October in Brief

Stained Glass Window in Ambato

My students have asked me on multiple occasions, "How did you find Cuenca?"  You might as well ask "How does a wizard choose his wand?"  He doesn't.  Neither did I choose Cuenca, but through a series of fateful or fortunate events, the sorting hat has dropped me into my current life.  So much of the past 2 months have been outside of my control, and yet, through it all positive experience has been piled upon positive experience.  Cuenca has been kind to me.  Or rather, the people have been kind to me. 

Let's start with living with a homestay.  Not everything is golden, yet it is positive.  I hoped, with three siblings in my family, all in their 20s, I would have made strong connections with at least one of them, but so far I haven't.  The person I talk most with is my homestay mother, and that is how it has been since I have arrived here.  And how great she has been.  I just look past what hasn't happened between my siblings and I, and be thankful for my mother here.  For example, as a growing boy, I am often hungry, and I got just what I didn't need, more food.  I had been romping around the national park with some of my students last weekend, and came home from the park around 7pm after being out since 7am.  My mother, always concerned about me, well, I think she thought that when I got home I needed to each lunch and dinner and dessert all at once.  I was served a plate of rice and fish...and then 2 ham and cheese sandwiches, then cookies and tea.  No worries, I got it all down, even though I had just eaten a plate of mote pillo in the national park 2 hours ago.  

At times living with a homestay may feel somewhat akin to being a pet.  My mother decides what and when to eat.  She decides what I drink for breakfast (coffee, hot chocolate or a delicious banana smoothie).  She decides when I get fruit.  For a time I felt a little less than the independent autonomous American citizen that I am.  Then she gave me lots of food, asked me what I wanted to drink, showed me how to make coffee using her Italian coffee maker, changed my sheets and towel and took me out for some dessert and coffee after lunch.  Yes, I still don't have complete control over my food but I don't need that right now.  I'm happy to be in her house.  I could feel like a pet, but instead, I'm going to think of myself as a child prince, maybe a little prince.  A little wizard too.

My Students Rocking Cajas

Speaking of family, I really had wanted to put pictures of my family up on the blog this time.  I have been here for over a month and as of yet have not taken any pictures of my family.  It seems rather awkward.  I was determined to make this post about my family, but it didn't work out that way.  Next time...I promise.

So cute now, so delicious later...

Speaking of great people, let me mention some awesome people I have met.  I may have spoken briefly about my dance class that I have each weeknight.  Monday and Wednesday, after class, I go to Joana's place to learn how to shake my hips and then Tuesday and Thursday I teach her English.  This has turned out to be so much more than I thought it was going to be.  Joana, turns out, to be a feminist fighting for women's rights in Ecuador.  Since she was 14 she has been concerned with education and supporting women and continues her work currently as a counselor for battered and abused women.  Fortunately her English is high enough that she can explain, granted not always on the first try, all that she desires.  I thought teaching her English would be about her, but it turns out to be a great way to learn about her and Ecuador. 

Another amazing person has been my intercambio between Lorena and I, which has since expanded to include Alex.  The three of us talk each day after class for an hour or so, and answer each others questions about the English or Spanish language.  Again, these girls have turned out to be much more than I would have imagined them to be.  All I had known of Ecuador before I arrived was that Ecuadorians were more conservative and many of them, by the time they were 23, would be married and starting a family.  Now maybe that is true, but if it is, it isn't true of anyone I know.  I don't know any conservative 23 year old married adults.  Instead, Alex and Lorena are educated, dedicated, and experienced women.  Alex, for example, has a child, which is another surprise, because of how common children out of wedlock are here.  And yet, she travels 2 hours to SECAP each day to take classes and 2 hours back.  These females have family living around the world, they themselves want to educated themselves and travel, want to learn English, want to love their family. (Pictures soon to be forthcoming...)

Writing and Smiling!

Speaking of patterns of thought, in my class I am having my students write a 5 paragraph persuasive about their feelings towards homosexuals in Ecuador.  I have received a little resistance from very few students, some are mild, and some are enthusiastic.  They are today beginning to realize how much work goes into writing a solid 5 paragraph essay.  Most of their previous writing assignments have been sporadic forays into different topics.  However, creating a detailed outline, with a specific method of writing an introductory paragraph has given them a new appreciation for what a 5 paragraph essay should look like.  I'm glad to be giving them such a structured writing assignment so early in the year, because now everything they write another paragraph, I can ask them to sketch an outline of their paragraph with main ideas and supporting details.  I do have a goal of having them do some debating their solutions to gay marriage in Ecuador, but I haven't quite figured out how to structure it.

