Ecuador/Galapagos 2007

Las Palmeras

2007-12-21T18:28:00.000-05:00

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

2007-12-21T17:53:00.000-05:00

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

2007-12-21T17:12:00.000-05:00

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

2007-12-20T21:18:00.000-05:00

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

2007-12-18T22:32:00.001-05:00

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

2007-12-17T23:07:00.000-05:00

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.

2007-12-17T22:52:00.000-05:00

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.

School!

2007-12-17T22:43:00.000-05:00

Our teaching group has the unique opportunity of teaching students who are our age and even older. We have students ranging from 17 to 22, and they all are at various levels with their English skills, which makes teaching a little difficult. We teach two different classes of the 13th grade. One class is a lot smaller and the larger one is a lot wilder. However, they both have a lot of fun with us in class, and they all really want to learn. It took us a little while to bond with the students, but now we have a great relationship with all of them. It's a lot of fun talking with them outside of class, because we get to hear more about their own lives and they like asking us about ours. Mostly, we focus on vocabulary and pronunciation, playing games like Pictionary and making up skits. Today we had them write musicals which was a lot of fun. We also took them on a walk around their campus picking up trash so that we could teach how important it is to preserve their amazing environment in the Galapagos.

Cassie Matt Lindsay Jeanna Jordyn

Snorkeling

2007-12-17T22:41:00.000-05:00

So far on this trip to the Galapagos, our group has snorkeled three times, with each experience much different from the others. The first snorkeling extravaganza involved three different stops in a bay off the island of Santa Cruz. Here we swam with sea lions, manta rays and white tip reef sharks. Swimming with sea lions was such an amazing experience. They came right up to us and swam around our legs! WOW! The second adventure we had was off the island of Isabella. This was the first time any of us swam with sea turtles...what a rush! In this island we also took a little trek on rocky terrain to look closely at marine iguanas (check out our awesome pictures) and saw a congregation of resting sharks. The third time we went snorkeling (we just couldn't get enough) we went to the first inhabited island names Floreana. Today, only about 200 people live there, it was beautiful and quiet. The water was very cold, only 5 people went snorkeling. The water was very clear and the animals were plentiful and colorful. Here, we swam with sharks and sea turtles among many vibrant reef fish. At one point, the bull male from the harem of sea lions entered the water and started barking at us...we swam away very quickly, bulls protecting their ladies are known to be very aggressive. Everywhere we looked we saw sea turtles and sea lions. Our guide found us a lone penguin, which made some penguin enthusiasts very happy. For those of us who love snorkeling, this trip has been a great experience.
---Christina, Jenni, Leah and Brett

computer group monday

2007-12-17T22:37:00.000-05:00

We had a very successful day of teaching that was a lot of fun for the students and everyone learned a lot. We began by teaching the students photoshop by using the new computers we brought with us along with our projector. The entire class followed the instructions of the Rollins students by looking at the projector that was connected to our laptop. It was a fun and interactive way to learn how to crop and edit photos. The students then had an opportunity to take their own photos with the digital cameras we brought and used their newly aquired photoshop skills to edit their own photos. After that, we played jenga using computer vocabulary in english. Overall, the teaching experience has been very rewarding and a lot of fun. The students here are so excited that we have come to spend time with them and are very eager to learn.

School!!

2007-12-17T22:28:00.000-05:00

So most of us came to this island expecting paradise and a break from our hard week of finals. Although the islands are absolutley beautiful and filled with many unknown species of plants and animals, we weren't expecting the teaching component of our trip to be such a struggle. We have a newfound appreciation for our high school teachers because we have realized how hard it is to keep a class of 20 highly energetic students concentrated on what we are teaching. The first day of teaching seemed almost never ending. Our lesson plan had to be rearranged since one of our classes was good in their english speaking skills while the other barely knew any. This created a challenge for Evaline, Mariel, Steve and I. After understanding how to balance work and fun, we taught the students how to respects not only us but each other while also being our friends. Now we look forward to teaching since the students are actively learning the material they are being taught. Even as teachers, we have learned alot ourselves. Evaline came in not knowing a lick of Spanish yet she managed to communicate with the students and get her message across. language was not a barrier for her friendship with the students. Mariel came in the class afraid to interact with the students worrying that they were interested in learning the subject. Yet, after creating friendships, she began to realize she had more to offer than what she thought. Steve has broken out of his shell through interactive games where he has connected with students. Overall this has been a great experience so far and it will be sad to leave our new found friends!!
---Mariel S., Evaline F., Steve L., Melanie A.

Isabela Weekend

2007-12-16T21:22:00.000-05:00

After 2 days of teaching, the group traveled two and a half hours by boat to Isabela Island. Once we settled into our hotel, we took a short bus ride to visit a tortise breeding farm and then enjoyed a nice walk back through town where we saw flamingo lagoons. The day finished with a delicious dinner at the hotel that included soup, rice, fish, salad, and cake...yum! The wakeup call for Saturday morning was 6:30am and breakfast was served at 7. After filling ourselves with pancakes, fruit, and hot chocolate we made sandwiches for lunch and were on our way to horseback ride up a volcano. The nine mile horseback ride and two mile hike took a lot out of us, but it was well worth it! In the afternoon, we snorkeled off the coast of Isabela and saw sea lions, sea turtles, marine iguanas, and fish. Sunday we took a boat ride to Floriana Island and snorkled again. We returned to Santa Cruz that afternoon and enjoyed dinner and a good nights sleep.
-Megan, Harry, Steve, Katie C., Matt, Tarin

Arrival

2007-12-14T12:55:00.002-05:00

Hey all,
I am privileged to be the first to make a post on our blog. We only left the comfort of home 3 days ago, but have all had many great experiences in such a short time in this beautiful place. After a stressful bus and plane ride, we finally arrived in Guayaquil on Tuesday night. We quickly found our hotel and got a bit of sleep, only to wake at 6 AM Wednesday morning to board a plane to Balta. After arriving in Balta, we took a journey (which included a boat ride across a natural canal) to the island of Santa Cruz. After that, we boarded a bus, made a stop at a giant tortoise sanctuary, and eventually arrived in the town of Puerto Ayora, where we have spent the last two days teaching English and computer skills to students ranging from 8th to the 13th grade. While this has definitely been a challenge, we have all bonded well with the students and found several things in common that we could build on (including some of the girls teaching us their version of hip hop dance....needless to say, we got our shake on)

Yesterday afternoon, we took a boat trip, with several stops along the way for snorkeling, the first of which was Sea Lion's Islet, where we were able to swim with wild sea lions. They were very playful animals, and played with us the entire time we were in the water. Our next stop was Shark's Canal. Although we only saw one shark, we saw several stingrays, parrot fish, and angel fish. Our last stop was a short walk over lava rock to a local swimming hole with the the clearest water I have ever seen.

After class this afternoon, we will take another boat trip to the island of Isabella. After we land, we plan to go to a tortoise breeding ground and a place to watch wild flamingos. Hopefully there will be another post soon to keep you all informed.

All the best,
Artie Grizzle