Otavalo and Papallacta

This past weekend, Katie, Noah, and I ventured to the world famous Otavalo market. Filled with bright colors and plenty to buy, it is easy to become overwhelmed and lost in the magic of the market. We did what is recommended and browsed a bit first before we bought. Many of the vendors sell the same goods so it is good to get an idea of prices before you buy. The people of the market also expect you to haggle with them for prices. (Know your Spanish numbers!!) They will begin to sell you something and if you hesitate due to price, it is common to offer a respectful, yet lower price. Many of the vendors are willing to go down in price. It is definitely important to be respectful however, as most of the goods are handmade so you don’t want to insult anyone. It was perfect timing for us to visit Otavalo as I was able to get all my Christmas shopping done in a matter of hours. Otavalo is a MUST when in Ecuador!

We also visited Papallacta on Sunday. It’s about an hour drive from Cumbaya so we took a taxi that our host mother arranged for us. It was only $55 for the day and the cab driver brought us, waited for us, and brought us back. The bus schedule from Cumbaya to Papallacta can be rather tricky. Papallacta is filled with natural hot springs, a spa, and a restaurant on site. We checked out the pools and found a small pool that was basically a natural hot tub. Sitting in relaxing water amongst the mountains made for a very relaxing Sunday. The drive out to Papallacta is also very beautiful as you pass ranges and ranges of mountains.

As for life at school, I am working more with the students and they are even starting to yell my name in the halls and give me big hugs. I have been working with grades 4-6 in all subjects which is great experience. Today, my supervising teacher and I made a bright, new bulletin board for the hallway. I am extremely proud and grateful to see my ideas being put to work in another country!

Week 5 Otavalo y Papallacta

This is crazy to think that an entire month has gone by. Time definitely goes by so fast when you are constantly busy. I think that this week was jammed packed because there was a half day on Thursday for Thanksgiving.

At the school, I went through my week’s worth of lesson planning as the primary teacher and am helping the students get a better understanding of exploration through primary sources and hands-on activities like mapping exploration routes. It was definitely a good change of pace to have a week of taking over. As I mentioned earlier this was Thanksgiving week and I was worried that being away from friends and family would be very difficult. Although it was still a bit hard, I was lucky enough to be invited to a staff thanksgiving for the upper school. It was definitely nice to be welcomed to the house of a fellow teacher and share a Thanksgiving meal. I think that it was a good opportunity to meet other teachers on a more informal basis and truly experience the close-knit community that the school has to offer

As for the weekend, we had a great opportunity to visit two Ecuadorian towns that I wanted to see. On Saturday we went to Otavalo. This was an amazing experience to see such a huge open-air market. As someone who goes to flea markets on the regular those paled in comparison to the size and amount of people in this market. There were such beautiful artwork and crafts as well as a great way to barter with the people to buy good that you desired. Although there were several vendors that had similar items the experience was one of a kind. It was a place that was so easy to get lost in with the number of people and the amount of sensory overload that took place. I wish I had more time to explore all of the different areas but it would have taken far to much time. It did, however, provide a good opportunity to get some gifts for people on my list.

The second town we went to was Papallacta. This was our Sunday relaxation day in the hot springs. The termas de papallacta were a collection of little hot springs and pools that provided a relaxing environment with a beautiful view of the mountainside. I enjoyed the beautiful hot springs as the water helped to take care of some of the stress. If you did want to get a massage at the spa there we found out that you have to book it ahead of time. I think that although I got a sunburn because being at such a high a high elevation the sun is stronger it was still well worth the trip

 

.

 

Apple Pies for Thanksgiving

The students worked really hard to make apple pies for all of us to enjoy for Thanksgiving.  This week we covered the history of Thanksgiving.  Author’s purpose and procedural writing were the focus for literacy as we worked to understand the recipe and what each student would be responsible for once we made it to the kitchen.  The kids even converted the recipe from Imperial to Metric Measurement.  The pies turned out really well and I am so proud of them.  The class enjoyed one pie and the other pie was sent to the staff room for teachers to try.  The kids have gotten several complements on their work.  It’s been great.

Children’s Day

Hello from San Pedro!

I know Miranda has talked about Children’s Day a little bit in a previous post but I wanted to show a few pictures of the day in my classroom. I am currently in an Infant II classroom (Grade 2) with 29 students. The Children’s Day Parade is a way to celebrate National Children’s Day and to spread awareness of the rights of a child. Infant II was assigned the theme of colors so my teacher and I decided our class should dress up as crayons. Each child was given a color and they had to create a crayon costume and also a sign that stated one of the rights of a child. I think the costumes and signs came out great and we looked like actual crayons. Our class in the parade was led by a golf cart driven by one of our parents with a paper box of crayons on the back. The parade was really fun and the street was filled by locals and tourists watching the children walk up and down the streets. I think it was a really amazing experience and I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to have been apart of it. 

