The few pictures I managed to get from Tena and rafting (it was raining the whole time)... with the colors enhanced just a bit!
Friday, April 25, 2008
Rafting Pics
The few pictures I managed to get from Tena and rafting (it was raining the whole time)... with the colors enhanced just a bit!
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Waterfalls and Sloths
I tried to post on Sunday but something went wrong.. Surprise, there aren´t classes today! I asked my host mom why there are so many teacher´s meetings. She told me that all the teachers had to take a test and did horribly, the government realized that the education system here is terrible, and now they are canceling classes with great frecuency to try and improve the system. Hmm. Something doesn´t seem quite right.
Highlights from Tena:
RAFTING! It was amazing- we did class 4 rapids which was great... There were waterfalls every kilometer or so- just gorgeous. The river we were on has very limited access by foot and road, so we were really in a pretty isolated place. The raft almost flipped a couple of times, and I almost fell out once.. I would have if my foot hadn´t been caught in the foot strap. It reminded me of my first time waterskiing when I didn´t let go of the rope. Although, the feeling of being dragged underwater while in a set of rapids on a jungle river may be a bit more intense. Not to worry, I got pulled back in quickly!
At one point we jumped out of the raft to swim up to a waterfall. We all climbed up and stood underneath this huge, very powerful waterfall-- looking out at the river through a wall of water was absolutely incredible.
I also got to go through a set of rapids outside of the raft on my back! It was a ton of fun, although I ingested a fair amount of water...which may be the reason I was sick the next day, who knows.
Saturday night Becca, Sara and I went to a restaurant in Tena. It was probably one of the most entertaining eating experiences of my life. There are a lot of reasons... one was the insistence of the waiter to speak English in a very formal, slightly French accent. Another is that there were SLOTHS crawling around the walls of the restaurant. It was SO bizarre. That´s all I can say about that... it was weird. I think you had to be there.
Hope everything is going well at home!!!
Lots of love!
Highlights from Tena:
RAFTING! It was amazing- we did class 4 rapids which was great... There were waterfalls every kilometer or so- just gorgeous. The river we were on has very limited access by foot and road, so we were really in a pretty isolated place. The raft almost flipped a couple of times, and I almost fell out once.. I would have if my foot hadn´t been caught in the foot strap. It reminded me of my first time waterskiing when I didn´t let go of the rope. Although, the feeling of being dragged underwater while in a set of rapids on a jungle river may be a bit more intense. Not to worry, I got pulled back in quickly!
At one point we jumped out of the raft to swim up to a waterfall. We all climbed up and stood underneath this huge, very powerful waterfall-- looking out at the river through a wall of water was absolutely incredible.
I also got to go through a set of rapids outside of the raft on my back! It was a ton of fun, although I ingested a fair amount of water...which may be the reason I was sick the next day, who knows.
Saturday night Becca, Sara and I went to a restaurant in Tena. It was probably one of the most entertaining eating experiences of my life. There are a lot of reasons... one was the insistence of the waiter to speak English in a very formal, slightly French accent. Another is that there were SLOTHS crawling around the walls of the restaurant. It was SO bizarre. That´s all I can say about that... it was weird. I think you had to be there.
Hope everything is going well at home!!!
Lots of love!
Friday, April 18, 2008
Quick note
Hola!!!
I`m in Tena and it is HOT and HUMID here!!! What a change from Tocachi. I´ll write more later, but a few quick highlights:
Tomorrow I´m going white-water rafting. We have to hike into the jungle first and will be jumping off waterfalls... not a bad day!
Rainy season has apparently ended in Quito/Tocachi and the windy season has started. Upside: it´s much less cloudy and from the roof of my house in Tocachi I have a perfect view of at least 5 snow capped mountains.
Taught English again all week and chose the theme of my research paper- it´s going to be focused on teaching methods and how to address the learning problems in Tocachi/how to improve the English classes... I think it will be interesting.
I got a package from Emily last week and the peanut butter m&ms were potentially the best thing I´ve tasted in 3 months. Maybe an exaggeration, but they were delicious nonetheless.
