So yesterday was a glorious day. I literally did not get out of my pajamas or leave my bed. It was wonderfully restful!
Then today I prepared for my classes. Before the break Cecami told me I was going to take Natasha's basic class from 3pm-4pm. So I prepared and showed up early. Then they told me I wasn't going to have that class. But, surprisingly, it didn't surprise me that they did this. Typical Cecami. Then I went to my classroom and looked for all of my things. But I was missing the speakers. So I went and asked Lupe and the gardner and they had no idea. The gardner was so nice and searched high and low for them but they were gone. Typical Cecami again. And to top it off, no one came to my second class. I waited for 30 minutes and no one came. Again, typical Cecami.
However, they did make up for it a little bit when everyone said they missed me and the gardner gave me a big hug. They kept asking if I really was moving to Ambato and I kept saying yes. They seemed a little sad. I know I will miss the gardner and the gate guard. They are so nice to me! And have nothing to do with the incompetence of Cecami.
On another note, my host brother told me congratulations for beginning to understand more spanish. That is a pretty big deal because he speaks soooo fast. And I am starting to get a hang of speaking for more than a few sentences. It's a cool feeling. :)
I have midservice in a week and we are all headed to the beach. Yay for an almost all expense paid trip to a beautiful beach in Ecuador!!!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
Photos!
Here are a whole bunch of photos that my sister took while she was in Ecuador. She is a really good photographer so her pictures are MUCH better than mine. They give a good sense of what Ecuador is like. Enjoy!
Friday, January 7, 2011
Feliz Año
I left the states very early on the morning of the 28th. I was worried that my flights would be cancelled because of all the snow. But thankfully they were mostly on time (which means they are all delayed so I never missed any). And my bags made it too! Both of the layovers felt like a close call on the luggage front.
Then I arrived in Quito at midnight and met my sister and max. We headed to our hostel and crashed for the night. Only after buying water of course. It is the best way to prevent altitude sickness. In the morning we woke up and had a lovely breakfast at the hostel. Then I snagged us a $12 cab ride to the terminal (he wanted us to pay $20. Never underestimate my cab negotiating skills. Once they learn you can speak some Spanish and you know how much the taxi should cost, they turn quiet). Kaytee and Max experienced their first bus ride through the Sierra of Ecuador. It was really pretty but it rained over Cotopaxi so they never got to see it.
After that they ate their first Ecua-lunch and surprisingly enjoyed it. Then we took a hair-raising bus ride to Zimbahua. It was like a rollercoaster! I could barely look out the window. Once we made it to Latacunga we hitched a camioneta (spelling?) to Quilotoa. We got in too late to see the lake that night so we just went to a friendly local artist's house and bought some art. Then we ate a communal dinner at the hostel and Kaytee and Max tried popcorn with soup. It's really good!
Funny story: I went into a store to buy a drink and looked around for the owner. There were a few people in the store and one looked at me and said the drink was $.75. He then asked if I had lotion because he needed some. He said he would trade me the drink for the lotion. He really seemed to need it so I agreed. A little bit later someone comes running after me and tells me that isn't his shop and I still owe $.75. Lucky kid who got the lotion for free...
That night we slept in a very cold cabin. I had 5 blankets and 4 layers of clothes. We were so cold because our fire kept dying. Thankfully my sister was brave enough to go and say "no hay fuego, esta muy frio!" So the ladies came and helped us build a bigger fire.
The next morning we went to Quilotoa. My sister woke up with a terrible headache so we only walked around a little bit of it. It was gorgreous! You can hike all the way around it (5 hours) or down it (40 minutes). The hike back up seems pretty brutal so they offer donkeys. Someday I want to go back and try the donkey thing.
Next we traveled to Banos. We didn't do too much that first afternoon because we were tired but the next day we took an awesome chiva down the waterfall highway. We stopped at a bunch of waterfalls and took tarabitas across the canyon. My sister and Max were chickens for the first one but they braved up for the second one. The biggest waterfall was called Machay and you had to hike down this killer hill to get to it. They whole time we were going down Kaytee and I kept saying "this is going to be hard to get back up." In the end it was worth it because the waterfall was beautiful. (Side note: the tour guide said it was a relatively easy hike and took about 15 minutes to get down and un poco mas tiempo to return. Yea, right. It was more like 30 minutes down and an hour back up. Ecuas are so crazy sometimes. Luckily he did warn people with heart conditions not to go). After the chiva we had a great lunch at a restaurant overlooking all of Banos. Delicious food and great view!
