Mindo.

It's been a while since my last blog so thanks for sticking with me! School has been going well, this is week three already and I'm starting to get into a routine. The days are really long and teaching so many classes is a lot of hard work but the good times have been outweighing the bad so I'm happy. 

(Having fun at recess)

This weekend, seven of us took a trip to Mindo. The Mindo Valley is among the most heavily visited locations in Ecuador. Nearly 200,000 tourists visit the area annually to enjoy activities such as rafting, tubing, trekking, mountain biking, canyoning, horseback riding, and birdwatching. **Thanks, Wikipedia!

We had so much fun and everything was really inexpensive so it would be great to go back with more friends. We woke up early Saturday morning and took a two hour bus ride through the mountains ($3.10). When we arrived, the weather was sunny and beautiful. We could walk across the main part of town in less than 10 minutes and we were surrounded by shops dedicated to tourist activities. We found our hostel ($13) and settled in. The hostel was owned by a nice family who lived there year round. The building reminded me a lot of a treehouse. Five hammocks hung from the balcony giving us a beautiful view of the mountains and a perfect spot to relax. 

 (Michael relaxing at the hostel)

(A view of town)

We ended up booking all of our adventures through one family business so they gave us a few discounts throughout the weekend. Our first activity was tubing ($5)! We rode in the back of a pickup truck through town and up the mountain until we reached the river. There were a few guides from different companies waiting for their groups, this was clearly the spot to launch. Our guide's name was Jefferson and while I swear he looked 16, everyone else thought he was older than that. I'm still not convinced.We suited up with helmets and lifejackets and jumped in seven rubber tubes that were tied together with rope. The water wasn't too cold and we spent the next hour laughing and screaming as we made our way down the river. If there was a rock within ten miles, my side of the tube found it. Our solution to getting stuck on a rock was rocking back and forth while Jefferson jumped out and pushed. Ohh, Jefferson!

(Tubing with Jefferson - not pictured - not because he drowned)

After we finished tubing we drove back into town and had lunch ($3.50). Next, we drove to another part of the mountain ($3) and hiked through the forest to some waterfalls. There was a waterslide coming off the side of the mountain which ended up being a lot of fun until Sean took a turn a little too fast and ended up scraping his arm and back pretty badly. He was a trooper but it looked really painful. After a few rides down the waterslide we found a place to cliff jump. "When in Ecuador." Three of us were brave stupid enough try it out, I was first. 

The cliff was next to a waterfall and I later confirmed the jumping point was 26 feet above the water. My harness and lifejacket were tied to a rope and I tried not to vomit as the lifeguard man holding the rope instructed me to "stay straight as a pencil" and some other things I can't remember. Safety first :) He threw a handful of dirt into the swirling water below and pointed..."that's where you want to land." PERFECT. What a perfectly antiquated rescue system, we all feel much safer. I took about 30 seconds to psych myself up, reconfirmed that the rope holder was ready, and jumped into the freezing cold water. After a quick inventory for any missing limbs, I was so happy I jumped! What a rush. Shemesh was next but after a few minutes of inner turmoil, he decided to pass. Robby was last and landed like an idiot (sorry, Robby). The guy with the rope pointed at me and said "you did great...him...not so much.) Luckily, Robby survived and we all had a good laugh. 

(Water...fall?)

 (Post jump)

 (1,000 photo credits to Michael for bringing his camera, and for guilting me into never giving him photo credits)

 (Hiking down to the water)

(Suit up!)

We had pizza and beers for dinner ($10) and played cards at the hostel until the rest of the group went on a "night walk" into the woods. The night walk was led by some Canadian guides and they looked for spiders, snakes, bats, etc. Not my idea of a fun time. I ended up hanging out at the hostel with a girl named Anna from Germany. We talked in the hammocks for a while and then walked down the street where an impromptu drum circle was happening (wow, that's the most hipster sentence I have ever written, I apologize). Once everyone returned from the hike, we went out to the two local bars and met two girls who were halfway through their Peace Corps contract. They were super nice and fun to hang out with. We also made friends with a stray dog someone named "Nicely". 

(Drum circle)

The next day, we ate breakfast and went ziplining ($21). There were ten ziplines and we were grouped with a mom and her two young sons. This was my first time ziplining and it was fun but I'm not sure I would want to do it again. Don't get me wrong, it was a lot of fun but I feel like I get the gist. The bugs were horrible as we hiked through the woods and my legs are covered in what feels like 100 mosquito bites. Lesson learned, wear pants. I made it through the first nine ziplines no problem but on the last and fastest one, I lost control and ended up spinning around and scraping my neck against the wire. I didn't cry but it hurt a lot and I was super embarrassed. I was the second to last person to go and apparently, when he saw I had lost hold of the wire, the guide at the top radio'd down and told the guide at the bottom to catch me. Luckily, Michael was standing by with his gloves and the guide was able to stop me with no broken bones. Winning! 

