Teaching in Larcacunga

Last Monday Hauna met me at my house and dropped off some plastic drawers (not living out of a suitcase anymore!) and then we started a 40 minute walk uphill to Larcacunga, the community where I am going to be teaching until the school year ends in the beginning of July. I almost passed out on the walk up, uphill with the altitude is tough for sure, but when we got there there was a beautiful view looking down on Agualongo, where I am living.

A view from the beginning of my walk. Larcacunga is on the left, it is a small building you can barely see up the hill.

Lucila is the main teacher and she works with Sisa, who is a volunteer that is paid by an NGO of some sort in Switzerland or somewhere random. Sisa works with the 1st-4th graders and Lucila is in charge of the 5th, 6th, and 7th graders. There are 30 students in total. It is crazy because Ecuador passed a law saying that if a school has fewer then 40 students they only get one teacher regardless of how many different ages they are working with. Sisa told me that she is waiting to hear if she will continue to be paid next year otherwise she is going to leave and Lucila is going to be in charge of the whole school on her own.

Lucila and me in front of the older kids classroom.

It feels really good to be teaching and have a purpose here. Sitting around doing nothing made me feel totally useless and I am much happier having somewhere to be every day. I am going to be teaching every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. I just hope that what I am doing actually helps.

After leaving my house at 7:00am and arriving a few minutes late (school starts at 7:40 every day) I help Sisa out in the younger kids class. There are four first graders, ten third graders, 3 fourth graders, and one lonely 2nd grader. I feel so bad because it is impossible for her to give them all the amount of attention they need, especially the one second grader. They all sit in sections in the classroom and having a teacher divided between four grades has made them really good at working independently. I basically just fill in wherever I can, helping with math worksheets, reading questions, learning to tell time, etc. Sisa discovered that I am an art minor and asked me to teach an art class once or twice and week. Today was my first class and I had them make name signs which went pretty well. At least it gives Sisa time to work with the first graders separately.

The view of Agualongo from the end of my walk. My house is almost out of view but you can see the rest of Agualongo.

After we have a meal made by one of the mothers from the school, usually soup or rice with beans, they have recreo (recess) and then I teach my english class. I'm teaching the 5th, 6th, and 7th graders together because they are all basically at the same level. They had a volunteer here a while ago so they remember a little english but not much. We've done some basic introductory conversations and started numbers today. I have about six more weeks with them so I am hoping to get a lot done. Lucila, the teacher, has been participating in class too which is really fun. They are all enthusiastic to learn more english and, I think, to have a different structure to their day. Lucila wants the seventh graders especially to solidify their english because next year they venture to another school where kids will be coming from all over and probably have been learning english for a while.

Being so closely exposed to the lack of resources and teachers in Ecuador definitely makes me thankful for the amazing education I have received for my entire life. Teaching is hard, but teaching four different age levels simultaneously is a whole different beast. I have so much respect for those teachers and what they are doing and I hope that they are glad to have me there helping out. I am always afraid of being an obnoxious foreigner who comes in and tells them how to be better, but I hope I am not coming off that way. I am trying to just support them with what they do, even if it means taking a point of homework for sloppy handwriting, and just make their lives a little bit easier. I am also glad I will be with them until the end of the school year, but it still makes me sad to think that I just come in, teach a bit, then bail. I know that they will not continue with their english if another volunteer doesn't take my place. It is an imperfect system. However, I am leaving a record of what I taught each day in hopes that another volunteer can come and build on what they already know so it is not all for naught. 

A Few Photos from Ecuador

My backyard for the next two and a half months. 

Another photo of my backyard.

My bedroom.

The door on the right is to my bedroom, the other door is to the rest of their house.

A view from above of Otavalo, the small city near where I live.

The Lechero tree. This is an important tree in indigenous culture that I visited last weekend with Hauna and Kiah.

My 3 year old host sister Nayeli and her best friends the puppies. 

My host mom (Lourdes) and brother (Zahid) team up to get figs from the tree outside our house.

My host mom and her 3 month old baby, Ashanti. Like the singer.