Adventures to Mindo Week 4

Well, this has been another great week. It gets hard to put into words the number of lessons that I am both teaching and learning. It is crazy to think that time is flying by so quickly.

The start of the week was interesting because it was the first week of full planning in the classroom. I think that it was a great opportunity to build relationships with the students and get hands-on in the classroom.I have been doing world history so I have had the opportunity to cover from material from a varying perspective.

Although I spend most of the time in the classroom there are opportunities to go and visit the various spots around the country on the weekend. This weekend we decided to go to Mindo which was an amazing experience.This town which was very small shared a lot of similarities with Banos. This area is known for the amount of biodiversity at its high altitude. The benefit of this town, however, is that most things are significantly cheaper than in Banos. The hostel that I ended up staying at was called La Casa de Cecilia. This was a cheap option to the usually more expensive hotels and it provided an opportunity to see more of the natural component of the town.

The activities that we ended up participating in included visiting the various waterfalls. We took a late night tour through the jungle to see the biodiversity. We also had the opportunity to visit El Quetzal which is a chocolate factory which was a very interesting chance to see how chocolate is made. The first adventure was the waterfalls which were a long hike through the forest to a series of like 6 different waterfalls. The water was very cold and I recommend bringing a towel and lunch if you do decide to visit. The next thing we ended up doing was the late night tour through the jungle to see the biodiversity. We ended up seeing animals from venomous vipers, various spiders, bats, and a large selection of insects. We also got to see an olingo which was an animal that is related to a raccoon but is similar looking to a lemur. The last thing we ended up doing was the Chocolate tour at El Quetzal in which we saw the progression from trees to final chocolate products. I learned a lot about the process and it allowed me to try so many different types of chocolate which is always a good thing.

Settled In

It has been nearly a full month now (hard to believe), and I am now feeling pretty settled into this wonderful little country. There are definitely things that are still new and challenging at times, but I feel that now I can navigate, communicate (sorta) and have adjusted into a routine both at school and in my daily life. I am feeling much more confident every day at all of these things, which makes me proud of myself and my independence, and that really helps me to be able to enjoy everything even more.

I am now taking on a more active role in my 8th English classroom. I would say that about 50% of the time, I am taking over complete instruction whereas the other 50% of the time I am in a co-teaching role. In the upcoming Poetry Unit, my cooperating teacher plans to have me take over even more by leading classes and facilitating my own lessons. It is really great how much my opinions are respected at this school, as my Mass Teacher Education has left me very prepared to discuss and even answer the questions of experienced teachers here relating to Assessment, Accommodations, Common Core, Project Based Learning, etc.

After coming from a student teaching experience where I worked with Juniors and Seniors from low-income, urban backgrounds, my present experience working with 8th graders from very affluent backgrounds in another country has been a complete 180. Since I do not have a lot of experience working with this sort of population, it has been an extremely humbling and eye opening experience. I definitely feel like my perspective on education has broadened thanks to my current exposure to international private schooling. There were certainly challenges working with students from the urban districts that I am familiar with, and I think I had a false idea that working with wealthier communities would be easier. In some ways, I was not wrong, but I definitely had some misconceptions about what teaching here might be like. Classroom management and motivation is an entirely different beast with these groups of students, and I am learning a lot of different strategies that I haven’t had to use before. On the other hand, it is impressive how much students know here and especially considering that all of this learning is taking place in their second language.

Fun fact: Rather than fire drills/evacuation plans, we have done earthquake drills. We even had to put those drills into practice thanks to a 5.2 magnitude earthquake that hit Guayaquil last week. I didn’t even feel it from where I sat alone in my classroom, but as a precaution we all had to cover our heads and move to the athletic fields where there were no buildings or structures around us. The kids were completely unfazed by this routine, still laughing and playing futbol throughout the entire experience.

Ecuador Week 4!

This pas weekend we ventured out to Mind, a town which is known for being a “cloud forest” as it sits n its own little valley amidst the clouds. Going into it, we were excited as we heard nothing but good things about the town and activities. We took a cheap taxi into Mindo on Friday night. Normally, we would try to take the bus but our schedules caused is to miss the last bus at 4 pm.We arrived around 7 and went to eat at la pizzeria Tigrillo (great pizza!)

