More Pictures!

Puerto Bolívar sunset, Machala

Cascadas de Manuel. Day trip with some students.

Thanksgiving with Level 4. This is the full group shot with my largest class.

The purpose of this picture is to show you a clear picture of the interior of my classroom, not to show you the energy and excitement that I bring into the classroom. I call it bare bones and that´s no exagerration. The walls are in desperate need of a paint job. The desks are incredibly old and made of heavy metal that makes the most awful sound when dragging them across the concrete floor. The tops of the desks are covered in notes from past attempts at cheating throughout the years. The ¨window¨up to the right is an open vent out to the courtyard. Since I teach at the University´s Liberal Arts Institute, I share a small courtyard of classrooms with the music classes and the dance classes. Right outside the vents in the picture is where the music class loves to practice their dance routine at which point I have no option but to have my students work individually because my voice cannot be heard above the rhythms of traditional Ecuadorian folklore music. I then stand at the door and stare at the dance class and instructor until he gives me the signal that means he´s sorry and that they´re almost done. It´s all in a days work!

Some Light-weight Entertainment

You’ve gotten fat…
As much as I pride myself on being someone who can easily adjust and accept cultural differences, there is one difference here, in Ecuador, that I can’t wrap my head around, let alone be an active participant. Coming from a society where it’s just not acceptable to make comments regarding one’s personal appearance to his or her face, I cringe every time I hear someone here make a comment about someone’s appearance…usually pertaining to weight. In the U.S. we’ve been raised and told that it’s rude to give someone the truth to their face and, in turn, we have learned to take offense to seemingly “negative” comments. I think, the difference here, is that these comments were never learned as “negative”, but merely observations. Make sense?

To make my words more clear, here are just a few examples:

People commonly call for other’s attention by yelling out “gordita” (little fat one). Or in conversation, when referring to someone else who’s name you may not know but you do know their weight, you can simply say “oh yeah, you know, the gordita or the flaco (skinny one). This kind of name-calling would not fly in the U.S. but it’s simply a term of endearment here.

Almost every day, while eating lunch, my host mom or sister mentions how they are getting fat and need to be strict with their diet. This then leads them into conversation about which of their friends and acquaintances have recently gained weight. The other day, my host brother was over for lunch and his sister told him how his wife is getting fat. Sounds awful, right? Well, it must be that the words, “you are fat” or “she is getting fat,” just don’t hold the same negative connotations we assign to them in the U.S.

There is a typical dish here called “Guatita.” It is kind of a soupy dish with potatoes, vegetables and the “guata¨ some sort of cow innards (I think tripe). Everyone likes to ask me if I have tried it yet. North Americans are notorious for not liking it, I guess. Well, my time came to try guatita, and I wasn’t about to turn down the opportunity. I have created high standards for myself among my host family for liking their food. I just so happen to not be a picky eater, which they had yet to experience with their past volunteer guests. They love to tell all of their friends how “Katy eats EVERYTHING!” which always gets a reaction of surprise and awe from those who have just been told the news.

Anyways, back to the Guatita…I gave it a first try. It was okay, but just knowing (or not really knowing for sure) what it was, didn´t allow me, mentally, to like it. I tried to understand just what part of the cow was used. Upon asking, my host mom decided to show me rather than tell by reaching over and pinching the fat of my stomach! I jumped back out of shock to which my host mom interpreted as her physically hurting me by pinching too hard…there´s no such thing as invasion of personal privacy here. That’s just the way things go here. Everyone is always pinching everyone’s fat, literally.

They’re always pinching their own fat as well. While hanging out with a few of my students, one points out how another has gotten fat, to which he responds by grabbing his gut, and saying, “yep, look how fat I am.”

One more example. This is a good one! In my advanced conversation class, my students are currently working on short presentations. The assignment was to choose a favorite song (many of them have favorite songs in English) and present the song to the class while explaining its importance and meaning. One of my middle-aged students, Consuelo, is, though very quiet in class, quite a character. She presented the song “Far From Over” by Frank Stallone, a song made known from the Rocky movies. The song is fast paced, and for Consuelo, a source of inspiration. She pulled out two pictures, in which there was an obvious weight difference between the two. She then proceeded to tell how when she was younger she was skinny (here she shows skinny picture), then how she gained a lot of weight (now the after (heavier) picture). In English it would’ve sounded like this: “When I was younger, I was skinny and then I got really fat. Check out these pictures…wow was I fat!” After gaining so much weight, she decided to start up an exercise routine to the theme song from Rocky…she had the class, including me, in hysterics.

Just Say, “YES”
While living a few short months in Ecuador, I have developed a philosophy of saying “yes” to most, if not all invitations I receive. Being on my own, in terms of language, friends, and the comforts of home, has taught me the importance of having an open-mind and willingness to do or try anything. So far the “just say yes,” policy has worked well for me with the exception of accepting a dinner invitation to a male friend’s house. I immediately felt as though I was being looked at as the next best thing to walk into this guy’s life, if you know what I mean. By the time I left, I had taken pictures with the family and the guy, been given a flower by the mom, received another dinner invitation, and had politely declined an invitation for an after dinner walk in the park with the guy. A walk in the park in the dark is certainly not a ¨just friends¨ activity here.

