This week I am enjoying a week of VACATION! The reason? We just finished 2nd trimester exams. I was incredibly surprised to learn that in Ecuador, even elementary school kids take exams at the end of every grading period. An ENTIRE WEEK of tests! The oldest kids, who are only 8 years old, had 15 different subjects to study for. How stressful! Especially since the results make up 1/4th of the trimester grade. Even the little itty bitties took tests. I admit, I don't understand how effective it is to give five year old kids 10 different tests like that, but I did my best to be helpful during the process and to lend a hand when I wasn't proctoring my own English exams.
In one of the 1st grade classrooms, there is a boy with special needs. His name is Jesús. He can be a very loving or a very violent child, and this often changes without notice. When I have free time in my schedule, I work one on one with him, because left to his own devices, he does not accomplish much and spends a significant amount of time crawling around the floor on all fours barking. Imagine trying to help 20-some 5 year old kids (who can't read) take an exam while Jesús is pretending to be a puppy... yikes. So one of the test days, I worked on exams with him one-on-one. We were making some progress when all of a sudden, he looked at me with his eyes wide, exclaimed "oh no!", and slid out of his seat onto the floor. He then began crawling around making scary snake/dragon noises and pretending to bite other students' feet. Having worked with him many times before, I knew chasing him would not work. Picking him up and putting him back in his seat...also no. So I followed a few paces behind him saying, "Sea humano, por favor. Quiero hablar con el nino Jesús." (Be a human, please. I want to talk to Jesus the little boy.) Although my mind was absolutely frustrated, I kept my voice calm. And after what seemed like hours (which was only 3 minutes tops), he looked at me from the floor and shouted "Hola!". I made a big show of being overjoyed to find him human again, hugging him and thanking God. And we actually finished an entire exam!
A frustrating part of exams, I had a LOT of students try to cheat by writing things on their hands or by talking during the test. Ugg...very disappointing. But despite all that, most of my kids passed the exam, and some of them aced it!
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Creepy Crawly Hatching Things
After three months of Ecuador life (which includes many meals eaten at neighbors' houses), I am proud to say that I have only caught one parasite (amoebas) and one stomach fungus! Exciting, yeah?? :) One of my community mates wasn't quite so lucky and currently has LICE. Yikes! I've spent many hours combing through her hair to pull out the little critters and tons of eggs. The worst part, you have to kill 'em...by squeezing them between your fingernails until they pop! Ah! But she should be clear soon! We're all going to get buggy things this year, though, so it's not a bug deal. Parasites and infections and critters will not defeat us! :)
Conveniently, there is a clinic within walking distance that can deliver test results in a day and write prescriptions to exterminate our little buggy friends. How much does it cost? For a medical consult, we pay $3. And for a parasite test? $2. Prescriptions are a little more expensive- it cost me $15 for three different medicines to get rid of the zoo in my belly. But even though it seems extremely cheap (we also have medical insurance that reimburses us), there are still many people who cannot afford the medical attention they need.
Something interesting related to health in Ecuador- there are a LOT of local remedies that we've been advised to try. When I came down with a cough, I was told to drink milk with garlic boiled in it (I wouldn't suggest it...although I did try it). A different friend fed me spoonfuls of fish oil (also not recommended). When my housemate was having trouble sleeping, we were told to blend pineapple and lettuce together and have her drink it (we never tried it). I was also told to leave a pineapple outside all night and then cut it up and feed it to her in the morning before she got out of bed...uh??? Not having a clue about medicine, I have no idea if there is any scientific backing to these methods, but who knows!
Conveniently, there is a clinic within walking distance that can deliver test results in a day and write prescriptions to exterminate our little buggy friends. How much does it cost? For a medical consult, we pay $3. And for a parasite test? $2. Prescriptions are a little more expensive- it cost me $15 for three different medicines to get rid of the zoo in my belly. But even though it seems extremely cheap (we also have medical insurance that reimburses us), there are still many people who cannot afford the medical attention they need.
Something interesting related to health in Ecuador- there are a LOT of local remedies that we've been advised to try. When I came down with a cough, I was told to drink milk with garlic boiled in it (I wouldn't suggest it...although I did try it). A different friend fed me spoonfuls of fish oil (also not recommended). When my housemate was having trouble sleeping, we were told to blend pineapple and lettuce together and have her drink it (we never tried it). I was also told to leave a pineapple outside all night and then cut it up and feed it to her in the morning before she got out of bed...uh??? Not having a clue about medicine, I have no idea if there is any scientific backing to these methods, but who knows!
So what's it like in Monte Sinai, anyway?
I realized this week that I haven't actually described the neighborhood where I'm living this year. Ooops!
Monte Sinai and the surrounding communities were formally farm land. Settlement began when plots were sold cheaply and illegally to people seeking work opportunities closer to the city and to indigenous people who came from the mountains. Over the past 5 years, thousands upon thousands have come to call this place home.
Housing? Most of our neighbors live in cane houses. Many are built on stilts to avoid flooding during the rainy season. There are also a good number of cement block houses. These are seen as a status symbol and a major step up. Families save for years to start building a cement house, and even then it often takes years to complete. The insides of homes vary. I've only been in one house that did not have at least a couple of beds that people shared. Most have a fridge, an electric stove top (having an oven is less common), a TV, and plastic tables/ chairs. We know a few who have invested in computers, and one family that has a projector to watch movies on the wall.
