Pictures

Ok, I know the title of this post is slightly deceiving because there aren’t actually any pictures on this page, but that’s because with Google Blogger I can only upload one picture at a time, and with the internet here it takes about 4 minutes per picture. So, since it is MUCH easier to upload pictures onto Facebook, I’ve included at the end of this paragraph the public link to my album that has all of the pictures that I would have liked to upload here. This means that even if you don’t have a Facebook account you can still view my photos. (When you click on a picture it might ask you to sign in to continue, but just click cancel.) If someone knows a secret about how to upload a whole album of pictures onto Google Blogger, please let me know.  Click to view the photos.

Because the second week of classes seemed to go much more smoothly than the first, I was under the false illusion that every week of classes would become progressively easier; however, I now realize that I was wrong! While I’ve established my routines and gotten used to my schedule, students still remain largely unpredictable. The girls in my English class seem like they’re getting a little TOO comfortable with me. Their initial shyness is gone, and now I can’t get them to be quiet in class without taking away stars on their star chart.

Music class this week was overall successful, but Laura and I still have to figure out a way to get the first graders out of jungle-cat mode. This week we taught the Himno Nacional del Ecuador, Ecuador’s National Anthem. Most of the kids already knew it fairly well (save for a few misconstrued lyrics), but they had fun competing to see who could sing it best, boys vs. girls. The boys usually sang better and louder, but they always lost points for misbehaving when the girls were singing, which meant that a lot of the time the girls won anyway. I still can’t get that song out of my head.

The kids seem to be enjoying the Frisbee unit in Phys. Ed., and they love the competition that we play to see which team can catch 20 (or 25 or 30) Frisbees first. The losers have to sprint to the tree on the other side of the field and back. They get really excited during the competition, but we’ve found that the girls tend to be sore losers, while the boys like to name call and rub in their wins. I’ve had to explain to several classes the importance of sportsmanship. Unfortunately the first graders didn’t get to play Frisbee this week because we had to practice walking from the area where they line up to the field and back for the first 35 minutes of class. They still had trouble with the concept of walking silently in a straight line without punching each other in the head or picking nits out of each other’s hair. Hopefully next week we won’t have to repeat the exercise.

Armando participated in one of our gym classes on Tuesday, and it was one of the best experiences I’ve had here so far.  This was the first time that Armando fully participated in a regular class, and he did wonderfully! During the competition, all of the kids were giving him high fives when he caught the Frisbees. Cory said it brought her to tears to watch as he succeeded and was accepted by the other kids. I hope he is given many more opportunities to discover his potential throughout the year.

Sales Techniques has become one of my favorite classes. I think the girls really enjoy the class, and I enjoy teaching it. It might have something to do with the fact that I was a business major, but mostly I think it’s because we do a lot of fun activities to help the girls learn. This week after our lecture we had them take ordinary objects and create new uses for them. They have to give the object a new name and next class they’re going to have to sell the product, with its new uses, to the rest of us. One group was assigned a chair, and they were really getting into the activity, using their own chairs as props to imagine new possibilities.

This week was the start of the art unit for our Adult Ed. classes. We started the week by discussing the significance of the 10 values of the WBC. My class got into some very in-depth discussions about the values, and I was so interested to hear what the people had to say about what they value in life and why. I was also amazed by the fact that the level of conversation of these people is comparable to that of college scholars, while the majority of the group lacks the ability to read and write. If we had had these discussions before I learned that these people couldn’t read or write, I would think it impossible.

After the discussion, we had each person draw on paper what one of the values meant to him or her. Later we explained that we would be doing the same thing on squares of fabric, and that we would be using the squares to create a quilt that will hang somewhere in the school. Everyone is so excited to have their own squares represented at the school (and I have to say, I’m excited to have my square on that quilt, too!).

Today I went to look for the avocados that Luz, one of the adults in my class, had given me to make guacamole because I wanted to make it for our class on Monday. Unfortunately I discovered that our cooks had used the avocados to make the guacamole that we ate for dinner on Saturday. I’m so upset and I still haven’t figured out what I’m going to tell Luz!

My visit to the barrios on Friday was heartbreaking. Elsa didn’t come along, so it was just Teresa and me. She told me we were going to visit the house of woman who hadn’t been coming to classes all week because her son had been sick (he was missing from classes too, of course). I asked her the name of the woman, and then realized that it was one of the women from my own Adult Ed. class. I was also surprised that she hadn’t been coming to class because she really seemed to enjoy the first week so I couldn’t imagine that she would be skipping for no reason.

