I'm still in Ecuador

Adios, Quito

2010-07-27T10:23:00.000-07:00

Ahhhhhhh....

It's coming to an end. I leave on Thursday afternoon. It's hard to say goodbye to the folks who have helped me form my life here, but I'm ready to go home. I'm ready to be with my family and friends, eat good food, enjoy the surroundings and everything I've missed about California and the US of A.

It will of course be hard to leave, but maybe not as tough as I was expecting. It helps that my social calendar is filling up as we speak. Job? uhhh, I'll think about that later.

Tomorrow (my last day) it's one last visit to the center (Centro del Muchacho Trabajador, where I worked last year). I might enjoy a good ceviche or something else Ecuadorian, but it'll be a mostly quiet day of packing and goodbyes.

So, it's time to go. Thanks for everything, Quito. ¡Chao!

love,

Marian

Vilcabamba

2010-07-04T09:41:00.000-07:00

I travelled to the "valley of longevity" with Mary, Tasha, and Chrissy. Vilcabamba is known for its elderly population. Something in the water, they say, gives folks the ability to live longer (we're talking 100, even 130 years old as the legend goes, though I don't know if that's true or just a little local embellishment. Do I really care? No, because everyone in town is so proud of the 130-year-old man.)

Beautiful sierra, much different from Quito. Hiking, horseback riding (galloping, really. I was scared...) pool lounging, World Cup watching. It was a great vacation.

Chrissy asked me to join her for open mic night at a bar, so I did. Our fans included 5 friends and the bartender.

That's all for know. Wish me luck in my last weeks. I return on July 29 and though I'm excited to see family and friends, it's going to be hard to leave. More thoughts on that later...

Oh yeah, ¡Feliz 4th of July!

much love, M

The Andes

2010-05-31T08:37:00.000-07:00

Nothing particularly exciting happened in the months of April and May, so I let the blog slide a bit. Not to worry, though, as I've come back with photos of a fantastic trip through the sierra (Andes mountains) through Quito-Riobamba-Guamote-Alausí-Cuenca.

Early morning start in Riobamba where we boarded the autoferro, pretty much a bus that's been converted into a train car. If you look closely you can see mount Chimborazo in the back.

The volcano Tungurahua erupted the day we left Quito and was still erupting when we left Riobamba the next day. See it?

There's Chimborazo and some lovely countryside.

Church in one of the plazas in Cuenca.

Ancient terraced hill made by the Cañaris (pre-Incan folk).

A view of Cuenca.

River running through the city.

"The rumor of the river. Old books and marvelously useless things." My travel partner suggested I be in a picture with this sign. I didn't get it at first.

And on the plane ride home, a stunning view of mount Cotopaxi.

I arrived back to Quito today and have a meeting for work in the afternoon. Tomorrow I start the first day of my last teaching cycle. Wish me luck!

Ch-ch-ch-changes

2010-03-21T08:05:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

I've really been lagging on the blog front--apologies. The teaching cycle ended March 11 and I've had a wee vacation since then. Tomorrow we have a teachers meeting in the afternoon (during which we find out our schedules) and on Tuesday it's back to work. I like my job but I'm not exactly ready to end my paid vacation. But who is, right?

After the cycle ended my two dear roommates, Will and Elsa, left our sweet apartment. Will is in love (go figure) and his girlfriend got a job in New York, so he went there. Elsa is from Guayaqil, the big coastal city, and has to attend a month-long seminar in order to start work on her Masters degree. It was a sad goodbye and I miss them terribly.

It's been a big change to lose them, but the nice thing about it is that I got to upgrade rooms. My new room is about two and a half times as big as the closet I was living in before. And now I actually have a closet.

The two new roommates are good stuff: Andi the German (he works for a textile company) is here for two months, which means we'll have to find a replacement in early May. Ryan is a teacher at CEC and is a nice guy.

I went to the Amazon again for a few days last week. This time we weren't so "Heart of Darkness" deep in the jungle, so it wasn't as intense as Cuyabeno. Still, it was great to get out of the city for a little adventure. We went on a hike through some bat caves and had to scale the walls of the caverns using our own weight as support. Does that make sense? Here's a picture of my friend Jasmine as a visual for you:

So about 10ft below the guy in the red hat is where we started climbing, and I'm taking the photo from the top of the cavern (which is actually more of a crevasse that leads to light and fresh air above). We did this about 4 or 5 times in different caves. I had no idea that guano actually smelled like poop. The photo below is of a vine called "monkey stairs." I liked the name and decided to share it with you. After that are photos of more scenery.

We also went to an animal rescue center, which was sad and really eye-opening. About a third of the animals they have will never be able to go back to the wild for various reasons. For example, there was one feline (called a weasel cat) that had been found in a hotel room, and a small monkey that had been kept as a pet and was so used to living in pockets that they had to hang pants up in its cage. The facilities are quite spacious and smack in the middle of the jungle, so it's all pretty close to their natural setting. None of the birds can be released because it's just not possible to sufficiently train them to survive in the wild. It was great to support the place but hard to deal with the fact that the exotic animal black market is so widespread that there seems to be no end to it. Apparently a macaw will sell for $10,000; just the night before we got there someone broke into the reserve and stole 3 macaws. There are no security cameras (it's a pretty low-tech place) and to get there you either have to arrive by boat (it's on the edge of a river) or get through miles of jungle, so who knows how someone broke in. Sad and frustrating.

Well, that's all for now. I'll let you know how this new teaching cycle gets going--I really loved my students last cycle so I hope I haven't been spoiled in the way of awesome students. Take care!

love, M

Feliz Cumpleaños, Andrea

2010-02-26T14:23:00.000-08:00

Love you--here's a little something you can remember me by...

Take out your personal watercraft

2010-02-18T15:01:00.000-08:00

Today in my intermediate class we played charades with two-part verbs. It goes like this: the students have to write down a bunch of requests using two-part verbs on little cards (por ejemplo, clean up the kitchen, put away your things, take out the trash, etc). Then they exchange cards and have to act out the request and get their team to guess correctly.

It was a fantastic game that really made me laugh, especially when I saw the following gems:

Take out the teacher (M.A) and close the door. (all in good fun, I promise)

Throw away your feelings.

and the most puzzling:

Take out your personal watercraft.

Where that came from, I have no idea.

love, M

Climbing Rocks

2010-01-26T19:07:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-04T10:04:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-12-26T12:46:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-06T15:01:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-15T07:14:00.000-08:00

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

2009-10-31T07:53:00.001-07:00

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

2009-10-08T12:24:00.000-07:00

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

Vacation from....?

2009-10-06T16:46:00.000-07:00

At the last minute I've decided to join some CMT folks on a trip to Canoa. It'll be one last trip during my vacation before work starts, though I'm actually looking forward to working.

Oh, did you know that October is Vegetarian Awareness Month? I didn't until about 10 minutes ago. Also, when things get rough, I always try to:

via Treehugger.

See you after the beach.

love, Mare

I have always wondered about this and now it's been cleared up

2009-09-30T22:29:00.000-07:00

GOOD Magazine told me What Happens When Non-recyclables End Up in the Blue Bin. So if you were wondering, now you can know too.

