¡Un Fin de Semana Buenísimo!

As an apology for the past two days of rain, Quito received two GLORIOUS days of sunshine and a light breeze! On Saturday, I arrived in Quito at 10:30 and proceeded to walk south just to see where I ended up. It was 18ºC. There is an absolutely incredible park, El Parque La Carolina, that is HUGE and is divided into 4 zones--aquatic, educational, aerobic, and active. Around and through the whole park is a biking/rollerblading path, there is a long ditch of sorts for skateboarders and trick bikers, a circular canal where you can rent paddleboats, lots of grassy knolls, an enormous sand/dirt track, inside of which many many futbol games are played, and my favorite--a stage where they had outdoors aerobics lessons! Three people led them and there were all sorts of people on the grass--different ages, abilities, and clothing preparedness--stepping along with the instructions! It was great! I then continued walking until I came to the Mercado Artesenal where at least 50 different booths were set up, just for jewelery and clothing and souvenirs. The whole block was lined with artists selling painitings, and, of course, there were sufficient ice cream vendors. I had previously bought an ice cream cone and a popsicle, so this time I bought a huge cup of fruit salad instead. (just today I learned the word empalagarse--to sicken oneself by eating too many sweets! Why don't we have such an appropriately descriptive word in English?!) By this time it was 27ºC and I was sufficiently sunburned and out of money, so I hopped on the ecovía back to the bus terminal to go back to Cununyacú (where I live). I met Monica at the mall where she works and we went to a special presentaion of Aikido. I can't say they were terribly good, nor did it inspire me to begin classes, but Mony and I are now talking of doing yoga together some night! In the evening, the whole family and Jim and I gathered together to eat raclette. You cook the meat on top, and each person gets his/her own cheese skillet thingy and it's a really great way to have the whole family eat together! We then chatted on the porch for a few hours and all in all, we had a fantastic time!

This morning, I had intended to go back to Quito, but seeing as it was another GLORIOUSly sunshiney day, I headed off for the mountain trail. This time I wore adequate sun and bug protection and brought sufficient hydration. It turns out I was right the second time and just had to pass through the barbed wire. So I hiked and I hiked, and saw lots of bugs, some pheasant or quail of sorts, and some cattle. It took me an hour and 20 minutes to reach the 'top' that is not even close to the summit of the mountain. I was seriously tired and was really feeling the lack of oxygen. I'd take about 10 steps and then stop to pant awhile before moving on! The views were great, the breeze and the sun felt great, and going down was a piece of cake. I stopped to take plenty of pictures, was stopped briefly by a threatening dog, and it still only took me one hour to arrive home from the top. And boy, did that cold shower feel great! I then took a nap in the hammock, went to mass with Mony and Sofy, and ate a lovely pizza dinner with Mony and the boys. I must say that this has been one great weekend!

A City Life's for Me!

Okay, aside from the fact that I just saw (and killed) two of the fastest spiders I have seen yet, today was a great day. In the morning, it continued raining, as it did all night long, stopping for about 30 minutes that happened to coincide with my walk home from school. But seeing as it's currently raining, we're going on 36 hours of dreary, cold weather. Nonetheless, I got a ride up to Quito this afternoon from two of the Ecuadorian (= spanish-speaking) staff at the school, during which they also invited me to the spanish-speaking lunch table at school. Seemingly petty, I've wanted to sit with them all week, but didn't really know if I should break the British-Ecuadorian divide. But now I have hope of breaking my english-speaking trend for at least 30 minutes each day!

