WBC

Happy Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year

2012-01-16T23:20:05Z

I know some of those holidays are long over, but all have passed since the last time I posted. I hope they were pleasant for everyone! The reason it’s taken me so long to post is that things have gotten incredibly busy, plus it’s SO DIFFICULT to upload pictures onto Facebook with our internet connection here. Not to mention the fact that I’ve been on vacation in Peru for the last two weeks! This post will only update you up until the beginning of December, but then I’ll post again later to update you on all of the Christmas and post-Christmas vacation adventures. I still don’t have all the pictures uploaded that go along with this post, but I just can’t wait any longer to fill you in! Let’s rewind…

Saturday the 29th of October, I woke up around 8:50 AM to my bed shaking violently. Not exactly the most peaceful way to rise. I looked frantically around my room trying to figure out what was happening (keep in mind that I’m BLIND without my glasses or contacts), and I saw that my lamp was about to fall off of my nightstand, and an empty glass on my dresser was about to fall over. I realized that I was experiencing my first earthquake, so I jumped out of bed and ran into my bathroom doorway because in my sleepy state that was the only thing I could remember about what to do during an earthquake. It lasted about 20 seconds, and immediately afterwards everyone ran out into the hallway and said “DID YOU FEEL THAT?!?!” We learned later that we were just about at the epicenter, and it was a Magnitude of 4. There wasn’t any major damage as far as I know. We had another earthquake a few weeks later while we were eating dinner. It didn’t last as long and it wasn’t as strong, but it was enough to make the Madres get up from the dinner table and head for the doors!

I spent most of the rest of Halloween weekend preparing for the concert that I was singing in on Sunday, the 30th. Unfortunately, I had been getting sicker and sicker with a bad cold throughout the week, and by that weekend I had full-blown ear infections and could hardly hear a conversation happening right in front of me. That made it slightly difficult to practice music. I was at Manuel’s house virtually all day Saturday, after he took me to a pharmacy to get some medicine that probably shouldn’t have been sold over-the-counter, and insisted that I chug some hot lemon-water. Two of his friends had come to listen to us rehearse, and after we finished rehearsing the three of them played musica nacional (traditional Ecuadorian music) for hours. It was great to spend some time relaxing, listening to traditional music and talking to them when we took a break for dinner.

Later that night, all the volunteers were dressed up in Halloween costumes ready to go out celebrating, even though they don’t traditionally celebrate Halloween in Ecuador. I was sad that I had to miss Halloween this year (especially because of the tradition that my college roommates and I had of spending months creating the best costumes ever), but I was trying to get healthy for the concert.

I woke up around 6:15 AM on Sunday morning and Saul and I left the house for the church in Roldos, a part of the city that’s about twenty minutes north of the Center. Manuel told us that in addition to the concert, we were also going to be singing at Mass that morning, but apparently another group had been scheduled instead. Father Bob, who has done a variety of work at the Center over the years, is here visiting. He started the parish in Roldos and raised funds to build the church several years ago. It was his first weekend back in months, so he said Mass that morning. I could tell that everyone in the parish was excited to have him back. When Mass was over, everyone was ushered outside where there was a stage set up, and food stands with colada morada (a hot, Ecuadorian, fruity drink… it’s delicious!). A group of the other volunteers had come to see the concert, and they were all waiting outside the church. I was so happy to see them! There were a few other acts before ours, so we had about an hour to warm-up in a room where all the other performers were warming up, too. I was still having a lot of trouble hearing because my ears were so clogged, and with all the noise from the other groups rehearsing it was nearly impossible for me to hear our own guitars. I started getting really nervous that I wouldn’t be able to hear well enough when we were on stage, especially because there were way more people in the audience than I thought there would be.

Finally it was our turn to perform. We got into position on stage and surprisingly I didn’t feel as nervous as I had felt before. There was a nice breeze, but the wind kept blowing my music off the stand. In the middle of the performance a couple of stray dogs decided to wander across the stage… and then later a small child did the same. Also, one of Manuel’s daughters played the drums even though we hadn’t rehearsed with her before, but she sounded pretty good. I did have trouble hearing everyone else because of my ears, which was frustrating. However, despite those distractions the performance went pretty well, and I had a lot of fun! Joe was nice enough to take a video of the whole thing; unfortunately, the file is too big to post on Facebook or in my blog, but there are a few photos of other musical groups and the audience in the album below.

After the concert we went back to Manuel’s house to relax for a little and have some Ecuadorian Chinese food (it was… interesting). Later I went with some of the other volunteers at an Irish bar to unwind after the stressful weekend and watch some football, which I definitely miss!

The next week of class was shortened because of El Día de los Difuntos and Cuenca’s Independence Day. Laura and I watched a Magic School Bus movie about musical instruments in our music classes, and Andy and I played futbol with our gym classes on Tuesday afternoon (though Madre Cindy pulled me out of our last gym class early so that I could play Ecua-volei with her and some of the workers… sorry, Andy!). We left Tuesday night, November 1st, for vacation (hooray!). One group of volunteers decided to go to Cuenca, the Germans went into the rainforest somewhere, and my group (there were nine of us) went to Montañita, a small coastal town. We took an overnight bus from Quito to Guayaquil, which took about eight hours. Once we arrived in Guayaquil we had to take a taxi from the station where we arrived to get to the main bus terminal. The terminal was chaotic to say the least, and the line for people trying to get a bus from Guayaquil to Montañita was astronomical. We figured we were going to have to waste a whole day of vacation just waiting in line for the bus. Luckily, after about an hour in the station we ran into a couple of guys who had two vans and offered to drive our group to Montañita for a slightly higher price than the bus tickets would have cost (I know… that sounds totally shady, but people here do that kind of thing all the time). We gladly accepted the offer and ended up toting along another guy from the US and his Ecua-girlfriend who we knew were trying to get to Montañita as well.

