Vacations!

Wednesday was the first day of vacation so everyone woke up early excited to take advantage of the precious time we could use to explore the island. Even talking to locals here everyone's said that life gets so busy, people get so tired and everyone gets so stuck in a routine that no one goes out enough. You have to be intentional. Well I'm only here for a short time so I want to be twice as intentional. 

Wednesday we caught a taxi to Bellavista and then biked up the mountain towards the "columpio magico", the giant swing that goes out over the trees with a beautiful ocean view as a backdrop. 

The bike ride was no joke! The hills were unforgiving but I fought my way up wearing my brothers biking team hat proudly hahaha Up the mountain the scenery is completely different. Because the mountain is squally covered in a thick cloud of fog there are lush plants everywhere. As I biked with cows on one side and the ocean view on the other I felt so at peace. Once we got to the swing no one wanted to pay for it so Giuliana and I paid and took our pictures. Although it looked pretty terrifying from the swing itself it wasn't actually that high. It made for some cool pictures though. Afterwards we started biking towards the Galapateros but people's bikes started to break down and it was many miles away. So we turned around and biked all the way back to the house. I was pooped. Who knew such a little island could have so many hills! Giuliana and I decided to have ceviche for lunch and thankfully they made a veggie ceviche with palmitos which was delicious! My favorite was the smoothie, or batido, de Maracuya, one of my favorite fruits in Ecuador! We came back and quickly got in our swim gear to head to Las Playas Alemanes (the German beach) but we didn't get in because it was too cold. 

So Tuesday was Jessica's birthday and she didn't tell anyone! So Wednesday night I took her and Ro and to Giardinos for ice cream waffles to celebrate. It was a fun way to end an awesome day! 

Thursday we were all exhausted from the previous day so we slept in and Jessica and Ronald surprised me with Colombian arepas for breakfast. It was delicious! Thursday was so sunny and gorgeous that after breakfast I headed out on my bike to explore and take pictures. I literally couldn't go 5ft without finding another jaw dropping view of the ocean. It was so blue and turquoise it looked surreal!! As I rode around town I ran into other professors taking advantage of the vacation and heading to the beach as well. It's fun to be in a town so small you literally can't leave the house without running into someone. That's why it's so safe! 

Thursday afternoon we all headed to Las Grietas, a water canal between two giant rock walls. The water there is freezing because it's always in the shade but it's also a gorgeous deep blue. I borrowed a snorkeling headset and immediately saw large schools of fish. By the end my core body temperature had dropped dramatically and I was freezing the rest of the day. But we tried to warm up by playing some volleyball on the beach but we kept hitting into the iguana protected zones. To end the night we stopped to get a slice of pizza and continue Jessica's birthday celebration. As we ate an American man set up his stand of chocolate turtles. They looked so cute and good so when he put out a few on a tray I asked if he had samples. He got so upset! "Do they look like samples to you?? Look how big they are!" So I told him they looked like Costco samples to me and he didn't appreciate it. "Am I wearing a red shirt?? Is Ecuador a third world country??" To which I responded "um no it's not" because that such a rude thing to say and he interrupted with "uh yeah we are! Anytime you have people on the street begging for money that's a third world country" I apologized to try and make peace and he turned to another couple and said "I love giving people life lessons and showing them that in Latin America nothing is free." We all were confused by the encounter and laughed as the waitress brought out a free Nutella pizza to sing to Jessica.

Friday we woke up early to go to Tortuga Bay except it was cold and rainy (who would've thought in the Galapagos right? Hahaha). So I spent the morning cleaning, reading, catching up on laundry and lesson planning. 

Mid day I biked with Ronald and Jessica up to Bella vista. It was a solid 45 minutes of incline. I'm pooped once again but super happy at how active I'm staying here. We came back and made a yummy lunch of vegetable rice, stir fried veggies and plata is Fritos while we watched Blood Diamonds on TNT. I have to say that watching movies in Spanish is twice as dramatic. After some quick grocery shopping for the sabbath we stopped by a store to look for shorts for Jessica. All the shorts were skin tight and super short. Extremely unflattering and immodest. So when Jessica came out embarrassed at how short they were it was hilarious to hear the owner argue loudly over the regaton music blaring, that they weren't short, they were liberating. 

