Local Celebrity.

And this past Sunday's paper means that I have now been in the Ecuadorian news in some form 4 times. Yup. I'm kind of a big deal.

Different times in the News:

1. First time was when we ended up in the small Afro-Ecuadorian town of Salinas and were waiting at the bus stop on the side of the highway for our bus back to Ibarra. Apparently, three gringas on the side of the road in Salinas is a strange sight. We attracted a news crew, which began to film us and ask us questions (why we were there, what we were doing, and of course, what we thought of Ecuador) without ever giving an explanation or asking for permission. They said we would be on the news that night. I never got to see it. And it's probably better that way. They closed in on my face and asked me questions in rapid fire Spanish which I actually tried to answer back in Spanish.
2. El Norte, the major newspaper for the northern region of Ecuador, came to Caribou Bar (Canadian bar in Ibarra) where we went to watch the U.S. election in English on their TV. They asked to take pictures of us, which we thought was for an article on the election. It turned out that when I got the paper, there were big color photos of us in the social section, but that it was all about the bar.
   
3. CECAMI our school took pictures of Debby and I, bien guapa as we are, to make an advertisement. They then put that in the El Norte.
   
4. Another Ibarra newspaper, La Verdad, came to Cafe Arte where we were celebrating my host sister's birthday on Friday night. They asked to take our picture again. Lo and behold, we were in the social pages again on Sunday.
   

I live a glamorous life. Hahaha. That's four times so far. I'll keep counting!

Teaching.... And the Honor Code.

Hip Hip Hooray!

I am finished with my very first module of English classes. And I think they were successes, if I do say so myself! Even though teaching can be really tough (it really is) and can be frustrating when they don't get it or when they have bad behavior, my classes did really well. On the final, a 70% is necessary to pass the class. For my basic class, I only had two students who didn't pass. One was my 75 year old student Luis (the same one who did hip thrusts all down the soul train line). I think he might be slightly illiterate or had a stroke (I notice he has trouble writing and talking). However, he was so endearing as he was always tried so hard in class! Whenever, I shouted out, "What? What? I don't hear you! ENERGY!", Luis would scream back what I wanted them to say over everyone else and would add a "Miss Kristine" to the end. I think he was just too old to keep up with the class. The other student was a girl who just never came to class. I don't think she really cared. As for my intermediate class, they all passed with flying colors!

Now that the first module is done, Debby (the other teacher at CECAMI) and I are rearranging our schedules. For the first module, we each taught a basic and intermediate class (in addition to our conversation class). That was nice since we lesson planned together, but it was overall a lot of work since we were planning for 3 classes in the morning (all morning!!!) then teaching for 5 hours straight ( 3 - 8). Now, we've split it up so that I have both intermediate classes (so I get to keep my intermediate class, who I loved. My beginning class was the naughty one.) and Debby has both basic classes (she gets to keep her basic class that she loved). I hope this cuts down on the work that we do. Lesson planning is hard!

So our last class was a good celebration. We combined all the classes in the biggest classroom for speeches (everything here goes with speeches, so formal!) and a talent show. My intermediate class is so organized. They organized a few songs - Stand by Me and More than Words. I have the videos, I have to upload them. They were also really cute because my intermediate class organized a whole party after in a Karaoke bar. They organized bringing pizza and drinks and splitting the costs. We had a huge table of probably 30 people. We ate, sang Karaoke (Debby and I did a stunning and embarrassing rendition of Barbie Girl and Total Eclipse of the Heart), and then of course, broke out into dancing. It was actually a really fun night! I heart my intermediate class!

So now I start classes afresh (but with many of the same students) tomorrow. I hope it goes well!

Here are some pictures that I took of my beautiful school. I think it's probably the most gorgeous school of all the WT placements.

My classroom

My classroom from the grounds

View from my classroom

Debby and I on the grounds

Things I have learned about teaching (so far):

1. You need a lesson plan. Lesson plans take a long time to make.
   
2. Every Ecuadorian when they come in late will not go quietly to their chair. No, they will yell from the doorway while you are at the front teaching, "Hello! Good Afternoon!", then go to their seat. For us it's rude to interrupt. For them its rude not to say hello. At first, I was wondering what the hell they were doing.
   