The van ride itself was the perfect start to our vacation. Our driver was fun and friendly, and we sang and played music during the entire three-hour trip. We were so excited to be on the last leg of our journey. We finally arrived at our hostel around 11:30 AM on Wednesday. We had trouble checking in at first because the people at the front desk told us they had never received our reservation, even though we had a receipt from the deposit we had made the week before. After some struggle, they found us a couple of empty rooms so we all dumped our luggage and put on our swimsuits as fast as we could.

Montañita is like a haven for hippies and young people. The streets are covered in sand and are lined with musicians and street performers, artisan crafts, stands selling fruity drinks and delicious street foods, and amazing restaurants and clubs. Our hostel was about a block from the beach, so I think I only wore shoes for about 10% of the entire time we were there. We ended up making friends with people from all over the world, including Australia, Canadia, the UK, the Netherlands, and lots of different cities in Ecuador. We even met a crazy Rasta named King Ja Ja who happened to be living in Quito as well (and yes, we ended up seeing him again once we got back to the city).

I was EXTREMELY excited when I found out that there was a pro doubles beach volleyball tournament going on while we were there, with both men’s and women’s teams representing different provinces of Ecuador. You better believe that much of my time was spent watching the games. In fact, the last day we were there I was watching the final match and ended up chatting with one of the players whose team had been eliminated in semifinals. When he found out I play he asked if I wanted to play around with him and some of the other players after the tournament. I was heartbroken because our bus back to Guayaquil was leaving in less than an hour, so I had to tell him I couldn’t.

I did get to play some volleyball while we were there though because we had brought a ball with us (we were instantly popular on the beach because EVERYONE wanted to play). I also tried a lot of new things, like parasailing and surfing, though the parasailing was MUCH more successful than the surfing. The nightlife in the town was incredible. Every night there were hundreds of people out on the beach. Groups of people were camping, so there were always dozens of bonfires. One night a few of us ended up making friends with a big group of guys from Guayaquil. We spent hours sitting with them around their bonfire and chatting, trying to decipher their coastal accents. The next night we found a new fire and made some new friends. I’m still consistently surprised by how friendly the people of Ecuador are.

We were NOT ready for our trip to be over. We were sad to leave the beach and all of our new friends, and we were not looking forward to our long journey home, or the lesson plans that awaited us. We started our trip home on Saturday afternoon, when we took a bus to Guayaquil. We had to wait in the Guayaquil bus terminal for five hours before our overnight bus left, so we camped out in the food court. However, our wait just added to the fun of our trip because we decided to have a “scavenger hunt”. We split into two teams with a judge to determine the winner. Our tasks were the following:
1.      Get a piggyback ride from a stranger
2.      Clear trays for people in the food court for 10 minutes
3.      Sit backwards on the escalator and wave to the people below
4.      Play a game of hop-scotch (extra points if you get strangers to join in)
5.      Buy a food item in the food court and sell it to a stranger (the higher the selling price, the higher the points)
6.      Sit down at a table with someone eating alone and eat dinner with them.
7.      Interview a worker and ask them about an average day at the bus terminal.
The points were close, but in the end the other team won because they got a piggyback from a Spanish-speaking stranger, and our stranger spoke English. Needless to say, however, our five-hour wait flew by.

The week we got back from vacation was particularly challenging, not only because I was wishing I didn’t have to leave Montañita, but also because Laura was sick, so I had to teach music classes by myself. I snapped back to reality in no time.

Aside from my always-busy class schedule during the week, the next couple weekends were pretty relaxed. One day I went with Bob (the volunteer I teach Sales with) to a cultural museum where we learned more about Ecuador’s history and saw some pretty cool artifacts and paintings. Another day a bunch of us spent a few hours in Parque Carolina, which is a huge park in the middle of city and has everything you can imagine from fields and courts, to street food and performers, to playgrounds, to fountains, to skate parks, and everything in between. We ate some AMAZING empanadas from a stand run by a former CMT member, watched some Ecua-volei, and tried to get into a playground that’s made out of a giant old airplane, but it was closed that day. One night Bob, Dave and I went to a club where we listened to some live jazz music and had vino hervido, which is hot red wine mixed with cinnamon and other spices. Another night we all went to a boxing match in the middle of a random field near our house. It was intense!

One Sunday, a big group of us decided to go to Mindo, which is a beautiful, small jungle town about two hours away where they have zip-lining, waterfalls, and other adventures. We left early in the morning on a bus, and when we got there we all hopped into the bed of a pickup truck, and an old guy drove us up the mountain to the start of the zip-lining course (he stopped halfway up the mountain to pick flowers to give to all the girls, as well). We met two friendly and funny guides who took us way up into the canopy and gave us instructions. The course was AMAZING (see the album below)! I had so much fun, especially when our guides showed us different tricks we could do, like the Superman, the Mariposa (butterfly), or just plain hanging upside-down. When we were done zip-lining, we decided to head back home instead of going to the waterfalls because we didn’t have our bathing suits, plus we wanted an excuse to go back again another day!

