Settling in, Volunteering, and Getting Ready for Teaching

I can't believe it's already been about 2 and half months since we've been here. The more that I roam the streets of Cuenca the more comfortable I get. I've started establishing a routine, getting up in the morning to volunteer, spending my afternoons exploring a new part of the city or reading by the Rio Tomebamba, and going to the market every Saturday to get my fruits and veggies for the week. While there are still times when I miss my family and friends, I'm definitely settling in. Cuenca is starting to feel a little more like home.

One of our favorite reading spots at the
Rio Tomebamba

Despite trying to make this city my home, I have had some fun being a tourist as well. Kaitlin and I visited a few hotspots, including Turi (the best spot to see all of Cuenca), El Museo de las Culturas Aborigenes, and the Museo Municipal de Arte Moderno. Those experiences were really good in that they provided interesting information, especially the museums, but all that information felt out of context to me and I'm still struggling to connect some of the dots in terms of how that information plays into the local identity and history. I think in order for me to really get a grasp on Cuencana culture I need to visit the Museo Pumapungo, which has been recommended to me multiple times and is on top of my list, and read a history book about Cuenca. A friend of mine has generously lent me a great history book in Spanish, and I'm struggling through it because the Spanish level is a little too high for me and I have to look up word several times per page, but I hope to get through it within the next couple of weeks (or months).

Kaitlin and I at Turi, with a wonderful view of Cuenca
behind us

I've been volunteering at Instituto Jose de Calasanz for the past 3 weeks, and it has been an absolute blast so far. Calasanz is a school for people with a variety of physical, developmental, and intellectual disabilities, and provides both traditional and workshop-oriented education to its students. The school has such a bright, happy environment, and all the teachers are so warm and welcoming to all the students and volunteers. Right now I help out in the sewing, ceramics, and painting workshops, but the school also offers baking and woodshop. I love working with the students on their projects and getting to know their personalities in the process. Some of the students have been with the school for a long time and have strong skills in their respective workshops. Even though I'm technically there to help out as necessary, I spend plenty of my time just learning, either from the workshop teacher or the students. In the sewing workshop the students are working on individual knitting projects, and since I have no prior knitting experience I sometimes have to ask a student to remind me how to do a basic knitting stitch. I prefer to think of my work with the students as collaborative instead of a one-way, I-help-them-when-they-need-me sort of relationship. That's what makes the work fun. Calasanz starts a choir and a band in October, and I'm really excited to see what the school's musical activities are like.

This week Kaitlin and I start teaching at CEDEI, and I'm nervous but also looking forward to it. I'm glad I started volunteering with Calasanz beforehand because it gave me the chance to work with wonderful teachers that serve as role models for how I want to be as a teacher: caring, open-minded, understanding, realistic, and supportive. It'll be a challenge getting used to and balancing my schedule but I'm up for the challenge. Wish me luck!

Chao chao for now!
JOSSEL FRANCO

This month in Cuenca has really been one for me to find a routine and really make myself at home. Getting accustomed to Cuenca is quite easier. In fact, it’s much, much easier than I thought it would be. We finally moved into our new apartment, and it is just past the river in “New Cuenca”. New Cuenca is a very modern and suburban, and many call it “Gringolandia”. Therefore, it has been easy to feel at home because of all of the modern shops, hospitals, and restaurants in the area. The houses around this area are beautiful and large, and each yard has a plethora of beautiful succulents and flowers, and I have been inspired by the beauty in this area. Since we only started volunteering this past Monday, we have had plenty of time on our hands, and like I said before I have taken this time as a period of making myself at home and finding a bit of a routine here in South America. For me, exercising is my form of therapy and making myself feel better and normal. It’s my form of sanity, and I have used it as natural medicine for years since I was a child. So a few weeks ago, I decided to find a gym in the area. The gyms here are not exactly inexpensive, but I decided to join for the month since I have so much free time. The gym I joined is pretty nice and in the Centro, so run about a mile to the gym, get a workout in, and then I run back home. It’s been a really nice way for me to keep busy when I’m not volunteering. Like I said earlier, we started volunteering at our separate sites, and I am very excited for the experience and fulfillment La Fundación el Arenal will give me. My first week volunteering has been really good for me. I have developed a relationship with the other teachers and the coordinators at the Fundación, and everyone is very open and loving, and they are all very close to each other. On Monday and Wednesday, we stayed after the kids left for a couple of hours and talked. Having a volunteer site has definitely helped in making me feel at home here. Furthermore, the children at the Fundación are very intrigued by me. They all keep asking me where I am from and how to pronounce my name, but they are all very excited to have a new face around, and I am happy to be that new face. The first week is apparently a bit slow, so we haven’t been doing much tutoring or teaching since the children have only begun their schooling, but we have been playing outside, watching movies, and drawing a lot. I have started to pick up the student’s individual personalities, and I will say, they are all very animated and unique. I cannot wait to get to know them better, and I have been working very hard to learn all of their names! I have still yet to figure out the bus systems here, but once I do I will easily be able to commute to and from home to la Fundación as it is only a couple of miles. Overall, all of this free time has been quite great for me. Moving to a new country is a bit emotionally overwhelming, even if you don’t realize the emotional toll it takes on you. I have taken this free time to get back into my healthy routine, get to know my neighborhood, and throw myself into my volunteering. It has been quite the whirlwind moving to Cuenca, and I think that I am starting to realize and process the fact that I live in a new country, and I like it. I feel as though I can do anything; I can live anywhere, and I can adapt to anything. A word of advice to any incoming Puente Scholars, take the time to get to know Cuenca. You may not meet a million friends right off of the bat, but it is easy to feel at home here. Find what makes you happy because I am sure they have it here, and dive on into it. Also, get to know the people you work/volunteer with. Everyone here is very welcoming, especially when you show interest in being their friend and neighbor. Home is wherever you make it, and your experience here will reflect your effort of becoming familiar. Two months down, ten-ish months to go!