Day 2 in Ecuador

The second day for our group in Ecuador was one of the most eventful days of my life. It all began with a delicious breakfast, followed by a visit to the Inca campus of Humberto Mata Martinez school. Andrew and Dana are teaching at this school. Here we met the principal and teachers of the school. They all echoed the same sentiment, the students here lack confidence and are unable to envision a world beyond this city. The teachers all requested that we teach more than subject material, but that we teach confidence, life skills, and help the students envision opportunities to experience life beyond the city of Quito. I am glad to hear that because I believe that school should be about more than learning subject material, it should be an enjoyable place for students to grow as people. Next we travelled to the Zambiza campus of Humberto Mata Martinez school. Sara and I will be teaching at this school. I really liked this school from the moment we arrived. It is located right beside a beautiful lush green courtyard. Inside, it is a small, warm, welcoming school. It gives off the feeling of a small town, which is comfortable for me being from a smaller sized town. Zambiza has a nice basketball court, as well as access to another space to participate in physical activities. We entered one class and introduced ourselves. After I introduced myself a couple of students said "Justin, like Justin Beiber!", all of us had a laugh at that. The students seem a bit shy and in awe of us Canadian teachers. This has me feeling excited, nervous, fortunate, and proud to be given this opportunity to connect with the students and teachers here. After visiting Zambiza we moved on to another school. This was a school which was a bit ahead of the schools we will be teaching at in terms of resources. At this school our group was interviewed by a reporter who works for the mayor and will be writing a story about us in a local paper. We were also able to observe and then participate in a dance class that was going on. The students loved having us participate and there was even a gathering of students looking in through the windows at us. It was a great time. While we were at the school we were also fed a tasty supper cooked by the students which consisted of fish and plants from the jungles of Ecuador. Following our stop at the school we were taken on a late night adventure by Enrique the Minister of Education in Ecuador. Words can not describe how amazing the night was but it consisted of traditional ballet, rooftop views of the city, a Semana de Santa (Saints Week) parade including Ecuadorian Cucurucho's (dressed in traditional purple attire), a visit to San Francisco church (without a doubt the most detailed and beautiful architecture I have ever seen), drinks with locals in Ecuador and to top it all off a rooftop view of a Miley Cyrus concert (from our hotel rooftop we could see and hear the entire concert!).

Ecuadorian Cucurucho's

Inside San Francisco Church

Rooftop View of Quito (The group and Enrique, Ecuador's Minister of Education)

Rooftop View of Miley Cyrus Concert