Life in Puerto Quito

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Hello everybody! I am so sorry I haven’t written anything in decades, but I am just extremly busy here. All in all things have been great so far. I am getting along well with the guy I am living with and I am still going to burn in hell. I haven’t been sick at all (just a little back pain from bending down on the farm all the time) and the food is okay (well, self-made hot chocolate is freaking awesome). The kids at school are giving me a pretty hard time, but I am slowly, slowly learning to cope with it/adapt myself I think. Last week they wrote exams, just one tiny page, but still, reviewing 400 of these is NOT fun at all. It’s so strange, 5 months ago I was sitting in German class, bored as hell and now I am a teacher. Which in the first place I have always sworn myself I would never become. And which secondly is definitely not the nicer side of school life. Every kid alone is absolutely adorable, they are so nice, funny and actually intelligent and interested, but they just lack any discipline so “teaching” 30 proves to be a real mission impossible.
Thrice a week I also have an afternoon English class with teenagers which is really cool. They actually learn a lot, are super friendly and funny, so that’s cool.
On the weekends I have so far been working on the farm, in a reforestation project, been back to Quito once and once went to the beach. 15$ a night for a cabin that’s actually ON the beach, super warm Pacific water, approximately 10 other people on a 3 kilometre strech of beach, a hangmat on the balcony and concerning the sunset: Just look at the photo. That makes up for a LOT of annoyances.
And by the way: I bought myself a motorbike. A Chinese quality product (that’s already falling apart but shhh) so that I can get around here easier. It’s a lot of fun to ride, only the streets aren’t exactly in good shape. Meaning super dusty, super small and plastered with super huge stones and holes. Definitely need to invest into a good helmet in Quito!
Next week I have holidays and I am planning on going to the East side of the Andes into the Amazon Basin and the real jungle. Monkeys, Crocodiles, Piranhas, Anacondas, giant trees, travel by canoe because there are no streets, I am actually so unbelievably pumped! Unfortunately though you can’t just walk into the rainforest and sleep under a tree and the guided tours are all designed for Gringos (actually the word for Americans, but if you have white skin, you just HAVE to be from the US) and thus priced for Gringos. Well, under the week I spent about one Dollar a day, so I can treat myself to something every once in a while I guess.
Well, that’s it for now, I am running out of time, I am sorry. The less I write here, the more I have to tell when I come back (to Canada/whereever) 😉
Of course I would love to hear from all of you, feel free to email to [e-mail] (facebook doesn’t always work perfectly here).
I hope you are all well!
Greetings from Ecuador!
Max

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Photos

Sunset on the beach
Welcome to Paradise?

My Motorbike
150cc and fast as lightning ;)