That night was año viejo (new year's eve). Everyone had masks and made muñecas (dolls) to burn. The street was filled with all kinds of dolls from spiderman to king kong to princesses. At midnight they light the dolls on fire and then jump over the burning piles of goo. It's insane! They also attach wishes for the new year to the dolls. It's a neat tradition. I was shocked by how many kids stayed out for this. There were tiny little kids hopping over piles of fire! And many unsupervised kids having fireworks wars. I thought some of the kids were going to get blown up. I guess it's safer than it looks.
The next day we went on a horseback riding tour towards the volcano in Banos. My sister ended up getting hurt on the horse so we turned back a little early. I don't think she will be going on horses anytime soon. Then we rested at the rooftop pool at our hostel and got crazy sunburns. It's a bad idea to go sunbathing at 8,000ft in the air.
Then we headed to Ibarra for a day. We took a 4am bus ride for 7 hours and I felt ill the whole way. It was terrible. But the lunch after was delicious (well for Kaytee and Max, I wasn't up for eating). We had lunch at a restaurant that specializes in coastal food. Yum! Ibarra is known for ice cream so we headed there after. Max ate 3 cones! Then Kaytee and Max went for adventures in Ibarra while I rested.
I was supposed to go to my house that night but my host family called and said they were running late. I told them I was coming back on January 2nd and even mentioned to them not to add any other locks to the door except the ones I had keys for. Of course they didn't listen and I was locked out of the house. So I waited with Kaytee and Max at their place until my family finally returned around midnight. None of us were very happy with my family... And it meant that Kaytee and Max never really got to meet my family. Oh well...
Then we headed to Otavalo and bought pretty things. The market is huge on Saturdays but we went on a Monday. This meant that there were only about 1/3 of the stalls and vendors. I think my sister and Max were glad for that because it meant they didn't have so much to choose from. I can't decide which way I like it better. It's pretty awesome on Saturdays but mobbed with tourists.
Quito was next. We got in a little late so we went to dinner at a yummy Thai place. After dinner we went and played beer pong with some of my friends from Quito. I won! The next day we took the TeleferiQo to the top of the mountain near Quito. It was beautiful! But unfortunately it was also cloudy that day and we couldn't see a lot. Next we went to Mitad del Mundo and saw the statue of the fake equator and went to a museum on another fake equator (the equator has changed with advancements in technology and GPS). The museum was so cool and talked all about cultures in Ecuador, especially in the jungle. We even got to see a life-size statue of a 3ft tall jungle man. Everyone in this tribe is short and their limbs are disproportionate to their body. I thought the funniest thing was that the men tied up their penises so that the "penis fish" couldn't swim inside. Clever. At the museum they showed you how water drains differently (it was a trick) and how you can balance an egg on a nail. I balanced the egg on the nail! Kaytee and Max didn't :). Then Kaytee and I went out for a sisterly dinner at a wine and tapas bar. The wine was good but the food was weird. You don't get to pick it and they just keep bringing it out in circles.
The last day in Quito was spent going to historic Quito to look at churches. It's a pretty area but there just isn't much to do. After we met up with my friend Peter and his cousin Alexander for fish soup (eceboillado). Then Alexander offered to take us to a museum (the same one I had been to before). This poor little car almost didn't make it up the hill! But we made it and the museum was great again. Guayasamin is awesome.
After that we went up the statue of the Virgin of Quito and hiked our way back down to the restaurant. Apparently the hike was unsafe and even had signs pained about robbers and such. But Peter promised it was safe so we did it anyway. Then we had a nice Ecua-dinner on the rooftop terrace of a hotel. Kaytee and Max went to the airport after that and I said goodbye to them. It was such a nice visit!
Now I'm back in Ibarra but I'm heading to Quito again because my friend who lives in another province is coming in. Then I start classes again on Wednesday. Crazy how time flies!
Then I arrived in Quito at midnight and met my sister and max. We headed to our hostel and crashed for the night. Only after buying water of course. It is the best way to prevent altitude sickness. In the morning we woke up and had a lovely breakfast at the hostel. Then I snagged us a $12 cab ride to the terminal (he wanted us to pay $20. Never underestimate my cab negotiating skills. Once they learn you can speak some Spanish and you know how much the taxi should cost, they turn quiet). Kaytee and Max experienced their first bus ride through the Sierra of Ecuador. It was really pretty but it rained over Cotopaxi so they never got to see it.
