Thanksgiving in Mindo

I finally managed to make it out of Quito for a weekend, and headed to Mindo for much needed Thanksgiving celebration. An educator at FCAQ and his wife own and opperate a hostel, and for the past 6 years or so, they have held Thanksgiving Dinner there. Although I didn't stay at their hostel, I will definitely be returning in the future.

Friday after school a few of my co-workers and I took a 1.5 hour bus ride from Quito to this small rural parish and arrived early evening. Because my RSVP  for the Thanksgiving celebration was a little late, I ended up staying at a different hostel than most of the staff. From the outside it looked like a dump, but in the end things worked out well, and it was actually pretty cozy. Located off the main street and very quaint, for $21 a night I got my own room with a private bathroom, and I even had my own patio with a hammock. Along with that price came free daily breakfast of coffee, scrambled eggs, fresh fruit, juice, and rolls. I still can't get over the prices here. My entire weekend (food, lodging, birdwatching tour, food & drink, and transportation) cost me just over $100!

5:45 Saturday morning myself and two others began a birdwatching tour. Our guide, Marcelo, was recommended as the top guide for birdwatching in Mindo (later after the tour, I looked in my Moon guidebook, and low and behold, his name was one of the first to be mentioned). Unfortunately for us, the first 3 hours of the tour were sucked in with fog and mist, so we couldn't see a lot of the colors of the birds. However, Marcelo did an awesome job in showing us the different varieties of flora, and despite the fog, was able to magically spot dozens of birds from upwards of 100 yards away, simply by noticing their silhouettes against the fog. He was also able to mimic their calls perfectly, and would often times get the birds to respond back and show themselves to us. After the fog cleared around ten, we were able to see dozens of birds and got to take pictures though Marcelo's telescope. Whereas I have only seen pictures of exotic birds in National Geographic, it was surreal to see tucans, quetzals, and dozens of others in their natural environment. Well worth the trip.

The rest of my afternoon was spent in my hammock reading, napping, and getting lunch. Dinner was at 6:30, and the kitchen staff at the Dragonfly Inn busted their ass. It was a three course meal, with the first: ceviche (of course), second: turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans w/bacon and nuts, and third: was a dessert plate of pumpkin pie, and a shot glass of dulce de leche topped with guava. They also continued to pour full (like to the brim, full) glasses of red wine throughout dinner, which helped assist with the merriment. There is no doubt I will be returning to Mindo regularly, and without question, I will be there next Thanksgiving.      

Birds of Paradise

My balcony hammock

Ceviche

Grilled tilapia lunch

Centro Historico

I finally managed to make it to Centro Historico area of Quito (aka Old Town)...only took me three months. With the weather being 78 degree and gorgeous, I decided to take the hour walk there and it was great. Aside from it being a bit touristy in certain parts, I must say it was absolutely beautiful, and can see why Quito has been designated a World Heritage site. All of the architecture is really old and very well-maintained. If you were blindfolded and dropped off in Old Town, you might think you were in certain parts of Western Europe or Spain. There are a lot of plazas, museums, and cathedrals throughout the area, and there seems to a bakery are around every corner.

After exploring a bit, and sitting in La Compania and Plaza de San Francisco for a while, I decided to walk to La Basilica del Voto Nacional. This Gothic church is the most famous of all the cathedrals in Quito, and due to it being on a hill, it is a landmark that can be seen from miles away. Unfortunately for me, it was closed, so i couldn't go in. However visitors are allowed to go up into the towers to get amazing views of both Quito and Old Town. My favorite part of La Basilica is that the "gargoyles" are actually local and regional animals. Pretty fitting.

All in all, I probably only saw about a third of Centro Historico during this brief visit. I will be back soon I'm sure.     

Typical Architecture

El Palacio Presidencial

Plaza de San Francisco

La Basilica del Voto Nacional

Armadillos

Carneros

Osos Hormigueros

Cocodrilos

¡Feliz Halloween!

*Let me preface by saying that this first paragraph is me simply "ranting" about how celebrating Halloween at school in the United States is a dying art. If you wish to skip my diatribe, you can start at the second paragraph.
 
I have forgotten how much fun celebrating Halloween at school can be. Halloween is supposed to be fun, and somehow, schools in the states seem to suck the life right out of the holiday. Why? Well, "It gets so crazy with all of those kids dressed up on a sugar high in your classroom" some say. Others may add, "Not all kids can afford a costume. " My answer to these concerns is: Stop whining, and realize that you're a teacher! If you're a good one, you will manage the classroom and set parameters as you usually do, and everything will be fine. School is most fun for kids when they are allowed to be kids! If you relax and let them have fun, in the process you'll have fun too, I promise. In regards to those students who cannot afford costumes, as a teacher you can accommodate them as well. You can make paper mache masks in advance, or you can run to the dollar store and buy a handful of masks and other items so that they don't go empty handed. They can also take lead on decorating your room. All you have to do is include them, and they won't feel left out. Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now.

Yesterday we celebrated Halloween, and it was a blast! Almost everyone in the Primary section dressed up, teachers included (I bit the bullet, chose to be a 'team player',  and dressed as character from Grease. Little does my team know how much I hate that movie, and musicals in general. But I digress). My class started decorating the room last week, so we just hung out, admired each others' costumes, delivered small gifts to our "Secreto Friendos", and watched "A Nightmare Before Christmas". One student of mine baked a chocolate cake for the students on her bus, but the driver wouldn't allow them to eat it on the bus, so instead, our class reaped the benefits of her labor.

At 9:30 a school assembly was scheduled for the entire primary section (K-6th International & National) to celebrate Halloween, so we all filed into the auditorium. Not knowing what to expect, I thought we would watch a few skits on Halloween, and talk about safety while trick-or-treating.  Turns out, this was to be a "Halloween Parade", where every grade level would show of their costumes by walking across a giant catwalk, for both the school and parents to see (families were seated on the opposite side of the auditorium). The kids loved it.  Myself and my teaching partners felt a bit awkward, but it was fun nonetheless. After the assembly it was adios to the students, who only had a half day. ¡Feliz Halloween!

Alice & Wonderland.

A pair of Afroditas ("Aphrodite")

Two of my favorite students simply dressed up as nothing in particular.  Their captions read." Live 6th Grade" & "You have to enjoy it!"

Why yes Jose, the future IS full of opportunities... especially in a zombie apocalypse. 

Best friends with a love/hate relationship.

How appropriate is it that "Nacho" chose to be Pinocchio (and the Pinocchio whose nose is constantly growing because of all the lies no less)? VERY. Thanks for showing your true colors "Nacho",  I'll have to act as your Jiminy Cricket this year :)

"Belle" from Beauty & the Beast.

Eeyore, looking as sad as ever. 

Award for "Most Fun Costume" goes to the Monsters Inc crew. Being that this is Ecuador, they were are also recipients of the unofficial "Most Hot and Miserable Costumes to Wear" award.

Let the fun begin.

I think we pulled off the "Grease" look fairly well.