Latacunga: Home for the next two years

I have just returned from a 7 day trip to my site here in Ecuador. I have been assigned to live in the city of Latacunga. This is a city about two hours South Quito in the province of Cotopaxi. I was elated when I received the news that I would be living there. I will return permanently on April 6^th after officially swearing in as a Peace Corps Volunteer and live at my site for the remaining 2 years of service. The city is high in the mountains and chilly. It is wild to think that I am living on the equator but I have to wear a jacket every day. I was certainly not expecting this. From my site on a clear day it is possible to see Cotopaxi, the world’s highest active volcano that I plan on climbing during two year stint. After exploring the city a bit this past week I am excited to live in Latacunga. The town is largely Mestizo but has a small population of indigenous people that speak an entirely different language. The town square is very old and is a remnant of the Spanish colonial period just as much of the highlands of Ecuador are.

 

I will give a bit of an overview of my week long adventure into new territory.

Monday: Each volunteer has an official national counterpart. The counterparts came from all over the country in order to meet and escort all of the volunteers in my training group to our respective sites. The Ecuadorian counterpart will work with the volunteer throughout their service. The head of the English department of my future high school came to meet me. All of the volunteers and their counterparts went through a day of training in order to inform the counterparts of all the absolutes of our jobs and logistics for the site visit that we were about to embark upon. Most of the twenty-four volunteers in my training group were going to sites in the South of Ecuador. This is a two day trip by bus. I was very happy to hear that I would only have to travel approximately 2 hours by bus to reach my new home. After the day of training I was informed by the PC that I would be leaving immediately after five o’clock. Luckily I had been informed this might happen and threw a bag together the night before. This was great for me because I would have an extra day in my site while others in my group wouldn’t arrive in their site until two days later after severe “bus-lag”.

I arrived in Latacunga around eight and at that point my counterpart decided to call my new host family to make them aware that I would be arriving that evening. My host father asked us to wait an hour before arriving. My counterpart and I walked around downtown for a bit before leaving to meet my new host dad. I arrived at his apartment not knowing what to think. I was escorted up three flights of stairs to my new home. My host dad greeted me politely and showed me around the apartment. It is a spacious apartment with two decent sized rooms, two small office-like rooms, a kitchen, and a large living room. He and I spoke about logistics of me living there and some basic need-to-know facts about the place. We spoke for about an hour and a half and he was very cordial. He told me that since I now lived with him everything in the house was mine. I was welcome to anything of his. I tried to explain that this was not at all normal to me but he insisted. Also, he would not accept any payment of rent for the week that I would be there. He insisted that I would not pay for a simple visit. He did, however, accept the fact that I would pay rent once I officially move there in April. I thanked him, said goodnight and was off to bed because the following days were going be full of new experiences. 

My "stove-top" and oven...

Tuesday: On this day I was set to visit the upper level part of the high school which consist of 10^th 11^th and 12^th grade students. They refer to this period as “Bachilerato”. This is where the administration of this large school is situated. The English department and the administration had planned a welcome party for their new volunteer. All of the English teachers took turns telling me (in broken English) how they were happy to have me there in their school and how they were looking forward to me working with them. It felt somewhat rigid and rehearsed but I will take praise whenever I can get it! After all the thanks were given the administration of the school (Rector, vice Rector, and Inspector which equates to Principle, vice Principle, and a person that is the police of the teachers and students) was given a translation of what the teachers said. They also thanked me for coming and welcomed me very warmly. 

Mural on the school

Shortly thereafter, the bottle of champagne was opened. I had been warned that drinking in school is a common occurrence. The vice Rector proposed a toast and we drank our small cup of sparkling beverage. I was then whisked away on a hasty tour of that campus of the high school. It is a technical high school that’s focus is to produce students of electricity, auto-mechanics, and  industrial mechanics. I was introduced to all of the teachers and quickly a group of administrators and teachers alike formed a wake behind me as I enjoyed the tour. I even got to run a machine!  At this point a volunteer is at the bachilerato part of the school and she later told me that she had never met some of the individuals of the school that I met on my first day. This is probably simply due to the fact that I have an extra Y chromosome. Gender equity is not on the radar here. It might also have been due to the fact that the vice Rector took a liking to me very quickly. Regardless, the tour went very well. One thought on culture from this day was that Ecuadorians are very open with their beliefs. One of the first questions that the vice Rector asked was about my religious affiliation. I answered honestly and felt good that I did despite the fact that he was not very satisfied with my non-Catholicism. Separation of Church and State a recognized.