After that they ate their first Ecua-lunch and surprisingly enjoyed it. Then we took a hair-raising bus ride to Zimbahua. It was like a rollercoaster! I could barely look out the window. Once we made it to Latacunga we hitched a camioneta (spelling?) to Quilotoa. We got in too late to see the lake that night so we just went to a friendly local artist's house and bought some art. Then we ate a communal dinner at the hostel and Kaytee and Max tried popcorn with soup. It's really good!
Funny story: I went into a store to buy a drink and looked around for the owner. There were a few people in the store and one looked at me and said the drink was $.75. He then asked if I had lotion because he needed some. He said he would trade me the drink for the lotion. He really seemed to need it so I agreed. A little bit later someone comes running after me and tells me that isn't his shop and I still owe $.75. Lucky kid who got the lotion for free...
That night we slept in a very cold cabin. I had 5 blankets and 4 layers of clothes. We were so cold because our fire kept dying. Thankfully my sister was brave enough to go and say "no hay fuego, esta muy frio!" So the ladies came and helped us build a bigger fire.
The next morning we went to Quilotoa. My sister woke up with a terrible headache so we only walked around a little bit of it. It was gorgreous! You can hike all the way around it (5 hours) or down it (40 minutes). The hike back up seems pretty brutal so they offer donkeys. Someday I want to go back and try the donkey thing.
Next we traveled to Banos. We didn't do too much that first afternoon because we were tired but the next day we took an awesome chiva down the waterfall highway. We stopped at a bunch of waterfalls and took tarabitas across the canyon. My sister and Max were chickens for the first one but they braved up for the second one. The biggest waterfall was called Machay and you had to hike down this killer hill to get to it. They whole time we were going down Kaytee and I kept saying "this is going to be hard to get back up." In the end it was worth it because the waterfall was beautiful. (Side note: the tour guide said it was a relatively easy hike and took about 15 minutes to get down and un poco mas tiempo to return. Yea, right. It was more like 30 minutes down and an hour back up. Ecuas are so crazy sometimes. Luckily he did warn people with heart conditions not to go). After the chiva we had a great lunch at a restaurant overlooking all of Banos. Delicious food and great view!
That night was año viejo (new year's eve). Everyone had masks and made muñecas (dolls) to burn. The street was filled with all kinds of dolls from spiderman to king kong to princesses. At midnight they light the dolls on fire and then jump over the burning piles of goo. It's insane! They also attach wishes for the new year to the dolls. It's a neat tradition. I was shocked by how many kids stayed out for this. There were tiny little kids hopping over piles of fire! And many unsupervised kids having fireworks wars. I thought some of the kids were going to get blown up. I guess it's safer than it looks.
The next day we went on a horseback riding tour towards the volcano in Banos. My sister ended up getting hurt on the horse so we turned back a little early. I don't think she will be going on horses anytime soon. Then we rested at the rooftop pool at our hostel and got crazy sunburns. It's a bad idea to go sunbathing at 8,000ft in the air.
Then we headed to Ibarra for a day. We took a 4am bus ride for 7 hours and I felt ill the whole way. It was terrible. But the lunch after was delicious (well for Kaytee and Max, I wasn't up for eating). We had lunch at a restaurant that specializes in coastal food. Yum! Ibarra is known for ice cream so we headed there after. Max ate 3 cones! Then Kaytee and Max went for adventures in Ibarra while I rested.
I was supposed to go to my house that night but my host family called and said they were running late. I told them I was coming back on January 2nd and even mentioned to them not to add any other locks to the door except the ones I had keys for. Of course they didn't listen and I was locked out of the house. So I waited with Kaytee and Max at their place until my family finally returned around midnight. None of us were very happy with my family... And it meant that Kaytee and Max never really got to meet my family. Oh well...
Then we headed to Otavalo and bought pretty things. The market is huge on Saturdays but we went on a Monday. This meant that there were only about 1/3 of the stalls and vendors. I think my sister and Max were glad for that because it meant they didn't have so much to choose from. I can't decide which way I like it better. It's pretty awesome on Saturdays but mobbed with tourists.
