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It has been a while since the last time I have posted becasue time has been flying! I can’t believe I have been here for a month now! The time I have spent here has been incredible. The breathtaking sunsets, … Continue reading
I cannot believe that my time in Dublin is almost over. Although there are still a few weeks left, I feel as though time is going by so quickly.
Two weeks ago, Dr. Marvelle came to visit Kelly and me for a few days. I had never met him before, so it was really nice to sit down with him and talk for a few hours about everything that has been happening! He also took us out for dinner and a hunt for sticky toffee pudding, which we were unfortunately not able to find until a few days later. May I add that this dessert is absolutely amazing and is definitely worth a try!
Dr. Marvelle came to visit us at CUS on Friday in order to meet our teachers, but he did not observe lessons until Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday was his last full day, so he came in to say goodbye to our teachers and students before he left on Thursday.
Currently, I am on my April vacation, which is two weeks long. My dad came to visit at the beginning, and we rented a car and drove to Cork, Dingle, and Galway. He was only here for a few days but it was a really fun trip as well as a really cool way to see other parts of the island! The driving here is tricky, but it is easy to get used to after some trial and error.
Once my dad left, Kelly and I flew to Belgium for four days, during which we took day trips to the city of Brugge as well as to the countries of Luxembourg and Netherlands. The food in Belgium is amazing; their chocolate and waffles definitely exceeded my expectations and the fries are spectacular. They are also known for having the best beer, and I can testify that it really is amazing.
Right now, I am sitting in the Brussels airport about to fly to Venice, Italy to meet up and spend a few days with my cousin before we both head off to Budapest, Hungary to finish off the vacation. After Hungary, my cousin will be flying back to Dublin with me to continue her vacation while I go back to teaching.
These two weeks of break really have allowed me to travel around Europe, which has always been a dream of mine. It is trips like these that make me want to continue to travel the world and visit as many countries as possible. Even with all of this travel, I do miss Dublin as well as my students and I am excited to go back and continue teaching.
-Raya Hankin
We have been spending out last three weeks at The Catholic University School, which is right near St. Stephen’s Green (my favorite place in Dublin). The primary and secondary school are all within one big complex, and there is a big space in the middle that is covered in stone. This is where the kids play, but it’s actually really big. All of the buildings are made of brick and covered in ivy so the school is very pretty.
I have been in a third class (which is 9 and 10 year olds- so 4th grade back home). My supervising teacher has been teaching for over 10 years, and I was very impressed with her class of boys. They are so well-behaved and respectful. They are also so intelligent, independent and hard-working. I was just impressed with supervising teacher’s classroom management style because she is calm and quiet, but firm.
Arriving into Shanghai, Dunkin Donuts at the Shanghai Airport
A dumpling shop on the street
Meeting with Mrs Chen, the principal at Hongqaio Middle School
Campus of Jinshan School
Science class at Jinshan High School, teaching the properties of Venus; instruction in English,
Campus of Shanghai Normal University
Campus of Shanghai Normal University; the trees, not in bloom yet, are Phoenix Sycamores
Campus at the Education University of Hong Kong, Administration Building
Kiley with Elsa, Vice-Principal at the Jockey Club School
Dr Simon XU, Associate Vice President (Global Affairs) and Director of Global Affairs Office
Annalise reading to students at the Early Childhood Center
Hola! This past Saturday, Dawna and I finally went out adventuring after a great first week at school. We took an Uber into Quito for $6 USD Saturday morning to meet up with a full day tour we booked for $25 USD, including transportation, entrance fees, and freebies at local restaurants. Our final destination for the day was Mitad Del Mundo- the equator!
The drive from the city to Mitad Del Mundo is about an hour depending on traffic. We had an amazing bi-lingual tour guide who provided an extensive history of Ecuador and different places we passed. We stopped on the way at Pululahua. This is an incredible village built in the crater of a volcano. The area has been declared a national park and botanical reserve by the Ecuadorian government. They are waiting until the last of the population who calls the diverse crater home to pass, then the village will be removed. There is no running water, and our guide said there is no electricity. The community has large nets on one side of the crater that collects condensation from the clouds coming off the volcano, and the water is saved in a large tank until the village needs it- Pululahua translates as “clouds of water”. There was steps built into the side of the Pululahua volcano that lead to the entrance of the village. It takes roughly 30 minutes to descend all of the steps, and an hour and a half or so to come back up. The village is safe for now, as the guide also shared it is not expected to erupt again for another 2,000 years.
Dawna and I are planning on going back to visit Pululahua in the upcoming weeks to trek down to the village as there was not time on this trip. We only stopped at the volcano for about a half an hour. We did have plenty of time to take pictures and shop at a small craft market while we were there. However, we were lucky, as about 5 minutes after we arrived and had taken pictures, the mist thickened and covered the entire view of the crater.
Back on the bus, we headed about 15 minutes back towards the city to arrive at Mitad Del Mundo. This site was originally where the exact latitude 0’0’0′ was thought to be, but has since been disproven using GPS, although it is not too far off. Right in the center of the complex, there is a large monument that is labeled with the four different directions on the outside, and contains a museum on the inside. The museum is 9 floors, with the top floor being a lookout over the complex. Inside had an overview of the four regions of Ecuador and their cultural backgrounds, along with different equator and hemisphere related experiments. After completing the walk through the museum, you can stamp your passport yourself with one of two stamps stating that you officially visited the middle of the world. There is a yellow line painted outside the monument dictating where the equator “is”, so of course we had to take pictures being in two hemispheres at once!
