Shoppig in Otavalo y Cuichoca

We did my favorite thing alllll day. SHOPPINNNNGGG!! We all met early in the morning and drove two hours to Otavalo, Ecuador.

Abby and I were buddies that morning. She cuddled on my lap half way to Otavalo.

Vero, Abby and Daniel. The interesting thing about Ecuador is that the children don't sit in safety seats. The kids sat on our laps and in the back of the SUV for the whole trip.

Otavalo is the home of a giant Mercado Artesanía, Indigenous artisan market. They sell jewelry, hammocks, blankets, ceramics, clothing... on and on and on handmade goods. It was a beautiful drive! We drove through the mountains and had a beautiful view of the mountain Imbabura.

I bought all of my Christmas presents. It was the best and most enjoyable Christmas shopping I've ever done!



Afterward we ate dinner in an inactive volcano. The crater had filled water and is now a beautiful lake in the town of Cuicocha

After our long day, I went home and spread out all my beautiful things and looked at them again. Soooo excited!

That night, Vero, Maggie and I went to a play at Vero's school Alliance Academy. The play was fantastic! It was called Fools and the students did an amazing job. Some of the students were performing in their 2nd and 3rd languages.

Les extraño todos!

Katy




“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” Maya Angelou

Bowling in Quito

After school we met the other teachers and went bowling at Las Molinas. Turned out to be a very scary bowling alley! Maggie and I took a taxi to the bowling alley. We were chatting and joking until the taxi turned into a dark scary alley. We both went silent and I started thinking what I could use to protect us! Turns out it was the darkest scariest bowling alley parking lot ever. We have heard too many scary stories this week! We had a great time although the shoes were disgusting and in the end our hands were black from dirt... gross! My score was pretty terrible but we had a great time!

Con amor!
Katy

Fútbol: Ecuador vs Peru

I have soooo much to update everyone on! On Tuesday the 15th many teachers as well as us student teachers went to a fútbol game! It was amazing. I learned a lot about Ecuadorian fútbol. We bought tickets for 40 dollars and jerseys for 5 dollars. We sat in the Preferential section, the view was good but you still had to fight through the crowd for a random seat. We sat with some very nice gentlemen who helped explain the game to us. When Ecuador won 2-0 we were treated to a nice cold beer shower! haha. The game was amazing and well worth it!

Ps all pictures are stolen from Meghan Key :)

A few more pictures of my class

On Mondays we have a "civic moment" We meet out on the patio and the students sing the national anthem, the school anthem, and the US anthem. They listen to announcements. I figured it was a good chance to show off our kids and their uniforms...

My students ran a mile in gym class. I thought they were going to die in the heat and their UNIFORMS! That's right. They have sweatsuits as uniforms... how comfortable is that?! However we had 1 kid throw up several times and another girl broke down crying and had to go to the nurse. No one likes the mile... especially not in Ecuador. Note the sweat.

Everyday Maggie and I ride the bus to school together. We ride with the secondary school for free. We are the first ones on and the last ones off. It is like a 45 minute ride in the morning and afternoon :( At least we have each other. Lately Maggie and I have taken to sleeping on the bus, that's dangerous when you have a camera lover like me around :)

Con amor!
Katy

“A man travels the world in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.”

Teleférico de Quito

On Saturday November 12 we went to Teleférico de Quito. This is a giant cart on a cable that takes you up the side of the mountain. You can see the changes in vegetation as you go up. Unfortunately it was a little cloudy. We saw beautiful sights half way up the mountain and then all of the sudden we were in the clouds. When we reached the top it was very hard to breathe! They even offer oxygen when you get to the top because many people can't handle the altitude.

On Sunday we went to dinner with the family. I met Vero's father and we ate until we were going to explode. (A good preview for Thanksgiving)As you can see many people fell asleep... It's a lot like the United States

Gigi, Vero y Abby

The roof of Carol's building (Vero's daughter) shows all of Quito and you can see the mountains of Cayambe and Cumbayá.

Con amor,
Katy