A suprising saturday

So saturday was set out to be a great day as we were going to otavalo which is the famous ecuadorian market. We got up around 8, had breakfast, and were off around 9. It took around two hours to get there, during which time we all talked about the week we had in the schools and up coming events. Once there we winded through a small city and got to the center of it. The center of the city is where the markets are held, and you could walk for 20 minutes from one side to the other and still not be at the end, it was awesome. I can't tell you all the stuff that i got as most are suprises and presents, but i can tell you what i got myself. I got myself a panama hat (which actually orginates from ecuador unsually enough, not panama), if you dont know what it looks like here it is.



Hopefully i look a little younger in the hat. I also got an alpaca poncho whic is super comfortable. There were so many alpaca items as this is there major animal that the sheer the wool off of. And man is all the stuff so warm and comfortable. I also got some blankets made from alpaca. I have to say though that the best part of getting these items was bardering for them. I love the feeling off trying to get something for a lower price, thats probably the winnipeger coming out in me.

After that we headed to a leather market where all the guys got a new nice walet for cheap, and the girls spent a little more money. Most of them got some or all of the following items: leather jacket, hand bag, wallet, boots, and shoes. Suffice to say the girls were happy, and broke. While the the girls were shopping the guys did the appropriate thing, found the closest pub and had a couple beers.

After this we were on our way home. About an hour into the way home our van driver who we have known since we arrived had a suprise for us. He stopped waht looked like in the middle of no where. But where we actually stopped was the middle of the world, i am not even joking. He showed us the jps and it said, 00, 00, 00. It was amazing!!!!!!! There was a large world sculpture as well as the line passing through it. One of the coolest things about the line was, if you tried to walk directly on the line with your eyes close it is virtually impossible to walk in a straight line because gravity is pulling you in two different directions. I was sceptacle at first but i could not do it, and neither could any one else, beers or not. By the time we got back into the van and went home we were so excited that we sang most of the way home, can't sy what becuase i still have my pride.

Sunday was lesson planning and relaxing before a long week. I will blog again at the end of the week detailing my second week in the schools.

Until next time, chow
Andrew

Pictures from the fish supper

First week of teaching

Alright, so to start off i have to say this week was very tough as the language barrier got in the way many off times, and there were a couple of times i didn't know if i was going to be able to help these kids. But by the end of the week every thing was great and the kids had really taken to us. By the end the teachers believed in us fully, but i will talk about that in the end.

So monday was the hardest as we thougt it would be. For the first 6 classes we sat at the back of the room, doing nothing understanding nothing and, really the kids seemed to just laugh at us the whole time. The last two classes of the day were english, and this made the whole day worth it. I have to say i may have never seen a better teacher then the english teacher at our school. The very first day she let us introduce our selves, and then got all the kids in the class to introduce themselves to us. It was great as we finally got to see the class speak english, and in the most part they were pretty good. We then taught them action adjetives ending all in ``ing``. We basically got to teach the whole hour and a half, it was great and saved the day for me and dana my partner at the school.

Tuesday got better as we started the day of with enrique at the school. So right before school starts he brought the whole school outside and us with him. He then made a very long speech in spanish in whihc we did not understand one word, but in the end the whole school gave a very large round of applause for us. We then learned from the english teacher that he had said that he brought the best teachers from Canada to your school just to help teach you. So as great as that was, it put a little bit of pressure on us. We then went and showed him that he was right. We took control of two hours of english class, where they had to read a paragraph about the simpsons in english. If they did not understand a word they wouyld ask us. So it was great as we got to work with the class as a whole and as individuals.

Wednesday was an interesting day as we were told we were going to a soccer competition, so we were quite excited. It didn`t start off so well though. We were told to meet some teachers outside which we did, and the all of a sudden we were told to get on a bus. On of the only things we were told not to do in quito was get on a bus as they have no specific routes and it is where a lot of pick pockets do there work. Luckily we were fine, but it was one of the longest 40 minutes on this trip up to this point. When we got to the park it was amazing as there were 6 fields beside each other. Our schools girls team played two games in the morning. They won one and lost one, but i have to say those girls know how to play. The boys played next and they also won one and lost one. And wow can they play futbol. It was amazing to see the foot work of grade 12 boys. So that was a really cool day.

