Carnaval Craziness!

Hello, all!

Carnaval craziness at the park in Paute, Ecuador.

It's Carnaval weekend! Carnaval is the first few days that kick off the season of Lent, but really, it's a weekend of shenanigans. For those who choose to "play Carnaval," people throw water, foam, cornstarch, flour, and sometimes eggs at each other. It's a lot of fun to see both young and old joining in on the fun. Cuenca has been pretty calm because most people escaped to warmer climates, either the Amazon or the coast, to celebrate, but I decided to stay in Cuenca to enjoy the downtime. I did go to Paute on Sunday, the first day of Carnaval, to see their parade and celebrate a little bit there. Despite being in the mountains, it was warm and super sunny, a perfect day to get wet. I didn't take many pictures of the parade for fear of my phone getting wet or foamed, but it was super cool. It consisted mostly of traditional and contemporary dance groups, with people spraying water and foam and the parade participants and other crowd members the whole time. After the parade, we ate hornado (a plate of roasted pig with potatoes and mote) and headed to the main park by the river, where all the craziness was. Nobody was left unscathed. Foam was everywhere, many people were armed with water guns, and there were vendors selling buckets so people could refill their guns quickly or pour entire buckets of water on people. There was also a concert going on at one end of the park, but I left in the late afternoon before the night events really kicked in to make sure I could make it back to Cuenca. Overall it was fun to observe and participate, as it was nothing too crazy since everyone had the same expectations. It felt like summer again. I had an absolute blast.

Pre-parade shenanigans in Paute

Teaching has been fairly enjoyable lately. I got my first all-adult class. At first, I was a little hesitant because it ends later than all the other evening intensives and it's the lowest level I've taught, but I'm really enjoying it. The students are such a good group. They all were in the same class together last intensive cycle, so they are pretty comfortable with each other and enjoy speaking practice. They are also self-sufficient, as they help each other out in class and try to solve their confusions amongst themselves, which is a characteristic that hasn't been as prominent in my other classes. Sometimes it makes me feel like I'm not doing my job as a teacher when I don't answer their questions for them, but I do think it's better for them to collectively problem-solve because it lets the students take control of their own education and explore the limits of their understanding. Aside from the time, I think this class is my most ideal class.

As for volunteering, it's been fun! My volunteer schedule changed but they kept me in the same workshops, painting, and FCT, only on different days. They did give me one day at the bakery, so it's been nice to have a little bit of a change in scenery and see what happens in a different workshop. I've only been there one day so far, which was mostly a cleaning day, so I'll have to give future updates about what it's like working in the bakery. The students in the painting workshop have been working on more original paintings so far, and they've been producing some incredible work. I realized that I never showcase any work from the painting workshop, so I'll feature some pieces down at the end of the blog.

That's all I've been up to for now. We have vacations again coming up in a few weeks since the second cycle is ending soon, so stay tuned to see what's going when I have free time! Hopefully, I'll be able to do a bit of traveling!

Chao chao for now!
Jossel Franco



Here are some of the cool paintings by Calasanz students:

It’s March! Welcome, blog readers to a blog post all about the events of February.

            February was a great month here in Ecuador. I worked a lot because I wanted to save for my trip to Olón, but I enjoyed getting some extra online teaching experience and in-class experience. I really enjoy my classes this cycle. I have a new intensive 201 class, which is intermediate-level students. This level is great because there is still so much English to teach them, but they still have a nice level of English that you can have a conversation with them. This class is especially fun because it’s all women! In the very beginning of class, I did a lot of icebreakers and getting to know each other, and we found out that we all have a lot in common. Therefore, I can choose fun, interesting speaking and activity topics to include in class! This class is so fun. I am also enjoying my beginner-level class. It is great practice for teaching English. It is very important to know how to talk and work with students at a very beginner’s level. I feel as though I have improved a lot on how to communicate to beginner’s. It seems as though they have been learning A LOT! :D

            Volunteering has been challenging this month. The students have been quite wild and difficult to control, but this is a challenge I have almost enjoyed overcoming. At some points, I have had to be a bit mean to the students. The most difficult group is group 3, which are the older students. Their teacher is Alberto, who works so hard with the students and has been working with them for a year and a half now. There is still such a lack of respect for him, which is difficult to experience sometimes. One moment where I had to assert a student sternly occurred a couple of weeks ago. This student is the most difficult student we have at the Fundación, and he had reached his level of disrespect to us that day. I simply grabbed his hand, pulled him to the side, and said “That’s enough. Do you understand how much Alberto and the volunteers do for you every day? You cannot disrespect us like this day after day. Do you understand me?” He immediately stopped and said “yes” and everything was fine. I felt a bit bad for being stern with him so I talked to Alberto and he said that that is the way it has to be sometimes, and was thankful for my support. Overall, this month was a bit difficult at the Fundación, but Maribel is making a lot of changes so we can see improvements. We have been making more calls to families and bringing more kids to therapy, and I am hoping we will see a change in behavior. The great part about the Fundación is that Maribel is very passionate about these children and about us as employees. Every Tuesday we have a meeting to talk about everything, and Maribel becomes aware of every small detail that happened throughout the week. This makes me feel like we really have the necessary support to help these children’s lives.

            At this very moment, I am writing to you from a DELICIOUS café in Olón, Ecuador. I travelled here with a friend from CEDEI, Sam because we have Monday and Tuesday off from teaching, and I thought we deserved a vacation. I had not yet been to the coast before travelling here, and BOY it’s hot when you have lived in Cuenca for 8 months! The beach here is beautiful and it feels like a different world. It never stops amazing me how small, yet incredibly diverse this country is. It’s about the size of Ohio, yet from the coast to the mountains, the language, weather, and the people change so drastically. I really enjoy the coast here, it is quite beautiful and impressive. The sunburn hurts a bit, but that was expected.

            I cannot wait for what March has to offer. I am making some life changes, and I will let you all know how they go next blog! I will leave you with some photos mostly from the Fundación in the last few months! Disfrutén las fotos! Nos hablamos! :)

Noemi, a new student, with the biggest heart. "Profe!!! tome una foto!!"

A couple of cute lil niños in a box 

José looked so cute, I took a million pics of him like this <3

Olivia, another volunteer, getting her hair done FOR FREE by the kids ;) 

 A beautiful flower truck right by my house. 

A view from Museo Pumapungo, ancient Inka ruins in Cuenca! 

A foto from yesterday in Olón! He comes back around once you've finished your water and cuts out the coconut meat for you *heart eyes*

My best friend from college came to visit me from Medllín! <3