Cabezas Anniversary #3: Wet and Worldly

Javier and I celebrated the completion of year 3 in our marriage history last week.  As we've started discussing our return home, I've been sometimes thinking about whether or not I'll keep up with the blog back in the US.  Our lives certainly won't involve as much travel or eventful sagas.  But I also love that I've blogged about all three of our anniversaries so far and the idea of keeping up that kind of documentary sounds good to me.  Anyway, here is a blog for anniversary #3 no matter what.  Per usual, we spent the day in a cloud of lit candles, rose buds, and sparkling champagne.  Actually, that's not quite true...

One of our big goals for this year was to attend an event (preferably a soccer game) in the Estadio Olimpico Atahualpa right here in Quito, so when Javier realized that Ecuador would host two World Cup qualifier games we new we had our chance.  What I we learned later was that one of the home games fell slap, dab on October 13th.  No problem, we were still in and excited to celebrate our anniversary with a mere 40,000 screaming Ecuadorian fans.

With our $7 fake jersey's purchased and permission to leave early from school to make the event on time, we were more than ready.  Nothing could stop us!  Not even the rain. And rain.  And rain.  Considering it hasn't rained in Quito since Javier and I got back from the summer, it felt like the heavens were making up for all that drought time in the 2-3 hour stretch of the soccer game.  Just waiting in line to get into the stadium made us soaked to the bone!

Shockingly, someone abandoned this hat in the downpour, but our hero saved it from a puddle!

Esperanza, (other) Javier, and Tiffany were some school friends we would be sharing our big number 3 with!
We are all drenched....

Huge surprise: these $2 ponchos were not as waterproof as we had hoped....Javier took off his 'hood' sometime shortly after we sat down.  I look like I'm enjoying it, don't I?  Have I mentioned that the combination of rain and altitude is a frigid one?

The rain slowed enough for me to take some quick pics of our seats and the stadium.  It was much smaller than we had pictured (but that means no bad seats, right?) 

And not super tall (no nose bleeds here!)

This is the crew that stayed for the whole game: Esperanza, Dani (her wife), and our devoted taxi driver, Zenon.

After Ecuador's surprise victory over Argentina (@ Argentina and with a 2 goal difference!!!) we thought they had an easy win at home against Bolivia, but the game was tied 0-0 well into the second half.  Thankfully Ecuador finally scored in the 81st minute and then was awarded a penalty kick a few minutes later (95th minute) to win the game 2-0.  It's amazing how a victory can help you forget the soaking, freezing rain!

Okay, it may not have been our most romantic anniversary, but it was a wonderful one cause I spent it with this guy (hat included).  Besides, it seems more and more that it's the combination of these little (sometimes miserable) adventures that make up the sum of our marriage.  Which is great by me!

Mindo - Falling in Love All Over Again

Javier and I just got back from a wonderful weekend in Mindo.  We had gone just the two of us on our first overnight trip out of Quito last year, but we also took the Bottoms and Dave and Alex for a quick day trip when they came to visit.  While all of our visits have been fun-filled and adventurous, I think the hurried pace of our last two day trips clouded the tranquility and beauty of the small town in my mind a bit.  This past week reminded me how much Mindo has to offer in not only adventurous activities, but quiet and natural wonder.

This is the Dragonfly where we stayed for the weekend.  It's an adorable B&B right on the river.  Ours was the middle balcony you see on the second floor which was great.  We've heard that the attic can be hot and front rooms a bit noisy, but we definitely enjoyed and would recommend the inn.  The restaurant also serves lunch and dinner and smelled delicious each time we were in and out.  We will definitely have another meal here the next time we are in Mindo.

Cleaning potatoes

We hopped in the car right after school Thursday afternoon (having Friday off for Guayaquil Day) to arrive in Mindo for dinner.  We spent our evening at a new restaurant: Taco Loco, watching the Ecuador v. Argentina (at Argentina) World Cup qualifier.  We were pleasantly surprised to start our fun weekend off with a WIN by Ecuador 2-0!

