I have a cold.

i have a cold which is annoying but minor. I taught this morning and I think I did a good job of being energetic anyways so I am proud of myself for that. I think I get colds more easily here because I don't have antibodies built up against the buggies because I didn't grow up here. My plans for the rest of the day are rest, eat lunch, go to work, rest, eat dinner, sleep.

I'm a natural!

Well maybe not a natural, but my first week of teaching went surprisingly well. I have a class of adults in the morning who are really good and motivated so that is lovely. I think they mostly like me, though they seem a little skeptical about my teaching abilities. In the afternoon I am scheduled for a sub period and I have subbed every day so far. It's been mostly good and only a little not good, so I count that as a success. I'm glad that I'm getting started and getting more experience because that, in turn, makes me feel more confident and relaxed. There are a lot of things to learn about the bureaucracy and procedure, but luckily there are a lot of people to ask. I haven't made any best friends yet, but people are nice and I have chatted with some people in the teachers' lounge. I miss my friends though. I wish I could just bring all the people I love with me wherever I go. But overall, things are going well and I am mostly feeling pretty good about it.

Cuyes!

So this is the video you're all dying to see, I know. When we went to Otavalo and Atuntaqui last weekend, we visited Andres' father's cousins. They farm and raise animals and we were able to meet some of their delightful cuyes (guinea pigs). I thought maybe it would be said because I like guinea pigs and these ones are destined for lunch, but then I thought, they don't have such a bad life. They live in large pens with their twenty closest friends and family and munch on greens all day. They seemed happy.

 

These are some cuyes playing in their pen. And below is me playing with some baby cuyes! Hurray!

See the pregnant one??

I couldn't resist :)

Upcoming

Also, when I have more time and I'm not frantically trying to plan lessons, I will show you some awesome videos of me with guinea pigs. Get excited.

It starts tomorrow...

And that would be me teaching. A different level than they told me before. At 7 am. Monday through Friday.

But don't worry! I have it all under control! Mostly!

Speaking Spanish

So the whole speaking Spanish thing is going pretty well I think. But there are still quite a few basic words that I don't know. For example, I can't seem to learn the word for "bowl." It is "tazon" and I am writing it here on the off-chance that it helps me remember it (or, perhaps, one of you dear readers has had a similar problem with the word bowl). Another that I have managed to learn but not to pronounce is "sartén" which  sounds more like "saltine" to me, and means frying pan.

I try to get Andres to practice English with me sometimes. We came up with some times that generally work best, like when we are practicing dancing or singing (because then at least I can feel like I can speak properly, even if I am terrible at other things) and in the evenings at home. The rest of the time I try to speak all Spanish, though I have to admit that I slip up and say English words or phrases somewhat frequently.

Lost in Translation

I just stumbled upon this, and since I've also been thinking a lot about language-learning, it tickled me. Just click through the slideshow at the bottom for some funny lost-in-translation gags. Of course, it is also rife with inappropriate language, so be warned.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/10/lost-in-translation-brands_n_1765812.html#slide=1362544

Privilege

In American Studies, I spent a lot of time thinking about and analyzing white privilege, but these days I am thinking a lot more about American privilege. One obvious way that I have benefited from American privilege is the ease with which I got my visa to Ecuador (some of you know the actual process was quite complicated, but I was never very nervous that they wouldn't give it to me).

The last couple of weeks I have become aware of another American privilege: that is the privilege of rooting for my country's athletes in nearly every Olympic game I've watched. I feel a little silly for not noticing this earlier, but a lot of countries don't have the money to support their athletes in the games, and as a consequence have nearly no one to root for. Ecuador had five athletes, each of whom paid their own way to the Olympics. One woman was disqualified because she had very old equipment and her country couldn't buy her equipment up to current standards. Needless to say, I gained a much fuller understanding of the privilege permeating the Olympics.

That being said, I also witnessed a truly great Ecuadorian Olympic experience. I went to lunch with my host-sister Lucia (it was lovely to see her and catch up and we have plans to hang out again soon). We ate in a nice mall north of the Mariscal. There was a huge (we're talking giant, here) screen in the cafeteria area with the Olympics playing. At one point, we noticed that everyone in the cafeteria had turned their attention to the screen, and we stood up to see what was going on. An Ecuadorian runner, Quiñonez, from the coastal province Esmeraldas, was getting ready to race in a semi-final running heat. The gun went off and they were all running like crazy. The noise in the cafeteria started to grow; Quiñonez was gaining on the four runners ahead of him; he was passing the third runner; everyone was egging him on; he neared the finish line; the excitement in the cafeteria was tangible; and he crossed in third place! And the entire cafeteria exploded in whoops and cheers! Everyone was clapping and cheering on their feet, and continued to cheer during the replay and for the announcement of the times. It was truly an awesome feeling. I wished that he could have been in that cafeteria right then and know how much energy and faith he had behind him. It just shows how much people love to support their athletes and how much one runner can mean to a cafeteria full of strangers.

Centro Historico

Yesterday Andres and I went to the Centro Historico because the was putting on concerts in the various different plazas. We set out walking from the house but it turned out to be a much longer walk than we anticipated, so we caught a bus about half-way there so that we wouldn't arrive totally beat. When we got there, we walked around for a while and I took some photos of the buildings, because I realized that I've been remiss in taking photos of the city.

We saw this really fancy hotel on the corner of one of the plazas, and we walked in to take a look. After about 2 minutes, one of the door guards came over to inform us that they didn't allow visitors and could we please leave, but at least we got a glimpse of how the other half (more like 1%) lives. Then we went and got a coffee at this charming little restaurant that's been around for 150 years or something because I was yawning like a fool.

Then we went and listened to come high school bands playing in one of the plazas. It was really neat because the city had set up these big fancy stages with good sounds and everything for the high schoolers to show their talents. Some of them were really good too, including this one girl who had a great voice and was singing Ecuadorian songs.

And then it started raining so we went home. We had a really nice time though, and we were exhausted that evening

Happy afternoon!