This week has been so strange. I guess it´s just strange luck, but there wasn´t any school for the students this week. It is such a bummer that on my second week in I don´t even get to work. They had school on tuesday, but that was the only day. Tuesday was great fun. I got to meet new classes that I hadn´t met on friday. One of the classes may prove to be full of problematic students, but the other class is so funny and lively. The teacher pretty much hands me the book and asks me to read and do the lessons. It is such a challenge because most of the students don´t speak any English and really don´t want to be there in the first place. There are a select few that really have an interest in English, but it is hard to keep everyone on track. As soon as I got up in front of the class the students thought they could do what they want and have conversations. I don´t think they were expecting me to demand the same respect as the teacher! ha ha. They were a little surprised when I told them all to sit down, put away their bags, get out their books, and be quiet. I had to tell one student multiple times to put away his music before I had to take it. At the end of class I learned that he was the teachers son! Ha ha, it was a crazy class--but so fun! The rest of the week I had off in the mornings and would just have to go in at 3 for after school study programs. Tuesday afternoon was fun, I just talked with 3-4 students and tried to help them with their conversations. They then showed me around town. We got some ice cream and walked on the back streets away from all the tourist shops. They were really fun.
On wednesday I was invited to the beach for the morning. It was an absolutely beautiful day. We went to a small local beach that is always completely empty during the week. We were able to snorkel a bit and walk around the Darwin station. I returned home for a quick lunch and to get ready to go back to school for the afternoon. Unfortunatly there was no water and no electricity. Ecuador has been having problems with it´s dams so the electricity sometimes goes off for the entire day. This means no running water either. I had to go to school all sandy and salty. Today we were supposed to have a work shop with the teachers in English. Most teachers don´t speak any English so Cleopatra (the teacher I work with) tries to hold classes for them. We waited an hour, but no one showed up. That´s Ecuador though, no time frames.
On Thursday I was invited to visit the island Isabella with a guy from school who owns a tour boat. It was an amazing opportunity. I met him at 6 in the morning and it took a 2 hour boat ride to get there. Isabella is the largest island in the Galapagos and only 1 of 3 that is populated by humans. It was beautiful. It is considerably smaller than my town and the streets are still all made of white sand. We got some breakfast on the island and then Richard (my friend) found a tour guide friend of his who let me come on a boat ride with him and his tour. It was great, I was with a family of 3 who also spoke English. We snorkeled (I got to see my first shark and play with a seal) and did a hike around part of the island. I returned for lunch with Richard. After, we walked around town and through the conservatory for tortise´s and other animals. Unfortunatly I didn´t see any flamingos or other animals that I was expecting to see. The afternoon was spent snorkeling again and then a boat ride back!
I spent Friday in bed sick. Not sure what was wrong, but I really needed to just rest. I went to school in the afternoon, but no one showed up--not even the teacher. So I was able to leave and spend the rest of the afternoon reading in the hammock. By the evening I was feeling quite better and decided to go out with Laura and the girls. I was really fun, even though dance clubs aren´t really my thing. I got an unwanted lap dance from a gay drunk guy. That was truely entertaining and embarassing. But we all had a good time and it was nice to be out with friends.
This week was so nice and relaxing. The weather couldn´t be any better and this is a beautiful place! More soon! xoxo
