Hello! 

Welcome back to our blog! As we wrap up January and head into February, Christmas break seems so far away.  We have been very busy and are now fully back into the swing of things with our work schedules! This cycle at CEDEI, I was given Niños classes again (something I requested), but this time around the students are even younger! Adjusting to a younger age group has been really fun, and I really love all of my students. I also have one more class than last cycle, so my schedule has been busier than it was before.  At first, the adjustment was hard, but getting paid for one more class has made a difference, which definitely makes it worth it! My only class that is not niños is a 102 level with teenagers. Although I tend to really enjoy teaching niños, my class of teenagers is also great, as we get to do different kinds of activities and I find that there are different ways to relate to this group of students. All of my classes are about to take their midterm- I cannot believe we are already five weeks into this cycle!

My classroom filling up with student work! If you look closely, you''ll see where I included my sister as an example (on the grey paper)

More beautiful student work!

I told the students to draw anyone and this student drew me! Yes, I cried

At my volunteer location, San Jose de Calasanz, things have also been going really well. I was sad to miss out on most of December with my students, so I was very excited to see them all again in January.  At Calasanz I really feel as if I have come into my role as a volunteer there; the more time I spend there, the better I know the students, the better I can help out, and the happier we all are to see each other.  Lately I have been spending most of my time in the paint workshop, helping students to finish their individual projects in any way they need. For example, one student was working on painting a cross (pictured below) using a pointillism technique.  I helped him to finish by adding some finer dots to the cross and mixing some altered versions of the colors he had already chosen in order to add some depth. Other times, if a student isn’t able to sit and do an individual project, I play games with them.  As students trust me more and more, I feel very lucky to have been placed at Calasanz. I am so grateful for the bond I am forming with the students and I am looking forward to the rest of my time with them. 

One of my students with his project!

Even in a time when we are super busy with work, we found some time this month to have some fun! January 6th here in Ecuador is celebrated as “Día de inocentes,” otherwise known as a day that commemorates the bible story of King Herod’s order to execute male babies in Bethlehem in an attempt to kill the baby Jesus.  As a celebration of innocence and childhood, it has evolved into a day in which people wear costumes and play jokes, and celebrations take on a light and jovial feeling. At Calasanz another volunteer and I dressed in costumes and handed out candy to the students. A large parade was held in Cuenca and we were able to go after work to see the festivities. All of the floats were super detailed and exaggerated- it was an incredible sight! Lots of people were out for the night and many wore costumes or dressed up as well known characters.  We were glad to be able to make it to the parade after work, because neither of us knew about the holiday until that day! It was definitely an unexpected but fun day. I love seeing Cuenca full of life in the streets- celebrations, street vendors, and activities make the city feel so alive and exciting.

Elena and me (in the green) dressed up and ready to  hand out candy at Calasanz!

One of the floats in the parade- Amazon themed!

Jhoseline with some of the parade participants!

Another fun excursion we got to have this month was to Yungilla.  Yungilla is a town not far from Cuenca that is a popular quick getaway spot due to its warmer climate.  Some people in Cuenca have a “country house” of sorts in Yungilla, and due to its popularity many people were surprised that we hadn’t made it out there yet in almost 7 months.  Finally, we made the trip for a birthday party for a coworker and a very dear friend. The warm weather and the opportunity to swim was a welcome break from our routine here in Cuenca.  Though we came back sunburned and exhausted, our adventure bug had been satisfied once again! We were so grateful for our friend’s generosity and loved the opportunity to celebrate with him! If you’ve read the blog before, you know how much we love birthdays. 

The view!

The beautiful setup for the birthday party!

Jhoseline and I- had to get a picture with the view!

Made a sign at work to countdown the days until Pedro's birthday!

Birthday selfie with the cumpleañero!

All in all January has been a great month.  After December I was so excited to come back to this city that I call home.  It was great to get back to my new “normal” and feel a part of the flow of life here again.  I can’t believe we have already been here for 7 months! I can’t wait to see what the rest of this experience has to offer.  Every new month has something special- and while every month we feel more accustomed to life here, each month also brings new ups and downs, both of which we appreciate, that make our life here so rich.  Looking forward to learning more, experiencing more, and living more here in Cuenca. As always, I want to continue to extend my appreciation to Mark and Linda Raderstorf for choosing me for this grant and changing my life. Thanks for reading!