This past weekend was booked to the max thanks to saying “yes.” I may have overdone it…

Friday night, the university had a staff Christmas party. It was lots of fun and a good opportunity to meet the rest of the English teachers, many of whom I have never met before. We ate, exchanged Secret Santa gifts (conveniently, out of 30 or so professors, Bryce and I had chosen each other…definitely rigged), and then danced. There’s not even the option of saying no to dancing. You’ve just gotta do it, and do it well. When they say dance, I dance. When they push me in the center of the circle with a dancing partner/stranger, I do it.

After the school party, a few of my students came by to pick me up and take me to a graduation party. One of my students had graduated from the marketing program of the University and the graduating class was having a private party at a club downtown. We headed over there and danced the night away, surprise, surprise. I have, no exaggeration, never danced for as many consecutive hours as I danced that night. I usually am ready to leave a couple hours before we ever do, but I never want to leave alone, so I force a second wind upon myself and keep dancing.

Saturday, I spent most of the afternoon at the church helping with the Christmas Pageant rehearsal (more on this spectacle later) and later went to a wedding that a student of mine had invited me to. It was actually the wedding of her sister. My new Ecuadorian friends are so eager to introduce me and include me in anything and everything. I met the family, took pictures with the bride, danced with her brother and some other strangers. Again, I didn’t even attempt to resist the invitations to dance. It’s becoming a weekly occurrence for me to dance with complete strangers and actually have fun doing it.

It’s tradition, if alcohol is served at the reception, at weddings to place a bottle of whisky, a bottle of sparkling water, and a bucket of ice on each table. It’s all or nothing at these weddings. Your options are straight whisky, straight water, or a combination of the two. I tried to leave the wedding reception early since I didn’t really know anyone and I was really looking forward to getting some sleep. However, and I knew this would happen, when I tried to politely leave, I was told to just wait and eat the dinner first (remember Ecuadorian wedding dinners are served at 1 am). How dare I try to leave before they give me some food…I should’ve never tried. I finally was able to sneak out by 3 am stuffed with wedding foods and with cake and party favor (another bride/groom cake topper to add to the wedding souvenir collection) in hand.

Sunday, I woke up early to meet some of my students for a paseo (trip) to the waterfalls just outside of Machala. Only 45 minutes out of town, you can find yourself surrounded in beautiful and tropical nature. One of my student’s dads gave us a ride in his truck, guys in the back, girls in the front. Just minutes into our drive out of Machala, the guys in the back start serving up beer in little plastic cups in which they pass from the back of the truck to the passenger in the front. To my relief, the driver declined his little cup of beer. I just held onto mine, which didn’t go over well with the bumpy, windy road to the waterfalls. Most of my beer ended up on my legs. This was before 10 am!!

The waterfalls were beautiful. We saw 7 waterfalls out of eight in only a 30-minute uphill hike. As hard as we tried to find the 8th waterfall, it would not show itself. We found out later that we had actually seen the 8th but it was the 6th that the trail had been closed off too because of extreme danger. I wouldn’t say I felt any extreme danger at any point but the rocks that scattered the trail were so slick. All of us took a fall at one point or another but I had the fall of the day which landed me, fully clothed, into a deep pool of water at the base of one of the falls. This is still a high-light of conversation among my friends.

After a long day at the falls, I wanted more than anything to just pass out in my bed but I had already promised my presence at a baby’s first birthday. So, with no break in between events, I headed over the party where I was immediately grabbed by one of the hired clowns to participate in some sort of dance competition. The one event I had thought I would escape the dancing this weekend, but nope, I even was forced to dance with a children´s party clown! My family and friends (of the church) were amused and captured plenty of pictures of the whole scene. I’ll be sure to share once I see these pictures for myself!

And that’s what you call a jam-packed weekend. With Christmas and New Year´s just around the corner, I´m sure the festivities will continue. Time to buy some new dancing shoes and extra strong coffee!

Picture Highlights!

Bryce and I found a bunch of bananas in this restaurant in Quito. It was suggested we take a picture together as the Banana King and Queen since we were soon to be moving to Machala, ¨Banana Capital of the World¨, together.

Thanksgiving with my level 5 class. This is the most easygoing and calm class I teach...only 12 students.

From the trip to the Amazon. Our guide made us crowns to wear during the hike, then handed me his machete to hold while he was busy trying to get a fruit from a tree for us to taste.

All the girls of the group during orientation in Quito. We outnumber the guys...by a lot!

Chelsea, my roomate for the first month in Quito, and I hiking in a park called Papallacta. I miss her a lot. Machala is a good 11 hour bus ride from Quito making it nearly impossible for us to visit each other.

Nearing the End of the Adustment Phase

I have established a fairly routine schedule in Machala. I have now been in Ecuador for three months, two have been in Machala. Sometimes the time flies by and at other times, the school week couldn’t feel any longer, but little by little, I’m becoming more comfortable with my surroundings, my “profession” as a teacher, and learning to live in a foreign country without any English speaking friends around. Friends, especially those who speak the same language, are one of the most comforting things in life. The importance and the comfort of friends is even more apparent to me here as some days pass with a twinge of lonliness and a strong desire for the friends I have spent the last five years of my life with.