Just after we had taken pictures, the rain arrived as it does every afternoon, and it absolutely poured the rest of the 3 hours we were at the Mitad Del Mundo complex. There is a “secret” separate site proven by gps of where the equator actually lies about a 10 minute walk away down some side streets, but it was raining so hard the road was flooded, so we gave up trying to find it and stayed in the complex. We got to take a tour of a chocolate museum, learning about the history of cacao and tasting some freshly made cacao paste. We stuck to ice cream for lunch, as the two primary lunch recommendations from the tour guide were cuye (roasted guinea pig) or “blood soup”- made from sheep blood/ intestine. The ice cream was really good! We also got to try some local beers, one of which was made with cacao, and was surprisingly fantastic.
Overall, even though the weather was not the greatest, we had an interesting adventure spending the day bouncing back and forth between the two hemispheres before heading back home to Cumbaya.
Chao from Ecuador!
-Sarah
I have been in Caye Caulker, Belize for about a week now! I arrived on Sunday afternoon. When I was getting off the water taxi I was in complete awe. There were palm trees, colorful store fronts and beautiful blue waters. I just couldn’t believe I was here! Once I got settled I was just in time to watch the sunset. I was exhausted from my day of travels and went to sleep not too long after the sunset because it was my first day of school on Monday! It was a busy first week here at L.I.C.A but everyone on the island and at school are so friendly and welcoming. L.I.C.A is about a 10 minute walk from where I am staying. Every morning I get my coffee at “Ice and Beans” and walk to school. It is a great way to start my day. At L.I.C.A I am teaching in the Standard 1 class (which is 3rd grade) and there are only 6 students!! Most of the time not every one isn’t even here! They have all been so kind and friendly and they love having another teacher in the class. During the week the students read the postcards from the students back home and they even wrote back to my students home in Massachusetts. I brought the book “Make Way for Ducklings” to give to the classroom teacher for the class to have. My teacher (what is her name, Danielle?) let me read it to them and we talked about what it’s like to live in Massachusetts. I even made a PowerPoint of me and what life was like in Massachusetts. They loved looking at pictures and learning about where I come from. They even shared somethings about themselves.
Every Monday they have a staff meeting after school. I was introduced to everyone and they all welcomed me with open arms. This meeting was extra special because they were preparing for the Governor General of Belize to come the next day! He was visiting the public school here on the island but wanted to stop by all the schools including L.I.C.A. On Tuesday afternoon students met outside to welcome him to the school. They had a short presentation for him including a cultural dance, a gift and a tour of the school. He even sat around and told all the students, staff and parents a story! It was a very exciting day. On Thursday I stayed late again after school to help set up for the “Mommy and Me” tea party that was happening later on that night. It was such a beautiful night. Everyone dressed up and the mommy’s and students were served tea, chocolate milk and cookies. It was nice to meet some of the parents and get to know the staff a little better!
I have been adjusting to life here on the island very well and have already found my way around. The island is very small and everything is in walking distance. There are no cars on the island so everyone walks, rides their bikes or gets around on golf carts! Since I am here by myself I have enjoyed the time being by myself. I have had time to exercise, read my books and just enjoy being here. Over the weekend I walked all around the island to try to find new places to explore. I sat down by The Split, soaking up the sun and going for a nice refreshing dip in the water! It was the relaxation I needed after a long week! The food here is amazing and, believe it or not, the street food is to die for and is much cheaper than sitting down at a restaurant. If you ever get a chance to come here bring cash! Most places do accept cards so, obviously, it is much easier to just have cash!
Every morning I am still so shocked that I am here on this beautiful island. I cannot wait to keep exploring!
5 of my students in the class!
The beautiful sunset!
When the Governor General cam to visit!
¡Hola de Ecuador! 🇪🇨
Sarah and I arrived just over a week ago, and we can’t believe we’ve already spent a whole week in Quito! Our host families picked us up from the airport late last Saturday; we’ve spent the week getting to know them and settling in at our school, Colegio Menor.
Both Menor and our families’ homes are located in the suburb of Cumbayá, about 20 minutes outside of Quito, Ecuador’s capital city. It’s a beautiful little town with two shopping malls, tons of restaurants and cafes, and nice parks/trails. There are buses and taxis that go into the city from here, but we’ve learned that Uber is the safest and cheapest way to travel.
My host mom, Isa, has been so helpful to us. On my first full day here, she took me out to purchase a plan for my cell phone and translated the entire transaction (I’m still working on my Spanish). We had lunch with her extended family, and I got to meet even more of the family on Friday—we hosted a barbecue for two of my host sisters’ birthdays. Isa has made great recommendations for our weekend trips (stay tuned for Sarah to tell you about our journey to the equator this past weekend!). Yesterday, Sarah and I both went to see my host sister, Ariana (4th grade), participate in a gymnastics competition. Isa and Ariana help me practice my Spanish, and I help them with their English. Needless to say, I am feeling right at home with my second family!
Sarah and I both started teaching at Menor on Monday, our second full day in Ecuador. Our cooperating teachers are fantastic—Sarah is in first grade and I am in sixth grade Language Arts/Social Studies. My students are a little wild, but very sweet, and eager to give me travel recommendations. Menor is absolutely beautiful and so big that I still get a little lost when I go to an unfamiliar building (I’ve included some photos here). Sarah walks to school every morning; I live a little farther away, so a school bus picks me up and drops me off every day. We met some other student teachers from Georgia, who have given us some great tips on living in Quito and teaching at Menor (they’ve been here for three months).
It’s been an adventurous week so far, and we can’t wait to see what the rest of our trip has in store!