This jornada has been...well, let's say "eventful." After three months in the jungle, the honeymoon phase is long gone, and when the same group of people spends a significant amount of time together (especially in isolation), small issues are bound to arise. I don't mean to cause a panic for anyone. Things are fine. But, little by little, when these issues start to pile up, eventually they have to be dealt with.
All of these little things have left me feeling a little stressed, a little cynical, a little negative, and overall just in a bad mood. However, as I am trying to teach my students (and always trying to remind myself), life isn't always easy, but if we can learn from challenging experiences in our lives then they can still be worthwhile. Easier said than done.
So as we approach Thanksgiving I thought, "What better time than now to give myself a little shot of positivity...and maybe a little shot of something else this weekend in Tena if that doesn't work..." I have to admit, I've never been a big fan of the "sit around the table and say what you're thankful for one day a year" tradition. To me it seems like an excuse to be unappreciative every other day of the year. But sometimes it's a useful tool to remind yourself that you're actually pretty fortunate, so here it goes...
I am thankful for leftover coffee at the lodge. I know it's trivial, but this is one of those stream-of-consciousness lists, so let's go with it. Some days (like today) all I need for a little pick me up is a good cup of coffee.
I am thankful for Johnson's brand Baby Mosquito Repellent. It's the only thing so far that I've found in the jungle that keeps me from being eaten alive by bugs.
I am thankful for Internet in the jungle. Sure I complain a lot about how slowly it works but let's be honest. ANY Internet connection in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest is a pretty amazing thing.
I am thankful for hammocks. More specifically, Chris's hammock which I occupy about ninety percent of the time. Maybe someday he will get to it before me and be able to enjoy it too.
I am thankful for rain. Not exactly one of those things that you lack in the jungle but on the few days when it doesn't rain and the temperature rises to a point that seems almost unbearable, I remember how important it is.
I am thankful that I have never had to worry about when or where I would get my next meal. I just finished a book called "Endless Appetites" about global food politics and food security and it reminded me just how fortunate I have been in my life. Not everyone has it that easy.
I am thankful for the opportunities that I have had in my life. Whether it's working, playing, traveling, or studying, I recognize that I have had a lot of opportunities already that some people don't get in their whole lifetime.
I am thankful for the opportunities I will have in the future. I can't tell you what I will be doing one year from now, and sometimes that terrifies me. When I think about it, it seems like a daunting and insurmountable task to sort out what I'm going to do with my life. However, the fact that I have so many options makes it a very fortunate problem to have.
Finally, I am thankful for my family who has helped provide me with all of these opportunities. I like to think I am pretty independent, but the truth is everyone needs a support system. My family supports all of my crazy ideas and travels, all of my crazy habits and routines, and all of my crazy plans and choices without batting an eye. At the same time, I am thankful that they have raised me to also accept the consequences of all of these things and learn from them, good or bad. Support doesn't mean bailing me out whenever something doesn't work but rather helping me learn from it, deal with it, and move on. In this sense I am pretty independent but only because they have raised me with the tools to be that way.
I am not saying that I always deal with every situation in just the right way. I still have a LOT to learn. But what I have learned is that when everything seems to be going wrong, take some time to think of the things that you are thankful for. You don't have to wait until there is a perfectly roasted turkey on a silver platter in front of you. Chances are you are luckier than you think.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Monday, November 21, 2011
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Vacation?
"Get me out of the jungle. NOW." That's what I was thinking to myself four days ago as we sat at the port in Mondaña waiting for a canoe to take us up the flooded Napo River. We had been there for 21 days and we were on our second straight month with our youngest group of students. Yes, that's 21 straight days of sweating, itching, and living with a bunch of 16 year olds who were just as ready for a break from us as we were ready for a break for them. I needed my vacation.
I know what you're probably thinking... Ryan, you live in the rainforest, you have no expenses, your food is provided for you, and you spend a large majority of your time reading in a hammock and playing volleyball. Not to mention you technically only teach one hour of class a day... You are already on vacation. You make a good point. I shouldn't complain. I've got a pretty good thing going. However, I would argue that life in the jungle is not that simple. It's not for everyone. And as for the only teaching one hour a day thing, I would remind you that I live IN a school with my students. So while I am only technically teaching one hour of class I day, in reality, I am always teaching.
Anyway, I was sitting there at the port at 9:30am on Friday and I was ready to get out. Let me remind you, if you haven't read my other posts, that this is never a simple task. Add a flooded river to that equation and getting out of Mondaña can be nearly impossible. So after sitting there for almost an hour without seeing a single canoe go by, we finally convinced one of the community members to take us up the river to Los Rios in his canoe. The normal 20 minute ride up river took about 40 minutes because of the speed of the river, but nonetheless we arrived safely in Los Rios around 11:00am. We asked when the next bus left for Tena and received the standard reply, "Ya mismo." Technically this phrase means "right now" but anyone who has traveled in Ecuador knows that it actually translates to, "Whenever the hell I want." We were pleasantly surprised when the bus left only a half hour later at 11:30am. At 3:30pm we finally arrived in Tena. Our normal three hour trip to Tena had now had us on the road for six hours. We had not eaten anything all day and like any experienced travelers we had sufficiently dehydrated ourselves to avoid having to pee for four hours on a bouncing jungle bus. So far this was not feeling like vacation.
Things, however, were starting to look up when our favorite hostel in Tena had beds available for us and our favorite cafe was serving up ice cold guayusa tea and crunchy fried yuca. Followed by a nice afternoon nap, some reading, a warm shower, and cheap tacos and beer for dinner, my mood was as good as it had been for days. We should have stayed in Tena...