3. Honor does not exist in Ecuador (at least not in the schools). Cheating is so prevalent here. In total nostalgia for my UVA honor code days, I instituted an honor pledge on all exams. It's been edited to make it easier for my students. They had to write "On my honor as a student, I did not cheat on this exam." I was hoping this would guilt them into being good. Maybe a few. But others, no. I had to watch them like hawks in the exam. There was blatant whispering and mouthing of words across the room. I had to move people several times and I should have cashed in on my threat to rip up papers if I saw cheating, but I couldn't really do it. Sigh. If only the honor code applied here.
   
4. To be an engaging teacher, you must be slightly like a circus animal. Always playing games and being a little goofy, but at the same time strict. It's all so confusing!

Oh well. It was a good first module! Now, I'm looking forward to another one (hopefully with less lesson planning hours a day)!

Weekends.

Ok. So this is going to be a mammoth post. Expect lots of writing and lots and lots of pictures.

2 weekends ago (Nov. 1-2):
A good friend of mine from WT, Melea, visited me from her small town. When she got into the "big city", as she called it, we had a nice leisurely catch up time in a cute cafe that has really good, like really American, apple pie. Then Debby, the other WT volunteer who works with me in Ibarra, caught up with us and we really indulged and got facials (this is because there are no such services where Melea works). Afterwards, more indulgence by going to this awesome Italian restaurant where a real Italian lady, Tiziana, hand makes all the pasta. DE-LI-CI-OUS gnocci! I swear, I usually don't live like this in Ibarra, but I wanted to show Melea a good time. =)

The next morning we took the tourist train, El Tren de la Libertad, from Ibarra to Salinas, this small Afro-Ecuadorian town. We sat on the top of the train (kind of like a double decker bus) and got to get a really good view of the beautiful scenery. We went through the mountains, through several tunnels in the mountains, and then down into the valley where it was much warmer. At the beginning of the ride, we were wearing jackets and by the end, we were wearing tank tops. Ecuadorian weather is very fickle and I will have to write about that another time. Here are some pictures from the train ride.

Me, Debby, and Melea cheezing on top of the train.

The scenery from the bus. You can see some of the tunnels we went through.


Melea and I in front of the train when it got to Salinas.

When we got to Salinas, we decided to get off the train and catch a bus back to Ibarra instead of riding the train back (which took much longer and cost more). So, we got off and walked around Salinas, which is very small and poor. It's very different from Ibarra, which is quite commercial and has many stores and industries. Salinas is almost entirely a town of farmers. And culturally, it's quite different. It's almost entirely Afro-Ecuadorian. Not completely black (or as small) like Santa Ana, but enough so that it felt like a different culture. We walked around a bit, looked at the church, and well that's pretty much all there is to see. We stopped in what looked like the only comedore and ordered Cokes (nothing better than coke in a glass bottle!) and papas fritas. Then, we headed to the "bus terminal", which is essentially a bench on the side of the Panamerica highway. We were sitting there for a while waiting for the next bus when this car with "EV Noticias" on it drove by. They saw us, did a double take, stopped the car and immediately brought out a news camera and started filming us. Not talking or anything. Just nonchalantly started filming us. Being awkward me, I started to wave and make faces. As weird as it was I figured it was Debby's blonde hair that gave us away from the road as gringos and that they wanted to film us. It's funny what you get accustomed to. Finally, someone came out with a microphone and began the first communication. They came up to us with the microphone and camera and began to ask us questions. Mainly, "why are you here?", "what are you doing in Salinas?", "what do you think of Salinas?", "what are you doing in Ecuador?", and the always present question, "what do you think of Ecuador?". We all answered their questions in Spanish and there was a good chunk of time with me struggling to answer back in Spanish. They said they were from a news channel in Quito and that they were going to put it on the news. I never saw it, but I don't really watch TV. So, I'm sure that Debby, Melea, and I were on the news at some point that week, speaking in broken Spanish about how much we love Ecuador. It's probably better that I never see it. They zoomed in on me speaking after a 3 hour dusty ride outside. We flagged down our bus and made it back to Ibarra, where we packed up and caught a ride to Mira, the small town where my host family is from, to celebrate Dia de los Difuntos (Day of the Dead) with them. Yeah, we were busy that weekend.

