Sunday Excursions

A view of Otavalo from our Lechero Tree hike.

Are you aware that the equator runs through Ecuador?

So when I arrived Hauna told me that her and her husband, Kiah, try to go on an adventure every Sunday to take advantage of all the stuff there is to do around Otavalo. They said I was welcome to come any Sunday so since I also want to take advantage of being here and my host family just sits around on Sundays, I have gone with them on two adventures since getting here.

The first Sunday I was here I met them at their apartment in Otavalo, we packed a lunch (PB&Js, a welcome change from potatoes and rice) and we hiked up to the Lechero Tree. The Lechero Tree is apparently very important in some kind of indigenous legend. There were two people in love or something and they sinned so now the man is the mountain and the woman is the tree and they constantly look at each other but can't get any closer. I'm not exactly sure, but it is something along those lines.

Anyway, the hike was super pretty and it was nice to get a break from my host family and have something to do after a few days of doing absolutely nothing because at that point I hadn't started teaching. It was a slightly difficult hike, especially for me newly adjusting to the altitude. After arriving back in Otavalo we rewarded ourselves with beers at a rooftop restaurant. Overall it was a good way to spend my first Sunday in Ecuador and a nice bonding experience.

The Lechero Tree. 

Classic me looking short picture.
This is Kiah, Hauna, and me at the Lechero Tree.

The next Friday (I know, not a Sunday excursion but still an excursion) Hauna's ex-spanish student from the US was visiting and he and Hauna came up to Larcacunga where I taught. After school was over we went out to lunch and then visited Peguche, a waterfall really close to Otavalo. We took the bus there and it is a pretty built-up touristy place with a stone walkway to the bottom of the waterfall. It was still amazingly beautiful and a nice way to spend an afternoon.

The waterfall.

Sam, me, Hauna, and Kiah at the waterfall.

The next Sunday (last week) Tyler (the only other intern still here), Hauna, Kiah and I went to La Mitad del Mundo, The Middle of the World. We had tried to go the Wednesday before because it was the equinox and apparently you don't have a shadow on the equinox but we ended up getting on the wrong bus and not having enough time. So, it turned into a Sunday adventure. We took the bus two hours to Quito and then another half hour to a place that felt a lot like Ecuadorian Disney World. There were little shops and restaurants scattered all around the central monument which marks the center of the world.

The lady taking our picture said "do something" so we were forced to pose.

A yellow line runs from East to West marking where the equator is and there were tons of tourists taking classic "I'm standing in the eastern and western hemisphere at the same time" photos. Fun fact: the line was drawn and the monument was built before GPS technology so it is actually something like 0.8 degrees off. But the damage had been done so we, the tourist, choose to pretend that isn't the case.

My classic both hemispheres photo.

 We went up in the monument and saw pretty cool views of the city. Then we walked through and museum that summed up all the different and diverse indigenous groups scattered throughout the country. It was really interesting.

A view from the top of the monument.

Afterwards we searched for a brewery but everything ended up being closed. Qutio is quite dead on Sundays. We ended up eating a late lunch at a Colombian restaurant and heading back to Otavalo. It was an exhausting but really fun day, especially since it was so totally different than my average day here.

School Observations

In a lot of ways teaching here in Ecuador has been really similar to my experiences teaching and being a student in school in the US. The students study math, literature, social studies, etc. They have music once a week and they love gym class. However, there are several things I've noticed about school here that is extremely different.

The first art class I taught: masks.

1. Grades. This is the difference that is weirdest to me. Grades here are super public, they just announce them to the whole class. It seems that kids care just as much about grades, but there is no privacy when it comes to that information. It is really weird to me when I am writing down grades and the kids just come up and look at the list, but I'm fighting the urge to tell them to mind their own business because apparently here it is everybody's business.

2. Worksheets. They weirdly don't exist here. When we were reviewing for exams (which are this week and next week) the teachers wrote out review sheets for them, but then copied the questions onto the white board and each student had to copy it into his or her notebook. Everything is in the notebook, no handouts, it is all copied down.

3. Neatness. Apparently here handwriting, the color pen you use, how straight your letters are etc are all important. The neatness of your notebook is an important part of your grade, almost as important as the actual answer.

My english class learning the parts of the body and drawing with chalk.

4. Gym. Several thing about "cultura fisica" are different than the gym class I'm used to. First of all, it is all outside and at any moment dogs can run into the middle of the soccer game or cows might come and almost trample the first graders. Yes, that happened. Also, they split up based on gender not age. That means that the first and seventh graders play soccer or volleyball together, instead of all the seventh graders playing together. That is really weird to me because the first graders end up just standing there or running away from the ball.

5. Uniforms. Obviously there are some schools in the US that have uniforms, I just didn't go to them. But here every school has a uniform. AND, your uniform is part of your grade. Just like the neatness of your handwriting, having the correct uniform on the correct day matters for your grade. It seems a little unfair to me that as a first grader if your parents sends you in the wrong uniform or if it rains the day before and your uniform doesn't dry, your grade suffers. However, they do all look pretty cute in their navy vests on Mondays and their grey sweatsuits on Fridays.