Thursady was a pretty relaxed day. The teachers at this point had really opened up to us and really wanted us to help. So we helped out in math, took over phys. ed as this was the first day that they had it, and also took over english again. It was not only the teachers that had warmed up to us by this point as the kids would try to talk to us at any point, and at the end of the day every single student said ``goodbye`` to us in english which felt awesome. At the end of the day just as we were leaving the priniciple told us that they had a tachers meeting tommorow and that me dana, justin and sara (who were at another school but came for friday) were to teach the whole school from 10 to 12. The day ended at 12 becuase it was an election day. So we went back to the hotel where we lesson planed for quite a long time. we found out that the other two  schools had the same thing happen, so we all worked together and came up with some great ideas.

So friday morning from 7 to 10 was pretty normal, helped out in math and geography. from 10-1030 was lunch and then the work started. Each of the 4 of us walked into a class room by oursleves and started to teach. What we did first was read and make sense of a story, but not any story, a Dr. Seuss story. It was one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish. The kids really seemed to love it. So i read it to them, then they wrote it down and asked what words they did not know. They went on for 45 min, and thats where we stoped for that. We then went outside with the whole school. We then went on to teach them, wwaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiitttttttttttttt ffffffffffffffffoooooooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittttttttttttttt, the BOOT SCOOT AND BOOGIE. Thats right we got 100 quito students to do the boot scoot and boogie. It was hard to teach that many at once but by the end, most of them got it and it was awesome. I couldn`t think of a better way to end the week. And at this point i can`t wait for next week.

My next post shoould be soon and will be about my weekend. It will be a shorter one as this weekend was little quieter.

Until then, Buenos Dias
Andrew

Making Lunch on Sunday

So as i stated before we were going to one of the school's principle house. We were going there to have lunch for a while and then go back to the hotel for a relaxing night of lesson planning. So we got into the van and it took about an hour to get to there house which was on one of the nicest hills ever (my camera was not there but i will try to get pictures). So we get out of the van say buenos tardas which is good afternoon. They then ask us if we are ready for lunch. Now remember Enricque is with us, so we were expecting anything, and thats exactly what happened. Once we said yes we are ready they led us down the hill to a little pond about 8 feet by 8 feet. There was about 10 fish in it, just enough for each one of us. This is where we knew something was up. Our job was to into the pond which was about 3 feet deep, and catch the fish with our hands and a small bucket. They gave us some tips, such as cornering all of them, then scooping the bucket as fast as possible. And guess what, we caught nine fish, one eluded us for ever so it deserved to saty. Justin, one of the people caught two with his bare hands. I caught one myself, and it felt awesome.

So we give the fish to the principle and think our job is done. Not even close. We then proceed to scale, gut and spice our own fish as we want on a huge outdoor counter top. At this point we then proceed to put the fish in a 4 foot tall stone bbq, that smoked like no tommorow. The fish tasted like you could not believe, i would have say better then the river fish, just cause we made it ourselves. We also had baked potatoes from the bbq, choped vegtable and cooked corn from the bbq. I ate so much that day. So when we finally finished eating, we got back into the van and went home very happy.

We did get some lesson planning don't worry. I will post about my teaching week come sometime on friday or saturday. As our days are pretty busy. Our wake up call is 5:45, breakfast at 6:15, and van leaves at 6:30. School starts at 7, and ends at 3. We then debreif and have supper around 7. We finally finish that, and get back to our room sometime after 8. By that point a couple of lesson plans and its bed time.