We’re all going through some kind of major change in our lives right now, which I guess it typical for life post-graduation. Molly is living in Boston where she’s working in a dietetic internship. Adria moved to Paris in September to be and Au Pair…she’s been to France before and had always wanted to return to master the language and live the Parisian lifestyle. She sure is living the lifestyle, with a view of the Eiffel Tower from her studio window to boot. Nicole stayed in San Luis for the fall but is soon moving to San Jose to begin working for a landscape design company. And, Naomi, who has dabbled in work in Idaho, and Scotland since graduation, is now living in San Francisco working for a sustainable marketing firm. We have really spread ourselves as far apart as possible.

Despite the distance, I have been fortunate to maintain contact through email and Skype. I live with one of the handful of families in Machala who has the Internet in their home. I have the amazing convenience of logging on and connecting with friends and family back home via phone (internet connection through Skype) for free! My latest call home on Skype was for Thanksgiving where I was able to say a quick hello to the entire Hamby/Abraham clan that had gathered at my house for Thanksgiving celebrations. It’s truly a blessing that, with advances in technology, I am able to do such things while so far away.

An Ecuadorian Thanksgiving
I decided to teach my classes about Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is not celebrated by many Ecuadorians but I was surprised by how little my students actually knew about the holiday. About as far as they could get, upon asking them what they knew about Thanksgiving in the U.S., was “turkey.” I updated their knowledge of the holiday and its traditions by giving them a little more history about they turkey, as well as Thanksgiving prayers, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Football, and Black Friday. They especially liked learning of Black Friday, such a strange non-traditional tradition the U.S. has acquired. On Friday, all of my students walked in to class saying “Hi Teacher, happy Black Friday!”

I also celebrated Thanksgiving with my students with a Thanksgiving feast potluck…Ecuadorian style, of course. My students brought so much food. We feasted on Chinese fried rice, hot-dogs, pizza, canned peaches, and cake, lots of cake! And no, my students were not trying to be friendly and bring familiar “American” foods. Hot dogs and pizza are eaten more here than at home!
Despite my frustrations with my students at times, they are genuinely kind individuals who have a desire to learn of other languages and cultures while openly sharing their own. They were so happy to assist in making sure their teacher had a Thanksgiving.

I also live with one of the few families in Ecuador who celebrates Thanksgiving. They began celebrating about five years ago of reasons I am unsure of. It works to my advantage though. On Thanksgiving night, we all headed to church where they had a special service and Thanksgiving meal...turkey and all. My host dad cooked up a mean turkey injected with wine and spices.

I contributed to Thanksgiving dinner by baking cookies. I made oatmeal raisin cookies and chocolate chip cookies. I have never been amazed by my cookie-baking skills. I tend to think they usually turn out just OK. But, after my Ecuadorian students, friends and family go their hands on my most recent batch of cookies, I feel like I should go into business, seriously (my host mom even suggested selling them on the street corner). They really weren´t the best, I wasn´t impressed. It must have been the novelty of the typical ¨American cookie¨that enhanced the flavor of my cookies here in Ecuador. It´s been two weeks and people are still talking about them! I´ve had several invitations to come over and help or teach to bake cookies. They all want my recipes (straight from online sources, one even including a cake mix from the box!). My students are asking if I´m going to bring them to our Christmas party...I will forever have the reputation as the cookie maker...they were even kind of burned! I just don´t get it, but I graciously accept the compliments anyway.

My Daily Routine (if interested)
I had mentioned my routine schedule. I don’t know if anyone’s interested or not, and it’s not much of a schedule, but I’ll give you the quick run-down of my “typical” day. I usually wake up around 8 am for my morning run to the stadium. Unfortunately, my wake-up time needs to be earlier because the sun has started coming out earlier in the morning and when the sun is out, it’s nearly impossible to run. I’ve tried. The heat is killer and the sun is absolutely blinding. It is a fact that Ecuador has the closest point to the sun in all the world (from the top of one of its mountains, I can’t recall the name).

After returning from my run, my host mom is usually in the kitchen and, every day, without fail, makes a comment at how much I have sweated.

By this point, I still have a good chunk of my morning left to plan my day’s lessons. Two lessons a day keeps me busy. The more I plan, the better I become and condensing the amount of time it takes me to plan a single lesson. Some people have the ability to walk into a classroom, no plans in hand, just an idea in their head, and pull of their class without so much as one problem (I think these are the same kind of people who passed classes without ever having to study), but I am not one of those people. I need my plan and I need to go over in my head before in order to make my plan look effortless!

Lunch is always at 1:30 when my host sister, Marietta, gets her lunch-break from work. Marietta comes over and we have a family lunch every day. Her lunch-break is from 1:30–3:30. They sure know the true meaning of a “break” here…

After lunch, it’s a little more planning, a trip downtown, or to school early for some reason or another. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I teach two classes. Level 4 from 5–7 and level 5 from 7–9. On Tuesday and Thursday I teach only one level, level 8 from 6:30–9.

After class, I catch a cab home with Bryce and spend some time alone which I have become used to and find relaxing. My parents are always out of the house at night participating in Bible study or church related meetings.