Wednesday: This day was the day that I would meet the teachers that I would work with on a daily basis. I went to the campus of the school that consists of 7^th-9^th graders. I was once again warmly greeted by the teachers and given food as usual. On this day, however, there was no champagne. I sat down with the four teachers and we talked about my role in the school. I wanted to communicate to them that I was not in any way an employee of the school nor was I accountable to the administration. I am simply at the school to educate the teachers. After our talk I went to observe a few of their classes. 

View from inside the courtyard

Short point about the meeting, classes were going on during that hour and a half, they just did not have teachers due to my meeting. This is not uncommon whatsoever. Many times I walk by classrooms and see 45 kids and no teacher. This seems ridiculous to the American reader but it really is just part of the culture. Oddly enough, the kids do fine without a teacher. This might be because there is an “Inspector” that will have a nice chat with them if they are caught misbehaving. 

I went to observe the classes and I would allow the teacher to introduce me and then I would further introduce myself. I did a Q&A in each class and it was very interesting to hear their questions. They ranged from the typical “Where are you from?” to, “Do you know Oprah?” Of course I answered yes to the latter. At one point in the day a person from the Ministry of Education came to observe me. This was a surprise to me. The MOE is the reason we are here in country. They requested volunteers and now here we are serving. She watched as I described Texas and my city in particular. She laughed as I explained that Amarillo is not thought of as a Spanish word but simply as the name of my city. After this class we sat down and discussed responsibilities of the job and how I might be able to work out my schedule. This is nice part of my job, I make my own schedule. If I see either a teacher or class that I do not want to work with, I do not have to. I have recorded all the schedules of my teachers and I am currently working on creating my personal schedule. This is nice little perk of the job. I finished out the day by observing a few more classes and asking questions of my teachers or professors as they are called here. 

Another rainy day in Latacunga

That evening I wanted to converse more with the man that I will live with. I mean, if I am going to live in the same house I might as well get to know him. He told me that he had a friend that he wanted me to meet. We walked several blocks and arrived at a nice house and rang the bell. A tall man came to the door and greeted me as a new friend. To make a long story short I found out that this man had friends and family in Austin Texas and would soon be traveling through my town. He shared stories of Amarillo and he knowledge of it with his family and my host dad. It was interesting to hear an Ecuadorians view of my city. The man then went on to tell me that he knew George Bush. I took this with a grain of salt. It turns out however that his brother that lives in Austin is actually very good friends with our 43^nd president. He had a gift in his house that was personally from the president himself. Who would have thought that my closest link to a living president would be in a foreign country? We spent the rest of the evening conversing over some traditional Ecuadorian dessert that is served in a large leaf. It reminded me of a tamale but sweeter. The man and his wife were good company and I now am supposed to play tennis with their son once I move here. I expressed interest in sports similar to racquetball and this ended in me expressing an interest in tennis.

Thursday: On Thursday I went to the high school to observe my new teachers as well as get a feel for the school. I observed three of my teachers on this day. The classrooms are long and rectangular. They are very noisy and crowded. The classes that I observed had between 40 and 50 students. This is going to be a major challenge for me. The teachers want strategies on how to teach such as large group at one time. I suppose I have some researching to do. To any of my teacher friends, if you have tips on how to teach such a large group, you have my ear. Half of the classes do not have electricity. They depend on the sun and open windows for light. The courtyards that the windows open to are always filled with students playing soccer or Equivolley, a sort of volleyball played with a firm ball and high net. The teachers try to teach only in English but it is difficult because most of the students understand very little English. Also, the teachers’ level of English is very low as well. This is my primary goal, to increase the teachers’ level of English and give strategies to teach English. 

At ten o’clock the Inspector surprised me and the English department with hamburgers and coffee. He and I had spoken about my city and how the Panhandle probably has more cows than people.  We all ate our hamburgers that were actually not too bad. He asked if I liked playing basketball, I responded that I enjoy it but I was not very good. He then informed me that we would play at 10:30. My stomach was full of hamburgers and coffee and now I was expected to the white Lebron James. Promptly at 10:30 classes were dismissed, as they frequently are, to watch the game. The Inspector handpicked the 5 boys that would play against the Inspector, me and a PE teacher. An English professor told me to wear sunscreen. I said ok, but didn’t. Playing outside at 9,000 feet has its drawbacks. I was exhausted after ten minutes and got a thoroughly sunburned face after the hour long game. I am happy to say that despite my shortcomings on the court, we won the game.

Right after the game

 That afternoon I observed my teachers as they taught their students. As in the States, classes in the afternoon are more difficult to teach. Students are more awake and thus more talkative. In each class that I observed I gave a short speech. I told them that I want to help them and that I would be there for two years to ensure they would have the available resources to learn English. However, I only help those that help themselves. I have no obligation to the school to be there. I am only accountable to the Peace Corps and if need be, I can change my schedule to find classes and teachers that want my help. I do believe I got my point across to most of the classes. It is always nice to switch from English to Spanish for the first time in front of people. They suddenly realize that you understand the jokes they are making as you walked in the door. 

