La Despedida “The Farewell” For the first month the group will be together in Quito, the Capital of Ecuador, situated up in the mountains at an altitude of more than 9,000 feet. The weather in Quito is described as ‘perpetual fall,’ with daytime temps of 65 and nighttime lows of 50 – year round. B-r-r-r; I hope to end up on the coast, where it’s warmer!
While in Quito we will undergo what is described as an intense orientation consisting of Spanish lessons, teacher training and cultural decompression. We will be living with host families [it’s been 40 years since I had more than an occasional roommate], learning the whys & wherefores of life in Ecuador, and, I’m sure, having many good times.
Why Ecuador? As I wrote in an essay I submitted to WT, Ecuador is a nation blessed with abundant natural resources and solid agricultural productivity. But, its population – especially its nearly four million indigenous people – has been extensively damaged by years of instability, corruption and poor governmental stewardship. Teaching English to Ecuador's ”rising generation” at the university level – where I hope I am placed - will unquestionably help them to participate more fully in the process of rebuilding and modernizing their country, and enable them to engage in many aspects of the globalized economy and information network that drive contemporary life. Some mastery of English will enable them to compete more actively, and generate the kind of prosperity that will help lift the entire society, and will also open up the Internet more fully, allowing them to make their way in the business, trade, legal and scientific fields so crucial to the 21st century’s economy.
Ctrl-Click, or Cut & Paste this to your address line, and, turn up the volume:
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