Adventures In Ecuador: 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 ;)