Thursday made me realize the importance of my job and the complexities that I will face. All the teachers want me to work with them and also work in their classes. This simply will not be possible and I have to make some tough decisions over the next three weeks. I will have to let teachers know that I will not be there 24/7 and I have to make the best use of my time to benefit everyone. Also I began to realize that the administration wants to have a say in my schedule and my duties. I have no obligation to them, but if I do not make an effort to please them it will be very difficult to plan any sort of extra-curricular activities for the students or even for the teachers. I need their approval for just about everything I do outside of the classroom such as teacher trainings, workshops and conversation clubs. It is a very fine line that I will walk.

Friday: On Friday I went to speak to the head of the English area of both campuses. We spoke about my goals for the next two years. I wanted to see how well they matched up with her goals. I have a considerable about of say in my schedule and projects and I wanted to express this to her early on. She explained to me the perceived needs in her school and I empathized with her. After a few hours of conversation she asked if I would like to play table tennis with one of the male teachers. I, of course, responded I would and she quickly went to search for an opponent. It turned out that the warehouse that had the table was locked but I was promised that I would be able to play whenever I pleased when I arrived at site. I am looking forward to being called “Rey de Ping Pong”. 

When I left that campus of the high school I had plans to return to my campus. I told this to the head English professor before I left but it was not set in stone. I quickly found out how much they are worried about me. I decided to head home to work on a paper that I was writing. After an hour had passed I got a frantic phone call from the head English teacher wondering where I was. Apparently many phone calls had transpired about me and my whereabouts resulting in a cloud of worry. I informed them I was ok and would be at the school in a matter of minutes. This was an important set of events. Even though I feel the same independence that I had in the States, I am accountable to this school and my teachers. They culture is more community oriented and I need to realize that I am a part of that community. The idea of privacy and independence is certainly foreign to them. 

Saturday: I was invited by a member of the Ministry of Education to go to a massive crater lake called Quilatoa. This is a lake in the crater of a volcano that is probably a mile across and a mile and a half wide. It was high in the mountains, even higher than Latacunga. I was accompanied by another volunteer that lives in a city nearby. We traveled for 2 hours by car to get there. This drive is pleasant and windy. I had the realization as we passed through the mountain passes of the Andes. I had taught all about the Andes and South America when I worked for National Geographic but I really had no idea what this area was like. It was incredible to see the area that I taught about and realize the true immensity of it all. Teaching is one thing, but experiencing is quite another. 

About half way to the crater lake we were stopped for construction that was being done on the highway. This was not your typical stop. We sat there for about an hour as bulldozers and other heavy machinery cleared parts of the path we were about to pass through. One thought on this, OSHA does not exist in a developing country. We passed the time playing Spanish vocabulary games and taking snapshots of passing sheep herds. 

The lama wasn't very excited to have his photo taken with me

Once we were able to pass the construction we finished the extra 20 km of driving and arrived at Quilatoa. This place was absolutely beautiful. From the rim the lake was pristine and so far away. We took in the view for about 15 minutes and then began our descent to the lake. It was a very steep path and I slipped more times than I care to remember. We made it to the edge of the lake after half an hour of walking, slipping, and sliding. Words cannot describe this feeling of this place. Like I said, experiencing is a whole different ball game. We ate lunch and chatted about our week in our new site and the difficulties that presented themselves. I saw that a man had kayaks to go around the lake. I made my fellow volunteer promise that she would return with me to paddle the lake. 

As we prepared to start the ascent, the member of the Ministry of Education and her husband decided to hire donkeys to carry them back up. In hindsight, this was not a bad idea. We slugged ourselves back out of the crater to the rim. This took considerably longer than our descent. I may splurge and spend the 8 bucks next time… We descended back to our respective cities for dinner and well deserved sleep.

Sunday: On Sunday I hopped a bus back to Quito and made it back safe and sound to my current host family. I was quickly “kidnapped” and taken to a family party before I even had time to unpack my bags. I had/have much homework to complete and it was initially frustrating when I thought of all the work that needed to be done. But after awhile I decided to just relax and enjoy the party. We ate blood soup and drank Chicha. The blood was cooked and had many gristly parts. After the meal we sat around and talked. I picked up three lemons and began juggling in front of a few of the kids. This turned into a contest of one-upping one another in feats of strength and balance. It ended in all the men in the group making a large human pyramid with the two young kids on the very top. Of course they put the Gringo on base. 

My site visit was very eye opening. I see what challenges I will face and I am trying to figure out how I can adjust and be successful in Latacunga. I am excited to see what the next two years will have in store for me. Look out Latacunga, I am coming to stay.