Galapagos Here I Come

The last few days have been a great cap to the program. As a group we flew to Manta, which is a city along the coast of Ecuador. It was a great way to relax and also was a final chance to hangout with the group prior to departure. 5 of the 8 are in the air as we speak, the remaining three are off to explore Ecuador a little more.

Manta, simply put, is a beach town. There is not a lot that draws in the tourism other than that fact. Manta is a beautiful city but I will be honest, by the 4th day I was a little bored of it. That said it was the perfect trip that allowed us to catch up on sleep and to unwind from the previous four weeks, and don't get me wrong I have to problem sitting along the ocean sipping on a beer. With that in mind we were able to seeing as much as we could and mix that with a little sun was even better.

One draw to the area is a town called Montecristi. This is the site where majority of the Panama hats are made. That's right they are not made in Panama but were made famous during in Panama simply because that is where they are shipped to prior to shipping throughout the world. The name actually arose once famous figures wore the hats in Panama which lead to the name the Panama Hat when in reality it is a Ecuadorian Hat.

That was really our only outing after that it was back to sun, sand and salt water. While on the beach we did manage to get involved in a pick up soccer game in which it was 5 of us Canadians vs. 5 Ecuadorians. I know what your thinking but no the Ecuadorians did not win. That is right we Canadians held our ground and pulled out the victory and immediately we decided to retire from the sport of beach soccer and not risk our winning record because we were definitely were not the best soccer players on the beach that day.

I am back in Quito now and am figuring out some plans for today and doing a lot of packing. Today Andrew and I are checking into a different hotel and from there we are off to the Galapagos Islands for 7 days. I am extremely excited for the mysteries that I am about to endure. That said I had better finish getting my stuff together.

I will post pictures galore upon my arrival back to Quito. I'm not sure what the internet will be like there and I'm sure I will have stories to tell of my encounters with animals that few eyes have actually seen in person.

Adios until next week

Emotions!!

What an emotional past two days.

Today the program with the schools ended and the good byes were said. I was doing well until the students began crying immediately my eye welled up with tears and it was at that point that I understood the importance of our visit to these schools. I realized the power of friendship and the strength of relationships that you can create, even despite being able to speak the simplest phrases to each other. Most of my trip involved a dictionary to help me express my desires but I realized people who are willing to accept others flaws can really discover the greatness inside of each other. This is very hard for me to express as I do not express emotions the greatest but today was one of the hardest experiences I have had to deal with in a very long time. Over the past three weeks I have created friendships that I will never forget and I feel that I will also never be forgotten by some. I feel that my presence will be felt for awhile and that the impact does not end today. I know that I have influenced some of these students to strive for bigger and better things and I hope that the desires don't dwindle due to the lack or resources or simple due to demographics. If I could I would bring each and everyone of these students to Canada so they can experience a school in which there are more than two basketballs or a school in which they turn on the lights by flipping a switch rather than rubbing two wires together or a school in which they don't have to scale glass protruding walls in order to retrieve a ball that flew over the wall.

In the beginning I said that the past two days have been very emotional, that is because yesterday I had a conversation with one of my students and he really opened up to me about his home life and his dreams. I will first give you a background, this student is the current National Ecuadorian Fencing Champion, he has desires to travel and really perfect his English. He told me when he grows up he wants people to look at him and say you are a good man. He proceeded to explain to me the importance of fencing in his life and that it is a part of him that he want to pursue for years to come. He looks at this as an opportunity to see the world beyond Ecuador.

He proceeds to tell me how his mother views him as a bad person because he enjoys fencing and singing. She want him to be a perfect student and that fencing and singing should not be a part of his life. He also told me that he does not get along with his mother and that there is a lot of yelling that takes place in his house. He is worried that he will succumb to these influences and not pursue his dreams. He said that this is one of his greatest worries in life. I could tell that this was a very tough conversation for him because he getting to the point of tears and this is something that truly affect every single day of his life. I told that one of the hardest things in life is knowing what you want out life and that many people never really understand that aspect, but you know where you want to be and you know what you love. If you work hard you can achieve these dreams and that your time at home is limited. Once you finish school and are living your own life it then that you are in control of where you end up.

This conversation was very hard because I have never experienced these problems growing up. I lived in a household that encouraged me to pursue activities in which I enjoyed or excelled at rather than trying control every aspect of my life. I really appreciate the sacrifices my parents made when I was growing up in order for me to play sports and partake in programs that were of interest to me. For that I say thanks to my mother and father for always being there for me when I needed them most.