It's the little things

Tuesday was the complete opposite of Monday! I came to school apprehensive because of the day before, but for various reasons the students were amazing!

One thing that helped in general is there were a few students missing because the vacations start tomorrow. Another thing is now that I found the teacher manuals I spend the whole morning scavenging the room for props and ideas to keep the kids engaged. 

The biggest thing that helped the preschool class was the little trouble maker wasn't here today. Well he was earlier and even looking at him made me nervous for class (hahaha) but right before class started he had an accident and pooped his pants and smeared it all over the wall. He's grounded and his mom came to pick him up. Darn. Without him running around and hitting the kids they actually paid attention. That was a mini miracle of the day.

Another mini miracle was that the power went out minutes after I finished my last class! It wouldn't be too big of a deal except with the little ones I use the songs on the computer to learn everything!

Today I started teaching preschool a little Christmas song that helps them learn their numbers, they loved it! It's so fun to see the kids wanting to learn and actually learning. In those moments I have to stop and thank God because I literally don't know what I'm doing but the kids are learning despite me! 

The first graders are learning about vacations in their book, which is perfect since the rest of the week is vacation time! I asked the kids what their plans were and they were dying to share. A lot of them are going to the continent, which is super expensive. The professors told me that a lot the families here are on the wealthier side and save up their money for trips. 

I've never seen students who love their teachers so much. As hard as the teachers are on them they also love them and it's reciprocated. 

Today Sarita turned 10 and because the students don't eat lunch at school the parents always through a party for the class during the last period. Sarita ran to get Giuliana and I  to come celebrate. She served us our cake and beamed as she took pictures with us. No matter where you go in town when you run into students they go crazy! They scream "teacher!!" Or "profe!!" And if they can, they tackle you in a bear hug. 

Tuesday night Giuliana and I got ice cream with Valentina for getting a good perfect score on her English test. And the view of the ocean from the restaurant was breath taking! The sun was just setting and it was magical. 

As Giuliana and I said goodbye and started grocery shopping for the up coming vacation we were showered with generosity. One of the fruit stalks is run by Ariana's mom so she gave a discount and oranges for the vacation. Another vender threw in extra avocados after we talked with her for a while and learned her name was Celeste. 

The whole day I felt like I was being showered with blessings! 

Mondays

Every Monday the students wear their formal uniform and start the week off like little soldiers in lines singing the national anthem and Galapagos hymn. If they walk in late during the anthem they have to stop and stand at attention (they don't put their hand over their heart, instead they stand at attention). After the national anthem the director yells "viva Ecuador" and the kids respond "que viva" with fists raised in the the air. After the Galapagos anthem they do the same for the Galapagos. Apparently that's unique to Ecuador according to my Colombian hosts. Even after singing happy birthday people shout "que viva la santa". It's a culture of huzzahs and cheers. 

I've noticed there's a boy who always comes with his dad. When I asked why, I learned that the boy has autism and his dad comes everyday as his personal aid. It's one of the most touching things to see. 

The missionary videos sound like Novelas with dramatic music and a tragedy in each story. 

This morning I ransacked the room looking for different supplies and ideas for teach the next 7 weeks. I found some really great stuff and the teacher manuals! That should help. 

Afterwards I assisted Giuliana with the 3rd grade English. As I checked everyone's homework I was impressed with how quickly they can learn. I think there's definitely a cognitive advantage to learning another language from an early age. 

Working with the babies and preschoolers is enough to shatter your confidence in your ability to do life hahaha The littlest ones could care less if they're volunteers or if we do a game, often all they want to do is play with the toys. But the advantage with them is I have an assistant monitoring the kiddos and the babies like praise. So if we work on books for just the right amount of time and I tell them they're doing really well they're pretty good! 

