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. 

First sabbath on the island

Sabbath morning I woke up at 6am with sunlight streaming through my window. I got ready for church and arrived before the doors opened. I was anxious not to get in the way of Ronald and Jessica. But as I was heading out the door Ronald came out and said they had wanted to make an arepa for me. I felt bad but I  knew the food wouldn't go to waste.

Walking to church the weather was beautiful!  I wasn't expecting such good weather. Apparently it starts getting hot in November. There was a cool breeze, the sun was out and it was almost chilly. Despite the cooler weather it's still humid. My hair is twice as short and twice as wide as it usually is at home. 

Sabbath school started at 9am. People trickled in slowly. I was feeling a little homesick and anxious. I didn't really know anyone, I didn't want to be a burden and I still wasn't sure what my exact role would be. With all that swirling in my head the Pastor shared the verse of the day.  Matthew 6:34 "so do not worry about tomorrow; it will have enough worries of its own. There's no need to add to the troubles each day brings." I instantly felt so much peace. I think that's going to be my verse of the trip. 

Church started at 10:45am and I played for song service. I instantly started feeling more comfortable. I do best when I can help and have a role and playing for song service gave me that. The praise group was very talented and included classical guitar, piano and flute. As we played I quickly learned that every verse is sung for every hymn. They never skip. It gave me a lot of time to be creative and learn the hymns I wasn't so familiar with. 

After church I went home with Jessica and Ronald to help finish lunch. As we talked they told me they were volunteers too! They left their secular jobs, working for public schools in Colombia, to work in a Christian setting with a minimal stipend. They'll be here for at least a year. 

I asked what I'd be doing and how I could help their program. They're both music education majors so they don't have a specific instrument they specialized in but can play the basics on all. That's why Jessica has a violin and knows the basics. So, on top of teaching private and group violin classes, they would like me to teach Jessica more violin the next two months, as well as beginner music classes for toddlers. That way we can teach together and she can continue once I leave. I loved the idea! Sustainability is so important. 

This week is the schools' anniversary (40th? 25th? I'm really not sure) so it will be filled with special programs and festivities. I'm going to start teaching Jessica and help with whatever I can (including giving special music and playing songs with the choir). Next week there's a holiday so it's only a half week. So the plan is to start advertising the music academy to the community so they can sign up. I'll be teaching for free and all the students' tuition will go towards buying much needed supplies (such as sheet music, more violins and xylophones for the toddler class). 

After discussing the rough draft for the next few week we walked up the road to eat our lunch with Jessica (another Jessica) and Giuliana, the Brazilian missionary. By the time lunch was finishing I was already feeling more comfortable with everyone and I could tell they were warming up to me too. Laughing and starting to belong to the community really helped the homesickness start to go away.  

After lunch Ronald, Jessica and I rode our bikes to Ronald (another Ronald) and Pamela's house to rehearse a song for next sabbath. As we rode to rehearsal I learned to balance the violin on my shoulder while riding a bike (not a simple chore for an uncoordinated person like myself). 

The song Ronald chose is called "By Faith". It's the song my brother sang for his high school graduation so I was very excited. Plus, Ronald, who is an excellent transcriber, had written out a fiddle part for me to play along. The whole song sounds country and is a ton of fun to play.

As we rehearsed fireworks started going off and we heard a bunch of screaming, drums and tambourines. It scared me! It turns out there was an Emelec soccer game going on. Emelec is a huge team from Guayaquil and happens to be Chamorro's, the chaplain, favorite team. He might not have been watching the game on sabbath but he definitely knew that they were winning. The whole town did! 

We ended our rehearsal with sundown worship. All the songs we're about the sabbath and keeping God's commandments. I smiled as we sang a song about the sabbath sung to the tune of Adeste Fideles. As we all (I mean all, no person left behind) shared our thoughts about the week and how God had worked in our lives, 

Afterwards Pame sent out a mass text to gather the troops so that I would have a fun Saturday night. We went to the marina and watched the baby tiger sharks in the water and took pictures with the lobos marinos before we headed back to Pame's house to watch Zootopia. We brought  popcorn kernels that she popped in a kettle over the stove and everyone chipped in a dollar to go buy bread and cheese for dinner. 