The day was not all tears and lumpy throats. Today we had a big tournament between three of the schools in the program . The three schools met at Calderon school and they participated in the following activities: basketball, handball, soccer, volleyball, charades, mathematics, puzzles and English. The day was a great success and it was apparent the students enjoyed it. They were filled with smiles throughout the day. One of the goals of the program was to increase participation in sports particularly for the female students. Today was definite evidence of the success of that goal. Over the past week I could see sportsmanship increasing and participation as well. I am happy with my involvement with the program and all that I have done in Ecuador. So far everything has far exceeded expectations and feel blessed to be partaking in a program as great as this.

We are off to Manta for a few days and then off to Galapagos. My next post will come in a few days prior to departure to Galapagos.

Adios

What a weekend

So it has been awhile since I have been able to make a new post. I will first tell about my experiences during my past week at school and then inform you about my weekend in Mindo, which by the was amazing!! This one could get fairly long so you have to bare with me on this post.

There are a few things that I have noticed about the school in general. First that there is no such thing as substitute teachers and if a teacher does not show up then the students are on their own for that class. They either teach themselves or work on other assignments. The second is the degree of safety and code of conduct. Here is an example of what I am talking about. The other day I was in the grade 9 class and the student needed to turn on the lights. This is not the typical process of flicking a switch, but rather it involves rubbing three live wires together until the lights turn on. This was absolutely horrifying and unbelievable that this exists. I even saw from time to time the student pulling their hand away from the wire because they had gotten shocked. There are some major differences from teaching in Canada but once again the students are great and the teachers are great. To put it into perspective of what the teachers make compared to Canada, a veteran teacher in Ecuador is looking at about 300 dollars a month which equals anywhere from 5000 - 10000 a year. In Canada a beginning teacher makes about 45 000 a year with a top end teacher making well over that. The teachers put a lot of work into what they do and really there salary does not reflect their pay.

This past weekend we went to Mindo. This was so amazing. We arrived on Friday evening and we stayed at the Dragonfly Inn. The place was wonderful and we were surrounded by the rainforest. Each morning we woke to an incredible sight. Saturday is where the fun begins. This whole trip has been about going beyond your comfort zone and pushing your boundaries. We did just that this weekend. Saturday began with a canopy tour of the rainforest. This is code for zip lining. You cannot imagine the view when you zip line between two mountains. At times we must have been about at least 500 feet in the air. It was such an amazing feeling being suspended in air and all your eye can see in rianforest upon rainforest.

After ziplining we went river rafting but what you might think. The rafting consisted of 6 large tire tubes tied together and to maneuver through the rapids our two guides would jump off of the raft and either push off of rocks or twirl the rafter around rocks. It sounds sketchy but the entire time I felt completely safe because you could tell that these guys knew the river very well and the safety precautions were taken. We were provided with life jackets and helmets.

After the rafting is where the boundaries were truly pushed. We decided to go canyoning, turns out in Ecuador canyoning means repelling down waterfalls. Three waterfalls to be exact each ranging from 15 - 25 meters. The whole situation was sketchy but turned out to be an awesome experience. We were all in the van and they were transporting us to where we had to go and all of a sudden the van stopped and we are in the middle of nowhere. They proceed to say we have to walk from the road 20 minutes into the bush. Jokingly we talk about how this was a ploy to rob us or kill us, but we keep going. After a long walk we come to a point in which we start getting our gear on. We proceed to walk to the top of a mountain. Which makes sense because you have to get to the top of the waterfalls before repelling down them. So we finally reach our destination and we see what we are dealing with. It is in fact a waterfall and it goes straight down. I have troubles with heights to begin with and this was extremely unsettling. We go through our very brief tutorial and we are ready to go. A few people go before it is my turn to begin.

Finally it is my turn. I get the rope all set up and begin my shuffle towards the ledge. When the guy was describing how to do this is sounded quite easy. Doing it was a different story though. So I begin my way to the ledge and I take a look down to the bottom. I'm not sure if this was the best idea because the ground was straight down and a long way down, but I keep going. As I am just about to go over the ledge I slip and now my but is over the ledge and I literally clenching the rope with life on the line. I realize after that there was no way I fall simply due to way the rope is weaved through the clip but at the time it was extremely terrifying. So I am able to pull myself back onto the top of the waterfall. At this point I want nothing to do with this and am seriously contemplating walking back down the mountain. Something inside me told me I had to keep going and actually do this or else I would extremely regret not going through with this. So I attempt again, and I make it over the ledge this time. I slipped a few times on the way down but became a lot more comfortable with the gear and realized that there was a lot keeping form plummeting to my death. Finally I make it to the bottom and back onto solid ground. We then proceed to the second waterfall. This one was much easier than the first and am beginning to grasp some type of understanding of repelling and third becomes even easier. I stills struggled on each one but they were definitely easier. I was happy to walk away with my life and will accept the fact that my legs are covered in cuts and bruises from slamming against the rocks. The pain is only temporary and I definitely learned a lot more about myself because of the experience. I'm saying I would go out tomorrow and do it again about I was very happy with myself in the fact that I kept going and actually repelled the waterfalls.

