Busy teaching and enjoying the sights and sounds of Rio

This past week I’ve taught 3 mini lessons about primary and secondary sources to the 7th grade classes. I did a simulation with the students to open up the lesson with a game of telephone. The kids really enjoyed this mini lesson and I felt more comfortable each time I did the mini lesson. This week I’ll be co-teaching with my teacher and next week I plan to take over. The last month I’ll be in a resource room in the high school working with students with special needs. This weekend we went to a Portuguese mass for Easter and it was beautiful and quite interesting. Afterwards we are at a breakfast buffet and went to the beach because it was 96 degrees outside. Friday and Saturday we went to a touristy site called Copacabana where we got dinner and drinks with our host mom and some of her friends. We bought some souvenirs and clothes from the vendors alongside the beach. It was a very fun time because of the live bands and excitement of the Brazilians on a Friday night!

Easter in Rio

Maureen Navoni writes:  Easter here in Brazil was different than being home in the US with my family. We started the day off by going to church down the street. It was a beautiful church ( I will attach a picture of it in my next email). The hard part was that it was all in Portuguese so, we didn’t understand a word that they were saying. McKenzie and I and our host mom all went. We followed our host mom’s lead and even got communion. It was really interesting to see the difference between Latin America and the United States. After church the 3 of us went to brunch and it was a buffet. It was so good! For the first time, I had spent my Easter away from my family and at the beach. It was a very hot and humid day here in Brazil for Easter. I have never been able to go to the beach this early back home. 

Vacation Week

Our vacation week is coming to an end! Sam and I started the week at the beach in Puerto Lopez, where we also visited Isla de La Plata. It was beautiful; we saw some great views!  The rest of the week we spent exploring Cumbaya, Quito and the Otovalo market. We’re discovering good restaurants and bakeries in Cumbaya. We love that everywhere we want to go is walking distance and if we’re lazy a cab anywhere in town is only $1.50. In Quito we visited historic/ old town. It was nice. At the Otovalo market there were many great handmade things to buy ; we both shopped! We are becoming experts at riding the local buses around here; though the driving here is crazy! The roads are very windy and they drive fast. It’s been a good first two weeks in Ecuador.image

First Few Days In Ecuador

Hello!

Sam and I have been in Ecuador for 4 full days now. We are settling in and getting used to everything; it’s very different! We arrived very late Saturday night. Sunday we explored Cumbaya with our host mom, went to the nearby mall for some necessities, and just relaxed. Monday we started school at Colegio Menor! We both love the school; it’s beautiful. The views are amazing. We also like being able to walk there. We are both in the Lower School, I’m in 2nd grade and Sam is in 5th. I love the students in my class, especially their little accents! Tuesday morning we started school with an earthquake, and we had to evacuate the building to the nearby soccer fields. It was a little scary (it was only about a 4.3). Earthquakes are common in Quito, but my classroom teacher said you rarely feel them in Cumbaya, so she was a little freaked out too!

I have met the other 3 student teachers at Colegio Menor, all from Georgia. We are planning a trip to the coast, Puerto Lopez, this Friday to Tuesday. We’re excited!! We are hoping to hit the beach and then explore the nearby island, nicknamed the “Poor Mans Galápagos.” We have next week off from school, so when we return from Puerto Lopez Sam and I want to spend a few days exploring Quito! We also plan to visit Banos but may save it for a later weekend.

Hope everyone is enjoying their first week abroad!!

 

Week 4 In Crewe

I’ve been teaching at Sir William Stanier Secondary School in Crewe and I’ve been enjoying it so far. The staff there is very accommodating and I already feel like a part of the team. They have me working with small groups at the moment, and I taught my first session on Thursday. My group consists of five students that haven’t had a regular English teacher and they were all very excited about working with me. They seem to want to succeed with poetry, which makes my job a lot easier. Over the weekend, Savina and I took a trip to Dublin. Much of my ancestry is Irish, so this is a trip that I have wanted to make for a long time. Dublin is a great city. It’s surprisingly walk-able, with a lot to offer. We also went to a Christmas market in Manchester with some German students the we met. This was a festive experience. I tried mulled wine for the first time and they made an attempt to teach me how to properly pronounce ‘bratwurst”. I failed. Can’t wait to see what the last few weeks bring!