That’s it! Plain and simple. Doesn’t change much. Except I hope to change the run in the mornings to a swim instead! All I have to do is find the swimming pool in town…easier said than done.

Gringos in Machala!

Just when I was convinced I was the only one...

I found other gringos in Machala! I had heard there were a couple Peace Corps volunteers somewhere around here but had yet to spot them. I have constantly had my eye out for some obvious gringos, but until now, the only one spotted wandering this city was me. But, today, I started off my day in my typical routine way by getting up early and making my way to the nearby stadium for a run. Upon entering the stadium, I noticed to gringa-looking girls doing some stretches on the grass. We exchanged glances and I continued running around the track.

While completing my first lap around I was considering all the possibilities. Could they be tourists? Not likely. I doubt tourists come to the stadium to fit in some exersize. Could they be from a country that doesn´t speak English? Possibly...Well, by the time I was nearing them again I decided to go for it and just find out (I have been waiting for the Peace Corps gringo encounter for the last 2 months and did not want to pass it up). I slowed down my pace, walked towards them wondering how to say hello..Spanish or English? Before I said a word, one of the girls said hello first, in English! Just the one word in an obvious American accent, lead to a flood of English coming out of my (our) mouths.

It´s amazing the connection you can make with a stranger when you meet in a foreign country where no others like you are around. We began with a rapid-fire question and answer session to set the facts straight. ¨Are you in the Peace Corps?¨ Yep! Just as I thought. I had found the long-lost Peace Corps girls past volunteers had mentioned were living in Machala! I told them who I was and it turns out they had been looking for me for the past two months as well! It was this incredible reunion, so to speak, with two complete strangers. But, I am happy to have found some fellow Americans who have been taking on this city for much longer than I have. They regularly get together with other Peace Corp volunteers who live in nearby cities and I hope to soon meet them as well.

What a start to my day! They were just as happy to meet me as I was them. One girl was so excited she predicted to find $100 today to follow-up the luck she had already had.

Tis the Season

Halloween and a surprise call home
The holidays have arrived! Well, Halloween passed here with little excitement. Certain people recognize the holiday, more so for the children. I saw few costumes and Halloween decorations and when I questioned my conversation class about the holiday, the general response lacked enthusiasm and instead expressed regret for letting such a holiday take over people’s minds when the 31st of October is Ecuador’s National Shield day.

The extent of my Halloween celebrations was calling home on Skype to talk to the family. For those of you who don’t know, it’s a Hamby family tradition that when someone has a birthday, everyone gathers at “Gramma and Grampa’s” house for a birthday dinner. It’s also an unspoken tradition I have picked up on over the years that if a family member cannot make the dinner, they call during dinner to wish a Happy Birthday and then get passed around from person to person to say hello. So, this year, I decided to take this tradition to a great extent and call on Skype computer to computer.

It was Laura’s birthday and I had talked to her earlier in the day to plan the Skype call. I called Laura’s computer from mine at a designated time and was excited when my call went through and I could talk to the entire family all at once via computer speakers! Laura placed her computer at the dinner table and turned on the camera so that I could see everyone. Technology has made communication incredibly easy these days and I just couldn’t believe that I was in Ecuador, while virtually sitting at the dinner table with my family in Soquel! I could see everything, from Laura’s Birthday/Halloween witch cake, to Mom wearing one of my sweaters I had left at home! Caught her!

The excitement of the video conversation continued when my host sister and her husband walked into the room and saw my family on the screen. They were soooo excited. They began frantically waving and I had to calm them down and explain that I did not have a camera; therefore they could not see us. But still, I had each person in my family get in front of the camera to say hello and let me introduce them. Families meeting families, visually, over the Internet… the possibilities are endless.

For those of you who have not experimented with Skype yet, I highly recommend it. I have had great success using it to call home from Ecuador. It’s only two cents a minute for me to call a cell phone or landline in the U.S. but free if I call to a computer with Skype. As long as both parties have Skype downloaded on their computers and have built-in speakers and microphone (or detachable head-set), then you’re good to go.

Cuenca, a must-see city in Ecuador
The weekend after Halloween, I took a trip to Cuenca, a city of the Sierras only 3.5 hours away by bus. Bryce and I caught an early morning bus to the city to meet up with several other volunteer friends. It was a big celebration weekend for Cuenca (each city celebrates its independence from Spain) and we had been warned that lodging would be hard to come by and rather expensive. Lucky for us, John, one of my fellow volunteers is living in a hostel-like house. It’s really a large house and his host mom runs the house like a hostel. But, it’s tiny and not advertised. She just uses it as a way to make some money on the side and books it through word of mouth. I heard it tends to be inhabited mainly by Peace Corps volunteers and other similar volunteers. It was a bare bones hostel for sure, but we couldn’t pass up the chance to stay in a host mother’s home for only $3.50 a night!

Upon driving into Cuenca, I immediately had thoughts and feelings of jealousy. How could I not have been fortunate enough to be placed in such a stunning place? First impression, beautiful! I know I have not given a description of Machala yet (I’ll get around to it) but Cuenca is everything Machala is not. It’s in the mountains, surrounded by lush green mountains and hills. The streets are cobblestone and lined with old European style houses and buildings. It reminded me very much of the cities in Spain. There are several beautiful plazas scattered throughout town as well as large, green-grassed parks, and markets selling handcrafted gifts. I tried to find its pitfalls to make me feel better about living in Machala. There are hardly any, although, it does rain every day and the skies are usually overcast and dark. It’s cold, though kind of a relief from the heat and humidity of Machala. You really have to work to find those pitfalls though, and rightfully so.

