So, Wilson is now officially in medical school and will begin his first year on May 17! Yay!
Here in Ecuador, instead of having an MCAT or something, they have what they call pre-university classes that you must take and pass in order to get into med school. It consists of various classes that are each 3 weeks long and pretty intensive. Wilson started in February and just finished last week. He had to take chemistry, biology, physics, and anatomy as well as Spanish (like a composition class) and Study Techniques. His classes were from 1:30-7 Monday through Saturday. The grades are on a 1-10 scale, and you had to make an 8 in order to pass. If you pass every class, you may register for med school. Wilson was one of the top students in every class. (In other words, he was the biggest dork! He had read the first chapter of each book before he ever went to the first class!!! Ha!) Ironically, his hardest class was Spanish! After failing the midterm, we studied together a lot for that one, and he was one of 3 in his class of 65 to pass it! (Good thing his sweet wife could help him learn all about thesis statements and argumentative essays!) And, he had the highest grade in his class in both Anatomy and Biology!
Needless to say, I am so proud of him! He works so hard and studies so much because he really enjoys all of that stuff. (Bless his heart, he always tries to tell me about what he's learning and I could seriously care less about the endocrine system or the processes of the pancreas! But I try to be nice and listen since he listens endlessly about all the novels I read.) He's also still working occasionally with various orthopedic surgeons here in Guayaquil. He even got to attend an international conference this weekend for the Ecuadorian Orthopedics Association because he's real good friends with the Vice-President of the organization. He worked with a Canadian doctor who was here for the conference and heard presentations from doctors from England, Argentina, Chile, etc. I also benefited from this because I got to go to the dinner on Thursday night with him at the Hilton Colon hotel (dress, heels, jewelry, and all!!! Yay!). We sat with the Canadian doctor, and he was really nice. He and Wilson laughed about the culture shock of doing surgeries here after being so used to the technology and resources available in the US and Canada.
So, I guess we'll be staying here for a while. Wilson really is so happy to actually be living out his dream, and I am just so excited for him. So, please continue to keep him in your prayers as he begins his first year. We know it will be tough, but Wilson is one of the hardest workers I have ever met. I pray that his passion and hard work will help him to be very successful!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Beach Trip with the Girls
Right before classes started back, I went with 3 other girls who teach at my school to the beach for the day. They all teach in the primary school, so I don't get to see them much. But, we had an absolutely wonderful, relaxing time. We met at the bus station at 8 in the morning, took a $2.50 bus to the beach, rented chairs and umbrellas for $2 each, hung out all day, had lunch at a restaurant on the beach, and then took a $2.50 bus back to Guayaquil around 6. I spent less than $20 for the whole thing. And it's all so convenient. The people who rent the umbrellas and all also sell drinks right there on the beach for you. And various vendors walk up and down the beach selling everything all day. The others bought fruit from the vendors, but I went for the icecream guy! :o)
But the sun is sooo strong!!! I had 30 spf sunscreen which I applied twice while we were there. I was only actually in the sun for about an hour the whole day--15 minutes out in the water, 1 hour back under the umbrella, 20 minutes walking around, 1 hour under the umbrella, etc.), and I still got burned!!!! One of my friends said they now make 100 spf, so maybe I'll try that next time. :o)
The girls I went with are lots of fun, too! Hannah is the one I do a Bible study with each week. She's married to an Ecuadorian named Wilson, too! Ha! Alicia is also married to an Ecuadorian guy, and they had their first child almost a year ago. This was actually her first trip by herself since the baby, so she certainly needed a little break! And Cat is from Canada and seems to be quite the traveler. She was in Mexico before moving here. She has traveled all over South America while living here and is such a cool person! We decided we should do that once a month or something! After only 2 weeks of school, I'm totally in need of a beach trip again for sure!!! :o)
But the sun is sooo strong!!! I had 30 spf sunscreen which I applied twice while we were there. I was only actually in the sun for about an hour the whole day--15 minutes out in the water, 1 hour back under the umbrella, 20 minutes walking around, 1 hour under the umbrella, etc.), and I still got burned!!!! One of my friends said they now make 100 spf, so maybe I'll try that next time. :o)
The girls I went with are lots of fun, too! Hannah is the one I do a Bible study with each week. She's married to an Ecuadorian named Wilson, too! Ha! Alicia is also married to an Ecuadorian guy, and they had their first child almost a year ago. This was actually her first trip by herself since the baby, so she certainly needed a little break! And Cat is from Canada and seems to be quite the traveler. She was in Mexico before moving here. She has traveled all over South America while living here and is such a cool person! We decided we should do that once a month or something! After only 2 weeks of school, I'm totally in need of a beach trip again for sure!!! :o)
I Never Thought I Was Organized Until I Moved to Ecuador...