(Ziplining)

(Winning at life)

(ALL the mosquito bites and rope burn)

Our bus was leaving at 4:00 pm so we had time for lunch and one more activity. We had lunch on a cute little street with a bunch of gourmet restaurants. I had spaghetti bolognese, lemonade, a bottle of water, and fried ice cream ($10) and it was amazing. Our last stop was to the butterfly garden ($4). It wasn't very impressive but it was still interesting. We saw some butterflies, a sad looking Koi pond, some very angry geese, and a garden filled with hummingbirds. Attached to the hummingbird garden was a nice porch with hammocks so we relaxed there until it was time to leave. 

 (Flowers in the butterfly garden)

 (Eye spy)

 (Flower canopy)

(The saddest Koi pond ever)

All-in-all I thought Mido was amazing and I would definitely go back again! It was nice to forget about school for a while and just explore. 

End Of Week One!

It's Sunday afternoon and I'm exhausted! This first week has been one of the most challenging but rewarding weeks of my life. As our classes are starting to get used to our style of teaching, it's getting easier to stay in a routine. For instance, our 6th grade English class did a total 180 from Monday. The homeroom teacher stayed in the classroom this time and we organized their desks into a "U" shape so they would be less tempted to talk to one another. We played a vocabulary BINGO game and they were so well behaved! 

I was anxious for Friday because I had Girls Program again and I still hadn't organized a project yet. During my second art class Thursday afternoon, I saw one of the girls wearing a headband that looked handmade and I asked her if I could borrow it to show one of the Girls Program teachers. The teacher confirmed it was handmade and that she could stay late that day to help me gather the supplies and teach me how to make them - my angel! She and another teacher were so patient with me. On Friday, I introduced the project to the girls and they loved it! It was a bit overwhelming having 14 girls calling my name and asking for my help but I did my best. Some of the girls caught on really fast so I encouraged them to help their classmates and they did! I think they liked the responsibility. By the end of the two hours, all the girls were working efficiently and I was so relieved that it wasn't a repeat from Monday. Win!

When it was time for showers, I realized I had read the schedule wrong so we were about 20 minutes early and all of the showers were occupied. We were sent to the downstairs bathroom but I was grateful for the extra time. I don't typically go into the bathroom with the girls unless I hear distressed screaming or need to give them a five minute countdown so I just sat outside the door on the steps and waited for them to finish. When it was time for the "5 minute warning" I walked in and saw two girls laying down in a long sink butt naked with four faucets running over them like a make-shift spa. I have never laughed so hard in my life. I just rolled my eyes and told them to hurry up and they squealed with excitement having the time of their lives. When I give my girls a 5 minute countdown, they really have 20 minutes, but they like to take their sweet time getting dressed so I tell them a few white lies to hurry the process along. 

By the time Girls Program ended at 5:00 pm, I was exhausted and ready for a beer, but on Fridays I have an Adult Ed. class from 6-6:40 pm. I was excited because the other volunteers had said their Adult Ed. classes were their favorite part of the day because the students were eager to learn and classes were really fun but my class was a bit different. While the other volunteers had 5-15 students in a class (one volunteer even had 1 student), I had 36 students with ages ranging from 16-39 and the only thing more varied than their English speaking abilities was their eagerness to learn. These students pay for these classes but the majority of the younger ones had no interest in being there. I'm not sure if they were being forced by their parents or just uninterested in being at school on a Friday night (I can relate) but I don't understand why you would pay for a class if you're just going to sit there and talk to your friends.

I was so frustrated because there were students (mostly older) that sat quietly and were so eager to learn, but I couldn't give them my full attention because half the class didn't give a rat's @ss about being there. At one point I walked to the back of the room because three of the younger guys had their heads on their desks and they looked like they were sleeping. I gave them a nudge and told them to pay attention or leave..."not in my class"...so they sat up and continued to talk for the rest of class. When the forty minutes were up, their next teacher was at the door and I was more than ready to leave. I walked back to the house defeated and feeling like a complete failure. I wanted so badly to teach the students who actually wanted to learn but I felt like I let them down. When I got back to the house, the other volunteers were hanging out and waiting for me to start happy hour but I managed to make it 30 seconds before having a complete breakdown. Everyone was so supportive and listened while I vented. They suggested we talk to the head of the program and separate the class into two smaller classes so that it would be more manageable to teach and that way, they could help me with the class. I can't tell you how grateful I am for their support, we have grown really close these past couple of weeks and I don't know what I would do without them! 