The preschoolers are in the tattle tale stage. I can hardly be heard above the "profe la Alexa me pego" "teacher, teacher, teacher" it doesn't help there's a boy in the class who is extremely disruptive and ill-behaved. He'll hit the kids, break toys and run out of the classroom. Because I don't have an assistant in that class it makes it hard. The other day when it was a smaller class I was able to engage him really well, but with 18 other students it's almost impossible.  By the end of the preschool class all almost the kids were crying because someone had hit them, or someone had said they weren't friends anymore. Hopefully tomorrow goes better. 

The class that's doing the best are the 1st graders. The love to be volunteers and will do anything to go up front. I can play games with them and they have the attention span to listen to instructions. I can write the page number on the board and they can find it. They have moments of disinterest and squabbling but for the most part I can keep them engaged and we all have a great time. 

As I was preparing for the next class to come in I heard a girl sobbing, almost screaming in the bathroom. As soon as I walked in I almost threw up because the smell of poop was so strong. Poor baby had waited too long to make a bathroom break during recess. When she saw that there wasn't any toilet paper she somehow freaked out and went on the floor and stepped in it and got it all over the place. As she tearfully explained I realized that her biggest fear was that her little classmates would find out. I quickly gave her a kiss and told her we would make sure they never knew and ran to get her teacher. 

Today has definitely felt like a Monday :) 

A blur of activities

Wednesday through Friday were packed full of activities to celebrate the schools' anniversary, from dawn until dusk. Wednesday was a health fair where each presented different fruits and vegetables that help different parts of the body. Jessica's 2nd grade class was so cute! They we're talking about the eyes so the kids dressed up as carrots and gave their little talks and fresh carrot juice to the audience. I was surprised how many students from other schools came! But one of the professors told me that if one of the schools has an open house, all the other schools go and support. All the schools in Ecuador have the same holidays, teacher conference days etc. across the board now. Before it used to be very lax so now the government has really cracked down on the education system here. 

In the afternoon I caught a taxi with Giuliana to meet a professor who was in charge of the cultural part of the talent show on Thursday. None of the streets here have names so you just tell the taxi driver a landmark and they know where to go. For example, the street where I live has a little store called "Susy Due". So whenever I catch a taxi I ask them to take me to "Susy Due". The advantage of going in a taxi is that it's only $1 no matter where you go, since town is so small. No one here owns a car,

Not because they can't afford it but because its inconvenient. Everyone bikes or motorcycles their way across town. So even though I can't run everyday I'm staying very active biking all over town. 

Thursday morning we rehearsed for 4.5 hours with the kids for the talent show before we spent the afternoon decorating the high school for the show. I participated twice. Ronald, Jessica, Ronald and I started the show off with special music and then I raced back stage to change into my provincial outfit. I represented the Bolivar province (somewhere in the highlands, no one knew where) and I had a blast getting dressed up and seeing all the other kids in their outfits. The 5th grade teacher wanted to show the different provinces because each one is so unique and an important part of Ecuadorian culture that most kids don't know. One of the moms is indigenous herself and when she saw me dressed up was so happy! In general the professors and parents were very happy to see me looking so Ecuadorian. 

Two days of festivities without school really helped me start bonding with the kids and i began to learn their names. Now the other kids help me out if I don't know someone's name. 

Friday I was exhausted and worried about teaching English again. But a lot of the little kids didn't come because of the talent show the night before and smaller class sizes and knowing the kids names made a world of difference. 

After class finished all the students went to the city hall for a special ceremony. The students were so loud that Pame asked me to play Pirates of the Caribbean while we all waited. I tried my best by ear and didn't think it came out too well when the whole room burst into applause. The kids loved hearing something familiar! Next I played the titanic theme with the two Ronald's and the girls all pulled out their phones and some even started crying (Hispanics are very expressive ;). It was amazing to see the power the music had over the students. 