We had planned to hike to the large waterfall that we had never been to in person but learned Friday morning that the tarabita was temporarily closed, making a hike to the waterfall impossible.  So instead we ventured to the trail behind the Yellow House which had also been recommended.  We started our hike up the road to the trail and found these cows hanging out with what appeared to me to be egrets.  I wonder what the symbiotic relationship is here?

along the road we also found some baby cows

We were on a bit of a mission to find some monkeys and/or the Andean bear as both had been seen recently along the trails.  I'll end the suspense and tell you that we were not successful regarding the monkeys or bear, but we did see some pretty awesome flora along the way.  Doesn't this leaf look like it's having its nails painted?

interesting fruit? hanging from a tree (looked like little green bell peppers to me)

look good (Javier and I agreed that we'd swiftly poison ourselves on good looking fruit like this if we were forced to survive in the jungle on our own....)

braided branch

On one trail we had a gorgeous view of Mindo in the valley below

Cabezas and far away Mindo

huge (and random) patch of these gorgeous orange flowers

hard to see in my photo, but these were bright red bunches hanging from this (what we thought was a) palm tree

my attempt to capture the cool vines that hang down from so many trees

we were looking for the native orchids that pepper the Ecuadorian landscape...not sure if these are they, but very pretty

jungle flowers

white butterflies hiding under leaves (butterflies were everywhere!!)

Javier and I thought this guy reminded us of the Birds of Paradise guy

After our hike we went back into town and grabbed a pizza to go to eat at El Descanso.  We took both the Bottoms and Dave and Alex here on their visit.  The hostel includes a big back deck that looks out on many bird feeders.  The hostel is known by bird watchers and has become a favorite spot to lunch for the Cabezas.  It once again did not disappoint. 

We actually stayed watching the hummingbirds and finches (hoping for a toucan sighting) for a few hours.  Then napped and went to dinner with some friends that were also spending the weekend in Mindo.  We had an early night in preparation for our early morning; we had scheduled a bird guide to take us to see the famous Cock of the Rock at sunrise the next morning.

We drove about 25 minutes outside of Mindo to this little perch to look for the Cock of the Rock.  (Javier joked as we huddled under the shelter...'two of these things are not like the other...' as we brought the average age of the bird watching crowd down pretty significantly).  We were also the most ill-prepared and were happy to be paying our guide handsomely after she supplied us with fine binoculars and an awesome telescope we could use to watch and take pictures.

The Cock of the Rock was pretty cool.  I was expecting more of a mating dance, but mostly they flew around and squawked at each other.  Mostly, I was impressed with their bright red color and totally rad hairdo.

Unfortunately for me, I was suffering from some tummy trouble and needed to return to bed after our Cock of the Rock sighting.  We had booked our guide Julia for the morning, so I convinced Javier to press on and take some cool bird pictures for me to view later.

and he accomplished my request completely, seeing and documenting multiple toucans

including this green guy that I mistook for a leaf earlier

this guy is nocturnal and hiding a newly hatched chick (you can see the egg shell still sitting in front)

all Javier's pics were taken using Julia's awesome telescope!

Here she is notifying a fellow bird watcher of the next bird pictured 

This is a male trogon.

After Javier returned and we enjoyed breakfast (I was feeling better after several more hours of sleep), we headed to El Quetzal for a chocolate tour.  While we had patroned the chocolate shop for their famous brownies and cocktails, we had yet to take the actual tour.  It seemed like the perfect addition to our little visit to town this weekend.

cacao beans still covered in the white mucus found inside the cacao pod

raw cacao  

beans are kept warm while they drain/dry out

cacao beans being dried around the back of the chocolate shop

dried cacao lined up on the back patio of the shop

The tour was quite interesting and ended with some tastings (my fav part).  The paste on the right is pure cacao and very bitter without sugar.  We tried it in combination with different spices and honeys before enjoying our brownie!!

It was a truly lovely weekend filled with the finest Mindo has to offer.  It put the little town back on my top list of Ecuadorian spots to visit.  I told Javier as we were leaving that I couldn't stand for this to be our list time seeing it, so I know we'll return before we head out of Ecuador.  It was a great first getaway to start the year.