So till next time
austa lawago 

The Basilica and supper on Saturday

So we got to sleep in a little on Saturday which means about 8 am. By 9 am we were off to the Basilica whch is the second major church after san fransisco, but the basilica is easily the largest in the city as it was built within the last 200 years. It sounds like i have been saying this a lot but words are hard to come by when i expalin how the exerience went. Pictures will be put up in the next day or so. So we entered the church as any other and saw a special mass as it is still the week of the saints. We then went up what seemed like 20 stories of stairs, and at 9,000 feet of elavation for the city, it was a little tiring. When we got up we ended up about two thirds of  the way up of the church. There was some spectacular views of the stained glass and the mass below us. There was also a little shop in which all of us bought something as there were so many intersting things. This is where things start to get good. There was then a wooden bridge over top of the churches internal arches which to say the least looked like it was 200 years old. Every step broght another sound of creeks and cracks. In the end we all got across safetly. From here there was three sets of metal laders that went basically straight up along the side of the towers. Not everyone went up but i did, stupid or brave your choice (I would like to say brave but probably stupid). Once up here you could see for miles and miles of quito and was so amazing. Camaras were hard to get up so not great pictures but i will try and upload some. From here we went back down and across the bridge again. We then traveled to the bell tower which was a little safer. The bells were tied together and they dont ring anymore to the city. Saying that i may have pulled a few levers and made them ring. Not the greatest idea as the whole tower shook and was a little scarey for a second, but all was good. After this we left which againg took many many many stairs.

When we left the church we went for lunch as the hike up the church took its toll on all of us. The food was great as i had spicy shrimp and heart palm, which is from palm trees and boiled into a slimy potatoish food. All i have to say was it was amazing.

After lunch we went walking around the old city which at every turn shows so much amazing architecture. We walked for probably two or three hours and looked in many shops and did make some purchases to bring home.

The last part of the day was supper where we went to the mouth of the wolf which is one of the nicer resteraunts in Quito. We had so much food and some many drinks that it is hard to explain. We startered off with six starters which we did not know what the food was, but i can say it was amazing. I then had pepered steak with some special sauce and mussles which again amazing. We all had many drinks that included beer, martinies of many fruits and flavors, and at one point we all had pina colada's which were to die for.

I am know off to a principles house of a school to have lunch. After this we plan to come home and lesson plan for tommorow. Saying this Enrique is going to be with us so who knows what will happen.

Until next time
Audios    

Some pictures of the church and purple people

Two days I will never forget

I will try to explain Friday and Saturday but words are going to be hard to do that. The past couple days we have been with the minister of education and he has been showing us around the schools we will be working at and he is kind of a big deal in Quito. He is unbelievable and full of many surprises. That was yesterday, by the end of the night I could not believe what I was seeing. The architecture and the sights are absolutely amazing. At one point as a group we decided that even a picture would not do justice to what our eyes were seeing, but I will get to that.

So yesterday we visited our last two schools that we will be working with during the month. After that we went to another school which was having an open house. That night they were having a dance competition so we were able to see they practicing their group dances. We may have even joined in one of them. Not going to lie, we were pretty good. After finishing dancing we were met by a reporter and he interviewed our group and asked about the program and our goals for the program. The school this was at was a vocational based school so they had textile classes and culinary classes. We were treated to an authentic Ecuadorian meal that included fish only found in the amazon river that was baked in a jungle leaf. It was easily the best fish I have ever tasted. This was great but the story begin when we went to the ballet, yes you read correctly the ballet.

So in the evening it was arranged by Enrique (minister of education). We met him at the ballet which was a traditional Ecuadorian performance. We saw some of the cultural dances of Quito and surrounding areas. Mid way through the performance everything went dark and all of a sudden a big spot light was shot on our group and we were welcomed to the ballet. Immediately after we heard a lot of music and commotion on the street and we were quickly rushed out to take in the spectacle. What we saw was a bunch of guys wearing purple robes that resembled those of the KKK. So I had many things jumping around in mind as to what this parade was actually about and at first it was quite peculiar but we quickly learned that it was a parade that was honoring the Saints of the area. Enrique then proceeded to run to the front of the parade and stopped it so we could watch from the beginning. This is just the start to our night. The name of the purple robed people are called chucaruchos, or something close to that. We followed the parade to the san fransisco church, which i will talk about more later.

