And so it begins...

Welcome back!

I wanted to post last weekend after the first week of classes, but my head was still spinning from everything that was happening so that wasn’t going to happen…

These past few weeks have been very eye-opening and eventful, and I have to admit that after my first day of classes I didn’t know how I was going to make it through the year. But, I can definitely say now that although this year will be challenging, it will also be incredible and rewarding.

The last half of the week before classes was spent going over curriculum for all of our classes and creating lesson plans. Lesson planning is somewhat chaotic because the plans are all supposed to get handed in at different times of the week/month, to several different people, for several different grade levels. Needless to say, it’s hard to keep track of what goes where and when. On top of that, I was only given a set curriculum for two of my classes: English and Sales Techniques (I was originally scheduled to teach Marketing in the high school, but then I learned that that class doesn’t actually exist… so now teach Sales Techniques!).

The former music director left last year which means that one of the volunteers, Laura, who was a music major in school is now the new music director (surprise!). I’m sure she would appreciate the responsibility had she specialized in Ecuadorian music (hint: they don’t teach it the same way here). So she, two of the German volunteers, and I make up the music department. I only teach with Laura, but it usually works out well because I sing and she plays. However, neither of us happens to know any Ecuadorian songs off the tops of our heads so we’ll probably be teaching songs that the kids already know better than we do. In the past, the kids have learned church songs during music class that they sing for mass or at Christmas time or Easter. While Laura and I would love to learn the songs, very few actually have written sheet music. We can only find lyrics that sometimes have guitar chords (Laura is learning to play the guitar, but is still a beginner, which also makes it difficult to do much at La Marin, the downtown center, since there is no piano). We have had some help from a man named Manuel who used to teach Music in the past, and from a man named Saul who works for the center and sometimes performs at mass, and from Johanna, the second-year German volunteer who taught some music classes last year. Luckily, Laura and I were able to come up with plenty of lessons that don’t involve learning Ecuadorian songs, but I can’t wait to learn some!

There is also no curriculum for gym class. This year is the first year that the Madres want us to have a curriculum and lesson plans to teach different skills throughout the year. The biggest problem is that both centers are severely lacking in equipment. Luckily, Cory and John have a friend named Doug who used to teach gym class and sent along his own curriculum that we are using as a guide. Doug also arrived today to help out with classes, and he brought some equipment with him (including volleyballs… HOORAY!).

During that week we also met all of the teachers from both schools and went over grading and general class procedures (the director of the high school is named Marco Polo and looks exactly like The Most Interesting Man in the World from the Dos Equis commercials). We were told to put a huge emphasis on discipline; otherwise the kids will walk all over us for the next year. Since we’re new the kids will definitely be testing our limits. Cory and John taught us the rule “No smiling until Christmas”.

The first day of school everyone was EXTREMELY nervous. Breakfast was frenzied and I was trying not to ralph. On Monday mornings I start at Cotocollao (the school that’s on the same campus as our house). We had an assembly before the start of classes when we introduced ourselves to all the kids, which made me even more nervous because it was the first time I had seen them all together in one place. My English class was cut short because of the assembly so we didn’t get to do much. Afterwards I had Girls’ Program, which consists of an hour of work and then a second hour that’s divided with 20 minutes of showering, 20 minutes of reading, and 20 minutes of using the computers. For the first hour on the first day our groups were assigned. There are two other volunteers with me at the same time, so we were each given a group of about 7 girls. Mine are all between the ages of 9 and 12. We picked our group name (my girls are “Las princesas”), and decided what project we were going to do. My girls wanted to make bracelets, but since we need to make something for Christmas first they chose to make ornaments. They’ll sell the ornaments to earn money and learn how to save and figure out their profits. Later I took the girls to go shower, and then to the library for reading and computers. It’s so cute to watch them read because they all pick out their books and sit at a table and read out loud to themselves. They always look like they’re really into whatever they’re reading. My girls are all very nice and well-behaved and I’m really looking forward to working with them!

