Mi Casa! from Natalie McCulloch on Vimeo.

Other things about my apartment...

I am attempting to get used to the city sounds of Latin America. I wake up most mornings to dogs barking, roosters crowing, and cars honking. The rooster that lives outside my window crows from about 4:30 am until it gets dark around 6:30 pm. It’s super annoying! This weekend at Otovalo someone tried to sell me artwork of a rooster… if only he had known how much I dislike them at this point. If I ever own a farm with sheep I vow never to have roosters. I’m disappointed with the lack of sheep here. They’re more about the cows, llamas, and alpacas.

I just found out today that Anita, the other university student living here, is moving out of our apartment on Wednesday because of an emergency with her sister. Her sister also lives in Quito. The sister is 4 months or so pregnant and is having problems with the baby. Both Anita and her sister are moving back to Esmeraldas, Ecuador. It is a beach city on the northwest side of Quito. She won’t be moving back to Quito until at least January.

I had a genius and bold idea to ask my American neighbor downstairs if I could use her wireless internet. Turns out she has her own wireless internet but doesn’t know the network key. Anyhow, last night I went downstairs and used her non-wireless internet. She told me she had decided to go out of town for three days. She suggested giving me her apartment key so I could use the internet while she was gone. I said that was very trusting of her but she didn’t mind because “I didn’t look like a robber.” So I’ll be on Skype for the next couple nights taking full advantage of this free internet time! I’d love to talk to everyone. I tell you a lot about me and my Ecuadorian adventures via this blog but I’d love to hear how you are doing also!

Right now I’m enjoying Grey’s Anatomy in English with Spanish subtitles! Next I’m going to watch Ellen on Linda’s TV!

Otavalo

This weekend I went to see Otovalo! Laura and I went with maybe 20 other teachers from the school. We took a private bus together that left early Saturday morning.


Stop 1: Cayambae for bizcochos and the original string cheese. Bizcochos are like un sweatened cookies. They're basically like dough and they're sold with caramel sauce. Good but not delish. The string cheese was also good with the bizcohos.

Corey (a UGA alum- notice the shirt) and Chris eating bizcochos.

Stop 2: Otavolo for the traditional artisian market. They sold things like scarves, rain sticks, hammocks, jewelry, fresh Ecuadorian foods and grains, alpaca products like blankets and scarves, other Ecuadorian trinkets!


Stop 3: Cotacachi for leather products. I was really on a mission to buy some boots here but they didn't have the style I wanted. For starters I wanted flats and most Ecuadorians always wear heels. So this was a quick and unsuccessful stop.

Stop 4: San Antonio de Ibarra for wood. They had beautiful handcrafted wood products there.

Stop 5: Laura and I planned ahead to have the bus drop us off in Otavolo because we wanted to see some more of the scenic things. Saturday when we were dropped off we picked the first hostel we saw and headed for dinner. Laura's good at getting me to try Ecuadorian foods. After dinner we went on a search for icecream! It was a long trip and we almost gave up but alas we found a heladeria and got shamefully big bowls of icecream! Even though it was only like 8pm at this point we were exhausted from the day. We headed back to the hostel room to play gin and plan Sunday.

Thought this picture was funny. It says "Hot Bread."
It made me think of the sign at Krispy Kreme.

Gosh Otavolo is loud! Sunday morning I was first woken up around 4:30 by people talking outside our room. After that, until I got up around 8, I heard roosters, dogs, cars, and someone blaring "Low" by T Pain!

We got up and had a delish breakfast at the restaurant under our hostel. We got coffee or hot chocolate, bread, marmalade, butter, and juice (like a smoothie) for $2 each. We ganabanna and mora juice. They are two fruits we don´t have in the United States.

After this we took an 18 cent bus ride up to Peguche where we walked/hiked to Cascada be Peguche. It was beautiful and I was glad we were able to see some scenery. And of course, we went back to shopping afterward!


The market in Otavalo was much less overwhelming on Sunday. We were able to just stroll around and bargain for the best prices. It was pretty interesting to bargain in Spanish. Monday I told my students about the trip and they were impressed I could bargain some in Spanish.

