Visiting Papa Correa

Papa Correa waving to his people

Every Monday at the President's palace there is a changing of the guards ceremony. This is very popular ceremony with Ecuadorians because President Rafael Correa, or Papa Correa as he is often fondly referred to, comes out onto his balcony and waves.

In typical Ecuadorian fashion, there was no official information about what time the event would start. There was no information online (apart from other blogs, which didn't seem to sight an exact time), and we had heard a range from 9am to 11am from friends. Chelsea and I decided to play it on the safe side and arrive at 9:30.

When we arrived at the Plaza Grande (one of the first places my host family took me with the Statue de Independencia) it was already quite crowded. We figured that they were protestors because of the current issues arising with drilling in the Amazon region called Yasuni. Many of the signs held by people were about the drilling, but seemed to be supporting it claiming it will bring wealth and security to many Ecuadorians. There were people of all ages. It was very interesting because many people wanted their picture taken with their signs or with their groups.

As we waited out in the sun, the plaza became even more crowded. The police arrived and started to organize the crowd. There were also rows and rows of chairs being set up along the street. Eventually around 10:45 or so bunches and bunches of school children filed in and sat in the seats that had been set up. Right around 11am (so that does seem to be the official time) music started, and people began to line up on the balcony. The important ministers, the Vice President, and President were all introduced. They were waving, and everyone was cheering and waving. There was not much sign of any protest, the Ecuadorians love Correa, hence his nickname.

There was music from a marching band, the school children sang, the guards marched/changed, the flag was raised, there was lots of pushing and shoving in the crowd (especially from old pushy Ecuadorian grandmothers), the police tried to keep the crowds in order, and the sun beat down.

The whole thing lasted for about 45 minutes to an hour. Chelsea and I were unsure if the ceremony was this big every week (with all the school children, and about 20-30 people on the balcony who seemed to be getting some sort of honor for the week). It was fun to be there and to watch, and really interesting to see the people who had come from all over the country to protest or support Correa, but in the end looked at him with admiration.

Of course I became photo happy...this is a pretty edited down version, but still deserved a slide show. Enjoy!

The Guayasamín Museum: So good I went twice in one week!

one of Guayasamín's self portraits

This past week I finally was able to go to the Guayasamín Museum here in Quito. The museum has two parts: first is Guayasamín's house, which is full of both his own artwork (and his studio), as well as his personal art collection, and the second is the Capilla del Hombre, which is a museum that he built on his property (it unfortunately wasn't completed before his death, but was finished in 2002).

Oswaldo Guayasamín is an Ecuadorian artist who resided in Quito for the majority of his life. He was very involved politically, and his work reflects that. (Number one bad-ass fact-he was close friends with Fidel Castro, even had a special guest room in his house for him.) Wikipedia can always provide more information .

Chelsea and I first went last Monday, and then we went back with Josh on Sunday (Sundays are free! Anyone who visits me will be required to be here for a Sunday to experience it!)

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, please enjoy the slideshow below! (or click here for the album!) Obviously it is a museum, so there are "no photos allowed", but I am quite the pro at stealth Iphone photos (but that explains the somewhat weird angles/poor photo quality at times...)

PS-BEFORE the the museum on Sunday, Chelsea and I tried to go to Bailoteripia (dance aerobics in the park), but learned when we got there it had been canceled for the week (typical Ecuador, no way to check up on that stuff...) We plan to try our luck again this coming Sunday!

Searching for an English teaching job in Ecuador

This post is meant to provide information and support to anyone planning to come to Ecuador to teach English.

 Laws have changed recently in Ecuador! This means a few things when searching for teaching jobs.

• First, it is much harder to find a job in Ecuador with out a degree. I have a Bachelor's, but I am learning that a Master's is much preferred in the university system. In language institutes the laws are not quite as strict yet, and it is still possible to find work without a degree (but be careful, as some will try to employ you illegally, meaning no visa). If you are planning to teach, the Ministry of Education has recently started to crack down requesting that all of your diplomas and other documents to be apostilled and registered with Senescyt. This is a long and complicated process.
• Second, I am still learning about the different types of visas that allow you to work in Ecuador. From what I understand at the moment, there are three main types. The first, which is the best option is the Cultural Exchange Visa. This is a one year visa (can be renewed), which allows you to live and volunteer in Ecuador (and receive a stipend to live off of, a bit of a loophole in the system). The second type of visa is a work visa. This is a much more expensive visa, which usually has a 4-6 month processing time. It also requires the person to be registered with Senescyt, etc. The third type of visa, called the 12-IX (12-9) visa, which I am just starting to hear about is an extended 6 month tourist visa that you can work under (meant as a volunteer visa as well). However, it is much easier to secure this before you leave the Untied States, and for many (including myself) the plan is to get certified and then begin the job search. The Cultural Exchange Visa is your best bet. 

