So I am nearing the end of my first week of orientation. i apologise for my brevity but i am at an internet cafe as our network at the center is down. facebook won´t let me login, but in about 2 weeks i should have more regular internet on a daily basis. i will be getting my computer down here sept 17th so will be more in contact with the other world then!
Today we had our first teaching lesson and tomorrow we will be students to be teachers all day. it´s a bit overwhelming, but a good, practical foundation.
yesterday we were able to play with the kids for a bit and it was so much fun! its like playing with my awesome nieces and nephews. the kids love the gringos and want us to swing them around and all sorts of things. it was kinda exhausting as we are all still gettting used to the altitude, but i felt pretty good running around. today i am a bit sore from 3 children hanging on my neck at once, but that will pass!
well, tengo que estudiar mi espanol! yo se que los ninos van a ser los muestras mejores!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Hola de Quito!
18 days ago I was busy getting ready for this, and now I'm here! I got in last night around 11pm, made I through customs and immigration(they didn't reject me yet!) and was picked up by madre Cindy! Being that I got in so late, I was given a quick tour, shown where the drink water is(still unsure about it lol), unpacked some stuff since I was on a bit of an adrenaline rush, and crawled into my new bed. My accommodations are pretty generous. The center is much bigger than I expected, there's a tv and tons of movies, and there's even wifi for Petes sake!
I am also the only one to come without a laptop or iPad. So even though there is a computer to use for Internet, I'm blogging from my iPod, so I apologize if this entry is all over the place and is more a train of thought than anything logical or well organized as I usually try to do. Ah well, my faithful readers will appreciate my efforts!
This morning I woke up around 7am to use the bathroom-- which I have my own--and I stuck my head out from the curtains. Talk about a room with a view! Not only are the Andes before my eyes, feet away, there's an active volcano up in the peaks! I had no words as I made my first encounter with daytime Quito and can't wait to get to know his place better!
The late morning and early afternoon was spent getting to know some of the voluteers, who are from Washington state to LA to florida to jersey! Everyone seems nice, but this is a total flashback to freshman year of college: small talk, feeling people out, and apples to apples. Ah well, I'm sure it will be fine As the days progress. We are all in he same boat and know no one in he city! We spent the rest of the day exploring the colonial center and later went to a cafe in the bar area of the city, which I learned later From madre city that we were not allowed to go at night anymore nbecause some of he volunteers had problems there last year. Luckily we have a few experienced grigos in the group to find a watering hole!
Anywho, day one went well and perhaps I'll do a deeper blog as I get a better feel for my situation and the people around me. Don't want to prejudge!
18 days ago I was busy getting ready for this, and now I'm here! I got in last night around 11pm, made I through customs and immigration(they didn't reject me yet!) and was picked up by madre Cindy! Being that I got in so late, I was given a quick tour, shown where the drink water is(still unsure about it lol), unpacked some stuff since I was on a bit of an adrenaline rush, and crawled into my new bed. My accommodations are pretty generous. The center is much bigger than I expected, there's a tv and tons of movies, and there's even wifi for Petes sake!
I am also the only one to come without a laptop or iPad. So even though there is a computer to use for Internet, I'm blogging from my iPod, so I apologize if this entry is all over the place and is more a train of thought than anything logical or well organized as I usually try to do. Ah well, my faithful readers will appreciate my efforts!
This morning I woke up around 7am to use the bathroom-- which I have my own--and I stuck my head out from the curtains. Talk about a room with a view! Not only are the Andes before my eyes, feet away, there's an active volcano up in the peaks! I had no words as I made my first encounter with daytime Quito and can't wait to get to know his place better!
The late morning and early afternoon was spent getting to know some of the voluteers, who are from Washington state to LA to florida to jersey! Everyone seems nice, but this is a total flashback to freshman year of college: small talk, feeling people out, and apples to apples. Ah well, I'm sure it will be fine As the days progress. We are all in he same boat and know no one in he city! We spent the rest of the day exploring the colonial center and later went to a cafe in the bar area of the city, which I learned later From madre city that we were not allowed to go at night anymore nbecause some of he volunteers had problems there last year. Luckily we have a few experienced grigos in the group to find a watering hole!