Cuenca is the largest tourist destination in Ecuador so you do frequently run in to other gringos (this is not the case in Machala) which is fun, but I do enjoy being forced to speak Spanish everyday in Machala because there is not another gringo to be found in my entire city! Before leaving Monday morning for the return to Machala, we got caught up in the Independence Day parade in which President Correa made an appearance. He draws quite a crowd here. I saw his entrance but we couldn’t stick around long enough for his talk, so that was the end of that. But until then, I had only seen the guy on TV.

Upon my return to Machala, I was incredibly surprised when we drove into town and a feeling of relief and comfort of being “home” washed over me. It was very unexpected by made me realize this place is really growing on my. Little by little, poco a poco, it’s becoming my “home.”

Christmas? In November?
Speaking of “home”, I arrived to my house and walked in to a Christmas wonderland. Christmas carols were blasting on the stereo, boxes were strewn about the house with Christmas decorations spewing out of them. Nativity scenes were set in every corner of the house, Santa’s in the kitchen, there was a Christmas tree in the kitchen as well as in the living room, and I even found a snowman candy dish on top of the dresser in my room! Such a spectacle I have never witnessed at my own house only days after Halloween!

The Ecuadorians might even be more gung-ho Christmas than the US, if you can imagine that! Christmas has arrived!! Back when I was living in Quito for orientation, the large chain stores had full sections of the floor devoted to Christmas decorations. That was back in September!

As a child, the anticipation of the arrival of Christmas was always unbearable. It’s no wonder, since the commercialization of the holiday has encouraged department stores to stock their windows and aisles with figures of Santa Claus, elves, pine trees, and fake snow. Just the sight of it all is enough to make anyone feel the proximity of Christmas is near, though usually we are only in October when we begin to see such decorations crowd the stores. Perhaps, the day after Halloween is when they magically appear, as though Santa’s elves were working overtime the night before to bring Christmas early the next morning.

Despite such temptations to force the early arrival of Christmas, in my family, we always give the holiday of Thanksgiving the recognition and importance it deserves. This meant, that no matter how hard we may have pleaded, Christmas decorations in our house did not come out of the attic or garage until after Thanksgiving (well after Thanksgiving if I remember correctly). The great hunt for the perfect Christmas tree was always on Clark’s and my minds. When we questioned when it was going to happen, it was usually, “maybe next weekend, or the weekend after that…” And the hardest wait we had to endure was the hanging of the stockings. Mom, I still don’t know what it is you have against the stockings, but we always put up a fight about hanging the stockings. If Mom won, usually she did, they would not go up until Christmas Eve. How awful!

Even though my Machala family is ahead of the Christmas wagon, they have been very busy planning Thanksgiving first. Thanksgiving is not a national holiday here but several people do celebrate it. Especially with the importance of religion in my family here, Thanksgiving is a day they feel very important to celebrate and remember how important it is to give thanks for all you have and for all God has provided. They are planning a large Thanksgiving potluck celebration to be held at the church. I have not so willingly committed myself to making a pumpkin pie. Lourdes (host mom) said she could find me a pumpkin. I haven’t told her yet that the only way I know how to make a pumpkin pie is with pumpkin from the can! Hope I can get a hold of that here!

And, best of all, my host family here is above all, thankful for family. They were sure to tell me that we would be home from the Thanksgiving potluck in time for me to call my family at home. Don’t worry, I’ll be right there at the table with you once again!

Going with the flow

The wedding
Saturday night was the wedding I had mentioned before. The wedding was for a couple of the church that has been together for years but decided to make their relationship and family official through matrimony. Well, the wedding was considered a success in typical Ecuadorian fashion.

The ceremony was scheduled to begin at 8. There were about 6 guests seated by 8. Gradually, more and more trickled in, but the bride was yet to arrive. So, while we waited, we passed the time by singing a few songs, just like every other wedding you’ve ever attended.

Around 9:30, the bride and her wedding party pulled up. The anticipation of the arrival of the bride was through the roof. Just the thought that the bride was actually outside the door caused my host dad to jump start the play button on the boom-box which began to play the traditional song to march the bride down the aisle. However, the recording my host dad had found was only a 15 second clip of the song. 15 seconds was not nearly enough time for the bride to enter the church. There was nothing else to do but hit the repeat button. 15 seconds later…still no bride…repeat.

With each repeat of the song, the guests held up their cameras ready to capture the first picture. The cameraman held up his camera to record the entrance on film, but still, no bride. 5 repeats of “here comes the bride” later, the bride entered the door. The whole scene was incredibly comical. I can say I have never seen such a prolonged beginning to a ceremony. The other half of the guest arrived to the ceremony after the vows had been said! And that was only the beginning…

The ceremony was followed by a reception back at the house of the bride and groom. I was showed to a seat next to the bride and groom at what appeared to be the head table. Strewn about the tables were candies, hand made by the bride the day before. Everyone sat, mingled, ate candy, and offered their best wishes to the bride and groom. There was a large, metallic, fake cake on the center table. I had no idea how important the traditional presence of a large, tiered wedding cake is across all cultures. We never ate cake, just took pictures with the bride and groom next to the fake cake with the, also traditional, figurine of the bride and groom on top.

