Hello, blog readers! How is it already December 8^th!

:-O November was a very busy month, but I think I have fully officially settled into living in Cuenca. I sometimes don’t feel like I live in another country. Rather, I feel like I’m living in the most beautiful city in the US, where people are more friendly and the pace of life is slower. Overall, I have found it very easy to adapt to my busy schedule. Moreover, I have enjoyed being very busy to the point where when I have free time, I wish I was doing something for school. I have found that in my free time I lesson plan or do something for the Fundación. Last week our regular, ten-week class has ended, and this week our Saturday classes ended. Therefore, the only remaining class is the 5-week intensives, which I only have to administer an exam for on Monday. Therefore, we will not have classes starting Tuesday, which will give me more time to volunteer at the Fundación before I leave for the States on Thursday. That’s right! I am heading home for Christmas. I think my mother couldn’t stand the thought of me being away for the holidays so they decided to help me out financially with a plane ticket! J Although I am sad I will be missing out on all of the travelling fellow teachers will be doing during their 3 week break until classes begin again, I am excited to head home and see my family and friends and restock on some small material goods I cannot get down here.

            Overall, November was busy, but I am feeling like I am really becoming a better person through this experience/opportunity. I am really challenging myself in the classroom, and I feel like I am truly growing as a teacher and becoming better every day. I am proud of myself for taking the chance and applying to the Puente Cultural Grant because I think I have learned SO much about myself by moving to another country and starting a new career. Luckily, I think I enjoy teaching so much that I will teach English for a long time to come. Additionally, I am excited to have a schedule change in January where I can begin teaching in the morning and volunteering at the Fundación in the evening. I find it very rewarding volunteering, but especially in the evenings with the big group of children that I have come to know very well J Thanks so much for reading, and I hope that all of these blog posts give real insight into an individual experience with the Puente Cultural Grant in Cuenca, Ecuador. I 100% recommend it.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Finishing cycle 1 + Christmas in Cuenca

Hello, all!

A lot is happening as we enter into the Christmas season here in Cuenca. We're finishing up our last

Cuenca sure gets into the Christmas spirit, especially near
the Rio Tomebamba!

cycle, with Dec. 10 being our last day of classes before our one month of vacations. I've learned a lot in the past 10 weeks about being a teacher, and I know I still have a lot left to learn but I think I made it through pretty ok. For most of this time, I think I felt like I was just pretending to be a teacher because I had zero experience beforehand. But yesterday in my evening intensive class, I had a moment where I thought "Wow, I'm a real teacher."  While I'm definitely excited for a break, I'm also looking forward to starting the next cycle. I have a lot of goals for myself, like being more strict with cell phones (especially with my teenagers!), trying to incorporate more music into my classes, and setting higher expectations for my students that encourage them to not just learn for the tests but to actually learn the language. The latter is particularly challenging in an institution where students are motivated by the need to pass and move on to the next level, and I know will struggle with that for my entire duration here, but it's something I would like to be more conscious about.

Santa Clause lazy susan!

My volunteer work at Calsanz has switched up as all the workshops are working on their Christmas projects. Our 10-week cycle at Calasanz ended 2 weeks ago, so the volunteers changed workshops to get some variety in. Now I'm in the 2 FCT workshops. I have no idea what FCT stands for, but the students work on different projects like decorative boxes, cards, paintings, etc. to either take home to their families or sell. I was a bit bitter about it at first because I really loved being in the sewing workshop, but I really enjoy the work that I'm doing now. I love crafting and don't have much time for it outside of my volunteer and work schedule, so I like having it incorporated into my volunteer work. Some of the projects that I've been working on include painting a Santa Clause-shaped lazy susan, wrapping gift boxes to put on all the workshop doors, and repurposing pizza boxes as gift boxes. We get creative here at Calasanz!