Once we arrived in Quito, I was directed where to go to register with the Dirreccion General de Extranjería del Ministerio de Gobierno (basically the embassy), and I found it miraculously well without really having studied the massive map of the 43 km long city! Unsurprisingly, they weren't open, but I then got to thoroughly enjoy wandering the streets aimlessly! I found the best bookstore of the whole city (according to the travel guide) and bought my long sought-after Spanish dictionary. No, not a spanish-english dictionary, but one that actually gives the definitions in spanish! I also got another novel by Paulo Coelho, one of my absolute favorite authors. I also got some postcards (don't hold your breath, though, because I'm notoriously bad about never actually mailing them!), a few CDs (including Salio el Sol!), an awesome guide to Quito that includes 8 maps, and some bug-bite cream to numb all the picaduras on my ankles and legs! Although I didn't buy any street ice cream, I did begin to figure out a small portion of the city and I successfully navigated the 3 buses home!

I love public transit!!! The main bus system that runs through Quito is the Ecovía. It's a bunch of bright red accordian buses that have their own lanes and only periodic stops, so it's fast and fun and cheap ($0.25)! I made it onto the bus before nightfall, and I never once felt endangered the whole afternoon (shocker, I know). And though I didn't see but a small portion of the city, in addition to all the local eateries, I did see a Friday's, a KFC, and clearly a McDonalds, as well as my personal favorites Texas Chicken and Super Fritada (Super Fried...hmmm, sounds healthy)! And amazingly enough, I also spotted a Marathon Sports as I passed through the posh centro comercial between Quito and my town!

Tomorrow I wil be escorted to the mountain path if it's not raining, and/or I will go back into Quito because I've still got some 'splorin' to do! So all in all, this should be a great weekend!

lost, tired, bored

Yesterday went well during school, though I am thoroughly bored with my first (of two) weeks of observations. I just want to start teaching already! I did, however, learn quite a bit from watching year 8's Spanish class (not even close to my teaching subject area, but it helps pass the time!).

After school, I set off for that elusive mountain trail. I followed the directions to leave my subdivision and then turn off on the path. So I started up a steep dirt road, passing some shacks, some stray dogs, and a few people (whom I greeted in Spanish, not English! Hooray!). I progressed slowly due to the lower concentration of oxygen, but eventually rounded the first sway-back of the road. Only 25 minutes after leaving my house, I reached a barbed wire fence. not wanting to break rules and intrude where I was unwanted, I began to descend, only to be chased by one of the dogs from the house down below! I was running and quite worried, but eventually I must have left the dog's territory, because he went on back home. When I passed people again (10 minutes later), I enquired about the existence of a path and the presence of the barbed wire fence, and she told me that was just so the cattle didn't go all the way down the road! I was too tired to ascend again, and after relaying my story, it turns out that road is not the right road at all! Blast! Maybe tomorrow? Third time's the charm, right? Either way, it's good to be exercising again. I've become quite sedentary as of late.

After cleaning myself up a bit, I went out to a posh Italian restaurant with some of the other teachers, later followed by a British pub, and didn't end up getting home until 2 a.m.! While it was fun, and I am learning an enourmous amount about Great Britain's culture, language, and history, I am sick and tired of speaking English!

Today was fine, though relatively boring. I can only handle so much CNN en español, but unfortunately, it rained all day today. Instead of the normal 1-2 hour rains or drizzles, it has been raining steadily since 2 in the afternoon! It made for a nice nap, the sound of the rain hitting my roof, but I'm going stir crazy!

Other bad news: they don't wear skirts here, especially not to salsa dance, and not in the valley because of the mosquitos and no-see-'ums that have bitten most of the surface area on my ankles and feet! So much for half my wardrobe. At least Monica told me BEFORE I left the house, so I changed before sacrificing my legs to the invisible buggers!

Las Iglesias de Quito

I completely forgot many details of yesterday. First, We have six dogs. Four are hugely massive german shepherds that live out back and bark incessantly at any and all passers-by. The other two are very nice--Tin-Tin is mainly outdoors and only has one eye due to the kindly dogs out back, and Pelucita is a highly pampered poodle.

Secondly, there was a fabulous rainbow yesterday during the afternoon showers!

