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!