Change of Scenery

A couple of weeks ago, I got to attend a conference in Quito for the IB diploma program for international schools. The change of scenery was really great for me! And the change in weather put a smile on my face as well! :o) Quito is in the middle part of the country and has a very high altitude. Therefore, it's much cooler and there really isn't any humidity at all. My hair looked great for a couple of days finally!!! At night actually, it was soo cold! I wore a sweater and still wished I had gloves and a hat. It was about 40 degrees!!! And the city itself is much cleaner and seemingly calmer. Wilson and I might go together some time in the next few months and see if that might be a better city for us. Who knows! (Although if we did decide that, it'd still be another year or 2 before we'd actually move or anything.)

But, as for the conference, I had a great time! It felt so good to be around educators from all over South America who are genuinely excited about teaching! I learned so much about the IB program which was helpful seeing as how I had no idea what it actually involved, but I also came away with so many great teaching ideas that I can use here or when I return to the States. Because everything has been so overwhelming here, I've struggled with a desire to work hard in an effort to be a "great" teacher while in Ecuador. It's just different, and I hit road blocks from so many different directions--the lack of resources, the lack of administrative support, the entire Ecuadorian philosophy about what constitutes a "good" education, the students' behavior, etc. But, the conference did make me a little more excited and willing to push through some of the difficulties. And, next year, the conference may be in either Miami or Buenos Aires! How cool!!! A free trip to a cool place and an opportunity to gain some more PLU's while I'm living overseas! Yay! :o)