Okay I´m off to buy some ice cream, did I mention it´s hot here??
I`m in Tena and it is HOT and HUMID here!!! What a change from Tocachi. I´ll write more later, but a few quick highlights:
Tomorrow I´m going white-water rafting. We have to hike into the jungle first and will be jumping off waterfalls... not a bad day!
Rainy season has apparently ended in Quito/Tocachi and the windy season has started. Upside: it´s much less cloudy and from the roof of my house in Tocachi I have a perfect view of at least 5 snow capped mountains.
Taught English again all week and chose the theme of my research paper- it´s going to be focused on teaching methods and how to address the learning problems in Tocachi/how to improve the English classes... I think it will be interesting.
I got a package from Emily last week and the peanut butter m&ms were potentially the best thing I´ve tasted in 3 months. Maybe an exaggeration, but they were delicious nonetheless.
Okay I´m off to buy some ice cream, did I mention it´s hot here??
Friday, April 11, 2008
notes on Guinea Pig
P.S. thanks for your entertaining comments on the guinea pigs. I did NOT eat guinea pig (there weren´t any freshly cooked up at the time)..... but there´s still hope that in the next 3 weeks I´ll get to try. And don´t worry, you´ll get a full taste description (and notes on what condiments are used ahhaha)
Señorita (insert attempt at my name)
Back in Quito for the weekend-- I had my first (in almost 3 weeks) real face-to-face conversation in English today!! Becca and Mutjaba are back from Tena for the weekend so there´s a few of us around--
The English teacher wasn´t at school all week so I was the full-time teacher. It was a lot of work but very rewarding and fun! Sunday is el dia del maestro, so there aren´t classes today or Monday. On Thursday the 6th grade class prepared a surprise party for all the teachers, complete with choclos (corn on the cob), a various assortment of candy and crackers, and boxed wine for all (including the students). This was at 8:15 in the morning, and was a fairly entertaining scene. A party for the teachers means that all the other kids just have to sit in their classes without an instructor- something that seems to happen fairly often.
I taught the 4th and 5th graders the song "head, shoulders, knees and toes" this week because we were learning body parts. They loved it!! It was neat, some of the boys that are normally "too cool" to participate in class were really into the song and the actions. The 4th grade girls remind me of that scene, I think in Toy Story 2, where the little aliens in the arcade game are flocking to Buzz making strange noises and trying to grab onto him. They are always trying to hug me, hold onto my arms, drag me places... It´s cute for a little while, but then I have to try and shake them off. It´s a difficult task, let me tell you.
On Thursday I had an interesting class with the 7th graders. They go to colegio next year (which is essentially high school), and thus the need to learn English is greatest with them. They were being really annoying and only about 1/3 had done their homework, so I decided that I wasn´t going to try and talk over them or teach. I just sat down at the teacher´s desk and said, "I´m not going to try to teach you guys if no one wants to learn." After a couple minutes a few students came up to me and said that they wanted to learn, so I said great, and we started working at the board. Everyone else kept doing whatever it is 12 year olds do ( :) mom and dad, I´m sure you´re rolling your eyes right now haha).. but gradually more kids came up to the board to learn. When the majority had decided to participate, I told them to sit down so we could all work together.
I proceeded to explain to them that I am not going to tell them they have to learn, that they have to do their homework, or that they have to pay attention in class. In this school the teachers are constantly saying, "Copy this, do this, do that". The kids are always asking me if they need to copy what´s on the board, and what color pen to use. I told the class that they need to decide for themselves what they want to know and what´s important to learn. They don´t want to do anything that they are told to do, that´s clear-- so I was trying to get them to think for themselves and decide whether or not it was important to pay attention and learn. After we started working again (we were learning the order of adjectives and nouns.. like green house instead of house green like it is in Spanish), they preceeded to ask if they needed to copy all the examples that we had done on the board. I explained that they only needed to copy as many as they felt they needed or enough to understand the concept. The whole thing was completely foreign to them (the concept of not being given orders)-- but it seemed to register.