The next week was the week of Thanksgiving, although Thursday didn’t actually feel like Thanksgiving Day. Of course they don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in Ecuador, so it just felt like a typical work day, except it seemed as though the kids were especially naughty in gym class that afternoon. There was a fair going on that day a few blocks away from the Center, so I went after my gym classes to help sell items made by the Girls’ Program. Unfortunately it was raining so we hardly sold anything. I got to Skype with my family before dinner, but because of our shoddy internet connection they could see me, but I couldn’t see them. I was sad not to be home. Overall the day felt less than special. To celebrate Black Friday, we all dressed up in black and played hide-and-seek around our house. It was fun and scary because we shut off all the lights and couldn’t see a thing! We had our own Thanksgiving celebration on Sunday afternoon. People were cooking all day, and everyone got dressed up and had wine with hors d’oeuvres before we had a huge meal at three. We had all of the traditional Thanksgiving food, with the traditional Thanksgiving food coma to follow. We spent the rest of the night playing cards and watching Home Alone. It definitely felt like more like Thanksgiving Day (minus the football). Even though I missed my real family, I was still happy to share that time with my WBC family.

Recently, the Madres and Padre have asked that I use my educational background in Business Management and my experience working with small businesses as an intern at the University of Scranton Womens’ Business Center (shout out to the Dub-Hub!) to work with the businesses run out of the WBC. They include a restaurant, a beauty salon, a furniture store, a sewing business, a bakery, and an auto mechanic shop. Specifically, they would like me to focus on working with the restaurant for now. Bob has also been working with the businesses, though he had previously been focusing more on the furniture store. However, he and I will now be working together in the restaurant to figure out how we can help to grow the business. We’ve spoken to the manager of the restaurant who seems enthusiastic about having us help, and we’ll start this week by spending time with the workers in the restaurant and talking to customers. I’m really excited to start this work since it’s something I wanted to do as soon as I learned that the Center ran the businesses. I really hope I can contribute with some lasting improvements.

This week, we had off from classes on Monday and Tuesday to celebrate the WBC’s 47th birthday and the Fiestas de Quito, which celebrate Quito’s founding. The festivities started over the weekend. Saturday we went to decorate La Marin for Monday’s celebrations, and then that night we went to a free concert in Parque Carolina. The first performer we saw was like an Ecua version of Nicki Minaj, who was followed by a group who played more traditional Ecuadorian music. Everyone in the crowd was dancing! Sunday morning I went with Bob to a bullfight. Everyone else had gone Saturday, but since I had choir rehearsal and Bob had a Spanish lesson, we decided to go Sunday instead. Once we entered the arena we were given tons of free merchandise including hats, seat cushions, fans, and sunscreen (I got sunburned anyway). We had some food and a couple of beers while we people-watched before the fight. I had been to bullfights twice while I was in Spain, so I knew what to expect; however, I was curious as to what would happen at the end of the fight, when the matador traditionally kills the bull. A law was passed just a few months ago in Ecuador stating that the bulls were no longer allowed to be killed at the end of the fight. They still kill the bull, but they do it out of the ring and out of the view of the audience. At the end of the fights, they just ushered the injured bull out of the ring. In all honesty, I felt like without the kill, the fights were anti-climactic. For me, the death of the bull signified the end of its struggle and a relief from its suffering. It’s the epitome of the fight, and without it the fights were kind of disappointing. I still enjoyed being there, though, because our view was amazing and the crowds buzzed with excitement and celebration of the Fiestas. After the fights Bob and I went to a sports bar to watch some good old football (we’re in the process of trying to figure out which is the best location to watch the Superbowl).

Monday morning (the day of the WBC’s birthday party), everyone was in the comedor (dining room) by 6:30 am to start making breakfast for the hundreds of people from both Center locations that were on their way to Cotocollao to start the celebration. We had people chopping fruit for fruit salad, mixing and cooking pancakes, and scrambling eggs. People started showing up to eat around 7, and breakfast was over by 8:30, which is when the games began! All of the volunteers came up with games and events for the kids, like potato sack races, marble races, obstacle courses, face painting, and mural drawing. There were also two giant poles that were greased up and the kids had to try and climb to the top, and a bull-riding contest (it was actually just a block of wood hanging by some bungees). Bob and I were in charge of the dunk tank! We set up a trashcan that had two cups on top. Each person was given two chances to knock down both of the cups with a ball. If they knocked them over, someone from inside the comedor would empty a trashcan full of water out the window onto the volunteer that was sitting in the chair outside. The line for the dunk tank was always at least fifty people long. Bob was in the chair for about ten dunks, and then I felt bad so I offered to switch. The water was FREEZING, but I had so much fun. Eventually we convinced most of the other volunteers to take a turn in the chair. The kids loved it, and a lot of the parents tried their luck, too!

After the games, we had a special Mass to celebrate Father Bob’s and Padre Juan’s 50th years as priests. The choir sang, so I directed and Laura played the guitar. We hadn’t rehearsed any of the songs because we didn’t find out we were performing until the day before, but overall the kids sang pretty well, and they got a round-of-applause at the end of Mass.

When mass was over, everyone had a few hours to make their way to the downtown Center at La Marin, where the festivities would recommence. All of the volunteers took naps and got dressed up. We got to La Marin around 4, just in time to eat. They had sandwiches, chips, and cake for everyone. After everyone ate, people went to play Bingo on the top floor, dance on the second floor, get their faces painted on the first floor, or watch a movie in the basement. The kids loved getting their pictures taken, and I let a few of them (the more responsible ones) borrow my camera and run around and take some pictures themselves. We sang Happy Birthday, and I danced with the kids all evening until around 8 o’clock when everyone started to go home. It was definitely the most fun day at the Center so far, and the day wasn’t over yet.