Tired, have a presentation tomorrow and a big-ass portfolio to put together for Friday. But after that I'm official. Trying to get office work so I don't have to just sit around for two weeks until my actual job starts. If they have nothing for me I'll pop in at the CMT and do what I can. Oh, I went to Cotocollao (where I lived last year) to see everybody and it was wonderful. I'll tell you more about it later but it involves slicing hot dogs. G'night.

Mare

I like making worksheets

2009-09-21T19:50:00.000-07:00

But it takes a lot of work... and sheets.

All is well. I've visited La Marín a number of times--it's been great to see everyone but oddly enough, the laaaaast kid I expected to be excited to see me has been elated every time. She pleads with me to join her group asks me questions about my life (...you care about my life?). So now I know the joys of visiting the center and getting a total ego boost from the same people who once brought me to my most humble levels. I have yet to visit the Cotocollao campus and I know I'm going to get a load of chiding from those folks (you've been here two and a half weeks and you haven't come to see us?!?!)

Still adjusting to a less-busy life, though my outside of class work does take a bit of time and effort.

Oh, a funny thing. I kept hearing the neighbors screaming at each other. Screaming, the kind of noise that people in the U.S. call in as domestic disturbances. I even talked to a classmate about it in an activity called "Tell me about your neighborhood." The woman's voice sounded so shrill and pissed-off, and she was the one getting most of the shouting in while the man would only get in a few phrases here and there.

This was happening in the mornings and evenings on a few separate days, so I assumed it had been going on for a while. I finally asked roommate Will about it and he said, "Does it sound like a woman who's about to kill somebody?" Yeah, it does kinda sound like that. "The neighbors have a parrot."

I have a friend who knows how Ecuadorians love their birds. Not really, I've just seen more than one pet bird being transported on long-distance bus rides. Anyway, the neighbors have a parrot, which is good because it means they aren't fighting, but bad because it means this is probably going to be a normal quirk of the neighborhood.

The view this morning

2009-09-12T10:10:00.000-07:00

Nice. Today is QuitoFest (free music in a huge park) and the weather is perfect. Last night I met the new center volunteers (though I already knew three of them from LMU) and had a loud and loving reunion with the three volunteers from last year who are staying at the center again this year.

Meeting the new volunteers has confirmed that time has moved on, and though I loved being at the CMT I was almost too close to it to realize what was happening. By the time the year was up I had to pinch myself...wait, did that really just happen? Did I really do this? And now that I see the new volunteers one thing has become clear: that everything stood still for 11 months while I put aside the things that I thought made me Marian. I became an alternate version of myself, resembling me but removed from all those clues that would have previously reminded me, "oh yes, that is what Marian would do. She's still here." Now I feel almost as if I disappeared for a year only to find that time didn't wait for me to get back. Does that make sense? Don't worry, this is not an existential crisis. I'm just trying to share with you what goes on in my head as I prepare myself to participate in this new life.

And the new life looks like this. I live in an apartment with roommates and I cook dinner and do dishes, take the bus to and from work, I am alone sometimes, I go out to see friends and my bosses expect things of me (gasp!) just like any normal person. The truth is that this doesn't look much different from how my life has been in recent years. What's missing are my CMT kids. I don't want you to think I'm sad or that I regret not staying at the CMT. There were a lot of reasons not to stay there, but I miss my kids. I'm excited to try this new life as a teacher at a university, a certified this or that--I'm looking forward to it but it will not be the same. So I'll just have to get used to this and remain happy, thankful, engaged in the day to dayness of things.

Wow, that was a lot of thinking for a picture of the view from my apartment. Now it's time for another cup of coffee before I get ready for free music in the park. Much love,

Capítulo 2 begins

2009-09-07T15:59:00.000-07:00

Sooo...it's weird to be back. I have to re-familiarize myself with Quito, speaking Spanish, and being "different." It's also strange to be in this city but not be at the CMT. I keep hoping that I'll run into one of my kids on the street and we'll have this wonderful surprise reunion. But I'm neither living nor working near the two CMT locations, so I doubt my dream reunion will come true.

Today I attended my first TEFL/TESL class. The course lasts for 4 weeks and in that time I have a number of observation hours, teaching hours, lesson plans and other assignments to complete. Each day I'll be in class for 4 hours, so the rest of my time can be dedicated to the assignments and planning, but I'm still a little nervous. What if my lessons suck? What if I stumble over my words? What if I lose control of the classroom? I am not looking forward to walking into someone's classroom and teaching their students while being observed by the authorities.

To distract myself from my worries I unpacked all my stuff and arranged it in my room. And then I took pictures in order to give you a little tour, so here goes...

First, the view from the outside. You'll notice the coat rack outside my door with my stuff on it.

Once inside you don't have to go far to find the head of the bed...

...or the foot of the bed.

Here is the door to the bathroom along with the foot of the bed.

And here we have the closet/shelves.

Looking outside the room (from the bed) more clothes are hanging on the door to the kitchen. Tim Gunn would be proud because I really made it work.

There you have it. It's been great to see my friends and enjoy some good ceviche, and I'm sure my nerves about the TEFL course will loosen up once the ball gets rolling. More photos of the apartment to come, so stay tuned.

Oh and thank you for a wonderful 2 months at home. You guys are the best.

love, Marian

Well I'm not quite there yet, but I didn't want you to forget about me

2009-08-24T21:30:00.000-07:00

Hi, this is Marian and on Saturday I'll head to LA for one last week of fun before I go back to Ecuador for one more year of fun. I mean work.

Anyway, this is how I feel:

via farm4.static.flickr.com, whatever that means

Home

2009-07-13T10:24:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh...I've been here a little over a week, enjoying a few things I missed:

Lake Tahoe

Dojo

Roasted Vegetables

Exchange Students

and of course The Family (photo unavailable) including my nephew, Jonah.

I miss my kids in Quito but I know I'll see them again, and that made leaving Ecuador much easier. I just realized I never posted the photos of the trip to the Miranda house on Fathers' day. Unfortunately, Papa Miranda was asleep the whole time because he'd worked the night shift. The bubbles I had brought were the main attraction of the day and a fantastic time was had by all.

Until next time,

El Futuro

2009-06-27T10:41:00.000-07:00

I'm leaving Quito in one week exactly. I'm sad to leave, but my feelings are tempered by relief at a few things:

I don't really have to say goodbye for long because I'm coming back in two months.
I'm going home, and that's a relief.
I get to eat all the food I've been craving...feta cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, dark leafy greens, good varieties of food (Indian, Mediterranean , Mexican...mmmm).

Wait a minute...coming back in two months? Yes, I got a job teaching English at the Centro de Educación Continua, a department of a well-known university in Quito, la Escuela Politecnica Nacional. Whenever I tell my Ecuadorian colleauges I got a job there they raise their eyebrows as if to say "wow I didn't know you were that smart," or something like that.

For the first month (September) I'll take a course to get my TEFL/TESL certificate (Teaching English as a Foriegn/Second Language) which should be transferrable around the world, including Pleasant Hill, CA (that's for you, mom and dad).

Then in mid-October I'll start teaching. I should have three classes a day, probably of a lower level because I'll be a new teacher. I'm not sure how the work will be, if I'll like it, if it'll be hard. But I wasn't sure about coming here to the Working Boys Center and I'd say it worked out pretty well. Amazingly, actually, so I've decided to relax and just let things happen to me (some advice offered me to a good Irish friend by the name of Ed).