Reflections on my first year of teaching...

We're a month into year two and I decided (with some encouragement from my Mom) that I should write down some of my thoughts on my first year of teaching...

I survived.  I feel that it is important to point this fact out because for much of last year I was very concerned that I might not.  I guess I should also note that all 91 of my students survived as well (because there was equal concern regarding that outcome at times).  That said, I made a lot of mistakes.  A.  Lot.  A.  Lot.  A.  Lot.  

I lost my patience too quickly and too often.

I was so concerned with deadlines and planning that I often forgot to focus on infusing enthusiasm in my students.

I was worried about classroom management and let my passion take a backseat to order.

I let the content dictate too much of what I did.

I did not laugh enough with my students.

I lost my patience too quickly and too often.

I had a veteran teacher friend send me this video a month or so into last year.  I watched it twice and cried both times.  They voiced all my worries and all my feelings; and yet I struggled to believe it could get better, that I could get better.

I didn't ruin everything.  I mean I tried my hardest.  And I did some good stuff.  There were some highlight lessons...like our simulation of an assembly line during our Industrial Revolution unit.  And our two days during the study of World War II where each student received a Holocaust victim to follow through the years of the war (like at the Holocaust Museum).  Those were the days when students seemed to enjoy themselves and learn.  Those were the days that got me through last year.

They loved that I displayed their work.  Our school is full of awesome artists and they all really enjoyed looking at each other's work.

I baked them these disgusting hard biscuits used in the trenches of World War I and you would have thought I showered them with cakes and bonbons.

And by the end of the year I was finally comfortable enough and confident enough to relax a bit in the classroom.  It allowed me to enjoy some final months with my students, but it's amazing how hard it is to break first impressions.  

Through all the tear-filled FaceTimes and all-nighters I think my family and I worried that I'd made a mistake.   I grew up in a home with two educators, had a number of teacher friends and have been told many times just how difficult it is.  But nothing....nothing can compare to living it.  Teaching is by far the hardest thing I have ever done.

Skip to this year.  I started the year with a notebook full of my own reflective suggested re-dos and don'ts.  I got a new group of kiddos that, so far, appear to be angels present here on Earth.  But I believe the biggest and most important change has been in myself.  I'm so much more relaxed and so much more myself in the classroom this year.  I knew the real me was shining through when the 'cool' kids started rolling their eyes at my cheesy puns and excitement over history.  I'm enjoying this year so much.  So much more than last.  If this is what teaching is, then I'm in.  I know it won't always be this good.  I have a classroom of only 22 students and no SOLs to tend with, but I also know I'll never have my first year again.  I'll have new schools and new kids, but I'm a teacher now and I know I can do it.  I am a teacher.  And the truth is I like it and I'm pretty sure I'll be good at it one day.

Cotopaxi Volcano

Sooooooo there's this volcano....yeaaaaaah....that might be erupting.....sometime soon....

As with any bad news...I feel like there is no great way to start a conversation about our volcano situation...YES, there is a volcano in Ecuador that is about to erupt.  YES, it is roughly 30-40 miles away from Quito.  YES, when it does erupt we're thinking it could be a full-on Pierce Brosnan Dante's Peak situation....

007 taking on volcanoes...

That said....I'm writing to let everyone know that we are feeling 100% safe about the potential eruption!  Let me back up a bit and remind you of the volcano I'm speaking of...yes, you know it well even though you may not remember.

These are some photos from our trip to Tambopaxi last May.  Tambopaxi is a hostel that allows visitors of Cotopaxi Park to stay just minutes away from the base of the volcano.  We were so happy when we went last year that a clear day allowed for some gorgeous views of the volcano.  

Cotopaxi as seen in the park (doesn't she look calm and majestic) 

Lots of smiling faces for this clear view of the volcano.

Or you might remember that last April Javier and I actually took a hike up to the glacier of this same volcano

Cotopaxi glacier as seen by the Cabezas, up close and personal.

Cotopaxi is known for its rich red soil, seen just below the glacier from miles away.