Here are some words of caution to anyone considering the TESOL certification course at EIL Ecuador: The TESOL course itself was an incredible experience, and I could not be more pleased with the training I received. However, EIL says that they will help TESOL course participants with job placement and securing a visa (IF they are able to offer placement, they also offer the Cultural Exchange Visa), and this is the part I was extremely disappointed with.

Because of the new laws, EIL's program has suffered some growing pains. There were very few options presented to me, and they were presented 4 days after the course had ended. There was only one opportunity in Quito (and I had already moved into my apartment in Quito for various other reasons based on the programs lack of organization). For this reason I felt the need to take it upon myself and search for jobs. Our teacher trainers on the course Justin and Sophia were invaluable in this process. They gave us different language institutes to check out, as well as personal contacts. This is how I was able to get in touch with the English Teaching Program at the Fulbright Commission.

Ecuador is a great place to look into teaching, but make sure you are well informed about the support that the program you are working with provides, or be prepared to go through Senescyt.

Hired! My New Position Teaching at the Fulbright Commission

As promised, here is an update on my job search!

I am extremely excited that I have been hired to work as a full-time English teacher at Fulbright Ecuador! Here is their main page and here is more about the program.

Before I tell you more about the job, let's go back in time to see how I got here.

As many of you know about 10 months ago I was sending a different type of application to the Fulbright Commission (click on the link to learn more about the US based programs). I originally applied to go to teach English in Turkey for a year. Fulbright is an incredibly competitive program, so I was disappointed, though unsurprised to be rejected in January. After some reevaluation (and a few more rejections from different programs), I decided it would be smart for me to get my TESOL certificate. I researched programs and found the TESOL course I participated in here in Quito through EIL Ecuador.

As I will talk about in the following post, the job search was a bit of a struggle...I owe a special thank you to my teacher trainers for connecting me with the head of the Fulbright English Teaching Program (EIL Ecuador did not help with this one bit!) I filled out an application, had an interview, and have been sitting in on a few of the classes as the current cycle finishes up.

Because Fulbright is a language institute, they work in cycles rather than following the typical school calendar. Each cycle is 10 weeks long with a 2 week break between (longer breaks in September and December).  I will be working with university students and young professionals 18 years and older. This is also means that class times are varied to work around their schedules. I will be teaching 7-9 am and then 5-7 pm and 7-9 pm Monday-Thursday and occasional Fridays/Saturdays.

I start with the next cycle, which will begin September 23. There are 8 levels in the Fulbright ETP, and I will be teaching 3 classes of Level 2. I don't know how many students I will have in my classes yet, but class sizes are typically between 8 and 16.

I am very very excited about this job, and can't wait until I can share my experience with you all!

And since I don't like posts with no pictures...enjoy some recent culinary creations from home!

Who says Ramen can't be classy/nutritious?

Burrito night

Homemade micheladas (beer, chili, and lime in a salt rimmed glass, it's actually Mexican, but very popular here in Ecuador as well) and veggie/bean stir-fry

Ciclopaseo:A Bike Tour of Quito

This kid is an amazing photobomber :)

Every Sunday from 8am-2pm, Quito shuts down some of it's main roads and most of the roads in the Centro Historico to cars so that it is safe for pedestrians and bikes. In Quito it is called the Ciclopaseo, but it is more commonly known around the world as the Ciclovía.

Chelsea's host sister Karla (who had also been in our practice teaching class) had invited us all along for the ride today. We bussed down from the apartment (now shared by Josh, Chelsea and me) to the huge park, Parque Carolina. This was good practice trying to learn the bus system...though it will take much longer to really figure it out, and of course there is no online guide, simply trial and error.

Anyway...once we made it to the park we rented bikes ($12=3 bikes for 2 hours!) We then rode down Amazonas which is the main avenue that runs through the city and gets closed to cars. We rode through another park through the Centro Historico and even further towards the south before we had to turn around. It was probably 8 or so miles total, but luckily relatively flat. 

My super cool bike...the gears didn't work though, but the breaks did :)

Chelsea, Me, Karla, and Josh

Amazonas as a one way street

Riding a bike and taking pictures at the same time is a good challenge! 

Josh and Chelsea 

water stations along the way

entering El Ejido Park

El Ejido Park

always pictures of the Panecillo

and the Basílica

in the Centro Historico there are traditional performances put on

overlooking La Ronda

Of course after our long ride, we went to get huge salads. It feels GOOD not to be eating rice and potatoes with every meal!