That night we went to the local bar and mingled with some fellow travelers. Mindo is a tourist attraction and we ran it other people from Canada, a couple of people from Germany and England. I enjoyed talking to them and to see where they are going and where they are coming from. It is neat to hear of others adventures and to share your stories.

Sunday arrives and we wake up bright and early to go on a six am bird watch in hopes to see a Toucan. Turns out we did not but we did have a very beautiful walk down a mountain. Three hours much appreciated and was really not too upset that the Toucan never appeared. After that we went to a butterfly farm. Here they bred butterflies that are native to Ecuador and you really got a close encounter with the little critters.

Our day ends with a trip back to Quito in which we prepping for our final week with the schools. So far it has been great but in a way am happy to see the end nearing. Next week we have book plane tickets to fly to Manta which is a city on the coast and next week it is off to Galapagos. I will write again some time at the end of the week to talk more about the schools and post of school pictures.

I am out, I have a lot of prepping to do for tomorrow.

The markets and the equator

Yesterday was again a fun filled day, full of great experiences and great friends. Yesterday we began our day by leaving Quito at 9 am and we were off on our way to Otavalo. Otavalo is about 2 hours away from Quito and here there is a huge market. If you have been to Tijuana it would resemble that but much better quality. I had a few things in mind in which I needed to pick up, 1st a poncho, 2nd an authentic panama hat (funny story, the panama hat (similar to a fedora) was originally made in Ecuador), and a few presents for birthdays and mother's day.

The big item at this market was alpaca fur, so you could find everthing from Alpaca sweaters, Alpaca scarves, Alpaca blankets, Alpaca poncho and the list goes on. Alpaca fur is very soft and very nice. The market is a unique experience compare to Canada because you never accept the posted price. This is where your bartering skills come into play; a task much harder when you barely understand the language. Fortunately we have had some amazing drivers on our trip (Oswaldo and Lewis) and today it was Oswaldo who did a lot of our bartering for us. Believe me he is good. At the markets there is a Gringo rate which applies to the typical tourist who can barely speak Spanish and there is the local rate. Locals can barter the price down a lot further than you or I could.

After all of the wheeling and dealing was over we took our new possessions back to the van and we proceeded to travel to Cotacachi. Cotacachi is well known for it's leather market. Here every shop hands stitches items such as purses, jackets, shoes and I think you get the idea. There was a lot of nice jackets unfortunately size grande grande is hard to come by in Ecuador. I did manage to pick up a new wallet and a few gifts.

After the leather markets we stopped in a town that is known for their biscotes and cheese. Here we tried the original cheese string. Carlos who is a local to Quito has been helping our group by translating at the schools and showing us around Quito. We told him how we tried this fabulous cheese at the beginning of the trip, turns out the cheese we had was a plain cheese that was found anywhere and everywhere. He told us to stop at this place on the way to Otevalo and here we would taste good cheese. Boy was he correct.

We again board the van and are headed back to the hotel, but Oswaldo had a surprise in store for us. He makes a detour and stops the van and we all pile out. He takes us to a stature of the world and beside the world there is a line in brick. This was the actual equator. There is a equator museum just outside Quito but that is not the correct equator. Prior to technology advancements when they originally mapped out the equator it was about 20 km off of the actual equator. But with the creation of GPS they mapped out the actual Equator. For tourist reasons the museum stayed where it was the actually equator site is relatively untouched by tourists. There were some really cool activities the Oswaldo had us do on the line of the equator. The first was on the North side of the equator we held our hands out in front and tried to resist another person pushing our hands to the ground (the result was that the persons arms could be pushed down with ease). On the South side this was not the case (it was physically impossible to push the persons hands to the ground). This was due to the difference in gravity between the North and South side of the Equator. He then had us close our eyes and put our hands out to the sides to form a T shape. We then had to walk a straight line on the equator. This was again impossible due to gravity pulling on your arms at different measurements.

One last thing that I found very interesting in Quito is that right now they are going through a referendum. The difference between Canada and Ecuador is that voting is mandatory. After completing your vote you get a certificate or a card that says you voted in the election. This certificate is a vital piece of information because without it you can't do things like open a bank account, buy a car, buy a house, or even get a loan. This is an important weekend in which some businesses shut down and the country turns dry for the weekend. So zero alcohol sales starting Thursday and ending Sunday.

