My First Week

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My first week was tough, but Friday was the high note of the week.

Beginning with Friday, as I was teaching, we had an extra kid enter the classroom, not an unusual occurance, however this kid was of the baby goat variety. The children were highly amused (I was laughing hysterically myself) as I chased the goat around the classroom and out the door. Then, he came back and tried to eat the teacher´s lunch, before making his way onto a desk chair and then standing on a desk. I eventually chased him across the playground . . . hmmm goat herding, I wonder if that counts as a new skill on my resume. So far in one week I´ve had some unusual appearances in the classroom: a couple of dogs, a chicken or two and a goat. I figure if a bull makes an appearance, I´ll let somebody else take care of it.

In all seriousness, things went about as well as I could have expected. The kids and teachers are friendly, and the children pay attention and pick things up quickly. I also found out that there is another volunteer teaching, she is an Ecuadorean studying English at a nearby University and she teaches three days a week. So, I was able to observe for a bit, and taught two classes solo. Initially, I was nervous that she would be upset that I was horning in on her turf, but this is not the case. We take turns teaching and work together well. I think if we teach properly, with the two of us, we will be able to much more effectively teach.

Tuesday and Thursday I was on my own, and it was a bit interesting as I had no idea what to expect, so the first day found my pointing at my pants saying ¨what´s this,¨then repeating the operation with my arm, a pen, etc. My second go was better, and I now have a reasonable idea of what they have studied, and can plan appropriately for next week. However, I am sure I will continue to hear ÿo no entendo Inglas¨called out on a regular basis (I don´t understand English).

My host family turned out better than I could have expected. There are six kids at home, with at least one more in Quito, along with two parents, two dogs, a cat, some chickens, three cows, and an assortment of guinea pigs and rabbits, so it is a busy household. The parents both speak Spanish, as does the oldest son. However, the youngest kids say things to me in Quechuan, and when they realize I don´t understand it, scream it at me again.

However, I have my own room (one vounteer sleeps in a bed with three other children and another one lives in a two bedroom house, with a family of six, and all share a bedroom!) which is Spartan to say the least, but most importantly, I have a light bulb and a door to close, which puts me near the top of the heap for volunteers (some have no door, and at least one has a shower curtain). Furthermore, even when the door is open, nobody randomly walks in unexpectedly. So, with an abode to retreat to, I am able to maintain a semblance of sanity/normalacy. Fortunately, the oldest is big enough to play soccer with and, unsuprisingly, I have played more soccer in the past week, than in the combined 10 prior years of my life. The other two sons are big enough that I can gently kick the ball to them, and, after a bit of a wait, have it kicked back.

The house is about a 15 minute walk through the forest from my school. It is set amidst a very rural setting (yesterday morning two people were ploughing a nearby field with two oxen) and the whole community is perched on a mountain, that affords a gorgeous viw of San Pablo Lake. As I said before, the house is a running farm, as a result, the food is about as fresh as it gets, the milk we have with breakfast and comes from the cow tied up outside about a half hour before mealtime, and the chicken soup - well remember the chicken the oldest son was holding? The kitchen/dining room is actually a small building made of mud and straw set apart from the house. The room itself is actually quite large, with a great big clay, wood burning oven in one corner, within this kitchen lives a couple of rabbits and about 4 guinea pigs, with two dogs, a kitten and the 9 humans making an appearance at meal times.

All that being said, the family is very nice and I get plenty to eat. I have a bit too much free time (I do sleep alot), so my Spanish will hopefully improve with studying and practice. However, most of my conversations still consist of me not understanding and replying with a ¨si.¨However, many conversations consist of a series of questions ¨How old are you? Are you married? Do you have a girlfriend? Why not? Why don´t you date this woman?¨and so, I am a little nervous that one day I may unwittingly consent to marry somebody´s daughter at some point in time.

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Comments

[Claudia]

Shower Curtain:)
Peter, I googled "volunteers" and "South America" in order to find a place to work at in Colombia, and I stumbled upon your blog. Why didn't you tell me you had one????! Now I have to read all of it at a time, haha. Well anyway, I'm impressed you mentioned my shower curtain!!!!!!!!