No Shame: My Adventure in Ecuador: New Cycle & Mid-Service

I've gotten really bad about the whole "write once a week" thing...sorry about that. :-/ Either I've been really busy or not a lot has happened, so I haven't had much to write. I think it's a bit of both, so maybe more exciting things will happen for me to write about.

Anyway, 3 weeks ago, my second cycle at CEC started (Jan. 10). My schedule for this cycle is 9 am - 11 am as an on-call substitute (at the main building) and 2 pm - 4 pm teaching Intermediate 2 (at the new building, 3 blocks from my house). While there are drawbacks to this schedule, I've come to like it. Now I don't lay in bed all morning, and I'm done at a decent hour. I started with only 10 students in my class, and one switched this week due to scheduling conflicts, so I have only 9 students now. This makes grading extremely easy. It's also fun because the classroom atmosphere is a little bit more relaxed. I really like my students and enjoy being their teacher. :-) One of them drew this poster the other day for his song presentation, and then let me keep it afterward. Pretty awesome, no?

Last weekend was mid-service for WorldTeach. It's hard to believe I'm almost halfway through with my service here. (Technically, it was a little shy of midway for me, but this measure mid-service and end-of-service by the people who finish first.) Anyway, all 35 of us went to Mindo - about 2 hours from Quito, located in a cloud forest - for 48 hours to discuss our experiences so far and teaching techniques that we've used. It was nice to see everyone, but it was also overwhelming because there are so many. If you remember, we started with 41, but obviously some have now quit the program for various reasons. Mid-service definitely gave me some things to think about, though. Apparently there are quite a few people considering extending their service. I know it's too early to really think hard about it, but I'm certainly not closed off to the idea. We'll see how I feel around March/April.

For example, I'm really happy here right now. Ecuador is really relaxed, I have a group of friends (and am making more) and a boyfriend, and I feel comfortable living here. But there are also downsides, I know. After Carnaval and my birthday, I know there will be a stretch of a few months where I'm simply living and working here. It's possible then that I'll start getting really homesick. Also, I've been living with a false sense of security lately. I have yet to be robbed (I know it'll happen sometime), so it's not something I've worried about. However, our director was just robbed outside the CEC building this week while walking with her husband. So things to think about.

Anyway, that's about it for the big things lately. Went to the movies today with Emily Mader because we were both bored out of our minds. We ended up seeing The Immortals (in English, with Spanish subtitles.) It was one of the most ridiculous movies I've ever seen. So much fake blood, and crazy mythological story lines...I wouldn't recommend it unless you wanna laugh. I'm excited for next weekend - I'll either be traveling or watching the Superbowl. There's a bar here where you can watch football games because the owner is an ex-pat. Then the weekend after that, a coworker is having a Mexican food party, so that'll be lots of fun too. (For those of you who don't know, Ecuadorian food is not the same as Mexican food.) Finally, the weekend after that is Carnaval. I still don't know where I'll be for that, but you can be sure it'll be fun. :-)

Enough chatter. Time for pictures from mid-service.

Whole group photo