I have an apartment set up with some friends: Sara, Elsa, and Will (a Puerto Rican, Ecuadorian, and a dude from Davis, CA). My room was once the "servant's quarters" so it's comically small. The head and foot of the bed each touch the walls, and to get to the bathroom you have to jump over the bed. Like whenever Mel Gibson and Danny Glover had to jump over the hoods of cars in Lethal Weapon--it's just like that.

But the fact that it has it's own bathroom is really nice, and the place is in a good area, has a washer and dryer, it's close to work and close to all other kinds of action in Quito.

So all is set to return to Quito, for how long I'm not sure. I guess until I'm ready to come home.

It's been difficult, up and down, fantastic, frightening, and quite grounding. I feel pretty removed from home, which was probably a good thing given the time, energy, and attention the kids here need. I've said it before and it's still true: I'm in love with my students. And though the love seems simple, I'm leaving the center with complicated feelings about child work, poverty, consumerism, education, and international volunteerism. And I've learned a lot about who I am, who I'm not, and what I can and can't do.

So that's that. My time at the center is nearly over and I'm happy about how things went. I'm ready to leave and will be ready to come back, and I feel so lucky that I get to live abroad like this. Hopefully I'll see most of you at home but if I don't, check back in September to hear about my Adventures in Ecuador, Capítulo 2.

love, Marian

Mini Bum

2009-06-20T09:52:00.000-07:00

More bowling, a favorite among the kids. At first my second-graders were timid about it, gently rolling the ball down the lane until it came to rest just before the pins. "You have to put more force into it!" I told them. Pretty soon they were throwing it like MEN, little Incredible Hulks. They cheered for each other, they were patient when it wasn't their turn...they were just great (this is the class that amazed me with their gratitude during the Pizza Party). Unfortunately one boy didn't show up, and I learned later that his mom needed him to stay home to take care of a younger sibling (the kid is only eight years old and is on baby-sitting duty). I was distressed about that because we've been looking forward to this, so I'll try to make it up to him somehow.

Anyway, below is the evidence of a great time.

Here's Noé and the "power throw"

Billy was pretty nervous about this one

Winner for Best Smile: Elvis

What a goof.

Mr. Serious trying not to show excitement.

That's visiting former-volunteer Colleen in the back.

Someone else's camera has a picture of all of us together..will add that soon.

And another thing. When I told another group of boys what the name of this candy (one of them was selling it) translates to they went wild. They told me I could have a "tracero pequeño" whenever I want. ha ha...

love, M

Just for kicks

2009-06-01T16:03:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of late.

First up, making drums in Music class

Next, First Communion mass with the lovely Miranda girls (a few of us are going over to their house for Fathers' Day at the special request of Papa Miranda)

love, Mare

Act II: Tingo is closed

2009-05-24T11:48:00.000-07:00

See the previous post to get the jist on what Tingo is all about. We arrived at the pool (about 45 min from our downtown center) only to be told that they stop letting people in an hour before we got there. We were all devastated for about a minute, wondering what we should do and how to not completely disappoint our girls, until I asked the security guards if there were any other pools nearby. Turns out there was one just around the corner and if we hurried we might get in before it closed also. Good thing I asked.

Now this was not the same as the actual "Tingo" pools, which appeared to be more like a swim park with some water slides and picnic areas, etc. This was just a pool that a family had built on their property and charged a small fee to use. It was enclosed, had showers and bathrooms, a hot spring directing water into the pool, and there was only one little family of four occupying the place. It worked perfectly for us.

The girls were a little nervous about getting in and some were downright afraid, so I went against my promise to myself and got in the water. I know I said I wouldn't but it looked clean and my girls really needed some encouragement. Even the most bad-ass girls had that look of thrilling kid-fear (see Tatiana below) that gets them to try out the thing they want to avoid most. And to be honest it felt good to be looked to for support, especially by the ones who on any normal day seem the least willing to show you that they care about having you around.

Yikes.

Anyways, we had a great time--they were so much fun to play around with and we even got to teach them a little about swimming, though most of them never got it down. And I had no need to worry about renting swimsuits because somehow the girls came up with swimming outfits for each other. They are so resourceful.

It was a great paseo and I'm really glad I went into the water. I can't say for sure what I would have done if we'd gone to the more popular "Tingo" pools, but something tells me the girls would have convinced me to get in anyway.

Much love,

Marian

Tingo, primera parte

2009-05-23T06:37:00.000-07:00

A little background info: in all my English classes I have a reward system whereby the students as a group can earn stars in different "target areas" and then earn a reward once all the star spaces have been filled. The reward is usually a paseo (you've seen it before--ice-skating, bowling) or some kind of class party.

Well my girls English class downtown decided that we must go to the public pools. I thought they'd choose something a little more glamorous, but the Tingo public pools beat all of my suggestions. I hear it's the dirtiest, most crowded of all public pools in Quito, but the girls wouldn't even consider another pool. I mean, everyone I mention this to says "why would you take them there? They never clean it." Apparently if you don't come with a swimsuit you have to rent one (!!) and everyone has to rent a swimming cap. Of course my girls don't have swimsuits, so I'm now going to voluntarily subject them to the rented suit.

There's no way I'm getting in the water, absolutely no way. And I know my girls are going to beg me to get in, but I'll just have to break their hearts because there are some compromises I don't think I can make. And I'm not a prude or anything, but all my Ecua friends tell me that if I get in the water I can't hang out with them anymore. Jeez!

Anyways, today is the big day, so check back later for Tingo, part deux.

Nervously yours,

Marian

Bolos? Boliches? Nobody agrees...

2009-05-09T17:06:00.000-07:00

But anyway you look at it, it's all BOWLING, even if you're not sure how to say it. It was wild, I had a great time. Ice cream afterward (of course) because we like being responsible for 20 children on a sugar high. Totally worth it, especially for my student Norma, who is very shy and was unable to join us on our earlier ice-skating paseo. She didn't say much--she rarely does--but she was smiling the whole time.

Though no one bowled over a 30, keeping track of scores was very important.

Mayhem.

Some decided to take a rest.

That's Norma on the left, what a great day.

Love, Marian

This is worth watching

2009-05-02T20:40:00.000-07:00

Found this at GOOD Magazine and wanted to share it.

Things are going well

2009-04-30T15:25:00.000-07:00

Here's a photo to keep you happy.

Only seven more weeks of actual classroom instruction, then the "summer games." After that...will update you when I decide what comes next.

love, Marian

Teatro, Mom and Dad

2009-04-17T10:13:00.000-07:00

The English program teatro came and went. My kids did a great job and two of my classes even won the grand prize: a yogurt pack with corn flakes to mix in. Delicious, I'm told.

Girls: Animal masks and props to perform "What is it? What's it doing?"

Post-teatro soccer game with the girls. That's me after slamming a goal past an eleven-year-old.

My boys also did a great job with "A Day in the Life of Alex."

Second grade boys had the same shtick as my girls.

These two are brothers. Can you tell?

That's all for teatros. I'm nearing the end of spring break and had to end my visit with mom and dad early this morning. They arrived last friday night and we had a great week. We went to Mindo the cloud forest, Papallacta hot springs, the middle of the world (equator) and spent some time wandering around Quito. I think they had a nice time, but here's some proof:

Dad got to try the blow-dart thing at the equator.

Mindo butterfly exhibit with a little boy from the hostel (housekeeper's son) who decided he would take care of us that day.

