Author: Stephanie Davenport
Placement: 1 month at placement 0112
Departure:
July 2005
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I donīt even know where to begin to express my feelings in regard to my meaningful vacation in Ecuador. The people were, above all else, the determining factor that caused me to fall in love with Ecuador and that enabled me to have such an amazing adventure. The family that runs the project, Inez and Milton, were the most giving, loving, warm, fun and caring individuals. Their three sons were a pleasure to know and every minute spent with this family was time well spent. The students and teachers in the schools were awesome. The teachers happily gave up their own teaching time to give me the opportunity to teach English to their students. The students greeted me in English every morning with warm smiles and big hugs. Their faces said it all and everytime I ran into a student on the bus or in the local town, I was always overwhelmed with thier love and sincerity. The other volunteers have touched my life in ways they will never know. To live in an international community (volunteers from USA, UK, France, etc.) was so special and never boring! Our time spent on the weekends are times I will never forget. I was so lucky to have met such wonderful people to travel with. The Ecuadorian people that I met in markets, on the street, on buses and other places, were always welcoming and friendly. I have made so many new friends, from the old woman who runs the local shop in the Santa Rosa community to the man with scary dogs who lives down the road from the reserve and tells me to marry an Ecuadorian man so I can live there! All of these people are blessings in my life and I will never forget my amazing month in this spectacular country filled with such culture and spirit for life.
Hereīs more:
The reserve is one of the most special places to stay on the planet. There is a 30 minute uphill walk to the reserve from the house in Santa Rosa where Milton and Inez (the directors) live. Santa Rosa is a wonderful little community in the Intag Zone where the people are friendly, the roads are rough and the mountains are beautiful. Once you have left the chickens, roosters, dogs and turkeys in Santa Rosa, you may run into a wandering cow or horse and foal on the path to the cabanas in the reserve. The river runs along the path the whole way. Our water came from the river, so it was very cold, but also quite refreshing! The bunk beds were warm (with enough covers) and cozy, the shower was rustic but beautiful and having western style toilets was a luxury. Although we lived without electricity or any outside connections (aside from Rodrigo arriving from Quito with a new volunteer every once in a while), our options for free time were always varied. Among many activities included relaxing in the hammocks, sitting by the fire, bathing in the river, reading books, planning lessons, chatting in different languages with the other volunteers, hiking to the waterfalls, and bird watching. This lifestyle was more rewarding than the lifestyle of watching television, driving my car to the supermarket or sitting in front of a computer. Each day I woke up at 6:15 and walked down for breakfast to Milton and Inezīs house in Santa Rosa. I left for the school in Santa Rosa around 7:20 in order to make it there before 8:00 (after fighting off scary dogs and turkeys on the road!). The school has around 30 students in 7 grade levels. I often taught two levels together, classes of about 6 students on average. I taught one class from 8-9 and another from 9-9.45. I had to then wait for the bus to Pucara, the second community in which I taught English. I arrived in Pucara at 10 and played with the students during their recess and colada de soya (snack) break. I loved the opportunity to be with the students during time other than teaching. The kids play marbles, tag and swing on the swings in the school yard. Pucara school is broken up into two groups, the older group and the younger group. I prefered teaching the older group because it was very difficult to keep the attention of the younger students for very long. I didnīt feel well prepared to teach English to such young beginners. The older group had had English experience before and they were a pleasure to teach and be with. I loved the students in the younger class but they were certainly difficult to teach. I taught from 11 -11.45 when the bus came to take me back to Santa Rosa. We all met for lunch at the house in Santa Rosa from 12.30-2 and then slowly made our way back up to the reserve. At this point, from 3-6 I either did laundry, took a shower (important to do that in the hottest part of the day as the water was cold) and relaxed until dinner at 6. We made a fire and then usually went to bed at either 7.30 or 8 pm. It was early, but we didnīt have electricity or lights and we were usually tired and cold at this point.
Stephanie Davenport
Teaching English in Rural Ecuador