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

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!

First Impressions

Our view of Cuenca from right outside our TEFL classroom

I used to think that over a month in the same city would be enough time for the city’s magic to wear off a little bit, but in the 6 weeks that I’ve been in Cuenca, Ecuador my amazement has only grown. I still have plenty of “I can’t believe I’m here” moments. During a walk down the Rio Tomebamba or a drive out of El Centro I can’t help but think about how magnificent it is to be here in this beautiful, Andean city. The warm, welcoming culture has made my experience all the more worthwhile. My host family has taken me in as their own and have been supportive in whatever way they can. Being part of a family here has been crucial to learning how strong the family values are here, in a way that is similar to but distinct from the Mexican/Filipino family values I grew up with. The strangers that I’ve encountered have been welcoming as well. While I tend to blend in with my physical appearance, the moment I open my mouth people know I’m not from here. And still, I’ve only been received with patience and kindness as I learn to find my way around the city and culture. I’ve had friendly conversations with taxi drivers, street vendors, and store owners, and even made a friend of the old lady at the papeleria who helped me as I struggled to communicate what I was looking for and who trusted me enough to ask me to watch her store for a few minutes the following week. I know there are still things that I haven’t grasped about the culture here, and I aim to learn more about the local indigenous communities, local history, and national history in the next few weeks as I have a little downtime before I start teaching.

Day 1 of TEFL at La Casa de la Makana, where we learned
about how traditional Makana shawls are made

My first month here has been focused on just that, preparing me for teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL). The TEFL program was intense since I was thrown into teaching right at the start of the program. Fortunately, I had supportive instructors, intelligent TEFL peers, and participative students during evening teaching practice. I also had the opportunity to explore outside of the Cuenca as part of the program, including a visit to La Casa de la Makana in Gualaceo, an excursion to the Ingapirca ruins, a trip to Cajas National Park (which I personally was unable to participate in but is on my to-do list), and an English lesson service project out in Principal. What more could I ask for? I learned so much in the process, and even though I am far from perfecting my teaching (do you ever get close?)  I know I’m ready to get started. I am extraordinarily grateful for all the people I’ve met in the process: Kaitlin, my adventure buddy for the year; Mark and Bea, who constantly pushed us to improve; the other TEFLers, who I developed friendship within the midst of struggle; the students in my evening classes, who each greeted me individually at the start and end of each class with the good old, Cuencana cheek kiss (that took some getting used to) and who taught me about Ecuadorian culture as I was teaching them English; and all the others at CEDEI who provided support for my adjustment to Cuenca and the TEFL program. I’m excited to take on my official teaching position with CEDEI and meet more wonderful students and peers.

Katilin and I teaching a service project English lesson in Principal

I also look forward to doing a bit more exploring. Being here in Ecuador has brought out an adventurous side of me that I didn’t know I had. I always liked traveling, but I’ve been pushing the boundaries of my usually extra-cautious self, climbing over rocks at river banks in Principal and going on long hikes that never would have interested me beforehand.  Kaitlin and I went on a post-TEFL trip with her host family to Chimborazo, the volcano that’s the highest point in Ecuador. That was a challenge for me as I consider myself unathletic and a bit clumsy, but I’m proud of myself for not giving up and for pushing myself to go all the way to the lagoon despite my fear of falling (it was a tricky descent). While I will hesitate, I’m learning to not be content just watching on the sidelines. I don’t think I can fully enjoy Ecuador’s nature without taking a few small risks, and I’m learning I can do more than I thought I could.

I’ll learn plenty more about teaching, culture, and myself in the next few months as I get settled into the Cuencana lifestyle, so stay tuned! Thanks to Mark Raderstorg and Linda Armstrong for this wonderful opportunity.

Chao chao for now!
JOSSEL FRANCO

Kaitlin and I post-TEFL, climbing on a train car in Alausí on the way to Chimborazo