Daily Life

This is the end of the hill and the steps that I
have to walk up at least twice daily to get to
my house. Our house is the one right at the
top of the steps on the right (you can't really
see it but that's where it is)

Here is a little bit about what my life is like on a daily basis while in Cuenca, Ecuador…

My alarm goes off for the first time at 5:30 am every morning (leaving time to push snooze a few times of course) so that I can be showered and ready to leave the house by 6:50 to walk down to our bus stop. Our ride picks us up at 7 am down the hill from our neighborhood to head to school. Four of us ride to school in a taxi each morning and the others ride on a school bus with a bunch of the children. If we are on the bus with the children we also have to make other stops on the way to school to pick up more children. It’s always quite an experience riding the bus with the kids.



We are then at CEDEI school from 7:15 am until 12:30 pm, when we are able to have our own bus drop us off back at the same place we get picked up in the morning. While we are at CEDEI School we have a varying schedule depending on the day. Some days I teach four 40 minute classes while others I teach one or two. For these classes we are with one of the international teachers and we are to teach only in English. Each week we add one more class that we are responsible for lead teaching. The classes I am in are Math 7, Language 1, Science 1, Library 1, and Colores Science. In Ecuador 7 would be like 6^th grade in the states, 1 is like kindergarten, and Colores is a 3-4 year old preschool classroom. On top of these classes I also tutor a child in 6 as well as another child who is blind. Teaching is so different from in the U.S. but it’s something I must adjust to.



This is one of the classrooms that I teach in. It is the 3-4
year-old classroom but all the classrooms are bright and
colorful. Lights are never even needed because there
is so much natural lighting it's great!

This is at the bottom of the school grounds looking up
at offices and the youngest classrooms. The older classrooms
are up more stairs to the left.

This is looking out at the playground area. That's another
private school across the street.

After we get back to our houses we eat a big lunch with the family. Some days Aimee, my friend who lives with me, and I eat with our host parents while other days it is just the two of us who eat by ourselves because of when different people get home. Then we have a short break before having to head downtown for our classes.

From our house it is a 45 minute walk down to CEDEI, where we take classes. We take classes from 3:30-5:30 every afternoon. Two days a week we have a Spanish class, two days a culture class, and Fridays are either a dance class, cooking class, or a trip to somewhere in Cuenca. Then we make our 45 minute walk back home, get a small supper around 7:30, and just lesson plan and such in the evenings. Our days are packed pretty full while we’re here.





This is the outside of our house. There is
a locked gate before entering this area.



Some weekends we have planned trips like El Cajas and Ingapirca but other weekends we have free to plan what we want or do things with our host families. Then the weekly schedule starts all over again.

Here are a few other random tidbits about life in Ecuador…

First of all, the traffic: Traffic here is ridiculous! There are no lanes, road signs and rules don’t mean anything, you can pass whenever you want to, pedestrians don’t have the right-away, you get 2 inches from another car on a regular basis, and they honk for everything. I would never be able to drive here! There are horns used left and right and I’m not always sure why. As a pedestrian it can be hard too because hardly anyone uses turn signals so you never know if you can cross the street or if the car is turning. It can be a little frustrating at times but it is also comical at this point now too.

Buses are also crazy because they drive so close to the sidewalk that you almost get knocked over by their wind as they fly past down the road. They also take turns wide and the streets aren’t very wide so you have to watch out as a pedestrian on corners when they turn because they almost come up on the sidewalk. I don’t think I will ever get used to how close the buses get to us while walking!

Because of all of the cars and diesel fuel the air is also very dirty. You can see huge clouds of black smoke come out of buses and bigger vehicles on a regular basis. The air has a bad taste and smell to it, especially at busier places. There are many days where I look like a gardener because there is so much dirt under my fingernails and I haven’t even touched anything; it’s crazy.

There are these random clown garbages
ALL over the place! A little creepy!

One of the biggest, probably most disturbing, differences is the bathroom situation. In Ecuador the plumbing isn’t very strong so that means no toilet paper can be placed in the toilet. All of the used toilet paper must instead go into a trashcan that is next to the toilet. Pretty appealing, huh? It definitely took some getting used to and is still weird to do but it is no where near as gross as I thought it was going to be. I guess I am just getting more and more used to it. Very strange nonetheless.

Another thing that is crazy for me is the number of stray dogs that are seen along the streets. There are random dogs everywhere! Many people have dogs as pets but then there are so many others that just wander the streets, a lot of times in groups or pairs. There is constantly dog barking as well. Laying in bed at night, or even during the day, there are so many noises constantly. There are dogs barking, car alarms going off, sirens, random fireworks, and cars passing constantly. I’ve learned to become a much deeper sleeper to get used to all the noises.

Some of the stray dogs on the street.

One last thing is the amount of attention we get from men as we walk down the street. It is not uncommon to be whistled at or have noises made at us. We are considered to be “gringas” because we are foreigners and no matter how scrubby we look, cat calls are stilled made at us on a regular basis. It’s never forward or threatening, it is just something we are used to hearing in the background as we walk around.

I am embracing all these differences, though, and am taking as much from my experience in Ecuador as possible. I know there are lots of other things I experience on a daily basis but I can’t think of any more at the time. I will keep you posted as I think of them though! Hasta luego!

People sitting along the riverbank (along the left side) drying
their clothes they had just washed in the river.

Salchipapas which are french fries and hot dogs. It is a
favorite snack here and they're pretty yummy!