Happy Mother's Day mom

I will post some pictures soon

Primera Semana Completa de la Ensenanaza

(first week of teaching is complete)

I can't believe that a week in the classroom has already passes us by. The week has been blur and full of mixed emotions. I began the week with shock because at points I my mind would freeze because I was being bombarded with questions in Spanish and there was no one to turn to for help. Talking about having to learn on the fly. At the schools there are very few who can speak good English and most of the teachers speak less English than I can Spanish. That is not a lot. The second day was much better and the students are great. They have really been helping me learn how to speak Spanish and I am picking up on a lot more than I did when I arrived. I still have troubles determining what is said simply due to listening. Por favor, escribalo has been a much used sentence in my arsenal of Spanish. In English it mean write it down please. From looking at it I can usually figure it out but I do always carry my Spanish-English dictionary with me.

There are a few interesting observations that I have made about the schools in Ecuador compared to home. The first is that there are no substitutes. If the teacher is sick then there is no teacher in the classroom. Either the students teach themselves or they go out a play. Sure your saying what student would actually do work when the teacher is not there, at least that was always my perspective when I was in high school. The students here are very well behaved and have a lot of respect for the schools and teachers.

No substitutes have put into the position where we are forced into the classroom. It is a really daunting task to try to teach and not be able to understand half of the questions. In these situations it has turned into a learning experience for the students and myself, today for example we were filling in for teachers all day. One of the highlights of my day was first hearing one student singing If Your Happy and You Know it Clap your Hands (a song in which I taught the grade 8 class yesterday. Today I taught them "The Bear Goes Over the Mountain." When I do these songs I have the students sing in English and then we translate to Spanish. At this point they teach me the song in Spanish and then we sing both versions. Many of the students are very musical driven and I feel the songs have really help them build the confidence to speak English and is a fun way to learn. They are taking more risk when talking to me and are trying to speak English.

This week has been very rewarding and very diminishing. It is a terrible feeling to be in a room and not understand a word that is spoken. It really puts things into perspective about how easily a student can fall behind in a class simply due to the lack of understanding. It is something that teachers should be more aware of and because of this experience so far it has influenced my views about teaching. I think I have already come a way with an understanding of my students and I have acquired some techniques that I would implement in the classroom at home. I have so much respect for the school and the students. I am loving my experiences at the schools and cannot wait until Monday. I have planned at some point to read 1 fish 2 fish, red fish blue fish to the students and have them make a picture book the corresponds to the story. I am really excited to see the end product.

This weekend we are off to the markets so I'm sure there will be some stories to tell tomorrow.

talk to you all soon

pictures from the fish supper

Teaching has began

Hello again,

so i lied about my next post coming at the end of the week. A few things happened that I wanted to share with you all. We will begin with Sunday. I left off saying I was going for supper at one of the principal's house. Well the was an UNDERSTATEMENT!! We went for supper but what we got was a lot more than we had bargained for. We were expecting to come to the house have a fish supper and go back to the hotel, well we began with a walk down a steep, steep hill. It was so steep we had to walk down zig zag. All we knew was that we were going to get our fish for supper. Along the way we pass a couple pools of water in which there are tiny fish swimming. It turns out that this principal had a fish farm. So we eventually make it down to the bottom and we see this muddy hole with water and we are instructed to take of our shoes and we are given a strainer. We were now at the point where we had to catch our supper. So we did just that, each of us got in the hole and attempted to catch a fish using just a strainer. It was a very interesting feeling because was you were in one corner of the hole there were fish swimming between your feet. It was a very interesting feeling, it really caught you off surprise. It also took awhile to develop a strategy in order to catch the fish. Eventually I caught my first and then my second. After that my turn was over and it was another person's turn in the hole.

As the other members of the group were in the hole I lay beside the hole with my hands and attempted to catch the fish with just my hands. This was something I thought would be quite impossible, turns out I was wrong. In fact I did not catch one fish with my hands but I caught two fish. I feel this was pretty impressive considering our group of 10 caught 9 fish total. Doing a rough calculation, I caught about 45% of the fish. (this is my moment of glory so I am going to brag) After catching the fish we then had to make our way back to the top of the hill. Here we then had to clean and prep the fish. What we had to do was descale the fish, clean the fish and then prep the fish. All we had to do to prep the fish was cut about four slits in the fish from dorsal fin to caudal mouth and put a little salt on the meat. We then cooked the fish in a clay oven. It was AMAZING!! Truly another experience I will never forget. I don't know how many more of these experiences I can handle.