The next morning we caught the 6:30am bus out of Tena to Quito. Although this ride usually takes between four and five hours, the buses are comfortable and not too crowded and the views are absolutely breathtaking as you make your way up out of the Amazon rainforest and into the Andes Mountains. Really a pretty enjoyable trip. On top of that, we didn't even need to take the bus all the way through the city when we arrived since we were meeting our friend Megan in Cumbaya, one of Quito's outlying suburbs. We could see the city up ahead of us. We were almost there. Our trip seemed as if it was too good to be true. It was. The bus stopped. There was a bridge out up ahead. The bus would have to take a detour. Almost everyone else exited the bus. This was not a good sign.
Fortunately a kind Ecuadorian woman was nice enough to take the two clueless gringos under her wing and guide us into the city. We followed her like two lost puppies as neither of us had any idea where in the hell we were. We tried to call Megan to let her know that we were having some technical difficulties and would need to find a new meeting spot. Naturally, we were also having problems with our phones. We could receive calls from her but could not make calls. Thus, any time we needed to talk to her we had to text her and then she had to call us. Finally, after three bus switches, a trolley ride, a cab ride, and about thirty calls later, we met up with Megan around 1:30pm. Luckily our cab dropped us off in front of a bread shop as we were, again, both starved and dehydrated. I got some "pan de leche" and instantly felt better. Pan de leche can cure anything.
The adventure wasn't over though. Now the three of us still needed to meet up with our fourth friend, Stephanie, at the bus station to catch the 2:00pm bus to Mindo. We arrived without too much problem to the main bus terminal and went to buy our tickets. Little did we know that when the internet bus schedule says the bus leaves at 2:00pm it actually means 4:00pm. The woman at the ticket window insures us that there are no other buses. We will wait. We can't get ahold of Stephanie anyway. Maybe her flight was delayed? At 1:50pm we receive a call from her saying that she has gone to the other bus station because she didn't think we would wait until 4:00pm. She has a ticket for the bus that leaves at 2:00pm. We ask a taxi driver how quick he can get us there. He says 15 or 20 minutes depending on traffic. Megan explains to him that our bus leaves in 10 minutes and he needs to drive "como loco." He tells us he will drive like his mother-in-law is following him. We arrive in 8 minutes... Only to find out that the bus could not wait for us. Miraculously we wanted to be on the only bus in the history of Ecuador, and probably South America for that matter, that left EARLIER than scheduled. Fantastic. Luckily there was another bus leaving in 20 minutes so we bought our second set of tickets and loaded our things.
Two hours later we arrived in Mindo at a nice little hostel with private rooms and breakfast included. Well worth the steep $15 price per night. It was now about 5:00pm on Saturday. About 32 hours since we left from Yachana. I wad exhausted and needed to rest and that is precisely what I did for two days. We took a few short hikes, did some amateur bird watching and found a flock of parrots perched in a tree, drank good coffee in the morning, and thoroughly enjoyed two different local chocolate shops that made the best brownies I have ever had. Other than that I spent most of my time lounging in a hammock and reading a book. I was finally feeling like I was on vacation. Again, we should have stuck with a good thing once we had found it but decided to press on to Quito. This was a vacation after all and we would hate to sit still for too long.
Monday morning we got up early for a walk and a good breakfast in Mindo before heading out. Amanda had been a little sick all weekend but was beginning to feel better. Unfortunately Stephanie had now come down with the flu also and decided that the worst thing she could do was ride on a bus through the mountains for two hours. Upon finding out that the flu, or some kind of sickness, was spreading, Megan and I went on an immediate preventative excursion. We refused to be sick. We choked down some "sangre de drago" (yes, that translates to "dragon's blood") which is supposed to cure everything under the sun, loaded up on vitamins and pepto tablets, drank plenty of fruit juice, ate plenty of veggies, and finished off with another brownie for good measure.
Monday afternoon around 4:00pm, Megan, Amanda, and I made it back to Quito, all in relatively good health. Amanda and I said our goodbyes to Megan and headed to our hostel. Oh by the way, the nice hostel that we had planned to stay in for the week was all booked up when we checked the day before so we had to settle for one night in a cheap hostel in the Mariscal district of Quito where tourists come for cheap alcohol and wild dance clubs. Not exactly a place to just chill out. I would love to tell you all that our current vacation nightmare ended there and we got a great night of rest and everyone lived happily ever after. Unfortunately, I have one last story to tell...
Around 2:30am Tuesday morning, three of our drunk and stumbling roommates entered the room where Amanda and I and the other functioning member of society in our room had been sleeping peacefully since about 9:00pm. We were awakened by these three stooges as they attempted to climb into their beds. This is part of staying in a hostel. We were all experienced travelers and were well aware of that. So, we tolerated it and were even slightly entertained by it...until the puking began. Yes, two of the three goons that had woken us up began to vomit in and around their beds. That is where we drew the line. We got up and left the room to go sleep in some chairs downstairs. The very nice owner of the hostel was very apologetic and made up some beds for us on the floor in a common room on the main floor. Again we began to sleep peacefully for about an hour until the owner came in and woke us again and insisted that we move to another room that he had prepared for us. Finally around 5:00am I got to sleep and put together a record two hours of consecutive hostel rest.