We turned the night around and ended up drinking/playing Monopoly and it was a lot of fun. Sometimes, it's nice to not think about classes and just sit back and laugh with your friends. Saturday morning I had my first lesson with the Spanish tutor, Rita. She is really nice and also surprisingly hilarious! We talked for about an hour in Spanish and I learned that she has traveled all over the world, loves Harry Potter, and has another student from Milwaukee! She told me we would have a "field trip" with her other students to visit the president and have lunch in the city. She also "jokingly" told me I owe her a piece of chocolate every time I use English in her presence. Joke's on you Rita, that much chocolate doesn't exist. We had a lot of fun and I'm excited to continue to work with her for the next few months. The rest of the weekend we just relaxed, hung out, and did some lesson planning. I can tell weekends are going to be imperative for our sanity...weekends and cervezas ;) 

(Those braids though...recess=beauty parlor)

 (Second grade having fun at recess)

 (The art room where I have Girls Program)

 (Girls Program projects)

(The view from the art room)

(My favorite little nugget, Mary)

Two & Three

Both mornings began with my second grade class, they are so tiny and precious! I'm lucky because they have art/recess/snack when I'm with them so I mostly walk around and tell them how beautiful their drawings are and reassure them that they are talented and smart! Roccio gives me a few odd jobs here and there like organizing bookshelves, folding protective covers for notebooks, and sharpening pencils, I'm happy to be an extra set of hands! Second grade is the best way to start the day!

After I leave the little ones, I go to my English classes. I have 7th and 9th grade every day and both classes are unique. The first week has been interesting because we still don't have class lists so it's hard to learn names. There are about 30 kids in the 7th grade class and for the most part, they are well behaved. Their homeroom teacher stays in the class with us and she always greets us with a warm smile and big hug. Our first few activities were basic "getting to know you" games. The most challenging part has been getting the kids to practice their english. When you talk with them one-on-one it's easy for them to repeat a sentence back to you but we can only be in so many places at once. If we spend too much time with one kid, the others grow restless.

9th grade is fun but challenging since I'm on my own with about 20 kids. My 9th graders love playing games but hate sitting down. They like to ask me lots of questions, none of which are english related, and see how much they can get away with before I give them my best "I'm serious this time" look. Most of the class stays in their seats and pays attention but there are a few kids I have to consistently ask to sit down. Also, there are a few romantic couples in my class and the fact that I know they are couples after three days should indicate enough. For now, all I have to do is give them the "seriously??? we are in school..." look and they back off but TRUE LOVE WILL NEVER DIE!

Tuesdays/Thursdays Emma and I assist in the art room for the last three hours of the day. The art teacher is very talented but there are SO MANY KIDS in one class it's hard to keep everyone focused. The first day, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade all did the same project, drawing circles/squiggles on a blank sheet of paper for one hour. I get that it's important to teach kids shapes and colors and to encourage them to follow instructions but after the second hour, I was ready to draw a circle through my brain. There is a lot of energy in art class and I'm slowly learning that I can't control everything and that sometimes, kids are just going to be kids.

Today was also my second day of Girls Program and I swear, it's going to be my greatest challenge this year. My group went from 11 to 14 4th grade girls and it's my responsibility to organize a craft project that they can sell in the WBC store. Projects range from bracelets, scarfs, greeting cards, Christmas decorations, etc. I get frustrated so easily because for now, I only know a few simple commands such as "sit down" "quiet please" "let's go" "give it to me" "no fighting" etc. and the girls have clearly caught on. The first part of Girls Program is almost two hours long which in my opinion is too long to try and keep 14 girls occupied. Today, I gave them all a sheet of colored construction paper with their name on it so they could decorate it and I could take their picture and start to learn their names. After about 20 minutes they were almost finished decorating their names so I gave them each a page from one of my adult coloring books and we colored for the rest of class. I need to rethink my strategy because there is group of older girls in the same classroom (the art room) and the table is enormous so there are far too many distractions. Every time I got a corner settled, someone would be crawling under the table, crawling on top of the table, screaming across the table, running around the room, you name it, they did it. At one point I looked over and saw three girls rubbing "makeup" aka chalk on their faces. I confiscated the chalk and some actual makeup and put it in my pocket along with a tube of toothpaste one of the girls was using to brush her teeth...in the middle of class...with no water...God only knows where the toothpaste went when it left her mouth...I suspect her backpack. When I asked her why she was brushing her teeth she just looked up at me and smiled a foamy white smile and I couldn't help but laugh and roll my eyes. Chicas!