So, I've been trying to write an update here for a few weeks, but with the start of the new school year, I've just been too busy. I returned to school for preplanning on March 22, and the students returned on April 5. And it has been a very interesting start for me. Here are a few of the highlights:
1. Schedules: I didn't actually find out what I was teaching until about 3 or 4 days before school started. I was at school a week and a half before they told anyone what classes they would teach. You'd think they'd have gotten that together before all the teachers returned. They kept telling us to hurry up and turn in our micro and macro plans for the year, but we didn't know what classes to plan for!
2. Changes: There's always a lack of communication at my school. And therefore, there are always changes that occur out of nowhere because no one gets told. For example, our schedules were changed 3 times once school started. Actually, this past Monday, I had students from one class enter my room, and I told them they didn't have my class until later in the day because the schedule had been changed Friday afternoon. They told me that it had been changed again that morning. About 10 minutes before the end of that class, I received my new schedule. Seriously? They tell the students about schedule changes before the teachers?! They also changed the lock on my classroom 3 or 4 days after the students came back and didn't tell me. It took me another 3 or 4 days to finally get someone to give me a new key. Aaahhhh!!!!!
3. Class Rosters: They don't actually give these to teachers either. After not having one for the first week, I went to ask if they had the official rosters ready or not. The secretaries looked at me like I was the strange one and said that yes, of course. Then they pointed me to a big stack of manila folders labeled by class. I just had to go through them and find mine for each of the classes I taught. Crazy me for thinking they would give them to us without us asking!
4. Students: My classes are quite overwhelming this year. I'm teaching 4 10th grade classes and 2 11th grade classes with a total of about 175 students. Grading papers is going to be a nightmare!!! The 10th grade classes are pretty tough, but I think I just need to be patient. So many of them are used to teachers who run a dictatorship, so when they come to my class they think they can go crazy. It's hard for them to learn the balance, so I've had to come down pretty hard on them. However, my 11th grade classes are really nice. They're the same students I had last year, so they already know my routine and how I do things.
5. Parents: One of my earlier posts talked about students who could take supletorios. Well, I have even still had to give additional supletorio exams this past week as students are still trying to pass from the year before. Which also means I have parents still coming to me. And since the school just lets them come whenever, they show up in my room unexpected quite often. I have had one mother come to my room everyday for the past week and a half. Then, on Thursday, she came 3 times! I actually had to get in her face and tell her to get out the last time. She still wouldn't leave, so I had to leave and go get someone to make her. I got so frustrated that I just started speaking English to her. Ha! She wouldn't stop talking and begging me to give her child a little gift of a few points (a few points for her daughter being 22 points). Yikes!
6. Heat: The heat really is getting to me. With no air conditioning in the classes and not really enough breeze from the windows or fans to keep 35 kids cool, I just drip with sweat all day. It's so gross! And it really wears me down actually. I'm sooo tired at the end of the day! But, Wilson and I are going to buy me an extra fan to just sit at my desk, so hopefully that will help!
So, all of that to say that I've had a crazy few weeks. It was definitely much easier to start the year back at Collins Hill. But, I remember that I thought it was kind of rough when I first started back in August, and I eventually got used to it and enjoyed my students. So, I just need to be patient. Wish me luck!