After the dance was over, Bob, Dave, Juliana and I walked to a part of the city called La Ronda, where the Fiestas were in full-swing. The streets were filled with people and live music. We ended up going to a restaurant to have some snacks, vino hervido, and canelazo, which is another traditional hot, fruity drink. We relaxed until it was time to go meet everyone else at a bar before we got on our Chiva. A Chiva (which actually means goat in Spanish) is essentially a party bus without seats or walls (there’s just a railing around the edge). There is a DJ and a bar where they serve canelazo, and they give everyone who comes on a cup and a whistle. The bus drives all over the city and blasts music while everyone on board dances and holds onto ropes hanging from the ceiling. We invited everyone we knew and packed them in. We shouted “Que viva Quito!” to everyone we passed and they responded with “Que viva!” We stopped at a park at one point so that everyone could get off and go to the bathroom, and when we came back to the Chiva the guys in charge held a dance contest in the park to crown the King and Queen of the Chiva. I ended up being crowned Queen, and an Ecua who was the friend of someone ended up being crowned King! We had our first dance as royalty and then we all piled back onto the Chiva to finish our trip. By the time we got off the Chiva I was exhausted from the long day of fiestas.

Tuesday morning everyone got up and we prepared a huge breakfast of pancakes, smoothies, eggs, and potatoes. We ate together as a family, and then Laura and I had choir rehearsal. The choir has their first big performance this Sunday at a parish called La Dolorosa, so it’s crunch time! They’ll be singing at two masses on Sunday, and then they have a couple of other performances throughout the rest of the month leading up to Christmas. Unfortunately, only about half of the choir showed up because they either forgot we had rehearsal or they didn’t get bus fare from the office like they were supposed to. It was still a productive rehearsal with those who showed up, though.

After rehearsal a group of us went to huge parade that took place downtown. The streets were packed with people and it was impossible to get a good view. Finally, we spotted some people on the roof of a little shop on the side of the road and asked them if we could join them up above. Only half of us were brave enough the scale the front of the building to get onto the roof, but it was definitely worth it. The view of the parade was perfect. Everyone else ended up buying plastic stools to stand on so that they could see over the people. I got some good pictures, but unfortunately my camera died almost right after we got there. The parade was fun, and we made friends with the other people who were on the roof. After a couple of hours we started to get pretty cold, though, so we headed home. It was an excellent ending to a wonderful weekend!

Below are links to Facebook albums that have pictures from the concert, Thanksgiving, some random student photos, zip-lining, and Montañita. I’m still working on pictures from Fiestas de Quito and the CMT birthday party. Hopefully I’ll have them up soon!

Montañita

Everything else!

Next time I post I’ll update you on all of the Christmas events that took place throughout December, including the various performances by our children’s choir, and my vacation in Peru!

Keep in touch,
Jules

Where Did October Go?

2011-11-01T15:46:29Z

It’s been over a month since I’ve written and I have much to share so I’ll get right to it!

Cory, John, and Doug left a few weeks ago. It felt weird without them here at first, but I definitely felt confident and ready to use what they taught me and develop my own teaching style.

A few weekends ago we had a “meet-the-teacher” event for the high school (colegio) students, and I got to meet the majority of the parents of the girls that I had for my Sales Techniques class. All of the parents asked if the girls were getting their homework done and behaving in class. Fortunately I didn’t have anything bad to say because I loved that class (minus the few times that I had to confiscate mirrors or nail polish). Unfortunately, because it is a first-level course, the class changes every six weeks so that the girls can practice different trades and figure out which career path they ultimately want to pursue during their remaining years in colegio. That means that I already have a new class with new girls. My last class was sad to go, and I was sad to see them go, but I can tell that the new group will be fun to work with, too.

English class has been fun yet challenging, not because the girls have been misbehaving, but because all of my girls are learning at completely different paces. I gave a test a few weeks ago and three of the girls scored very well, two of them got mediocre scores, and two of them failed miserably. I could have predicted most of the scores before we even took the test based on how the girls participate in class, but now I’m struggling to create lesson plans that are challenging enough for the brighter girls and easy enough for the slower girls. Behavior has only been an issue on a few occasions, but luckily I was able to assuage a few potentially bad situations. One day, a girl named Jessenia decided to pass a note to another girl in the class named Rosa. I have no idea why Jessenia thought she could get away with passing the note right in front of me, but I was able to intercept the note before Rosa had a chance to read it. I gave neither of the girls stars on their star charts that day. Later when I read the note, I realized that Jessenia had written some pretty nasty things to Rosa. I went back to the classroom and gave Rosa the star I had refused her earlier, and confronted Jessenia the next time I saw her. More recently, someone (culprit still unknown) decided to put a note on another girl’s back that read “SOY TONTA” (“I’m dumb”). Luckily I snatched it off her back before she even noticed.

For several weeks of Girls’ Program we had no materials to continue working on our Christmas ornaments. The problem is that there are nine Girls’ Program groups at Cotocollao that have a total budget of $50 to spend on materials. Needless to say it was gone almost immediately. The girls are supposed to sell whatever they make to earn the money back, and they get to keep the profits. However, almost every single group is making something for Christmas, which means no one is going to sell anything until closer to Christmas, which means we have no way of making money right now. Therefore, we had no money to finish making our ornaments, and no way of earning any either. We spent a few weeks just doing busy work. One day I taught my girls some magic tricks with playing cards. Finally, the program director decided to loan us some extra money, so we’re back in business.

It’s officially rainy season, which means that it rains on-and-off almost every afternoon. Conveniently enough (not), it happens to rain during at least one of my gym classes on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. At first Andy and I weren’t sure what the heck to do with our kids when it was raining because it hardly ever rained earlier in the year. We had a couple of classes just watch movies. Finally last week I decided to make bowling pins by filling old plastic water bottles with sand. The kids LOVE to bowl! When it’s not raining, we’re in the middle of the basketball unit. The kids generally like to play, but they still ask to play soccer every week. We decided to make a deal with them that we’ll have four weeks of each unit and then the fifth week they get to play soccer (or watch a movie if it’s raining), but ONLY if they’ve been behaving well. Overall they’re getting used to our gym class routine, but we still have some kind of issue every week. At least one person ends up bleeding or crying by the end of the day. Last week some of my first grade girls decided that they were just going to cry the entire class because Andy took away their pinnies when they were misbehaving, so naturally everyone else in the class was distracted. I made them go to the other side of the field so they could pout away from everyone else. Some of the first grade girls also like to pretend their crying just so that I’ll tickle them to make them laugh, which is pretty adorable so naturally I can’t help but give in.