My host siblings hanging out with the puppies.

So much adorableness. I can't handle it. 

Bienvenidos a Agualongo (otra vez)

Being back in Ecuador, back in Agualongo, has been overwhelming. It has only been a few days but I have already had many ups and downs. There have been moments where I'm just like why am I here? Why did I decide it was a good idea to live in a rural village all summer? But there are other moments when I feel really good about my decision and pretty badass for being here, living in a village by myself, and just being more or less totally independent.

When I arrived in Quito I took a taxi to Otavalo (I think I got quite ripped off but I was too tired to argue with the taxi driver) and went to Huana's (The Tandana Foundation's coordinator's) apartment in Otavalo. I spent the night there with her and her husband, Kai. They were both extremely nice and welcoming. We went down to the town square and got plastic bags full of meat for dinner and Huana gave me a little introduction to Tandana and what I will be doing this summer. I also slept a lot, I didn't realize how burnt out I was from leaving Bolivia and my semester ending.

The next day we visited the office (which has wifi), I learned a little about the bus system, we went to lunch and the grocery store and then I got dropped off with my host family. It is pretty cool to be back at with the same family. When I was here almost four years ago they had a new baby (who is now a toddler) and the son was a super super shy two year old. Now the kids are really outgoing and so excited that I am back which is really nice. The first night I was there we played soccer, hide and seek, catch, volleyball, and then my host siblings and their two cousins who live next door all came into my room and drew all over my journal. It felt very welcoming and comfortable to have everybody piled on my bed, excited to hang out with me.

There are also four very small puppies at my house who are a month and 15 days old. My host sister, Nayeli, plays with them which by my standards is  more like torturing them. She carries them around by one arm and sometimes puts one of their whole heads in her mouth. It is strange but cute I guess. My host mom is still the same super sweet lady she was four years ago and seems excited to have me back. They killed a chicken for the soup my first dinner with the family.

I was pretty overwhelmed and felt kind of isolated my first few days here. However, things are only getting easier with time as I become more accustomed to village life, the cold, and being independent (I miss my Carpe Diem group so much!) Anyway, so far so good. It is super pretty here and I feel pretty lucky to have such a unique opportunity, even if it is really hard at some points. 

Leaving Bolivia

I am currently sitting in the La Paz airport waiting to board a flight to Lima and then Quito. Starting my summer in Ecuador is currently too much for me to think about so I am just going with the flow and trying not to worry too much. Mostly I am consumed by being so incredibly sad that my semester in Bolivia has ended. Although there were good times and bad times overall I am an amazing experience and met so many people that I am sad to have to say goodbye to. I am so glad that I loved my time here enough to be so sad to leave, but it doesn't make it any easier.

My whole group our second day of orientation. It seems like so long ago, but also so recent. Weird.

Last weekend our whole group reunited for the first time after the month of being separated for the ISP. It was crazy to think going into it that it would be the last time we'd all be together. We spent evaluations in a beautiful hotel-esq place in Tiquipaya, about a 20 minute drive outside of Cochabamba. I stayed in a bungalow with Laura, Olivia, and Maddy and it was great to be back together again and hear about all the adventures people had while we were separated.

Laura, Olivia, me, and Maddy. I'm going to miss those girls.

We spent the first two days doing presentations. Everybody in my group (now 23 of us since Karen left early to go back to the US) had to present their research for 30 minutes. We started at 8am the first day and finished around 7pm. I thought it would be so difficult to sit through but it was actually incredibly interesting. Everybody in my group chose really different and fascinating topics and the 20 minutes of talking went by really quickly in most cases. I was very nervous to present my completed video. Unfortunately, something went wrong technology wise and the last minute of my video was cut off, but other than that I received positive feedback. Although, what are people supposed to say besides "good job"? I'll let all of you guys be the judge when I come back and show you. And yes, to answer previous questions, it does have subtitles.