Thirdly, shortly after that, Mony and I drove up into Quito, first stopping in a posh shopping center where she had a cappuchino and I had mortifresa (combo of the fruits mortiña and raspberry) ice cream! That's right--in less than 24 hours in the country, I successfully located ice cream! ¡Que golosa soy yo! And, though not as cheap in the streets of Venezuela, it did come with whipping cream on top (not as sweet as in the states) as well as a melt-in-your-mouth baked cream (?) "suspiro" candy. Random, but tasty.

Then, we drove through el Centro Histórico de Quito and went church- and old building-hopping. I have no idea what all their names are, but will re-ask Mony. UNESCO designated Quito as the Patrimonio Cultural de la Humanidad and all the buildings in the Old Town are very colonial. It was fun, but I look forward to going back in the daytime, even though "the people swarm like ants" according to Mony!

Brilliant!

Today was my first day of school, and it went splendidly. It rained all morning, but then it was sunny all afternoon. I have already begun to think with a British accent, and I love how they all use so casually the words brilliant, well done, posh, marks (points), and maths. And, they say my name without the r (Kahla), while the Ecuadorians say the r rolled! Anyway, I spent the day receiving paper after paper concerning the British National curriculum and the IB diploma programme. I must say that I love how each and every year of students learns a bit of Biology, as well a bit of physics and chemistry. Instead of just learning Biology in grades 7 and 10 (or 9 in WI), and then having the other years to forget it all, students here learn more and more advanced concepts each year. This system does, however, make it terribly difficult for me to figure out when they are supposed to have learned which material, because I have no experience on which to rely. What we agreed upon today is that I will take over the classes for Years 7, 8, 9, 10, and 12, while John will retain Year 11 and Year 13. While I will have to spend a considerable amount of time preparing for 5 distinct courses, I will spend just a fraction of the time I would in the states on learning names. The class sizes are as follows: Year 7 has 15, Y8 has 16, Y9 has14, Y10 has 14, and Y12 has 10, for a total of 81 (I would easily have 120 in the states). However, I don't see all years each day, so I think I'll manage just fine.

In other news (potentially more exciting than curriculum) is the cafeteria food! Seriously, it's gourmet! Today I had a palm heart salad, rice, chicken in cilantro-mint sauce, a vegetarian dough-covered egg-shaped thing, and papaya juice. I turned down the Colombian beef stew, but it looked pretty good, too. The beauty is that each school lunch only costs $1.50! What's also great is that there are virtually zero behavior problems in the classes. Though wealthy, the students don't have attitudes regarding their elevated status and power, but genuinely seem to appreciate their education. And where, in U.S. public schools, much of the classtime involves crowd control, Joh only had to quiet down two boys three different times today during 80 minutes of class, and they're in Year 7! (=12 yrs old and very immature!)

So, after school, I intended to postpone my stack of readings for a nice hike up the mountain. There's a clear trail and, though the top looks close, it takes over 4 hours to arrive at the top because we can't actually see the peak from here! I was just going to go an hour or so, but I never coud find the trail entrance! I circled my subdivision twice, walked down this little path that ended up leading to a compost pile and three of the biggest spiders I've ever seen, and then I gave up and read in the hammock until I got cold (achachay!). It turns out you have to leave the subdivision and follow the main road around, even though it looks straight ahead! In other bad news, I saw a spider and two little bugs in my room last night (which I promptly killed with my imported flyswatter), and I showered this morning with a creepy black spider on the curtain. Not the way I like to start my sleep nor my morning, but I still think cockroaches would be worse.

Last, but not least, my new and most-frequently used vocab word: golosa = sweet-toothed. How did I never learn this one before?!

What luxury! ¡Que lujo!

Wow. All I can say about my new home is that I will be living in a most luxurious of resorts for the next three months! My host family´s house is HUGE and kinda fancy (especially considering my classy tastes in decorations) and it´s situated right in the valley east of Quito, about 500 meters lower, and therefore slightly warmer. Monica and Jairo greeted my last night at the airport with flowers (which are insanely cheap here), so I couldn´t appreciate the scenery until I awoke this morning to sunny skies, birds chirping, and dogs barking. There´s also the occasional announcement over a moving loudspeaker, which is someone selling fruits from his truck. Ni modo, my favorite part of the house is still the porch with hammocks!

