Chag Pesach Sameach!

I had the most interesting seder. I had planned to skip school (shhh) on Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning to go to a seder at the chabbad (sorry, jabad) house in Quito. I ended up missing more than that, but we'll get to that part in a minute. The seder was wonderful. I met about 30 Israelis who were just passing through while traveling through South America. They didn't necessarily know each other and somehow all ended up there. The rabbi and his wife were also originally from Jerusalem. So I got to speak a lot of Hebrew. I felt so at home. I think at this point my Spanish is better than my Hebrew, but it's amazing how it comes right back to you. We read every word the Haggadah, which was only in Hebrew. The rabbi then translated into Spanish and in the beginning, someone else also translated into English. However, as the night went on, English slowly got eliminated. I was fine with this, but I think my friend Leah's family (who was visiting from the states) was not so pleased. I got to eat real matzah, and real chicken soup (with no chicken feet!!!) and haroset! yum. my favorite. They used potatoes for karpas which I had never seen before. We always use parsley. And they used lettuce for maror. I sat at a table with the Israelis and I really enjoyed getting to know them. The seder ended at about midnight which felt early to me. I'm used to my orthodox cousins' seders where everyone falls asleep on their dessert plates about 2am singing chad gadya. My friend Leah, on the other hand, said that was the longest seder I have ever been to. To me it was perfect. For one night, I felt at home, like I belonged. With customs and food that are familiar. It was so nice to talk about a religion in Spanish and not have Jesus come up once! Usually, when talking to Spanish speakers, I am the first Jew they have ever met and they ask me questions like, so if you don't believe that Jesus is the son of G-d, then what about Mary? It's amazing how mindblowing it is for Ecuadorians that I believe in a religion that does not believe that Jesus died for my sins. To them, such a religion is inconceivable. And I enjoy talking about Judaism and sharing it with Ecuadorians, but after a while stupid questions like that one get old, and it gets harder to answer without being disrespectful.

Anyway, the seder was fantastic. The problems started at about 10pm. Just after we ate, I came down with some kind of stomach bug. And then I was up with diarrhea all night. (sorry to be graphic, but this is sort of normal here in Ecuador) There was no way I could get on a bus to go home to Ambato (4 hours away) with no access to a bathroom. So I did some laboratory tests ($2.50 to tell me that I had an intestinal infection), and bought antibiotics ($2.25) and pedialyte ($2.75) And spent an extra day in Quito skipping two more classes (priceless). I finally made it back to Ambato for my afternoon class today only to find out that classes tomorrow have been canceled. We've always had Good Friday off, but they've decided to give us Good Thursday as well. Needless to say about half of my students were in class today. Anyway, the good thing is I feel fine now, and other than getting sick, I had a fantastic pesach experience. I hope this post finds all of you in good health and similarly enjoying this unleavened holiday.

The Ecuadorian DMV

My host sister, Monica recently took a driver's ed course so she could get her license. In the US drivers ed is usually a few months long, and you have to have your permit for 6 months before you can test to get your license. Monica's course was 15 days long. Before that she had never been behind the wheel. She arrived at the Ecuadorian version of the DMV to take her test at 6 am and the line was already out the door. There was no way they would get to her between 9 and 12 when the place is open. So the next day, she made her host parents save her spot in line starting at 1am the night before. she was number 8 in line. And we thought waiting at the DMV in the states is a nightmare... The next time you have to go get a new license, or deal with the a government agency in any way, take a deep breath and remember that it could be a whole lot worse.

Shout out from the New York Times!

Check out this article!

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/11/opinion/11kristof.html?emc=eta1

It gives a shout out to both WorldTeach and Quito!!! we're so cool. Changing the world, that's how we roll!

I have started my second semester of teaching, and so far so good. I really like my students. So far they are very well behaved. I just gave them their first quiz today, so hopefully they did well.

I'm anxiously awaiting to hear from graduate schools so I can see where I end up next year. So far, I have gotten into Boston University. Yay! but I haven't heard from anywhere else yet. So we're 1 for 1! I'll keep you updated.

Otherwise, everything in Ecuador is ok. My best friend in Ambato just left for the states this morning. :( She had been here for two years through WorldTeach and it was time to go home. But she will be sorely missed. We felt two earthshakes shortly after the big one in Chile. For me, that was petrifying. It was my first earthquake and it woke me up at 5:30 on a saturday because my bed was shaking. But there was no damage here and everything is fine.

That's all for now. Hope all is well back home! xoxo

Wow it's been a while...