Besides presentations we had some time to hang out, play some mini-field soccer, go into Cochabamba, and have meetings about re-entry, what we've learned over the course of the semester etc. It was pretty cool to think back on all of the amazing things that we've done in the past three and a half months and think about how much people have changed. Maddy, Olivia, and I also got to go in to Cochabamba and meet Laura's parents who are here to travel after the program ends. It was so interesting to see their reactions to things and realize how much better I know the city now than at the beginning. Also, there was a HUGE dog there named Gorda (fatty--shout out to Romeo) and she had the biggest head I've ever seen. We hung out a lot also.

Gorda and me. AKA the big head club.

After presentations people from my group started leaving gradually. That was really hard for me, I would've rather had it just happen all at once I think. On Tuesday morning only about half the group was left and I headed out to spend one last day with my host family. We had lunch together, then I went to the Centro and hung out with a few remaining people in the group and delivered copies of my project to organizations that had helped me. My host sister, Marita, drove me to the airport for my 8pm flight to La Paz. My host parents sadly couldn't come to the airport but we talked on the phone and had a heartfelt goodbye. It is amazing how quickly I became comfortable in their house and how strange it is going to be for me to not be living there anymore.

My Bolivian host family and me at our farewell party. I think this
sadly is the only picture we have of all 4 of us.

After my flight being delayed for 30 minutes I finally arrived in La Paz at 9pm last night. Ethan and I got Mexican food and spent the night there. He had to leave the hotel at 4am this morning and I had to leave at like 5:45. I don't know how I am going to survive this day of traveling emotionally or physically, but hopefully I will just sleep on every step of the way.

I am nervous but excited to start my summer in Ecuador. I don't really know what to expect but I am sure that it will be an amazing adventure. Just because my time in Bolivia has ended doesn't mean my South America blog is over. You still have another 2 and half months of entertaining blog posts to look forward to.

Somos Auroristas, Vamos a Ganar!

One day during the ISP period after working with a few other people in a café all afternoon Zach informed us that he was going to an Aurora soccer game and Maddy and I decided to go too. I can't believe it took me so long to finally attend a Cochabamba game, but I am so glad that I did. After we arrived we ran to the ticket office because the crowds looked big and we were afraid we wouldn't get tickets. After buying our tickets and meeting up with some of Zach's family (his actual family who are from Cochabamba) we entered the stadium. Turns out, it really wasn't crowded at all but at least we got a workout in.

It wasn't all that crowded but there were enough people there to make the atmosphere super exciting. People were all wearing light blue and white, singing songs that I didn't know about Aurora, and throwing confetti that was just ripped up newspaper and brochures, so sustainable!

The game about to begin.

Aurora scored twice within the first ten minutes, so the game was exciting right from the beginning. I won't say it was the best soccer I have ever seen but the played hard and people were so passionate about their team which was a fun environment to be in.

At halftime Zach's family bought us hamburgers. I was already incredibly full from dinner but I managed to eat the whole thing and thoroughly enjoy it. I also got the opportunity to film some kids working in the stadium for my project. Definitely ethically questionable but definitely useful.

Stole this picture from Maddy. But we had the same
sandwich so I think it is okay.

Overall it was a really fun experience and I am so glad I got the opportunity to see some Bolivian soccer. We left the stands singing: "soy Auroristas, Aurorista soy yo." I guess I am officially an Aurorista.

Police escorting the refs out of the stadium. Better safe than sorry.

Starting my ISP (Independent Study Project)

It is really hard to believe that I am so close to being done with my semester here in Bolivia. Although in some ways my time here went really slowly and it was bien challenging mostly my three and a half months here have flown by and I am going to be so sad to have it all end in a week and a half. 

After we got back from Santa Cruz we all had to turn in our ISP proposals, IRB ethics forms, and a literary review about our chosen topic. We spent a week working on these assignments and then jumped right in and started our research. My chosen topic is child workers here in Cochabamba which means I have been continuing to live with my host family and working on my project. Other people in my group traveled to other cities or small villages to do their research.  