All in all it was a really good week. The time continues to fly by- only 3 weeks left in Tocachi!
In other news, HAPPY BIRTHDAY/ FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS TIM!!!!!! (A few days early)
I´m off to enjoy the city--
¡hasta luego!
The English teacher wasn´t at school all week so I was the full-time teacher. It was a lot of work but very rewarding and fun! Sunday is el dia del maestro, so there aren´t classes today or Monday. On Thursday the 6th grade class prepared a surprise party for all the teachers, complete with choclos (corn on the cob), a various assortment of candy and crackers, and boxed wine for all (including the students). This was at 8:15 in the morning, and was a fairly entertaining scene. A party for the teachers means that all the other kids just have to sit in their classes without an instructor- something that seems to happen fairly often.
I taught the 4th and 5th graders the song "head, shoulders, knees and toes" this week because we were learning body parts. They loved it!! It was neat, some of the boys that are normally "too cool" to participate in class were really into the song and the actions. The 4th grade girls remind me of that scene, I think in Toy Story 2, where the little aliens in the arcade game are flocking to Buzz making strange noises and trying to grab onto him. They are always trying to hug me, hold onto my arms, drag me places... It´s cute for a little while, but then I have to try and shake them off. It´s a difficult task, let me tell you.
On Thursday I had an interesting class with the 7th graders. They go to colegio next year (which is essentially high school), and thus the need to learn English is greatest with them. They were being really annoying and only about 1/3 had done their homework, so I decided that I wasn´t going to try and talk over them or teach. I just sat down at the teacher´s desk and said, "I´m not going to try to teach you guys if no one wants to learn." After a couple minutes a few students came up to me and said that they wanted to learn, so I said great, and we started working at the board. Everyone else kept doing whatever it is 12 year olds do ( :) mom and dad, I´m sure you´re rolling your eyes right now haha).. but gradually more kids came up to the board to learn. When the majority had decided to participate, I told them to sit down so we could all work together.
I proceeded to explain to them that I am not going to tell them they have to learn, that they have to do their homework, or that they have to pay attention in class. In this school the teachers are constantly saying, "Copy this, do this, do that". The kids are always asking me if they need to copy what´s on the board, and what color pen to use. I told the class that they need to decide for themselves what they want to know and what´s important to learn. They don´t want to do anything that they are told to do, that´s clear-- so I was trying to get them to think for themselves and decide whether or not it was important to pay attention and learn. After we started working again (we were learning the order of adjectives and nouns.. like green house instead of house green like it is in Spanish), they preceeded to ask if they needed to copy all the examples that we had done on the board. I explained that they only needed to copy as many as they felt they needed or enough to understand the concept. The whole thing was completely foreign to them (the concept of not being given orders)-- but it seemed to register.
All in all it was a really good week. The time continues to fly by- only 3 weeks left in Tocachi!
In other news, HAPPY BIRTHDAY/ FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS TIM!!!!!! (A few days early)
I´m off to enjoy the city--
¡hasta luego!
Monday, April 7, 2008
Guinea pig anyone??
hola--
I´m in Cayambe and it´s raining cats and dogs!!! Update time--
The English teacher was not at school today, which I found out when I got there. So, I taught all day, every grade. I was with each of the 6 grades for 45 minutes, working on English. It was actually really fun and all of the kids were great, except for 3rd grade. They are a bunch of little rascals-- but what can you do? It´s a pretty satisfying feeling, teaching in another language.. I´m surprised at how much I enjoyed it!
On Saturday afternoon we all hopped in the van again and went to Cayambe to buy mayonnaise packets for the potato chips (they LOVE mayonnaise here). On the way back we stopped at Hirma´s mom´s house (so, my host grandma) to visit and it was SO fascinating. She lives in one little room with earth walls and dirt floor. Everything is in the one room, the bed, the stove, the dishes.... and the guinea pigs (let me remind you, guinea pigs are not pets here. They are dinner). I was trying to take it all in without being very obvious and disrespectful. The guinea pigs are just running around the floor eating grass and such. I´m still trying to get over the fact that they are food here. It just doesn´t seem right; I keep thinking of my old pet hamster Sammy..... Such is life. I´m definitely living much differently than what I´m used to in Tocachi, but seeing this house was just an eye opener.
