ECUADOR!

Today marks my one-week “anniversary,” if you will, with Ecuador.

I am going to skip over the first full day spent in historic Quito….PAUSE: As I am writing this blog, sitting on a hammock overlooking the Andes mountains and taking in the scent of fresh flowers and herbs a hummingbird just few literally right in front of my face, pausing for a second, as if it wanted to get a glimpse of my blog (definitely not worth it, Mr. Hummingbird). OK, so back to the actual blogging….I am going to skip over the first full day I spent in Ecuador in which I visited numerous churches, museums and el famoso mirador, PIM El Panecillo (a fabulous view of the city on top of a little hill named “panecillo” because it resembles a bread roll) and dive into my arrival to Baños – where I will be spending the next two months.

For this blog I am going to focus on three topics: DOGS, VOLCANOES (or rather, THE volcano, Tungurahua) and EL TRIUNFO).

DOGS: For my first three weeks in the Baños area I am staying on a sustainable garden/farmed (WOOFF affiliated) owned by a Canadian woman. The volunteer workers on this farm work the land from 7-3 and in exchange receive free board and food (food meaning gather whatever you can on the farm and whip it into some delicious vegetarian masterpiece…. In addition, I like to keep a supply of Ecuadorian chocolate handy).

The first so called “chore” of the volunteers each day is to take the three dogs – two German Shepards one St. Bernard – for a walk. Dog walking…sounds SO simple. But I am not referring to a normal “dog walk” I am referring to a “mountain dog walk”…imagine three huge dogs in a setting similar to that of Jurassic Park (minus the dinosaurs)….endless waterfalls, rivers to cross, mountains to climb, “jungles” to get lost in, etc. Not to mention, a insanely fast moving foreman, Mario, who seems to revel in the fact that no one can keep up with his pace. Although I am not a working volunteer on the farm, and am instead paying my rent for the time being, I volunteered to take part in the morning dog walk my first morning on the farm. After being pulled up two mountain sides with the aide of a dog leash and having drenched and dirtied beyond belief the clothes I had set out for my first day of volunteer work in a neighboring school I figured I would skip on the morning dog walks for the time being…

VOLCANOES: I would consider myself a generally lucky, and certainly blessed individual. With that said, I will allow you to determine if the following was a stroke of luck or the opposite. The volcano Tungurahua, which towers above the farm I am currently staying, in an active volcano that has erupted two times in the last fifteen years. This volcano, which most had assumed prior to last Monday had entered it’s twelve year dormant cycle, has again stared to emit smoke (non stop) and let out startling roars (at all hours of the day, and unfortunately the night as well). Between the earfuls I have gotten from the locals, ex-patriots, and the local volcanologist himself, all concerning the newly active volcano, I am not sure what to make of the natural disaster that seems to hang over the heads of all in Baños…

For the record, the volcanologist believes there is nothing to worry about and that the volcano is not approaching another eruption… I guess for now I will continue to enjoy the views of lava trickling down the side of Tungurahua on a clear, starry, night.

EL TRIUNFO: I haven’t said this aloud, but I am going to type it here…I am afraid I have already fell in love with year another Latin American pueblo. Estoy jodida. Through a contact back in the states I was put in contact with a couple community members of this small Ecuadorian town and after a few emails last spring decided I would take this spring off from college and spend the semester volunteering at the town’s local school.

Here is what my week looks like in the school’s mountain village: Monday and Tuesday I assist the English teacher (What I mean by this is I basically teach the entirety of all they day’s classes), Wednesday and Thursday I teach cultura física (this is my actual class)….we are currently preparing for the annual zone-wide track competitions and Friday I teach computer classes both at the escuela (grades 2-7) and el colegio/high school. Like I said, after only two days and a slew of absolutely precious faces ingrained in my memory, I have fallen for the town. There is something about the atmosphere and community essence of such small communities in South America that gets me every time…I am looking forward to moving up the community late this month.

For the last two periods of school today the kids convinced El Director to let them go to the river to swim…so that’s what we did. As I watched the young students strip out of their uniforms and jump into the crisp water, as others played on the nearby bridge and I felt like I was in a U.S. elementary school….

Kidding.

***Tomorrow I start my new “position” as “gym teacher”…wish me luck! In addition, I am looking forward to a weekend trip to national park, Cotopaxi.

I think I already want to push back my return flight late March….