Parents and I with Madre Cindy and Madre Miguel at the Easter Mass. During mass Dad picked up a toddler who ended up falling asleep on his lap, snoring an everything. It was precious.

Anyone else want to come visit?

Much love,
Marian

Pizza Party

2009-04-03T16:05:00.000-07:00

They had been looking forward to this for weeks...the deal I have with them is this: if they win all the stars on their rewards poster they get a reward. Sounds simple, but it took them 7 months to get all their stars. And when I asked what they wanted they had no trouble deciding...

PIZZA

I was floored by how polite they were throughout the whole pizza party. They kept saying thank you and "we really appreciate it," all unprompted. I was amazed! I'm pretty sure teachers aren't often thanked by their students. But my boys were so wonderful about it. Also, Pastor bought this big bag of "Kachitos" to share with everyone (buy some styrofoam and eat it. now you know what a kachito tastes like). And then some of the boys asked for napkins to wrap up their second piece of pizza to take home to their mom, little brother, etc. I just couldn't believe the generosity in these 7 and 8 year olds. Maybe it was just my boys, but I'm pretty sure a lot of the kids share good things (like pizza and candy) with their families. The whole affair reaffirmed the why of what I'm doing here. I love these boys, maybe a little too much sometimes. Is that possible?

After pizza we had our usual computers time. And then a family portrait.

much love,

Marian

P.S: Pizza and many other fun things brought to my students thanks to Theresa and Jerry. My kids and I appreciate everything you've done :)

The Miranda House

2009-03-21T08:43:00.000-07:00

First of all, an LMU AB group came and it was so good to have them here. My dear friends Beth and Joanne were on the trip and I loved getting updates from home and just sharing my life with people who know me so well. I brought them to my classes, had Beth and Joanne play music games in music class and asked Kyle and Beth to draw animals on the board in English (Beth's animals always had cankles and Kyle's were a little too complicated-looking for my girls). I cried when they left and unfortunately I'm feeling a little homesick now. A lot of the students from the trip are thinking of coming back to volunteer, especially the seniors in the group, so we'll see what happens...

Last Sunday I went to the Miranda family house. A former volunteer was visiting the center and she wanted to go see this family--I thought, hey, I have all of their children in at least one class...I wanna go. So I asked my high-schooler (one of the older sisters) if that was okay and she said "sure, bring anybody." So four of us volunteers decided to go and we had a lovely time. We started out playing in the park, worked up a huge appetite before lunch, then sat around and played games and scoped out some of the toys the former volunteer had brought (a favorite: little sponge animals that grow when you put them in warm water).

They're a great family (9 kids, a sweet mom and dad works as a janitor at the center) and I'm so glad I invited myself over. As soon as I asked the older sister if I could go, my other high school girls started inviting me to their homes. And when the younger kids found out that I went to the Miranda house they started asking if I could come to their houses too. We'll see where I end up actually going, but I'm learning that it takes a little initiative on my part.

Today the choir kids are singing at a special memorial mass, then after lunch my high school girls are playing soccer in a tournament among the nivelación (levelization) and colegio grades. Should be a great Saturday. Oh, and coming up: the English Teatro will fire up once again for Easter. Expect photos of my second graders wearing masks and pretending to be animals, "What is it? It's a cow. What's it doing? It's watching TV." They love it, it's so silly.

Until then,
Marian

A few things

2009-03-02T10:11:00.000-08:00

A number of things I'm pleased about:

The LMU Alternative Breaks group is coming this Saturday and they'll be staying for a week. AB is dear to my heart so I hope they have a good time--I'm definitely going to plan something extra special for my classes so the AB crew can help out. Can't wait to see them, plus they're bringing me mac n cheese.

My parents are coming in April during Easter vacation. Woo hoo!

Yesterday I talked to my brother and his wife on Skype while they were sitting in a pub in West Ireland drinking a...beverage.

Three friends are in Japan together. That's nice.

Today I'm having my second-grade boys play charades. We'll see how they do--I'm sure it'll be amusing.

ciao, Marian

Playing in the park and more from the CMT Choir

2009-02-13T15:28:00.000-08:00

These are my English boys playing in the park. Pastor (in the yellow hat) used to sing love songs to me in class but now he's moved on to teasing a little girl named Diana.

Yesterday the choir sang after mass--this video is of a song called Mi Chacra in which they imitate barnyard animals. After this came Row Row Row Your Boat (not on this video) which I so lovingly taught them. Their pronunciation is great, in case you were wondering.

ciao, Marian

The Big Picture

2009-02-04T17:38:00.000-08:00

Probably the least useful thing I've ever said to a kid:

"How are you going to survive in the world if you can't make up a sentence about flan?!"

More ice-skating and something for Bern

2009-01-29T18:18:00.000-08:00

Ice-skating once again. Unfortunately our class has dwindled over the year and some boys didn't show up for this particular outing. But Alex, Dario, Jorge and Alejandro thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

Pure joy.

Alex is not ready for the photo.

Alex (tan jacket) fell as this one was being taken. He was holding onto Jorge and not even moving and he still fell. And then in class today he tells me I wasn't a good ice-skater. jeez...

Take two.

Jessica (fellow volunteer) with the boys.
Unfortunately her schedule changed
and she won't be teaching this class with me anymore.
Don't say anything but we're going to make her a goodbye card.

You can guess where they wanted to eat lunch.

This one's for Bern. From Good Magazine.

Wait, wait...I don't believe in killing cats.
So does that make me an alley cat ally?
Do I have to go to meetings?

Love,

Mare

I'm baaaack...

2009-01-16T18:25:00.000-08:00

Let’s begin this update with a story about three boys, freckles and an eraser. On Monday and Wednesday afternoons I work in the second grade classroom of the Escuela here at the CMT. I usually focus on the kids who need a little extra attention, like the three boys I’m about to tell you about (Kevin, Dario and Cesár). The other day the four of us sat together because they are very much behind in their reading skills. At the beginning of our reading session, one boy asked me why I have so many freckles. I told him I didn’t know, and that seemed to end the conversation. We began to read and about five minutes into our first story Cesár leaned into the boy seated next to him and whispered “she has 94 on her arms.”

Soon it was time to practice writing. At one point Dario loaned his eraser to Kevin, who said he needed to keep using it when Dario asked for it back a few moments later. Finally Dario decided that he really needed his eraser, but Kevin insisted that he no longer had it. Where could it have gone? We began to check under the notebooks and under the table when Dario noticed that Kevin had little bits of some white material all around his mouth. Dario asked, “what’s that white stuff on your face?”

Kevin feigned ignorance at first, but when pressed he sheepishly spat the remains of the eraser out of his mouth. Yes, Kevin ate the eraser. Dario was quite upset, even as Kevin suggested he could still use the last unchewed bits recently salvaged from his mouth. The situation was so far out of line with anything I would have ever expected that I began to laugh almost uncontrollably. I felt guilty for the amusement I got out of Dario’s loss, but c’mon, the kid ate the eraser. When can you ever say that you watched a kid eat an eraser and then lie about it? I wish I could show you the little bits of white eraser on Kevin’s face, it was perfect—like when the cat is caught with bird feathers around its mouth yet still acts like nothing out of the ordinary has happened.

So that’s the story of the freckles and the eraser. I’d like to show you some photos (many of them care of Ally Stoltz) from my New Years vacation to the coast…

First Canoa, a small, tranquil town to which I will definitely be returning. Everyone there seemed to know each other and we even ran into a few old friends.