Enrique starts guiding us through the streets of old town, (popular area that is recognized as an UNESCO world heritage site). He is on a mission, we are going up one street, down another until we arrive at a big wooden door with a little slit at about eye level. He proceeds to knock and you see two eyes look through the door. Enrique talks for a little while and the door opens. He then takes us to an elevator and we all go up to the fourth floor which is the roof. We walk out onto the roof and the lights of Quito are surrounding us. We are smack dab in the center Quito at night. We walk to the ledge and the Cathedral of San Fransisco (this is also part of our adventure later) is in front of us. This was the end location of the parade and we were watching the performances from roof top. I can not do justice with words to what I had seen but at that moment there were 10 of us on that roof top surrounded by lights, buildings, music and Quito seemed to be at our finger tips. Enrique is a man on a mission and you will be enjoying something as beautiful as this and then he will say let's go and he means let's go now. I would have liked to stay on that rooftop for awhile longer but the sights we see next far surpass the roof top. So we all enter the elevator and proceed back down to main level.

Enrique again goes off in hurry and we scrambling to catch him. It is very hard to move quickly in Old Town because of the roads being cobblestone and there are a few that are missing. Maintenance is not a priority in Quito so you really have to watch where you are walking. But we tried and eventually we came to a halt and we are looking at Enrique. He points behind us and turn to see another amazing view of the Quito. We see the Cathedral of San Fransisco again lit up in shear beauty and other prominent structures of Quito. We stop for a picture and in mid picture he says let's go. So we go.

We keep walking and we are now at a metal gate outside of the Cathedral of San Fransisco. Enrique again talks to the security guard he opens the gate for us. We proceed up the steps and the parade and performances are just winding down and people are now leaving the area. But not us. We keep walking and we see a LARGE door of the cathedral closing. Enrique quickly runs to the door and knocks on the metal gate in front of the door and a guy comes to the door. Enrique again talks to the guard and again the guard opens the large wooden door, and then the large metal gate and we proceed inside the Cathedral of San Fransisco. What we saw inside will never leave my mind. I have been to Europe and saw some pretty amazing cathedrals and castles but what we were looking rivaled any of that. Every inch of this wall was covered with either a painting or gold. There were statues looking down from every angle of the rooftop. This was the quietest our group has ever been because we were in such awe. No one could find words for what we were looking at. We had even contemplating not taking pictures and keeping this sight for our eyes. But we did (I don't have the actual but will post pictures that give you an idea of what we saw). Enrique proceeded to take us around the cathedral and every angle and every view was even more astonishing than the last. Like I said I would love to explain what we saw but I cannot do any justice to the sight. So here enjoy!!

This helps explain what I saw but in person it was unbelievable. Our whole night was full of surprises and each one was better and better. All we thought we were doing was going a ballet, at least that was all were told we were doing. Enrique is truly a man of mystery who truly loves his city and country. He was just as excited from the night by seeing our reactions. Through his very broken English he kept asking the group "are you happy?" He truly wanted us to experience Quito and that we did. We ended our night at Old Town in what looked like a hold in the wall. There was the ten of us and 8 locals and we were shoulder to shoulder. There were guitars and a lot of singing. It was the perfect end to our evening tour of Old Town.

We then proceeded home. Immediately we jumped in the elevator and were going to the roof. We went over to the balcony just in time to see the encore of the Miley Cyrus concert. She was playing in a soccer stadium directly beside our hotel. We could look directly inside and listen to the music.

This was truly a once in a lifetime experience and I could honestly say last night was equivalent to winning the lottery. We saw Quito from a perspective that most people never will get the opportunity to. The fact that the entire night was a mystery with surprise after surprise that trumped the previous. I would have been happy with seeing the ballet but the fact that we saw the parade which was halted for us and really saw a part of Ecuadorian culture, follow that with a nighttime rooftop view of Quito, and topping that with the Cathedral of San Fransisco is absolutely mind blowing. I thought day 1 was full of sights and experiences, day 2 was so good I could return home and be absolutely 100 percent happy with my experiences. There is a lot more on the way and I am so excited for what waits ahead. There are going to be many personal rewards on the way and starting Monday we will be working with the schools. So far everyone has been treating us like a celebrity and I feel very appreciated to be here.

Anyways back to Old Town to explore during the day,

As soon as I get the pictures I will post because I want you to see the parade and the our views.

Adios