We had an uneventful flight from Quito to Houston, TX,
though I was still sick. (Believe me, it is NOT fun flying when you are under
the weather!) Customs went quickly. In fact, we’d pulled away from our
gate on our flight home from Houston and were about to take off for Boston when the captain came on the
loudspeaker to announce that an engine warning light had come on! We ended up
leaving the plane and standing by the gate for a while. Turns out the plane was
fine, so we just had a 90-minute delay getting home, which stunk!
It was a bittersweet moment coming home. Of course I was
happy to be in familiar territory and to see my family again. But I felt a bit sad
to end my travels, and a lot sad to say goodbye to the network of fellow
educators I’d built over the past 10 days. Guess I’ll just have to go on
another study tour in the future so I can do it all again!
Our group’s time in Ecuador coincided with two interesting
events: the elections and the inauguration of a new airport. We spent much of
our final day in South America in transit. Tuesday, the day we flew from Quito
to the Galapagos, was the final day that the old airport was operational. The
old airport was basically right in the city; the centrality of Fenway Park to
Boston would probably be a good analogy. It took 20 minutes for us to get from
the old Mariscal Sucre airport to the hotel where we stayed.
In contrast, the new Mariscal Sucre (yes, they kept the same
name) is further outside the heart of Quito. It took us TWO HOURS to get from
the new airport to our hotel as we returned from Galapagos. It escaped none of
us that we’d be returning to that same airport in less than 12 hours to head
home to the U.S. Of course, since we left our hotel at 3:30 a.m., there was no
traffic in Quito and it only took one hour to get to the airport.
Logo of La Estacion. Image: from Twitter.
After we quickly packed our belongings for the trip home, we
headed out to dinner. It was fascinating to many of us that at 7:30 on a Friday
night, the city was hopping! It seemed as if everyone was excited to be out. We
went to a bohemian restaurant/bar/coffee shop called La Estación. It was
dimly lit, so we had candles placed on our table, standing simply atop saucers.
The décor was heavy on posters of classic rock musicians. I had a great time
there, though I kept kicking myself for having forgotten my camera back at the
hotel. La Estación gave us our first look at punk-rock and hipster Ecuadorians. They
were young and cool, and they could easily have been found on St. Mark’s Place
in New York or in Allston. One cultural difference from America: included on La
Estación’s
cocktail menu, priced at $0.40 each, were three types of cigarettes!
Dinner was delicious, and our meal was enhanced with live music. The
group mostly played Beatles songs but they had other music in there as well,
including some original songs. It was a great way to unwind after a long day of
travels, and a great last night in the capital of Ecuador. I’m ready to come
home!
I spent today sick in the hotel. I missed an excursion to
Bartolome Island, where Master and
Commander was filmed years ago. From what I heard, there wasn’t much
wildlife there—just lava rock, climbing, and lots of sun. It, too, was over two
hours away from Santa Cruz.
On Wednesday’s boat ride back from Isabella, I started to
feel sad and homesick. The ride was also extremely choppy, so I was extremely
unhappy. By the time we reached the hotel, the amount of sun we’d gotten was
really bothering me. I had very little appetite at dinner—for those who know
me, you know exactly how strange this is!
Since I can’t say much about Bartolome, I thought I’d take this
opportunity to write a little bit about the supportiveness of our group of
travelers. We have each other’s back with most things. I’ve shared my notes
with other teachers, and we’ve shared snacks, travel medicines, tissues,
towels, Band Aids, and more with each other. On Tuesday, as we flew to
Galapagos, one teacher was sick in the bathroom of the plane; watching others
care for her, particularly Mr. Norton of Center School, demonstrated how caring
the other individuals on the trip are toward other people. On Wednesday, one of
the teachers got pretty sick and even briefly went to the hospital. We all
tried to help her as much as possible—before, during, and after the hospital.
(She’s ok now!)