Shower time was another adventure, we were about ten minutes early which was a huge mistake. I kept telling the girls to sit down but that only egged them on. The volunteers who saw me that afternoon could tell I was frustrated in about 5 seconds. Like I said before, I need to learn how to choose my battles. Even I'M getting sick of hearing myself ask them to sit down and be quiet so clearly it's on me to try something new. Our final stop before the end of the day was library/computer class. Honestly, I'm "this" close to just buying them all an iPad, they are angels in the library and truly pleasant to be around when they are on a computer. A few of the girls sat on my lap as I read them books and it reminded me why I love them in the first place. While they are full of energy and mischief, they are just kids and at the end of the day, they are very sweet. I funnel ALL of my energy and patience into loving them and making them feel special, I just need to learn some more Spanish so I can be one step ahead of them...soon!

First Day Of School.

Today was the first day of school and my head is spinning! Four of us rode the Center bus, which could easily fit 50 people, to the downtown Center at 7:00 am. Luckily, the ride was only 30 minutes. When we arrived we were early and didn't know where to go because we didn't have room assignments or class lists. Originally, all of the volunteers were scheduled to teach Special Education for the first two hours of the morning but when we met with the principal she told us there were too many teachers and two of us would need to assist in a lower level class. Michael and I were volunteered since the other three volunteers speak better Spanish than us me. Five minutes after class had started I was brought to the second grade classroom. The second grade teacher is "Roccio" and she has been teaching for 19 years. She is very nice and incredibly patient with me. I picked an empty seat at the back of the classroom and listened while she explained the classroom rules. Next, the kids were told to draw a picture of what they did over summer vacation and Roccio asked me to help her sharpen colored pencils. She handed me a box cutter and a handful of pencils and the kids watched in awe as we stood over the garbage can shaving off pieces of their pencils until they were sharp again. If there were an Olympics for pencil sharpening, Roccio would win gold. I would blame my inadequacy on my dull box cutter but she gave me a second one and I was still riding the struggle bus. I managed to get just enough color out of each pencil but I could tell the kids had caught on that I was a complete pencil idiot. After I was done sharpening, I walked around the classroom and asked each student their name and complimented their drawing. They are all so sweet and SO STINKIN' CUTE! I don't know if they were afraid of me or afraid of being punished for talking in class but they whispered their names so quietly that I only managed to hear one, Matteo. Once they had finished coloring, Roccio asked me to look through a pile of used notebooks and cut out the blank pages so the kids would have paper to write on. Before I knew it, it was time for my first English class. 

Sixth grade English was the equivalent of opening Pandora's box - it was complete chaos. Normally, the Ecuadorian homeroom teacher is supposed to stay in the class and help with classroom management but the second Oihane and I showed up, our homeroom teacher vanished. The class had about 30 kids, four of whom were girls. My sweet, sweet, 6th grade girls...I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if someone told me the boys ate pixie sticks and Mountain Dew for breakfast, they were off the walls. Thank God Oihane is fluent in Spanish because without her, I don't know what I would have done. We started the class with a name game, explained the classroom rules, then finished by letting them color their name tag - productive first day. There were kids pretending to sleep, pretending to cry, pretending to forget their name, wrestling on the floor, yelling out the door, asking to go to the bathroom, basically a teacher's worst nightmare. Oihane and I did our best to control the situation but it was no use. The two of us need to rethink this class but luckily, we only have it Mondays and Fridays. When it came time for class to end, the teacher was nowhere in sight. Oihane and I anxiously looked at each other, certain that if we left, the kids would burn the building down. We were already late for our next class but we couldn't just leave them there so we decided to wait until the teacher came back.

Next up - 9th grade English. This one was interesting because we found out that morning that there were too many kids to combine into one classroom so Oihane and I had to split up and teach on our own. Since we had planned the first week of lessons together, we were a little taken off guard. We quickly divided up the supplies and I was left standing in a room full of 30 high school kids. AAAAAHHHHH! I actually ended up really enjoying this class. The kids were silly but not disrespectful. We played some games, did some coloring, and listened to some music to end the class. They kept asking me to play Reggae music but my collection isn't updated - yet. I recognized some of the kids from the summer program talent show and when I told one kid I liked his dance moves, he almost died of embarrassment. "MOMMY LOVES YOU PUMPKIN!" 9th grade was challenging but also a lot of fun. I felt like they understood more of what I was saying and I was able to get through class no problem.