So when we got to Mira, we immediately went to the family's house where I swear the whole family had gathered. Probably 15 or so people in the house, coming and going. We got some Merienda, coffee, and then headed to my host aunt's house as there was no room in the regular family house for us. So that night we were super lucky and got to sleep 3 girls to one small wooden slat bed. Wooooo! But before we went to sleep. Way before, we got ready to go dancing in Mira. Mira is a really small town, a pueblo, of probably less than 10,000 people. So, our version of pre-gaming was standing under the roof of a bus stop in a circle of probably 12-15 people (mostly all cousins), in the rain, passing around only one cup that was constantly refilled with whisky and sparkling water for each person to drink before being passed to the next person. Melea and I didn't partake because women don't really drink whisky here. But we were standing there in the cold (really high altitude) and in the rain and were starting to get antsy. After what seemed like an eternity we finally went dancing. This is the part in the story where Melea and I gave Americans a bad rep forever in Mira. We were holding our own for all the latin songs, then oddly enough, a rock bands comes out and starts playing. Immediately all the Ecuadorians sit down as I feel they only dance with steps and there are no steps to this music. So there was no one on the dance floor, but Melea and I were already in the dancing mood and started doing crazy hippy dancing, like interpretive dance and stuff. You would not believe the stares we got! And my host sister was literally begging us to stop. Hahaha. Really, it was not that bad. We were just being crazy and free! Oh well! Just reinforcing the idea that gringas are loca!

The next day was Dia de los Difuntos and we went to the cemetary where my host mother's mother had just been buried 3 months ago. This was my very first Day of the Dead and it was really interesting. It's not really a somber occasion at all, but very festive, with people selling flowers, food, little decorations outside of the cemetary. Inside, families were gathered around their graves, cleaning and decorating and some just hanging out. Even some with crates of Pilsener (the local beer). It was really pretty too, looking at all the graves. And there was this one really old indigenous woman. I was watching her and I noticed she kept going to all these different graves and was quietly talking. I thought it was really sort of beautiful, praying for each of the people there. That, or she was crazy.

The cemetary on Dia de los Difuntos. Old indigenous woman is on the right.

After that, we went back to the house where we ate Cuy (Guinea pig) for lunch. From there, to the family's land to pick mandarin oranges and avocados! They have a gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous area of land. I mean gorgeous. Perfectly set in the mountains. With mandarin orange trees and avocados!!!! We spent the whole afternoon climbing trees, picking avocados, and eating on the mountain. I might never come back!

Here are the some of the kids climbing in the trees.

Obligatory picture of me with my avocado, displaying the mountains.

Overall, a really good weekend.

ELECTION NIGHT!
Yup, those of us outside of the U.S. were eagerly watching it too! We wanted to watch the election in English so Debby and I after teaching classes booked it over to Caribou, the Canadian bar in town to meet up with our gringo friends, mostly PC volunteers and other professors at other schools. It was a super exciting night for us and we were glued to watching the TV. We were just a giant group of gringos and the local newspaper, El Norte, came around and took pictures of us. Yeah, what can I say, I'm just a local celebrity. Haha. We thought they were doing a story on the U.S. election, but it was really a social pages thing on the bar we were at. But we did have a giant color photo in the newspaper. Overall, it was an awesome night. Go Obama!

Our gringo group watching history!

Debby and I super excited and pointing to Election stats, which disappeared on the screen just as we took the picture.

