For Thanksgiving, the school had a half day and a staff Thanksgiving celebration. Our host mom also made us all a wonderful meal and we all FaceTimed our families. It was hard being away from home for the first time on a holiday, but we all survived and videoing helped.

The first weekend of December we took a bus to the Otavalo market. The market was very fun and we all got our Christmas shopping done! I only spent $100 and I bought gifts for 11 people. While in the market you will need small bills like $5 and $10 and you will have to bargain with them. I am not much of a bargainer so I just would say no if I felt the price was too high and then they would drop it lower. Sunday we went to the interactive science museum and it was pretty fun, but going to a museum in a language you are not fluent in is a bit challenging. Almost all the museums in Quito are free on Sundays!

December 5th we had a half day that consisted of Quito Festival celebrations for the day. Then, Thursday and Friday we had no school because of the Festivals de Quito. We spent time in Quito seeing the festivities in the historical area of Quito. It was wild having a 5 day weekend practically and the students are a bit hyper today now that they are back, but it is to be expected!

The second weekend in December we went to Mindo! We stayed in a cabin in the mountains called El Eden. It was a bit challenging to sleep at night for two of us because of dust allergies, but we survived. During the day we did the tarabita for $5 which is a cable car that travels across the mountains. The cable brings you to the hiking paths that lead you to waterfalls you can swim in. I would suggest wearing your swimsuit under your hiking clothes and bring a lot of snacks and water. In total, we did about 6 miles hiking to each waterfall. Our favorite food place in Mindo was El Canaveral, it was cheap great food! They also have free wifi there! I would suggest to future travelers to stay at a hostel in the town area because being up on the mountain we were a 40-minute walk from town or a $4 taxi ride that was way overpriced. We stayed one night and did the waterfall hikes and the chocolate factory in one day. I would have loved to do the ziplining, but we were all SO exhausted after the 6-mile hike we were ready to leave by 5 PM that night. The bus ride there is 3 hours of travel on 3 different buses.  The buses were $4.10 in total and the chocolate factory was $8.

This week we have an almost full week of school and it is my last week teaching the students. I am settling in and gaining their respect at this point. Today as I greeted my students into my class for block 3 I realized I will miss my students! The time has gone by so fast here and I cannot believe we only have 9 days left here. I am very thankful for all the life experiences I have had here and the challenges. I have learned a lot about teaching my students in the ways that work for them.

Our first weekend here we had a long weekend due to Dia de Los Muertos! We had Thursday, November 1st and Friday, November 2nd off from school. At Colegio Menor, on Wednesday the students and faculty all received Wawa Pan and Colada Morada. Wawa Pan is a bread or pastry treat representing their loved ones that have passed. The bread or pastry is decorated like a person. Colada Morada is a red fruit drink representing the blood of their ancestors, it contains pineapples usually. In Ecuador, many people travel on this long weekend and in most families, they no longer go to the cemetery during this holiday time like they do in Mexico. I and the three other students from Bridgewater here with me planned a last minute trip to Baños de Agua Santa. I highly suggest going here and planning it in advance so you can find a Hostal to stay at. We stayed at Hostal Rossy and it was good! We found a travel agency on the streets there and for very cheap we were able to do a lot of things. We went on the Chiva to see the cascades and also got to zip line and take a car across the mountains. The ziplining was only $10 and the cable car across the mountains was only $2. At night we went to a few different bars/clubs and the Leprechaun Bar was my favorite bar we went to. They let Americans into the bars and clubs for free, but you do need to show a copy of your passport often. We were able to get to Baños de Agua Santa via a few buses and your host mom should be able to help with this, ours did.

Our second weekend here I had to travel home for a wedding I was the maid of honor in. I was excited to go home because homesickness for me set in Day 3 and became manageable by Day 5, but going home was still exciting. I found that returning from home to Ecuador was hard because I had gotten in a groove of being away from home. It took me about a few days to adjust back to being in Ecuador, but I did!

I found that the first week was an adjustment period at the school, but by week 2 I started to settle in and by week 3 I felt really comfortable here and continue to.

Our third weekend here we ventured off to Papallacta on Saturday where you can take a dip in the hot springs and get massages or facials. For $9 we went into the hot springs and for fifty cents each, we could rent a towel and locker. Three of us got massages and it was $55 for a 60-minute full body massage and it was a wonderful experience. You do need to make an appointment for the massage so I suggest doing that before you enter the hot springs. We took two buses there and back, one bus was fifty cents and the other was $2.50. Sunday we went to the mall and walked around, it is fun to see the different stores and even to see Forever 21 here. The fashion is definitely different here and some of the places are way more expensive than the U.S. because they import things from the U.S. If you go to Forever 21 I suggest the clearance rack only, I got two leotards for $5 each!

This week is our 4th week at Colegio Menor and I have really settled in with taking the bus in the morning and afternoon and ordering lunch in Spanish. The students are gradually warming up to me and whenever I have moments to ask them about their lives I do. I am still working on building a relationship with them, but it is happening over time. Even though I am teaching 9th grade here, they are still English language learners to some degree and I modify my lessons for that. If you ever decide to show videos in your class while here, make sure you put on the subtitles and provide them with some of guided notes or questions to help them focus on what is important in the video.

Thursday we have a half day here for Thanksgiving and Wednesday at 3 pm they are having a faculty Thanksgiving. It is nice that even though most of them do not celebrate Thanksgiving they provide this half day for the American faculty and student teachers here. McCools is an Irish pub in Quito and they are celebrating Thanksgiving dinner there if you RSVP you can attend. The dinner is about $12 which is on the expensive end for Ecuador, but you get a free glass of wine with your meal! This coming weekend we plan to do a bus tour of Quito at night where they talk about Urban Legends in Quito and it is $15.

 

When preparing for my trip to Ecuador which starts October 27th, I had a lot of questions for people about how much money I would need, where I would be living, and everything under the sun. For financing Ecuador I set aside $1,000 for housing, $150 for lunches at the school, $300 for the school you’re placed at, $800 in total for any excursion activities, and $700 for airfare roundtrip. I went to the doctor three weeks before the day I am leaving and I got a flu shot and the pill vaccine for typhoid. My tetanus shot was up to date so I wasn’t needing to get that. They also gave me medicine if I have severe diarrhea and fever while in Ecuador, which can occur when you’re in a new place drinking and eating the food items they have there. I am also bringing medicine for a UTI or yeast infection just to be on the safe side. My doctor was very helpful and said that you can always check the CDC website to have the full picture about an area you are traveling to and recommendations to keep you safe and healthy. Yesterday, was a week before I leave for Ecuador and I spent the day buying all the bathroom items I would be needing for the 8 weeks because it is more expensive to buy them in Ecuador. I plan to bring one very large suitcase and one small suitcase that can be a carry on if needed. I got my host family placement early last week and I emailed her in Spanish with the help of google translate. She seems very kind and I am excited to meet her and learn more Spanish. I bought a gift for my host family, my mentor teacher at Colegio Menor and Cristina. I got a Massachusetts mug for my mentor teacher, a Boston coaster for my host family and maple syrup and then I bought honey from an apple orchard in Massachusetts for Cristina. If you’re planning on buying snacks, bathroom items, and all other health necessities for Ecuador prior to your trip I would set aside $300 just for that stuff. I also bought a water bottle for $33 on Amazon that is meant for hiking that has a heavy duty filter in it just be safe when I am drinking water in Ecuador because it will be different than here in the United States I am guessing. Overall I am feeling ready to go to Ecuador and now I just have to pack this week and print a copy of my health card and passport before I leave October 27th.