A few more shots from our stay at Tambopaxi in May (now I'm SO happy we had the opportunity to visit last year)

There is a lot of snow on that volcano.

Just after our visit this article came out announcing the awakening of our sleeping volcano.  Cotopaxi has not erupted in about 125 years.  Since last June, there have been rumblings about the activity around Cotopaxi: increased seismic activity, water vapor and sometimes ash columns coming from the cone, etc.  But sometime between last June and returning to school in August, it was pretty much determined that Cotopaxi is erupting.  Cotopaxi will erupt.  The big question that no one can answer is when.   This means we (and the rest of Ecuador) are hanging out in a bit of limbo, preparing and waiting for this inevitable eruption.

This photo was taken by some friends of ours that had a chance to enter the park last weekend.  This is the same Cotopaxi but with a much dirtier glacier, evidence of the spewing ash we've been hearing so much about.

Lots of photos and tests being taken from the air.

I hope the above video works, so you can see some footage taken above the active volcano.

But let's talk about why we're feeling OK about such a scary impending natural disaster.  First off, if our luck holds out, the volcano may not even erupt this school year (not likely, but possible).  Secondly, if we're remotely lucky, the volcano will erupt while we are at home in Quito.  Quito is at an altitude of roughly 2,850 meters.  Even with Cotopaxi's towering 5,897 meter peak, it is all but impossible for lava and/or mudslides to reach the city at such an altitude.  (In addition to lava flows, a big concern for the eruption is the melted glacier that will create flooding and large mudslides).  If the volcano erupts while we are at home, the worst damage we will see is ash fall.  I'm learning a lot about ash these days, mostly that it sucks.  Ash has been described as tiny, thin particles of cement that can ruin water supplies and damage machinery if it gets in.  This means we'll be on our own for water and electricity for a while after the eruption (but thats manageable within the comforts of our own home).

My labeled map to help you picture our location.  I've marked Cotopaxi, circled Quito, and the arrow points to Cumbaya, the town in the valley where our school is located.

As seen in the map above, our school is 'in the valley' meaning not nearly at the altitude of Quito.  While option #3 (the volcano erupts while we're at school) is by far our worst scenario, it is still not a dangerous one.  Because of Colegio Menor's location within the valley (and away from the river that they think will receive the majority of mud/flooding from the volcano) it is actually an emergency evacuation site.  This means, that as people are evacuated from nearby the volcano they will be sent to stay on the grounds of our school (mostly in the gym and on our soccer field).  In other words, we will be 100% safe at school as well.  Our only concern is the idea of being stuck in our classroom (avoiding ash fall) with 15 or so teenagers for multiple hours on end.  School is preparing for a mass closure of roads after the eruption, meaning that many of our kiddos will be stuck at school.  In fact, each student was required in the first week of school to bring a Cotopaxi emergency kit, complete with: 1 liter of water, a can of tuna, 3 nonperishable snacks, goggles, cap, mask, and blanket.  (Don't worry, teachers were required to bring the same).   Based on the information we've received so far, it seems likely that if the volcano erupts while we are at school, we will be stuck there for 24-72 hours.  Yikes!  We had our first volcano drill this week and after 10 minutes in my room, my students asked in pained and whiny voices 'how long is this going to take?!?!'  Needless to say, both they and I will struggle to last a 24 hour lock-in post-eruption...I instructed them all to add games and playing cards to their emergency kits.  

Icon posted all over school with Ecuador's recommended supplies for the volcano eruption.

While I'm complaining a bit about the prospect of babysitting my kiddos in a very enclosed environment for a multitude of hours, the truth is that the volcano could have very deadly results.  There are a number of towns and thousands of people living directly in the path of its destruction.  If and when Cotopaxi does erupt, I predict it will make world news.  (It has already started a bit if you read here and here).  We're all but certain that internet and cell phone service will be out for a number of days directly following the eruption, so I'm telling you now that we are safe (100%).  We'll fill you in on our survivor stories as soon as we can, but send thoughts and prayers to a country that will likely struggle to handle such a disaster.