My project was very frustrating and challenging at first. First of all, I got my ethics form back from my advisor and she informed me that it is against Bolivian law to film or photograph kids under the age of 18 even with their parents consent. Obviously this didn't bode well for me since my project is making a video about children. Anyway, after a few stressful days we realized that that is not true and as long as I have consent from parents, guardians, or "tutors" I would be okay. 

My first day of ISP I headed to SEDEGES which is basically Child Protective Services. Everybody had told me to talk to them but the woman there was super mean and wouldn't film an interview with me. Then, my afternoon plans fell through. The next day I met with Heidi, our Academic Director, to inform her that my project was a disaster and was for sure not going to work out. She assured me that this is how it always is with these types of projects in Bolivia and that I was going to have days when nothing worked out, and days when magically everything worked out. Turns out, she was right. The next day I was able to film two excellent interviews and felt so much better. 

My second week of ISP I met Juan Vicente, who is one of the leaders of UnatsCo, the Cochabamba branch of the Bolivian Child Workers Union. He agreed to help me out with my project as long as I gave the organization a copy of the final video so they could use it to promote themselves and find funding. I filmed an interview with him and then he took me on a visita to the Cancha, the giant market. We walked around and he asked random kids he knew who were working shining shoes, washing car windows, or helping out at fruit stands to film interviews with me. Although some were rather skeptical thanks to him several agreed to be filmed and finally my project really felt like it was going to work. 

This type of research in Bolivia is definitely frustrating. People are constantly late to meetings, don't show up at all, or schedule them for days when the office is going to be closed. There are several areas of the city that have no street signs so finding places is often difficult. Bolivians in general are super helpful and willing to sit down and talk to you, but I have had a little bit of trouble since I am always asking to film and sometimes they aren't so excited about that. It has been completely overwhelming to be alone in this process of research, but at the same time it has been challenging in a really great way. 

Mostly, I have been pleasantly surprised at how many things have actually ended up working out in my favor. After those first few days I didn't think that I would have enough footage for a 20 minute video, but now that I am in the editing process I realize that I definitely do, so that is exciting. Since I don't really know what I am doing or how to use Final Cut Pro it is still touch and go if my video is going to be halfway decent but we shall see. 

Santa Cruz

Wow, I have officially become a terrible blogger. We got back from Santa Cruz weeks ago so I am embarrassed to be posting this now. But, better late than never, amiright? I sincerely apologize to my avid blog readers for going so long without a post.

Anyway, after we crossed the road block and got in a random bus on the other side we arrived hungry and tired in Santa Cruz. Laura, Maddy, Olivia and I went to get dinner (and ice cream) and then headed back to the hotel. I knew before hand that there was a pool at the hotel but I had been joking that there was going to be a swim up bar--and then there was! It was really just bar stools in the pool, no actual bar, but still it was pretty exciting to learn that I could predict the future. So anyway, we bought our own supplies and enjoyed the swim up every night we were there.

Olivia with the ice cream and chocolate cake
Sundae that we split. I honestly probably could've
eaten the whole thing myself if I had really tried.

Swim up bar lanterns. The real reason we have headlamps.

The next day we had free time so a bunch of us went to the zoo. We had heard great things about the zoo and also that it was going to be super depressing so I didn't really know what to expect. It was a little bit sad, as all zoos are, but mostly it was pretty cool. It also was a great opportunity to take awesome photos posing like animals. The best part of zoo trips for sure.

That night was Tuesday which means two for  one tuesdays at dumbo, the ice cream place. It was kind of embarrassing to hold one cone in each hand, but mostly I felt pretty awesome. It was my dinner after all so I can't feel that bad.

Our last day in Santa Cruz I discovered that there are situations when sunblock just doesn't work. Literally, the sun is just too strong and my fair irish skin can't handle it. We went to visit the sand dunes which had been created because of all of the deforestation in the area. We walked and sweated to arrive at the dunes where I decided it was a good idea to take my shoes off and then had to run across them because my feet were getting burned. Although incredibly physically uncomfortable it was a pretty amazing thing to see.

Yes, this is a snapchat, but it is the best documentation I
have of my horrendous sunburn