1. Schedules: I didn't actually find out what I was teaching until about 3 or 4 days before school started. I was at school a week and a half before they told anyone what classes they would teach. You'd think they'd have gotten that together before all the teachers returned. They kept telling us to hurry up and turn in our micro and macro plans for the year, but we didn't know what classes to plan for!
2. Changes: There's always a lack of communication at my school. And therefore, there are always changes that occur out of nowhere because no one gets told. For example, our schedules were changed 3 times once school started. Actually, this past Monday, I had students from one class enter my room, and I told them they didn't have my class until later in the day because the schedule had been changed Friday afternoon. They told me that it had been changed again that morning. About 10 minutes before the end of that class, I received my new schedule. Seriously? They tell the students about schedule changes before the teachers?! They also changed the lock on my classroom 3 or 4 days after the students came back and didn't tell me. It took me another 3 or 4 days to finally get someone to give me a new key. Aaahhhh!!!!!
3. Class Rosters: They don't actually give these to teachers either. After not having one for the first week, I went to ask if they had the official rosters ready or not. The secretaries looked at me like I was the strange one and said that yes, of course. Then they pointed me to a big stack of manila folders labeled by class. I just had to go through them and find mine for each of the classes I taught. Crazy me for thinking they would give them to us without us asking!
4. Students: My classes are quite overwhelming this year. I'm teaching 4 10th grade classes and 2 11th grade classes with a total of about 175 students. Grading papers is going to be a nightmare!!! The 10th grade classes are pretty tough, but I think I just need to be patient. So many of them are used to teachers who run a dictatorship, so when they come to my class they think they can go crazy. It's hard for them to learn the balance, so I've had to come down pretty hard on them. However, my 11th grade classes are really nice. They're the same students I had last year, so they already know my routine and how I do things.
5. Parents: One of my earlier posts talked about students who could take supletorios. Well, I have even still had to give additional supletorio exams this past week as students are still trying to pass from the year before. Which also means I have parents still coming to me. And since the school just lets them come whenever, they show up in my room unexpected quite often. I have had one mother come to my room everyday for the past week and a half. Then, on Thursday, she came 3 times! I actually had to get in her face and tell her to get out the last time. She still wouldn't leave, so I had to leave and go get someone to make her. I got so frustrated that I just started speaking English to her. Ha! She wouldn't stop talking and begging me to give her child a little gift of a few points (a few points for her daughter being 22 points). Yikes!
6. Heat: The heat really is getting to me. With no air conditioning in the classes and not really enough breeze from the windows or fans to keep 35 kids cool, I just drip with sweat all day. It's so gross! And it really wears me down actually. I'm sooo tired at the end of the day! But, Wilson and I are going to buy me an extra fan to just sit at my desk, so hopefully that will help!
So, all of that to say that I've had a crazy few weeks. It was definitely much easier to start the year back at Collins Hill. But, I remember that I thought it was kind of rough when I first started back in August, and I eventually got used to it and enjoyed my students. So, I just need to be patient. Wish me luck!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Home is Where the Heart Is
Well, after being in the States for 6 weeks, I'm now back in Ecuador, sweating as the fan tries to cool me down. And though I certainly loved being in Georgia again, I couldn't wait to come back home to Wilson. I actually feel like I learned a lot about the concept of "home" while I was there. When we first moved to Ecuador, I remember a conversation Wilson and I had:
Me (whining): Don't you miss being back home?
Wilson (confused): What do you mean?
Me: Don't you miss our house and your job and your friends and your car and all? You know, aren't you homesick?
Wilson (as if this was a simple answer): Well, you're my home, so since you're here, I feel at home.
Boy did I feel like a jerk! I certainly had not thought of it like that, but after being away from him and from our new home, I certainly agree with the expression "Home is where the heart is." My home is with Wilson, and so I couldn't wait to return here, even if it meant tripping over iguanas and living without air conditioning. :o)
But, I had a great time in Georgia! Eating at all my favorite places, having Christmas with my family, watching movies and dumb music videos with my brothers, going to Target with my sister-in-law, going to the Fox, having good hair days, spending the night with so many good friends, playing in the snow, having lunch with my grandmother, catching up with friends, having a surprise birthday party 3 months before my birthday (with an all-icing cake and all!), taking care of my mother after her surgery, visiting with former cheerleaders, and doing lots and lots of shopping!!!! I truly had a wonderful time!!!
