Alone?

This week was my first solo excursion in a few ways. As I wrote in an earlier entry, I love my children. As the week progressed, they started testing my boundaries, but we had fun & they learned a lot about the history surrounding "A Raisin in the Sun" & we took a look at "A Dream Deferred," but that didn't go as well as I'd hoped. I'm still trying to figure out how to do the sharing thing when I put the kids into groups because they seem to get bored when a group presents in front of the whole class, even when it takes 3 minutes. They only want to hear themselves talk...not sure what to do about this.

I also had the 7th graders on Friday because my teacher took a sick day. In other words, I was alone in the class all day with every class. I was so excited & the day started off great with the first 7th grade class. My teacher didn't leave any lesson plans because she does the same thing every day: read & discuss. Since they are reading "Flowers for Algernon," I thought we could do more with the allotted 90 minute class period. We read & talked for the first 40 minutes, then I had them draw what they thought two of the characters from the story looked like. After they were done, some of them showed off their pictures and explained why they gave so & so glasses or why Charlie was bald, etc. I thought they were great & they really wanted to read some more. After we got to a particularly interesting part in the book, I made them stop. I thought that this would make them more eager to read on Monday. Then we did a "chalk talk" with the word "Intelligence." I skewed this one a little by asking them which words they thought Charlie has, was going to have, or would never have. They were really into it & some of them asked to read more before class ended instead of playing the game they asked to play at the beginning of the day. CRAZY RIGHT!?  Since there were only 5 minutes left in class, I let the ones who wanted to read read & the others play mafia mainly because they had been so awesome with me & I'm not even their teacher.

As for the 8th graders, I want to continue to do group work with them because they enjoyed the prezi & 2 truths & a lie learning stations we did (below).

Lorraine Hansberry "2 truths & a lie" station

Civil Rights Movement prezi station

In other news, this weekend was the birthday of one of the girls in the program (Brittany) so we all went out Saturday night to celebrate her birthday. Basically we danced until around midnight & we were all tired & sweaty. Us 5 chicas pretty much danced & sang to all the songs in English & pretended to know what all of the others were saying. We jumped, we got balloons, we eyeballed my weirdos...but we've mastered turning down weird Ecuadorians who want to dance: we bring one of our host brothers or cousins & he is our bodyguard. I really love the girls in the program & it's nice because we're all so different, yet we're all teachers so we like to have fun & get a good nights rest. 

Today my body HURT. I did yoga & so much dancing yesterday so my legs & back felt so stiff, but Carol, Kat, & I walked a million miles today so I expect to be even more sore tomorrow :] We walked all the way to the Southern most part of Quito where all of the churches, museums, & Virgen Mary statues are. There are also a lot of amazing restaurants down an alley on that side of town called La Ruba. We had lunch in a small place with lots of windows & fresh air, good smelling food, plants, a spiral staircase, everything one would want in a teeny tiny lunch spot. I got llapangachos because they're my favorite Ecuadorian dish with plantains, avacado, & some tender pork. Carol got some really good lamb & kat got seabass with a delicious mushroom sauce. I have also taken to getting Jugo de Guanabana at every meal (especially after a day of walking) because it's one of my favorite fruits here & all the juices are like smoothies. All of this for $7 & a sunburn, a small price to pay for some yum & buildings that are beautiful at the old age of 500. 

I've also noticed that I really want to venture in any sanctuary or museum not because I feel especially compelled to pray or read about the history of Ecuador in a language I don't understand, but rather because Quito has started making my body ache for isolation. Yesterday I started planning my trip for Isla de Plata, the "poor man's Galapagos." It's cheap ($8 bus ride to the coast, $32 round trip boat ride to the island & $4 a night at a hostel vs. $2000 Gallapagos...decision made). I saw pictures of the huge rocks, waves, blue footed boobies, & humpback whales. As scared as my parents are for me to go alone, I couldn't be more excited. There is no such thing as being "alone" in Quito. Saturday I did a little yoga in the dining room & I tried really hard to only listen to my head, but the constant car alarms & shouting outside creeps always creeps in. Even when I'm in my room I'm never alone because I can always hear my family shouting from upstairs to downstairs or they'll come in without warning while I'm reading or writing or just relaxing. It's part of the culture, a part I definitely could do without. I don't mind the personal bubble part because I like getting a kiss on the cheek everytime I say hello or goodbye, but when I get home from school I just want to be alone in my own head & that's nearly impossible in Quito & in my home. 

sanctuary

simplicity. patience. compassion.