Overall the morning went very well, but the afternoon was a different story. On Monday afternoons I have to make the journey to our center at La Marin, which is in the middle of the city (Cotocollao is in the north). It’s about an hour-long bus ride, usually spent standing, holding my bag so it doesn’t get slashed or stolen, and grabbing desperately for the bars that hang from the ceiling while swinging around like a monkey because there are no empty seats and the bus drivers think they’re the only ones on the road.

Because La Marin is downtown, the whole property is only a building with a small opening in the middle for gym class and other recreational activites (as opposed to Cotocollao which is a huge property with fields, courts, and a playground). Walking into that building is like walking into a war among jungle cats; screaming, running, fighting, climbing, jumping. And once in a while they’ll pause to pull on my arms or give me a hug. After about 20 minutes of the teachers trying to get everyone to line up for class, a prayer, and some reprimanding of those who were still in jungle-cat mode, Laura and I were told that we had the first, second, and third graders that day, which is not what the original schedule told us; we had made lesson plans for the fourth, fifth, and sixth graders.

Needless to say our first day was less than successful. We had them all make nametags which was a complete waste of time because they were all destroyed by the end of the class, plus they fought over markers which ended up all over faces, hands, and clothes. One boy gave himself a huge green mustache. Whenever we wanted them to sit they were all over the place, and when we wanted them to stand and sing all they wanted to do was sit. After classes, everyone sat in the teachers’ lounge with blank stares on our faces. I had no idea how we were going to make it through the year.

Adult Education classes, which are in the evening, didn’t start until the second week of classes, so we got home around 7 and still had an hour and a half to wait until dinner at 8:30. By the end of the day everyone was exhausted, and it was only Monday.

My first gym class experience was on Tuesday and was, at first, equally as horrifying as my first music class experience. Because gym class in the past was essentially a free-for-all, the kids aren’t used to having a set class structure. It’s difficult to get everyone to participate and it’s nearly impossible to get all of them to do the same thing at the same time. It doesn’t help that the people from the bakery come out and set up shop right near our class to sell snacks to the kids. Our first unit is Frisbee, but on the first day we were just planning on going over rules playing different games to get the kids to work in teams and cooperate with each other. After the first class we were so desperate that we just got the Frisbees out early for the other classes. Eventually Andy and I learned what does and does not fly with these kids and we developed a pretty good system. I run the class since my Spanish is a little better, and he takes care of the discipline since the kids are more afraid of him than they are of me.

The first colegio (high school) class I had was Thursday morning when I teach level one Sales Techniques with Bob. In colegio, the students take a variety of classes their first year and later figure out the career path on which they would like to focus. Only girls take business classes, and I’ll be teaching a new group of girls every six weeks. The colegio girls listen better since they’re older, but with age also come the drama, gossip, and attitudes. We had them fill out autobiography sheets and then they each had to present themselves to the class to practice public speaking. The girls had to comment on every single thing that was said so it took forever. Later we played a game called Mafia to have them practice being persuasive. They enjoyed the game but it was hard to keep them from cheating.

Friday afternoons I go with an older woman named Teresa and a younger woman named Elsa to visit barrios (neighborhoods) to recruit for the center and to check on the boys who are working in the streets to make sure that they’re doing OK (and that they’re actually working). The first Friday we encountered some drama when we went to check on the boys. On Friday afternoons a bunch of them work on a street where there are frequent bus stops. They jump on the bus with bags of candy to sell to passengers and then get off the bus a few blocks down the road and walk back. Older boys usually partner with younger boys to teach them and to help them on and off the buses. After we checked in the video arcade and the internet café to make sure the boys weren’t spending their hard-earned money while they were supposed to be working, we were told that the boys were being harassed by a man and a woman who were trying to sell candy on the same buses. The man had a huge scar across his face and was rather intimidating, and he was telling the kids that they couldn’t go on the buses because he and the woman were trying to sell there. He told them they could go elsewhere, even though the boys always sell from that spot. It turned into a huge argument, the two of them versus all of us, plus all of the other people who sell things on that street and know that the boys always work there. Even though I know I’ve had to yell at some of those boys in class for misbehaving, at that moment all I wanted to do was protect and defend them. Eventually the couple gave up the argument, but still refused to leave. They boys had to race them to get onto the buses first. We stayed with the boys the whole afternoon to make sure that there weren’t any more problems, and later we realized that the man and the woman were stealing from passengers getting on and off the bus and then running away, returning later in different clothes.

