Highlights: semana desde 2 hasta 5 de febrero

So I have fallen quite behind here and decided to just do highlights for the weekdays since most days are relatively the same.

Left to right: Miguel, Martina, Albita, William, Kathi, me and idk, some man who shares the SINAMUNE property and lives there with his family and has those adorable puppies.

Highlights:

Tuesday:

• Franklin and Ximena drove me to the south bus terminal to purchase my ticket for Baños this weekend. Taking the bus would have been hard for my first time since I didn't really know where I was going, and a taxi back and forth would have been quite pricey. For only $15 Franklin drove me there, stopping at a wonderful view of the city for us to take pictures, walked in with me to buy my tickets, explained what to do when I get there Saturday morning, and drove me home. It was great driving with them and chatting with them in a less scholastic manner. We listened to a lot of fun music in Spanish along the way as well. They are really wonderful people. '

• Wednesday:
• Sadlight-- I learned hitting your children (with a San Martin or whip) is legal and not entirely uncommon here. One of the students came to school with marks on her leg. I think my boss said they do talk to the parents when this happens, but I had trouble understanding. This day was hard. It was emotionally difficult to learn about this, especially being that the child has Downs Syndrome. But, different country, different customs, different lifestyle. I am not here to judge, just learn and help these students. Also this is not indicative of every family in Ecuador..I would like to make that clear. It is also not like this never happens in the states.
• In Spanish class, Ximena and I spent the time talking (in Spanish of course) about things to do in and around Baños, about schooling here, and learning about the different indigenous cultures of Ecuador. Although Quichua is the largest Indigenous population, with many words commonly used here by many Ecuadorians, there are several other indigenous groups throughout the Amazon region here. I enjoyed learning about them, specifically their languages, customs and common attire.
• Thursday:
• At night I went with Martha and Adriana (host mom and sis) to eat empanadas and morocho. So delicious! Morocho is a sweet drink/pudding with milk, corn, cinnamon, sugar and rice. I will be eating this at least a few more times before I leave.
•  Friday:

• For Carnival, the kiddos and Christofer had Carioca, (which is like silly string but better because it's less messy and more like foam spray). We spent about an hour in the park playing with the students. 
• I also led an activity with several students where we held hands in a circle and passed a hula hoop through and around the circle. I thought this would be great for the students to work on gross motor skills and navigating/coordinating their body in space. The kiddos loved it, they were giggling and enjoying trying to move through the hoop.
• After work I went for a few beers with Martina, Kathi, Albita, and Christofer. 
• We also had "tacos" which since they were less than $2 and a taco, I assumed they would be somewhat small but it was more like a burrito, a delicious burrito.
• We went to Mariscal which is crazy on Friday nights. After a lot of wandering and searching we found a bar with open seats. I met some of Christofer's friends who he plays music with as well. They were very nice and more great practice for my Spanish. 
• Note on cultural differences here: It is not weird to ask if you are single in the first few questions of meeting someone. One of his friends followed that question with asking if I was faithful...that was a new one and I have now learned the word for faithful: Fiel. [To which I replied with an exuberant YES] It wasn't too long after this I decided to call it a night and taxi back home. I have talked with several people here about Latin American culture regarding cheating and dating. Cheating tends to more common and somewhat accepted here among many... It seems infidelity in marriage is also more acceptable here than in the states. *My family here does not follow these stereotypes or thoughts. This has me believe that what I hear about cheating culture here may be a generalization and may not be the true majority. *While trying to be accepting and nonjudgemental, cheating and infidelity are not a lifestyle I am personally comfortable with. Monogamy is my cup of tea, but to each his own...
• Once home, I had a late dinner with Vivi and talked with my family before getting packed for Baños and hopping into bed for some much desired sleep.

Abrazos y Besos,

Zoe