Laurennnn

SOLO PROFESSORA!

My first two days of solo teaching the 8^th graders has gone beautifully...much better than I imagined really. Every teaching in the middle grades hates the 8B class, but I think I might love them. They talk a lot, but sometimes teachers who are annoyed or are tired of dealing with kids in general forget what it's like to have students who just sit there & look at you (2^nd period 11^th grade honors last semester...grrrr) instead of want to talk, even if it is at the same time, about what we're talking about in class. That's what's so cool about them, they are REEEEALLY interested in what we're learning, they want to know more. Yesterday the 8As who I also like a lot but so does everyone got through everything I planned- The intro of myself, the unit, chalk talk, & a little info about the origins of “The American Dream.” The 8Bs however only got through the unit intro because they were being so inquisitive: What is diabetes? What is your camp called? Are you a hippy? What's your sister's name? What's your cousin's name? It was cool & new....they were actually interested in what I was telling them. Then when we moved to the unit intro, that transcended to the next issue: Who wrote this play? Are we going to go outside? Can we watch videos? Can we do group work? They were actually investing in what I asked them to do: Make expectations for me & for their unit. I'm impressed really & also a little worried about why all the teacher hate their class if I have started loving them individually & as a group, especially the kid that teachers hate the most: Ricardo. Ricardo volunteered to read, to answer, he asked questions, he offeredn any previous knowledge he had, he said yes ma'am...it was cool. I really love it here & being here makes me realize that I am most definitely supposed to be a teacher & I really like these younger kids. I remember last semester I was really excited to have 11^th graders, but I ended up liking my 9^th graders way more. I also think I like these kids so much because half the time they are explaining things to each other in Spanish so they can understand better & they are very humble about what they have left to learn. Yesterday I heard some of the teachers bitching about how these kids are so spoiled & hard to deal with. I want to ask these teachers the last time they taught American students. I'm almost positive the answer will either be “5 years” or “never.” I don't care how Ecuadorian rich these kids are, they are so not spoiled compared to the little shit heads that I taught at Apalachee. They were suucchhh shit heads compared to these kids who are not only eager to learn but RESPECT you as a teacher (I know, respect, seems crazy right?). I have yet to figure out what grade or types of kids I will be teaching in the future, but if it's 8^th grade ESL kids forever, that will be awesome.

I can also feel my optimism & excitement about the 8^th graders annoying my MT who really hates them. She, however, makes them sit in their desks, face the front & listen to her for 45 or 90 minutes. I would be mean to her, too. After class I asked them how it could go better, what they liked, etc. & one two of the girls that are pretty talkative said “class was awesome & fun today!”, “Let's do our journals at the beginning, but I liked this prompt,” “Those videos were cool.” I smiles :]

So here's what we did...

At the beginning of class, we picked up where we left off yesterday with chalk talk about “The American Dream.” They wrote some pretty funny stuff: “America” (duh), “The Simpsons” (the kid that wrote this said that The Simpsons was what he wrote because they're a family with jobs), “McDonalds”, “hamburgers” (two girls wrote these & they said that people with American Dream have food & that McDonalds did so well in American that now it's everywhere), “Money” (someone in both classes wrote money), “Broadway” (this kid said he wrote that because people who've reached the American Dream live in NY & go to plays), and “dog” (everyone in America has dogs, right). After talking about why we put this, we broke into two groups (there are only 13 kids in this class, 2 were absent, so two groups was fine) & they either watched a prezi on the Civil Rights Movement or played "2 truths and a lie" about Lorraine Hansberry. Afterwards, we watched a video made by a senior about the Civil Rights Movement. They got really into this, asked a lot of "why" questions that a lot of their peers tried to answer. 

After re-joining as a class, the kids shared what they found interesting, cool, or disturbing about what they had learned in their groups with the other group. It went really well & we even had time left in the first half so we listened to Nina Simone's "Young, Gifted, and Black" & they read the lyrics. They made some god connections (trying to inspire & tell other that they can be black & taleneted, etc.) so I was really excited about the next half of the period. 