Then Puerto Lopez. The town itself wasn’t as pretty as Canoa, but we took a short boat trip to Isla de la Plata, where blue-footed boobies are abundant and the snorkeling is top-notch.

The hanging heads belong to paper-mache figures that represent the old year (el año viejo). The tradition is to fill the figures with explosives and then light them on fire at midnight, first of January. We rang in the new year on the beach in Montañita with hundreds of people and various bonfires full of exploding año viejos. Montañita photos are below; the first is Ally and I in our hostel room, or closet. Small, smelly and overpriced for how thin the walls are, but totally worth it. Having Ally here was a Christmas miracle that left me feeling a little homesick (read: this is an open invitation for visitors--I'll show you a great time!).

We told these people they wouldn't be in the picture. oops.
The little guy in front (red shirt) is actually an año viejo and not really a little guy.

That's all. If you're reading this I probably love you, so take care!

Marian

Feliz Navidad

2008-12-24T09:47:00.000-08:00

A young-looking and uninterested Santa Claus.
My girls found him quite amusing.

A few things to be excited about:

Ally Stoltz is coming tonight.

Tomorrow I get to see my second graders receive their first communion at the Christmas mass. They're incredibly jazzed about it because they get to be in the spotlight.

In two days I'll be leaving for the coast: Canoa, Puerto Lopez, Isla de Plata, and Montañita for New Years.

In other news, we went ice-skating! A few other volunteers and I took our kids to the "Ice Palace" and we had a blast. Thanks so much for the donations that helped me make this trip. I took my girls ice-skating and gave my other classes Christmas parties--I'm planning on taking some boys skating in January because I couldn't quite do it all this month. Some photos below...

Ivis mid-fall with fellow volunteer Laurita

Andres and Colin were a big help...

The Andres-Tatiana series

Tatiana had quite a bit of trouble...

The Centro Infantil (pre-kindergarten age kids) put on a Christmas show and it was outrageous. Between the costumes, singing, dancing and messed up lines it was like something out of a movie. Por ejemplo, the kid who played the angel who visits Mary to tell her the big news kept saying, "Maria, llena eres de grasa" (which means Mary, full of fat) instead of "Maria, llena eres de gracia" (full of grace). It was the perfect kind of cute, everyone was cracking up and the kid just kept going with it.

And then the one-year-old kids came out in these Christmas tree outfits to dance...you can't see it but the second from the right started crying after about a minute of waving her chubby little arms. Poor thing but so very cute.

I would love to be able to see everyone now but I feel like I'm in the right place. Love and miss you all--take care during the holidays and let me know how your lives are going!

love, Marian

English Teatro

2008-12-17T15:08:00.000-08:00

My boys

Hi all! Today we had the English Teatro (a series of skits and presentations put on by the English program) and I must say my boys were hilarious. We did the "thumbs up....wrists together...elbows in...aroosh-tah-shah" song. Their favorite parts of the song are of course "bum out" and "tongue out." They giggled the whole time and were a real crowd pleaser.

Lined up and ready to go.

"thumbs up"

"knees together"

"head over"

Mine again, all mine and I couldn't be happier with them.

Action shot. In the back is Marco Polo, the crazy colegio director.

Tomorrow we'll have the English Teatro at the downtown center. My boys there can't wait to get to the last line of their skit: My grandfather is in the bathroom and it smells...pi-yu! (wish us luck).

Until next time...

Marian

Some updates and things

2008-11-22T12:12:00.000-08:00

I don't really know how to put these updates into coherent paragraphs so here they are in simpler form:

Tomorrow is the Liga/Barcelona game and I'm excited about it. I have a jersey and everything.

I've been trying to download Skype but it just won't work. Will let you know when I figure something out.

The high school girls didn't show to go to the park last weekend because one of their dads believed they couldn't go out on paseos with volunteers without a permission slip. Funny, because they invited us, but we'll probably try again some other time.

I had Saag Paneer at an Ecua-Indian food place and it was delicious. So much better than I was expecting.

Tonight we're meeting up with some former volunteers who still live in Quito. Some of them have been here for over ten years. Who knows, maybe that will be me some day.

Just kidding, mom.

The Unit I'm teaching my second-graders is called "Head to Toes" (it's about the body and how to describe people). We've started singing that repeat-after-me song that goes "Thumbs up, wrists together, elbows in, aroosh-ta-sha aroosh-ta-sha, etc." and they die laughing. They fall to the ground cracking up about it and I melt with love every single time.

If you want to melt with love, go to the link on the right that says "My beautiful nephew" and watch some videos of my beautiful nephew. If you need to laugh, try the one called "The Best Medicine."

These are two of my La Marin English class girls. Sometimes they have a lot of attitude and I think they must hate being in class with me. But the other day I was playing a card game with Tatiana (on the left--she is especially moody) and when I told her I'd be here all year she lit up and started clapping. I've written about the challenges I've had with Tatiana before and every day I don't know what to expect from her. Lately things have been going much better than they were at the beginning of the year so I'm thankful for that.

Gissella is on the right. She was also one of my La Marin girls until her family left the center recently. I know that families leave from time to time but she's my first loss. She was a sweet, absolutely lovely girl and I miss her terribly. It's not exactly easy to be a center family if you're not completely committed to it. It takes a lot of time and effort to keep up with the classes and work hours and such. There could be a number of complicated factors that resulted in her family leaving, so I'm just trying to let it go. All the same, it sucks (for lack of a better word).

Well, that's it for now. I'd love some letters if anyone gets the chance to write (my address is on the right). Have a good weekend!

Mare

Cayambe

2008-11-13T09:16:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! Last time I mentioned that Marcia (I work with her in the resources room at La Got de Leche school downtown) had invited me to her home in Cayambe. Well, she did and I went and had a lovely time. She said I could bring someone along if I wanted to so I brought fellow volunteer Audrey--as soon she saw us Marcia said to me "I thought you'd bring her," which I think means it's obvious that we're good friends.

Anywho, when someone invites you over to their home, they want you to be with them the whole day. We got there in the morning and weren't getting on the bus to go home until it had long been dark out. Cayambe is a small town a little over an hour away from Quito where the flower industry operates heavily. Marcia's husband works for a flower grower and he spent about an hour showing us photos of flower arrangements. It was cute.

If you ask me what we did all day, I'd have to say we talked, drank coffee, made lunch, went to a cemetery and talked more. We went to the market for lunch supplies and Marcia told me to get anything I wanted (everyone else would be having chicken, so I decided to make a nice big salad, which is something I don't get to do very often).

This is aji. It's delicious but if you're going to eat it
you better know what you're getting into.

This was the day after Dia de los Muertos so the cemetery was full of flowers and other offerings. The holiday isn't celebrated in Ecuador as it is elsewhere--it's much more somber here, though not at all sorrowful. I took a few photos as discreetly as I could get away with...

It says "don't throw trash."

The outside of Marcia's house.

That's all for now. My high school girls have invited me to the park on Sunday (we're all really excited about it) so I'll let you know how that goes. Until then, take care!