Last weekend:
Does this post go on? Yes. Yes, it does. Isn't it exciting? =)

Last weekend, Debby and I were supposed to meet up with some of our Quito friends to go to the La Mama Negra festival in Latacunga. But that was canceled unexpectedly because of a horrible freak accident where when they were getting the floats ready, a school boy died from a fire work going off. Sad. So, we changed our plans and decided to go to Banos, which is a really touristy town in central Ecuador (a good 7 hour ride from us). It's a small town thats set in the mountains and is really pretty. There is a lot of adventure sports and hiking there and they have thermal springs. After spending Friday night at our friend's house in Quito, we set off for Banos, which is a good 4 hour bus ride on some windy mountain roads.

Debby, my host sister, and our Quito friend, got there, ate, and then by that time most of the day was gone! We decided to take a bike ride to enjoy the mountain scenery and see some of the cascades. Never mind that it was already starting to get late (4 PM), that I hadn't ridden a bike in probably 10 years, and that we had to ride our bikes on the downhill, curvy, and busy highway (still set in the mountains and gorgeous, though). I was being all romantic and thought it was going to so poetic to enjoy the mountain scenery and cascades on a bicycle. I mean, I did. It was really pretty. But I probably would have it enjoyed it more if I had listened to the others and decided to do the ATVs. I was so preoccupied about how to ride a bike and not get hit by cars! And then thats when we biked through the dark tunnel through the mountain, where we had an almost collision between bikes and almost subsequent being hit by cars. Yeah, sometimes I'm not so smart. But don't worry! I'm all safe. =) After that, though we hit a path that cars couldn't come on and we saw some cascades and really enjoyed the biking and scenery at that point. At least, I did. And we also got a little follower. This little 13 year old boy biked with kept talking about how he was only 13, but he had a 15 year old girlfriend. Hahaha. Finally, we hit the highway again, and got a ride on a bus back to Banos with our bikes.

At that point, we got some food, some vino and then hit the thermal springs. I mean thats what you do in Banos. That's why it's called Banos! It was a really nice setting (there was a waterfall right next to it), but I was overall disappointed in the springs. They were really crowded and only luke warm. Papallacta is so much better! After that, I was sleepy and a party pooper. Some of the girls went out dancing. I went to sleep. I live a crazy and dangerous life. what can I say? The next day, we checked out the church, but that was it. We got back on the bus to Ibarra (7 hours on the crazy bus ride back with our driver that kept eating fritada and driving the bus with his elbows). I definitely think that if I go back to Banos, that I will need to spend more time there and do some hiking.

This is our bike riding group in front of one of the cascades. You can see it in the bottom left corner.

And this is me with another cascade. Pretty.

Well, that's pretty much it so far. Tomorrow I'm going to the El Angel Biological Reserve with my host sister. I've heard it's gorgeous. And then on Sunday, going to prepare the final I'm going to give to my students. I hope they do well!!!!

Ahora, estoy feliz!

Halloween.

So I had a good end of week and weekend. But right now I only have time and internet speed to write about the awesome Halloween party. Weekend stuff will come soon, I hope.

On Thursday (Oct. 30), we held our Halloween party. It was a success if I do say so myself. I don't know if I really imparted much cultural knowledge or any English that day, but we succeeded in getting all the students to wear costumes, eat ungodly amounts of candy, pass apples with only their necks, and of course, do a soul train line. It was a good party. We definitely got everyone dancing, including my 75 year old student Luis who dressed as Dracula and did hip thrusts all down the soul train line.

Yup, I came to Ecuador to volunteer and I end up throwing parties. I live a difficult life. Haha. But really, it was a lot of work getting ready! There were all sorts of expectations. As North Americans, we must obviously know how to throw a huge Halloween party and should impart some sort of cultural lesson. We were feeling a little bit of the pressure and tried to make sure we had good decorations, games, and costumes. We went early in the week to the costume shop and ended up getting roped into being costume models. In these costume stores, they take pictures of people in the costumes and put them on the wall. I think they jumped on the chance to get pictures of gringos. So, I ended up wearing a snow white costume, several variations of an indigenous Zuleta costume, and a doll outfit. That was fun and I ended up going as the doll. Not too shabby for a Halloween outside of the U.S.

Here are some pictures of my classes!

My basic class



My intermediate class



Me dancing with Luis, hip thrusts and all


Being my model self, you know, the usual.

More to come soon!