And even though I will miss all of those good times, I couldn't wait to get back to my normal abnormal life. :o) I realized while I was in Georgia that I can't go back and everything be the same even if I wanted. My house has no furniture, CHHS has no positions available (nor does anyone else for that matter!), and everything's just a little different. So, I am now more excited to look ahead, to be in the present and the future instead of the past. My home is now wherever Wilson and I decide to live, and I'm very happy with that actually. (And, I think Wilson is, too. He had me a huge flower arrangement with about 14 roses waiting on me, and he's been just wonderful! I guess he's relieved and excited that I came back "home," too!) :o)
Me (whining): Don't you miss being back home?
Wilson (confused): What do you mean?
Me: Don't you miss our house and your job and your friends and your car and all? You know, aren't you homesick?
Wilson (as if this was a simple answer): Well, you're my home, so since you're here, I feel at home.
Boy did I feel like a jerk! I certainly had not thought of it like that, but after being away from him and from our new home, I certainly agree with the expression "Home is where the heart is." My home is with Wilson, and so I couldn't wait to return here, even if it meant tripping over iguanas and living without air conditioning. :o)
But, I had a great time in Georgia! Eating at all my favorite places, having Christmas with my family, watching movies and dumb music videos with my brothers, going to Target with my sister-in-law, going to the Fox, having good hair days, spending the night with so many good friends, playing in the snow, having lunch with my grandmother, catching up with friends, having a surprise birthday party 3 months before my birthday (with an all-icing cake and all!), taking care of my mother after her surgery, visiting with former cheerleaders, and doing lots and lots of shopping!!!! I truly had a wonderful time!!!
And even though I will miss all of those good times, I couldn't wait to get back to my normal abnormal life. :o) I realized while I was in Georgia that I can't go back and everything be the same even if I wanted. My house has no furniture, CHHS has no positions available (nor does anyone else for that matter!), and everything's just a little different. So, I am now more excited to look ahead, to be in the present and the future instead of the past. My home is now wherever Wilson and I decide to live, and I'm very happy with that actually. (And, I think Wilson is, too. He had me a huge flower arrangement with about 14 roses waiting on me, and he's been just wonderful! I guess he's relieved and excited that I came back "home," too!) :o)
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Georgia on my Mind
So, I leave for Georgia tomorrow night!!! I'm soooo excited!!! First of all, I can't wait to experience all this cold weather everyone is talking about!!! It'll be a nice change from having to shower twice a day because of all the sweat here! It's soo sticky and gross! I also won't mind having a few good hair days for a change!
But, obviously, I'm most excited about family, friends, and food! With my family, I plan to go to the Fox, finally meet my new neice, celebrate Christmas in February, watch movies with my little brother, spend the night with my grandmother, go shopping with my mom and my sister-in-law, and get Saturday morning doughnuts with my older brother and nephew. With friends, I have a baby shower to attend, 3 newly engaged girls to visit, a girls' night full of banana clips and fun, a bathtub to use (only showers down here!), gossip to catch up on, a cheerleader sleepover with my girls to watch their State video!, and lots more! And, oh the food!!!! Chick-fil-a, Zaxby's, Mexican (lots and lots of cheese dip!!!), large Dr. Peppers/Mr. Pibbs with ICE, and of course, salmon patties, mashed potatoes, and English peas!!! Yummmm!!! :o)
Of course, I do feel a little bittersweet about my visit. Wilson will not be able to come with me because he has classes. So, I will be away from him for 6 WEEKS!!!! That's such a long time! The longest we've been apart is 2 weeks and that was torture for me! And, especially now that we are so used to being together all the time, just us, I know it will be even harder. But, if I did stay here, I'd go crazy. Wilson has classes 5 hours a day, 6 days a week, plus study time, and about 1 surgery a day. Sooo...my friends and family have assured me that they will keep me very busy, very happy, and very well-fed! :o) I can't wait!!
