It's hard to believe that we've been in Quito for nearly a month now. I think it's safe to say that we are now settled into some routines and feeling pretty damn comfortable.
The first few weeks, I had to catchup to speed as I arrived a few weeks later than all the other teacher, but now I am finally feeling ahead of the game. My third grade kids are adorable- so sweet and polite and very bright. English is a second language for them all, and although it takes plenty of patience to help them express all of their ideas, it is well worth the wait. I love their little accents, and I'm amazed at how much their little brains hold. I think I may have the nicest of the five third grade classes, and I'm feeling pretty lucky about that- no trouble makers, just a few squirmy and chatty ones. My co-workers are a bunch of wonderful women who greet each other everyday with a squeal and a kiss. I am reminded how much I respect fellow teachers here, everyone works so hard and gives so much of their heart.
Uma rides the teacher bus to school with me each day, goes to her pre-school which is spoken in English (yet her classmates all speak Spanish to one another), and then goes to her aftercare which is entirely in Spanish. She is picking up new phrases each day which practices while looking in the mirror after school. No mas! Silencio! Mis ninos!
She is also quite happy that I am letting her watch some programs on the TV in Spanish as I've convinced myself it's educational. Uma has been tickled by the familiar faces she sees everywhere as Hello Kitty, the ubiquitous Disney princesses, and Strawberry Shortcake seem to be lurking everywhere.
On the weekends we are exploring the huge megatropolis of Quito. Each weekend we have spent tons of time exploring the parks here which have the most amazing things for kids. Park Eljido has about a dozen beautifully crafted wood play structures for kids of all sizes, a zip line, bikes to rent, and little peddle cars that look like doodlebugs for kids to ride around in. Our first weekend exploring we went there both days of the weekend as it has so many fun things for Uma but also a huge artisans market and a handicrafts market where I bought 3 pre-columbian goddess figures for $22. That and tons of tropical fruit, snack, and pastry stands. Plus, one feels so safe and protected as an RV filled with machine gun armed cops sit right in the play area…
The next weekend we explored old town. It is exquisite. It's pedestrian only on Sundays, and the tiny cobblestone streets are lined with ancient looking homes with vistas of the winged virgin at every turn. There are several lively squares with music, clowns, and dancing, and dozens of ancient churches to explore. It was the first UNESCO world heritage site, so it feels like walking back centuries…except for all of the tiny sties selling cheap crap from China.
Last weekend we took out first out of town excursion to the zoo. We had to take a cab, two buses, and another cab to get there. With my (lack of ) language skills it was amazing we made it there. The bus ride out of the city was nuts. The bus driver was passing trucks on a curvy mountain road at high speeds with oncoming traffic. As soon as you leave the city, it become desert-and the combination of high cliffs and crazy testosterone driving is not my favorite. The zoo itself was cool though- we saw our school mascot- the spectacled bear, as well as gigantic tortoises from the Galapagos. We also got to enter a dwelling with 5 owls and a sleeping sloth- it was a bit scary but very cool.
We also visited Parque Carolina which is one of the busier parks in town. It was off the hook. There were at least 4 different bands playing throughout the park- playing a huge range of genres from hip hop to punk to more traditional Ecuadorian music. We rode paddle boats, and played on tons of structures for kids including several trampolines, primate "rides", and a blow-up bounce slide.
In the center of the park there must have been over a dozen soccer fields where pick up games were in full swing. It is so refreshing to see such a wild diversity in the population in the parks- old, young, rich, poor, modern, indigenous, light, dark, african, families, couples, and clowns. I have been craving that diversity for some time now. In fact, there are certainly more people of african descent in Quito than there are in Portland by a long shot.
Ater our outings, it is such sweetness to come back to our little quiet village, on the very edge of town....
There´s more to report but I imagine I should save something for later as I have written an awful lot. Besos!
No comments:
Post a Comment