After their break, I showed them a prezi that was basically a bunch of youtube videos about different elements of a play & how to read it. They got really into it (link to prezi). In other words, class was great for the 8Bers & the 8Aers were OK too even though they only got to do the first half of the lesson. I'm excited for this unit of learning!

Mindo- OH MIS DIOS!

Let me start at the beginning of this lovely weekend of TRUE giggling & smiling. Yesterday we got into Mindo, a small jungle town about an hour & a half Northwest of Quito. It's completely different from Quito in a very good way...less people, safe, right smack in the middle of the rainforest & the people seem calm, content, & happy. When we got here, we checked in to our hostal called the Birdwatcher's Hostal (which if you ever go to Mindo, this is THE place to stay). It's owned by this sweet family (2 bros + mom/dad). The dad is an ex-policeman, the mom cooks food, & the son plays music/speaks english to the gringos/us :]

After we checked in, we went to the smallest/best place for food in Mindo. A little boy that was 10 years old took our order & we watched them grill our peces (fish), chocho (corn), carne (meant), y bananas verde all outside on hot lava rocks (see picture). It was an elderly woman and two little boys making the food...I ordered grilled chocho con queso (corn with cheese and parmasean) y patacones (fried plantains) & I ate every single crumb (It was $2.50 by the way). The whole family seemsed so happy, sititng around cooking, eating, talking to locals, drinking beer....so relxed. After all that food, we came back & slept/read in our hammocks. We were going to go to a chocolate tour, but we decided drink our $5 box of Ecuador cabernet instead which was a great because we drank it walking to el concierto de la rana where they only gave us a little wine. It was fate, though, because at the frog concert we met a twelve year-old nino named Steban. This kid was the essence of a perfect student/teacher/human. He was our teacher/guide for the frog conert, bringing us on a night hike & teaching us everything he knew about spiders, frogs, the plants, bacteria, water...EVERYTHING. He didn't go to school very often because he liked learning on his walks mostly (an experiential educators dream, right!). So now this blog entry is mainly going to be about two people that we met at the frog concert & spent the whole next day with: Steban y Laura. After our night with the frogs & bugs & a stick that glowed in the dark (yes, it glowed in the dark because of the microbacteria on it...only on dying plants. Granted I heard all of this en Espanol but I saw this glowing stick with mi ojos, it was awesome). We asked Steban if he'd hang out with us today because we wanted him to take us to all of his favorite places & a chick named Laura from Buenas Aires wanted to come, too. Immediately I fell in love with both of these humans. I spoke Spanish with them a lot the next day so that was encouraging.

That night we were all so exhausted (I literally fell asleep in the shower mainly because of wine, walking, & how warm it was). The next morning el madre de hostal made us desayuno of pan con jam, bananas, deviled eggs, queso, jugo, cafe, & yuca. It was delicious. Then we met Steban y Laura in el parque at 9 a.m. By 11:30 we had walked 3 KM & zip-lined through the canopies (10 zip-lines for $10!). At first I didn't want to do this because I'd wanted to hike around/explore, but I was glad I did it because you could see a lot of the rainforest from a totally differnet perspecive up there- it was awesome. The guides let us superman (they called us superchicas) or mariposa (upside down superman backwards) through the jungle so we could look down at el rio pequino y banana trees & all the plantas. We could see all of Mindo from there...it was beautiful. They let Steban come for free & he had a lot of fun giggling with us. Laura was also smiling the whole time. This 26 year old Argentine was not only gorgeous with short curly hair, artisitc, & funny, she also had the aura of love around her. She's this skateboarder with a pierced lip who goes to school & works on films in Buenos Aires. She's traveling all around Ecuador by herself & told us about places we should visit (like Isla de Palta/Playa los Frailes instead of Galapagos because it's a less touristy/cheaper island with the same wildlife). She was a total free spirit, a happy lady that wrote a lot & was very curious. I think I'm in love with her.

After the canopies we walked about 3 more km to the cascades which were beautiful. We were in the clouds so it was pouring rain, but my kayaking friends would have been aching to climb in their boats & jump in this huge river. It was smaller than the kings in CA, but it has just as much water pumping through it. Apparently there are 3 big cascades there, but we were so tired to we only saw 2 & called it a day. Brittany & I got in the waterfall pool even thought it was freezing, but how many opporunities do you get to be in an Ecuadorian waterfall pool, really? There was un perro (a dog) that followed us from Mindo all the way to the cascades. We fed him some sausage (yeah, there were kabobs of sausage & plantains on the way down the trail...like I said, I BELONG here).

