New volunteers!

I mentioned in a blog post several weeks ago that I had recently reached my six month mark here in Ecuador. This not only meant wading through a maelstrom of fluctuating emotions, it also meant the arrival of a new batch of fresh-faced WorldTeach volunteers.

The new group of twelve arrived in Quito at the beginning of September. After briefly "meeting" them during the webinar last month and after spending the better part of a month alone in Ibarra, I was ecstatic to see some new "gringo" faces.

I had volunteered to lead one of their orientation sessions, so on Friday (the 13th!) I hopped on a bus and made my way south. This was the first time I had been on a bus since coming back from my Ecua-tour in August and I was still dealing with some residual bus anxiety. I knew it was only a 3 hour trip, but it didn't keep me from visualizing all of the ways I could NOT end up in Quito.

After I had safely arrived, I met up with two other February volunteers, Susannah and Katelyn, who were also leading a few of the orientation sessions. It had literally only been a month since I'd last seen them, but after four lonesome weeks in Ibarra I near-killed them in my excitement at seeing a familiar face.

When Annie left at the end of July and the two summer volunteers at the beginning of August, I told myself that two months on my own in Ibarra were totally manageable. I had my host sister and my few (but wonderful) Ecua-friends to pass the time with. And I could finally catch up on my reading. And maybe learn a few new guitar songs.

But then Ruben got accepted to a university in the US and left, Lenin became tied up with work, and Fernanda went back to school for teacher in-services. And I could only read for so long. So my relaxing three week vacation soon devolved into a depressing, homesick disaster which was only further exacerbated by the fact that I was not feeling well. I found myself longing for classes to start in September and fantasizing about lesson planning. Anything to break up the monotony and give me a change of scenery.

So, needless to say, when September did finally roll around, and classes began, and the new volunteers arrived, and I hopped on a bus to Quito, I was very VERY happy.

The topic of my orientation session was Classroom Management. Not the most interesting topic by any means, but certainly one of the more crucial ones. After having taught for almost seven months, I was surprised to find that I was nervous walking into the conference room on Friday morning. Butterflies in my stomach, sweaty palms, the whole bit. Somehow shifting from a class full of Ecuadorian students to a room of twelve of my peers, caused me to lose a bit of my "teacher swag." What if I gave them bad advice? What if they knew more than I did? What if I screwed up in front of them? What if they thought I was a complete joke and utterly incapable of helping them adjust to life here?

Obviously all of my fears were completely unfounded. Not only were they attentive and interested, they were brimming with questions about all aspects of life in Ecuador. To them I was this confident, knowledgeable volunteer who had survived in Ecuador for seven months and knew the secret for doing so. I know this because that's exactly what I thought when I was sitting in those chairs seven months ago.

The truth, of course, is that I don't know everything. And all of the experiences that have led me to this point are mine alone. Yes, I did my best to share the basic tenets for survival in Ecuador and any tips and hints that would make their transition smoother. But by the end of their year here, they will have their own stories of getting stranded in random places, eating strange things (and, consequently, having your body behave strangely), and figuring out how best to deal with that irascible student in your class.

My session ended smoothly (and on time!) and the rest of the day I spent helping the volunteers prepare for their first day of practice teaching on Monday. That afternoon I was also surprised with a gift from the home office as a thank you for helping out with the webinar in August. Apparently, at some point during the webinar I had bemoaned the fact that I couldn't find peanut butter here. So I was rewarded with a package of gummy LifeSavers and my very own container of creamy JIF. (I may have teared up a bit when I opened my package. And I may have foregone a spoon and ripped off the seal and ate a few helpings with my finger because I just couldn't help myself.)

Saturday we took the volunteers to Parque Carolina. It gave us plenty of time to get to know them outside of the conference room and it gave them the opportunity to ask us any further questions about life in Ecuador. (It also gave me the chance to finally see Parque Carolina since I hadn't during my orientation.)

Getting fro-yo with the gang after our morning in the park

I was also able to bond a bit more with the new Ibarra volunteer, Ashley (she's standing to the left of me wearing the purple scarf). We had exchanged a few emails before she arrived and it was clear that she was excited about joining me in Ibarra. I don't think I realized just how excited until I met her! She was nearly bursting at the seams with questions and comments and it was all I could do to keep up with all of them.

Life in Ibarra will certainly be different once she arrives. I've settled comfortably into my life here and have spent the last seven months carefully establishing my day-to-day routines. Having Ashley here will give me the chance to re-experience Ibarra through her eyes. All of those things that to me are just part of the normal grind, will be brand-new and interesting (or totally weird) to her. And I'm really looking forward to it. What better way to wrap up my year than with the same enthusiasm and curiosity than I began it with?