After English class we rode the metro back to Center #2 and enjoyed a long lunch before the afternoon began. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I have "Girls Program" with 11 4th grade girls. In my head, I like to call them Ocean's Eleven. It's lame, I know. Girls program starts with an art project (jewelry, greeting cards, Christmas decorations, etc.) but since we hadn't discussed a project and had no materials, we couldn't really do much. I sat the girls in a circle and asked them countless "getting to know you" questions but they were growing pretty restless. To eat up some more time, we played a singing/hand slapping game I had learned at camp and at one point I ended up singing "We Wish You A Merry Christmas." Don't ask me how that happened, your guess is probably better than mine. 

Every day, the kids take showers and brush their teeth. Half of my girls claimed to have already taken a shower that morning. I'm not totally convinced they did but I'm not about to call them on it if I don't fully understand what they are trying to explain. They presented a united front so...I'm assuming they were telling the truth. The rest of the girls walked up to a window where a woman signed their name into a book and they received a dry towel and squirt of shampoo on their head. I'm assuming the water was cold because they were all screaming and seemed relatively unamused. While the rest of the girls were waiting, they completely lost their minds. At that point, I wasn't trying to teach them anything so I metaphorically threw my hands in the air and said f*ck it. The Girls Program director walked by just as two of my girls were wrestling on the floor and she seemed unimpressed. She told me there was a mistake in the schedule and that we were supposed to be in the library but I explained that half of my group was currently in the shower so there wasn't much I could do. I called into the girls to hurry up and they were dressed and ready to go five minutes later.

Once everyone was showered, lined up, and relatively quiet, we made our way to the library. Library may be my favorite part of Girls Program because the girls were on their best behavior. It reminded me a lot of the scene in Toy Story 3 when the kids in one room are off the walls and the kids in the next room are complete angels. I read a few books to some of the girls while the rest read quietly to themselves.

Our last activity was "free time" for the girls to play outside and run around on the playground. Two minutes in, I look over and a girl is literally hanging out of a tree. I didn't know the words for "get down!" so I ended up yelling "RESPECT THE TREE!" Smooth Kel, real smooth. The rest of the girls were swinging on a swing set and running around the playground. At one point, an adult started yelling over to me but I couldn't understand what she was saying. I assumed it was something along the lines of "it's time to go" so I gathered the girls and started walking back but realized we still had 30 minutes to kill. We walked back to the library and the girls were able to play on the computers until it was time to go home. I left class with such an adrenaline rush but also in a complete daze. I was happy that I was able to make it through the day with limited Spanish but I have so much to learn. The first thing I did when I got home was call the Spanish tutor. We have a lesson scheduled for this Saturday so I'm hoping we can work some miracles. I'm glad the kids were patient with my limited Spanish but I could tell most of them were thinking "I'm on to you, lady". 

When the volunteers reconvened for dinner, we shared the details of our day and I felt better knowing I wasn't the only one who experienced a little chaos. I was so nervous for the first day of school, I'm glad it's under my belt. As I get to know my kids better, I know I will be a better teacher. I'm excited for the rest of the week, stay tuned!

Buses.

One of the biggest adjustments to city living has been public transportation. Aside from taking the shuttle down to Summerfest once a year, I think I have been on a bus maybe three times in my life? My first week in Ecuador, the buses were completely overwhelming but now, it's just part of the normal routine. Riding the bus is always an adventure. For starters, there really is no bus schedule, you just wait at the stop until the bus you need arrives. Luckily, we have never had to wait more than 10 minutes. The buses are always jam packed so assuming there is room for you to get on, you squeeze in and hand the attendant 25 cents. If you're lucky, the driver will wait until you're fully on to start driving but more than once, the bus has started to drive away as someone is stepping in. The nice thing about the bus is that it only costs 25 cents and you can ride it for as long as you'd like. The front window has a sign that says where it's going and the attendants usually shout their destination out the window. Depending on the time of day, traffic is usually crazy. There are cars everywhere, people honk their horns like it's their job, and speed limits/traffic signs are more of a suggestion. The metro has it's own lane for part of the ride but it still blows through red lights on a frequent basis. The ride from Center #2 to the downtown campus is about 45 minutes. I just assume I'll be standing for the entire trip but on occasion, a seat will open up. Every so often, a vendor selling juice/candy will jump on for a stop and occasionally, someone will entertain us with their singing/rapping. Never a dull moment. My biggest annoyance with public transportation is that there is always someone sneezing/coughing and the city air is less than eco-friendly... I always feel like I need to jump in the shower after a long ride but on the bright side, my immune system is going to be prime by the time I come home. I do enjoy listening to the locals speak to each other and if I'm listening to my iPod, the ride doesn't seem so long.