 Steban y Laura found a truck that would bring us back down the mountain which was great because we'd walked something like 7 km up the mountain in the rain only on brekfast & sausage kabobs. The truck ride was cool because we flew down the mountain listening to French music & I was laughing so hard, taking the moment to just enjoy how great the days was with all of these people I'd fallen in love with in the back of a truck. I have a problem with always looking ahead ("I can't wait to start teaching Monday!" "I'm so hungry/tired & ready to eat/sleep!", etc.), so this was a rare & special moment for me to realize how blissfully happy, wet, & giggly I was just to be completely exhaused from having so much fun before 3:30. The rest of the day was equally lovely: we ate food (again, $5 talapia with rice, tomatoes) and  coffee, vanibrowni halado with Laura (again, just fell more in love with this girl as she told us about her plans & her life...she'd one of those people you WANT to listen to, not a gir/dudel who talks a lot about nothing...), then we came back to the hostal to drink some wine & listen to the brothers play music.

I realize I haven't said anything about the 4 girls I'm wisht: Carol (I've written about her before), Fausat ( beautiful afro-reina), Brittany (mentioned her on my first blog), & the coolest little lady who acts like Morgan from Eng. Ed. Cohort so I feel like I've already been in love with her (Kat). I'll write more about them as we get to know each other, but we're all very different so it's a nice balance.

I love Mindo. I WILL come back!!!!!!!

HAM-SI!

FYI: All words in green are links to more info/references.

At an inopportune moment I was plucked out of my yoga classes & put in a room that is too small for me to even stretch in. Last summer a lovely lady named Amy taught me a lot about balance, its role in our lives, how we can obtain it, etc. all through conversations on the mountains of Northern California. This is where I go every time I'm in shavasna (the cliff we hiked to for sunrise, I fell asleep on, & woke up alone with the sun pink & sending enormous shadows of the mountains on my cliff, in my sleeping bag, & over the Kings River running around below). Amy gave me some book names & we started encouraging each other to write more in our journals & reflect on how to achieve this balance I desperately want/need.

 After getting back to the South, I had no one to talk about this with. Amy was moving out of the country soon & she lived in Oregon at the time (so yeah, she's got the best life imaginable). Luckily, my best friend ChelsTan got me to come to yoga with her & it rocked my world- This was it! This was what I had been searching for! This was what "church" was SUPPOSED to be! I could feel my body, soul, & mind getting to know each other for the first time. During my bow & reciting of "Namaste" after the first class, I knew that this was how I could "Om Namah Shiyavah" ('honor the divine spirit in me'...in you, too). Still, Ecuador came & now I have been wrestling with how to find peace/stillness without a place to yoga. I realized it is something very important in my life & I may have to find a yoga class here...en Español. I mean I've been attending mass in Spanish & understanding when they order me to sit, stand, hug, or pray...so what would be different about some downward doggin'?

The reason I am writing about this is because my first week of solo teaching starts next week. The book I talked about a few days ago has become central when creating my curriculum for "A Raisin in the Sun" as well as this quote from Lao Tse: "Avoid putting yourself before others, & you can become a leader of men." This has seemed extra important lately because my Mentor Teacher loves to hear herself talk, to instruct, & basically tell the students what to think. This is bothersome to me. I hope to have created a lesson revolving around student questions (thanks, Jim Burke), student activities (shout out to Kylene Beers), & student/teacher reflections (Simpson, my man). I would like feedback on these lesson plans for anyone who fancies themself a teacher of any sort: a parents, a traditional educator, an experiential educator, a leader, etc. My goal is to create lifelong learners, thinkers, & kids who will transcend the lessons from the text to their lives using real examples, going outside to reflect, writing, discussion, etc. So I am asking for help for anyone who feels they can...

The words in green contain links to my Unit Overview Plan (missing standards, but you get the idea), my first week of lesson plans, & an example of one of the pre/during/post-reading activites.

Mucho gracias in advance. Learning to teach, learning to learn, learning forever.
Lauren

Holy Mana from God!

