So last Friday morning I got up early and headed to the town of Riobamba an hour away, or so I thought. The bus driver told me to get onto the wrong connecting bus, though, and poor Hilary was waiting for me at the bus stop for almost an hour! But I finally made it and I'm happy to report that it was definitely worth my while. I had been wanting to get to Riobamba for so long- my two good friends Annie and Hilary both live there, it has much more Colonial architecture than Ambato, and it is so close that I was frustrated I hadn't gotten myself there yet. So Hilary walked me around a bit and I felt its charm immediately- I loved the old churches and cobblestone streets that Ambato lacks. It also feels a lot less commercial than Ambato, and maybe a bit friendlier. Though I didn't get to see too much, I got just enough of a taste that I now want to return for a longer visit very soon. We went to Hilary's favorite vegetarian restaurant run by a Taiwanese family, and then we headed for the coast!
The bus ride to Guayaquil was gorgeous! And though I've made this trip many times before, I had never been during the day. It was so enjoyable to watch the mountains turn to banana trees in a matter of hours. Ecuador continues to amaze me with its incredible diversity and beautiful landscapes. So we arrived in early evening and met a bunch of the other volunteers in town for dinner and drinks for Shelby's birthday. Then we all went to stay at Sarah's host family's host (they could not be more generous!). They now refer to their house as "Hotel Sarah," and they get such a kick out of hosting! So we all got ready for the night and headed out into Guayaquil. Now Guayaquil is known as quite the lively city, so I knew that I was probably in for a late night...little did I know! We went to a cute little club where Shelby and Sarah know the owners, and because it was a long weekend for Labor Day, many people were out of town. We basically had the place to ourselves, and we couldn't have had a more enjoyable time. The DJ wonderfully played all our favorite English hits- everything from Bon Jovi and Madonna to Justin Timberlake and Sir Mix-a-lot. But then of course we requested plenty of Reggeton as well. After hours of dancing (barefoot I might add- so much for health codes), we finally got back home at 4am!
Saturday morning we got to sleep in until 10am (longest I've slept in months!) and then we all pitched in to make a big breakfast for Sarah's family and all of us. We made bolones with cheese and green bananas (it's an actual type of banana, it doesn't mean unripened), eggs, rice, OJ, and coffee. The best, though, is that Sarah's mom went out to buy us a huge tub of ceviche- a fish soup that is very common for breakfast on the coast, and especially on those mornings after late nights on the town, if you catch my drift. And though fish soup might not sound appetizing, it is absolutely delicious and I look forward to trying to make it when I get back to the States.
That afternoon, some of us headed to Parque Historio- an interesting combination of a zoo and a Colonial Williamsburg-esque place (which you know I love!). The zoo part had all sorts of neat animals- alligators, monkeys, tortoises, cheetahs, and even parrots that could say "hola." The historic part featured some historic houses right on the riverbank- complete with an early 20th century trolley and people dressed in Victorian era clothing. So we had fun walking around and taking lots of pictures, but after awhile the heat became too much to bear and we headed back to Sarah's.
That night we all went out for dinner in Las Peñas, another restored part of Guayaquil that sits on a hill overlooking the river. Last time I went it had been broad daylight, so it was enjoyable to go at night and see all the city lights, miles in every direction. We ate dinner at a restaurant that was shaped like a pirate ship (and we didn't hesitate to share pirate jokes), and then we headed to Shelby's birthday party at her host family's house. She had gone to such trouble to make all sorts of app
etizers and she turned her front patio into an outdoor mingle/dance area. We had so much fun again switching between both US favorites and popular Ecuadorian music, and it was especially fun to see how all the Americans danced compared to the Ecuadorians (must I say that we weren't exactly graceful in comparison). But of course the best of the night featured a piñata and a limbo stick! So I think Shelby quite enjoyed her birthday celebrations, as did we all.Then, my students really amazed me for their first oral quizzes on Tuesday- they did so wonderfully! I felt like a proud mom watching her children in their first school play- sure they had many mistakes and fumbles, but they had such enthusiasm and courage too. They also made me laugh really hard with the funny scenarios they came up with, and I must say I even got a little choked up with how well some of them did. It's amazing to me sometimes to think that I started with them at Basic 1, because now they are really communicating! And though it is nice to think I might have been able to help them here and there along the way, I truly believe that a language cannot just be taught, and that so much of their progress has to do with their motivation and tireless efforts. I've just been lucky to witness the process as they go along.
In class this week we also continued with our count and noncount nouns, and I finally think it's starting to click for my students. I can only imagine how difficult the concept must be, but they have been really trying to understand it. We cut up magazines and made collages of both count and noncount nouns, and yesterday we played a trivia game to practice asking how much and how many. I am beginning to get really nervous because we have now crossed the halfway mark of the semester, which means I only have 20 days of teaching left...ever! There is so much I want to get done and so little time to work with! I guess I just have to do my best and trust that the following volunteers will carry the class on with flying colors. And I do think it will be good for my students to experience another teaching style and approach to language learning (though I certainly will be sad to let my students go!).
Because we had to make up a day of class, my students decided they wanted to have class at the movie theater today. Since most blockbusters are usually in English with Spanish subtitles, I thought this seemed like a valid way to practice listening to English, and gave my consent. Though of course when I went to check movie times yesterday morning, the staff informed me that all the movies were in Spanish- of course the first time since I've been here. But after much pleading from my students, I finally agreed to carry on with the plan, though contingent on the fact that they would all write movie reviews in English over the weekend (I'm a softy sometimes, what can I say?). So basically I spent all of today in the movie theater with my students, which turned out to be a very enjoyable way to spend a Friday afternoon. I watched Speed Racer with my afternoon class- which I thought was super cute with great special effects (a mix of real life and animation). Then my night class saw Iron Man, which I thought was a really interesting mix of current events, like fighting in Afghanistan and controversy over weapons of mass destruction, and superhero powers which required you to suspend all disbelief (as you might expect from a product of Marvel Comics). But I really enjoyed both movies and the chance to spend time with my students outside of the classroom.
Tomorrow Richard and Diego are taking Aubrey, Kat, my student Jazmin, and I all caving! And I am especially excited because the caves are named after my birthday (definitely not the other way around), Las Cavernas de 24 de Mayo. So we will be equipped with headlamps at all. Then on Sunday I am going to hopefully surprise my family by making pancakes (which they have never had before!) and then we are all going to head to a big new park called Parque de la Familia to spend the afternoon.
I hope all your mothers have a fabulous Mother's Day on Sunday and extra hugs and kisses to my mom who is sadly daughterless this year. Love you Mom...you're the greatest! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and please keep in touch!
No comments:
Post a Comment