Laura and I took the public bus ride back to Quito which was about 1.5- 2 hours. It was a fun and successful weekend!

Swine Flu

Some of the students here had Swine Flu over the summer. Today, however, was the first confirmed case of swine flu at the school this year. And... how lovely that it is my class. Hopefully I will avoid getting sick! Ah....

Don't you wish you were in Ecuador?

Papallacta

We set out on Saturday from Quicentro Mall at 1:30pm. It was a group of 7 new international teachers from the school plus Laura and I. We were from 22 to 58 years old. I was impressed that we even had two guys in the group. I thought it was particularly amusing that the woman who organized the trip and fussed at us not to be late, was late herself. She came with a huge yummy brownie from Sweets & Coffee so I forgave her! My host mom doesn’t keep anything sweet in the house so I crave it. Well I take that back I think she has some two month old, stale, chocolate chip cookies.

We took a private bus which was pleasant but more expensive. We had to travel about an hour and a half southeast of Quito. The reason we got a private bus rather than a public bus is the road conditions. The public bus stops at the bumpy dirt road about 4 km away from the spa and resort, Tempas Papallacta. Your options at that point are to walk (uphill), hitch hike on a goat truck, or wait ages for the rare taxi. We were especially glad we had our private bus at this point because it was raining. I wasn’t at all disappointed in the weather though. It was so pleasant to be in the hot spring when it was chilly, drizzly, and foggy out. The only downside was we couldn’t see the stars.

Laura and I were very hesitant to stay at the resort in a cabin with the other teachers when we could have stayed at the one and only hostel there for much cheaper. This town of Papallacta is really in the middle of the mountains there is not much else for miles except cows, horses, and llamas. Staying in the cabin with everyone was very worth it! We had access to private hot springs pools right outside our cabin and the thermal baths owned by the resort. What we paid extra for the cabin we made up for by bringing our own food and resisting spa treatments. We lounged in the hot springs for hours and hours. The hot springs were different temperatures in different areas. I definitely got my moneys worth. I was a prune all weekend!

The group Saturday afternoon when we arrived.

Saturday night was very pleasant and relaxing! We all sat around in sweat pants, by the fire, playing gin, and drinking beers. We decided after being in Papallacta for a bit that we might like something to drink. We inquired at the front desk and were led to a dark store right outside the resort gates. The resort employee knocked on the door. The owner came to the door and turned on the lights and sold us some beer at 8 at night. They were HUGE beers for 1.25 a piece. It was quality bonding time with all the teachers.

The perfect weather Saturday evening.

We all swapped teaching stories which had me laughing so hard. Back in the 70’s Glenna (58) said they tied students between the file cabinet and the door as a punishment. Sometimes they’d tell the kids not to open the classroom door under any circumstance and they’d leave to walk around the block and eat M&M’s. It’s a whole different world now. Tamara told a story that sounded outrageous! One of her students returned from lunch and was telling Tamara that she found a hair in her snow cone at lunch. This made the little girl so nauseous she threw up right then and there. It caused a bad chain reaction and within 5 minutes 17 of her 22 students had thrown up. I sure hope that never happens in my room!!

Amanda (23) said that at Colegio Americano they don’t have specific standards teachers have to follow (like the Georgia Performance Standards). She thinks it’s every teachers dream to have this kind of freedom but she’s a bit flustered as a first year teacher who hasn’t worked in second grade before. She usually just finds out what to teach from the other teachers in her grade. Steve (30 something) said that before the book fair comes to his school he starts getting out old books students have given him and reminiscing about that “really great kid, Tommy” who gave him the book. All the kids then start thinking they want to be fondly remembered years from now by Steve and so they all buy him books for his classroom! I thought this was very strategic!

Sunday after waking up and soaking in the hot springs Amanda, Laura, and I went to hike the Fundación Terra trail. Round trip for about an hour it runs along a river! We got some great pictures during this excursion! I really appreciated this opportunity to get out of the city for two days!

The sun came out on Sunday morning!

Amanda and I playing in the hot springs!

