Post #5: Overall Reflection

It's crazy to think that I fly home tomorrow, and this trip will officially be a closed chapter in my life. I am blessed beyond words that I was given the privilege to travel to Ecuador, work with the students at Colegio Menor, and venture around this area to become more aware of culture difference in and out of the classroom. I have gained an enormous amount of respect (more than I had from the beginning) for the states, my home, and the students I have worked with in the numerous schools in Kentucky. There is absolutely no place like home, but I will cherish all that I have learned here as a future Teacher!
On the other hand, this trip was far from what I expected in terms of the students. I knew that the students were bilingual, but did not realize how well they, the staff and parents would speak English, and I was not aware that the students would be considered "upper class". I imagined a poverty stricken school with little to no English, so this was a surprise to my benefit. It has been great to see the students speak English as a second language, as well as use their native language of Spanish to determine words and phrases in English. I was always there "go-to person" when figuring out how to say things properly in English! I also imagined that I would have more expectations as a student teacher inside the classroom, but there was not any. I mostly floated around, worked with students when needed, and assisted the teacher when it was beneficial. There is always an assistant in the room, so a lot of the time I was not necessarily needed. That is something that I did not expect because I am used to conducting solo weeks of teaching, planning instruction, and being super hands-on; however, it was not always a bad thing since I was experiencing other things here!!

Post #4: Third Week

The culture of the educational environment fluctuates between their inherited Ecuadorian culture, as well as American culture. The students speak English in the classroom, and are encouraged to speak English during their free time outside of Spanish class. There comes a time where the students are having trouble figuring out an English word or an English saying, so they will come to me speaking Spanish to see if I can help figure out what they are trying to say. A lot of the time I am picking up on Spanish because I am assisting the students with English grammar, and determining the English word, saying, or sentence structure from the Spanish dialect. However, the students do have the chance to speak Spanish throughout the days of the week during a 2 hour Spanish block, and as they interact with other students or teachers. It is cool to see the students transforming what they know from Spanish to English, or the other way around because there are times where they even struggle with Spanish. On the other hand, the students completed a Spanish academic showcase where they were in 6 different groups, and each group focused on a different part of Quito. The students put together videos, PowerPoints, slideshows, and 3-D projects to "teach" their parents about what they learned about that certain part of Quito. Thus, that is a big part of their culture since Quito is the capital of Ecuador, and we are located in a smaller part of Quito! It was neat to see the students teaching their parents, and encouraging them to participate in games on their phone that related to their project.

On the other hand, a big part of their culture revolves around being affectionate and showing how much they enjoy one another's presence. This is something that I am still getting used to because students will come up to you and sit on your lap, hang around your neck during instruction (this was shocking to me), and even hang on my cooperating teacher as she is trying to lead a whole group discussion. The students expect to receive affection back, so it is in my favor to allow them to love on me or sit on me throughout the day unexpectedly. Since this is their culture, I accept it 100%, but it is something that I have trouble picking up on because I feel as though it does take away from focus and instruction time!
However, working with the groups during their preparation for their second academic showcase has been interesting as I am seeing the students think outside the box, and in their own way when configuring activities based on books written by Doreen Cronin. The students have an enormous amount of responsibility as they are in charge of their groups project - activity, game, presentation, and posters; for 2nd graders, I am shocked with what they have come up with, and continue to create before our showcase next Tuesday!

Baños, Ecuador

This weekend has been the best one yet! The four of us took a trip to Baños, which is about a 4 hour bus ride from Cumbayá. We left early Saturday morning so we had the whole day to spend, and we came back late Sunday afternoon. Sadly, it rained the majority of the day on Saturday, but it ended up clearing up for the most part later in the afternoon; so, the four of us visited La Casa del Arbol, which is an attraction that is also called "the edge of the world". We all jumped on a swing, and we swung out to the edge of the world - it was an amazing experience as the swing took your breath away, and the view was incredible. There is also a treehouse that we climbed up that also gave us another view of the mountains of Baños. It was a unique experience!

Sunday was by far the best day I have had in Ecuador so far in terms of being a tourist! Me, Hannah, and Mikayla were extra adventurous, and signed up for a 6 2000 meter zip line course...and WOW! There were 2 zip line courses that allowed you to go across on your belly, and that was incredible because we are zip lining over waterfalls, creeks, and other mountain regions. We are already pretty high up in the mountains, so the views were absolutely incredible as each one was different. We had to hike up mountain trails to get to the other courses (that was tough with the altitude), but the view was almost eye-watering! This will be a memory that I will cherish for as long as I can remember, and I recommend anyone who travels to Ecuador to go to Baños and zip line throughout the mountains!

Post #3: Second Week

Throughout my first 2 weeks here at Colegio Menor, I have become involved with the students in a variety of ways. Most of the time, I am assisting the students with spelling and grammar, as well as improving math skills throughout centers. However, I was given the opportunity to lead a lesson the first week I was here! The school is putting on an academic showcase in a few weeks, and each classroom is responsible for preparing a Flipgrid that the students are individually creating based on work they have completed, and a presentation of student work around the halls and classroom. My Cooperating Teacher was having a difficult time thinking of a unique way to involve the students in a presentation that revolved around the author Doreen Cronin, so I came up with the idea of a character book talk! With this activity, I mentioned that each student dressed up as a certain character within a specific book, and they discuss the book from that characters point-of-view. The point of this activity is to pull the audience in so that they want to read the book Click, Clack, Ho Ho Ho, while also allowing the students to be creative in their creation of a book talk! 

