Hello to everyone from Cuenca!

It is now November and I cannot believe the time has flown by so quickly! This now makes four months here in Ecuador. For an update, I am teaching 4 classes at CEDEI and volunteering in the mornings. Although the teaching is challenging, it is amazing how much easier it has become for me. Every week I feel as though I get better at what I do, and I am thankful that CEDEI has plenty of resources for us as teachers. It makes my life so much easier. My volunteer sight is great, and Maribel is very appreciative of all help I have been able to give to them. I am going to begin to try to incorporate more games with the students in the mornings, so that we are fully utilizing our time together and learning at all times.

As far as my social life, I am very happy here. I have met so many other fellow teachers and am getting along very well with everyone. I am thankful for new friends to do things with. This weekend was Fiestas de Cuenca, and boy, was that fun! We had Thursday and Friday off from teaching, and the free time was nothing short of perfection. For Fiestas de Cuenca there were a million “ferias” or fairs selling different things not always available in Cuenca. There were merchants and visitors in town from all over the continent, and it was amazing to be able to see new art, clothes, food, and music all around town. It was a shopper’s (AKA my) heaven! I was able to buy unique Christmas presents for my whole family at really good prices. Other than shopping and spending time on the town at night with friends, we took a day trip to Girón, just a couple hours outside of Cuenca on Saturday. The bus trip was $1, and getting to the Waterfalls in Girón was very simple. After seeing the first waterfall, we decided to take the long hike up to the second lookout to see the second waterfall that is there. We hiked upwards for about an hour, and although it was difficult, nothing is better or can beat the fresh air in the Andes here. I could have hiked forever. One of the best parts of living in Cuenca is the easy access to other small mountain towns for a quick, outdoorsy getaway! I am certainly enjoying my time here. What a refreshing weekend. I am certainly feeling at home here. J