I know I just blogged yesterday, but oh goodness my belly, bella!! Yesterday I had a delicious meal that I have not been able match. If I was to describe it to someone who loves good food & places as much as I do, here's my attempt: An extreme gorgeous looking Italian man walked by in a swarm of good looking Italian men, whispered foreign words in your ear (such as "Mangian questo cibo, bella" in that accent...you know the one I'm talking about), and then, finally, you got to eat him dipped in chocolate. Except this wasn't Italian. This was quite Ecuadorian, fresh, & delicious. I was really surprised that it was this good because the restaurant was in Gringo Land & not a small hole in the wall where you usually find the best food (I was going to do that today, but I'm just not confident enough in my Spanish to walk in a restaurant of Ecuadorians, sticking out like a sore thumb trying to ask for huevos fritas con queso & avocado but actually saying I want the balls of a bull dipped in cheese and avacado). So for now, a higher priced restaurant with tables & chairs will do, but tomorrow I'm giving an almuerzo teria a go. So here's how this meal went:

1) Sangria with fresh apples & strawberries. This doesn't sound like much, but it was just sweet enough to make me want a pitcher, which is exactly what we ordered.

2) I wasn't very hungry before the meal, I even told Carol I was only going to get vino y dulce, but then I saw something on the menu that looked weird & sounded delicous: llapangacho y chiros con huevos fritas, avacados, beets, y tomates. Granted I had no idea what chiros & llapangachos were, but I was practically aching for fried eggs with avacados. I ended up getting a plate with potato cakes with cheese in the middle (I referred to these little bits of heaven before), fried eggs, delicious sausage, & a plump avacado. They were all sitting, looking around, hoping a skinny girl would be looking down at them. But no, you have me, a girl who has a serious talent with the amount of food I can eat & thoroughly enjoy. I will try anthing (literally anything...I ate a horse fly once & I will try guinea pig before I leave here).  This, however, was a wonderful choice compared to quinea pigs & horse flies.

3) Now I love sweet food, but when I usually only eat sweet pastries when I'm not bloated with cheesy potato cakes. Ecuador, however, is an exception. The higos con queso  were good, but not what I was expecting. The figs were succulent & the cheese balanced the sweet syrup.

I have included some pictures that do my meal no justice, but food has become a central part of my experience & this makes me realize that food will always be something I can enjoy everywhere in this big, bad world.

Exploramos!

I feel like I have so much to write about the last few days & the weekend. I have seen much more of the city, eaten a lot of food, drank gallons of coffee, & have just been very content in the life that seems to be shaping up in the beautiful city of Quito. The kids also have exams all week so we have half days & I get to read all day or look up places I want to visit with Carol (Carol is another UGA student teacher- have I already said that?). Yesterday I finished "The Leader Who is Hardly Known: Selfless Teaching from the Chinese Tradition" which is a great book Jesse told me about concerning teaching through experince & with the Tao as a guide for the leader/teacher. If you are interested in experiential education or being a leader that does not center learning around him/her self, then I highly recommend this book.

Now to the fun stuff. Last Thursday we (mi familia) went to Chiquita's Madre for her cumpleaños. Their famous torero (bullfighter) cousin (Jose Antonio...Picture here) was there so that was cool & they have a very kind, large family & they fed me & let me play with the youngest cousin, a cute 2 year old named Valentina. Anyone who knows me well probably already figured out that it was love at first sight between me & this real life Dora the Explorer look alike. I played a lot & she prayed a lot (en Español & Ingles).

The next day was Friday, so Carol, her brother (Juan Francisco), Suco (nickname for my blonde-headed cousin, Julian), & I went to a little bar in Mariscal (Gringo Landia) called Strawberry Fields. It was teeny tiny, lit by candles, & they played the Rolling Stones...so yeah, VERY gringo. We tried the Ecuadorian beer (La Cuba...no bueno. Tastes like Keystone) & eventually a good Pilesner at a Karaoke bar. All the beer is light here, so for the like of me & my fellow heavy beer lovers (Sam Lawther & Tyler Burns), it's meek. After Strawberry Fields we went to a discoteca & danced a little bit. My white self was quite intimidated so I mostly just sipped my drink & wished I had rythm, or at least could move without looking spastic. After that, we went to a Karaoke Bar for a minute & Suco sang 3 songs (Carol & I helped a little with Roxanne only because we knew how to pronounce the words). The Karaoke place was pretty different than most others I've been to (which would mean it's different than Walker's in Athens). Everyone sat down & the waiter would just pass  a mic around. After that (late night for me, I know!) we got a kabob from a street vender that had pollo, carne, y spicy mayo on it...it smelt sooo good & tasted better. Now I know you're not supposed to get food from a street vendor at 2 a.m., but oh my goodness, this was glorious & juicy & savory. Beside, how else am I supposed to build up my immunity after eating processed foods for the majority of my life?

