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Published: September 30th 2010
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Last week was busy but wonderful! My classes are still very draining but at least I am getting used to things. It´s nice to actually wake up before the alarm goes off at 6 am every morning. We picked up Adam, (ÿou know, the first man in the world¨), and our 5th person in the house last Monday. On Tuesday we went to a waterfall near our house for a picnic and refreshing dip in the chilly water. Jermey showed no shame and climbed an attempted to climb teh waterfall wearing nothing but his skimpy little boxers. The afternoons are very warm so the cold water helps keep away the crankiness. El pobre Adam arrives and falls sick within days, but I think he is finally feeling better. Thursday night was special...we had gotten home from teaching to hear Adam say that a water pipe had busted, so it was taped together....leaving us with little to no flow. The hot water heater hadn´t been working nor was the generator (we actually wound up going about 8 days without electricity)!. So we were all set to cook our wonderful, delicious pizzas by candlelight when we realized the oven was no longer hot.
Imagine..no water, no light, no gas or hot water!! Luckily Nick came in the next day. I swear he has some kind of magic touch and hits things with a hammer or fiddles with them and everything gets fixed. Maybe some of that will rub off on me! I'm not complaining about all this, I actually think it is fun...daily challenges keep things interesting. However, I was not too thrilled when Lucy, the German Shepard of the house, chewed through the generator cord last night and not just once, but in 5 different places!!! It is so nice to have it working again because after teaching the kids all day all I want is a some-what cold beer when I get home! Paul and I actually have it good on Mondays as we can walk right across the street from school and get a beer while we wait for the bus...one is just enough to drown out the incessant ¨teacher¨¨teacher¨¨teacher¨.
Last weekend was fun as well. We all made the short trip back to Banos. Sadly we are all sick in one way or another...it is probably from eating school food, where the dishes are not actually washed with any
kind of cleaning product!! So it was a pretty easy going trip but Paul and I rented bikes to check out La Ruta de las Cascadas. We had driven down this highway numerous times but never noticed all the waterfalls along the way! Going through the tunnels on a mountain bike was a bit nerve racking as there were lots of cars and buses sharing the roadway. It started raining, making the roads a bit slicker...but it was such a nice feeling to be hauling @$$ down the many steep hills. I´ve not felt that kind of adrenaline rush in awhile! We finished off the day with a trip to the thermal baths, a delicious dinner and a few cervezas. To top off the weekend, on our way back to the house we stopped in the nearby town of El Triunfo. It is only about 30 minutes from our house and is where the boys play soccer and we have our weekly adult English class. There was a large gathering of people...turned out it was Cockfight Night. We watched one round and honestly it wasn´t as bloody or fast as I thought it would be. Don´t get me wrong, I
don´t like the idea of attaching spikes to roosters, betting on them and watching them try and kill each other but I was very surprised at how many people from the community were present.
On a special note to the family: I think you all would be proud...my driving is getting much better!!I had only learned to drive stick shortly before leaving the states and have now effectively, if somewhat embarrassingly, driven through town on numerous occasions. Definitely a highlight in my book.
Also, I don´t know how I forgot to mention this, but there is currently rioting going on in the streets. We got into town today to find out the police are on strike. Apparently there are riots and lots of looting going on in the big cities of Quito and Guayaquil, but here in Puyo there is just a large gathering of people protesting. A lot of the businesses are closed. I just can´t imagine the security and order of a country going on strike, and I believe it was because their bonuses were cut. Apparently President Correa is hiding out in a hospital in Quito, but is also being quoted saying some ridiculous lines...the drama is all on cnn.com so check it out. Things will probably be back to normal soon...some people are calling it an attempted coup, but really the police just want a law re-instated.
It is amazing how quickly you get to know people when you live and work together in such close quarters. I´m just lucky to get along so well with them all. I have also found I like teaching a lot more than I had thought. Upon arrival I believed I would not be in the classroom everyday, and I liked that idea. However, I have been teaching five days a week and while it does take a lot out of you it is also quite rewarding. There are always a few children that really want to learn EVERYTHING! Reading to the kids has helped me connect on a different note and also made me not be so shy. The favorite book is currently Dr. Seuss Are You My Mother? It is such a fun book to act out and the kids can follow the basic story line.
Well I must catch the next bus back to the house, hopefully the drivers are not joining in the strike too!!
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Catherine Snell
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What a Life!!!
HI Jessie, You really do lead a veryexciting life. Good for you. You certainly have gotten to experience a lot of different life styles etc. Catherine (Substitute grandma) Went to the Fall Fest (where you can pick a home to have dinner) last evening with your Grandma. Very delicious dinner and met some very nice people.