Es Verdad! It’s true! The drains do drain in the opposite direction than they do in the northern hemisphere. Even tho the guide-books say otherwise, I saw a demonstration: Today, 20 February, I visited El Mitad del Mundo, The Middle of the World, with my host-mother and her daughter. Ecuador means ‘equator,’ and there is a monument at 0 degrees latitude and a museum as well. The museum exhibits are focused on the indigenous people who occupied the site in the past; there were recreations of the huts they lived in, the implements they used, the sculptures they created and the sundial like instruments they constructed. Like you’ve seen before, pero differente.

Much of the early time in class was spent in talking about the crime problem in Quito and throughout Ecuador, and some ways to protect oneself. There was also a lecture – from a former Peace Corps nurse – about all the lovely Tropical diseases we are likely to come into contact with during our stay here.

On Thursday we all began Spanish lesions and they’re most enjoyable, except that the first thing I’ve learned is that I have forgotten more Spanish than I had hoped.

On Friday afternoon we took a bus tour of the City, which was a nice change of pace even ‘tho it barely hit the high spots. We drove quickly thru the old city area and then went to the plaza where the government offices are now located.

Afterwards we all got salsa lessons at a local studio, which was a hoot. The instructor was lean as a whip, about 5 feet tall, and could move in ways unimaginable to the average human!

By the way, I’m a Moviestar, which is to say that I have a Moviestar cell phone. The number is 095159643. All incoming calls are free, so if you want to talk, and can find an el-cheepo international plan, gimme a call. We’re in the Eastern time zone, so around 2030 would be a good time most nites.

Saturday the 19^th of February: it’s Host Family Picnic day at El Parque Metropolitano! At 1000, the sun is trying to shine and I’m hoping that the group has a good day.

It’s later now, and I can report that we did have a good day: among other things it was amusing to watch the old folk argue about the best way to light a barbeque fire. Parque Metropolitano is very large, and well used by families, mountain bikers and all sorts. Among other things the park officials herd a group of llamas and vicunas here and there, and seeing them is a reminder that you’re up, up, up in the Andes.

Me Familia. “My family.” I’m living with the best family: Cecilia, a spry, smart woman of a ‘certain age,’ her daughter, Alexandra, 36, who works in a cafeteria, her children Felipe, 17, and Semantha, 12+, along an extended family of Alexandra’s sister, Giorgiana, who lives next door with her baby, Arianna, but who spends most of her time in the ‘big house.’ There is also a very nice German medical school student, Verena, who is living in a room adjacent to mine, in the lower level of the house. The house itself is built into the side of a hill at the easternmost side of town, and from the living room there’s quite a nice view across a small valley. Alexandra sez that her father starting building the house about 28 years ago and it has been added on to like a Basilica: one ‘apartment’ at a time, as the family grew.

¿Ya llegamos? “Are we there yet?”  It depends on what your definition of ‘there’ is. The first leg of our trip – from Miami to Bogota – went smoothly. The second leg, not so much. Quito airport was closed due to bad weather, and so at 0130 we’re all sitting in the airport lounge in Guayaquil. Anyway, the group is a nice one and everyone was making the most of things and ‘computing’ like crazy. At 0330 we got back aboard and finally landed in Quito at 0430. We arrived at our hotel at 0530 and ‘slept’ until 1000, when our first day began. At my sister’s insistence, my bags were shrink-wrapped at MIA; they were maletas that only Kermit could love, but they came thru intact and unmolested. Muchas gracias, hermana.

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.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quito

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:  

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPvlvwQZ-Wg

La Abreboca “The Appetizer” With 40 years of work-a-day behind me, and a ‘certain birthday’ looming ahead, in the spring of 2010 I set out to volunteer with WorldTeach and search for the “Fountain of Youthiness.” It should be an interesting journey; thanks for coming along for the ride, and, welcome aboard!  

For those of you who don’t know me, or don’t know me well, a short biography is in order. I was born and raised in New York City and attended some great public schools including the Bronx High School of Science, one of the first ‘magnet schools.’ From there I went on to the City Universities of New York where [on the ‘5-year plan’] I earned a BA Degree in English. There followed some years of a youth mis-spent: sailing the oceans on small boats [including a great trans-Atlantic delivery from Tortola, BVI to Corfu, Greece] and working this odd job and that [including work in several clinical laboratories]. After that it was on to law school.

Upon graduating, and with no particular plan in mind, I decided that I would resettle myself in Charleston, South Carolina, a port of call that I had enjoyed, and where I had old friends. It came to pass that I met the Chief of Police in Charleston and was recruited into the life of law enforcement; for 25 years I served the City of Charleston as a police officer or as an employee of the legal department. For a time I had a private practice of law concentrated on criminal defense matters. Since retiring, I have been a civilian investigator working for several different employers.

I am a serious runner and walker, a very good cook and a minimalist by nature. I hope to explore every corner of Ecuador while I’m there, to buy great food in the local markets, and to learn to cook some Ecuadorian specialties. Stay tuned to this blog and you will be able to follow my adventures, meet my new friends and maybe even test a new recipe or two.

The link below will take you to a countdown clock set to ring on 15 February 2011. On that date 14 other volunteers and I will be ‘wheels up’ and on our way to Quito, Ecuador. It’ll then start counting up my time in-Country, which I suspect will fly by.

http://www.timeanddate.com/counters/customcounter.html?month=2&day=15&year=2011&hour=&min=&sec=&p0=190

I’m sure that none of us similarly situated arrived at this juncture without some help along the way. I’d like to thank Barbara Banks & Rachel Halpern, educational professionals now teaching ESL at the San Pablo Branch of the Jacksonville, Florida, library, for allowing me to observe and occasionally participate in their sessions over the last several months. I must also thank the students, every one of whom was a joy.

And, of course, I want to thank my mother and sister and the many friends who have wished me well and offered their support. Once you’ve made good friends in this life, the rest is easy.