Love, Mare

The Park, Halloween, and High School

2008-11-01T15:51:00.000-07:00

Hello again! In this episode you'll find some outings to the park, a Halloween party and a not-so-fun story about my high school girls. My thirteen hour days are starting to catch up to me--somehow I find the energy to do each class but during the time between classes I totally crash. We have another three day weekend this time around and we're not going anywhere so I'm looking forward to relaxing. I've been invited to the house of Marcia (I work with her in the resources room at La Gota de Leche school downtown). She's this great little thing who always wants to take coffee breaks with me and just shoot the caca if you catch my drift. She lives about an hour away in Cayambe and I'm going to have lunch with her on Monday. I love her, I think I'll bring her flowers.

At the end of every month we go to the park during the Girls’ Program at the downtown center. Below I have some pictures from last month and this Friday. We walk from La Marín up a million stairs to Parque Itchimbía and spend the morning exploring the various attractions. Plenty of mini zip-lines, merry-go rounds, ponds and even what the girls call the “Casa del gringo loco,” a wooden structure in which sits a crazy white guy (who is invisible, of course) waiting for unsuspecting children to become his next meal.

This is the Brujita de Itchimbía, who used to
know all about the natural healing properties
of all the herbs in the area. She's about 20ft tall.

When we went to the park yesterday I started making dandelion crowns for the girls and they loved it. Here are some photos that Laura (fellow volunteer) took of the whole affair.

Last week we had a Halloween party and it was such a fun morning—the kids were especially thrilled at these piñatas we had hung up and their joy was fiercely contagious. I was so pleased at the whole affair and thankful that I got to enjoy the kids outside of the classroom. It was a treat to experience them as the squealing, curious, hilarious little people that they are.

On the left is Anderson. He's everyone's favorite--
he has this huge head and wears those suspenders
almost every day, often with checkered pants
and a plaid shirt. Next to him is Alejandro,
an adorable second-grader whose dimples
are unfortunately obscured here by the clown makeup.

I had an upsetting experience this week with my high school girls. I work with thirteen of them every night in a study hour in the library and I love them very much. I think they love me too because they’re always running up to hug me and kiss me whenever they see me. On Thursday night I walked into the library to find the librarian, the “Inspector” of the high school (a man named Hannibal—most of the kids are afraid of him, probably for good reason) and one of the directors of the center. Apparently some things had gone missing from the library in the past couple of weeks and my girls were the suspects. We had previously shared the library with some younger high school girls, but they had such behavior problems that they were moved out of the library to another room. Various groups throughout the day use the library too, so I was under the impression that it could have been any number of people who had taken the items.

Anyway, on Thursday night I was surprised to see these three authorities preparing to talk to my girls. They had narrowed the culprits down to my group because we were the last ones to use the library before the bulk of the items were discovered missing the next morning. The deal was that any items that weren’t returned would have to be paid for by the whole group, which really pissed the girls off. The librarian stressed that she hoped it had only been an accident and that the girls had absent-mindedly taken them home. I wished that was true and actually believed that to be the case. My girls wouldn’t steal from the library, especially when all they have to do is ask to use the item and it’s theirs. I also thought that since I hadn’t seen anything suspicious among my girls that it must have been someone else.

Well, you can probably see where this is going. That same night one of the girls (she’s absolutely lovely and has such a warm spirit) confided in me that she had accidentally taken one book home and was afraid to bring it back. She asked if she could give it to me so I would return it for her. I of course said no, but told her not to worry because bringing it back was the right thing to do. I suggested she apologize and tell the librarian it was a careless mistake.

The next night I checked in with the librarian and she showed me that this girl had brought back a bag full of stuff from the library. About five or six books, a handful of CDs, markers, pencils and little things she probably has no use for. Apparently she gave the names of two other girls who had each taken a book or two also. They all did it knowingly and weren’t planning on bringing the items back until they learned that all the girls would have to pay to replace them.

I was absolutely crushed and I still feel awful about it. At first I couldn’t believe that I was wrong about my girls who I love so much. I was wrong about something I was so sure of. I usually reserve judgment about things until I have enough information to make a good guess. If you’re reading this, you probably know me, and you probably know that I’m pretty cautious and meticulous about coming to conclusions in general. That’s why I was shocked to find out that my girls had deliberately stolen things right under my nose and then turned around to hug and kiss me and tell me they love me.

Last night I gave them a talk about how I was disappointed in all of them—they’re all friends with each other and it was suggested to me by Madre Miguel (who has been here for forty years and whom I trust completely) that some if not all of them knew what had happened. I told them I looked stupid and lazy in front of the center authorities and that they had lost my trust and maybe even my friendship. The first girl who brought the bag of items back wasn’t at the study hall; she had been removed from her classes that day I don’t know what happened to her. Some of them looked absolutely crushed and some, particularly the two remaining lifters, looked defiantly unaffected.

You can see that I’m taking it personally. I know it’s not about me, and I’m not trying to make it about me. But the truth is I feel duped and pretty foolish. I look naïve and I feel totally offended that the girls would sneak something like this behind my back. Does this mean that I was wrong about my relationship with them? I want to be someone they can trust and who will be honest with them about anything they want to know. But now I feel like they’ve been tricking me this whole time.

They’re teenagers and teenagers mess up, so I shouldn’t turn this into a personal attack on me. But I’m grieving for them because they chose such an empty way to be human. When they have all these resources from the center at their fingertips they still have the urge to take advantage of people and things. I know I shouldn’t expect them to be grateful to the center because I don’t know anything about growing up a working street child. Or should I assume that they’re grateful? I can’t expect them to analyze their own situation from a removed perspective when everything around them says “don’t even imagine a different life for yourself because you’ll never get out of this.”

People are so strongly influenced by the way others treat them and by the manner in which they perceive others’ treatment of them. I know my girls deserve a second chance but will they take it seriously? The two girls who haven’t returned the items yet didn’t seem remorseful, so I’m not sure if they realize the magnitude of the situation.

Ahhhh, that was a long story but I needed to share it because it shows that this is not paradise. I love it here but things are complicated and I feel somewhat frustrated at the fact that I don’t have access to a lot of information about growing up here, or about how personal to get with people or how to love and trust them and be on guard all the time.

The other volunteers are wonderful and I’m so thankful to have them—they help me look at the experience in different ways and remind me that as wrapped up in my work as I am, and should be, my life is big and full of gifts that help me navigate these situations without disappearing within them. So in case you were wondering, I’m still here!

love, M

just because he makes me happy, here's Anderson one more time...

My students

2008-10-18T11:12:00.000-07:00

This morning we had a friendly soccer game with the colegio (high school) girls. I have some of them in a study hour every night and they're a blast. They're so sassy and fun and I love being with them, although sometimes it's hard to get them to do their homework...

These are some of my second grade boys. Also a blast. You may remember Pablo, who was stealing and eating dental floss during class. Sadly, he missed too many classes and now can't be in the English program anymore. Attendance for the boys was such a problem in the past that they made the English classes optional to them. At first I worried how he would take it (this is the kid who stays behind to help me clean up and holds my hand while he walks me to my next class). But I think he doesn't really even know what happened. He still walks into the classroom after class has ended and helps me clean up before he takes me to where I'm supposed to be. I heard that he wandered into another classroom and stayed for that class one day, appearing to be a little confused about where he was supposed to be. Since he's not supposed to come to my class anymore, he's not in any of these pictures (below are Billy, Pastor, Elvis and Erik, followed by the whole class--minus a few). They're holding up drawings of family members--you'll notice Billy's rectangular uncle and Elvis's stick figures. And yes, Elvis is his name. We also have a number of Lenins, Stalins, Jeffersons, and I even heard about a kid named Hitler.

