Climbing Rocks

Hello all,

About to finish the fourth week of this cycle (the half-way point...jeez, things move quickly sometimes). The latest news is that our lease is up in mid-March. Roommates Will and Elsa are leaving--Will back to the states and Elsa back to Guayaquil. I will miss them terribly.

Sara and I would like to stay in this apartment because we love it. I don't love my room, but I might upgrade to one of the other rooms if we can find someone to take this one. If Sara and I can't find two people to move in, it's goodbye awesome apartment complete with washer, dryer and terrace. I saw a nice little place inhabited by two other CEC teachers the other day and they were interested in having me move in. And there are almost always people looking for roommates so I'm not worried about finding a place if it comes down to that. But nothing I've seen so far is quite as cozy as the place we have now...we'll see.

Carnaval is happening Feb. 15 & 16, so we're talking about going to the beach. I haven't been to the coast in a while so I'm definitely itching to go. I started a rumor that we're going camping on the beach and I'm hoping it catches on.

Below are some pictures from a little rock-climbing trip last weekend. In case you were wondering, no--I didn't make it to the top.

love, M

I got up to that arrow above my head...nice, but I didn't exactly conquer the beast.

Santiago, who owns the equipment and knew what he was doing, gracias a dios.

Cuyabeno Reserve...aka the jungle

I finally went to the Amazon, specifically the Cuyabeno Reserve, located near the border of Colombia. It was incredible--I can't really describe what it was like to be in the jungle, even if it was for only a few days. The Cuyabeno River is gorgeous and we spent most of our time rowing around looking for wildlife. We briefly saw a pink river dolphin and along with tons of other birds and animals, but just being there was the best part. Here are a few photos to give you an idea...the rest of which can be found here.

See her?

On our first day we came across this sleeping anaconda.

Early morning on the Cuyabeno River

See the macaw?

The base of the big tree

The big tree

Audrey and I

The moon, the moon, in the afternoon.

The Great Egret

Squirrel Monkey who got soooo close to us. Below you can see a little more monkey business.

Untitled from Marian Alonso on Vimeo.

Giant cricket

Yikes. Truth be told, I didn't take this picture but gave my camera to the guide. Ha, you thought I got that close?

Now leaving Cuyabeno.

In Lago Agrio, the last sizeable town before Cuyabeno, they sell milk shelks.

Sorry this took so long to get online, but our power goes out unpredictably...alright, no excuses. Here it is, and happy new year!!!

Amazon, here I come.

Leaving tonight on a bus to Cuyabeno, where anacondas, crocodiles, pink dolphins and piranhas await. I'll tell you all about it when I get back...

CMT Birthday

Hello all. Saturday was the celebration of the 45th year of the CMT. The day begins with a pancake breakfast and includes tons of games, prizes, music, and dancing. The volunteers (and other staff members) are in charge of running the games, so I got to just show up and enjoy. Here is the evidence of a fantastic day.

Drenching the volunteers with water was by far the most popular game.

Noé (on the left) sat with me during mass. I was pretty much cradling him the whole time. Meanwhile, he decided to start plucking hairs right out of my head in order to scrutinize them more closely. Why is your hair orange? Pluck away, Noé. In my eyes you can do no wrong.

Angie's a drama queen.

Lenin: so cheeky.

And then there's precious Christian.

I only have one more full week of classes left and then it's vacation time! I'm planning on spending a lot of time at the CMT and we're also looking into a trip to the jungle. I'll keep you posted.

much love,

Marian

Colada Morada, Guaguas de pan, y Vaca Verde

It's a beautiful sunny day in Quito. Unfortunately the lack of rain means that the biggest dam and energy supplier in Ecuador is not working, so we've been having planned blackouts this month. These will probably last through December--I'm glad I don't teach in the evenings because everyone has been using candles in their classrooms. Being at home with a blackout isn't so bad because we have a gas stove and a fireplace. It's actually kind of cozy and it makes me want to go to bed early...which is good for me.