Teresa and I took the bus way way up into the mountains, and I thought to myself that it was probably the highest I’ve ever been on the planet earth in my life. The bus only goes so far up the mountains, so after a while we had to walk. The view of the city was breathtaking, as was the climb. Teresa used a stick from some brush as a walking stick, and to keep the stray dogs away (apparently they get scared by the sound that the stick makes when you strike the ground). After a few minutes, we stopped and Teresa pointed out some kids in the distance on the side of the mountain where there was a tall tree. The kids had tied a rope from the top of the tree and were swinging around the tree, over the side of the mountain. I was horrified by the scene, thinking what would happen if the rope had snapped, untied, or slipped out of a kid’s hands.

After a few more minutes we got to the end of a road where it seemed we could either turn left or go off the side of the mountain. When we got to the very edge, where some kids were playing soccer, we looked over to see shacks built on the mountainside. Teresa pointed out which belonged to the woman we were visiting, and we ascended the side of the mountain via a zigzag path that was carved out in the grass. The woman was sitting on her porch with another woman and three young kids. She recognized us immediately. Teresa asked her why she hadn’t been coming to classes and she explained that her son had gotten much worse. Her sister, the other woman, had come all the way from the coast with her kids to help. She invited us to come inside her home to see her son, who had been in bed for days. She doesn’t have electricity, so she had to light a candle when we got inside. The odor of urine was strong, and the dog had to sit on my foot so we could all fit in the tiny shack. The woman and her sister explained to us how her son has been in and out of a coma, and doesn’t recognize anyone or anything. I’m not sure of the cause of his illness, but he had been getting worse throughout the week. They wanted to bring him to a hospital, but neither the woman nor her sister has a car, and they can’t afford an ambulance. They were hoping that by Saturday morning they could get a hold of their brother who has a car and could bring him to the hospital. When the woman tried to wake her son she got little response. After a few minutes he opened his eyes, but just stared at nothingness. I felt so helpless and I wish I could have done something for them, but I ask that all of you keep them in your prayers.

Saturday we left early in the morning to register for our census cards, which we’re required to have if we want to leave the country at all while we’re here (apparently we also get discounts on certain things with them, too). We had to arrive before the immigration office opened because they only take a certain number of people every day, and there was already a long line when we got there. Some people held our spot in line while others went to get breakfast. I went with a group of people next door where they sell passport-size photos and copies of your passport that you need to register. While we were in there, the office opened and everyone rushed inside. One of the other volunteers ran to get us because we had to get a number once we got inside. I sprinted back with her and cut the rest of the line to get back to our spot, and just barely got a number. Unfortunately three of the other volunteers didn’t, so they had to wait until closing time (noon) after everyone with numbers registered to see if they would let them register, too. While we waited we met a group of people from Canada who are also teaching here. However, they’ll be here for two years, and they get paid, and they teach in English to more privileged kids. Apparently their school is the second best in the country. They were amazed to hear the differences in their teaching experience compared to ours.

We figured out a way to cheat the system, and had each of the people who didn’t have tickets go up with someone who did have a ticket. The person who did have a ticket pretended not to speak any Spanish, so the person without the ticket translated. The person with the ticket paid to register both people, so they would prepare the documents for both at the same time. It worked smoothly the first time, but by the second and third time it took more convincing. Luckily by the end of the day we had all registered!

Today we took a trip to Mitad del Mundo, the Middle of the World, which is about a 30 minute bus ride north of the Center (there are plenty of pictures with descriptions from the adventure in the album). The bus left us off at the entrance to the super touristy park/museum where they have a giant monument, but luckily we had insider tips to get to the better museum which was down the street and had the actual equator line (not to mention the fact that it was way cheaper and more interesting).

After the trip some of us headed downtown to the artisan's market to do some shopping, and to Art in the Park at Parque El Ejido where local artists display their works. Afterwards we went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner, which would have been an enjoyable experience except for the fact that the chef had been arrested the night before, so the fill-in was struggling with our orders. Overall it was quite an enjoyable weekend!

I hope you’re all doing well… please remember to say a prayer for the woman and her son.

Enjoy the photos!

Jules