Tech Week Prep and Family Lessons

We have completed 4 weeks of training in the small(ish) town of Tumbaco. We have taken more classes, sat through more sessions, and completed more assignments in preparation for our service which will officially begin April 4^th. On that date we will be sent to our sites around the country. At this point our future sites are a mystery to all of us. The Peace Corps has done a great job of keeping us in the dark on many things and this is yet another example. However, many volunteers that are currently serving have come during our training and hinted they know our perspective locations.

The PC takes into consideration many things when placing a volunteer in particular sites including: skill set, adaptability, desire of the site for a certain type of volunteer, compatibility of medical needs, and overall volunteer suitability. There are three regions in the Ecuador. The Coast is very hot and the people are more laid back. The Sierra is the mountainous region high in the Andes and the region that we currently live in. I love the climate here. It is cool bordering on cold in the mornings and reaches a nice 70 degrees in the afternoon. The views are also incredible. The last region is the Oriente. This is the Amazon rainforest. As you can imagine it is very hot, humid, and rainy. They say that mold is a constant problem in this region. I would love to visit both the rainforest and the coast. That being said, I hope that I will be placed high in the mountains somewhere. I do realize that this may not be a possibility but I would be elated to live in a similar climate to the one we live in now.

Next week will are dividing into smaller groups and headed out to do some observation of high schools and their teachers around the country. We will be gone for the entire week and will stay in hotels as we see what the country has to offer. Each time I feel somewhat accustomed to my living situation it changes, at least temporarily. It seems that the Peace Corps realizes the necessity to continually push us out of our comfort zone. I know the cities that I will be visiting and after I showed them to my host mother I was informed that this trip should be magnificent and full of scenery. I am excited to get out and explore the country. Another objective for us on this trip is for us to give a lecture to the teachers at the “School of the Millennium”. This is to hopefully make us more comfortable teaching educators and to make us less intimidated. The “School of the Millenium” is a school that was created by the Ministry of Education to show off the best and the brightest of what Ecuador has to offer. While we do not work directly for the Ministry of Education, we will work very closely with them. For better or worse, the TEFL program is the area of the Peace Corps that works closest with the government here in Ecuador. I am beginning to think that maybe this lecture and trip to the “School of the Millennium” is less for us to see what Ecuador has and maybe more to show off some Gringos that they have working for them. Either way I am excited to see what happens.

 I will end this post with one quick story about my host family. I will say that they have been great to me if not a bit overprotective. I was immediately taken in as one of their own and it has been great. With that said, late last night I was awoken up by my ten year old host sister asking for help on her English homework. I told her to bring it to my room and I would help. Turns out, she fully neglected her project until the night before it was due. I stayed up with her and we cut, pasted, translated, and wrote late into the night. She was grateful for the help I gave her and I bet her project will knock her teacher’s socks off. I was initially upset about having to get up and help. I was exhausted from a long day of training and Ultimate. However, I quickly reminded myself of two truths that I was neglecting. First, I was taken in by this family and thus, it was my duty to do my share. This meant getting up just as an older brother would to help a younger sibling. Next, and most importantly, this is exactly what I signed up for. Help others that want the help. It was always difficult to find students that wanted help in the States and now I finally see the opportunity ahead of me. Seizing the opportunity in front of me.