First Trip to Cajas

Backing up.  October 16th I went to Cajas, to the national park with a few students and their friends.  The park was beautiful...in a spacious and vacuous sort of way.  There wasn't much wildlife, or diversity of plant life to see, at least to my untrained eye.  Tan colored hill followed by tan colored hill mixed with giant immobile boulders and small pools of clear water.  It was barren and forbidding, preserving its majesty and grandeur through its austerity.

Cajas National Park

This first trip to Cajas was warm and sunny.  We did a little fishing and then did some more fishing at a fish farm when we only caught one little guy inside the park.  Sport fishing was not quite what I expected.  I had thought maybe there would be a large lake with guides...but as we walked through a run down bus, picked up our bait made of bread dough, grabbed a fishing pole, which was a long stick with a piece of nylon attached, and a tiny hook tied to the string, I realized this wasn't going to be "sport" fishing as I had imagined it.  Rather, the pools ranged from the size of a grave to a large kitchen.  We dropped our bread into the water, watched the little trout eat up the bread and hopefully tugged hard enough to snag a fish and fling it up onto shore, due to lack of reel and capability of winding.  It turned out to be good fun, and later when we went to Jimmy's house to eat them, they were quite delicious.  Yes, Jimmy did invite me to his house and I met his mother and wife and they were wonderful! They even invited me out to go dancing with them for Halloween, however, more of that later.

Then following Sunday I returned to Cajas, though this time, with other students and to another lake.  We went to Toreadora.  It was another beautiful trip.  Cooler this time, and with much more walking, but we were rewarded with seeing a group of alpacas grazing peacefully near a lake.  It's a beautiful sight.

Outside Cathedral

For Halloween, I chose to go to Ambato to spend time with Teresa, and as it so happens, Jorge and CJ were there as well.  Ambato is the 4th largest city in Ecaudor, right behind Cuenca.  However, it has almost no extranjeros, which is much different than the situation in Cuenca.

Jorge, C.J. and Teresa with Coconut Batido

I took a night bus to get there, which is all but prohibited by World Teach.  We are strongly advised not to take night buses, however, if I'm going to travel this year, I will need to leave Friday nights after class by a night bus.  So heedless of the consequences, I got on my bus and headed off to Ambato.  The bus was perfectly fine.  I never once felt uncomfortable or had a scary incident. Neither there nor back.  I guess bad things happen, but they're rare.

Delicious Breads

Tungurahua

In Ambato the four of us checked out the parks, the churches, the food, the people and the clubs.  Teresa's host family is amazing.  They let the three of us stay in their house for free, they fed us food, they picked me up and dropped me off at the bus terminal, they shared their beds, their colada morada and chatted it up with us.  Wonderful.  Teresa's family is comprised of mother and father and 4 daughters.  They live halfway up a mountain, so that they have a view of the entirety of Ambato from their roof.  And a sweet view of Tungurahua volcano to boot.


 

Pumpkin Pie

The second day Teresa and I tried to make a pumpkin pie, which I think we did quite successfully.  Flashback to Quito.  Teresa and I were in "The Boot," a club in the Mariscal, reminiscing about life back in the Midwest: cheese, casseroles, snow and the vibrant colors of leaves.  It was a warm pain thinking about home with another Midwesterner, whose home was so close to my own.  I knew it would happen again, but I wanted it to.  Back to the pie.  We worked on the pie most of the morning, we chatted about traditions, conditions and our future ambitions while the smell of pumpkin pie (and the pumpkin soup that was made from the leftover mash) filled the ambient air.  I missed home and yet, at the same time, was glad to not be going home.  I don't have traditions here in Cuenca, but thankfully I have plans here.

Colada Morada and Guagua

For example, back to Alex, she has invited me to her place this month and for Christmas as well.  I had her bring some pictures of her home and family to our intercambio yesterday.  She is from Santa Isabel, which is 2 hours south of here.  I can't wait to visit, I'm sure I will have much to say, as she has told me much to make my imagination run and mouth water.

A Few of the Daughters

As for future adventures, this week we only have 2 days of classes and then a 5 day weekend because it is a national holiday.  Wednesday is the "Day of the Dead."  The best part of this so far has been the Colada Morada.  Purple thick fruit drink that is delicious, traditionally served with "pan de guagua."  Which is another term for Baby bread, as you can tell because of the human like resemblance of the load of bread, no?  I love the stuff, but they only make it for one week out of the year.  Ah well, you can't have everything you want.

Thursday is the founding of...Ecuador? is it the founding of Cuenca?  I think Cuenca, though I'm not sure.  And then Friday is another holiday though I can't remember why...oops.  Anyway, some students have invited me out to go dancing with them tomorrow night and during the day a few students and other WT vols. are going with me to check out Biblian.  And that is only Wednesay.  There are 5 days of exploring ahead.  Maybe we'll find a hoarcrux along the way?

Oh yeah, I almost forgot.  I went to a cockfight with Teresa's dad.  Well, you can judge for yourself.