As I looked around the room it hit me how young everyone was. Not one person was more than 8-10 years older than me. Yet there they were, professors, chaplains, parents, missionaries. There wasn't a single kiddult in the group. 

Galapagos day one!

This morning I left the cool air and altitude of Quito for the salty air of the Galápagos Islands. The day started off with so many little miracles. Last night I was supposed to receive my conformation for my flight, but it never came. My grandma left with our cousins and I stayed with pastor Izquierdo so he could take me to the airport. The Izquierdo family had the pastor's families from the area over for dinner to celebrate Dia de Los Pastores, which is this sabbath. At one point another pastor asked what time my flight was and when I was getting there. When I told him it left at 6:50 and the pastor wanted to get there by 6 he quickly suggested we arrive at least 2 hours ahead because of the special Galapagos fee I would have to pay and stand in line for. 

So this morning at the lovely hour of 4am we headed to the airport. I had a nice talk with the pastor and he asked if I had ever lived in Ecuador because I had an Ecuadorian accent! If he was just trying to make my day, it worked. 

I was the first to get in the long line to pay the fee for the Galapagos. The man tried to make me pay twice but pastor Izquierdo caught him and the man apologized and said he was still waking up...When I checked in the first question was "how many. Aha are you checking in" I told her two and she said I was only allowed to take on since it was a national flight. She said I'd have to pay and then asked how many I was taking as carry ons. When I told here three she said no way. I explained they were violins being donated. She gave me a bit of a hard time then said if they stopped me at my gate that wasn't her problem and let me go. With my carry ons and without paying for the extra bag. 

Long story short my huge duffel bag, filled with three violins made it safe and sound along with my fourth violin in the other hand. No one ever stopped me or even asked what they were. 

My next challenge was getting picked up at the airport in Galapagos. You have to land on a separate island, Baltra, and then take a bus to the water and take a boat to Santa Cruz before driving to the school on the other side of the island. Because I didn't have wifi I wasn't sure who was picking me up, if anyone.  

But as soon as a stepped out of baggage claim Alexander, the chaplain, and Marco, the treasurer, waved me down and ran to grab my suitcases. They were so welcoming and explained that I was coming at a great time because next week is the school's anniversary and they have celebrations all week. They'll especially need my help since the pastor and his wife are dealing with some major health concerns on the mainland and another American missionary is about to leave. 

On the drive over there were huge Galapagos tortugas on the road!! Just chillin. I was freaking out and the guys just laughed. They see them all the time. 

We ate lunch with the teachers around 1:30 and I hadn't had breakfast so I was famished. As we ate the teachers all seem to have great chemistry. They teased and laughed their way through lunch. Lunch consisted of a broth soup with noodles and then a plate of rice with potatoes and veggie meat on the side. When I say a plate of rice I mean a huge mound of rice. I'm the type of person who'll take beans over rice any day so I struggled to make a dent. The teachers laughed and some were slightly offended because apparently I'm not the only one. The other missionary from Brazil, Juliana is known for never eating her rice.

After lunch I left with Jessica and Ronald the directors of music who recently came from Colombia two months ago. I'll be staying with them until Pastor Mark and Maricela return from the mainland. 

Their house is very cute. The inside is tiny. There are two bedrooms squeezed next to each other, a bathroom and a kitchen. 

Not long after settling in I found out there's no wifi. Without wifi I can't download new books, listen to music, blog or communicate with people at home. I was so disappointed. The combination of lack of sleep and water was making me very light headed and two months here seemed like an eternity. But the reality is I came to engage with the people. I came to give 100% of me and having limited wifi might be one way to help me do that.  

The main mode of transportation is biking. Jessica, my hostess, took me grocery shopping (and to find a phone charger, since I left mine in Quito, brilliant). 

The streets are filled with tiny open markets with fresh veggies and fruits in very small quantities at a very high price. Biking from market to market putting the food in my bike basket was so fun and a great way to see the town. 