Anywho, life is moving along and the culinary adventures are keeping me entertained. For instance, October/November is the era of Colada Morada and Guaguas de pan. That's the colada on the left--it's made with blackberries, blueberries (actually, something called mortiños, which are like a small hard blueberry) pineapple and strawberries all boiled together with herbs and spices, many of which can only be found here in the Andes. It's like a thick warm cider with bits of fruit floating around in it. It's fantastic, and you have to eat it with a frosted bread treat called a guagua (pronounced wawa...it means little one or baby and is shaped like a little person) that sometimes has jelly or cheese inside...you just never know. Anyway, it's an Ecuadorian tradition to partake in colada and guaguas in the fall season, though I wish people made it all year.

We had a two-day vacation earlier this month and Elsa decided that Will and I needed to see the Presidential Palace in the historic center of Quito. For some reason we took a lot of "arms spread out" pictures.

In front of the mosaic by Guayasamin, probably the most famous and well-loved visual artist of Ecuador.

There's Will allllll the way at the end. See him?

Overlooking the Plaza Grande.

Yesterday I went to my Spanish conversation professor's house to make more colada and lima bean hamburgers (or Vaca Verde, as she tells her kids). The electricity went out and we couldn't finish the colada (step 5 is "blend everything together in a blender") but the hamburguesas de vaca verde were actually pretty good. All you have to do is crush the lima beans, mix them with an egg, salt, pepper, mustard, garlic and whatever else you want, then throw them in a pan.

mmmmm, green cow.

She's a great teacher--only four of us go to class regularly and we usually just sit around and chat. Her husband is from India and yesterday they were telling me how to make shahi paneer (one of my favorites). They even gave me some tumeric to get me started. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Speaking of food, in my intermediate class we learned sequence adverbs (first, then, next, after that, and finally). So guess how they can get 2 extra credit points...by bringing food to class tomorrow with a recipe explaining the steps. Smart, right? There are only 7 students in that class so it should be a nice little gathering.

I'm already finished with the 4th week of an eight-week cycle and I can't believe it. I still haven't been paid, so I haven't been able to do much traveling. But I'm pretty sure that by the time my month-long vacation rolls around in December/January that I'll have enough funds to go to the beach and the jungle. Interested in joining me? All visitors are welcome.

That's all for today. Take care, guaguas.

Marian

Working girl

Wow, it's been a long time since I've written. These days all my energy goes into working, planning, and making delicious dinners. I started on October 20th and I really wanted to get a blog post in there but it just didn't happen. The main reason for this lack of updating is that my day starts pretty early. I have to be in the classroom ready to go by 7am, so I've been getting up around 5:30. Hopefully I'll figure out a way to sleep in a little more, but cooking breakfast without a toaster is like camping, and the coffee just takes too long. I teach two-hour classes until 11am, then I am a sub from 2-4. I've been taking a Spanish class for an hour during my mid-day break, and that involves sitting around and chatting. It's good for me because I speak a lot less Spanish these days--I'm supposed to teach my classes in pure English and although I live with two Latinas, we often speak English at home. I should make them speak Spanish to me (even though I really can't understand Sara, la puertorriqueña). By the way, here's a photo of my rommates, Will, Sara, and Elsa.

Classes...My first class is the Academic 2 level, almost at the end of the road and only a few levels before the proficiency exam. I've been so busy and worn out mostly because of this class. The students are great--they pay attention, they want to be there, and they make the job easier. But I've been having to learn the grammar before I teach it to them because it's so complicated sometimes. And I really feel for them with some of this stuff (e.g., prepositions. what a mess). They have their first exam on Wednesday and I think they've been well-prepared, but it took a lot of work on my part. I have to teach at least one new grammar point every day, sometimes two. That's a lot for a student's brain to handle. We have a textbook but it was written by some folks who were/are coordinators of the institution, and although it has some pretty good materials included, the book itself is hard to use. I've been searching online for better explanations of the grammar and even if I think I've got it all covered, a student will ask a question that didn't even occur to me. I've explained to them that I never want to confuse them, so if I need some time to think about it (like, 24hrs) then I'll get back to them the next day, and they're pretty appreciative of that. I've told them that being a native speaker means my brain can't always retrieve all the possibilities of the use of one word or expression, and they get it.