Time passed, and I took the whole experience in. Nearing midnight, I was expecting that we were about ready to go, when the women began carrying dinner plates into the house. I asked what the plates were for and, of course, was told they were for dinner. How could I expect to be invited into an Ecuadorian’s home for a grand party and not be served a home cooked meal!? After eating a meal comparable to Thanksgiving Day and trying to catch the bride’s bouquet out in the street, we were ready to leave. Empty handed? Never! Each guest left with their own figure of a bride and groom cake topper and a box with a piece of fruit bread, also homemade by the bride for her guests on her wedding day. The wedding was so different than any you could imagine, but still a wedding all the same.

Ecua-napped
Ecua-napping is yet another term I have learned to understand since I have been in Ecuador. It is common to take off with the family for the day as one of their own and have no idea as to when you will return. Some volunteer friends of mine have been Ecua-napped for whole days at a time, taken out of the city to spend the day with extended family and such. I experienced a more minor napping on Sunday afternoon.

My host parents told me they were going to go to the mall to do some grocery shopping. The malls here have Wal-mart like stores within in them. I told them I was up for a Sunday afternoon trip to the mall, and so we went.

Well, I thought, just a little grocery shopping and then we’ll come back, in time for me to get some lesson planning time in. We left Alfonso, my host dad, in the food court with his new HP laptop. It’s his latest pride and joy and you’re able to connect to wireless Internet in the new shopping mall (the pride and joy of citizens of Machala). While he played around on his new computer, Lourdes, my host mom, and I strolled the aisles of the grocery store. We strolled forever, up and down every aisle…”for the exercise” my mom said.

Two hours later we left the grocery store. My host sister and her husband live right next to the mall and my parents never pass up a chance to see their daughter, which they manage to avoid doing every day of the week. We were going to stop by just for a few minutes, enough time for me to get a tour of the house. A few minutes turned in to over an hour long visit! After leaving Marietta’s house, my parents asked if I minded making a quick stop at a friend’s house.

I am never falling for the “quick stop” line again. I have already been fooled by this idea, but played right into their hands again. Our quick stop evolved into a dinner invitation. Lucky for us, we came by just in time for a crab dinner! Crab is extremely cheap here on the coast, so it was not the first time I had eaten it. Three hours of visiting, eating, and visiting some more, my parents decided it was time to come home. I was exhausted and went straight to bed. Needless to say, my lesson plans are suffering this week!

I don’t know how they do it. My parents are night owls. They are extremely involved in their church’s activities. They are out every night of the week. Sometimes I hear them come home, other times I’m asleep. They must not go to bed until 1am and they awake at 5am every morning!

Going to Cuenca for the weekend. Cuenca is supposed to be a beautiful historic city located in the highlands. Time to get away from the heat and humidity of Machala for a few days. This weekend there are festivals throughout the city celebrating Cuenca´s independence from Spain. That means no work Monday for me!

Happy Birthday Laura! I was so happy to speak to each and every one of you at the good ol´ family birthday dinner last night. My host sister and her husband, the ones who got the introductions via camera, were incredibly excited. They are on a mission to help find me a camera to set up on the computer here! She thinks they´re not too expensive. Hope not. Technology here tends to be double the price of what it is at home. I love you all and can´t wait to family Skype again! Next birthday...? Gramma?

English, The Bible, and a Wedding...

So classes started. I’m about a week and a half in now. The first week was rough as to be expected. The second week, thus far, is going a little more smoothly. I expect to feel like a real teacher next week! Yeah, right. All I need is time though… I found out today that my evaluation by the directors of my volunteer program will be happening in less than a month!

Here’s the rundown on my classes:
I am teaching three levels of English: levels 4, 5, and 8. Bryce, the other volunteer in Machala, and I are teaching at the Instituto de Idiomas. It is part of the University of Machala, but the Instituto has a separate location in town than the rest of the University. The language school offers English, levels 1–8. Levels one and two are required. Levels seven and eight are conversation. My level 4 class is surprisingly at a level of what some might consider intermediate…maybe lower intermediate. It is also my largest class. As of now, with new students still trickling in, I have 25 students. Level four is MWF 5–7pm followed by level five from 7–9pm. Level 5, maybe because of the later start time, has significantly fewer students. 14 students. T/TH I teach Level 8 with about 16 students.

Grammar is a very important part of language education in Ecuador, whereas in the US, I can’t even remember when – if ever – I learned every single name for every single part of the English language and exactly how that part functions within the form of a sentence. Sometimes I can fool my students into thinking I know what I’m talking about, but more often, they catch me off guard with a ridiculous question on a grammar point I am nowhere near ready to discuss (because I need to look it up in my grammar book back at the house)!