Please forgive my lack of entries for the past month. I have been traveling for most of the time. Let's back up to around Christmas time. I did in fact make it to Costa Rica, after a mild airline ordeal. I ended up getting there about 36 hours later than I had planned, but once I got there, the trip was fabulous. It was so nice to see my family and just relax. We went white water rafting and ziplining through the rainforest. I was so proud of parents for being so adventurous! Our last few days were spent chilling by the pool, hanging out on the beach, and deciding which bar to hit up for happy hour. I had an amazing time. The picture of me and Ari and Leora was taken close to mount Arenal, a very active volcano that we hiked around.

Once I got back from Costa Rica I had about two more weeks of classes before finals. I had to cram in the rest of the material that I wanted to teach and get my students ready for their exam. Then I had to rush to grade the exams and hand in all my paperwork so that I could leave for WorldTeach's midservice conference. Midservice was a fantastic experience for me. I got to see all my friends that I had not seen since our orientation in September. The conference was at a gorgeous hostel on the coast called Al Andaluz. It was right on a beautiful fine sandy beach. We had a bonfire at night and ate s'mores, we went swimming and played frisbee in the afternoon, and we got a chance to talk about our Ecuadorian experiences inside and outside the classroom. It was really nice to know that some of the other volunteers are having the same cultural frustrations as I am.

After midservice, I traveled with two of my friends to Montanita, a hippy, touristy beach town on the south coast. We stayed the night with one of their friends, Jessie, who lives and works there. She happens to work in a restaurant that is owned by Israelis! I was in heaven. I ate real Israeli shakshuka and falafel and I got to speak Hebrew. I was the happiest camper.

The next day we left Montanita at 7Am and I got home to Ambato at 6pm. It was a long day but so worth it, because the next day, I left for Quito to pick up my boyfriend, Avi, at the airport!!! Luckily, he was able to get three weeks off to come visit me!!! We had a fantastic vacation together. We saw sea lions, crabs and tons of iguanas in the Galapagos Islands. Oh, and of course giant turtles (see picture). We then traveled to the north Coast. We wanted to get to Mompiche, a secluded little beach town two hours south of the popular Atacames beach. We had to stay in Atacames one night because there were no afternoon buses to Mompiche. So we stayed the night and left in the morning. When we finally made it to Mompiche, we realized that there was no bank in town. The closest bank was in Atacames, 2 hours away. The next day, we tried to catch the first bus to Atacames so that we could be back by the afternoon. We were told the first bus left at 6, but really, it left at 5:50, and unfortunately that made a big difference. We attempted to chase the bus down the unpaved, rocky road in the dark with our sandals, but we didn't quite make it. Avi tripped in the process and cut his hand open. So, we got on the next bus that left Mompiche, but they were going in the opposite direction. When they passed a bus going in the right direction, they beeped like crazy, stopped, and then backed up to let us onto the bus going the other way. It was an adventure but we finally made it to ATM and back to Mompiche in one piece.

After the coast, we traveled to the Eastern part of the country, the rainforest. We went white water rafting and took a jungle tour. We learned about giant ants that would give you a fever for two days if it bit you. We made friends with a SLOTH!!! and hiked three hours to an indigenous village deep in the rainforest. We also went to a rescue center for monkeys were we played with them and they tried to steal things out of our pockets. (see picture with Avi and the monkey) Finally, we made it back to Ambato for the big festival of Flowers and Fruits. We saw the parade with all the floats carrying the queens of Ambato and the surrounding towns. We accompanied my host dad to a cock fight, which was a lot better than I had expected. It looked like an illegal underground ring, but it is in fact legal and all the men who went get really into it, shouting and betting. It was definitely an experience, and perhaps the highlight of Avi's visit.

Now, Avi has left :( and things have been very quiet around here. I have one more week of vacation before I start teaching again on March 1st. On March 11, one of my best friends in Ambato, Kat, is leaving Ecuador. :( (She's the crazy one in the last picture) She's been here teaching with worldteach for two years, and it is time for her to go back to Texas. I'm going to miss her terribly. but we are receiving a new volunteer here in Ambato. I have not met her yet, but I hope that we will get along.

That's all the news that's fit to print. A lot has happened since I last wrote. I promise to do a better job of updating this blog so that the next entry is not quite this long. ciao!

Feliz Ano Nuevo!!! (happy new year!)

I did finally make it to costa rica!!! I managed to catch a 7 am flight to panama, after my host family drove me my immunization record. but then I couldn't get on a flight from panama to costa rica until 9 pm. so i spend about 12 hours in the panama airport. it sucked, but I finally made it to costa rica, and everything was so worth it. I met my family and we have been having a fabulous vacation. It's so nice to see them!!! I had missed them a lot. we have been ziplining in the rainforest, hiking to waterfalls, white water rafting, watching red hot lava roll down a very active volcano, and just chillin at the beach for the past 10 days. We brought in the new year in the beach town of Quepos where there was live music and dancing in the streets. I hope you all had a fabulous new years eve, continue to have a safe and happy and healthy new year!

