Finding My Groove

I know I’ve talked a great deal in the past about the generosity of Ecuadorians, but this past week I witnessed a true showing of their profound appreciation as well. The school administrators, children, and host families were just so humbled that this group of students from UVa had come to spend a week working with them. There seemed to be an outpouring of appreciation in every direction.

Last Wednesday the UVa students and I were all on television together! It was such a funny situation. The show was called Punto de Encuentro, or Point of Encounter, and it was a Larry King-esque interview show just for the small town of Pillaro. My student, Marco, appeared first on the program, while we all anxiously watched the television screen in a room down the hall. All of a sudden I heard him mention my name, and then everyone was telling me I was supposed to be on the air! Before I knew it, I was sitting next to Marco with a microphone in my hand, explaining my involvement in WorldTeach and ASB, and answering difficult questions about the role of English in international development. Talk about not feeling prepared! But it was a lot of fun and somehow I was able to get by, mumbling through my broken Spanish. The host interviewed all of the other volunteers, 3 at a time, and I think the show was a great success! If nothing else, it certainly was a memorable experience for all of us, and if you’re lucky you’ll be able to see the show when I get back to the States because we all received a copy (I apologize in advance for my ridiculous performance).

In addition to the television program, the host families went above and beyond in showing their love and appreciation for the volunteers. They honestly had four good-bye-saying sessions, complete with hugs and tears, between Thursday and Friday night. The host families gave many of the volunteers small gifts and told them their house was open to them whenever they wanted to return. I was especially touched by one host mother who knitted two scarves for the male volunteers that she had staying in her house. I was sitting next to her on the bus when she was working on one of them, and when I asked her about it, she said that they were her sons and she wanted to do this for them. The children of the host families found these goodbyes especially hard. They had made great new friends with the volunteers and were very sad to see them go. One little girl, Anita, called me in tears on Sunday asking for Yukari, one of the leaders of the ASB group. I tragically had to relay the fact that the group was already on their way back to the States, but that I would promise to tell Yukari that she had called, which I did!

So I know there is often a lot of controversy in relation to these ASB trips. It seems like there are always a few articles every year in UVa's daily paper, especially in the weeks leading up to spring break, with people expressing their opinions about how ASB trips do more harm than good. These students feel that ASB is just another expression of Americentric values and a display of Americans attempting to change the world when they might not be welcome in the first place. Well, I certainly respect those opinions and I see their value, but I also cannot deny the beautiful interactions I witnessed last week between the volunteers and the Ecuadorians.

First of all, the students came by request of my student, the principal of the school, to practice English with the children. Secondly, the volunteers did not just play with the children all week, but instead were each assigned their own class, spent their evenings lesson planning, and then taught in front of their own class alone for four hours each day. They gave this experience, and most importantly the children, their full efforts. Thirdly, their hearts were in the right place. From my viewpoint, these volunteers didn’t come in with the attitude that they were going to come and change the school or make it “better.” Instead, they worked together with the teachers to achieve the teachers’ specific classroom goals, and seemed completely open to the experiences that came to them. They had to learn as much as I have had to that living in Ecuador takes a lot of patience and the ability to go with the flow, and I must say they achieved that beautifully. They worked within the framework of the community in which they were volunteering, and they worked toward the goals and interests of that community instead of their own. Lastly, this project has a good chance of becoming a sustainable program. One of the volunteers is talking about coming back to the school this summer to practice conversation with the children again, and two others are talking of bringing another group back next year for spring break. Hopefully that can carry on for many years into the future. If nothing else, the group will remain in contact via email with the students, administrators, and host families, and may very well send school supplies and other resources in the months and years to come.

So no, these ASB volunteers did not come to Pillaro and change the world, yet that was not their intention. Their goal was to serve this school as best as they could, trying to accomplish what the school itself had in mind for the week. And something good certainly did transpire throughout their time in Pillaro. Not only could I see that on the faces of the children and in the expressions of appreciation from the host families, but my student Marco has just been raving to me how pleased all the teachers are with how the week went. They just wish the volunteers could have stayed longer! And there was a noticeable difference in the children at the end of the week as well. The school had hoped that having the volunteers here would boost the children’s confidence in speaking English, and by the end of the week the children certainly weren’t bashful in sharing a “good morning!” or “what is your favorite color?” with whomever would listen.

But more importantly than anything else, I witnessed such a magnificent cultural exchange between the volunteers and the Ecuadorians last week. Each group really opened themselves up for an intercultural experience, asking questions and sharing as much of themselves as possible. By the end of the week there was such a love and appreciation between both populations, and I think that it is safe to say that everyone involved realized more fully the true universal nature of the human spirit, and the love and generosity that is the common denominator between people in all parts of the planet. In my opinion, this cultural appreciation and integration is our first step in finding harmony in this crazy, mixed up world of ours. So though the UVa students are now back in Charlottesville, and the children in Pillaro have returned back to their normal school schedule, everyone involved carries a new sense of understanding with them, and who knows where that might take them in the future.

