First Week Coming to an End!

Today is the last day of my first week at Colegio Menor. I have fallen in love with the school, the students and the staff! These children are lucky to be a part of Colegio Menor. The students are required to speak English at school, but you can imagine after a 2 week break how difficult this has been for them this week! The teacher, Tisa, was lenient with them the first of the week, but now they are marking tallies if they are heard speaking in Spanish. They are very fluent in English, but Spanish is their native tongue and what is spoke at home! We only have the students until 11:40 today and then they have lunch, recess, art, and Spanish...this happens several days a week. They had centers this morning for an hiur, then break. Needless to say there is a lot of "free time" for the teachers!! Nice, right?? Fridays we leave at 2:45 instead of 3:45. Today we are having a celebration of teachers at a local restaurant/pub. Last week was Teacher Appreciation Day, so the school is celebrating tonight! Free food, drinks, and transportation! Tomorrow we head to our host moms school for family day and then to Octavalo to the huge market and we are spending the night! Looking forward to loading up on purchases for everyone back home! Everybody says this is the place to buy beautiful gifts at great prices! Chow!

Colegio Menor ....El primer día

Colegio Menor ... I'm in love! The school is so beautiful inside and out! I told my teacher if she could see the schools in the states she would feel closed in! There is fresh air circulating through the hallways and courtyards throughout the school. I woke up early today after a not-so-good night's sleep - probably because of the anxiety and anticipation about my first day in my 3rd placement of student teaching! Emily and I walked just up the street to the bus stop and waited for our "teacher bus" to pick us up. As promised at around 7:28 "Galo" our bus driver arrived. To our surprise, the bus was full of American teachers that had done their student teaching here at Colegio Menor and then either stayed or came back to teach at Colegio Menor! They were so nice and we were relieved to have them to show us where to go when we walked into the school. Immediately I was stunned by the beauty of the grounds - green and lush, palm trees and flowers everywhere! LOVE IT! We were greeted by Tim Long the primary principal and he quickly gave us a tour of the school. Oh, and by the way - we were way overdressed ;)! The teachers wear jeans and trendy clothes - but not formal or business dress. Emily is teaching 4th grade and her classroom was upstairs. After we dropped her off Tim took me down to my classroom .... ROSSINI ... is the classroom nickname. I walked into the classroom to the sound of students speaking in English and Spanish. Everyone was so excited to see each other as they have been on spring break for TWO weeks! I was so overwhelmed with excitement and joy and the experience that I "welled" up a bit and had to turn away and collect myself! (I'm a sap ... my husband says that I can cry reading the newspaper ... he's right!) I immediately fell in love with each of the 22 students. I've learned most of their names already and can actually pronounce them! Their day is somewhat different than ours in the states. We had morning work, community time (which was sharing our spring break stories and talking about the calendar - the students had traveled all over the world on spring break - several went to Casa Blanca, Cancun, Rome, Miami - it was incredible to hear of all the places that were visited! It was then time for break - the kids went by themselves to the playground and courtyards to play and have a snack if they wanted to. After break was Reading, then Writing - then lunch and recess. After recess we had Math and then the students went to P.E. and Music so we were done teaching for the day. We had a team meeting - which I loved - it was a lot like the team meetings the 2nd grade teachers had at T.C. Cherry! At the end of the day, Emily and I found our American teacher friends and they directed us to the correct bus. A quick ride home and we survived our 1st day! I can't wait to meet my teacher tomorrow. She was traveling back today from Vancouver so she was not in the classroom today - her aide Ale taught instead.

Catching up!

Hola! It's been a couple of days since I posted anything and I apologize! Time is slipping past me and we were so busy over the weekend! I have not been able to get pictures to upload yet, but we have been able to post to Facebook so I hope you're viewing them through that source. OK - Friday we made it to Papallacta and it was absolutely amazing! We were told that it was nice - but this was not nice - it was BREATHTAKING! On Saturday we went with Lucita and her friend Helen to Lucita's family farm. This time of year they have a soup to celebrate Easter - it's called fanesca. Made with 12 different grains (one for each of the apostles). It's a huge family gathering and the soup (fanesca) is served with fried bananas, empanidas, and bread. DELISH I tell you! Not only was the experience of the soup delightful - the entire experience was! The farm is well over 100 years old and is a working milk farm. One of only two here in Ecuador that produce milk for the country. The surrounding land is some of the most beautiful land I have ever seen! The lillies grow wild here and they are soooo tall! The farm was surrounded by gardens and so many different flowers and trees. GORGEOUS! Then there was the family ... so very generous to have invited us to come with Lucita - as well as welcoming to us! When we first arrived we mingled a bit and ate some snacks - olives, cheese, salsa and chips. Lucita's cousin Helena then took us on a tour of the farm. The calves were sooo cute and were each tagged with a birthdate and name ;) wish the pictures would post - but check out facebook and you'll see how beatiful everything was there. After the tour it was time to eat. The dining room was set with several tables and we were served at our seats. When dinner and dessert was finished - we were entertained by Lucita's friends and family. They played guitar and sang for hours. We have been invited back to stay in a couple of weeks. SO VERY, VERY, VERY KIND!

If at first you don't succeed, try try again!

Yesterday Emily and I ventured to Papallacta with a friend of Lucita's who doesn't speak any English. The car ride was going great until our driver pointed to the side of the rocky steep side wall and said "accident". Sure enough moments later we were stopped. A semi carrying a lot of cargo had wrecked and was blocking the road. We sat for a while and eventually decided to turn back because it was going to be a long time. So today we are trying again! I am absolutely in love with Ecuador and Ecuadorian culture and people! The family unit has such a strong bond and I am so thankful for our host mom Lucita and her Friends and family who have been so kind and welcoming. A kiss on the cheek hello and goodbye is custom and I find it so friendly and warm! Friends in the states lookout, I think I'm going to bring this custom home ;)!

Papallacta Ecuador

Day 3 in Ecuador is taking us to the natural Hot Springs in Papallacta Ecuador! We are excited beyond words! Lucita has arranged transportation to take us there, drop us off for a few hours and then pick us up! Tomorrow we are going to take a tour of Quito on a double-decker bus OR possible go to the CENTER OF THE WORLD! That sounds unreal, doesn't it? We are having a blast and taking advantage of sleeping in and sight-seeing while Colegio Menor is on Spring Break! I'm including a link of the spa we are traveling to today. Pictures to follow!

Ecuador Day 1

Good morning! Emily and I have safely arrived in Ecuador and have had a good nights sleep! We are up and enjoying some bitter but yummy coffee. Our host mom Lucita has gone to work, so we will be exploring on our own today. A new pair of shoes are in order since i brought only flipflops and the weather is not accomodating! Oh darn....a shopping trip?! ;) Skyped with the kids this morning and they're doing great! I am feeling much better as well after a good nights sleep! Going to unpack and get moving...we've got places to go and people to see. Adios amigas!

UP, UP AND AWAY!

Well peeps ... here we go!  T-5 hours I will be on my way to Quito, Ecuador!  I can't believe this part of my journey is ending and the next is beginning. I'm going to miss my family and friends, but 4 weeks will go by super fast and then I can come home to my babies and start JOB HUNTING! A HUGE "thank you" to my friends and family! I could NOT have made it through the past 3 years without you guys! I love y'all to pieces! Prayers for all of my WKU student teacher friends who depart today on their journeys across the big pond! Love y'all! Keep checking back - I'll be posting pictures soon!!