Whale watching

Our group on the day we went whale watching

We arrived back to the coast just in time to look around for a place to eat near the beach and prepare to be picked up by taxi to take the three-hour drive back to Bahia for the night. We were all very exhausted on the ride home. Once arriving to Bahia, some of us showered, but most of us went right to bed with the thought of having to get up early for our morning schools the next day.

The students at Primero de Octubre

Wall of hands

After finishing, the teachers invited us to stay for lunch and a small celebration because it was our last day working with the school for the month. We awkwardly sat at the teacher’s desk at the front of the classroom as we were served white rice (that’s a daily meal) chicken legs, papaya, and juice. The children presented us with thank you cards, a few Spanish songs, and together we sang the songs we had taught them over the course of the month. One little boy even recited a poem at the front of the class. After lunch, it was time to say goodbye, and it was heartbreaking! The teachers expressed the impact that the active English lessons had on the kids as well as the teachers themselves for future plans, and then each and every student swallowed us in affection. As we pulled away from the school, I realized how much more was to be done for this school, and for many other schools in the country with such limited resources. Many of the students walked two hours to and from school every single day. That meant these six and seven year olds were climbing the mountains to school alone.

Today truly touched my heart, and I am inspired to return to the states and follow in the footsteps of the Canadian volunteer. I realized that a month of volunteering is simply not enough to make the impact that I want to make in a place like Ecuador, but it was a perfect way to start! After returning home to pack, we spent the remainder of the day traveling on a bus to Montanita, talking about the morning and what more we could do when we got back to the United States.

Primero de Octubre School

After both classes, we returned to the house around 12:30 p.m. and had lunch with the group before going to our Spanish lessons at 2:00 p.m. After Spanish, we took a tour of the Saiananda Zoo near the bus terminal with some of the teachers and students from Genesis, the school in town that hosts our program. We didn’t know what to think of the zoo at first, because most of the people we told didn’t even know there was a zoo in Bahía! However, it turned out to be pretty impressive. They had birds from literally all over the world, and they showed us rabbits, turtles, horses, and even huge iguanas that hung out in the tops of trees! We also found out that it was a hostal that had beautiful landscaping and was located right on the water.

Iguana in the trees at Sainananda Zoo

Peacock at at Saiananda Zoo

After the zoo, we came home to eat dinner and then, later that night, we hung out on the beach with some of the locals that we have gotten to know and had a great time! This trip has been amazing so far and I feel so lucky to be able to experience this whole new culture of Ecuador!

We definitely were way under-prepared. We had been told that we weren’t really going to do anything but meet the kids and see the school, so we didn’t bring anything along with us. On top of that, we were wearing long skirts. You will read why this is a big deal in a bit.

When Kait and I arrived at the school this morning, the kids went nuts. We had sixth grade first, and they all came running out. The teachers didn’t even help us out at all. We figured since they already knew how to play soccer and we weren’t prepared for anything else that we would just do that. Playing soccer in long skirts I’m sure was epic for the people watching us, but not so much for us. The kids loved it, of course. They knew exactly why we were there. We played soccer with the kids from 8:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. We were supposed to be at Genesis by 10:00 a.m., but since neither of us had brought a watch, we didn’t know what time it was. It was also confusing because the entire school came out for a recess type thing around 9:00 a.m. and joined us playing soccer. We were completely overwhelmed and I just wanted to go home and cry.

The kids were so cute and loving, though. I really think I would have enjoyed today if I had been a little bit more prepared with what was going to happen.

We had also been told that all the kids there got English classes, but that was not true. None of the kids or teachers knew any English. It was just a frustrating day. I know it will take a while to get used to. I just have to stay positive. For the next few, days we will have to plan some good games where we can also incorporate some English. I am looking forward to the next month.

First day at Modelo



Arriving in Canoa gave me chills because I was thrilled to embark on the adventure in this new, tiny town. Canoa had a very hippie feel to it, which made me fall in love. The whole city was directly on the beach. I had heard about Canoa through some local friends I had met the previous week. Ironically, five minutes walking into the city I saw them. Actually, it was not that ironic because the town is so small. Anyway, we began looking for somewhere to stay the night, and we found the cutest place to stay. We had to cross a bridge to get to the several bungalows where we would call home for the night. There were hammocks, a pool, and a volleyball court. It was so adorable, and the bungalows were made of bamboo.