Katie and I stayed at the Dragonfly Inn (definitely recommend!) It’s in a great location and has free breakfast and a full restaurant on site. Saturday we woke up early and took a 20 minute cab ride to la Tarabita, the cable car which takes you to the waterfalls you can hike. We hiked five different waterfalls all with a different view. You are also able to swim in them. Then we came back to the Dragonfly for lunch and rested for a bit.

We booked a walking night tour of the jungle, during which you can hear all different animals and insects. We saw an Olingo, a viper, and various species of frogs and spiders. Definitely one of the coolest activities we’ve done so far. On Sunday Katie and I went four-wheeling through the jungle. Then, the four of us took the famous chocolate tour at El Quetzal. The tour guide, Sergio, was fantastic and so nice. We sampled all types of chocolate and got to see the chocolate making process from start to finish. Overall, Mindo is definitely a must-see while in Ecuador.

Week 2 in Review

As another full week comes to a close, I realize that time here goes by so quickly here. This marks the end of a week 2. This week with the help of the faculty and staff I had an opportunity to feel fully welcomed as I helped with the first full week of classes.

As classes continued I had the opportunity to take an active role in the classroom alongside my coordinating teacher. I got to draft my own hands-on activity in which I discussed the culture clash between early explorers and native populations. The students are normally very active and lively, to say the least. I also had the opportunity to sit in on various school meeting and feel fully immersed in the school atmosphere at Colegio Menor. I think it is good to remember the balance that happens when exploring and teaching while in a foreign country. I was particularly excited to be invited to the schools Juego and tournos which is similar to a field day in the United States. This was where students from upper school (grades 7-12) competed in a series of tournament style games playing sports such as volleyball, basketball, and futbol. Although it fell on a Saturday, the students were still very energetic and enthusiastic to play with each other

Being a shorter weekend, we decided to stay closer to Cumbaya and explore what the town had to offer.  The Escala mall in near the center offered a wide variety of food and banking options in which were useful to most people in our group. They offered almost every type of food from Italian food to sushi that people can enjoy.  I feel a good strategy wherever you end up is explore the routes within walking distance from yourself as to get a good idea of the options around you. I know that around Cumbaya main upper park near the school, it also offered several cool places to enjoy the nightlife. Places like St. Andrews offered a comfortable environment with helpful employees that make students feel at home.

As a whole, the second week brings everything back into perspective in terms of classroom obligations and cultural immersion. I think it is important to realize that this is a special opportunity and that adjustments to the different culture take time.

The Crew from Crewe

It was great catching up with these two while they were visiting Dublin from Crewe.  The four of us made our way to the infamous Temple Bar and had a pint at the Porter House. We did take some time to compare our experiences and have a chat about our schools and the school systems in England and Ireland. It does seem like everyone is getting enough exercise that is for sure.  While Mary and Shayla are biking on a very regular basis to get to their school in the morning, Emily and I are walking quite a ways between bus stops.  We should all be in decent shape when we return to the states.

Trip to Cliffs of Moher!

This past Sunday, Angela and I made the trip to the west of Dublin to see the Cliffs of Moher. We did a bus tour called the “Paddywagon” and it was so much fun! We left on the bus at around 7:30 in morning and drove for about an hour before the bus stopped for breakfast at a service station. Our bus driver was very funny and throughout our journey would share information about whatever area we were driving through. We stopped in the little village of Kinvara which was very quaint. We walked around the village for about a half-hour taking pictures before we got back on the bus and continued on our way. AS we drove through the countryside of Ireland, I was amazed at how beautiful and green everything was. Our next stop was at the “Baby Cliffs” which are smaller versions of the Cliffs of Moher. The wind at these cliffs was incredible and I could only imagine how strong they were at the actual cliffs. We stopped for lunch in the little seaside village of Doolin which was also a beautiful place that was a sleepy town except the bus drive told us that at night every person in the town makes their way to the pubs to play traditional Irish music until the early morning hours. We arrived at the Cliffs of Moher at around 2:00 pm and at first when you are approaching the cliffs it doesn’t look like much but once you reach the edge of the walkway, the view is breathtaking. There are two sides to the cliffs that people can walk along and explore.  The right side leads you up to O’Briens Tower which does cost five euros to climbs but it is said to have the best view of the cliffs. On the left side of the cliffs people can walk without any railings or protection from the edge of the cliffs which is scary but exhilarating at the same time. The force of the wind on these cliffs, especially on the left side, is tremendous and one especially strong gust could send someone right over the edge. It was a perfect day to go and view the cliffs because it was sunny and not terribly cold. This experience was amazing and I would go back to visit this place in a heartbeat, probably when the Puffins show up in the warmer months.