Mail

So in case you’re really excited to send mail this is the best address. It’s the address at the school. I hear though that the post system in Ecuador is terrible and takes forever. I’m not sure where all the lost packages end up… Most people recommend that if I need to mail something I should send it with someone traveling back to the United States and mail it from there. But in case you want to send me some warmer clothes (just joking) here it is…

Colegio Americano

Manuel Beningo Cueva N80- 190 Urb. Carcelén

Quito, Ecuador

This is a picture of the school and the amazing view!

This is my classroom!

This week we’ve been teaching the 5th graders about the writing process. They’ve been working on stories about their summer vacations. In Puerto Lopez, Ecuador, humpback whales pass through the waters during their mating season. One of my students told me he was there during that time but didn’t see any “humping whales.” **Keep in mind that these students are learning English and they don’t really know the word for humpback whales.** I was trying so hard to keep a straight face when he said that. We’ve since added humpback whales to the World Wall!

Massive Update!

Sorry for the long absence. I finally have wireless internet at school. Facebook is blocked here at school so don't expect me to keep up with that much. Skype isn't working at school either... yet.

Last Tuesday when I went home with Laura we looked at the school schedule and made plans to take trips almost every other weekend! We’re very excited and I think she and I will get along very well. We spent a lot of time together this weekend. Friday we went to Crepes and Waffles with Laura M, another teacher on the international side, and her daughter Sophie. Sophie is in Laura’s class. Crepes and Waffles is delish! They have a big variety of foods but they are best known for their ice cream and waffle creations. After a while Laura M. took Sophie home. Then Corey, Stephanie, and Chris joined us at Crepes and Waffles. Corey and Stephanie did their student teaching at Colegio Americano through COST and loved it so much they signed two-year contracts and returned to teach here. After dinner/ desert we all went back to Corey and Stephanie’s apartment and got ready to go out. We went to Bungalow in La Mariscal, the tourist and night life district. This disco-tech is owned by an American and has lots of college flags there (Georgia, Florida, Michigan, etc). It was so fun! I expected it to be Salsa dancing and I was nervous about that but they played some American music and techno too.

I spent the night at Laura’s on Friday and Saturday we woke up and had our first bus experience. We were going to explore Old Town or the Historical District. The buses are so cheap ($.25 each way) but we had to change buses twice each way so it’s slightly confusing. On the way there I was trying to ask another passenger in Spanish which bus to get on next. He sort of ignored my attempt at Spanish and responded in English, thank goodness! His name was Esteban, or Steve. He was absolutely delighted that I asked him. He took Laura and I exactly to where we needed to be. He skipped his stop and went with us to Old Town and stayed with us for probably an hour and half showing us around. He was 71 and had lived in New York for 15 years at some point and really enjoyed speaking English with us and helping us out.


After Esteban left we followed the Old Town walking tour in the Lonely Planet book. We only made it about half way but we have plenty of time to go there again! We finished our adventure at the Basillica. We got there about 5 minutes after it closed and some other tourists arrived about 10 minutes after it closed while Laura and I were still sitting on the steps. There were two people from Laurenceville, Georgia, 5 Norwegians, and I English girl. We all hung around, talked for a while, and took pictures. Thank goodness we did! Someone came out of the Basilica and let us go inside during the service! I think moments like meeting Steve, happening upon some fellow Georgians, and randomly being let into a church service really make traveling so exciting!

If you're interested in school stuff....

The American School of Quito or Colegio Americano

The school has two sides; the larger national side and the smaller International side. The national side is primarily for Ecuadorians because they receive instruction in Spanish and English. The international side is primarily for shorter term residents in Ecuador like children whose parents work in an embassy here. On the International side they only have class in English. I’m fifth grade national. The other student teacher from Auburn is first grade international. There are far fewer students on the international side which results in smaller class size and more free, planning periods for teachers. Tuition for the national side is about $500 and the international side is $1000.

The school is pre-k through 12th grade. There were 25 new international hires this year. I talked to a teacher who just started at Americano about the pay and benefits. She is from Columbia but all international hires receive the same. They get great benefits and insurance. They are paid about $19,000/year. They are given a $2,000 settling allowance and $400 per month for rent. While $19,000 isn’t great by American standards the cost of living is lower here and that money will go further. I’ve also heard of several teachers doing online Masters programs while working here. The international contract is at least 2 years. Many of the international hires are from the United States and Canada. There are even a few older couples who have moved here together for two years as part of a ten year world circuit traveling spree.