I have also had the privilege to help create murals and background images for the academic showcase. On the other hand, the assistance needed in the classroom is similar to those back home, but the environment is extremely different. The students have more time away from the classroom, whether it is during break or during specials. There are days where the students are in specials for 2 hours, so I do not see them until dismissal. Another thing that is different with this environment is that I see the parent of each student that is not a bus rider because they walk inside to pick up their child/student. Lastly, the students are not doing very much "CORE" work because they are preparing for the academic showcase, so the majority of our time is spent working on their projects in each center, creating videos, preparing scripts, etc.; none of the time is spent actually teaching content, except for math occasionally throughout the week! It has been different and sometimes difficult at times when working with students, but so far it has been a great experience! 

First Weekend Adventure

This weekend was one for the books because we took the advantage of the beautiful weather, and ventured around Quito/other areas this weekend! Saturday was a fun, yet relaxing day as Hannah and I visited Papallacta, which is a natural hot springs in the middle of the mountains... talk about a beautiful view! At Papallacta, there are many pools available for you to choose throughout the mountain areas, and they all range in degrees. The first hot springs we stepped into was extremely hot, but the other ones we took time to relax in were perfect temperatures. This was an awesome experience because who would have the chance to go to a natural hot springs in the mountains on a daily basis....and, we got to take some time to relax and rejuvenate our bodies from this first week here in Cumbayá!
Today, our entire group took a trip to Ciudad Mitad del Mundo, which is the center of the world. This is by far the best memory, yet!! We walked throughout the monument, going up several flights of stairs where different experiments occurred as the different poles interacted, and we walked throughout the shops around the monument. This was definitely a cool experience as we got to stand on the equator at 0' 0' 0" (literally the middle of the world), and learn about the occurrences between the different poles. So awesome, and the weather has been absolutely amazing (despite the sunburns I continue to gain)!

Post #2: First Week

I arrived in Ecuador on Saturday, April 14th at 10:35 pm! I was a little nervous knowing that I understand/speak very little Spanish, and the overall unknown of a new environment and culture. My host family was welcoming, and showered me with love the moment I stepped off the plane. I was unsure what the family looked like, but I knew overall that my host mom had two daughters. My home environment is energetic, positive, and educational because I am learning Spanish each day since my family only speaks Spanish! I have a difficult time understanding most of the time, but my host family does a wonderful job ensuring that I understand what they are saying/making me feel apart of the conversation.

On, Sunday we took the advantage of a free day to go on a small hike to the mall, as well as having a pre-birthday lunch for me (my birthday was Monday, April 16th). After the late lunch, my host mom took several of us to Quito, and we visited a local park, as well as the House of Glass! This was an exciting adventure because the view was absolutely breathtaking as we had an overview of Quito, as well as other cities around Quito. 

My first day of 2nd grade was Monday, April 16th! I had only done a little research about Colegio Menor, as well as a quick virtual tour of the school. However, this school is incredibly beautiful... The campus is open - doors and windows are never shut, and you are constantly walking around outside as we venture to different locations on campus. There are multiple playgrounds (for lower and upper school), which the students spend a good amount of time at during snack/break and recess. The schedule is completely different than the school schedules in the states. It is really laid back with lots of time focusing on creativity, organization, and other CORE skills. Students are given several breaks away from teachers, whether it is in Spanish, or other special areas. On the other hand, we are preparing for an academic showcase where the students show their Spanish skills, as well as material they have learned about specific books in the classroom. Thus, a lot of our time in the classroom is spent preparing for the showcase in a few weeks as we prepare the students, and guide the students in the direction to create a Flipgrid!
Overall, I am amazed with Cumbayá and Quito, as well as the environment of the school. Everyone is extremely welcoming, and the students provide endless amounts of love - even from the moment I walked in. I can't wait to continue learning about Ecuador!

Post #1: Pre-Departure

As I am sitting here, three weeks out, I am getting more and more anxious to leave the country! I am not sure what to expect in relation to Ecuador, but I expect to learn a lot about the culture from the country itself, the people, and the students that I will be getting the privilege to work with. I am looking forward to interacting with people around Ecuador, the teachers in the school I will be placed, and working/teaching a number of students. I am eager to see how the students learn in this diverse environment, and I look forward to gaining knowledge that I can take and use in my future classroom! I have reached out to several peers that participated in a WKU Study Abroad program that visited Ecuador, and I have been told nothing but wonderful things relating to the culture. The most important outcome that I strive to receive is becoming aware of cultural differences, and learning how to become flexible in the classroom like students do with ours in America. 
Some things that I have researched about the country is that the altitude can sometimes cause your body to act out of whack, so I read to drink plenty of fluids as I fly in and venture around Ecuador. I have also learned that we are not the only titled "American's" in Ecuador, and some individuals take it offensive when visitors from America consider themselves US American's. Therefore, I am continuing to learn and research proper terminology to use in Ecuador! I have also researched the school I will be at, which is Colegio Menor, and I have learned that it is a biligingual school; this leads me to expect working with students that know English, as well as Spanish. I also expect that the students will be using higher order thinking skills, creative approaches, and leadership skills due to their school mission.