Education in Paradise

I arrived in Guayaquil around 1. Going through customs, the agent said, "You were here in 2006." "Umm, yes, that's true."
"Why?"
"I was living in Peru and came to visit Ecuador." I didn't mention that, of course, we had had to leave Peru every three months to comply with visa requirements.

I met up with other trainees in the airport and we waited for the van to take us to Montañita, the small coastal town where we would be taking our teaching EFL (English as a Foreign Language) course together for the next 5 weeks. The 2 1/2 hour ride was through terrain similar to that of northern Peru: scrubby trees, low hills, and lots of brown. We arrived and were given a quick tour. We each have our own room and bathroom.

Entrance to Casa Cacique, iH Montanita

The grounds from the main building

The pool and my cabaña on the right

mosquito netting!

As you can see, it is very beautiful and our rooms are spacious with screens and mosquito netting to keep out the bugs. After dropping our stuff off in our rooms, we went to have dinner. Meals are provided and are not only delicious, but also meet all of our different dietary requests (Westerners are so demanding...)

We began the next morning with an info session and were given the daily timetable (quite rigorous from Monday to Friday.) We have breakfast at 8. Classes start at 9 and we continue with classes, smaller group sessions, or observed teaching practice until 7:30 at night. The evening classes are for Ecuadorans at either a beginning or intermediate level of English. There are breaks for lunch or to meet with one of the tutors to discuss an assignment, but in general we are busy all day. Dinner is at 8. Saturday and Sunday are open. There really isn't a chance to travel anywhere, because Montañita is on the coast far from most tourist sites and we have homework due Monday, but this is a party town, so we can find something to do.

We went dancing last night and were given free shots at the places we went (why don't American clubs do this?) We got to hear a fairly good live band playing covers of American and Latin hits from the 70s to now and then at midnight the DJ started. This morning a couple of the other teachers and I rented bikes and rode to a nearby town. The sun had finally come out and it was quite warm, so when we got back to the center we went for a swim. Then there was time for some homework before dinner.

I am learning quite a bit. A lot of the theory is not new, but having modeled and then monitored teaching is really educational. The feedback is thought-provoking; I always enjoyed peer-review at work and pair teaching because it is great to share ideas and materials.

I have gone for a couple of early morning walks (in the drizzle) and have taken many photos of the flowers and birds and iguanas! Here are some of the things I might see whenever I take the 10 minute walk into town.