When it came time to sing the national anthem Ronald lead out, as the music director. I was cracking up with Jessica though because of all things he barely came from Colombia three months ago and was so nervous! I barely know it myself (thanks to watching Ecuadorian soccer games) so I hope I learn quickly. 

At the end of the program with the city mayor and staff the principal told the students they needed to go home and share with family and friends disaster prepared skills. Next week they have to give reports on what they did. The last Friday of the month all the schools have to do natural disaster drills. It's required by the government we've since the earthquake in April. 

Let the festivities begin!

I added my 3rd English class today, first grade today. They were paying such great attention and doing so well until we got to their activity books. Everyone was at a different spot in the book so I had no idea what to do. Apparently a lot of them had been missing class. But I didn't know who was the most advanced so it was chaotic. Each kid came up to me to ask questions so I tried to switch to learning songs in English instead but they didn't like that I was doing things differently than their old teacher. At the end I gave them 2 minutes of play time with the toys and they were at each other's throats. Won't make that mistake again. 

Next Pre-preschool greeted me with "profe, la Amy fue pipi!!" Poor thing! Oh the troubles of a four year old. Pre-preschool did really well with the color game but after that they only wanted to play with toys and bother each other. The little two year old, Amelia, was so sleepy I had to carry her back to the classroom. They're adorable and I'm going to try to make it as fun as possible for them since all they need is exposure. They learn like little sponges! 

Today has been different since everyone is preparing for the parade that kicks off the 24th anniversary of the school tonight. The kids lined up outside and practiced marching with their classmates and finished making their "antorchas" or decorated torches. 

After lunch, when the professors usually go to take a quick nap, the musicians stayed to rehearse. Ronald, Ronald and myself had to practice our rendition of As The Deer for the program in the city tonight. They gave me a shirt for the academy and I feel super official now. 

When it was time to all line up for the parade Jessica, Rommel (no, not one of the Ronald's, another professor. Now you can see why its taking me a few days to learn everyone's names) and I didn't know where the park was. We just started walking and asked people on the way. Eventually we saw kids walking with their antorchas and we knew we were headed in the right direction. During the parade I walked with the little 3 year olds since they knew who I was from English class and needed the most guidance, even with their parents there. Throughout the night one mom thought I was a fellow mother, another man thought I was a student in the high school and tourists snap chatted us as we paraded by. I'm starting to think if I don't open my mouth too much I could possibly pass as a local. 

Walking through the city was quite the experience. Almost everyone had a tio or prima who was waving from a balcony or store window. It was very good publicity for the school. It ended in the central square where our chamber group performed (without a shoulder rest on my violin), the choir sang and the littlest kids danced. After everything wound down around 9pm we all headed to the high school down the road to prepare for the health fair the next day. 

Expect the unexpected

Monday morning was raining which made waking up at 6am a lot harder. I thought about skipping breakfast since I wasn't hungry but I'm so glad I didn't! By 7am we were at the school and the kids were already running around. The professors gather in a classroom for worship assembly and then the kids start their assembly at 7:15. They're all lined up by grade wearing their uniform as the "inspectora" checks their uniforms, posture and behavior. The teachers aren't afraid to discipline and call out kids by name. 

After worship Jessica had told me to practice violin since I won't be teaching anyone except for her this week. But the inspectora came and told me to introduce myself to the group. When I told them I came from Loma Linda California they were like "en serio??". The teacher explained  that Loma Linda California was the namesake for their school because the university used to have a biology station here. 

After I thought the nerve wrecking part of the morning was done I went to practice when Marco asked me if I'd be willing to teach English. Profe Mari taught the class for preschool until she got sick two weeks ago. 

I had initially offered to teach English in the mornings but Jessica had said the parents might complain that there were too many changes in teachers. But Marco said since they were so little it should be fine. 

So Giuliana gave me a crash course of what songs they usually sing and the curriculum they use and then I went to help her with the 4th graders. 