Lonch today, made by Jairo (who claims he doesn´t cook well) was delicious! We had pescado encocado, which is a coastal seafood dish in a yellow coconut sauce. I normally don´t like seafood or coconut, but it was fantastic! It was preceded by a chicken noodle soup similar to ours, and then it was served with rice and patacones (fried, thick slices of plátanos) and ensalada de tomates y aguacate (avocado). ¡Que rico! And the maracuyá (passion fruit) juice was amazing, too!

I also met the British chap, Jim, who lives in the apartment beneath the house, who is quite nice, though he doesn´t speak spanish. I hope to improve my language skills, but I´ve already spoken english with him and with Sofy, my host sister. Oh, and there is hope again! It turns out Sofy LOVES to go dancing, so we´ll go together and we´ll go often! Hooray for la salsa!

Oh yeah, I forgot about the view. It´s breath-taking, with green trees, flowers, mountains, volcanos, and currently lots of clouds (thought the sun shone in the morning enough for me to lie out on the steps and make some vitamin D)!

Saint Paul Community Education

Everyone who knows me well knows I love to dream about all the great courses I could take through a city's Community Education Program. Minneapolis had some stellar options, but now I have decided that Saint Paul may be better. And though I won't be around to actually attend these courses, here's a list of courses that I would absolutely love to take or that I absolutely love to make fun of (and don't think that some don't overlap!):

Furniture: Twig Table Lamp and Twig Shade
Ukranian Egg Making
Dance: Beginning Ballet
Yoga: Hatha (Intermediate)
Balanced Foods for Balanced Moods
Dodge Ball League
Fencing
Hula Hooping for Fitness (they need instructors, too!)
Russian Kettlebell
Woodshop (Intermediate)
German (Beginning 1)
Hmong (Beginning 1)
Cabin Fever Party
Scrabble (but it's a Senior class, so I don't know if I'd be allowed to register)
Skipbo Tournament (and this one's free!)

So I doubt Ecuador has such amazing community education programs, but hopefully I'll learn of some bizarre fitness and entertainment opportunities!

Ecuador, here I come!

Bienvenidos to this, my first blog posting, all about my experiences this coming semester! I will be student teaching in Biology classrooms in the British School Quito in Tumbaco, Ecuador (~25 minutes east of Quito, the capital). The school is private and small, made up of 65% Ecuadorians and 35% international students. They follow the British IB programme that involves rigourous coursework and plenty of community involvement.

Quito is 2.850 meters above sea level (9,300 feet for all you non-metric folks) in the Andes mountain range that runs north-south through the center of Ecuador. Quito has a population of 1.865.541, but I will live with a host family in Tumbaco, that is significantly smaller. The currency is the dollar (a recent change that has had detrimental effects on the economy) and the weather is actually cooler than I would like: low 50 ºF, high 66 ºF.

Western Ecuador is coastal, eastern is amazons, and the Galapagos are 1000 km West of the coast. Although insanely expensive, I absolutely must go to the biology hotspot that are the Galapagos and meet Lonesome George!

Now that I've done a little of the research for you, feel free to ask more questions or comment on my posts at any time.
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I leave the U.S. on January 20th and return June 7th. I teach from January 22nd to May 4th, and then I will be visited by three lovely ladies (Amy, Elizabeth, and Christie) for a month of South American adventures! Although there's no time for a bike tour from Colombia to Chile, maybe I'll ride a bike at some point. Machupicchu might be on the agenda, and all additional recommendations will receive full consideration!


So, again, I welcome you all to join my amazing experiences, frustrating challenges, emotional rollercoasters, and personal growth!

Nos quedamos en contacto!