On Sundays in Parque Carolina there are huge dance aerobics classes...
look for next Sunday where we attend :) 

The Coast: The Night Bus, Horseback Riding, and A Bit of Food Poisoning

The night bus also known as the beginning of our adventure

FINALLY A VACATION! Josh and I have both really wanted to go to the coast, and we have met some awesome people in Quito who actually own an amazing hotel in a small beach town called Canoa. Canoa is much smaller and quieter than many of the other beach towns, so it was just where we wanted to go. So how do you get to Canoa? You take the bus...the night bus. There is a HUGE bus terminal in the south of Quito (about a 30 min taxi ride from our apartment with minimal traffic). So we hopped in a cab around 8:30 and bought our ticket which told us our bus to Jama (a small town about 30 min from Canoa because you can't go straight there) would leave at 11:20. The woman at the counter had said 11:30, and the internet called it a "midnight bus". So around 10:30 we decided it would be smart to track down this bus, and we were glad we did as it left right at 11!

The ride was slightly terrifying as you are flying down the mountains (going from 9500 feet to 0). The bus drivers are slightly insane, and the road is super curvy, needless to say, not much sleep can be had. We arrived into Jama around 4:45am and were told that the bus to Canoa would arrive at 5:30. We sat down with a street vendor who made us some coffee and hard boiled eggs, and then got on the bus. We got into Canoa at 6am just as it was about to get light, and started our trek down the beach to the hotel.

our first view of the beach!

 

I especially enjoyed this entrance to the beach.
 I'm sure it seemed even more enjoyable at 6:30am after no sleep!

We got to the hotel, no one was around! We finally met some one coming in who told us where we could go for the office...we still couldn't find it so we just sat down. Long story short the hotel was booked (we had just rolled in on a whim, deciding to leave Quito 2 hrs before we hopped in that cab). It's funny because I almost didn't want to go because it was Quito's Independence Day, and I thought that by leaving we would be missing out on the party. Well since it was a holiday weekend EVERYONE went to the beach. So we trekked back towards town and sat in a little beach shack that had opened to have our first coast ceviche and some fried rice for breakfast. The coast is known for ceviche, but here in Ecuador, they actually cook every thing in it before marinating it in the lime/vinegar combo. The ONLY thing that doesn't get cooked is the conch...but we will get to that in a bit. Anyway breakfast was good, then we went on a hotel/hostel hunt. The first few we checked out were all booked too! I was starting to get nervous, but then we walked into Coco Loco and were lucky a room was freeing up.

view from our room at Coco Loco

view of the rooms from the hammocks

They had hammocks to lie in, I had a few good naps in them

and to be an extra attraction for the backpackers...BEER PONG

Unfortunately the weather wasn't great (Josh compares it to California's June gloom). It was overcast, and there were no waves, and it was a bit cooler, but that just meant lots of hammock time! We will make sure to go back during the high season which starts in Oct/Nov.

This bar had crazy drinks as well as crazy cans of beer on the wall from all over!

we found a cute beach bar owned by a British woman named Becky (turns out she is a co-owner of Coco Loco too). the bar was covered in fresh fruit so I asked her to make me a STRAWBERRY margarita (none of that frozen blended crap like in the States!)

Our first night we discovered this restaurant that served us these AMAZING jumbo prawns. We also decided they had the best ceviche in town (this was after trying 3 or 4 others). I didn't have my camera that first night, so the second night we went back...they didn't have the same huge prawns (I'm talking massive...like you only got 2 for a reason), but they had some normal size ones for me (below left) and a lobster for Josh (below right). Still pretty good!

 

Our mistake came next, when we decided we wanted more of the ceviche (below). I know you are all saying IT'S BLACK WHY WOULD YOU EAT THAT??!?!? well the conches are black...so they tend to dye the broth a bit....but....well we shouldn't have eaten it...we got sick....

...but....the next morning we had already booked some horses to ride along the beach...so off we went.

We sat in the back in the truck bed for a 15 minute ride to where the horses were.

 

my horse's name was Puppy

we rode down from the farm...

 

...passed some cows...

....across some roads....

and onto the beach!

Word of advice...horseback riding while having food poisoning may not be the best idea...but it was still amazingly beautiful!

We got off our horses...stayed at our hostel for another hour or so (we couldn't really move out of the hammocks...) and then finally mustered up the strength to trek back down the beach to the Canoa Beach Hotel. We made it! and there was a room for us! so we went upstairs, and collapsed onto the bed...and slept for 18 or so hours...got up the next morning...and ventured to find the bus home....but below are some pictures of the gorgeous paradise we look forward to returning to!

garden/pool area

view of the rooms

the swim up bar in the pool

We took a day bus back to Quito. The bus driver was still as crazy! but we were going uphill so it took a bit longer...but boy are those windy roads/cliffs scary!

Made it back to Quito in one piece. We had also been informed by one of the owners of the hotel, Greg, of the magical healing powers of papaya seeds (they are FULL of digestive enzymes to ward off anything bad in your stomach, but you have to eat them first! They taste like chewing on peppercorns covered in mustard...I like that, but I know it's not for everyone!) We are cured by now!

For my final bit of SUPER EXCITING NEWS after a very long/stressful week, I HAVE A JOB! 

...but more details in the next post about that.... :)