The president of the Ministry of Education in Ecuador decided that every school in Ecuador needed to be on the same schedule and he staggered the beginning dates. Pre-k Monday, primary Tuesday, and Secondary on Wednesday. Because of the staggered start dates the bus schedule was very difficult for me to figure out. I can ride a professor’s bus to school from Eloy Alfaro or a student bus from Guanguiltagua (try saying that street name to a taxi driver). Apparently there was an announcement that Monday the buses would be coming 15 minutes earlier because pre-k was beginning. I either wasn’t present for that announcement or it was in Spanish and was completely over my head. Either way I missed the bus and had to take a taxi. By that time I was late to school. Tuesday I tried again and took the wrong bus. I was looking for the number 4. I accidently took the number 4 bus to Colegio Aleman instead of Colegio Americano. It was a very embarrassing mistake. When I got there and discovered it was not a bilingual school, I did my best to speak in Spanish. I had to take a $10 taxi ride to Americano and was late on the first official day with students. Great….It was mainly my fault but I was frustrated that no one at the school ever made an effort to make sure I was informed and knew which bus to take. It turns out that there are a lot of new, international teachers that live near me and didn’t know when or where to be for the bus either. I think I have it under control now. I can ride a bus home at 2:45 or 4:00 depending on my work load.

The first few days of school were good. Michelle, my mentor teacher, really involved me in everything. I’m so glad I am here at the beginning of the year so I can establish myself with the students. The first two days we focused on rules, regulations, expectations, and getting to know one another. Because they are in fifth grade their English is pretty good but they tend to speak Spanish to one another. It’s one of the class rules that they must speak English so Michelle and I constantly remind them. If they don’t know the word in English we’ve encouraged them to describe it or draw it for us or a classmate. In the first week I had students asking about chicken coops, humpback whales, trampolines, barbed wire, and shish ka bobs. It’s highly entertaining and it’s kind of like a game. Michelle also encourages the students to use dictionaries and thesauruses. However, I don’t think they know how to use them correctly.

The school is much more similar to an American school than I expected. This year in 5th grade they are starting to use Writers Workshop, word walls, and modeling methods for students! I’m really excited about Writers Workshop since I just took a whole class on it! I wish I had my textbook here. I think that would be one of the most difficult things about moving here. It’s not really feasible to ship all your supplies and books so the new teachers are basically starting from scratch!

There is a school director, Susan Williams. Each side (national and international) also has their own principal. Deirdre is the national side’s principal. She is very involved, very helpful, and communicates well with the teachers. Wednesday mornings the students don’t arrive until 9:15 (it’s usually 7:30) and Deirdre runs professional development on those days from 8:00-9:00am. She has been the only one to check on me since I've been here and make sure that everything is going well for me.

Quito Pictures

These picture are of my apartment building (which is the orange and white one at the top of Parke Chile) and the view from my room and the rooftop! More to come hopefully!

Ah Octopus!!

So right after I updated last Isabel, my host mom, and I went to her friends house for lunch (which lasted all afternoon). People here really take time to enjoy and converse with friends over meals... except at school where the students are given 15 minutes to eat. Anyhow, when we got to her friends house I immediately tried to scope out what we were eating. It looked like potatoes so I thought I was safe! Turns out it was octopus or pulpo. I´m so picky but I´m doing my best to try things. Plus it was the only thing they were serving at the time so I didn´t have a choice. I ate it and it actually was not that bad.... IF I didn´t think about what it was. I made the mistake of asking how octopus is cooked. I meant like boiled or what? Well the father proceeds to tell me you have to cut off the head because it has all the organs in it and then you have to take the teeth out of the suction cups. I was so sorry I asked!! After this they served more seafoods with rice (shrimp, squid, and something unidentifiable that they didn´t know the English word for). That experience was very educational. After lunch we played Bingo in Spanish! It was great because I got to work on my Spanish numbers, although I lost more than the $2 I made at the slots.

