My Ecuadorian Life

Where to begin?

The last three weeks (since my last blog) have been incredibly busy but wonderful all the same!

I have been in Quito for over 10 weeks now and have less than 2 weeks left!  This is a truly unbelievable feeling.  In some regards I feel as if this is my life now and I have been here forever.  However, at the same time, the past 3 months have just flown by and I can't believe it is already (almost) time to head back to the States.

Reading Group

I finished four weeks of full-time teaching last week and am teaching just a few subjects this week and tapering off even more next week.  Full-time teaching was a big challenge with tons of work and lesson planning but I loved every minute of it.  My students are so wonderful and I love each of them very much.  They made all the long nights of planning worth it!  Those four weeks (along with my entire time teaching here) have taught me so much about myself, my students, being a teacher, behavior plans, and much more!  At times I felt as if I was teaching in a "normal" (whatever that means) school in the States but then there would be moments where it would hit me.  I would have this ah-ha moment of shock that I am actually living and teaching in SOUTH AMERICA!  I know this sounds so obvious as I have been preparing for this time for so long and have been here for 2 and a half months but it would still hit me at random moments.  I am incredibly thankful for this experience and know I will carry all of these moments with me wherever I go.

All my Latino kids got the futbol moves!

As I prepare to leave I have realized that I am ready to be back, yet I am not ready to leave.  This leaves me in quite a conundrum.  This week I had to begin telling my students that I only have 2 more weeks with them.  This led to questions like "why do you have to go?" "who will be Mrs. Bastidas' other teacher?" "can I come with you?" and so on.  These questions tug at my heart as I know that I do not want to leave these precious students.  As my remaining days here in this beautiful city fly by, my schedule is filling up with last-minute to-dos like concerts, parties, shopping, and dinners!  I am so thankful for all of the friendships and experiences I have had here and plan to soak up the next week and a half too!

Two of the sweetest kids!

A quick recap of the last few weeks...

* We had a long 3 day weekend a few weeks back so we indulged and went to stay at the Marriott in Quito!  Three other teachers and myself went for a relaxing weekend laying by the pool, going to the spa, and sleeping in.  We also went out to a little Italian restaurant where we ended up meeting the owner and he made us our own special meals and gave us free calamari!  The weekend was also full of movies, Chinese food, disaster brownies, and manicures and pedicures!

 

* Mariah, another student teacher and my roommate, went back to the States two weeks ago.  We were able to have a big goodbye dinner with a group of people from the school.  It was a great night to just reflect on how blessed I have been to meet so many wonderful people!







* I went out to a small town called Nono and stayed at my supervisor's new ranch house for a weekend trip.  We were completely secluded from our normal city-life and were surrounded by mountains and valleys and the great outdoors!  We hung out by the fireplace, had great conversations, read a great book, and went horse-back riding.  I was able to step back from the normal busyness of life and take time to rest.


* Last Saturday was Parent Teacher Conferences.  This made for a long day (7:30am-2:15pm) but was very rewarding.  It was great to meet all of my students' parents and hear from them.  Talking with the parents made me realize how much I have learned about each of my students individually and how much I care about them.