Quito was next. We got in a little late so we went to dinner at a yummy Thai place. After dinner we went and played beer pong with some of my friends from Quito. I won! The next day we took the TeleferiQo to the top of the mountain near Quito. It was beautiful! But unfortunately it was also cloudy that day and we couldn't see a lot. Next we went to Mitad del Mundo and saw the statue of the fake equator and went to a museum on another fake equator (the equator has changed with advancements in technology and GPS). The museum was so cool and talked all about cultures in Ecuador, especially in the jungle. We even got to see a life-size statue of a 3ft tall jungle man. Everyone in this tribe is short and their limbs are disproportionate to their body. I thought the funniest thing was that the men tied up their penises so that the "penis fish" couldn't swim inside. Clever. At the museum they showed you how water drains differently (it was a trick) and how you can balance an egg on a nail. I balanced the egg on the nail! Kaytee and Max didn't :). Then Kaytee and I went out for a sisterly dinner at a wine and tapas bar. The wine was good but the food was weird. You don't get to pick it and they just keep bringing it out in circles.
The last day in Quito was spent going to historic Quito to look at churches. It's a pretty area but there just isn't much to do. After we met up with my friend Peter and his cousin Alexander for fish soup (eceboillado). Then Alexander offered to take us to a museum (the same one I had been to before). This poor little car almost didn't make it up the hill! But we made it and the museum was great again. Guayasamin is awesome.
After that we went up the statue of the Virgin of Quito and hiked our way back down to the restaurant. Apparently the hike was unsafe and even had signs pained about robbers and such. But Peter promised it was safe so we did it anyway. Then we had a nice Ecua-dinner on the rooftop terrace of a hotel. Kaytee and Max went to the airport after that and I said goodbye to them. It was such a nice visit!
Now I'm back in Ibarra but I'm heading to Quito again because my friend who lives in another province is coming in. Then I start classes again on Wednesday. Crazy how time flies!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Stateside
Sorry blog-readers, I know it has been a long time since I've updated.
My trip back to the states was mostly uneventful. Except for the classic Ecua-ness I experienced right before leaving. I told my family I needed to catch a train by 7pm so I needed to leave the house at 6:30pm. 6:15 rolled around and my host family was nowhere to be found. The girl who works for my host mom just asked me to wait for them. So I waited. 6:30 came and went and still no sign of them. At 7pm they came through the door like nothing had happened and asked me what time I needed to leave again. I told them 30 minutes ago and they looked at me like I was nuts. I'm telling you, time means nothing to Ecuadorians.
Then I met up with some friends in Quito and turned out to have the role of "translator" for a date between Peter's cousin and a girl from Colorado. It was definitely interesting seeing as my Spanish isn't that great yet. But in the end they seemed to like each other.
Then I caught my flight back to the States and made it to Miami. My first meal was real Chinese food. It was wonderful. Chinese food in Ecuador tastes a bit like tar. While I was eating my food I contemplated all the things I had done in just a few short minutes that I hadn't done in months (flush toilet paper, use my debit card, and drink from a water fountain). After I had a long layover in Miami I made my way to the plane to go to Cleveland. However, when everyone got on the bus to go to the commuter plane we found out there was no crew. Apparently the crew was delayed and no one told the bus driver or the gate workers. Thankfully it was Miami and not Cleveland where I was stranded outside. Eventually the crew showed up and I made it back to Cleveland after a nice 15-16 hours of travel. Then back in the states I said hello to my kitties and drifted off to sleep with the smell of dryer sheets filling my nostrils.
The next morning I started my American holiday adventure filled with lots of non-ecua food and family. I headed to both Columbus and Pittsburgh on my adventure and got to see a whole lot of my family. I even got to skype with my dog, Brady! I made cookies, sang Christmas carols, and opened presents. I also got a lovely facial with my aunt Ginny. The most adventurous part of my trip was definitely when I tried to go cross-country skiing. Apparently I'm not so cut out for it because I fell a million times. Three-fourths of the way through I decided to take off my skis and just walk. It was a brilliant idea. My dad and I also attempted a super hard puzzle of Machu Picchu. I left with about 100 pieces to go. I got to see my friend Amanda in Columbus too! I haven't seen her in forever!
And I even got pulled over for the first time by a police officer on Christmas. I was driving out of a gas station because I filled up before heading back to Cleveland. I made a U-turn at the light because I needed to go in the other direction. Apparently those are illegal in Columbus. Who knew? So the nice police officer flashed his lights at me and I pulled out my handy-dandy North Carolina driver's license and said I wasn't from there. He told me to have a great Christmas and not to make U-turns in Columbus anymore. (I don't think I told my dad that story yet, opps).
If I didn't get to wish you a Merry Christmas then here you go: Merry Christmas!
I'm so glad I got to see everyone and I'll probably be back in July to see you again. The next post about New Year's and Kaytee and Max's visit will come soon!