Laura and I have been continuing to learn some Ecuadorian songs to teach the kids during music class, but we’ve also been teaching the kids about different instruments (at least the ones that we actually have available here). Laura and I also started directing the choir, which is made up of first-year girls in colegio and kids from about third grade and up in escuela, from both La Marin and Cotocollao. Manuel (a former music teacher at the Center), his daughter Lizeth, and Saul (the head of the religion department who lives with us in the volunteer house) also help with the choir, usually with guitar accompaniment. Unfortunately, rehearsals for the choir are Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings. That means that I had to give up visiting barrios on Friday afternoons (which was my favorite part of the week), not to mention a few hours of catch-up sleep on Saturday mornings. The current choir will perform at Christmastime, but the Madres told us that after Christmas new kids will be allowed to join, and we might be able to change the rehearsal schedule (hopefully!). Laura and I also have to learn all the Ecuadorian Christmas songs, with harmonies, to teach to the kids. The colegio girls are also playing some instruments along with the songs, but luckily Manuel and Lizeth have taken over teaching that part.

After a few weeks of working with the choir, Manuel asked me if I would sing in a concert with him, Saul, and a few their friends. Of course I said yes! The concert is this Sunday, October 30, at a church in Roldos, where Manuel lives. I’ve been going to Manuel’s house a few days a week to rehearse with everyone. It’s been so fun getting to know his family and friends. He has four kids around the ages of 16-24 (Lizeth, two other daughters, and one son). He also has two dogs, one of which is an adorable little puppy named Muchachito. He likes to nibble on my jeans during rehearsal. It’s so nice to be able to play with dogs that aren’t strays! The first time I went over was a Saturday afternoon. Since Ecuadorians eat lunch as their big meal (as opposed to how most people in the US eat dinner as their big meal), Manuel’s wife cooked us a huge platter of chicken, rice, fried potatoes, and soup (which had cow-foot in it… I struggled). I was stuffed! Another night when I went over it was Manuel’s birthday, so we all sang to him and had cake. We’re singing three songs in the concert, “Quien ha encontrado un amigo”, “Busqué el amor” and “Salvador yo te canto”. I’ll be singing and rocking the tambourine while everyone else is playing guitar and singing harmonies. Two other groups will be performing as well. The other volunteers plan on coming to watch, so hopefully I’ll have some pictures/videos to post next time!

We finished our art and culture unit in Adult Education with some lessons on the legends of Quito. It was an interesting week because I was learning the legends along with the adults, and I loved hearing the stories. We ended the unit with a Saturday morning field trip to Quito’s historic district, where many of the legends supposedly took place. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to go on the trip because the Madres preferred that I attend choir rehearsal. I was quite disappointed. We’ve now started our music unit, and we’ve been teaching the adults how to read music. They’ve practiced drawing the G-clef and learned the scale. I’ve really been enjoying teaching the adults because I learn which parents go with which kids, and I gain a lot of insight as to why certain kids behave the way they do. It also helps to be able to tell the kids that if they misbehave I’ll have to talk to their mothers about it in class later that night.

Luz (the woman who brought me the avocados that our cooks ended up using by accident) brought me a new batch of avocados AND another day brought me a helping of some amazing chicken lasagna that she had made. It was all delicious.

The woman whose son fell ill several weeks ago started coming to classes again. When she first started coming again she told me that they had finally gotten her son to the hospital and the doctors told her that he would probably suffer from some mental retardation as a result of the illness. He became ill from drinking some kind of bad alcohol. There have been warnings out about the alcohol because people have died from drinking it. The woman also told me that her sister who had been there helping was trying to tell the doctors that they should send her son away because she doesn’t have the proper means to take care of him. She was obviously very upset. Miraculously, the next time I spoke with her about a week later she told me that her son was back to normal! He was back in school and no one believed that he was ever sick, except for the few of us who had seen him when he was extremely ill. I was amazed! Thank you to those of you who kept him in your prayers.

The cousin of one of the other volunteers arrived a couple of weeks ago. Her name is Joanie and she’ll be here helping until Christmas. It’s exciting to have a new person staying with us, and she’s been keeping me company and helping out with a few my classes including Girls’ Program, English on occasion, and Adult Education. We also had a group of ten visitors who are part of a gap-year program, which is a program that kids can join after high school and before college. They’re traveling all over South America and earning a few college credits. They were with us for about a week, though we really only saw them at dinnertime.

I have included some photos of my weekend adventures. The first set is from the weekend we went to the Centro Histórico and climbed to the top of the Basilica del Voto Nacional. When I say climbed, I literally mean climbed on ladders to the top. It was definitely scary at times. You’ll find several shots of amazing views of the city from the top.

The second set is from our trip to Papallacta, a small town about two hours outside of Quito, high in the mountains. Papallacta is famous for its hot springs, so we spent a night at a resort where we rented two cabins with private springs. The journey there was quite interesting, because we had to hike up a mountain to get to the resort (we could have taken a shuttle from the bottom, but none of us realized how intense the hike would be so we ended up walking the whole way). While the springs were scorching, the weather was quite chilly since we were so high in the mountains. The contrasting temperatures felt amazing, especially when it rained. However, because it was so chilly and rainy at times, none of us thought to put on sunscreen. Naturally, because we were at such a high elevation ON the equator, many of us got sunburned (myself included, of course). It was so nice to go away for a couple of days, and we ended up meeting some really interesting people, like a group of women in the cabin next to ours who worked together and had decided to get away for the weekend.

