. I spoke to one of my favorite people in Chicago the night before I left, and he expressed a lot of concern about me travelling alone, staying in hostels, getting ripped off by taxi drivers, and basically being some kind of easy prey. Although I was aware of these things before, his words stayed with me during my travels and I was hyper aware, probably to the point of being unnecessarily skittish, for the first 48 hours of being in Ecuador.
I flew to Cuenca the next day, and checked into my hostel there with no problem. I was able to meet up with an international teacher from my school who is beginning her third year teaching at Cedei, and who also happens to be from Minnesota. She cooked me dinner and introduced me to some of the other international teachers with whom I will be working this year. So far I've met five international teachers (all of them are from the U.S.), though there are others. My first night we just hung out, drank a few beers, talked, and listened to music. To generalize, we are all twenty-somethings with bachelors degrees looking for some kind of adventure; we do come from a wide variety of background and experience levels, however. I also speak the absolute least amount of Spanish out of the group of us that I've met so far. Good thing I am teaching English to the older kids who already understand most English.
Yesterday, my first full day in Cuenca, I went with some of the other teachers to the school to see my classroom and get my teaching materials for the year. This was overwhelming. I got my class list and was able to take home some of the materials I will be using to teach my students. Many teachers were finishing up projects and preparing their rooms for the school year, but I was so overwhelmed I didn't do much. I am hoping to take time next weekend to spruce things up a bit. I am able to paint anything I want in my room, so I am going to paint two huge trees (This will come as no surprise to my MercyWorks Community) from which I will hang my students art and other projects as leaves.
School supplies are really, really expensive in Cuenca, so the school does not have much. There are two five inch stacks of construction paper which are meant to last the school the entire year. We have some paint, markers, crayons, etc., but like I said, what we do have is meant to last the whole year. This means I will be doing a lot to create "something out of nothing," which I'm convinced can be done with a little ingenuity. Hopefully I have enough to make it all work!
On a totally different topic, Cuenca is cold. Well, not cold by Minnesota or Chicago standards, but definitely colder than I expected it to be. It has been between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit every day, but there is no heat in buildings so we all wear our jackets and many, many layers all day long. I sleep with lots and lots of blankets on each night, and it is the only time I am truly warm. My shower, at best, gets to luke-warm. I have consistently taken the fastest showers of my life so far. I am glad I brought three pairs of wool socks. I wish I had brought more sweaters, but I did bring about 6. And I brought a polar fleece and my nice Loki jacket, which is rain and wind resistant with a fleece lining. I will be wearing these daily.
I will write more again soon. My first day of class is tomorrow, and I am nervous but also so excited. I hope this school year starts off on a good note!
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Leaving
After many phone calls to the consulate and emails to my contact at Cedei, I will finally be leaving for Ecuador tomorrow. The thing is, I am terrified. Rationally, I know that I have wanted to live out of the U.S. since I was in middle school, and that I have been specifically working on living in South America since January. Irrationally, I wish I didn't have such big dreams. In all honesty, I am afraid this might be so hard I don't enjoy it.
On the flip side of my fear is a sense of so many still-unkown experiences. This could be really hard, but it could also turn out to be the best decision I ever made.
On the flip side of my fear is a sense of so many still-unkown experiences. This could be really hard, but it could also turn out to be the best decision I ever made.
Friday, August 24, 2012
Still in the U.S.
If things had gone according to plan, I would currently be flying somewhere over the Gulf of Mexico on my way to Quito. Unfortunately, things often do not go according to plan, and I am still in the U.S. because my visa is still being processed. I am trying as much as possible to have a "c'est la vie" attitude towards all of this, and to believe that some unseen good will come out of this situation. To be honest, though, there are moments throughout these last two days when I have not done so well with this. Still, I have hope that this will all work itself out soon, and my adventure will contine as planned.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
And so it begins...
Hello everyone,
I have not officially left on my adventure yet, but I wanted to set up my blog now in an attempt to hold myself accountable to it. Here's a little info about where I'm going and what I'm doing.
I will be living in Cuenca, Ecuador, which is a city of just over 500,000 people located in the Andes mountains, in the southern part of Ecuador. Cuenca is a city with a history of female entrepreneurship, and as a result one website I read listed that the ratio of women to men there is 2:1. Cuenca was also named the #1 international retirement destination for 2009, and apparently has a growing community of retired ex-patriots from the U.S., Canada, and Western Europe. The weather there ranges from about 65-85 degrees Fahrenheit all year round, though it does get colder at night. I've been told by others who've been to Cuenca, that I'm going to be living in a kind of paradise.
I will be teaching English language at an international school called CEDEI, though which grades I will specifically be teaching has yet to be finalized. The students at the school start English immersion in pre-school, and I am expected to teach my students using only English. This is good for me, because I do not speak any Spanish (yet). I will be taking Spanish classes upon my arrival as a part of my position, and I also get the chance to take Salsa dancing lessons.
I am not sure where I will be living yet, because we have to find our own housing once we get there. I will be staying in a hostel for the first two weeks, and hopefully will figure out a plan upon my arrival. I do get support in my housing search (especially with the language) from my school, which is the only thing placating me about this aspect of my trip. It wouldn't be an adventure without a little fear though, right?
I leave on Friday and will write again once I get there and get myself situated. Wish me luck.
I have not officially left on my adventure yet, but I wanted to set up my blog now in an attempt to hold myself accountable to it. Here's a little info about where I'm going and what I'm doing.
I will be living in Cuenca, Ecuador, which is a city of just over 500,000 people located in the Andes mountains, in the southern part of Ecuador. Cuenca is a city with a history of female entrepreneurship, and as a result one website I read listed that the ratio of women to men there is 2:1. Cuenca was also named the #1 international retirement destination for 2009, and apparently has a growing community of retired ex-patriots from the U.S., Canada, and Western Europe. The weather there ranges from about 65-85 degrees Fahrenheit all year round, though it does get colder at night. I've been told by others who've been to Cuenca, that I'm going to be living in a kind of paradise.
I will be teaching English language at an international school called CEDEI, though which grades I will specifically be teaching has yet to be finalized. The students at the school start English immersion in pre-school, and I am expected to teach my students using only English. This is good for me, because I do not speak any Spanish (yet). I will be taking Spanish classes upon my arrival as a part of my position, and I also get the chance to take Salsa dancing lessons.
I am not sure where I will be living yet, because we have to find our own housing once we get there. I will be staying in a hostel for the first two weeks, and hopefully will figure out a plan upon my arrival. I do get support in my housing search (especially with the language) from my school, which is the only thing placating me about this aspect of my trip. It wouldn't be an adventure without a little fear though, right?
I leave on Friday and will write again once I get there and get myself situated. Wish me luck.
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