I woke up around 7:00am. I was still exhausted. My throat and lips were dry from the arid mountain air in Quito. My eyes hurt both from lack of sleep and the pollution in the city. I began to think back over the events of the last three days. I remembered sitting at the port waiting for our canoe on Friday feeling ready to leave. I couldn't remember why we decided to come to Quito. What part of Quito screamed relaxing vacation week to us after all? All I could think at that moment was, "Get me to the jungle. NOW."
I know what you're probably thinking... Ryan, you live in the rainforest, you have no expenses, your food is provided for you, and you spend a large majority of your time reading in a hammock and playing volleyball. Not to mention you technically only teach one hour of class a day... You are already on vacation. You make a good point. I shouldn't complain. I've got a pretty good thing going. However, I would argue that life in the jungle is not that simple. It's not for everyone. And as for the only teaching one hour a day thing, I would remind you that I live IN a school with my students. So while I am only technically teaching one hour of class I day, in reality, I am always teaching.
Anyway, I was sitting there at the port at 9:30am on Friday and I was ready to get out. Let me remind you, if you haven't read my other posts, that this is never a simple task. Add a flooded river to that equation and getting out of Mondaña can be nearly impossible. So after sitting there for almost an hour without seeing a single canoe go by, we finally convinced one of the community members to take us up the river to Los Rios in his canoe. The normal 20 minute ride up river took about 40 minutes because of the speed of the river, but nonetheless we arrived safely in Los Rios around 11:00am. We asked when the next bus left for Tena and received the standard reply, "Ya mismo." Technically this phrase means "right now" but anyone who has traveled in Ecuador knows that it actually translates to, "Whenever the hell I want." We were pleasantly surprised when the bus left only a half hour later at 11:30am. At 3:30pm we finally arrived in Tena. Our normal three hour trip to Tena had now had us on the road for six hours. We had not eaten anything all day and like any experienced travelers we had sufficiently dehydrated ourselves to avoid having to pee for four hours on a bouncing jungle bus. So far this was not feeling like vacation.
Things, however, were starting to look up when our favorite hostel in Tena had beds available for us and our favorite cafe was serving up ice cold guayusa tea and crunchy fried yuca. Followed by a nice afternoon nap, some reading, a warm shower, and cheap tacos and beer for dinner, my mood was as good as it had been for days. We should have stayed in Tena...
The next morning we caught the 6:30am bus out of Tena to Quito. Although this ride usually takes between four and five hours, the buses are comfortable and not too crowded and the views are absolutely breathtaking as you make your way up out of the Amazon rainforest and into the Andes Mountains. Really a pretty enjoyable trip. On top of that, we didn't even need to take the bus all the way through the city when we arrived since we were meeting our friend Megan in Cumbaya, one of Quito's outlying suburbs. We could see the city up ahead of us. We were almost there. Our trip seemed as if it was too good to be true. It was. The bus stopped. There was a bridge out up ahead. The bus would have to take a detour. Almost everyone else exited the bus. This was not a good sign.
Fortunately a kind Ecuadorian woman was nice enough to take the two clueless gringos under her wing and guide us into the city. We followed her like two lost puppies as neither of us had any idea where in the hell we were. We tried to call Megan to let her know that we were having some technical difficulties and would need to find a new meeting spot. Naturally, we were also having problems with our phones. We could receive calls from her but could not make calls. Thus, any time we needed to talk to her we had to text her and then she had to call us. Finally, after three bus switches, a trolley ride, a cab ride, and about thirty calls later, we met up with Megan around 1:30pm. Luckily our cab dropped us off in front of a bread shop as we were, again, both starved and dehydrated. I got some "pan de leche" and instantly felt better. Pan de leche can cure anything.
The adventure wasn't over though. Now the three of us still needed to meet up with our fourth friend, Stephanie, at the bus station to catch the 2:00pm bus to Mindo. We arrived without too much problem to the main bus terminal and went to buy our tickets. Little did we know that when the internet bus schedule says the bus leaves at 2:00pm it actually means 4:00pm. The woman at the ticket window insures us that there are no other buses. We will wait. We can't get ahold of Stephanie anyway. Maybe her flight was delayed? At 1:50pm we receive a call from her saying that she has gone to the other bus station because she didn't think we would wait until 4:00pm. She has a ticket for the bus that leaves at 2:00pm. We ask a taxi driver how quick he can get us there. He says 15 or 20 minutes depending on traffic. Megan explains to him that our bus leaves in 10 minutes and he needs to drive "como loco." He tells us he will drive like his mother-in-law is following him. We arrive in 8 minutes... Only to find out that the bus could not wait for us. Miraculously we wanted to be on the only bus in the history of Ecuador, and probably South America for that matter, that left EARLIER than scheduled. Fantastic. Luckily there was another bus leaving in 20 minutes so we bought our second set of tickets and loaded our things.
Two hours later we arrived in Mindo at a nice little hostel with private rooms and breakfast included. Well worth the steep $15 price per night. It was now about 5:00pm on Saturday. About 32 hours since we left from Yachana. I wad exhausted and needed to rest and that is precisely what I did for two days. We took a few short hikes, did some amateur bird watching and found a flock of parrots perched in a tree, drank good coffee in the morning, and thoroughly enjoyed two different local chocolate shops that made the best brownies I have ever had. Other than that I spent most of my time lounging in a hammock and reading a book. I was finally feeling like I was on vacation. Again, we should have stuck with a good thing once we had found it but decided to press on to Quito. This was a vacation after all and we would hate to sit still for too long.