I´ve also tried Ovillas. My host mom made jello filled with this fruit. It´s orange, about the size of a grape, and very tart. It tasted good I just didn´t like the seeds. Also they have Duo Oreos here. I don´t know if these are new everywhere or we just don´t have then in the states. They have one vanilla and one chocolate cookie and the icing is also half and half (but not double stuffed).

I went to the grocery store with Isabel and I noticed that everything comes in smaller portions and no one here really eats Peanut Butter (except me)! They don´t refrigerate eggs ever or the boxed milk until it´s opened. If you´ve lived with me you probably know how crazy i am about refrigerating everything! When we got home from the store we ate lunch for an hour before she put any of the groceries away. I kept asking if she wanted me to help put the groceries away. haha. Tonight Isabel and i are having some kind of traditional Ecuadorian soup. We always eat dinner together- well I eat and she talks. haha. She´s very very outgoing. Usually around this time is when she helps me with my Spanish. I write things down during the day and she translates them and teaches me more. She´s very helpful.

My apartment is small and sort of modern.It´s great because of the view and it´s within walking distance (kind of) of the mall, SuperMaxi (like Walmart. I know the name is strange), and lots else. Yesterday I rode home on the bus with another COST student from Alabama. Her name is Laura. Her host family´s house is gorgeous. It's like all white with huge wodden doors and beams in the ceilings. She has a huge room with a desk and chair, and her own bathroom. She´s also got 2 host brothers and a host sister. It makes me a little jealous but there are pros and cons to both places. Laura and I plan to travel whenever possible during our time here!

Hi everyone,

I made it here Thursday night. My plane was about an hour and a half late so I felt bad for my host mom waiting at the airport. When I arrived I learned I´m living with Isabel, she´s about 50, and another university student Anita. Anita is from Esmeraldas, Ecuador. She speaks very little English. Anita and I have our own bedrooms but we share a bathroom. The apartment is very nice and view is great! Hopefully I´ll get some picture up soon but I have a great view from my room. The roof of the building also has nice views, exercise equipment, and sun!! I just wish I had internet at home so I could be in contact with you all more. Right now I´m using the internet in the mall. There is a lot within walking distance from the apartment. The city is beauitful but very hilly because it´s surrounded by mountains. So walking around is a great work out. It´s been kinda tough thought because I am not adjusted to the dramically different altitude here.

Friday I went to see Colegio American where I´ll be teaching. I rode the bus to school with all the teacher! The school is very interesting. The classrooms are indoors but everything else is outdoors. There are no hallways. It´s pretty chilly here. I didn´t expect it to be quite so cold. The sun is strong though because we´re practically at the equator. My mentor teacher, Michele, is great. She speaks great English. She is Ecuadorian but did high school and college (NYU) in the States. The children won´t start school until Tuesday! I´m excited to meet my fifth graders then! I already met lots of internationals working at the school. The school has two parts: National and International. On the international side they only learn in English. This is primarily for embassy and diplomat children living in Quito for only couple years. The National side is primarily for Ecuadorians because they also receive spanish instruction. This is important for Ecuadorians because if they do not learn in Spanish during primary and secondary school they will have problems at university.

Also since I´ve been here I went to Hotel Quito. I took picture of the city at night from the top floor then Isabel and I played the slot machines. I won $2!! This cute, old, Ecuadorian man was trying to help me learn how to play. He kept pointing because I couldn´t understanding anything he was saying! He always got excited for me when I won though! Since you can´t smoke indoors in Georgia I´ve forgotten how gross that is! People smoke a lot here, especially in that casino.

My host mom is trying to help me learn Spanish. Being at the school on Friday was overwhelming. Everything there is done in Spanish and English though for the teachers. Everyone talks too fast for me to understand but I´m doing my best. Isabel and I watched Sex and the City in Spanish last night. That was pretty entertaining. Oh also yesterday was the Ecuador vs. Columbia futbol match. It was a big deal here! Everyone was at the grocery stores sporting their yellow jerseys then when it was match time there was no in the streets. Everyone was inside watching the game. Sadly, Ecuador lost. Apparently both teams are yellow and red and I was cheering for the wrong team for a little while. Jeez.

Well I´ll be trying to find a better place to get internet and I´ll be in touch!