The third set of photos was taken during a Liga (Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito) game at their stadium which is about a five minute walk from our house. The photos are from the first game we went to, which wasn’t a very intense rivalry so there weren’t as many people (and it was much easier to take photos). However, a few of us decided to go to another game on a Wednesday night when the stadium was nearly filled. On either end of the stadium are bands that are playing music constantly throughout the game, and fans standing on their seats chanting along. The first game we went to we bought tickets for a section where the view was better, but we learned for the second game that the real fun is in the sections with the bands. Liga won both games, but the second was definitely more exciting (though less conducive for photo-taking)! I befriended some Ecuas so that I could learn some of the songs they were singing, though I’ve forgotten all of them by now, unfortunately.

Last weekend I had my first visitors! Bill, an old friend from high school, and Lauren, his girlfriend, happened to be traveling around Ecuador and decided to stay with me while they were in Quito. It was great to see a familiar face, and we had a great time! They arrived on Friday and I gave them a taste of Quito’s nightlife, and then a group of us headed to Otavalo on Saturday morning. Otavalo is a town north of Quito that has a HUGE artisans’ market. We shopped and haggled for hours. Their flight home was super early on Sunday morning, so we spent Saturday evening relaxing. I was sad to see them leave!

Next week we only have classes on Monday and Tuesday and then we have off the rest of the week off for holidays (Día de los Difuntos and Día de los Muertos). All of the volunteers will be traveling. I originally had planned to go into the Amazon with a small group during the break, but our plans fell through so now I will be going with a bigger group to Montanita, which is a town along the coast. This time I’ll remember to wear sunscreen!

Pictures

2011-10-10T16:41:24Z

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

And so it begins...

2011-09-22T17:42:03Z

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

Bienvenidos a Ecuador

2012-01-16T23:20:43Z

¡Buenos días!

I’ve finally settled into my new home at the Working Boys’ Center in Quito, Ecuador! So much has happened in the past eleven days that I feel like I’ve already been here for at least a month… (in other words, this post is long so you might want to settle in with some fuzzy slippers and a cup of coffee).

After two flights and a six-hour layover in Guayaquil, Joe (fellow University of Scranton grad and WBC volunteer) and I landed in Quito around 1:15pm on Saturday, August 20. I recognized immediately some of the differences in the Spanish spoken in Ecuador as compared to the Spanish that I’m used to from studying in Spain. I also noticed that I’m probably one of the tallest people currently in the country; almost all of the Ecuadorian women in the airport were wearing high heels and I could still see the person at the front of the hour-long line at immigration. I can only imagine what kind of food they think Joe (who’s at least 6’1) ate as a child.

We were greeted at the airport by Madre Cindy (Sister Cindy). She along with Padre Juan (Father Halligan- the original founder of the CMT) and Madre Miguel (Sister Miguel- the one who rescued Padre Juan when he realized he was in over his head) are the head honchos around here (and they’re hilarious). Madre Cindy drove us from the airport to the Center’s Cotocollao campus (where one of the schools and our house are located), but not before warning me to check that our luggage sitting in the bed of the truck made the entire journey with us. We got our room keys and were taken to the volunteer house. I was amazed at how pleasant and HUGE the property, the school, and the house are. Even in the middle of the summer (no classes) there were kids playing everywhere, and they all greeted us with a smile and a wave. It didn’t occur to me until later that it’s probably much safer and more enjoyable for the kids to hang around at the Center than to go home.

We were introduced to Cory and John, the parents of former WBC volunteer, Jessica Cochol. They’re both retired teachers who will be here until the end of September to teach those of us without teaching degrees or experience (me!) how to teach. We’re extremely lucky to have them here since, from what I understand, volunteers in the past were pretty much just given classroom keys, a schedule, and an encouraging pat on the back at the start of the year.

The hallway with the volunteer rooms is on the top floor of the house and resembles a college dorm, except for the fact that I have my own bathroom in my own room (#17), which is larger than any quad I’ve ever seen at Scranton. Although I appreciate all of the space for the various activities that could take place (like a baseball game or a circus), I immediately rearranged my furniture to try and make the walls look smaller. On the floor below is a giant kitchen, usually occupied by our Ecuadorian kitchen mom, Maria (who makes more delicious food for one dinner than should be allowed in five). There is also a giant living room with several sitting areas, which is where all of the games and late-night shenanigans happen after the Madres and Padre go to sleep. Finally we have the volunteer room with a TV, more movies than can be watched in a year, some teaching supplies, and the internet (well, sometimes- when the guy who fixes it isn’t on vaccaciones). Further down the hall from these rooms are more bedrooms where groups of temporary volunteers (usually high school and college groups) stay when they come to visit. Below that floor is the ground floor, where former and current students of the Center run a bakery (the smells drive us crazy), a restaurant, a furniture store, and a beauty salon. Although we’re in the same building, the entrance to our house is on the opposite side from the store fronts which face the street on that edge of the property.

There are, however, some less desirable characteristics of the property, including the fact that we’re right below the take-off/landing path for all of the planes going into or coming out of Quito’s airport, which means every five minutes or so it feels like we’re in a war zone. I also discovered that my bedroom window faces the vet hospital across the street where the dogs like to greet the city’s entire population every morning around 7am. The planes and the dogs combined with the typical noises from any busy city street make for an excellent night’s sleep (though I’m already getting used to it). Furthermore, Madre Cindy enlightened us to the fact that there is a good possibility that we will get fleas and/or lice at some point during the year since we will be interacting with kids who have both, and the bugs will most likely get into the house (good thing I donated most of my hair before I came!). On a brighter note, I learned that we’re lucky to be able to flush toilet paper in our house, since most of the plumbing in Ecuador can’t handle it.