Anywho, day one went well and perhaps I'll do a deeper blog as I get a better feel for my situation and the people around me. Don't want to prejudge!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
17 days!
Well, it's August. This month seemed so far away in April when I left DC, but as I rightfully suspected, it has snuck up on me as another Buffalo-DC-Spain--err, whereever I was this summer has flow by.
August: time to get down to the dirty, cram any Spanish I can in my head, get to all my doctor's appointments and get my shots in, stock up on enough vitamins and iodine tablets to keep my body and water health for at least a few months, FINALLY have my graduation party, train a new puppy, work, babysit, see the occasional friend, get a few pairs of jeans and some basic clothing, become extremely anxious, freak out at people, cry, freak out again, scream something about hating the States while drunkenly throwing my blackberry at a wall (xxoo gabs and becca!), get it all out, and get on an 8 hr flight to Quito anyway....you see why I might be kinda crazed in the next 17 days?
17 days. WOW. In 17 days I will be so far from DC, so far from Buffalo, so far from the States I won't know what to do with myself. I'm picturing myself in my new situation: I'll be anxious and nervous I'm offending someone; I'll stumble through sentences in Spanish and hope that someone understands me, I'll feel guilty about having any excessive comforts: vitamins, iodine supplements, clif bars, cipero (all are really for my own good if you know my insides!) But to have these things so convenient to me while I serve people who don't even consider any of these things necessary is strange to me. Does that make sense? Let's not talk about my Ipod which may or may not be coming down with Forrest Gump and/or Muppets Christmas Carol (favorite movies...ever!). Maybe I'll come to terms with this huge wealthy discrepancy, but I really don't think I will. I've been told to accept it, and love anyway. 'This is what I know and that is what they know' kinda deal. I hope I have that strength somewhere inside. But in this case, "A woman is like a tea bag. You never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water." Eleanor knew all about hot water: war, economic depression, having a lying/cheating husband with a chronic illness, and wearing a smile through it all? Now there's conviction, passion, and a love for something bigger than herself.
So that's where I am right now. I have butterflies and complete confidence; ignorance and openness. We'll see where my unsettled mind and heart are as time progresses. As the great George Michael one said, "I gotta have faith, faith, faith."
August: time to get down to the dirty, cram any Spanish I can in my head, get to all my doctor's appointments and get my shots in, stock up on enough vitamins and iodine tablets to keep my body and water health for at least a few months, FINALLY have my graduation party, train a new puppy, work, babysit, see the occasional friend, get a few pairs of jeans and some basic clothing, become extremely anxious, freak out at people, cry, freak out again, scream something about hating the States while drunkenly throwing my blackberry at a wall (xxoo gabs and becca!), get it all out, and get on an 8 hr flight to Quito anyway....you see why I might be kinda crazed in the next 17 days?
17 days. WOW. In 17 days I will be so far from DC, so far from Buffalo, so far from the States I won't know what to do with myself. I'm picturing myself in my new situation: I'll be anxious and nervous I'm offending someone; I'll stumble through sentences in Spanish and hope that someone understands me, I'll feel guilty about having any excessive comforts: vitamins, iodine supplements, clif bars, cipero (all are really for my own good if you know my insides!) But to have these things so convenient to me while I serve people who don't even consider any of these things necessary is strange to me. Does that make sense? Let's not talk about my Ipod which may or may not be coming down with Forrest Gump and/or Muppets Christmas Carol (favorite movies...ever!). Maybe I'll come to terms with this huge wealthy discrepancy, but I really don't think I will. I've been told to accept it, and love anyway. 'This is what I know and that is what they know' kinda deal. I hope I have that strength somewhere inside. But in this case, "A woman is like a tea bag. You never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water." Eleanor knew all about hot water: war, economic depression, having a lying/cheating husband with a chronic illness, and wearing a smile through it all? Now there's conviction, passion, and a love for something bigger than herself.
So that's where I am right now. I have butterflies and complete confidence; ignorance and openness. We'll see where my unsettled mind and heart are as time progresses. As the great George Michael one said, "I gotta have faith, faith, faith."
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