Friday, December 17, 2010
Off to snow
Tonight I'm headed to Quito and in the morning I catch my flight to Cleveland. Crazy! Ecuador feels like a dream...
My students took their tests this week. Most did really well but some only come once or twice a week and utterly failed. But I have a policy of "I only teach it once." They know they have to get the notes from friends if they aren't there one day. If I taught everything again for everyone who didn't come I'd never be able to teach anything new.
Right now I'm off to have a holiday party with my students. We are going to make snowflakes, presents, and letters to santa. Should be fun!
My students took their tests this week. Most did really well but some only come once or twice a week and utterly failed. But I have a policy of "I only teach it once." They know they have to get the notes from friends if they aren't there one day. If I taught everything again for everyone who didn't come I'd never be able to teach anything new.
Right now I'm off to have a holiday party with my students. We are going to make snowflakes, presents, and letters to santa. Should be fun!
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Random conversations with Ecuadorians
Here are some random conversations I've had recently:
- A woman on the bus is sitting next to me. She asks me where I'm from and we start a conversation. She finds out I work at Cecami and she says she also works in the municipal with my bosses. She then says she doesn't like them and asks me if I want to go to the jungle with her. Nice to know my bosses are disliked by other people too.
- I am waiting to get off the bus and a man lets me get in front of him as we are getting off. He then stops me and asks where I'm from (this is a common question seeing as my hair makes me stand out like a sore thumb). He then asks me if I want to go on a date with him because he wants to make gringa friends. I tell him no and he asks if I don't trust him. I say I have to go and for a few blocks he follows me telling me he is trustworthy and he just wants to go on a date.
- I was talking to my host brother who has been dating his girlfriend for 5 years. I asked him if he was going to propose anytime soon and he laughed. He then asked about my sister and how long she had been with her boyfriend. I said a year and he asked if they were going to get married. He was genuinely shocked that they weren't getting married anytime soon. I tried to give him some explanation so I went with the fact that my sister is all for human rights and since homosexuals can't get married she sees that as a violation of rights. The whole family started laughing and telling me how homosexuals are disgusting and how they should never get married or be able to adopt children. I guess this is really the country where homosexuality was illegal until 10 years ago...
- Apparently it was my host brother's birthday yesterday. No one told me. So at 10:30 pm I'm in my PJs ready for bed and they come and get me. Suddenly he house fills with 20 people and a cake and we all start singing. I felt so bad that I didn't know it was his birthday!
- I was talking with an Ecuadorian boy who is about 18 years old. He was telling me how he wants to go to Israel to do volunteer work. I said that was awesome but he needed to be careful. He asked why. I said because there is a lot of hostility in Israel between the Palestinians and the Israelis. He had no idea about the conflict... He just thought it would be a cool place to go. When I mentioned Gaza and the West Bank he asked what those were. I don't think international politics are important here...
Yesterday I went to Otavalo again to pick up some last minute gifts. I love that market. There is so much there! Not to mention some killer pie for only $1.20 a slice. Yum!
Less than a week left before I can eat real non-rice food again!
PS: I'm trying to upload pictures. Hopefully they will upload soon.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Teaching English is hard!
Side note: my host brother apparently won his school band concert! Cool!
Teaching English is hard! I want to teach my students the rules but for every rule there is an exception. Example:
Last week I taught them the simple past (add -ed). Then this week we talked about the past progressive tense. My grammar book explains the past progressive as being when two actions occur and one takes longer. "While I was cooking, the phone rang." When I explained it this way they understood.
Then we did a writing activity and one of them wrote, "While the adults were talking, the kids played." And I realized, wait, the past progressive can be used twice. So then I tried to explain the past progressive being for actions that take a longish time. And I said in most cases they can choose whether or not to use the past progressive or the simple past because both can be right.
This was okay with them but not quite clear. So I tried to explain that it is best to use the past progressive if there are two or more actions. It is not normal to use it with only one action. This made it a little better for them. But, I know it isn't true. You can totally say, "Remember, we were talking about that yesterday."
My students are super patient with me, which is great. But a lot of the time I just think I'm confusing them. But I'm confused too. There are so many darn exceptions! So if you have the perfect way to teach the difference between the simple past and the past progressive, please let me know!
In my other class we did parts of the body today. It was adorable watching them do "head, shoulders, knees, and toes" as fast as they could. They got so into it that some almost fell over.
I had another weird food today. Peas, carrots, and cauliflower, covered in cream cheese. Disgusting. I encourage you never to make it or try it.