Phew. Well, now I will get off my soapbox and discuss a bit more about the final days of the ASB volunteers here in Ecuador. On Thursday the volunteers taught their classes as usual, and then went to Ambato for a salsa lesson with my instructor Julio that afternoon. They apparently all had a great time, and then joined me in my class at SECAP to practice conversation with my adult students. My students practiced asking them questions, and then we had a pseudo speed-dating session where my students rotated through the UVa volunteers, while discussing different questions that I proposed to them (I rang a pretend bell and everything!). I think everyone really enjoyed the exercise.  Then we finished by playing a game that had everyone, myself included, running around the classroom, laughing, and falling out of chairs.  Finally, some of my students accompanied us to a dance club so that the UVa kids could practice the dance moves they had learned a few hours before!

On Friday morning the students at the school in Pillaro put on presentations for all their parents. And though it is always gray and overcast when I go to Pillaro, we were blessed with a gorgeous, sunny morning. Each class presented either a song or short skit, and my favorites included a performance from High School Musical, Britney Spears’s Hit Me Baby One More Time, and My Heart Will Go On, with a cardboard Titanic and Jack and Rose singing at the head of the ship with hands entwined and all! Then the school surprised the volunteers with the traditional dance of the “Diablos de Pillaro,” and many of the students and school administrators came out wearing beautifully detailed costumes and danced around. Before we knew it, all the ASB volunteers had been pulled out onto the field, and all the students, administrators, and yes devils, were merrily dancing around together. Quite an end to the school week if you ask me!

That afternoon, all the professors, ASB volunteers, me, and some of the school children as well, took a field trip together to some waterfalls and the large 10-story tree house outside of Puyo. Then on Saturday, the volunteers and I went to Lake Quilotoa, and I loved sharing one of my favorite spots in Ecuador with them, especially since I had been there exactly two years before for the first time with my ASB group. Then we dropped them at their hotel in Quito at midnight on Saturday night, and I really was sad to be leaving them all. I loved getting to know them all throughout the week, and especially being able to share in such a cool cross-cultural experience with them over the course of their time here.

They gave me such an incredible gift while they were here- a new excitement and energy for my last few months in Ecuador. And through answering their various questions about Ecuadorian life and specific words in Spanish, they also helped me to see how far I have come in my time here, and how comfortable I have become in my new surroundings. I think sometimes it takes an outsider to let us see our lives more clearly, and in the last week I have thought a lot about how Ecuador truly has become my home these past six months. I no longer daydream about returning to the States as I had before I returned for Christmas (except for the occasional drifting thought of course), and I have found that I really am comfortable in my work and in my host family situation. Most of all, I have found an incredible support network in my students, host family, coworkers, and other friends who have become my backbone here and have made my time here so memorable.

For example, this past week I had lunch at my student Paulina’s house, with her husband and 9-year old son. I had such a wonderful time just talking with them all and trying guatita, a traditional dish made from the lining of a cow’s stomach…yum! Then on Friday night I went out to a restaurant with my afternoon class, and we shared many laughs over delicious food and a few jars of sangria.  Lastly, yesterday I spent the entire day with my night class on a trip to the small jungle town of Rio Negro. We took a walk along the river, played soccer and Ecua-volley, and had a huge BBQ with grilled plantains, choclo (a meatier cousin of corn), pork chop, beef, and sausage! At one point last night I realized I hadn’t spoken English once all day, yet had so thoroughly enjoyed myself and the company of my students.

So in combination of my time with the ASB volunteers, and with my students at our various activities this past week, I have realized that I have definitely settled into a comfortable groove here in Ecuador. Sure, there are still challenges and I am learning new things every day, but that feeling of being out of place here has all but vanished. And I like that my life here has become comfortable, in its own sense of the word. And for this, I am very happy and thankful.

Quickly, in other highlights from this past week, I finally got around to making chocolate chip cookies with Maria with the chocolate chips I had brought her back from Christmas. Because baking really isn’t done here, and with the change in altitude, the cookies turned out a bit of a disaster (though still delicious), but it was definitely fun during the process. Also, one of my most engaging students got a visa to the States last week (which is VERY hard for Ecuadorians to do), and suddenly left on a visit to the States for a minimum of a month and a maximum of six months! I was very sad to see her go, though I am amused by the fact that she is spending her first weeks visiting a friend in Las Vegas. Can you imagine that being your first impression of the US?! I also had a phone interview with a writer from the Cavalier Daily, UVa’s daily newspaper, on Thursday about my involvement in ASB, so I am looking forward to seeing the article tomorrow!

This week is also full of excitement. Dad and Anna fly in tomorrow and I am so excited about having them in Ecuador. I am helping out with a session of Orientation in Quito on Tuesday before I head with them on our whirlwind tour of Ecuador. And then today I am heading to a wedding in an indigenous community with a student of mine. She is going to dress me up in her indigenous clothing, so I am sure I will have an interesting account to share with you all later.

I hope you all have a wonderful week (with hopefully some time off from school/work) and a lovely Easter! Make sure to eat some extra jelly beans for me. Miss you!