I´m accustomed to being constantly entertained and having a wealth of material things (comparatively). Seeing the way this woman lives, so simply and without hardly any possessions really made me think. I´m learning an incredible amount during this experience, as well as learning to appreciate the small things. That sounds so cliche, but it really is true. The big entertainment and things happening all the time, always around people-- that´s just not the way it goes here (well, again, by my standards. I´m still viewing everything more or less from my cultural background rather than from the Ecuadorian culture´s viewpoint, if that makes sense). I have a ton of down time, so I definitely appreciate the random conversations or trips in the van to Cayambe...
That´s all for now, I can´t miss the bus back to Tocachi or I´ll be stranded in the land of bischochos and rain! Hope you all have a great week!
hasta pronto
I´m in Cayambe and it´s raining cats and dogs!!! Update time--
The English teacher was not at school today, which I found out when I got there. So, I taught all day, every grade. I was with each of the 6 grades for 45 minutes, working on English. It was actually really fun and all of the kids were great, except for 3rd grade. They are a bunch of little rascals-- but what can you do? It´s a pretty satisfying feeling, teaching in another language.. I´m surprised at how much I enjoyed it!
On Saturday afternoon we all hopped in the van again and went to Cayambe to buy mayonnaise packets for the potato chips (they LOVE mayonnaise here). On the way back we stopped at Hirma´s mom´s house (so, my host grandma) to visit and it was SO fascinating. She lives in one little room with earth walls and dirt floor. Everything is in the one room, the bed, the stove, the dishes.... and the guinea pigs (let me remind you, guinea pigs are not pets here. They are dinner). I was trying to take it all in without being very obvious and disrespectful. The guinea pigs are just running around the floor eating grass and such. I´m still trying to get over the fact that they are food here. It just doesn´t seem right; I keep thinking of my old pet hamster Sammy..... Such is life. I´m definitely living much differently than what I´m used to in Tocachi, but seeing this house was just an eye opener.
I´m accustomed to being constantly entertained and having a wealth of material things (comparatively). Seeing the way this woman lives, so simply and without hardly any possessions really made me think. I´m learning an incredible amount during this experience, as well as learning to appreciate the small things. That sounds so cliche, but it really is true. The big entertainment and things happening all the time, always around people-- that´s just not the way it goes here (well, again, by my standards. I´m still viewing everything more or less from my cultural background rather than from the Ecuadorian culture´s viewpoint, if that makes sense). I have a ton of down time, so I definitely appreciate the random conversations or trips in the van to Cayambe...
That´s all for now, I can´t miss the bus back to Tocachi or I´ll be stranded in the land of bischochos and rain! Hope you all have a great week!
hasta pronto
Thursday, April 3, 2008
asi es la vida
hola...
So, guess what. No classes today. I´m in Cayambe right now to use the internet and eat some bischochos!!! Good news, I got an email offering me the AmeriCorps Vista summer position!!!! I´m really excited, I think it will be a great opportunity!! For those of you who don´t know what I´m talking about, I applied for a summer position with AmeriCorps and the Minnesota Literacy Council. The two organizations work together on a program called Summer Reads, which is an effort to work with kids who are behind in school and who don´t have strong reading skills. I´ll be working in either a Minneapolis or St. Paul school from June 12-August 8. The mornings are spent working with kids on reading skills, etc., and the afternoons are spent at local organizations like the Boys and Girls Club doing fun stuff! I´m hoping to work with Latino/Hispanic kids (I requested that). I had a phone interview right before I left for Tocachi and was a little worried that being in Ecuador/not being able to interview in person would hurt my chances of getting the position, so I´m relieved to know that I will be employed when I get back to the States! Plus, an additional bonus is that I´ll have 2 weeks off before I have to start!