Teaching English is hard! I want to teach my students the rules but for every rule there is an exception. Example:
Last week I taught them the simple past (add -ed). Then this week we talked about the past progressive tense. My grammar book explains the past progressive as being when two actions occur and one takes longer. "While I was cooking, the phone rang." When I explained it this way they understood.
Then we did a writing activity and one of them wrote, "While the adults were talking, the kids played." And I realized, wait, the past progressive can be used twice. So then I tried to explain the past progressive being for actions that take a longish time. And I said in most cases they can choose whether or not to use the past progressive or the simple past because both can be right.
This was okay with them but not quite clear. So I tried to explain that it is best to use the past progressive if there are two or more actions. It is not normal to use it with only one action. This made it a little better for them. But, I know it isn't true. You can totally say, "Remember, we were talking about that yesterday."
My students are super patient with me, which is great. But a lot of the time I just think I'm confusing them. But I'm confused too. There are so many darn exceptions! So if you have the perfect way to teach the difference between the simple past and the past progressive, please let me know!
In my other class we did parts of the body today. It was adorable watching them do "head, shoulders, knees, and toes" as fast as they could. They got so into it that some almost fell over.
I had another weird food today. Peas, carrots, and cauliflower, covered in cream cheese. Disgusting. I encourage you never to make it or try it.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Classic culture
Here is a short example of what I mean by Ecuadorian culture:
I had called my friend in Quito on Saturday and we planned to meet on Sunday. He was in a different city at the time but was getting on a bus to come back. On Sunday I went to his apartment at about 10am and there was no answer. His cell phone was off and he wasn't answering his home phone. I wasn't worried yet, but then after about 6 hours of him still not answering his phone I started to get a little worried. I ended up just taking a bus back to Ibarra.
The next day I tried calling him again and still his cell was off and he wasn't answering his home phone. I know bus crashes at night are pretty common so I started to look through the newspapers to see if there was one. There wasn't. So then I was just confused on what happened.
Around 1pm that day I called and his cell phone finally went through. The story: his bus broke down on the way to Quito and they couldn't get another direct bus. So they slept at the terminal, took a bus the next day to a big city called Riobamba and decided to go fishing since they were there. His cell phone just happened to be dead and he didn't want to stop somewhere for 5 minutes to plug it in and call me because that would be inconvenient.
But here is the really crazy part for me: he still has no idea that he should have called/emailed/something since we had plans and I couldn't get a hold of him for over 30 hours. Things like this have happened with other Ecuadorians too. It's really true that if they don't have anything to say to you they aren't going to talk, no matter how much you need to talk to them.
And a lot of WorldTeach volunteers are starting to pick up on this habit. They lose their phones or just simply don't call back. I think this might be my biggest annoyance with Ecuadorian culture so far. There is just such a lack of respect for communication. Drives me nuts! But it's their culture and I can't fight it.
On a side note: I did a class on clothing for my basics the other day. I played them the song "Red High Heels" (country song) and they loved it. They said they really liked country music and want me to play more of it. And they like when I talk in a southern accent. Crazy kids! But it was pretty hilarious watching them sing "Red High Heels" in an Ecua-Southern accent.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Parties in Ecuador
So here is what I've noticed about parties in Ecuador- really it's just more people out and about and maybe a few extra activities. I went to Quito this weekend for Fiestas de Quito which are celebrated in honor of the Quito Independence day, December 6th. A lot of the festivities are focused around bull fighting (which I don't have an interest in seeing) and concerts. My friend Claire and I went to the historic center and walked around. I was surprised at how little celebration there was. But at night we went to the Mariscal and saw a cool concert. And now it's Sunday and the city is pretty much dead. All in all, not a very eventful weekend in Quito.
This week was low key too. My students learned present progressive in one class and simple past in the other. I do like these groups of students much more than I like my last ones. I'll be sad to leave them in February when I move to Ambato.
I read today that last night the volcano in Banos erupted. Uh oh, that's where Kaytee, Max, and I want to go. But apparently it only erupts once every 2 years or so and it's never really a bad eruption. So things should be fine. They've even already downgraded the threat level.
Happy December, everyone!
This week was low key too. My students learned present progressive in one class and simple past in the other. I do like these groups of students much more than I like my last ones. I'll be sad to leave them in February when I move to Ambato.
I read today that last night the volcano in Banos erupted. Uh oh, that's where Kaytee, Max, and I want to go. But apparently it only erupts once every 2 years or so and it's never really a bad eruption. So things should be fine. They've even already downgraded the threat level.
Happy December, everyone!
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