So, when my turn came to be sick, the others took good care
of me. On the boat ride returning from Isabella, everyone could tell I wasn’t
feeling well (and I wasn’t the only one). Lynne, a guidance counselor from Medway,
distracted me from my discomfort by striking up a good conversation, and Toby,
a special educator from Middleboro, gave me her water to drink. I could tell
that Janine, an elementary school teacher from Medway, wished she were sitting
next to me so she could make me feel better; we spent the morning boat ride
getting to know each other, sharing details about our lives and forming what I
hope will be a lasting bond. After the group returned from Bartolome on
Thursday, my fabulous roommate Jo brought me soda, bread, water, and Gatorade. No
fewer than 10 people from our group of 22 visited me on Thursday evening to
check on how I was feeling. As Dr. DeMello said recently, from looking at our
group, nobody would know who was from which district, since we’ve all helped
each other in times of need.
It stinks to be sick on this type of a trip, especially
since we’ve been traveling and moving NON-STOP since we arrived. But knowing
that there are nearly two dozen people who have shown that they care about me
has definitely helped me feel better. Several people on the trip have been
dealing with issues in their personal lives, and others have gotten sick. The
support of the group has been instrumental for each person dealing with his or
her challenge.
The lesson to be learned here is simple: do unto others as
you would have them do unto you. We get so wrapped up sometimes in our
individual lives that we forget that we need
each other. I hope each of you can take this experience as a reminder to be
kind, warm, and generous in spirit, even if you don’t have to be—especially if
you don’t have to be.
We walked to the port in Puerto Ayora bright and early on
Wednesday morning to travel to Isabela, the largest of the Galapagos Islands. The
island is shaped like a seahorse and the plan was to go for a walk and go
snorkeling while there.
Two sea lions sunning on the deck.
After over two hours, we docked on Isabela. There are sea
lions everywhere on these islands. It seems that they’ve learned to beg from
humans. We even saw one trying to steal a freshly caught fish, and a group of
three climbing on a boat that was a few feet out at sea.
Iguanas getting some sun to warm their bodies.
On our walk around the island, we saw hundreds, perhaps
thousands, of marine iguanas. These animals sun themselves all day until they
are warm enough, then dive into the water to find food. They dig holes to lay
eggs in, and often challenge one other over who has territorial rights of the
holes. We witnessed a couple of pretty good iguana fights. I hope to be able to
link to video from Dr. DeMello at some point. For now, you can view my video of some iguanas below.
Restaurant on Isabela where we ate lunch.
Snorkeling was pretty disappointing. We only saw a few fish,
and the water was somewhat murky. I also suspect I took in some sea water that
caused me to get sick. After snorkeling we had lunch at the quintessential
seaside restaurant, almost like a New England clam shack. For just one hour
after lunch, the trip felt a little like
a vacation, as we got to swim in the Pacific prior to our departure. On our way
back to the boat, we stopped to look for flamingos and we were happy to see a
beautiful one up close. I used my binoculars to take a closer look at his beak.
It was gorgeous!
A flamingo in the wild.
Unfortunately, this was the last time on the trip that I
felt healthy (see my Day 8 post). But I got a good 7-8 days in before feeling
too sick, and I hope to be better to fly home on Saturday.
On Tuesday, we flew from the Quito airport to the Galapagos,
landing in the airport in Baltra. Before we left, I browsed the book shop
inside the airport because I have been curious about the literature of Ecuador.
They had just one book by an Ecuadorian author on the shelves. I noticed
several political books on the shelves, a testament to the passion that
Ecuadorian people seem to have for all things political. In fact, on the
flight, Ms. Koelbl, a learning specialist at Hopkinton Middle School, and I talked
with another EF tour guide who shared a lot of information with us about
politics. Normally, I prefer to read or do work during flights, but I really
enjoyed this conversation since I learned a lot!
Top of the declaration form.
Ecuador is very serious about keeping the Galapagos as
protected as possible from outside contaminants. On the flight, each passenger
has to fill out a declaration form for any materials that originate from
animals or vegetables.
On our way to our hotel on Santa Cruz Island, we stopped at
the Twin Craters, two huge sinkholes.
Ms. Meyer in front of the Charles Darwin Research Station
We had lunch at the hotel, then walked a short distance to
the Charles Darwin Research Station. Several people in the group and I remarked
that we expected to learn much more information about Darwin himself—almost
like a museum. Instead, the station is a place where animals Darwin
studied—such as turtles, tortoises,
and iguanas—are bred, studied, and cared for.