But, obviously, I'm most excited about family, friends, and food! With my family, I plan to go to the Fox, finally meet my new neice, celebrate Christmas in February, watch movies with my little brother, spend the night with my grandmother, go shopping with my mom and my sister-in-law, and get Saturday morning doughnuts with my older brother and nephew. With friends, I have a baby shower to attend, 3 newly engaged girls to visit, a girls' night full of banana clips and fun, a bathtub to use (only showers down here!), gossip to catch up on, a cheerleader sleepover with my girls to watch their State video!, and lots more! And, oh the food!!!! Chick-fil-a, Zaxby's, Mexican (lots and lots of cheese dip!!!), large Dr. Peppers/Mr. Pibbs with ICE, and of course, salmon patties, mashed potatoes, and English peas!!! Yummmm!!! :o)
Of course, I do feel a little bittersweet about my visit. Wilson will not be able to come with me because he has classes. So, I will be away from him for 6 WEEKS!!!! That's such a long time! The longest we've been apart is 2 weeks and that was torture for me! And, especially now that we are so used to being together all the time, just us, I know it will be even harder. But, if I did stay here, I'd go crazy. Wilson has classes 5 hours a day, 6 days a week, plus study time, and about 1 surgery a day. Sooo...my friends and family have assured me that they will keep me very busy, very happy, and very well-fed! :o) I can't wait!!
Graduation 2010
Colegio Americano has 2 teachers serve as master of ceremony each year at their graduation ceremony--one Spanish speaker and one English speaker. This year, I was asked to be the English speaker. When I was first asked about it, I immediately said yes. I would get to wear a full length ball gown, get dolled up, and be on a stage! :o) I couldn't wait. Although all the students are fluent in English, many of their parents are not. Therefore, speaking the English parts of the ceremony wouldn't be that big of a deal.However, at the first graduation meeting, I was informed that I would also be calling out the names of half of the students. Oh no!!!! Each student has 4 names: two first names, their paternal last name, and their maternal last name. Yikes! And my pronunciation of Spanish names is still sub-par!!! Not to mention the large number of Chinese students we have at the school. But, Wilson and I practiced all the names several times, and I think I did a pretty good job.
As for the dress, the school said they'd pay for me to rent one, so Wilson and I went to see about finding a dress. However, the majority of the ones I tried on were way too short. Ha! I just don't have the body of an Ecuadorian woman. :o) But, for some strange reason, I had brought a couple of my own dresses with me and decided on a bridesmaids dress I wore at a friend's wedding a few years ago. (It's amazing the random things I thought necessary to bring here to Ecuador, but surprisingly I've used most of them!) It felt great being a princess all night!
And the ceremony was really nice. A few speeches, a student band, and even a group of mothers who sang a song to their children. I was pretty nervous in the beginning and was shak
ing pretty bad (literally), but I relaxed as it went on. They kept making changes to our script throughout the night, and I was having to say various officials and board members names that I had not practiced. I ruined a few, but oh well. What did they expect from the girl with a Georgia accent?! :o) Overall, I had an absolutely wonderful experience!
ing pretty bad (literally), but I relaxed as it went on. They kept making changes to our script throughout the night, and I was having to say various officials and board members names that I had not practiced. I ruined a few, but oh well. What did they expect from the girl with a Georgia accent?! :o) Overall, I had an absolutely wonderful experience!(The first photo is of me and Geovanny, the other master of ceremonies; the second photo is of me and two of the English teachers at the school.)
A Second Chance (and a 3rd and a 4th, etc.)
Well, I survived my first school year here in Ecuador. Okay, so I sort of cheated by coming in halfway through the year but still. Actually, I had just gotten the hang of it around the time it was ending. So, hopefully that will make me more prepared and ready for next year. Although there are several educational issues here that irk me, the main one is the suplitorio.