English class.

Learning emotions. I did all of those impressive drawings.

7. Snack. Every day a different mother comes in a cooks snack for us. Instead of goldfish or saltine crackers though we have soup or rice with beans or lentils. For me, thats definitely a step up. The mothers have to cook one day for every kid they have in the school. Since they are all from one community and every mother has several kids there are only so many different cooks and the food is always pretty similar: simple but good. They also get granola bars or cookies from the government.

8. Exams. The exams here are more about memorization than actually knowing anything. At least for the 1st-4th graders the teacher made up a review worksheet and had them all copy it into their notebooks and study it. Then, she had me type up that exact review sheet and that was their exam. It is kind of unfortunate because I don't think they really retain any of the actual skills but rather just memorize answers. The fourth graders that I worked with on Monday have basically zero reading comprehension but they can answer questions about the stories they've read because we practiced with the review sheet.

9. The biggest difference at the school I work at is the fact that there are only two classrooms. 1st-4th graders are all together and 5th-7th. That means that there is tons of time spend working independently. That is a skill that I'm not sure many students in the US have. I know that as a second grader if I had been left alone all morning with a workbook I wouldn't gotten anything done. The discipline that all of the kids have been forced to develop is pretty impressive. However, I know that their learning is also suffering because of the lack of attention.

Inti Raymi

Happy summer solstice! Here in Ecuador basically the entire month of June is the indigenous celebration called Inti Raymi. Although for non-indigenous mestizos it isn't such a big deal, for my family and other indigenous people in this area it is the biggest holiday of the year.

The community of Panacillo, where Tyler the other intern lives. He and
Hauna are dancing (they are the ones who look like white people)

Two Sundays ago the entire community of Agualongo took the bus to Combugan (no idea how that is spelled) for the main Inti Raymi celebration. All 24 communities in the area went and for some, including Agualong, attendance was mandatory. Seriously, the charge you the bus fare as well as $5 per person who doesn't attend. Seems kind of contradictory to the idea of what a party is in general, but maybe that is my Western point of view. My host mom wasn't too excited about going though but she had to, so we went.

It was a crazy and pretty incredible thing to see. There were hundreds of people there, food stands, ice cream vendors walking around and even cotton candy! Each community brought a large selection of gifts for the community that was hosting. We had 13 live chickens in our bus as well as fruit baskets, bread, and some soda to give the community. Each community dances in a circle up to the main stage and then gives their gifts. In the end, the host community gives some of the stuff back for each community to split up when they get home. Somehow what the get back has to do with how much they bring next year. The community that hosts is decided by lottery each year and although it is an honor it ends up costing them quite a lot of money.

Tyler dancing with a  chicken.

The women dance with fruit baskets. I didn't get to try, but was
informed that they are very heavy.

I danced with Agualongo, the community where I live, which was a weird experience. The dance is basically just stomping around so it was pretty easy to learn, but also quite tiring. After dancing with them I was with the other gringos from Tandana and we were asked to dance with three more communities. Helped us earn the fried cheese empanadas we had afterwards.

Each community dances with a stick of live chickens and then gives
them to the host community as a gift. We found where all of them are stored.

Last weekend the teenage boys from Agualongo danced and played the drums in a little group going from house to house in our community and the two next door. Luckily they came to us at 8:30pm when I was still awake so I filmed some of it and it didn't wake me up in the middle of the night. Tyler, the other volunteer, wasn't so lucky. When they dance from house to house each family is supposed to give them something to eat or drink. I think people are less and less strict about it now, but my host mom said that when she was a kid they used to make a huge vat of chicha (corn alcohol) and have it ready for the dancers who would come every day for the whole month. I'm so glad it is only on the weekends now.

Next Sunday we are headed to another community to do it all over again. Sounds exhausting but I bet it will be cool, and it is definitely a unique experience! 

Feliz Día del Niño

This past Sunday (June 1st) was the official Day of the Children here in Ecuador. At school, we celebrated last Friday. It was like the Halloween Fair, Field Day, and May Day all combined Ecuador style. It made me wish even more than I already do (which is a lot) that I was still a Foote School student.

I arrived to the kids sweeping the soccer/basketball/volleyball cement field. In their grey sweat suits (the Friday gym uniform) they kind of looked to me like prisoners. Anyway, after the field was clean the games started. I thought they had class in the morning and then fun stuff in the afternoon, but the teachers told me they would never pay attention on a day like Día del Niño, so they just didn't bother having class at all.

Looking like prisoners.

The day included:

1. Fútbol

2. Sack race

3. Spoon and marble race thing

4. Tomato dance

5. Dance performances (with costumes!)

6. The ice cream man coming (also like Foote, creepy old man ice cream guy)

7. Balloon popping hugging game

8. Cake!

One of the teachers asked if there was a day of the children in the US and when I told her know she was very surprised. I said it seemed like a good idea and something that my childhood was lacking, but I suppose that halloween pretty much makes up for that.

Señorita Sisa and her daughter. She teaches the younger kids.

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.