Hard at work wrapping gift boxes for FCT

The beautiful view of Cuenca from the new mirador
at Parque La Libertad

 I've also managed to do a good bit of exploring on the weekends. In the past couple of weeks I've been to the new Parque La Libertad, which just opened a month ago and has a mirador with an amazing view of Cuenca, visited Déleg in the countryside of Azuay Province, went on a day trip to a resort at Yungilla with a language exchange group, and finally took a hiking trip to Cajas, which has been on my to-do list for the past 4 months! It's been easier to make time to explore on the weekends now that planning my classes takes a lot less time. I've had an amazing time meeting new people and getting to know different parts of Ecuador, and I'm excited to do more exploring in my upcoming vacation days. Stay tuned!

I'm definitely having a feliz viaje (photo taken at Déleg)

Chao Chao for now!
Jossel Franco

Extra photo! Llama taking in the wonders of Cajas

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

Five Weeks Teaching + FIESTAS DE CUENCA!

Feria tents near La Catedral

It's party time for the next few days in Cuenca, as it's Fiestas de Cuenca season, which celebrates Cuenca's 198th year of independence from the Spanish on November 3. Ferias, fiestas, and food are in the lineup for the weekend, as well as the Ricky Martin concert on Saturday, and I'm so excited. Today is only day one, so I have yet to see even a glimpse of what's going on for Fiestas, but I have visited some of the ferias where local, national, and international artisanal goods are sold. The streets are lined with white tents where people sell their goods, anything from jewelry to masks to kitchen utensils. I haven't bought anything yet, but it seems like a good time to get my Christmas shopping done.

Coloada morada y guagua de pan

Instituto Jose de Calasanz also had some festivities this week to celebrate both Fiestas de Cuenca and Día de los Disfuntos (All Souls Day), which is on November 2nd. We had guagua de pan (bread babies) and colada morada, which is a sweet, purple drink that has chunks of fruit in it. The guaguas de pan commemorate the souls of our loved ones who have passed away. I've actually had guaguas de pan and colada morada quite a few times because it's sold all over the place around this time of year. It's a delicious combination. Calasanz also had a vaca loca and castillo, which are traditionally fireworks displays in the street. The vaca loca is a paper mache cow that is set off, and a person dances around as the vaca loca while the fireworks are going off, and castillos are castles made of fireworks that are usually around 4-6 levels high. Calasanz didn't have the real fireworks for obvious reasons, but they had cardboard versions, and music, and a student dancing as the vaca loca. It was fun to watch, and I hope I get to see the real thing in the next couple of days.

La vaca loca  and el castillo at Instituto Jose de Calasanz

While Fiestas de Cuenca is meant to celebrate Cuenca's independence, for me it also celebrates 2 months volunteering at Calasanz and 5 weeks teaching at CEDEI. It's the halfway point for the first cycle, and while it's been a challenge I've learned a lot about teaching and the English language. My favorite part of volunteering and teaching is getting to know the students on a more personal level. It took time, but it's made teaching a lot easier. I still struggle to find a balance between making sure my students are ready for their exams and trying to make their classes relatable and meaningful. I'm hoping to observe some other teachers in the next couple of weeks to get ideas, and we do get a lot of support from the English program in terms of getting resources and answers to questions. Sometimes I have to remind myself that it takes time and experience to be a good teacher, and that I have to struggle and make mistakes to learn what does and doesn't work.

Painting ceramic nativity scene pieces

My volunteering work is easier in that I don't have to be responsible for planning classes, but they sure keep me busy! I have a fun time every time I go in, and we're doing a lot of cool things in the workshops. Right now in sewing and ceramics the students are working on Christmas projects. I help out by drawing out faces for sewing projects, teaching students how to do the stitches that they need, and helping out painting ceramic parts for nativity scene wall-hangings. The students are participating in a parade of artisanal goods on Monday. It gives the students a chance to show off what they've been working on, so I'm very excited for them to participate.  We switch workshops in the middle of November, so I'm looking forward to trying out a new workshop and getting to know different students a little more.

Me trying on the apron made for the artesanal parade.

Overall, I'm having a great time here in Cuenca. I'm definitely busy, but I find a lot of my work rewarding. Let's see what happens in the next month when I switch workshops and pick up a new intensive class!

Chao chao for now!
JOSSEL FRANCO