Ecuadorian education law states that students receive a chance to pass their classes even if they don't technically pass. If they fail for the year (passing grade is 68 here), they can take a test called the suplitorio. That grade is then averaged in somehow with their yearly average. For example, if a student has a 67 for the year, they can make a 73 on the suplitorio and still pass and get credit for the class. I think this can be a good thing in some ways. They do not take the suplitorio until the beginning of the next school year, so many of them really do spend their summer studying and getting tutored. Therefore, they learn the material better before moving on. It also gives students a second chance who may have had some kind of issues during the school year that kept them from doing their best.
However, many private schools take that a little too far. For example, my school actually offers a complementario for the 3rd bimester (we have 4 bimesters instead of 2 semesters) which actually REPLACES their entire 3rd bimester average. So, the lazy student who doesn't do any essays or projects or homework the entire time can make a 75 on the test and have a 75 average instead of a 40. Also, most private schools offer multiple suplitorios. So, if a student fails the suplitorio (which often happens because they just don't know the material which is why they failed the first time), the teacher is required to give another suplitorio and another suplitorio, etc. And, rumor has it that eventually they just tell you to pass the student. Errr...I'll see how that works out when I return to school in March.
I think that part of the problem is that they don't necessarily have a way to retake a course at my school. If you fail 10th grade Language Arts, they don't have a system that allows you to retake that class while taking all other 11th grade classes like we do in the States. Actually, I could never get anyone at the school to give me a solid answer about what happens if a student really does just fail. The only answer I ever got was that the student is just given a pass (given credit anyway) but told they have to go to another school. Hmmm...that doesn't sound too good either. But, since the school doesn't want to lose money on students leaving, I think they always just tell the teachers to pass them.
...Which may be why I have students in 10th grade, who have been at this bilingual school since pre-k, who still can't speak English to me. Social promotion is huge here, but with no other system in place for repeating classes, I'm not surprised. I have a feeling I'm going to get into some disagreements when I return in March. I just can't in good conscience pass a student to the next level when I know they will just fail again. But, we'll see...
Ecuadorian education law states that students receive a chance to pass their classes even if they don't technically pass. If they fail for the year (passing grade is 68 here), they can take a test called the suplitorio. That grade is then averaged in somehow with their yearly average. For example, if a student has a 67 for the year, they can make a 73 on the suplitorio and still pass and get credit for the class. I think this can be a good thing in some ways. They do not take the suplitorio until the beginning of the next school year, so many of them really do spend their summer studying and getting tutored. Therefore, they learn the material better before moving on. It also gives students a second chance who may have had some kind of issues during the school year that kept them from doing their best.
However, many private schools take that a little too far. For example, my school actually offers a complementario for the 3rd bimester (we have 4 bimesters instead of 2 semesters) which actually REPLACES their entire 3rd bimester average. So, the lazy student who doesn't do any essays or projects or homework the entire time can make a 75 on the test and have a 75 average instead of a 40. Also, most private schools offer multiple suplitorios. So, if a student fails the suplitorio (which often happens because they just don't know the material which is why they failed the first time), the teacher is required to give another suplitorio and another suplitorio, etc. And, rumor has it that eventually they just tell you to pass the student. Errr...I'll see how that works out when I return to school in March.
I think that part of the problem is that they don't necessarily have a way to retake a course at my school. If you fail 10th grade Language Arts, they don't have a system that allows you to retake that class while taking all other 11th grade classes like we do in the States. Actually, I could never get anyone at the school to give me a solid answer about what happens if a student really does just fail. The only answer I ever got was that the student is just given a pass (given credit anyway) but told they have to go to another school. Hmmm...that doesn't sound too good either. But, since the school doesn't want to lose money on students leaving, I think they always just tell the teachers to pass them.
...Which may be why I have students in 10th grade, who have been at this bilingual school since pre-k, who still can't speak English to me. Social promotion is huge here, but with no other system in place for repeating classes, I'm not surprised. I have a feeling I'm going to get into some disagreements when I return in March. I just can't in good conscience pass a student to the next level when I know they will just fail again. But, we'll see...
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