There are 900 baby turtles born each year at the Darwin
Research Station, and each one is color-coded with its island of origin. When
they are old enough, the babies are placed into a “training ground,” then
eventually released back into the wild.
Baby turtles at play in the training ground.
Lonesome George, a land tortoise from Pinta Island, lived
here until his death in June 2012. He was the last of his species, so with his
death, the species became extinct. However, shortly before Lonesome George’s
death, two females were brought in to mate with him. The female tortoises can
retain the sperm inside their bodies for a very long time—as much as a couple
of years—so they are remaining at the Research Station until researchers can be
certain that they are not carrying fertilized eggs.
Plaque commemorating Lonesome George, or El Solitario Jorge.
We learned a lot about tortoises on this visit:
Tortoise populations were as high as 250,000 before pirates
and goats arrived in the Galapagos in the late 17th century. They
are now at 30,000 and growing, but slowly.
They can survive for 6-12 months without food or water
The lines on tortoise shells oxidize naturally over time.
When the lines are gone, that is a sign that the tortoise is 100 years old or
older.
A tortoise weighs approximately 180 kg, and the shell is
approximately 30% of the weight.
The tortoise’s shell is made of bone, so it never
decomposes.
Male tortoises are double the female’s size. They also have
a concave area under the shell to assist with mating, and a tail up to 3 times
as long as the female’s.
We also saw
some iguanas and finches. I am 2 days behind in writing these posts, and the
iguanas were everywhere on Isabela, the
second island we visited, so I will say more about them there.
Puerto Ayora, where we are staying, is the most populous
town in the Galapagos, with 12,000 inhabitants. On our walk back from the
Darwin Research Station, we went inside a beautiful cemetery. We also stopped
in many shops as we walked to the hotel. The stores create the feel of a
classic seaside town. They reminded me very much of the Cape, with art
galleries, jewelry stores, and souvenir shops. It is really beautiful here and
certainly an interesting contrast to the uninhabited islands.
Puerto Ayora cemetery. All of the gravestones were white, and most had colorful flowers.
Funky shop in Puerto Ayora. The shelves are made out of re-purposed Rubbermaid containers that have been painted & mounted on the walls.
After our visit to Yunguilla, we went to the equator museum, a popular tourist destination. The museum is a place to learn about the cultures, wildlife, and geography of Ecuador.
Shrunken head from a 12-year-old boy.
First, we viewed specimens of wildlife, including an anaconda and two spiders. We also got to see two shrunken heads. The Shuar people, an indigenous group, shrunk the heads of enemies they had killed, and the museum has two of these heads in its collection. The process the Shuar used begins this way:
1)cut the head of the victim
2)remove the skull and add a stone (this is the part that gets shrunken!)
3)boil the head to clean it out
4)sew the lips shut (the Shuar believed this would keep the spirits of the victim inside)
We were not allowed to photograph the second shrunken head, as it is old and fragile, but it was incredibly lifelike and creepy.
An anaconda at the Museo del Sitio Intinan.
We also visited an Incan grave. The grave looked like a small cave, and was filled with things the dead person would need in his or her next life. For married couples, if the woman died first, she would be buried and her husband would be free to remarry. However, if the man died first, the woman would be buried alive with her husband, with only a potion to put her to sleep as she was buried. Just another example of the oppression of women!
Incan grave. The dead were buried in the fetal position.
Ms. Meyer and Ms. Ekwall, Hopkinton's K-5 curriculum coordinator, standing in front of the old (inaccurate) equator marking.
The major attraction of this museum is, of course, the equator line. Fifteen years ago, a GPS was used to calculate the position of the equator, and the location was marked. Each of us took 3 photos: one in the northern hemisphere, one in the southern hemisphere, and one on the equator. There is an earlier equator line that was placed incorrectly, based on older calculations done without the benefit of GPS technology. Today it marks the entrance of the museum.
(Left) Ms. Meyer, standing on the equator! (Right) Mr. Norton, a Center School teacher, tries to balance an egg on a nail.
This was just a great day overall, and to top it off, we visited a market in Quito for some shopping. One of the coolest things I saw was earrings made out of fish scales, but everything in the market was beautiful.