Monday morning we got up early for a walk and a good breakfast in Mindo before heading out. Amanda had been a little sick all weekend but was beginning to feel better. Unfortunately Stephanie had now come down with the flu also and decided that the worst thing she could do was ride on a bus through the mountains for two hours. Upon finding out that the flu, or some kind of sickness, was spreading, Megan and I went on an immediate preventative excursion. We refused to be sick. We choked down some "sangre de drago" (yes, that translates to "dragon's blood") which is supposed to cure everything under the sun, loaded up on vitamins and pepto tablets, drank plenty of fruit juice, ate plenty of veggies, and finished off with another brownie for good measure.
Monday afternoon around 4:00pm, Megan, Amanda, and I made it back to Quito, all in relatively good health. Amanda and I said our goodbyes to Megan and headed to our hostel. Oh by the way, the nice hostel that we had planned to stay in for the week was all booked up when we checked the day before so we had to settle for one night in a cheap hostel in the Mariscal district of Quito where tourists come for cheap alcohol and wild dance clubs. Not exactly a place to just chill out. I would love to tell you all that our current vacation nightmare ended there and we got a great night of rest and everyone lived happily ever after. Unfortunately, I have one last story to tell...
Around 2:30am Tuesday morning, three of our drunk and stumbling roommates entered the room where Amanda and I and the other functioning member of society in our room had been sleeping peacefully since about 9:00pm. We were awakened by these three stooges as they attempted to climb into their beds. This is part of staying in a hostel. We were all experienced travelers and were well aware of that. So, we tolerated it and were even slightly entertained by it...until the puking began. Yes, two of the three goons that had woken us up began to vomit in and around their beds. That is where we drew the line. We got up and left the room to go sleep in some chairs downstairs. The very nice owner of the hostel was very apologetic and made up some beds for us on the floor in a common room on the main floor. Again we began to sleep peacefully for about an hour until the owner came in and woke us again and insisted that we move to another room that he had prepared for us. Finally around 5:00am I got to sleep and put together a record two hours of consecutive hostel rest.
I woke up around 7:00am. I was still exhausted. My throat and lips were dry from the arid mountain air in Quito. My eyes hurt both from lack of sleep and the pollution in the city. I began to think back over the events of the last three days. I remembered sitting at the port waiting for our canoe on Friday feeling ready to leave. I couldn't remember why we decided to come to Quito. What part of Quito screamed relaxing vacation week to us after all? All I could think at that moment was, "Get me to the jungle. NOW."
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Adaptation
Asics running shoes do not adapt to jungle hikes. iPod batteries do not adapt to extreme humidity. Paper products do not adapt to rainy days. Inanimate objects do not adapt... Fortunately for us living beings adaptation is one of our greatest strengths. We can see evidence of it every day and it becomes increasingly evident as we venture into more extreme environments. But why? Why have some trees developed spines that cover their bark? Why do butterflies have such unique coloring? Why do parrots have such large beaks? How did monkeys learn to hang from their tails? And most importantly, why can all of my students climb a tree faster than I can climb a flight of stairs? Herbert Spencer called it "survival of the fittest." Charles Darwin called it "natural selection." I call it doing what we have to do. What other option is there?
Well, usually it's not an option at all. It's rarely a conscious decision. Every day a new adaptation appears without anyone blinking an eye, and it's not until much later when we look back and reflect on the changes that we realize that something very profound has happened. Today marks my one month anniversary of arriving in Ecuador and as I reflect back on the last month I am impressed by the changes that I have undergone.
Okay, so some of them aren't that impressive... Some of them are obvious surface changes that I have made as I become accustomed to a new lifestyle. An ice cold shower doesn't phase me. Sleeping under a mosquito net seems pretty standard. I can't remember why I ever needed to eat a meal with a utensil other than a spoon. Three hours of electricity a day is more than enough. Three and a half days does not seem like an unreasonable amount of time to download a two minute song. Continuing to sleep after the sun comes up seems like a ridiculous waste of time. These are all adaptations that happen quickly. A few days with these changes and it's hard to remember how things were before. What other option is there?
Other adaptations, however, are a little more subtle, they take a little more time, and they are a little more impressive. they aren't as noticeable but they are happening all the same. When I get a bug bite, my skin doesn't react quite as violently as it did a month ago. When I wear pants and long sleeves on a hot and humid day, I don't sweat quite as much as before. When in hike from the high school to the lodge, my balance is just a little better along the path than it used to be. The body is an amazing thing and I'm sure there are physiological explanations behind each of my examples, but the reasons don't really matter. Whatever the cause, the changes are happening. What other option is there?
Then there are the most impressive adaptations of all. They are impossible to see and impossible to quantify. Yet we look back, we reflect, and we know they have happened. They are the changes that happen within our minds as we are exposed to new surroundings. We become more open, more accepting, more grateful, more thoughtful, more aware. Little by little we become a different person all together. I know this sounds a little daytime-television-talkshow-ish, but if I look back at myself one month ago as I was boarding the plane to Quito, I know I was a different person. And I know one month from now I will have changed even more. The process of adaptation is continuous and it is not easy to explain. The combination of factors is complex. However, if we allow ourselves to adapt, the results will be very positive. Those that don't allow themselves to adapt will struggle. Only the strong survive. So, what other option is there?
Well, usually it's not an option at all. It's rarely a conscious decision. Every day a new adaptation appears without anyone blinking an eye, and it's not until much later when we look back and reflect on the changes that we realize that something very profound has happened. Today marks my one month anniversary of arriving in Ecuador and as I reflect back on the last month I am impressed by the changes that I have undergone.