Until next time,

M

A trip to Baños and the first choir performance

2008-10-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

Look closely and you can see the town of Baños (more on that below)

Hello everyone! Today the choir had its first performance and the kids did very well. The center is hosting a conference on working children and wanted the choir to open the day’s activities. We started with “Mi Chacra,” a little song about the animals on a farm. During our rehearsals the kids were having a hard time smiling while they were singing, so the other day I danced around in front them to boost the energy a little. I made up some gestures and they enjoyed it so much we decided to include the choreography in the performance. They did a great job—luckily we had prepared a second song, “La Cucaracha,” because the audience wanted to hear another one. I was so proud of the kids because the songs are in two voices (soprano, alto) and they had been struggling with maintaining their own parts. But they performed beautifully today and I’m so happy for them. I have some photos here and a video as well—don’t watch it if you have vertigo because for some reason I kept turning around in circles. I took the video after the performance and some of them were a little too excited/distracted to pay attention to my camera. The clip ends on Joel, one of my favorites (I know you’re not supposed to have favorites but I think it’s inevitable). He’s a great kid and has a very sweet smile…

This weekend we had Friday off for Guayaquil Day (to celebrate the founding of the city of Guayaquil). It sounds like we have three day weekends all the time, doesn’t it? All fourteen of us new volunteers went to Baños, a tourist hot spot named for its natural springs. We took a 40km bike ride (about 25 miles—whew!) through these beautiful green mountains. Sometimes we were on the highway and sometimes the trail led us around cliffs and through small towns—we saw a few waterfalls and ended the trip at a secluded watering hole (photo below).

Our oasis

The sun had been out all day and it was such a relief to jump into the cool water and stand under the waterfall. The bike ride was not easy and I was definitely ready to relax. It was a small paradise and I’m so grateful that we got to spend the day together like that. We kept telling each other how glad we were that all of us had decided to go to Baños together and ride through those mountains.

We flagged down a pickup truck to take us 40km back to Baños. Six people and six mountain bikes in the bed of an old Toyota. The man who took us back (older, approaching elderly) sped over speed bumps and passed anyone who was going under 60mph, but he was kind and refused payment once we arrived.

Still in love with my students, still taking things one hour at a time. I have to remind myself that even though I want them all to like me, I’m not here because I need people to like me. I’m here because they need to know that I love them and I care to listen to them and take them seriously. Sometimes taking them seriously means holding them up to standards no one has ever put them up to. For example, I expect my students not to hit each other. A slap in the face is met with a slap right back, and usually things are so overwhelming that a slap here and there goes unnoticed or seems small in comparison to everything else that needs to be attended to in that moment. Discipline is difficult and it’s my least favorite part about teaching. Yet it takes up the majority of my time—I want to figure out a way to get around it, but I don’t know if I can. Any suggestions?

Let me know how your lives are going. I haven’t forgotten about the whale video, I just haven’t gotten it from my friend yet! Wish this California girl luck as the rainy season starts to kick in…much love, Marian

I have to tell you about the whales!

2008-10-01T20:06:00.000-07:00

We had a day off on Monday so we took advantage of the three-day weekend and went to Atacames, a beach town on the Northern coast. The place is apparently known for its crazy parties, but on this particular weekend the “dry law” was the rule—no selling or consuming alcoholic beverages. The dry law was in place so everyone could be clear minded for the vote (the vote would decided whether or not the newly proposed constitution would pass. It did.) The vote was the reason for the holiday on Monday. Full circle!

Anyway, Atacames was pretty quiet because of this law, so we had all the time and space we wanted to play on the beach, body surf, take naps outside and…go whale watching! I had never been before and apparently September is a great time to go see the whales. The water was very temperate and I don’t blame the whales for sticking around. The whales! We went out on this dinky little boat; I really didn’t think we’d see any whales so I was content with the blue-footed boobies we saw as we started the boat ride. Look closely, their feet really are blue.

All of a sudden the little boy on the boat with us (son of the navigator/driver/captain?) started yelling “aquí, aquí, aquí!” (which means here!). And there was the back end of a very large whale (were they humpback whales? maybe, unfortunately I'm not sure). That alone was magnificent but it kept getting better. We’d see a little bit here and there until we finally got to see the tail surface. We were totally satisfied, but all of a sudden a whole whale surfaced—the whole thing! It just glided up through the water, not jumping, but gliding smoothly until it went back down and sent water flying. We were so close! And then another time we were close enough to hear the whale speak as it went back into the water. It spoke, and it sounded just as you would imagine. We were all silent, looking at each other in disbelief. The whale talked!

That’s when the magnitude of what was happening hit me. I lost the ability to support myself physically (read: I fell down into the hull boat) and started laughing hysterically. Of course, my laughter turned to happy, overwhelmed tears. I cried so hard, it was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. From then on (we were on the boat for a good hour and a half after that) I lost it every time we saw another whale. We even saw a baby whale flying out of the water! It was just playing around with its mom, and at one point we were so close that the boat driver turned off the motor and we sat there in silence staring at the mom and baby, who were resting at the surface. The baby was so playful, I couldn’t believe that such a huge creature could want to jump around and enjoy itself like that.

Our Boat

Definitely not our boat.

It was a spectacular and strange weekend: stinky hostel, local surfers who put on an impromptu variety show (they even set up a stage in the sand with stray pieces of wood—they wanted us to perform but I think they were more interested in performing for us). Oh! And I was stung by a jellyfish for the first time! It didn’t feel good, but my friend knew the remedies: first you rub sand all over the wound, and then…yes, someone has to pee on you. Everyone was willing to “pitch in” (a little too eager maybe?) but in the end there could only be one winner (or wee-ner, haha). I think it worked because the swelling went down, but it might have been a mere distraction to the pain. Who knows? I’m fine now so no worries.

I really wanted to post a video of the whales (there’s even a video of the baby jumping through the surface) but I’ll have to wait until I can get it from my friend’s computer. Check back! Life is great! –M

Three weeks down!

2008-09-26T13:26:00.000-07:00

Hello! Sorry I haven’t written in a long time but I just couldn’t get myself down to that internet café. We’ve been teaching for three weeks now and all of us are exhausted. Luckily we have a three-day weekend and are leaving for the beach tonight!

There would have been no way for me to adequately prepare myself for this. I have no idea what to expect when I wake up each morning. While this definitely keeps things interesting, my high hopes for the day, or even for each individual class, can easily be shot down. I’m learning to let things go—if a class doesn’t go well, then that was that and we’ll see what I do differently tomorrow. In the end it doesn’t take much for a kid to make me smile and realize that I really do love this place. Like Anderson, for example, who has a flat top, is missing a front tooth and is called gordito by everyone. He has this cheeky little smile and he’s always happy to give and receive hugs.

I get on the bus at 7am and my day isn’t over until 7:45pm. The commute from the downtown center (called La Marín) back to the Cotocollao center in the middle of the day really takes it out of me. Luckily I get to walk for a little bit so I’m not completely dead by the time I get back and get ready for my afternoon classes. We eat dinner in the late evening—below is a photo of Maria (in the backwards Nike hat and traditional dress…I love her) one of the two women who make us dinner six nights a week. They work so hard and I am usually able to help out with dinner. I told them I don’t eat animals or anything that had a mother and they think it’s hysterical. Accordingly, they always set aside a little something for me if the main dish involves meat, or animales y mamas, as they like to say.