I keep telling myself that the reason I am still a perfect candidate for teaching English to young people in Ecuador because I have the extreme advantage of just knowing the language and having the right accent. There are 15 other English teachers at my school, 13 of them are not native speakers. Though, they may know grammar, the pronunciation is just not right and they are such sticklers of the grammar points, that often sentence come out too correct to the point that the speaker could never pass as a native learner of the language!

Fútbol!!!!!!
Today I let my class out early to get home in time for the soccer game. Soccer, like in all Latin American countries, is right up there with the Catholic religion. All teachers let their kids out early; it’s an unspoken rule…I’m still trying to figure out exactly why the games being played right now are so important when the World Cup isn’t even until 2010.

A weekend in Guayaquil
I had a day off in the first week of school already. It was the city of Guayaquil’s Independence Day. Guayaquil is only a couple of hours from Machala so Bryce and I headed over for the weekend to go to the festivals and meet up with some friends. Guayaquil was a city for wandering in circles. After asking several people on the street for directions, making wrong turns and referring to our guidebook several times (no better way to look like a tourist), we found the hostal that our book reccommended. We had only been wandering in a one mile radius the entire time! After getting to the hostal, it took a good 10 minutes to look at rooms (they let you see the room before you make a committment to stay) and turn each one down because it was a ¨matrimonio¨.

As hard as we tried, Bryce and I could not convince the hotel staff that we were not married and that we really did want seperate beds. They would look at us, say ok as if they understood, and then guide us to yet another room with a tiny bed meant for two. Bryce and I have only known eachother for a few weeks and were not ready to give up that much personal space!

Personal space is another issue here in Ecuador...to be discussed later.

So, we went to a fair, which turned out to be no different than a good ol’ county fair at home. I really felt at home wandering around the dirt paths, meandering in and out of vendor-filled tents, and eating hot dogs. Guayquil is a beautiful city filled with 3 million people – huge – but really is pretty. We stuck to the touristy downtown area, walked along the Malecon 200, a huge walkway-turned-amusement park built up next to the water, climbed to the top of Las Peñas (a little town of multi-colored pastel houses built up on a hill to be seen from any part of Guayaquil), and meandered through many parks.

One park, Parque Bolivar, is known in the city for hosting tons of iguanas. Why they don´t escape through the wide-barred gates, who knows. Supposedly the iguanas came first. Then, the city wanted to build a park right where the iguanas had made a home. So, what better to do than just build the park around them and let them stay? The park looks like all the rest, sprawling green grass, a fountain or two, a statue, some trees, vendors, and hundreds of iguanas crawling around at leisure. They put up with the taunting of children, the black squirrel that likes to run around and sit on their backs, and their walkways being crowded with humans but not one seems to care, or if they do, they stay up in the tree all day. Did you know iguanas climb trees? I never would have thought...

I really didn´t think I would care much for the 3 million person city, but the trip was a success, the company was great, and Guayaquil is really something else. Mom and Dad, we will have to spend a night after you fly in!

Bible Studies and Ecua-whines
I don’t remember if I mentioned Thursday night Bible study at my house…but, my family attends nightly Bible study throughout the week at other church member’s houses. Thursday it’s our turn…I get home from school around 9:30pm just in time for the start. Well, technically, Bible study starts at 8:15 pm, but on Ecua-time, that means stroll in any time between 9 and 9:30. Ecuadorians (Latin American’s in general, I thing) are notorious for their lax attitude towards time. My host mom told me if you want to have a party, plan it for 7 and that will ensure that at least one person will get to the party by 9!

Unfortunately, Ecuadorians try to bring this attitude into the classroom. I am currently trying to enforce punctuality to a bunch of students who are my age and older…it’s a tough task. They gave me eye-rolls and groans when I introduced my 10 minute tardiness policy. C’mon, 10 minutes would never fly in the US!

This leads me to think of what’s known as the “Ecua-whine”. Ecuadorians are also notorious for their constant whining and begging. From my point of view, it comes of rude and downright annoying, but I am quickly learning it is just the way things are here and is widely accepted as a social norm. In fact, I need to work on my Ecua-whine so that I can fit in better with the locals! It is common to utilize the phrase, “no sea malita” (in a slow, drawn out whiny, whiny voice…), meaning, “don’t be a bad person”, when you want something to go your way (i.e.: talking to your parents, bargaining with a street vendor, even bargaining with the clerk at the grocery store). The students will come up with the most intense, drawn out Ecua-whines to try and convince you to extend the due date of homework, excuse their absence, let them out early for the soccer game, etc.

Back to the Bible study...I have now participated in two Bible Studies. I sit, with my bilingual Bible (thank you Teri Lynn!) and try to keep up with the group. The way they do the study here is to have each person read a verse, then explain in their own words. I thought for sure I would be skipped due to my gringa status. I am just starting to understand the fast talking slurs of the Coastal Ecuadorians, let alone understand Bible terms...But of course, my turn came and I got the look from everyone saying ït´s your turn.¨ No other option than read - that´s easy - and explain...the hard part. I pulled through with flying colors. Have no idea how words came out of my mouth but they did and everyone nodded their heads in approval, put in their two sense, and on to the next person. I made my Ecua parents proud that night.