This brings me to a portion of my blog I would like to dedicate to all of the amazing food I have been eating. I will never eat the same after being here & I hope to learn how to make some of the carbo-licious papas con queso (kind of like a crab cake made out of fried-ish mashed potatoes with this amazing creamy cheese they have down here), lots of great fruits, veggies, & grains that don't even exist in the U.S., & chicken con rice beyond measure. Honestly, I am eating more carbs in one day here than in two days at home. However, the fruits/veggies are all fresh & in season (not like those Wal-Mart strawberries in December) & the carbs are essential. I feel like I've lost a lot of weight, but I think it's only because we walk everywhere & my stomach still hasn't been able to handle all of the bacteria I'm consuming. But truly, the food is amazing, the coffee is rich, the milk....oh my goodness THE MILK! It's thick & creamy & I usually drink 2% in the states so this is like drinking this rich, cold , goodness right out of the cow. The dairy is probably my favorite. The yogurt is all drinkable yogurt (they eat it in their cereal), the cheese is so creamy (goat cheese texture, but swiss cheese-ish taste), & anything that is like whipped cream or caramel is so rich (rico!). I love it....so much.

I just wrote a lot, huh? I've really been enjoying myself, reading a lot, walking around the city a lot, etc. I have one more day I feel I should write about just so I'll remember how lovely it was (feel free to stop reading). Yesterday Carol, Fausat (another UGA student teacher), & I went to Centro de Historica. It was beautiful & is by far my favorite place I have been in the city thus far. It was beautiful, the architecture was very European, the churches & historical centers were huge & old, & there were a lot of informative statues. Oh, also $1.70 cappacuinos with cinnamon on top. We went to the Basilica which I included a picture of a walked about 75-80 blocks around this area from my house. On the way back it started storming so we had to rush back before dark/the street rivers knocked us over. It was a really bad storm, but I liked it. My feet & pants were soaked (& by soaked, I mean you could see through my linen pants I was wearing...another lesson learned). The weather here is insane though, so I should have expected it. It's true what they say, you experience every season in one day in Quito. Maybe not winter, but definitely Summer (it was 65 F yesterday before the storm!), Spring, & Fall (it rainsEVERY SINGLE DAY).

I won't keep you any longer, but thanks for reading!

Fundacion Colegio de America, Quito

Hola Gringos!

I need to reflect on my first three days at the Colegio so I won't forget about how great they have been. I love the school, the students, and my fellow teachers in la escuela de internacional secondaria. Most of the students in this section of the school have one parents that is Ecuadorian and another that is either European, Canadian, American, etc. Others have parents that have saved money for their children to attend a private school. The cost for each student per month is $1,000 USD so you can imagine the amount of time/money parents have saved for these students to receive a bilingual education. They all speak Espanol at home and with their friends, but they are required to speak and write in English during class. My 8th graders speak/write better than my 7th graders, but all of them speak/write great English, especially for it being their second language, some even better than 9th graders at Apalachee.

 It's really quite amazing how similar & different these kids are from my students in America. They are all VERY polite, eager to learn, very inquisitive, and, most importantly, awake! It is a different world really than the students I have been around in the past that seem bored, tired, and like they'd rather be anywhere else than school. I believe it is because they realize that they are VERY lucky to be receiving an education in Ecuador & may have the opportunity to attend college in the U.S.

Another thing I like about the school is that each class only has about 11-13 students each. They go to each period (there are 8 periods, 45 min each) with the same classmates every day. They seem to really enjoy this because it really creates a feeling of community. They have to stick together.  Since crime is such a central apart of their country, the school really encourages community. Really, if someone (like me) questioned if teaching is what he/she should really do, if they are good at it, then this is the school to be at. These kids engulf themselves in the stories, in the characters, because these fictitious people & stories are better than what these children, their peers, parents, family, and most everyone in this city see & live everyday. They really do give me hope for education & hopefully these values can be brought to where ever I end up because America needs kids who want to learn & teachers who believe they deserve better.

