My First Class

Yesterday, Saturday, I taught my first course. It is an intermediate level course from 2 to 6 in the afternoon. I was very nervous at first, but once I got into the swing of it everything went very well. There are 10 people enrolled in my course, however only 7 were actually in class yesterday. My students are majority female and range in age from around 16 to 19. As to be expected there are a few students that have more confidence speaking than others, but their ability levels do not seem to be too far apart. On Monday I begin teaching my 2 hour courses, which I think that I will like more than the 4 hour Saturday course. 4 hours is a long time for both students and teachers! The weekday courses are one level higher than the Saturday courses, so I am excited to compare the ability levels between the students.

I am starting to learn my way around the city, although I mostly stay in and around the neighborhood that I am living because it is a really nice part of town. I am looking into taking some Spanish courses if I can find them. It is amazing how much language you can lose in 3 or 4 years! I miss everybody at home, but after looking at the pictures of snow in Baltimore I think I prefer living on the Equator!

Settling in....

Now that I have been here for a few days I am getting to know my part of the city and settling in. Last night I went jogging along El Malecon, and walked up the 444 steps in Las Penas. Joyce and I plan to do this everyday to get ready for Carnaval and the beach later this February!! Carnival is the 3rd week of February here, so I will have a 4 day weekend and I plan to go to the beach!!! I am super excited!

I have recived my teaching schedule for the month of February, I will be teaching 2 courses Monday through Thursday to high intermediate adult learners. One course is from 9:10am to 11:20am, and the other course is 3:50pm to 5:55pm. I will also be teaching a Saturday course from 2-6pm, however I do not know what course I will be teaching just yet. I know that this dosen´t seem like a lot of hours, but I will also be helping out in the office inbetween courses, doing things like proof reading letters and papers, and corresponding with the US consulate. I am super nervous about teaching, but the CEN has a very structured cirriculum. All of my tests and quizzes have to be given on certain dates, and they are already written for me!! I start next week, so wish me luck!

My arrival

I arrived in Guayaquil late Thursday night (1/21), and the first thing I noticed was the heat! It is a big change from the cold winter weather, but I love it. I am living in the neighborhood Las Penas, it is a cute, colorful, artsy neighborhood located right on the Guayas river. All of houses are painted different colors, which I love! I am currently living in my own room, in a families home until a single apartment becomes avaliable. The apartment buliding is located right on the river, when I look out the window all I see is water!!! The family is very nice, and has a daughter my age. On Friday, Joyce a girl my age that is the daughter of one of my coworkers, showed me all around the city. In the neighborhood I am living there is a hill with 444 steps to the top that overlooks the city and the river. The climb up was a great workout and the view is amazing. There is also a park that is full of iguanas, they just run around like squirrels except they are not scared of people at all! If fact I was warned several times not to pet them. After some exploring I went to the CEN, the school where I will be teaching. It is a very nice place and the staff is very friendly. However, my dream of having 3 day weekends won't be coming true right away. During my meeting with the director he mentioned the schools need for teachers on Saturdays, and how American teachers often do not want to work on weekends. Due to this conversation, I volunteered to work on Saturdays, at least for the month of Feburary. So far I love Guayaquil, the people are nice and the city has a lot to offer. I will be posting pictures soon! I miss everyone, but I am also very excited about being here!