Okay, so some of them aren't that impressive... Some of them are obvious surface changes that I have made as I become accustomed to a new lifestyle. An ice cold shower doesn't phase me. Sleeping under a mosquito net seems pretty standard. I can't remember why I ever needed to eat a meal with a utensil other than a spoon. Three hours of electricity a day is more than enough. Three and a half days does not seem like an unreasonable amount of time to download a two minute song. Continuing to sleep after the sun comes up seems like a ridiculous waste of time. These are all adaptations that happen quickly. A few days with these changes and it's hard to remember how things were before. What other option is there?
Other adaptations, however, are a little more subtle, they take a little more time, and they are a little more impressive. they aren't as noticeable but they are happening all the same. When I get a bug bite, my skin doesn't react quite as violently as it did a month ago. When I wear pants and long sleeves on a hot and humid day, I don't sweat quite as much as before. When in hike from the high school to the lodge, my balance is just a little better along the path than it used to be. The body is an amazing thing and I'm sure there are physiological explanations behind each of my examples, but the reasons don't really matter. Whatever the cause, the changes are happening. What other option is there?
Then there are the most impressive adaptations of all. They are impossible to see and impossible to quantify. Yet we look back, we reflect, and we know they have happened. They are the changes that happen within our minds as we are exposed to new surroundings. We become more open, more accepting, more grateful, more thoughtful, more aware. Little by little we become a different person all together. I know this sounds a little daytime-television-talkshow-ish, but if I look back at myself one month ago as I was boarding the plane to Quito, I know I was a different person. And I know one month from now I will have changed even more. The process of adaptation is continuous and it is not easy to explain. The combination of factors is complex. However, if we allow ourselves to adapt, the results will be very positive. Those that don't allow themselves to adapt will struggle. Only the strong survive. So, what other option is there?
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Jungle Life
My last two blog posts have been all about how I have been feeling while I've been here at Yachana, but I realized that I haven't talked much about what I'm actually doing. So this post os dedicated to just that. As we approach the end of our first "jornada" here at the school, I thought I would talk a little about what I am doing on a daily basis.
First of all, people in Ecuador love their titles. I currently have three. I am officially the "Coordinator of Mathematics," "Assistant English Teacher," and "Tourist Liaison" between the lodge and the high school. We are currently running on a five day schedule for our classes at the high school. We rotate through this five day schedule four times to make one twenty day jornada. Then we all get a week long break and start over again. During each jornada, I teach two math classes per day on days one through four at the high school. Two of these days I also teach one English class. In addition, I also teach two math classes per week at the lodge... Trust me, we have lots of schedules posted so that we actually know where to be and when. And if that doesn't sound confusing enough, anyone who has ever spent time in Latin America can tell you that posting a schedule here just doesn't mean the same thing that it means in the United States. This schedule is very "flexible."
Believe it or not, this schedule actually leaves us with quite a bit of free time each day. For me, this free time is primarily spent hiking back and forth from the lodge, reading, lesson planning, cleaning, washing clothes (by hand), or playing games with the students.
The lodge has been a nice little getaway for those of us living at the high school. There is a nice breeze there, Internet access (almost all of the time), and most importantly coffee. Sometimes a few hours of living in "luxury" at the lodge is just what I need to get myself through the week.
I've also been reading a lot. Lots of people here have suggested books that really interest me plus I'm finally getting around to reading some of the books that have been stacked in my room for quite some time. I just finished "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad and "Confessions of an Economic Hitman" by John Perkins which I HIGHLY recommend. Now I have started "Diarios de Motocicleta," the diary of Che Guevarra on his trip through South America, and "The War of the End of the World" by Mario Vargas Llosa.
Lesson planning has been quite an experience also. The initial challenge was preparing lessons for students that I had never met before. I had no ides if I was teaching addition or advanced calculus. There is no curriculum out here. That initial challenge has turned into a huge blessing. Lack of curriculum means I get to design my own curriculum and teach what is important and useful to the students. This past week I have been collaborating with the business teacher here to design lessons involving business math and I have been able to design problems that encompass all of the things that we have studied during this jornada. A "problem based approach" for those of you who have a background in education.
My other chores, cleaning and washing clothes, keep me busy as well. Sweeping my room is a daily chore that I have to keep up with. The dirt and bugs pile up quickly in the jungle. Washing clothes by hand is a skill that I have most certainly not mastered yet. Clean and dry are very relative terms out here. For example, I washed clothes four days ago... They are still hanging up and they are still wet. I'm hoping for a day of sun to dry them out soon.
The students occupy a lot of my time outside of class too. We play volleyball, we play soccer, and for the first time this week I went swimming in the Napo River with my friend Mauricio and some of the students from the lodge. We also spent a morning at small market in Los Rios, a small community up the river. Even when I'm not directly interacting with the students I really enjoy just observing their activities. They are masters at creating games and activities with very few resources and they seem to have an endless amount of energy. And like any good Latin American country there is ALWAYS music and there is ALWAYS dancing. A few nights ago we even had a small jungle bonfire which quickly turned into a large jungle dance.
I'm sure I have left out lots of things but essentially what I am trying to say is that there is NEVER a dull moment here. In a few days we head into our first week long break after we finish our first jornada. The time is flying by already and while I enjoy the constant entertainment, I am certainly looking forward to some down time.