Throughout the remainder of the first weekend more and more volunteers arrived from all over the US and Germany as well! We currently have fourteen volunteers from the states and two from Germany (with whom we communicate more easily in Spanish than English), and a third German will be arriving just before classes start (she’s a second-year volunteer) for a grand total of seventeen volunteers. Our pictures and brief bios are posted on the WBC website. There are three Julia/Julies, so we’ve decided to go by Julie, Juliana, and Jules (me, of course!), though the kids will probably call Julie and me both Julia (Hoolia). All the volunteers get along really well so far and we've had more than our fair share of fun staying up late playing games and getting to know each other.

Sunday morning those of us who had already arrived went to Mass at a church down the street from the Center. Normally Padre Juan says Mass at the Center every day, but he was out of town. There were a couple things that were noticeably different about Mass here as compared to in the states. First, giving the sign of peace doesn’t last just a minute or so; it lasts a good ten minutes. Even though Quito is a populous city, each small community is tightly knit and the families all know each other; though I have to admit it was sort of awkward standing there as a group of gringos who hardly knew each other while each of the families around us gave peace and kisses to everyone and their mom (literally). Second, communion was a race to the altar from all corners of the church. After waiting patiently for our turn, we realized that if we wanted in on the action we were going to have to make moves soon.
We observed the same type of behavior when Padre Juan returned from his travels and we attended Mass at the Center on Monday. However, Mass at the Center was definitely something special. Mass at Cotocollao is offered usually everyday at noon in the same large multi-purpose hall where all of the meals are served, assemblies are gathered, and big events take place. As soon as the volunteers walked into the hall we were greeted by dozens of kids who gave us hugs, grabbed our hands, and took us to the seats right next to them and their families. Madre Cindy led the children’s choir with her guitar while a Center worker walked up and down the aisles to make sure that none of the kids wandered during the homily.

After Mass all of the families eat lunch, their biggest meal of the day, at the other end of the hall. While most of the volunteers decided to go back to the house for lunch that day, I decided to eat with the families. I was summoned by Armando, a very affectionate special needs boy, to sit with him and his family. I learned something VERY important during that time at lunch. The first course served was soup, which meant that someone came around to each of the tables and handed out a certain number of spoons depending on how many people were at the table. We then get up one table at a time to pick up our soup and circle back to our table. After eating the soup I realized that I should probably head out before the main course was served because the volunteers were scheduled to travel to our downtown campus. After struggling to figure out what to do with my bowl and spoon once I was done with my soup, I carried them over to the counter where I saw everyone else placing their empty bowls. I then went back to the family to thank them for letting me share their table and to let them know that I had to leave. Immediately they began grilling me about what happened to my spoon. I didn’t realize that the spoons that are handed out at the beginning of the meal are later collected and counted to be sure that none were stolen. The family was concerned that they would have to pay for a new spoon because I had misplaced mine. I felt terrible and immediately ran back to fetch my spoon, returning with apologies. I won’t make that mistake again!

Our first trip downtown was on Sunday in an attempt to go see Art in the Park, where local artists display their work at El Parque Ejido. Lucky for us, one of the volunteers had studied abroad in Quito and was somewhat familiar with the bus system. We learned quickly that the buses in Quito hardly ever come to a complete stop when a passenger is entering or exiting, and on average they pack about fifty more people onto a bus than what I had previously considered humanly possible (which means sometimes it’s impossible to pay, too), not to mention the fact that the driving here is completely haphazard on small roads and nearly so on main roads. Unfortunately, on our way downtown it started to pour, which meant that all the artists had packed up for the day. Once we got downtown, however, we decided to walk around the area anyway since we had just been on the bus for about an hour and didn’t want to turn back. We saw the downtown WBC school (the original site, also known as the school at La Marín where we will be teaching the other half of our classes), as well as some of the government buildings and churches in the Old Town. We wandered over to a part of the city called La Mariscal Sucre, which is the touristy part of the city where all of the nighttime action. We stopped at a café for drinks and then made our way home. I didn’t think it was possible, but the bus on the way home was even more crowded than the first.

Monday after we attended Mass at the Center we toured both our downtown school (La Marín) and the school in Cotocollao (on the same campus as our house). We didn’t know our schedules yet at that point so each time we stepped into a new classroom I wondered whether or not I would be teaching there.

After spending a few days in the city I realized that I was going to need a warmer jacket. When the sun shines, the temperature feels like it’s 80 degrees, but when the clouds come, it feels like it’s 50 degrees!

Most of the rest of our first week was spent in morning meetings with the Madres and Padre (when he was in town) reflecting on the contracts we signed and what it means for us to be committed to our duties at the Center. We also discussed the values upon which the Center is founded and how the classes and the routines we teach tie into those values. For example, every person in every family that is a part of the Center is required to shower daily at the Center. This promotes the values of personal formation and health. The Madres explained to us that it is difficult to get the people to shower daily because they often use cold water as a form of punishment at home. Also, the people are at first uncomfortable with showering nude because they feel that it’s inappropriate before God. It is our job to teach them that first of all, God’s seen it all, and second of all, He wants us to take care of the bodies He gave us. All of the girl volunteers were also told that while we’re here we should expect to be asked if we have children or are pregnant, since we are well beyond the age at which girls start families in Ecuador.