The kids love to sing songs and it really helps them learn quickly. It helped me a lot to observe and work with her class, but if I thought the 4th graders were restless and full of energy I wasn't prepared for my first class. Mid morning I went to pick up the pre-preschoolers with Giuliana. They're 2-3 years old! I had a room full of 24 of them so I was grateful to have their teacher and Giuliana helping me today (which won't usually be the case). Because of the tin roof and cement walls and floor, the noise levels get incredibly high. I practically screamed and did summersaults to keep the kids engaged and it still didn't work out so well. Next time I'll sing more songs and do less activities. 

I barely had time to catch my breath before I got the preschoolers 15 min later. This time I was prepared with more songs from the computer. It's amazing how much more fine tuned kids' motor skills are at 4-5 years old. 

They have their whole routine that they love and I tried to learn today. They have a Good Morning song, day of the week song, weather song and then Christian songs. 

The kids here are very affectionate and Giuliana taught me that one of the only ways to get them quiet is to ask them to "sleep" and the ones who do get "besitos". The kids looove  to get their little kisses and hugs so they quiet down and pretend to sleep. 

After the second English period I went to practice with Ronald and Ronald because all week we have to give special music for the festivities. Tomorrow we're playing As The Deer with classical guitar, saxophone and violin. All by ear. It was really fun and we got 2-3 songs down by the time school ended at 1pm and we went out for lunch. A lady from the church works at the school and provides the  cafeteria food (which is really good since it's home cooked meals). As we ate everyone joked and teased so much. This group is super nice and can be so hilarious while still being kind and appropriate which is super cool! 

A pastor from Quito flew in to do the wedding yesterday and brought a package from my grandma! So after lunch I rode home in the cold rain to unload tons of dried fruit and oatmeal! I'm going to be set! 

After a little bit I went back to school with Jessica to have a violin lesson with her. She's awesome! She has a great ear and only needs a a little training in technique. I felt so much more comfortable teaching violin haha. Afterwards I co taught her English class with her. Since it's for the academy and parents pay, the kids want to learn and it was a lot easier! The kids had a hoot playing hangman to learn their vowels. 

I just found out the school is hosting a triathlon on Sunday! I would love to try it, at least the running part! 

But for now, time to go rehearse with the choir for our special music sabbath! 

The calm before the storm

Sunday morning I went for a run. With all the carbs I've been eating here I should be doing marathons but I didn't want to get lost so I did a square that was 3ish miles. It's definitely not a running culture here. It's very safe but people stare like you're a crazy person and make comments. So I talked to some of the other volunteers and they suggested I go run at the Charles Darwin station down the road. It's mostly tourists and nature so it will be a lot more peaceful. 

While we prepared lunch I talked with Giuliana, the volunteer from Brazil. Her energy and charisma fill the room where ever she goes. And she's the English teacher so she speaks and understands a good amount. We talked for almost two hours sharing our experiences. She told me that I came at a very critical time. The other missionary who taught English broke her leg and Pastor Mark and Maricela, who usually run the school and church, are on the mainland because profesora Mari is seriously ill. Just two weeks ago they went to the mainland and while she was there had such severe abdominal pain she was hospitalized. Ever since she's been in the hospital as they do tests and we found out today she has cancer. Please pray for her and her husband, as well as the school. They are the pillars of this community and everyone feels lost without them. 

Once we were done with the prep we all jumped in a taxi with the food since we couldn't carry the pots on our bikes. The group had all pitched in to have a welcome lunch for me. It was so nice! And no one let me wash the dishes. 

Lunch ended quickly because a couple from the church was getting married. We all had a good laugh when Chamorro came out in his pathfinder uniform. But apparently the groom was wearing his master guide outfit and all the groomsmen were wearing theirs as well. To each their own. 

We ended the night riding around town looking for coconut ice cream (my fave!) with Jessica and Ronald before we headed home. It was a fun day but we needed our rest for the crazy week about to start. Without wifi In the house I go to bed so early! By 9pm I'm knocked out.