First of all, people in Ecuador love their titles. I currently have three. I am officially the "Coordinator of Mathematics," "Assistant English Teacher," and "Tourist Liaison" between the lodge and the high school. We are currently running on a five day schedule for our classes at the high school. We rotate through this five day schedule four times to make one twenty day jornada. Then we all get a week long break and start over again. During each jornada, I teach two math classes per day on days one through four at the high school. Two of these days I also teach one English class. In addition, I also teach two math classes per week at the lodge... Trust me, we have lots of schedules posted so that we actually know where to be and when. And if that doesn't sound confusing enough, anyone who has ever spent time in Latin America can tell you that posting a schedule here just doesn't mean the same thing that it means in the United States. This schedule is very "flexible."
Believe it or not, this schedule actually leaves us with quite a bit of free time each day. For me, this free time is primarily spent hiking back and forth from the lodge, reading, lesson planning, cleaning, washing clothes (by hand), or playing games with the students.
The lodge has been a nice little getaway for those of us living at the high school. There is a nice breeze there, Internet access (almost all of the time), and most importantly coffee. Sometimes a few hours of living in "luxury" at the lodge is just what I need to get myself through the week.
I've also been reading a lot. Lots of people here have suggested books that really interest me plus I'm finally getting around to reading some of the books that have been stacked in my room for quite some time. I just finished "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad and "Confessions of an Economic Hitman" by John Perkins which I HIGHLY recommend. Now I have started "Diarios de Motocicleta," the diary of Che Guevarra on his trip through South America, and "The War of the End of the World" by Mario Vargas Llosa.
Lesson planning has been quite an experience also. The initial challenge was preparing lessons for students that I had never met before. I had no ides if I was teaching addition or advanced calculus. There is no curriculum out here. That initial challenge has turned into a huge blessing. Lack of curriculum means I get to design my own curriculum and teach what is important and useful to the students. This past week I have been collaborating with the business teacher here to design lessons involving business math and I have been able to design problems that encompass all of the things that we have studied during this jornada. A "problem based approach" for those of you who have a background in education.
My other chores, cleaning and washing clothes, keep me busy as well. Sweeping my room is a daily chore that I have to keep up with. The dirt and bugs pile up quickly in the jungle. Washing clothes by hand is a skill that I have most certainly not mastered yet. Clean and dry are very relative terms out here. For example, I washed clothes four days ago... They are still hanging up and they are still wet. I'm hoping for a day of sun to dry them out soon.
The students occupy a lot of my time outside of class too. We play volleyball, we play soccer, and for the first time this week I went swimming in the Napo River with my friend Mauricio and some of the students from the lodge. We also spent a morning at small market in Los Rios, a small community up the river. Even when I'm not directly interacting with the students I really enjoy just observing their activities. They are masters at creating games and activities with very few resources and they seem to have an endless amount of energy. And like any good Latin American country there is ALWAYS music and there is ALWAYS dancing. A few nights ago we even had a small jungle bonfire which quickly turned into a large jungle dance.
I'm sure I have left out lots of things but essentially what I am trying to say is that there is NEVER a dull moment here. In a few days we head into our first week long break after we finish our first jornada. The time is flying by already and while I enjoy the constant entertainment, I am certainly looking forward to some down time.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Pros and Cons
I'm sitting here at the lodge tonight looking out at the sunset over the Napo River in the Amazon Rainforest and I'm feeling like the luckiest person in the world. This view is breathtaking. Truly one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen and I get to see it almost every day. It never gets old. At the same time, however, I'm here checking my email, my Facebook, and my Twitter feed as well as news reports from USA Today and CNN... All of my electronic connections to my life back in the states that I left behind a few weeks ago. And for the first time tonight it hit me that there a lot of things that I'm missing. It got me thinking about the pros and cons of the life I have chosen to live out here in the jungle. Here is what I came up with:
PROS:
1) The views - Whether it is the sunset at the lodge, Sumaco Volcano towering in the distance on a clear day, or the unbelievable number of stars that I can see every night from the high school, the sights in the rainforest are some of the most beautiful that I have ever seen.
2) My students - Imagine the most difficult day of work you've ever done in the most hot and humid conditions... Then double it. No one that I know can match the effort or enthusiasm that these kids put forth every day. Not to mention that most of them speak multiple languages (Spanish, Shuar, Kichwa, Huaorani, etc.) and have an immense knowledge of their native land. I learn so much from them every day, which leads to my next point...
3) Learning opportunities - I feel like I'm soaking in information every second of the day. I'm constantly learning from everyone around me. The students, the faculty, my fellow volunteers, tourists at the lodge, and even from myself in my down time. Everyone that knows me knows that my brain needs constant stimulation and I'm always getting that here.
4) Lack of structure - I know what you're thinking. You're confused about this one. Everyone knows that if I don't have every minute of my life planned and written down I tend to FREAK OUT! That's why I listed this as a pro. Pros do not have to be comfortable; they just need to be something that I'm benefitting from. I'm learning to relax, to be flexible, to be creative, and most importantly to enjoy the little things. Sometimes the tiniest successes here are the highlight of my day.
CONS:
1) Communication - I miss people. I realize this a little more every day. Each time I look at Twitter or Facebook or my email, I'm reminded of someone else that I am not in contact with. From my family to my closest friends to my casual acquaintances, there are countless people that I miss and unfortunately there is not enough time to send every person that I know an email every day. So if you think of it, send me an email or a Facebook message when you have the time. Even if you just say "Hi!" I will get back to you and it will be appreciated. Trust me.