After the first days of each class, things generally got easier. I had to drop my English class down from third level to second level because they were struggling, and my class roster was constantly changing, but now I have eight girls and we’re really starting to get to know each other. I learned that using games and singing songs is the best way to keep their interest and teach the material, and I think the girls are really enjoying the class.

For girls program I found an awesome ornament for my girls to make. At first they didn’t quite understand how to make them, but some of them practiced at home and I felt so proud that they were really trying to learn. Now they’ve just about perfected it. Marco Polo even said that he wanted to buy one for his office! The girls all get along really nicely and work hard every day and I love spending time with them.

Laura and I learned that our Monday music classes at La Marin are always the worst, which means that the other classes feel like a breath of fresh air. The kids love the silly singing warm-ups that I have them do and the games that we play to teach them about rhythm and introduce them to different musical genres. We had them listen to Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture and songs from Swan Lake while drawing what it made them think of. Most of them just copied whatever Laura and I were drawing on the board, but they had fun and got to listen to music they had never heard before. Unfortunately one day one of the kids had an accident and peed all over himself, the chair, and the floor. After that we decided it was a good idea to take a class bathroom break.

The system that Andy and I use for gym class has been working out pretty well. Andy makes the kids who are out of line run and do push-ups, but sometimes the kids want to run with him just for fun and that’s OK with us! At least they’re participating and being active. So far three kids have gotten bloody noses (that seems to happen a lot here, I think because of the altitude), and I’ve had to climb on top of a roof twice to retrieve stray Frisbees. Rainy days are tricky because we have to take the kids inside and it’s harder to contain their energy, and when it’s done raining all they want to do is take their shoes off and jump in the puddles.

One day a boy decided that he was going to sneak into the bathroom without asking permission (the bathroom is right next to the basketball court where we have class). While he was in there a man came around and locked the bathroom doors for some reason, so he was locked in there for about 15 minutes before Andy and I saw him poking his head out of the bars at the top of the walls. We decided to let him stay in there another 10 minutes or so to teach him a lesson. Next time he’ll ask permission!

Bob and I have a system for our colegio class that’s kind of similar to the system Andy and I have for gym class. I usually run the class and give the lecture since my Spanish is better, and Bob walks around making sure the girls are paying attention and not chatting or putting on makeup (which they do a lot). Overall I think the girls enjoy the class, and we make sure we do a lot of activities that make them practice using their imaginations, thinking on the feet, and speaking publicly.

The second Friday I went out with Teresa and Elsa (and Elsa’s 11-year-old son, Jordi) we went way up into the mountains to visit a barrio and recruit new WBC members. The view of the city was amazing, but the sun wasn’t out and it was chilly among the clouds. Unfortunately there was pretty much no one around, so there wasn’t anyone for us to talk to. It felt like a ghost town of shacks, stray dogs, and random skinny cows eating garbage. I did, however, get to see the plot of land where Teresa is building her new house! I wasn’t aware we would be trekking around the mountains that day and my footwear wasn’t great, so Teresa and Elsa were joking around because I kept slipping on the steep dirt roads. It’s always interesting to chat with them, even though it’s hard to understand what Teresa says sometimes because she tends to mumble. Elsa loves asking me about where I’m from (I tried to explain what Mennonite people were, but the idea that they’re simple people who usually farm, don’t drive cars, and don’t use electricity could be used to describe half the population of Quito, too, so I don’t think she really understood), and they both like asking me about boyfriends. It seems strange to a lot of the people here that none of the volunteers are married or have kids because here they get married and have kids at such a young age. They think all the volunteers are dating each other because it seems impossible to them that we can all be living together and not dating. Teresa and Elsa also told me how the people of Ecuador believe that when a person dies, they retrace their steps before leaving the earth. They call it “recogiendo los pasos”. Teresa told me how her father had been bedridden for months before he died, but on the day he passed her sister heard him shouting her name from the street. When she opened her front door, no one was there. Someone from Elsa’s family had a similar experience on the day her grandmother died and there was a strange knock at the door. Once again, no one was there.