Monday and Tuesday were our first two days in the school . All I can say is what a wonderful experience. The students are so energetic and participate in anything. They are respectful and I am loving my time in the schools. I'm sure your wondering how I am doing knowing next to no Spanish. Well I have learned a lot of Spanish over the past 5 days and can communicate as long as it is written down. My new favorite word is escrible. This means write it down. If I can see it I know what they are asking but the Spanish language is spoken so fast that when listening I cannot understand. The students are now into a routine of writing down any questions they have and with what English they have they attempt to ask that way. It is really good because we are both learning, I am learning Spanish from them and they are learning English from me. Today Flo (a girl in the group who I am partnered with at the Calderon school) and I taught our first English class. It was kind of unexpected because the English teacher was sick and we were kind of thrown into the position. But it was so good and so much fun. We some of the parts of the body and did by singing the head and shoulders, knees and toes song. There is video so once I get my hands on it I will post the video.

That is about all for now tomorrow is back in the school and on the weekend is the markets.

Adios

Quito still uping the ante

So these past few days have been absolutely wonderful, I have really fallen in love with the city and the culture. Everywhere you go you see people who truly love their city and their country. Here is an example of the how patriotic Ecuadorians are. The other night when we were in old town ending our night with a local drink (a warm fruit drink with an alcohol that I cannot think of at the moment). While anyways when we were in this little cafe there was maybe 6 tables and we occupied two of them. The locals were singing and dancing and we were all having a great time. The proceeded to sing us their national anthem and you could hear the patriotism in their voice. Think when team Canada winning gold medals in Vancouver, like that but every time. That is the major thing I have notice so far is that here a special event is not needed in order to exhibit your patriotism and passion but rather you are an outcast if you don't. It is really a wonderful thing to see because in Canada it is rare that I feel like singing O Canada from the top of my lungs.

The following is our experiences at the Basilica.

Along with the everyday life that we are witnessing Quito is full of wonderful opportunities and views. Yesterday we went to the Basilica. It is a huge church in Quito that towers high over the area around it. Quito does not have the same security that is evident in our culture and here you can really explore a building. We were able to climb up into the clock towers a place in any European country would be totally unaccessible. This has its downfalls because one thing that is very prominent in Quito is the amount graffiti. This is not only on the streets but also in many of its prominant attractions. It is really a shame because these building are so beautiful and architecture is absolutely amazing. The view from the highest point of the church is breathtaking and very nerve racking. I had to call on some inner strength to reach the top of the Basilica. I did not realize to the extent of my fear of heights. Not only heights but stability of structure. Things like ladders do not hold well with me. At times the pathways were small and sketchy. At one point I hit a wall and really thought I could not make it to the top. There was a long wooden walkway that looked very unsettling that you had to cross in order to reach the tops of one of the towers. I have always been uneasy in these situations and I was able to make about half way using sheer mind of matter but there was a point in which this was no longer working. I now halfway across and did not want to be there at that moment. I really relied on the group to get across that plank.

If I was alone there was no way I would have been able to make it to the top and because of them I was able to witness a view this.

Today we are going to one of the principal's houses for dinner. We were invited to have a traditional fish dish similar to the one we had on Friday. It is an amazon river fish cooked in a large jungle leaf. The difference is that on Friday the fish was cooked in an oven; today it will be cooked over a wood stove. We have been treated wonderfully and each day is offering more and more opportunities that are really making me test my boundaries. For example yesterday at lunch I had goat stew and for supper I had a appetizer that had guinea pig in it. And I have had fish for five days in a row. Something that I'm sure my mom and grandparents would find extremely shocking. The food here is amazing simply due to the freshness of everything. When visiting the schools we were offered a bun with cheese and the cheese was so delicious. I asked the Carlos (a local is becoming an integral part of our group, he is friends with people who organized this opportunity) what type of cheese it was because it was so good. He looked at me like I was insane, he said "you think that's good cheese. You can buy the cheese anywhere, that cheese in not special." As a group we were shocked because we all thought this cheese was the greatest thing ever but it's just due to the way food is made here. It is rare you find something processed and like I said before everything is so fresh.

But tomorrow we start in the schools and blogging will be slowed down due to our responsibilities to the program and our evenings are going to pretty filled preparing lessons plans and things like that. Look back towards the end of the week for my next post. Our plans for next weekend are to go to the markets so I have to start practicing my bartering skills.

Until then happy shoveling and don't put that shovel in storage too quickly

I had to put that in

C Ya

Pictures

Here are the pictures I promised from the other day. The parade and the Cathedral San Fransisco.