Fish scale earrings
Market stall in Quito market. So many beautifully colored souvenirs!
At dinner, I noticed a Subway restaurant across the street. Footlongs are $3, rather than $5. Subway is one of the many American chains we’ve seen in Quito and Otavalo. Others include McDonald’s, Burger King, Pizza Hut, and KFC. We’ve stuck to Ecuadorian food, though. If you ask me, toasted corn, plantain, and pork rinds can beat a Big Mac any day!
Yesterday (Monday) has been one of my favorite days so far. We
traveled to the cloud forest—at one point, we were literally over a rainbow!!—to visit a community called
Yunguilla. In the late 1990s, Yunguilla decided to try to attract tourists
through an experiment in sustainability and communal living. They were not sure
whether tourists would be interested (as they said, “All we have are clouds and
forests”), but today they are thriving.
Orchids in a greenhouse in Yunguilla
For the past five years, the residents of Yunguilla have
been working with USAID and growing orchids. They are still not able to sell
their orchids internationally, however, due to bureaucracy (the paperwork is
taking a long time).
Chihualcan. The seeds are bitter, so you bite into the fruit and eat the fruit and juice, without chewing the seeds.
The residents of Yunguilla also make jam and cheese that
they sell to tourists. Working out of a small kitchen, they make four types of
jam: fruitilla, uvilla, mora, and chihualcan. Right now, there isn’t very much fruit, so one woman was
working by herself, but when there’s more fruit to work with, several women
might be making jam at the same time. It takes 10 pounds of chihualcan fruit to
make 18 small jars of jam. The whole process takes about six hours. Each
morning, people bring milk from their cows to the cheese factory. They are paid
money for each liter that they bring. The milk is cooked and extra liquid is
drained off. The result is fresh cheese and yogurt.
Making jam of the chihualcan fruit
Ms. Meyer with Melanie; photo taken by four-year-old Brittany
Just like when we were in the Amazonian village, children
followed our group around on the tour. This time, it was just two sisters:
eight-year-old Melanie and four-year-old Brittany. I love young kids, and I
bonded with the girls and allowed them to take many photos with my camera.
Ms. Meyer with Brittany; photo taken by eight-year-old Melanie
One thing I’ve noticed about the children in Ecuador is that
older siblings are consistently patient and kind toward their younger siblings.
The older siblings often remind the younger ones of how to behave
appropriately, and the younger ones comply. For example, when we visited a
beautiful new house in the village (the family lives downstairs, and there are
guest bedrooms upstairs to provide sleeping space for visiting tourists),
Melanie reminded Brittany to walk quietly. The children are also very friendly
and warm. They held my hand and asked if we were going to be staying in the new
house. Melanie in particular took care to tell me things about their lives,
pointing out the community house where the villagers gather together for
celebrations and just to spend time together.
A house in Yunguilla. Notice the clouds in the background.
I captured video of Melanie singing her favorite song. I
find myself incredibly moved by the message of this song.
“El amor, a la patria cantemos, las hazañas
de la libertad,
con estudios y trabajo logremos las semillas de paz y hermandad
con estudios y trabajo logremos las semillas de paz y el hermandad
En la ciencia
encontramos aliento, que daria tu porvenir,
En la escuela sin par alimento que
es el fruto de un dulce vivir.
Adelante la fe despertemos, que es un futuro mejor…”
Here's a rough translation:
We sing to our homeland, the result of freedom
With studies
and work we will sow the seeds of peace and brotherhood
With studies and work
we will sow the seeds of peace and brotherhood.
In science, we find fulfillment that will give you your future…
School is the best way to realize a sweet life.
We wake up our faith to find a better future.
As an educator, I don’t think I can say anything better than
this: education and hard work are the keys to a great life.
Today's newspaper, with tons of information about the election
Today (Sunday) was election day in Ecuador. Voting here is
mandatory, and people are fined if they do not vote—even if they are traveling for
business! Our Ecuadorian guides left us for the morning so that they could get
a card to prove they were not in their province and thus would be unable to
vote. Without this card, they would have to pay a steeper fine. The television
set in the hotel restaurant showed people lining up at the polls to vote.