The boys and girls are split up for their English classes; I have one group of girls and two groups of boys. Sometimes the kids are adorable and sometimes they try my patience like you wouldn’t believe. You really wouldn’t believe it! If you know me, you know I’m rather mellow—it doesn’t feel good at all to raise my voice at the kids but sometimes there’s just no other way to get their attention. It usually works because I don’t do it that often, although I did lose my voice this week…

In addition to my English classes I have twelve periods of music each week, plus choir rehearsals. I’ve taught the kids how to stand and breathe correctly, how to hear their own voice by covering one ear, and how to feel the sound from their cabezas and not their throats. The regular music teacher (Flavio) and I teach together most of the time, but sometimes he takes kids out to work with the choir and I stay with the class. Thankfully, my guitar playing is improving rapidly and I’m able to accompany the kids most of the time.

I fall in and out of love with my students almost every day. There are times when they’ll do something so frustrating or shocking that I can’t believe what I’m seeing or hearing. There is a lot of violence here—not just horseplay but actual physical damage. Mean words get thrown around easily too. I’m told that in most homes parents don’t really use discipline until they just don’t know what to do but hit the kid, who then doesn’t understand why they were punished.

That means that in my classes with the older kids I get talked back to and argued with much more often than I was expecting. I think it’s because no one really explains what is and is not polite—they’re just talking the way they’re used to talking. I’ve never touched a kid in a harmful way, but it’s very difficult to persuade them with words. Usually a reward system will work, but not always.

My second grade boys are difficult sometimes, but they’re usually not rude—they just aren’t thinking. I teach this particular class in the Health room and discovered one day that a kid (Pablo, who I love dearly) had been taking dental floss from a drawer and was eating it (?? welcome to the second grade, I guess!). I also had a kid steal my white board markers and put them in his shoe-shine box. I don’t think he did it to be a pain, he just did it because it was something to do. It’s like they have no idea what their squirmy little bodies are up to.

Sometimes the kids act up, but in the next moment I’ll melt with love for them. Absolute adoration and pride in their small successes, even something as presumably simple as being able to walk to class without smacking each other around. They have a good sense of humor as a whole and can be very funny when they’re in a playful mood.

It must sound like I’m stressed out all the time but I am most definitely not! I enjoy these kids so much, and they love to run up and hug me every time they see me (well, almost every time). My name here has been shortened to Mari (pronounced like sorry) and the fact that the kids shout it across the playground just to get my attention makes me feel well-loved among them. Soon I’ll share more photos to give you an idea of what life is like here but until then, take care and write to me! love, Mare

This is what Quito looks like

2008-09-24T13:10:00.000-07:00

I've survived almost three weeks of classes! A more descriptive post will come soon but I hope this photo will keep you happy for a least a little while. much love, M

Classes start on Monday!

2008-09-07T14:21:00.000-07:00

Whew! Sorry I haven’t updated in so long but it’s been a busy two weeks. We’ve been spending our time preparing for classes, which start tomorrow! I’ll teach English and Music and will be working for the “Girls’ Program” (more on that some other time). I’ll also spend some time organizing the various Teacher Resource rooms. Apparently a lot of teaching materials have been donated over the years, but it’s so overwhelming that the elementary school teachers (local Ecuatorianos) haven’t been taking advantage of them. I’m supposed to see what’s there, learn how to use it all, and teach teachers about the various resources. I’m excited to teach music—I had no idea they’d put me in a music classroom but I guess that’s how the proverbial cookie has crumbled. I guess I’d better beef up my guitar skills!

Yesterday we went to the Ecuador vs. Bolivia World Cup qualifier and had a blast. Latin American soccer games are exhilarating. Ecuador won, and to tell the truth it was a relief to be on the winning side. Not much vegetarian food at the stadium, but I survived on some of the tastiest roasted peanuts fifty cents can buy. Below is a photo of fellow volunteer Brandon and I in our matching Ecua jerseys.

Today we had a minga, which is sort of like an Amish barn-raising. Everyone gets together to help a family with some kind of home improvement project. We moved cinder blocks, huge wooden poles, and sand from one place to another (usually up and down hills—we are in the Andes).

A wonderful little boy from the center bought me a frozen yogurt snack for no reason and it made me feel wonderful. The kids I’ve met so far are a lot of fun. All they have to do is exist and I love them. Of course, we’ll see how long days in the classroom affect my current sentiments. I’ve been told that the first year of teaching is the most difficult, so let’s hope my patience kicks in and I don’t go crazy! I start off every morning on an hour-long bus ride to the downtown center, where I’ll start teaching at 8am. I end the day with a girls study hall that ends at 7:45pm. I get a few breaks throughout the day, so it’ll be a little bit like a college schedule (start early, end late, but there’s plenty of time for lunch).

Miss you all—we might be getting internet access in the house soon, which means I can update this bobloblaw lawblog more often and you can send me more emails (I’ll respond as best as I can!). Much love, Marian

Safe and sound

2008-08-24T11:17:00.000-07:00

I made it! First impressions: the place is quiet without the kids around, and the other volunteers who have arrived so far seem like a fun-loving group. Not much to say yet, but I know how I felt when I was here in May, and I think everything’s going to be fine. Madre Miguel and Padre Juan picked me up from the airport—they are wonderful people to have as a welcoming party.

In other news—who says you can’t get a visa in five days or less? The saga began last Monday when I realized I’d been using an outdated/incorrect website to prepare my visa application. I called the San Francisco Ecuadorian Consulate when it was clear that my police record just wasn’t going to arrive in time (one of the requirements listed on this website says you need to show you have no police record. uh oh…).

The lovely woman on the phone told me what was what, and the scramble to send in the application began. My plane ticket was scheduled for Saturday and it would have been disappointing (and expensive) if I’d had to cancel and reschedule. I would have missed the whole orientation and training period for the new volunteers. Understandably, I was upset.

Fast forward to Friday, when after a series of phone calls and FedEx packages, Padre Juan and Madre Miguel at the Centro del Muchacho Trabajador (CMT) whipped up some specialized document, got it notarized, and faxed it to San Francisco. At this point I had come to terms with the fact that I would not be leaving on Saturday as planned. My personal travel agent (Nana) was getting ready to cancel the ticket when I got a call at 1:30pm from Madre Miguel in Ecuador: “They say they have your visa if you can go get it!” I couldn’t believe it—everything turned around so quickly and it seemed that leaving on Saturday was still an option.

The Consulate stops dealing with the public every day at 2pm and they say they don’t even meet with anyone on Fridays. But I called and luckily someone answered. She told me if I got there before 2pm, then I could have the visa. Otherwise I’d have to wait till Monday. Pleasant Hill is usually about 45min from San Francisco, but Mom pulled a Steve McQueen and got me there as fast as she could. We probably broke a few laws, but sometimes it’s okay to break the law when it needs to be broken, right? (see police record above)

And now I’m here, and I’m so thankful. Who knows what this will be like—there’s no way to prepare yourself for this kind of thing. I was advised by a good family friend: don’t try to control all that’s around you, just let things happen to you. I’ll try my best at that. Wish me luck!

Less than a month to go...

2008-07-26T12:52:00.000-07:00

Working Boys Center, here I come.