Our afternoons were spent with Cory and John in an intensive crash course on teaching. As I mentioned before, we are extremely lucky to have them here and I definitely feel more confident stepping into a classroom after this week. Some days after our afternoon session were spent playing with the kids on the playground, on the basketball court, or throwing a frisbee the field. They also LOVE when we put them on our backs and race each other across the field or spin them in circles!

Aside from our discussions and “teacher lessons”, the rest of our week was spent out in the city visiting the homes of some of the families who are part of the Center. One day we hopped in the Center bus and traveled up the mountains at the edges of the city until we were literally among the clouds (which really isn’t that high up compared to the rest of the city since it’s already at such a high altitude, though I have to admit I didn’t think the bus was going to make it up those hills). While the view from up there was amazing, the houses were the opposite. It was difficult to comprehend the fact that the kids who are so happy at the Center live in such miserable conditions. It made me happy that these families were able to find the Center where they can get (at the very least) a free education (which does not otherwise exist in Ecuador) and three decent meals every day.

It was also interesting to observe how many stray dogs there are in Quito. When I traveled to Greece while studying abroad the stray dog population was equally as noticeable, but I am surprised by how many different breeds of strays there are in Quito. One day we even saw a stray basset hound running across the street! Unfortunately, since I love dogs, I have to remind myself that it’s not OK to pet every dog I see.

One morning we made a trip to another house up in the mountains where we performed a “minga” (“work gang” in Quichua, the indigenous language of Ecuador). A minga is when the volunteers have the opportunity to help promote the value of housing by going out into the community to help Center families construct and improve their homes. We’ll go on mingas several times during the year. For this particular minga we were set to work digging a plot of land into the mountain where a new house will be constructed next to the family’s existing house. We then hauled the dirt to the end of the road where the family was constructing a volleyball court (my kind of people!). We worked for about four hours and then the family served us a delicious lunch of chicken, potatoes, and rice. We exchanged thank yous and went home (and then napped for 234234 hours).

Friday night was our first night out in the city, and although some of the volunteers who had visited here in the past were disappointed that we couldn’t go into the Mariscal, we still had a good time at a club in a different part of the city. It was a great chance for us to relax, get to know each other better and to mingle with the Ecuadorians, though I was kind of disappointed that they played more disco music from the 70s than salsa!

Saturday we went to the Mercado Artesanal which is a marketplace where the locals sell their wares. It was fun haggling with the merchants and I ended up with some great buys and a few ideas for Christmas presents!

On Monday we FINALLY got our class schedules! I teach every morning from 8am until 11am, every afternoon from 2pm until 5pm, and every night from 6:45 until 7:45. I will be teaching Music at La Marín (which will be a two hour total commute two days a week), and Music, Phys. Ed., Marketing at the high school level, Adult Ed. (which will cover varied subjects), English, and the Girls’ Program all at Cotocollao.

The Girls’ Program teaches the girls to work while the boys are out working in the city. The WBC is based on the fact that while many people, like most from the United States, recognize child labor as a problem, the people of Ecuador recognize it as a necessity in order to support their families. The reality is that while many cannot imagine having a child go out into the streets to work, the people of Ecuador (and many other countries, for that matter) cannot imagine surviving without the additional income. Therefore, the WBC promotes the value of work and takes in families in which there is a working boy (hence the name, The Working Boys’ Center). While the boys are out working for their families three times a week (under the Center’s supervision), the girls are learning how to make and sell crafts of their own, which is essentially the focus of the Girls’ Program. Friday afternoons instead of teaching from 2pm-5pm I will be visiting families throughout the city, recruiting for the Center, and helping to keep track of the boys who are out working. I am extremely pleased with my schedule and cannot wait to get started!

This week we began discussing our curriculum in more detail now that we have our schedules. We also got to introduce ourselves to the entire faculty from both Center locations. The rest of the week we will continue to plan lessons and prepare for the start of classes on Monday. I’ll probably post again after classes begin, provided I survive them!

Jules

Packing

2011-09-22T17:08:33Z

Welcome to my blog!

As the title of this post suggests, my last 4 days in the States will of course be spent saying goodbyes and packing... something I HATE doing, although I know that the fact that I'm packing means that I'll be headed somewhere new and exciting very soon.

As you all know, at the end of the week I will be on my way to The Working Boys' Center (WBC), or in Spanish, El Centro del Muchacho Trabajador (CMT- not to be confused with Country Music Television) in Quito, Ecuador where I will be teaching for a year. Many of you are curious about what I'll be teaching, but the truth is, I don't exactly know yet! While I can give a general overview of the type of things that I could potentially be teaching at the CMT, I think I'll wait until a later post to give the specifics (I know... the suspense is killing you).

I would, however, like to explain why I felt it was appropriate to name my blog Parables from Pichincha. For those of you who have yet to sit down and memorize the thoroughly complex geography of South America (I certainly have yet to accomplish that task), Pichincha is the name of an active volcano in Ecuador as well as the name of the province where Quito, the capital city, is located (don't worry, I've already packed my lava-proof shoes and pocket-sized seismometer). Furthermore, by general definition a parable is a kind of story that is used to teach a lesson, often in a spiritual context (for example, many of us recall Jesus' parables from the Bible). This blog will be used to tell my stories from my time doing missionary work in Quito. These stories will include the many lessons I am sure to learn during this time, as well as the spiritual growth I hope to experience from doing such meaningful work. Therefore, the title Parables from Pichincha seemed perfectly fitting (not to mention the alliterative qualities of the phrase).

I want to thank all of you for being so supportive of my decision to do missionary work abroad. I'm not sure when I'll be able to post again since I'll be spending my first few days (or weeks) getting adjusted to life in Quito, but in the mean time know that you are all in my thoughts and prayers.

Julia

P.S. I'm still pretty new to this whole blog thing, so please be patient with any technical difficulties I might encounter!