In this post, I have included two pictures. Both are of the view out of my classroom; one from early in the morning when the clouds are over the montanas (7:30) when I arrive to school & the other is right after the first recess when they clear (around 10:30). Maybe the view is why the school is so great...

Mi primer fin de semana en Ecuador: My first weekend in Ecuador.

Hola amigos y familia! I have just enjoyed my first of 13 weekends in Ecuador. When I think of it that way, I am not here long, but boy does it feel like I have already been here for weeks. Yesterday was a long day. I am learning a lot about the culture, families, food, and language already and it is only my second day. My host family is very kind, but they very little English. However, they are very loving to one another and have accepted me and my lack of Spanish with open arms.

Yesterday we went to a farm (la hacienda o ranchera) where the family keeps their horse (el cabello), Chocolate. It was in Cumbaya which a town smaller than Quito - about 20 minutes (veinte minutos) away from the city. The weather was nice so we stayed here for quite some time. My host mom (Lucia) made the comment that she loved the ranch because it is "muy tranquila". Mountains surround the farm and there were trees with little oranges (mandarinas? o clemintinos). I wish I had brought my camera to the farm, but since we cannot understand each other I was quite confused about what we were doing. You see, at breakfast (el desayuno), the family said the news was predicting an earthquake in Quito  between 1 & 2 o' clock so we would not be going outside. I then came in my room to Skype my parents. However, not more than 30 minutes later (around 12:30), Lucia came in to say that we were leaving so I grabbed my bag and left with them. Despues de nuestra vistia a la ranchero, we went to eat at an Italian restaurante with very good pizzeria. I know what you're thinking- "Italian en Ecuador!?"- but honestly, pizzeria es muy bueno. We then went to Lucia's sister's home and had tea and cookies and chatted...I of course sat in awe while they all spoke quickly and at once; still, so much love in this family makes me feel better about just being present. We then went to mass (my first one). Mass in general is confusing to me with the reciting and standing and sitting and kneeling, but en Espanol it was even more confusing, but it was another experience full of love and peace, so it was good to be there and have that. I believe I will attend church with them often for a few reasons: Uno) The community there was very close and made me feel still on the inside. Dos) I respect my host familia mucho and their customs & beliefs. Tres) El padre spoke slow Spanish I could almost understand, so perhaps I will pick up more and understand the service as my time here progresses.

After church we went somewhere very special a little over an hour outside Quito. I went with Lucia's son & nephew who are 20 & 21. One, Sebastian, is in school to be a doctor and the other, Julian (o Suco is ellos nickname, like "blondie" in America) works in the supermarket. Both speak little English but try to communicate with me which is nice. On the way to Papallacta (check out the place we went to aqui), they told me about their views of their country and racism that takes place within it which is to say that racism exists everywhere, but I am glad to be living with a family that has been kind to a gringa :] Anyways, the place we went to last night was really nice and owned by a friend of the family so we got to go in after they closed. The thermal pools were heated by the volcanoes that surround the area and the water was from the river (el rio) that runs right through the spa. However, because I didn't know we were going here, I didn't have a swimsuit and I had to get in the hot pools with capris and a tank top on which was quite silly because people kept asking me in spanish if I was OK and I would just smile and nod.

I fell asleep afterwards on the way back to Quito and we got home around 1:00 am. Like I said, it was a looooooooong day. Today was more relaxing. We all slept late because a girl from Virginia moved into the room beside mine and we will be sharing a bathroom. She is nice, but she has turned down food and complained which always rubs me the wrong way because our host family is letting us be a part of their family for a long time and I feel we should be extra-respectful and appreciative. She, however, know a lot of Spanish so she is helping me communicate. Today was also good because I got to talk to my parents, sister, Jesse, Jen Jen, Zady, Mamaw, and Skyler all on Skype. Jesse kept telling me to stop crying and go and have fun/learn spanish, but I miss home and my family already so it was hard to keep from crying. After talking to him though, I felt better about being alone here and knowing that I really won't be here long and I should enjoy it as much as I can without knowing the language or having a face I know like I have most everywhere else I have traveled to. It's a different world here, but that's why I came. For this post I have included a picture of my dormitorio (room).

I have learned much already, I hope to keep learning and living well. I miss you familia, amigos, y Jefe Jesse :]

Buenas noches! Hasta la proxima vez!