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...