After getting settled and a nice pizza lunch, we spent the day soaking up the sun on the beach. We watched the locals in their prime playing soccer, surfing and practicing a Brazilian jiu-jitsu. When the tide of the ocean was low, my friend decided to take all of us to see the caves of Canoa. We had to walk along the beach and hike through some hills to arrive at the caves in the beach. The caves were in the mountains, which surrounded the ocean. There were tons of birds. It was a remarkable site to see and experience, especially with my friend who had story after story to tell me.

Enjoying the beach with our Ecuadorian friends



We hiked back to the beach when the sun started to set. We admired the sunset on the beach together. Watching the sun set behind the mountains and beach was breathtaking. We decided to part and eat dinner at a local restaurant called Coco Loco. It was a Mexican-based restaurant where everything was cooked in a brick oven. I ordered a caipariña and a pesto dish with cheese, mushrooms, and peppers all melted together in a bowl to put in warm tortillas. Delicious would have been an understatement. 



A beautiful sunset after an incredible day

After dinner, we all prettied up and went out to enjoy a night full of dancing and fiesta! That was a night I will never forget. We danced under bungalows on the beach. We danced all types of dance ranging from reggaeton to salsa to bachata. I loved the culture of their dancing, and it was a night full of smiles. When the disco closed, we took a walk on the beach where I saw jellyfish lighting up the water. I had never seen anything so extraordinary, and I did not want the night to end. I had such an incredible night of conversation and dancing.



Canoa is a city I plan on returning to next summer to spend time with my new friends. The life and culture is an extreme difference from Bahia, Ecuador. They live a happy-go-lucky sort of life. My friend from Canoa told me the best thing, “You are your life. You should never be afraid and should erase all fear from your mind. You are like the ocean— beautiful on the outside and complex on the inside.” I totally agree.

At 7:00 a.m., my alarm sounded, and I knew it was time to start the day. Another student and I made our way to our first bus stop. As we ventured through the city in the bus, we observed the different kinds of people getting on and off the bus. It ranged from young children traveling alone to school, professors going to teach, and elders headed to the countryside. We also had to go to the countryside; therefore, we had to take a second bus further out of the city. After 20 minutes on the second bus, we prepared ourselves for the trek through the hills of the countryside. We walked about 1.6 miles to the school where we could experience the nature of Ecuador. The greenery was incredible, as the leaves vary in different shapes and sizes. Random flowers sprouted throughout the greenery. When I heard the donkeys yelp and the different birds chirp, I knew I was getting closer to the school.

Donkey

We went to a school where the children are less privileged and they literally have two small rooms where they learn and a small concrete slab to play. Granted, there are only about 45 children in the school: it is a whole different ballpark than the school in the city portion of Bahia. Our children are much more timid, but they listen so well. I enjoy being with them and teaching them English during our physical activity classes!

After our journey back to the city of Bahia, we had a lunch prepared for us by the most awesome Ecuadorian I have met thus far. He is a hero of all heroes. A typical lunch always has soup, fried bananas, and rice along with other delicious food. Since I am a vegetarian, I am allotted different food. My favorite is the vegetable tortilla. ¡Que rico!

Food in Ecuador

My favorite part of the day was immersing myself with the locals, so I could practice my Spanish and learn about their culture. I have met a wonderful friend named David, who actually lived in Asheboro, North Carolina! How ironic is that? I leave the country to meet an Ecuadorian who understands my culture but has been teaching me his own culture. He took me to a beach called Punta Bellaca. It was so beautiful. We walked along the beach and chased crabs, admired the birds, and watched the sunset. The beach was surrounded by beautiful, tall hills. It was so relaxing. We sat on the beach for hours just talking the night away. When I meet up with Ecuadorian friends, we will just dance in the street and enjoy our surroundings. The people here are wonderful and full of life. They do nothing but make me laugh and smile.

I am so excited to see what the rest of the trip will bring. The one thing I do know is that I will not want to leave this extraordinary country, but I certainly will return!