Utilities? There is no running water in the community. The water people do have is not very clean and comes from "tanqueros" (trucks) that drive around during the day honking, filling up big plastic barrels outside peoples' homes. A refill costs $1. This seems cheap, but those living in the city pay far less for their water. Our volunteer house has a large cistern that pumps H2O and allows for showers and sinks, a luxury not available to our neighbors. Electricity is currently pirated and subject to frequent black outs. The longest we've gone without power is 10 hours (it actually went out Halloween night and stayed out until the morning-spooky!), but we've heard that in the past and during the rainy season it's been much worse and has stayed out for days at a time. This is terrible for businesses like restaurants, stores, and cyber cafes that rely on electricity to function (think refrigerators and food spoiling). There is a power plant close by which may soon start supplying energy to the neighborhoods. Families would have to pay, but it would mean a more stable and less dangerous connection.
Roads? Most roads are unpaved and in terrible condition. They turn to mud in the rainy season and make it difficult for cars and buses to pass (One really great thing is the public transportation- buses are frequent and only cost $.25!). There are a few main roads that are now paved and make travel much easier (especially for the great number of commuters who work in the city- a 2 hour bus ride away).
Overall, things are improving little by little it seems. There is more police presence. Garbage trucks enter the neighborhood twice a week (there was no trash pick-up previously, so people burned or threw garbage on the street). More businesses are cropping up too. At least two new internet cafes have opened within walking distance in the last few months. Progress.
However, there are many other issues that make life difficult. Drugs, alcohol, gangs, domestic violence, and machismo are very present in the community. Unemployment or unstable employment is also a major reality. Many of the men or fathers work in construction or other manual labor jobs that are unreliable and don't provide steady income. Discipline is mainly physical. Kids frequently talk about their parents hitting them.
But to end on a hopeful note, a non-profit called Hogar de Cristo is doing fabulous work in the community. One of their offices focuses on community organizing (my housemate Katie works there). There are currently groups of community members forming and growing, taking leadership roles and seeking ways to improve the quality of living here. This same non-profit also organizes women's groups (Bernadette works in this office) that meet to form relationships, talk about issues like family and self-esteem, and seek to empower women who are commonly confined to the home. There is also a group for senior citizen's rights that is working on giving attention and encouragement to the elderly in the area who often go forgotten. Good things are happening. People are working together for change.
Monte Sinai and the surrounding communities were formally farm land. Settlement began when plots were sold cheaply and illegally to people seeking work opportunities closer to the city and to indigenous people who came from the mountains. Over the past 5 years, thousands upon thousands have come to call this place home.
Housing? Most of our neighbors live in cane houses. Many are built on stilts to avoid flooding during the rainy season. There are also a good number of cement block houses. These are seen as a status symbol and a major step up. Families save for years to start building a cement house, and even then it often takes years to complete. The insides of homes vary. I've only been in one house that did not have at least a couple of beds that people shared. Most have a fridge, an electric stove top (having an oven is less common), a TV, and plastic tables/ chairs. We know a few who have invested in computers, and one family that has a projector to watch movies on the wall.
Utilities? There is no running water in the community. The water people do have is not very clean and comes from "tanqueros" (trucks) that drive around during the day honking, filling up big plastic barrels outside peoples' homes. A refill costs $1. This seems cheap, but those living in the city pay far less for their water. Our volunteer house has a large cistern that pumps H2O and allows for showers and sinks, a luxury not available to our neighbors. Electricity is currently pirated and subject to frequent black outs. The longest we've gone without power is 10 hours (it actually went out Halloween night and stayed out until the morning-spooky!), but we've heard that in the past and during the rainy season it's been much worse and has stayed out for days at a time. This is terrible for businesses like restaurants, stores, and cyber cafes that rely on electricity to function (think refrigerators and food spoiling). There is a power plant close by which may soon start supplying energy to the neighborhoods. Families would have to pay, but it would mean a more stable and less dangerous connection.
Roads? Most roads are unpaved and in terrible condition. They turn to mud in the rainy season and make it difficult for cars and buses to pass (One really great thing is the public transportation- buses are frequent and only cost $.25!). There are a few main roads that are now paved and make travel much easier (especially for the great number of commuters who work in the city- a 2 hour bus ride away).
Overall, things are improving little by little it seems. There is more police presence. Garbage trucks enter the neighborhood twice a week (there was no trash pick-up previously, so people burned or threw garbage on the street). More businesses are cropping up too. At least two new internet cafes have opened within walking distance in the last few months. Progress.
However, there are many other issues that make life difficult. Drugs, alcohol, gangs, domestic violence, and machismo are very present in the community. Unemployment or unstable employment is also a major reality. Many of the men or fathers work in construction or other manual labor jobs that are unreliable and don't provide steady income. Discipline is mainly physical. Kids frequently talk about their parents hitting them.
But to end on a hopeful note, a non-profit called Hogar de Cristo is doing fabulous work in the community. One of their offices focuses on community organizing (my housemate Katie works there). There are currently groups of community members forming and growing, taking leadership roles and seeking ways to improve the quality of living here. This same non-profit also organizes women's groups (Bernadette works in this office) that meet to form relationships, talk about issues like family and self-esteem, and seek to empower women who are commonly confined to the home. There is also a group for senior citizen's rights that is working on giving attention and encouragement to the elderly in the area who often go forgotten. Good things are happening. People are working together for change.
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