2) Logistics - I miss easy access. We have lots of ideas about great things to do here but the logistics of getting them done in the rainforest are more complicated than you can imagine. Coordinating canoes, busses, weather, and electricity are just a few of the obstacles and everything has to line up at just the right time. Although it does make the successes that much sweeter, it would be nice to jump in my car and drive five minutes to get something done once in a while.
3) Humidity - I'm in the rainforest. Everything is wet. Nothing will dry. Enough said.
4) Clarity - Communicating everything that I want can be a challenge. It is frustrating when I want to express something and language is a barrier. My Spanish is getting me by just fine in most cases, but I look forward to the day when I can say everything that I want to say. I'll get there. I know I will. But as for now, a lot goes unsaid...
Obviously this is not a comprehensive list; these are just a few things that have been on my mind. Every day I feel lucky to be here and at the same time every day my mind goes somewhere else. What I realize though is that no place is perfect. Life is not perfect. You can, however, ALWAYS make the best of your situation. With that mindset I feel like I can enjoy every situation that I find myself in here. I take the time to enjoy the good things and learn something from the bad things. These experiences (with the right outlook) are priceless. I'm learning about myself and about the world around me. That seems to be the biggest pro of all. I guess that's five pros and four cons on my list. If I look at things the right way, the pros always seem to outweigh the cons.
PROS:
1) The views - Whether it is the sunset at the lodge, Sumaco Volcano towering in the distance on a clear day, or the unbelievable number of stars that I can see every night from the high school, the sights in the rainforest are some of the most beautiful that I have ever seen.
2) My students - Imagine the most difficult day of work you've ever done in the most hot and humid conditions... Then double it. No one that I know can match the effort or enthusiasm that these kids put forth every day. Not to mention that most of them speak multiple languages (Spanish, Shuar, Kichwa, Huaorani, etc.) and have an immense knowledge of their native land. I learn so much from them every day, which leads to my next point...
3) Learning opportunities - I feel like I'm soaking in information every second of the day. I'm constantly learning from everyone around me. The students, the faculty, my fellow volunteers, tourists at the lodge, and even from myself in my down time. Everyone that knows me knows that my brain needs constant stimulation and I'm always getting that here.
4) Lack of structure - I know what you're thinking. You're confused about this one. Everyone knows that if I don't have every minute of my life planned and written down I tend to FREAK OUT! That's why I listed this as a pro. Pros do not have to be comfortable; they just need to be something that I'm benefitting from. I'm learning to relax, to be flexible, to be creative, and most importantly to enjoy the little things. Sometimes the tiniest successes here are the highlight of my day.
CONS:
1) Communication - I miss people. I realize this a little more every day. Each time I look at Twitter or Facebook or my email, I'm reminded of someone else that I am not in contact with. From my family to my closest friends to my casual acquaintances, there are countless people that I miss and unfortunately there is not enough time to send every person that I know an email every day. So if you think of it, send me an email or a Facebook message when you have the time. Even if you just say "Hi!" I will get back to you and it will be appreciated. Trust me.
2) Logistics - I miss easy access. We have lots of ideas about great things to do here but the logistics of getting them done in the rainforest are more complicated than you can imagine. Coordinating canoes, busses, weather, and electricity are just a few of the obstacles and everything has to line up at just the right time. Although it does make the successes that much sweeter, it would be nice to jump in my car and drive five minutes to get something done once in a while.
3) Humidity - I'm in the rainforest. Everything is wet. Nothing will dry. Enough said.
4) Clarity - Communicating everything that I want can be a challenge. It is frustrating when I want to express something and language is a barrier. My Spanish is getting me by just fine in most cases, but I look forward to the day when I can say everything that I want to say. I'll get there. I know I will. But as for now, a lot goes unsaid...
Obviously this is not a comprehensive list; these are just a few things that have been on my mind. Every day I feel lucky to be here and at the same time every day my mind goes somewhere else. What I realize though is that no place is perfect. Life is not perfect. You can, however, ALWAYS make the best of your situation. With that mindset I feel like I can enjoy every situation that I find myself in here. I take the time to enjoy the good things and learn something from the bad things. These experiences (with the right outlook) are priceless. I'm learning about myself and about the world around me. That seems to be the biggest pro of all. I guess that's five pros and four cons on my list. If I look at things the right way, the pros always seem to outweigh the cons.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Find Your Purpose
Ten days ago as I was saying my final goodbyes to my parents my mom, with tears in her eyes, gave me an article to read. She said, "You don't have to read it now but it might help you understand how I feel." It has been safely folded and tucked away in my backpack since then. I've taken it out several times but I wasn't able to get myself to read it until tonight. The article was written by a mother who was trying to rediscover her "purpose" after her 18 year old son went off to college.
The timing of my reading the article couldn't have been better. After ten days of moving from place to place and finally arriving at Yachana Technical High School on the Napo River in the midst of the Amazon rainforest, I too have been contemplating my own "purpose." Today I taught my first two classes of this year long experience in Ecuador. The preparations for teaching are filled with all kinds of pressure in a regular setting. I'm teaching in an open air classroom, I have very limited resources, I'm unsure of the students' knowledge and abilities, and I'm teaching in a language that is not my own. I was nervous. Despite my nerves, I put on a confident smile and reminded myself that I have been given an opportunity to do something that very few people get to do...
"Hola clase. ¿Como estan?" Class had officially begun. The nerves were gone. Over the next hour I smiled, I laughed, and I enjoyed the kids more than I ever have in any other setting. My Spanish was slow. I made mistakes. No one cared. The students don't criticize. They only want to learn and to have someone to teach them. I felt fulfilled.