Elections are held on a Sunday because, in a country where 95% of people are
Catholic, nobody is working on Sundays and everyone is able to get to the
polls.
Ms. Meyer with Maria Virginia Farinango
We were incredibly fortunate to have breakfast with Maria
Virginia Farinango, the co-author and “main character” of The Queen of Water, a novel based on her life story. She brought
her two children with her. Yanni is nine, and her daughter Leslie turned five
months old this morning. Yanni joined us for breakfast as well and, as we ate,
we spoke with Maria Virginia about politics and the election. There are seven
candidates running, including the richest man in Ecuador, a businessman who is
the majority shareholder in Bonita bananas. He is running for the fifth time
(he has never won) and according to Maria Virginia, the majority of Ecuadorians
will not support him, in part because he sees money as the solution to all of
the country’s problems. The incumbent, Rafael Correa, has the support of many
indigenous people, as he has been a strong advocate for indigenous people’s
rights. Indigenous families are no longer saying that they can’t send their
children to school, as education is free, and the economy has improved under
Correa’s tenure.
Maria Virginia also talked a lot about her life and her
book. She is an incredible person with a fascinating life story. I told Maria
Virginia that one of my favorite things about her book was the use of the word vivísima
to describe her personality. Maria Virginia studied psychology in college, and
she told me that she did a sort of experiment with Yanni as she raised him. She
told him over and over again that he is smart. Today, he is confident in his
intelligence and readily tells other people that he is smart. As she said,
words have meaning, and when we hear things, we believe them and feel them
inside of ourselves. If she had told her son he was a fool, or stupid, over and
over again, he would have come to believe that. Maria Virginia wrote the phrase
“Querer es poder” (to want is to be able to, or to want is to have the power)
in all of her notebooks to remind herself that she had the power to achieve her
dreams. I don’t want to be corny, but I truly hope that my students hear these
kinds of positive messages from me and that these messages are helping them
believe in themselves.
Some of the many cacti in the dry forest.
After breakfast, we shopped in the famous Mercado de los
Ponchos in Otavalo, which was great fun. I really wish we’d had more time
there. From the market, we headed for the bosque Jerusalen, or “Jerusalem
forest,” a dry forest that had many cacti. I’ll include a couple of pictures below.
At this forest, a national park, we hiked up to the mirador (lookout spot),
which was both beautiful and neat, as we were standing on the equator while
there.
We’re currently back in our Quito hotel. Tomorrow we’ll be
off to a jam & cheese factory and the Museo del Sitio Intinan…after that,
Galapagos!
Since we spent much of the day on the bus traveling to Otavalo, I will take this opportunity to write about the food we've eaten so far - based on your comments, this seems to be a topic that interests many of you, and it definitely interests me as well. I love to eat - bon appetit!
Snacks
In our travels from place to place, we have to make pit stops so that people can use the restrooms. Each of the gas stations we've stopped at has had many snacks for sale. I have tasted sweet plantain chips, salty plantain chips, fried yucca chips, pork rinds (chicharrones), flour-and-salt-covered peanuts, cookies, chocolate-covered wafers, and crispy empanada filled with guayaba.
These wafers are called "Cua Cua" after the sound a duck makes. They were delicious.
Fresh guayaba fruit. The empanada had guayaba paste inside--similar to a jam.
Drinks
I've already written about chicha. American soda is readily available in Ecuador. We have to drink bottled water, but are often offered fresh-squeezed juice. I had a delicious strawberry juice one morning; that was probably my favorite so far. The tree tomato juice was pretty tasty as well. I did find the delicious lemonade above at a gas station. I thought it was Fresca but was pleasantly surprised to find it was lemonade! Breakfast
Breakfasts have consisted of fresh breads, cereal, eggs, fresh juice, pancake, juice, and fruit, in various combinations. This is probably the least exciting meal we've eaten! Soups
Lunch and dinner in Ecuador always begin with a soup. Sometimes the soup is delicious; other times it is a little boring. The soup may be chicken, potato, plantain, or something else. We had two fantastic soups on Saturday: a chicken soup for lunch and a tasty potato soup with perfectly fresh avocado in Otavalo.