Sunday i'm going back to ecuador, and monday it's back to work! I hope I have a lesson plan...

worst day ever... merry early christmas

I¨ve had the worst day ever. I´m still in Quito. I was supposed to have left for costa rica at 4. I´m going there to meet my family who´s going on vacation there. i havent seen them in four months. but They wouldn´t let me leave the country because I didn´t have a document with me that says that i was vaccinated for yellow fever. i have this document, but it´s in ambato three hours away. no one told me that i needed it to leave the country. my parents didn´t know either. no one asked me for this paper when i entered the country... it´s really not my fault. anyway, i got to the airport at 11 and i was waiting for them open the stupid check in counter. if they had told me at 11, my host dad could have driven me the document in time. but i found out when the counter opened at 2. not enough time. then i called the airline to try to change my flight. i couldnt change it through the airline because i made the reservation through orbitz. i would have to call them. she gave me an international number with too many digits that didn´t work. i tried to use the internet. the internet in the airport wasn´t working. i left the airport and walked to the first internet cafe i could find.. with all my luggage. then i found out the electricity was out in that sector. when i broke down crying and explained my situation the guy who worked at the internet cafe went to go find a generator. the whole time i´m trying to get in touch with my parents. they finally call me back. they´re in the atlanta airport delayed. so my dad starts calling the world to try to get me on the next flight which leaves at 7 am. he kept telling me to go to the ticket window in the airport. so i ran back to the airport with my luggage only to find out that THERE IS NO TICKET WINDOW IN THE AIRPORT. i walked through some back part of the airport to find the copa airline office... which isnt really their office. they tell me that to change my flight i have to go to their real office which is a cab ride away. i told them, no please please help me (in spanish mind you) so finally he agrees to try to get me on the next flight. which costs $168. great. except for that there´s no room on that flight. i´m on the waiting list. which means i need to show up at the airport at 4 am with this document that host dad is bringing. he´s leaving from ambato at 1 am to bring it to me. and i might not even get on the flight. if not, i have to wait until 4 pm and i have to pay a lot more... how much more? it´s like buying the ticket all over again. plus, in running back and forth from the airport to the internet cafe and back i lost my glasses. i put them on my shirt because i was crying and they must have fallen off. i retraced all my unhappy steps and could not find them. i think i managed to waste thousands of my parents dollars and hours of my host dad´s time. plus my host uncle who picked me up at the bus station and brought me to the airport, and then picked me up at airport again and brought me here... to my other host uncle´s house (where i stayed the last time i came to quito) it´s been the worst day ever. i´ve been crying all day. i feel like shit. word of consolation will be greatly appreciated.

Do you know Obama's dog's name?

Yesterday was the first real rainy day I've had since I've been in Ecuador. While all of you guys are shoveling your driveways, I'm complaining about a little rain. Well it was rather inconvenient because I was supposed to take my morning class to Banyos that day. I had made a really fun scavenger hunt for my students that involved interviewing English speaking tourists and trading a mango for something more exciting (sound familiar, Gadna?). Anyway, we almost canceled it, but then miraculously in the afternoon it stopped raining. My students were able to complete their scavenger hunt and they told me that they had a lot of fun. After the scavenger hunt, we had dinner all together. Here in Ecuador, there must be some "palabras" (a few words) before starting a meal with a lot of people, so I told my students how happy I was to have them not only as students but as friends. and it's true. This class is mostly university students and they're awesome. We have a lot of fun together. After our dinner we went to bar for a few cervezas. I happened to have a dreidle in my bag (thanks Mrs. Seneor!) and I taught my students how to play dreidle! I explained to them what each letter stood for and why we play dreidle on chanukkah, but they were much more interested in gambling pennies. We stayed in Banyos dancing and drinking until about 9:30. As we piled into the mini bus to head back to Ambato, one of my students pulled out the lyrics to Jingle Bell Rock. I had taught them this song in class. If they're late, they have to sing it in front of the class. So my tipsy Ecuadorian students sang the Jingle Bell Rock on the way home. I had not laughed so hard in a long time. Well, at least I know they learned something...

I was finally able to put up some pictures! enjoy!

picture 1: my makeshift menorah that I lit every night!
picture 2: My and some of my students in Banyos
picture 3: a view of Chimborazo volcano from the road to Guaranda
picture 4: Monica, Alexandra, and me. Alexandra was dancing in Banyo's independence parade with her high school. Check out that outfit!!!! I want one.
picture 5: Me, Emily, Lauren, Brendan, Kat and Peter. All the Ambato volunteers at my house for Thanksgiving dinner!