Friday mass at Cotocollao is very enjoyable. It’s usually geared towards children, and groups of kids act out the scripture readings. The girls from my English class and the Girls’ Program usually find me, and I have to try and keep them from tickling me the whole time, but it’s great to feel the love and to see all the kids that I have in class singing, acting, and having a good time.

Adult Ed. classes began the second week. I teach a class at Cotocollao every night from 6:45 until 7:45 with another volunteer named Elizabeth. Working with the adults is much more relaxing than working with the kids, which is wonderful because usually by that time of the day we’re exhausted and counting the seconds until dinnertime. Our group usually consists of about 12-14 adults, even though there are more signed up. It’s hard to get all of the adults to come to class because some of them are afraid to learn, or they feel like they can’t. It’s our job to try and convince them that they can learn, and that learning can be fun.

The first week of class we just did introductions and taught them board games that they can play with their families (this promotes the WBC value of healthy recreation). I played Uno and Jenga with my groups, and on Friday everyone played Bingo for prizes. It’s amazing to think that these games that seem so simple to me are challenging learning experiences for adults who can’t read or write. We had to help some of the adults during Bingo because they don’t all know letters and numbers. It was great to get to know the adults throughout the week and to figure out which of their kids I have in class, too. Some of them travel hours to get to the center every day. They also like asking me questions about where I’m from, what my family is like, and what I want to do with my life. One of the women, Luz, is particularly friendly. Every night she walks with Elizabeth and me across campus to catch the bus at the gate near our house. One night she asked if I like avocados, and I told her I love them, so the next night she brought me fresh avocados from her garden! Once they’re ripe I’m going to make guacamole to bring to class.

Starting next week, the class will be structured in the following way: the first month will be focused on art, the second on religion, the third on music. There will also hopefully be field trips for each unit, including a downtown tour to learn about the legends of Quito, and hopefully a concert of some sort. After Christmas is when we’ll begin teaching reading, writing, math, etc. The idea is to convince the adults that class is fun so they’ll keep coming back once we start in on the more serious subjects. For now, our first art project will be to create a quilt representing the ten values of the WBC. Each person will have their own patch to decorate based on their own interpretation of the values. The volunteers get to design a patch too!

As I’ve said before, we are extremely lucky that Cory and John are here to help us. Every day they are in and out of our classes, giving us pointers or helping us deal with kids who are misbehaving. It’s hard to think about what it will be like when they leave! They will definitely be missed.

Even though we work hard during the week, we play hard on the weekends. We go out at night (we’ve made plenty of Ecua-friends already), and every Saturday morning the girl volunteers play a soccer game against the center moms, and then the men usually play afterwards (although that game is mixed because we only have four male volunteers). It’s always a good time, even though there is an occasional injury since the field is dirt and everyone ends up falling over at some point. One week Madre Cindy even played with the moms (she took me out a few times, too… she is one intense nun!). I’ve also gotten to play Ecua-volley a couple of times, although it’s definitely different from the volleyball I know and love. They play 3-on-3, usually for money, using a soccer ball. The first time I played I learned quickly why they tend to use only their hands to pass and not their forearms… soccer balls hurt! Also, the net is very high, so hitting usually means someone pretty much just throws the ball over. One time I played a game with Madre Cindy and four men. The two men on my team told me that once I learn their style of play, we could have a great team! They invited me to play with them every Friday afternoon.

I’m going to try and post more frequently so that my posts aren’t so long, and I’m going to try and get pictures on here ASAP, but in the mean time I hope you are all doing well!

Jules