Las Palmeras

For our stay in Otavalo, we are staying in the best hotel of the trip so far. Las Palmeras sprawls over a decent sized piece of land. The guests stay in individual cottages that surround a large house, which holds the reception desk and dining areas. The hotel has numerous amenities including a movie and book rental and billiards games for all of the guests. It is located in the heart of a mountain and has an amazing view of Otavalo. The grounds of the hotel are covered in flowers along with llamas and friendly dogs. Everyone is having a great time in this hotel, people congregate in the common areas (the warm fireplace helps) or the upstairs living room where we all watch movies. Meals here are served on china with roses decorating all of the tables and the dining experiences have been wonderful. It even feels like Christmas here, it is a bit chilly and the hotel has put up elaborate trees. Staying in this hotel has been a great way to end the trip!

Christina, Jenni, Brett, Leah, Page, Nate, Megan, Kelsey

Trip to Otavalo

The trip from Quito to Otavalo was a little more than two hours, but we made a few stops along the way. First, we visited downtown Quito and some beautiful churches. The architecture was of the Baroque style and something that most of us had never experienced before. Then, we stopped at the equator. The experiments we did were incredibly interesting because they proved that the Indians markings of the exact location of the equator were correct. The experiments included balancing an egg on a nail and watching water flush down a drain. The water flushed in either a clockwise or counterclockwise motion depending on which hemishere you were in and the distance between the two experiments was only a few feet. Next, we headed to Otavalo. The trip was a little scary because it was through the mountains on a large bus, but the scenery was incredible. Otavalo is a simple and beautiful mountain town famous for roses and corn. We are really enjoying the relaxing time here!
- Bailey, Harry, Disney, and Danielle

Bike Riding

Today our class went bike riding down the Cotopaxi Volcano. Before we began our adventure we stood at the top of the volcano and admired the spectacular view. After we ate lunch, we began our adventure on the bikes. Some of us were a little scared and apprehensive, but we all managed to follow through with our plans. Some of us had a little trouble with the rocky path, but once we hit the smooth pavement the ride became easier and faster. When we finished our 18 kilometer ride, we ended up in a very welcoming town. We were able to shop around in the leather stores, eat sweets from the candy shops, and walk around the picturesque village. We are excited to visit the market tomorrow.
Luisa De Guzman, Katie Powell, John Folkerth, Katie Czekaj

Adios Galapagos

Yesterday we said goodbye to our friends in Colegio Miguel Angel Cazares. The students were really disappointed that we had to leave. It was rewarding to see how much of an impact we had. The students were appreciative of our work and they put on a program for us. We also got certificates. After the farewell to our students, we flew to Quito. The weather in Quito is much different than the Galapagos- it is much colder and it is raining. Last night we stayed in a nice hotel and we ate a delicious meal of fondue. This morning we toured the old city of Quito and visited the equator. We were able to balance the egg and do other demonstrations. Then we drove to Otavalo. Here we are able to hang out next to a warm fire and catch up on sleep. We will be rested for our 13 mile bike ride tomorrow down a volcano.
Lindsay, Jeanna, Cassie, Matt, Jordyn

Final Thoughts

After a full week of teaching we all have a feeling of acomplishment. Ecotourism has been the focus of most lesson plans. It is paradoxical that tourism boosts the economy and yet harms the ecosytem here. Most groups had a trash pick up activity in order to clean up the school. Through this activity the students have been impacted by the shear simplicity of picking up litter and how that effects the Galapagos. The students from Rollins College have shown real teamwork at the school. We are all proud to be here to represent Rollins College in this truly humbling and fulfilling experience.

Sincerely,

Heather, Brett, Megan, Matt, Jordan, John, Cassie, Jenni, Steve, Geovanna, Christina, Melanie, and Leah

P.S.
We all would like to give a final THANKS to all the parents and teachers at Colegio Miguel Angel Cazares for preparing a gracious meal for us in appreciation of our teaching for the past week. We love you and will miss you. Have a Merry Christmas!

Monday School in the Galapagos

Today in the classroom was one of our most rewarding days. We reached a new level in our bond with our class. Today in the morning there was a flag raising at the school. This was one of the moments that made me feel a lot of pride in what we are doing here. In this flag raising the students sang nationalistic songs and recited many different stories that followed the themes of the week leading up to Christmas. Following the ceremony our class was introduced to new conversational English dialogue that stressed many important aspects everday interactions with tourists. I was really impressed with the amount of Spanish I was able to convey to the students and how much they could understand my dialect. This has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life and I only look forward to the remaining days we have with our students.
Nate Race

School is cool.

School today was great. Apparently, every Monday, students not only dress up in their uniforms, but they also add some accessories - they all wear a barret. Girls wear hose stockings with covered heeled toe shoes, the boys wear a button down shirt with a tie. The entire class looked like they were ready to learn. The reason the students dress up in such a unique way, is because this is the one day of the week that they pledge the flag and sing the hymn of Ecuador and The Galapagos.

The rest of the school day was fun. We reviewed what we taught our 11th grade class on Monday and added some more material regarding ecotourism. The students had a blast and they voiced their enthusiasm of having us there.

It's a very rewarding feeling to know that students appreciate the fact that we are here, and also that they are becoming comfortable enough with us to open up with conversation and participation.

It is truly a rewarding feeling.