I´m getting used to life in Tocachi, although I was initially decieved by the weather as it is now VERY cold!! There isn´t heat in the house, so cold outside means cold inside. Yesterday I had 3 long sleeved shirts on and a blanket wrapped around me all night. Granted, it´s not snow and cold like back home, but it´s still very chilly.
On Sunday I came up with a plan to create a new English cirriculum for the school so that when I leave Tocachi the "project", or English program at the school, is sustained. There currently is an English teacher, who started this year, but his knowledge is limited. On Monday I was observing different grade levels all day, so I didn´t present the idea until Tuesday. I was with the English teacher all day in his classes, and talked to him about creating a program or materials for him to use in the coming years. We also planned to work together after school on his English, so that he has more knowledge to pass on to the kids.
On Wednesday morning, when I went downstairs for breakfast I found out that the English teacher´s wife was killed in a car accident that morning. It´s incredibly sad, she was 28 and on her way to work in the flower fields. Her brother was driving the car, and it was just a one car accident. Since this is such a small community, everyone is affected. On Wednesday all of the teachers went to the hospital in Cayambe, so I was teaching the 6th and 7th graders all day. The funeral is tomorrow, and I´m sure I will be going with my host family along with the rest of the community. I´m not quite sure what is going to happen at the school- my host mom thinks he will be back on Monday as he has a contract to finish out, but I really have no idea.
On another note, Hannah Barnes is beautiful and I´m so excited that she´s healthy and that the delivery went well. Congratulations Jaime and Christi!!!
I miss you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
lots of love :)
So, guess what. No classes today. I´m in Cayambe right now to use the internet and eat some bischochos!!! Good news, I got an email offering me the AmeriCorps Vista summer position!!!! I´m really excited, I think it will be a great opportunity!! For those of you who don´t know what I´m talking about, I applied for a summer position with AmeriCorps and the Minnesota Literacy Council. The two organizations work together on a program called Summer Reads, which is an effort to work with kids who are behind in school and who don´t have strong reading skills. I´ll be working in either a Minneapolis or St. Paul school from June 12-August 8. The mornings are spent working with kids on reading skills, etc., and the afternoons are spent at local organizations like the Boys and Girls Club doing fun stuff! I´m hoping to work with Latino/Hispanic kids (I requested that). I had a phone interview right before I left for Tocachi and was a little worried that being in Ecuador/not being able to interview in person would hurt my chances of getting the position, so I´m relieved to know that I will be employed when I get back to the States! Plus, an additional bonus is that I´ll have 2 weeks off before I have to start!
I´m getting used to life in Tocachi, although I was initially decieved by the weather as it is now VERY cold!! There isn´t heat in the house, so cold outside means cold inside. Yesterday I had 3 long sleeved shirts on and a blanket wrapped around me all night. Granted, it´s not snow and cold like back home, but it´s still very chilly.
On Sunday I came up with a plan to create a new English cirriculum for the school so that when I leave Tocachi the "project", or English program at the school, is sustained. There currently is an English teacher, who started this year, but his knowledge is limited. On Monday I was observing different grade levels all day, so I didn´t present the idea until Tuesday. I was with the English teacher all day in his classes, and talked to him about creating a program or materials for him to use in the coming years. We also planned to work together after school on his English, so that he has more knowledge to pass on to the kids.
On Wednesday morning, when I went downstairs for breakfast I found out that the English teacher´s wife was killed in a car accident that morning. It´s incredibly sad, she was 28 and on her way to work in the flower fields. Her brother was driving the car, and it was just a one car accident. Since this is such a small community, everyone is affected. On Wednesday all of the teachers went to the hospital in Cayambe, so I was teaching the 6th and 7th graders all day. The funeral is tomorrow, and I´m sure I will be going with my host family along with the rest of the community. I´m not quite sure what is going to happen at the school- my host mom thinks he will be back on Monday as he has a contract to finish out, but I really have no idea.
On another note, Hannah Barnes is beautiful and I´m so excited that she´s healthy and that the delivery went well. Congratulations Jaime and Christi!!!
I miss you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
lots of love :)
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