After we finished our errands we headed to a church members home for small groups. One of the ladies from church took the lead and made sure everyone shared how God had worked in their lives that week. I was no exception. But I had felt his presence so strongly during my trip so far I eagerly pipped up in Spanish and tried to share my experience bringing the instruments on the plane. The group laughed and expressed their amens. At the end of the meeting the hostess passed out arroz con leche and a piece of bread with cheese to everyone (forget being vegan, I'm happy if it's vegetarian). There was just enough for the large group and it made me realize how spoiled we are with the abundance of food we have at home. 

As we rode our bikes home on the cobble streets in the cool crisp air 

I was filled with a mix of emotions. But over all I'm just so thankful to God for bringing me this far and giving me this opportunity. 

The Adventure Continues

     Two years later and here I am, back at LAX with my passport in hand. This time I'm not blogging for grades or going to a country across the globe. I'm a college graduate headed to one of my homelands, Ecuador. As  the attendant escorted my grandma and I to our gate he asked if we were going home. My grandma and I looked at each other and laughed "yeah I guess you could say that."

     A lot of people have asked me why I decided to go spend my gap year before graduate school teaching violin abroad. It's a great question. First of all, having a gap year was never my intention. I like school and I like having a plan. A gap year sounded a little too ambiguous for my tastes. But once I realized it was going to be a reality I started to plan a way  to travel Europe for a year. I had always wanted to spend extended time abroad but because of school I never got the chance. Part of me also wrestled with the idea of spending the year serving and giving back but I put it on the back burner. When I thought about it I was like "shoot, I can serve the rest of my life but when will I have the chance to live in Europe??" So I decided to go ahead and apply for ACA and volunteer as a violin teacher on the side to help appease my conscience. After a lot of back and forth, paperwork and emails  it looked like it was going to work out! But then the doors started to close. One after the other it just wasn't going to work out. By the time it became clear my original plans weren't going to work it was getting late in the summer. My best friend was getting married at the beginning of October and after that I would be ready to go. Except I had no plans of where to go or for how long. When people would ask me I was like "um I know I'm going somewhere this year and that's about it." I revaluated why I wanted to go. One, I wanted to experience living outside of Southern California and widen my worldview. Two, I wanted to grow in my maturity and faith with god in a radical way that That's when I realized I wanted to shift my focus. I started to reconsider my previous thoughts about spending this year in service.
   I thought about different ways I could serve God. There would be plenty to do in my own community but i knew that in order to really grow in my faith and step outside my comfort zone it would require me to leave home. I started contacting different people we knew at Adventist hubs in different countries and applied to Adventist Volunteers. My biggest prayer was that God would open a door where there was a need that matched what I could offer. I didn't want to go just to check a year of service off my bucket list, I wanted to go where I could actually make an impact and make a change that was sustainable. 

   So long story short, because of visas,  school schedules and timing, teaching opportunities in both Ecuador and Malawi opened up for me this year. I will be in Ecuador for 3 months doing music clinics and jump starting a string program for the new music academy in the Galapagos and I will be in Malawi for 4 months teaching violin at the missionary school. Throughout the process of planning this trip I've been so mind blown. 

   For example, when I found a really good deal for a round trip ticket to Quito I told my grandma. She had been planning on spending Christmas there but couldn't turn down the deal. We decided to fly down together so she could spend the three months with our family while I'm in the Galapagos and neither of us would have to travel alone. A week after we bought the ticket her eldest brother passed away in Quito. Who knew she would need to go down so early? 

   The circumstances and the timing have been so clear that even though the tiny details aren't crystallized (the way my planner personality would like) I have peace knowing that this is where God wants me to be.

   So here I am 4 hours away from Quito. My bags are filled with the generous donations of music, instruments and supplies for the academy. My heart is filled with excitement, fear and anticipation. There are a lot of unknowns and hurdles to cross at every step, even just to get the supplies to the islands, but I'm ready. I'm ready to let go of the control that I like to have over my life and ready to let God do his thing. After four years of studying and focusing on my growth and my knowledge, I'm ready to give it back. I'm ready to put my knowledge and skills to use by sharing them wholly and completely with others.