Chicken soup with fried plantain (YUM)
Potato soup with large chunks of potato and a slice of fresh avocado on top.
Entrees
We've eaten beef, chicken, and fish thus far. In the jungle community, we ate rice with meat that was served inside a banana leaf. The food was delicious and the presentation was beautiful. Note that the tablecloth is a large leaf!
Desserts
Desserts are less sweet here than they are in the U.S. There was one really pretty dessert that we ate on Saturday night, the night we spent in Otavalo. It looks a little better than it tasted.
My favorite meal overall so far
The group dinner was the best meal we’ve had so far, in my opinion. Of note were the plantain soup with popcorn; the tortilla de yucca; and the tomato tree fruit. The plantain soup was a little boring but the popcorn made it delicious. The yucca tortilla was almost like a mound of mashed potatoes. I cut mine up and used the sauce from our beef to add some flavor. The tree tomato was, in my opinion, absolutely delicious. The juice in particular was really sweet. It was tomato-like in terms of seeds and texture but not in terms of flavor. Incidentally, I’m having a hard time describing the tastes of all of these foods and drinks for you… stay tuned, students: a writing assignment is coming!
Plantain soup with popcorn
Clockwise from bottom left: beef, broccoli/cauliflower/cabbage, tortilla de yucca on top of rice, vegetables.
There were many beautiful posters in the classroom in Pakay Chikta. Here are two I wanted to share with you.
On the left side, the "Golden Rules":
Sit still
Be quiet
Raise your hand to speak
Be on time
Do not steal
Do not lie
Greet the older ones
Be respectful
On the right side: a color chart, with colors written in Kichwa and Spanish, side by side. There were several posters of this type, including numbers and days of the week. The students in the school speak Kichwa as their native language, but are learning Spanish as well.
On the wall were five aphorisms for the students to remember. Here are some loose translations:
"Donde hay gana hay maña" - Where there's a will, there's a way
"Al que mal vive el miedo le sigue" - He who lives badly is followed by fear
"Al que madruga Dios le ayuda" - literally, he who wakes up is helped by God. This is sort of a religious take on "The early bird catches the worm"!
"Haz bien sin mirar a quién": Be good to others no matter who they are
"Quien mucho duerme poco aprende": He who sleeps much learns little.
Following a nice breakfast at the jungle lodge, we once
again boarded our motorized canoes, this time to head in to a jungle community
and visit a school. There are dozens of children who attend the school or the
day care. Although they were initially a bit nervous to talk with us, the
children and their families warmed up upon seeing how happy we were to be with
them. Most of the children spoke both Quichwa, the native language of the
indigenous people, and Spanish, so a few other teachers and I were able to
communicate with them. They are actually on vacation right now, but they seemed
thrilled to spend time with our group and to play with some of the learning
tools we brought for them.
A young girl who followed me around for much of the day, pretending she was shy but loving all the attention she was getting!
Much to my surprise (and my dismay), I was initially
assigned to work in the fields. Machete in hand, I attempted to cut some of the
grass that had grown on the soccer field that a previous EF tour group had
built for the students. (No, I am not kidding about the machete!!!) I was
terrible at this, so I instead took on the task of raking grass that others had
dredged up. The rake was sharp, so it was easy but satisfying work. However, it
was very hot, so it was certainly not easy! I promise, there are photos of all
of this that I will eventually post.
Ms. Missert, adjustment counselor from Weymouth, and Ms. Meyer drinking chicha (this one has no saliva, but I am pretty sure the one I drank back in the village had saliva in it!
When it came time to rotate “stations”—some teachers were
inside the school, while others worked to build a bookcase—several other
teachers and I went inside the day care (a smaller building adjacent to the
school) to rest for a few minutes. Several high school students, who were home
from school on vacation, and some young adults (ages 19-22 or so) came inside
to sit with us and talk. My roommate, a Spanish teacher at Weymouth High
School, and I were able to talk to the women and learn about their lives. My
roommate’s students took photos and created post cards with their photos.