Hours later, I'm sitting in my bed under my mosquito net thinking about the day. Music is blaring down below as the kids dance and enjoy one another's company. They don't have much but they have energy, they have each other, and they have a joy for life. I wish everyone could see this place. It would make you feel guilty about any complaints or excuses you have ever made for being unhappy. Including myself. We take for granted all of the "things" that we have. They aren't important. I believe that ultimately what we are all seeking is our "purpose." Maybe it is being a mother, maybe it is teaching students in the jungle, maybe it is something else. Whatever it is, it should make you feel fulfilled. I feel that for the first time.
I know that I am only one day into teaching here. There will be hard times and frustrations ahead. I will have a hard time living here in this setting. I will wonder what on earth made me want to come here. And then I will reflect on the feeling that I had today. I'm not saying that this is my "purpose" or that this will be the only thing in my life that makes me feel this way. I'm young and there are a lot of things that I am yet to experience. But for now, I'm going to take this experience for all that it is worth and soak it in. Any doubts that I had about coming here have subsided. I know that I made the right decision and for now, this is my purpose.
The timing of my reading the article couldn't have been better. After ten days of moving from place to place and finally arriving at Yachana Technical High School on the Napo River in the midst of the Amazon rainforest, I too have been contemplating my own "purpose." Today I taught my first two classes of this year long experience in Ecuador. The preparations for teaching are filled with all kinds of pressure in a regular setting. I'm teaching in an open air classroom, I have very limited resources, I'm unsure of the students' knowledge and abilities, and I'm teaching in a language that is not my own. I was nervous. Despite my nerves, I put on a confident smile and reminded myself that I have been given an opportunity to do something that very few people get to do...
"Hola clase. ¿Como estan?" Class had officially begun. The nerves were gone. Over the next hour I smiled, I laughed, and I enjoyed the kids more than I ever have in any other setting. My Spanish was slow. I made mistakes. No one cared. The students don't criticize. They only want to learn and to have someone to teach them. I felt fulfilled.
Hours later, I'm sitting in my bed under my mosquito net thinking about the day. Music is blaring down below as the kids dance and enjoy one another's company. They don't have much but they have energy, they have each other, and they have a joy for life. I wish everyone could see this place. It would make you feel guilty about any complaints or excuses you have ever made for being unhappy. Including myself. We take for granted all of the "things" that we have. They aren't important. I believe that ultimately what we are all seeking is our "purpose." Maybe it is being a mother, maybe it is teaching students in the jungle, maybe it is something else. Whatever it is, it should make you feel fulfilled. I feel that for the first time.
I know that I am only one day into teaching here. There will be hard times and frustrations ahead. I will have a hard time living here in this setting. I will wonder what on earth made me want to come here. And then I will reflect on the feeling that I had today. I'm not saying that this is my "purpose" or that this will be the only thing in my life that makes me feel this way. I'm young and there are a lot of things that I am yet to experience. But for now, I'm going to take this experience for all that it is worth and soak it in. Any doubts that I had about coming here have subsided. I know that I made the right decision and for now, this is my purpose.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Experience of a Lifetime
I decided I should go ahead and update one more time before I head to the rainforest in the morning. Don’t get your hopes up. I don’t anticipate on updating every two days, but when you’re staying in Quito there are always lots of stories to be told!
I guess I will start from where I left off. We had a nice stay in Venezuela and after a long wait in the airport, we finally boarded our plane for Quito. We only arrived here about 26 hours later than expected and from what we have now learned about Santa Barbara Airlines I guess that’s not too bad. So, my first piece of advice for anyone planning to come visit… DO NOT use Santa Barbara Airlines! Stick with one of the trusty North American airlines. Despite the delay, I couldn’t stop smiling as soon as we got on the plane and I was still smiling when we landed in Quito. It was a familiar place and somewhere that I could unpack my bags for a few days after three days of travel. I really felt like I was arriving at home. After we got through customs and immigration and picked up our bags we hopped in a taxi and finally around 11:00pm we made it to our hostel. We stayed in the Blue House, a vibrant youth hostel in the Mariscal area of Quito. It was nice, but after a night of listening to all of the activity in and around the hostel we decided that we needed a quieter place to settle in and get some rest. So we went down the street a few blocks to the Amazonas Inn where we are peacefully resting in our own individual rooms.
Since we arrived in Quito we have been working on registering our visas and picking up our “censos.” After many hours of waiting in lines and asking for information, we finally got everything taken care of and I now have an official Ecuadorian ID card. We also got to get together with all six people in our group that will be going to Yachana to work. It has been really great getting to know everyone so far and finding out all of the things that everyone has to contribute to our project. There is such a wide assortment of skills and knowledge and I’m excited to see how everything falls into place. And hopefully it falls into place quickly! We will be arriving at Yachana tomorrow afternoon where we will have about two days of orientation and then we will hit the ground running with classes starting on Sunday! I still don’t know exactly what I will be teaching or what level of math the students have studied before, but I have brainstormed some ideas and will figure that all out as we get started. I have a good support system in all of the people that I am working with and I can’t wait to get started!
I hope that I will make an impact on the students that I’m working with and I hope they learn a lot, but I know that I am going to learn more than them from this experience. Living in a new place, working with new people, speaking another language daily, and being completely immersed in a new culture is the ultimate learning experience. Right now it seems like a lot to take in, but I am trying my best to soak everything in that I can! I couldn’t be happier with my decision to come to Ecuador. I have only been gone for five days, but I know this is going to be an experience of a lifetime! ¡Hasta luego!
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