Anyway, they're good students, my age if not older (though none are older than 27) and they laugh at my jokes. It's especially hilarious if I throw in some lingo here are there (like chuchaqui...Quichwa for hung over). They also love it when Brad Pitt shows up in my examples...Brad Pitt is hotter than most? Or hottest of them all?...hottest of them all, very good. I'm not even a huge fan, but being a teacher means sacrificing your dignity sometimes.

After my Academic 2 class comes Intermediate 1, the first level after the basic levels. This one is tough too, mostly because I still have to teach in English, but they really don't understand a lot of what I say. So I have to consciously tone it down while making it challenging enough for them to improve their listening skills. These students are just younger than me, 17 to 22 years old. For this class, I only have to teach two grammar points a week. But that means coming up with enough games and activities that they don't get bored. Sometimes a two-hour class flies by, and other times it crawls very slowly. That's my biggest challenge with these guys--keeping them interested, somewhat entertained, and learning at the same time.

All in all, the work is good. It's hard to get up so early, and the first week was really tough because I found out what levels I would be teaching the day before classes started. I was hoping not to get the Academic levels (because I knew the planning was hard) and I really didn't want the 7am class. That's exactly what I got, but it's not so bad.

We have this Monday and Tuesday off for a national holiday (fundación de Cuenca) but they didn't pay me for this month (another story) so I don't think I have the funds to go anywhere. Maybe I'll go to Mindo for a day--it'd be nice to get out of the city, and Mindo is so lush and beautiful.

Ahhh, I may sound melancholic but life is indeed good. I'm planning on seeing the volunteers from the CMT tonight for a little Halloween fun, and it looks like I'm doing free aerobics in the park tomorrow morning. I miss everyone, especially my ladies who have taken up craft night.

love you tons,

Mare

Proust Questionnaire and other things

View of the sunset from my house. Same time, same place, every day, all year. That's the equator for ya.

The Proust Questionnaire compares your answers to 20 questions to the answers of 100 celebrities. Unsurprisingly, I scored most like Yoko Ono and Hugh Hefner.

The beach was great--I'm bad at pulling out the camera to take pictures so if I get ahold of some I'll post them.

I start teaching on Tuesday. At a meeting on Monday I'll get my schedule and find out which level I'll be teaching. I was really gung-ho at the end of the TEFL course about 2 weeks ago, but now I'm just waiting for it (it refers to the job, the challenges, the fun) to happen.

I'm nervous about the work, and about the fact that I don't know what I'll be teaching until the day before class starts, so I can't even get any planning done in these quiet vacation days. Any suggestions for day 1 activities? Getting-to-know you stuff could be good, but day 1 is the shyest day for most students, so I don't think I'll do a "stand up and tell us about yourself" game. That doesn't even sound like a game. I have to remind myself that I enjoyed the teaching practicum, so I'll most likely enjoy having my own classes--I've just been doing so much waiting around, reading books, interneting (I only visit about 4 websites regularly, so that doesn't take up much time) and I've lost that excited momentum you get when everything is new. And I've been watching more Will and Grace than I ever did before, so...yeah, things are slow.

Luckily I'm going to Cayambe this weekend to visit Marcia (who works at the CMT) and her husband Rigo. Audrey (center volunteer working on year #2) and I have decided to bring cards and games, make dinner and enjoy this small town where the cemetery is the most interesting attraction. Going out to visit people like this is a lesson in forcing yourself to relax a bit and not worry about what task needs to be done by what time, etc. You have to be comfortable with silences and not having an agenda, which is why games are usually helpful for activity-accustomed gringas like Audrey and myself. We're spending the night, which is a first for both of us. I'm looking forward to it because Marcia is wonderful and Rigo is hilarious--the type of funny that only happens if you listen closely, because he doesn't say much. I have some photos to give them of my last visit about a year ago (a year!) and I hope they're pleased.

Well, I think I'll go back to my new book (I traded at a book swap in a bar at the beach). Haven't been in the mood to watch movies lately, but a friend loaned me District 9 and I'd like to return it to him, so maybe I'll do that too. Again, send me suggestions for the first day or 2 of classes. Thanks!

Mare