Upon arriving at the school, I still felt new and foreign to the town. The language barrier is a challenge especially since the people of Bahia have a slurred accent and it is harder to translate. Vladir introduced us to the school’s director of Corazon Saladario who only speaks Spanish, and my partner Samantha and I followed her to a van, which took us to the school. Getting in the van was very overwhelming and definitely a new experience. I know very little Spanish so making small talk and using a lot of gesturing was the best way to get to know everyone. The school bus made many stops on the outskirts of Bahia, which is where most of the locals live. The actual downtown of Bahia where Genesis is located is mostly where people vacation. Many of the houses on the outskirts of Bahia look like shacks and are small. The streets are clouded with dust, and dogs roam in the streets not minding the cars or people. People wander the streets selling produce and chatting. We rode in the van for about 20 minutes, picking up several kids until the van was completely packed! When we get to the school, I noticed that it is a church, with separate huts surrounding the church. It’s a beautiful school and has a small farm to the left of it that has star fruit growing on the trees. A couple of the kids stormed the fruit tree and offered us a fruit when we arrived.

My day at Corazon was amazing but also a disappointment. I enjoyed the children of Corazon immensely with their different personalities and wonderful hearts, but the staff had bigger plans for us than we had planned. They were expecting us to be professionals in our skills. When we entered, they wanted us to take over and start teaching/ come up with a way to reorganize and improve the school. The school has about 25 kids, two teachers, and three workers who aid the students. The school is for children of all ages with all disabilities. Since I am studying special education, it was interesting to see the methods and tools that the students were provided and the development of advocacy for people with disabilities. This first day we spent time getting to know the students and met Brian, a man volunteering for the Peace Corps who was assigned Bahia for his site. He explained to us the progress of rights for people with disabilities and how things are improving in Ecuador because a recent political leader recently became disabled and is now advocating for the people more and more. It is nice to see that they are recognizing disabilities and giving the people a chance to have a place for education, but the school is still lacking tools and effort.  The day is only from 8:00 a.m. until 11:30, and the students do not receive much individual or specialized attention. The workers know the students well, but it is easy to see that there is a lack of communication between the nonverbal students and a lack of accommodations and adaptations to the lessons when they are being taught in a group. They have higher and lower functioning classrooms in the morning.

After observing the children, I saw the huge range in disabilities, and I become interested in their diagnosis and plan for their future. Brian explained that they don’t have specific diagnoses; they are under four categories. Also he explained that this week they are working on putting together the children’s first IEPs. This excites me and shows that they are working towards similar goals that we practice in the United States. I hope I can help observe the children to come up with strategies they can use in their classroom. I can already notice that one of the children who is deaf and maybe autistic could benefit greatly from a simple communication device such as a key ring with pictures of different activities like bathroom, food, or playtime.  

Leaving the school, I was intrigued by the movement towards success for the children but feel helpless with my lack of Spanish to really help and contribute to the school especially when working with the staff.

We were introduced to the students, who range in age from 7 to 40 years old. We came to learn that here in Ecuador there is not much of a system for diagnosis as there is in the United States. Therefore, all of these students differed greatly in abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. We spent the morning doing “morning work,” focusing on tracing certain shapes and words. After a snack (which happened to be madness,) we went to the cancha, which was a concrete field with an overhang. Outside, we lined the able students up to do relay games—boys against girls. They absolutely enjoyed every minute. After just one day, I can see the genuine passion that these students have, and the volunteers at the foundation as well. Children and adults with disabilities have such a unique brightness about them. I was saddened to realize that many of them truly have the potential to be mainstreamed, but they do not have the resources here to do so.

After an interesting and enlightening first morning at school, Jordan and I went back to our house for lunch with the rest of the volunteers. BamBam, a sweet man who brings us lunch and dinner during the week, brought us Espinaca soup (which was delicious) and a second entrée of rice, chicken, fried plantains, and salad. I was beyond full; it’s amazing what people eat for lunch here! Our group went to Spanish class afterwards—much needed Spanish may I add. The rest of the day consisted of exploring the beautiful city of Bahia, and then dinner around 6:00 p.m., which was small balls of bread filled with cheese. The small dinner certainly explained the giant lunch!

One of the beautiful beaches of Bahia

A vendor along the river