Going to a wedding…
I’ve only been in Machala for 2 weeks and already have my first wedding invitation! My family received an invitation and I received my own, addressed to Senorita Katty (not quite the right spelling, but close enough. Or, for my best friends at home, who know me as none other, the spelling is perfect!). The wedding is set to start at 8pm on Saturday. The bride and groom probably won´t make it down the isle until 9:30 - fashionably Ecua-time...

first word from Ecuador!

Hi everyone,

It’s been a long time since I last made contact with everyone back home. Orientation in Quito caught up with me and September flew by. I quickly realized how dependent I have learned to become on easy and “free” access to the Internet. I am getting used to not having the luxury of checking it every day as well as not being able to pick up the phone and call home at leisure.

Throughout orientation, we had several workshops based on life and adjustment to life in Ecuador and several on Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). We also took Spanish classes and conducted a 2-week English course at a community education school. During the 2-week course, I, as well as two other volunteers was responsible for a class of apx 20 students. Within those two weeks, we were each responsible for 3 days of teaching on our own. The practice teaching proved to be the best possible way to learn how to teach. What better way to learn than be thrown in front of a class of 20 Ecuadorian adults at a basic level of English (i.e.: not much). The classes were a great tradeoff between student and inexperienced teacher. These 2-week courses were free for students in order to offer such a practice program for WT volunteers. At the end of the 2-week course, we had a talent show with each class performing. My class wisely chose The Beatles (very very popular here), “Come Together”. It sounded fine to me at the time, the only lyrics coming to mind being “come together, right now, over me.” Well, for those of you who know the lyrics to Beatles songs better than I do, those are the only comprehendible and slightly grammatically correct lyrics of the entire song! But, we pulled it off, “joo joo eyeballs” and all!

Following orientation, I, along with the other volunteers who were lucky enough not to start school yet, took off for a 4-day vacation to the Amazon! It is incredible the kind of excursion you can plan here in Ecuador for so little money (in comparison to the US). We booked a tour with a travel company named Amorongachi Tours. After taking a 6-hour bus ride from Quito to Tena, we were taken deep into the jungle where we stayed in cabin-like houses right up along the river. We were dropped on a small road in the jungle, and then hiked another 10 min. or so into the camp. It was a very rustic and unique experience. There wasn’t electricity, the family of the guide cooked us food in their kitchen and served it to us in the outdoor patio. Our guide was even an authentic Shaman, who taught us the natural remedies of the plants and trees of the jungle. While staying at the first site, we discovered swimming holes, went tubing down the river and climbed waterfalls. Throughout most of the tour, I was constantly surprised at what was in store for us, for the better. If I had known sooner, I may have opted out…What I had thought would be a semi-strenuous hike where we might get a little wet from walking near/under waterfalls, turned into climbing, actual rock climbing, up the faces of waterfalls. Straddling the waterfall and working your way to the top with the help of a little rope was a challenge for us all, but with no other option except to climb, we all made it, with great relief! Of course we were shown up by the guides who climb these waterfalls on a daily basis in their flip-flops and with their eyes closed.

The next day we were moved to more of a resort-like place called Shangrila. There we were shown to our rooms…at the very top of a tree-house structure with the most incredible view of the jungle valley and Napo River below. Every room in the Amazon is accompanied by a hammock no matter where you may be. While in Shangrila (means Hidden Paradise), our only worries where hearing, the meal-time horn summoning us to our regular table with a view, trying to squeeze in a hot shower, the tarantulas, and climbing caves…One day our guide took us on a hike where we walked through dark and very tightly spaced caves and then climbed our way to the top where we would exit the cave. Not, the trip for anyone with a serious case of claustrophobia…

The jungle was an amazing trip before heading back to the “real world” if that’s what you could call it here in Ecuador. Bryce (my fellow Machala volunteer) and I headed back to Machala to begin our temporary career as English teachers. It is nice to be back and be able to settle in and unpack for good. My family here is incredibly warming and willing to take me in as one of their own. I caught them at a very busy time coming back since they are in the process of starting up their own church along with other family and friends. I’m not sure how long this project has been in the works, but they were busy all weekend, prepping the church for its very first service, which I attended, this past Sunday. The church family was very excited to learn about this new Gringa and to ask me questions about my own faith and religion. They have even enlisted my help to design a logo for their Congregation…a lot of pressure for only my first week in Machala! It’s nice to know I will live on in Machala for years to come!

While spending a lot of time with my new family, they also lend a lot of time for me to be independent and lead my own life while living in their house, a very nice blend. The house is always filled with family and friends. Lourdes and Alfonso are very active participants in their community and therefore have an incredible friend base. They also have kids who are married and moved out but who still come around every day to share in the lunch-time meal. The families who participate in the act of taking in volunteers, host-students, exchange students, etc, are so kind and accepting of everyone. Bryce’s family has invited me on a couple occasions to come on the afternoon ride to the Port, or stay over for dinner. Luckily Bryce and I live very close to each other, making it easy to hop on over to one another’s houses, or catch the bus to school together.

Speaking of school, today is my first day of classes. I am extremely anxious to learn how to be a teacher. There are so many aspects of the classroom to consider but I feel cannot just be planned without experiencing first. Such aspects will become apparent in due time and I look forward to the day when I feel like a real, legit teacher who knows exactly what she is doing! For now, I’m winging it…teaching of course, but winging it!