Through these photos, we were able to share a little bit about our lives in
Massachusetts. The women were interested in the snow, and one of the teenage
girls recognized the names of the famous swans in the Public Garden—“Romeo y
Julieta” –from having learned the story in school. It is amazing to me that a
15-year-old girl in a remote village in the “Ecuadorian Amazon” knows the story
of Romeo and Juliet. This was one of my favorite moments of the day! In this
same situation, I drank chicha. Given
that this was in a remote village, it is likely that this chicha had been prepared in the traditional manner: fermentation
through the saliva of the women. Motivated by a sense of adventure—and not
wanting to offend the women—I was the only person in the group who drank it.
One other person only pretended to drink it, and call me gullible, but she
fooled me! It tasted lemony, but there was no lemon in it. The texture was
thick, somewhere between a pulpy orange juice and a New England clam chowder,
but that is the best I can do to explain it.
Standing outside the school - notice the young girl holding her sibling in a baby sling. Many very young girls carried their siblings around in this way!
I had a wonderful experience working with the elementary
school students once it came time for me to enter the school. Their classroom
is small and they do not have many school supplies, so we came prepared with
everything from stickers to flash cards and puzzles to crayons and markers. The
students were engaged with all of these new learning tools and they excitedly
called out the names of the colors when I asked what they were, and I shared
the English words with them as well. When I showed them a picture of the recent
blizzard on my iPhone, 11-year-old Darwin—seemingly a natural with
technology—found a cat picture and started scrolling through all of my cat
photos as his brothers looked on.
All of the older siblings were incredibly patient with the younger kids,
and they seemed to share a lot of the caretaking responsibilities. The cat
photos kept the kids occupied for a long time, but eventually they wanted to
see what else they could do with the iPhone. They played Angry Birds for a few
minutes before it was time for lunch.
Ms. Meyer with a young girl wearing a mask we brought.
We ate lunch first, and the kids then followed. Many ate
with their hands, and some had to wait for quite a while until they could have
juice, but they did not complain. They seemed happy and grateful and
curious—just as kids should be! I cannot state how much I enjoyed spending time
with these young children. They seemed to really enjoy my company as well, as
several of them looked for me and followed me around! As one of the residents
of the village showed us around (we saw banana and cacao trees, and watched a
yucca harvest), the kids came along with us. The kids were adorned with
stickers and dressed in the tiaras and rings that Ms. Richardson, a 6th-grade
ELA teacher in Hopkinton, had brought for them. Several kids took over the
iPads and iPhones of teachers and took some incredible photos. I’m not even
sure whether anyone showed them how to do it, but they got it right away! Oh,
and each time a photo was taken of them, they rushed over to the camera wanting
to see it right away.
After the jungle tour, we broke out the lacrosse sticks,
soccer nets, and soccer ball that Mr. Norton, a phys ed teacher at Center
School, and Ms. Barry, a kindergarten teacher at Center School, had brought. I
did not play soccer or lacrosse, but it was incredible to see
everyone—Americans, Ecuadorians, young, old, male, female, athletic,
non-athletic—all playing together. It reminded me of a former student who
researched soccer and found that it unites the world. As these games were going
on, I worked with three other teachers to modify “Duck, Duck, Goose” to play
with a group of smaller children. It was up to me to explain the game, as I was
the only one of us who spoke Spanish. We called the game “Gato Gato Perro” and
it took a few tries but the kids did finally understand! Hot Potato did not go
over as well, but a round of “Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” was a hit, as
they’d heard that song before.
Our long but rewarding day in the village concluded, we
began to walk back to the canoes. Again, many of the children followed us,
which we found to be extremely touching.
Two children see us off as we depart in our canoes.
We came back to the lodge for dinner and a performance by several indigenous people. This time, I did not drink the chicha, even though it definitely did not have saliva in it. I did eat a grub, though! It was barbecued and didn’t taste too bad. Mr. Norton was the true brave one in the group; he ate a grub that was still alive. Yuck!
Ms. Richards contemplates a barbecued grub - I ATE ONE OF THESE!
A live grub - moments before Mr. Norton ate it!
The stress I was feeling about
going to the jungle was well worth it. The smiles on the kids’ faces, the
happiness radiating off their families, and the sense of personal satisfaction
and warmth I am feeling today made all of the worry melt away. More tomorrow!
