Otavalo

Arrived in Otavalo via autobus yesterday, with the rest of the volunteers. We´re staying at Hostel el Geranio, which is the home of the Cifuentes family. Gilberto Fuentes, the patriarch, is also the principal of one of our schools and the founder of the Village Education Project. The family is incredibly friendly, and the other volunteers are fantastic.

Saturday night was spent playing pool (quite poorly) at a bar in Quito. Although machismo is abundant in most of Latin America, I found that come-ons are easily deflected by mentioning mi novio and speaking in a straightforward, unequivocally non-flirtatious manner. So against odds, I ended up having a good, non-sketchy time.

Today was myfirst day in the classroom! I´m teaching English in Spanish, which is difficult given the total suck that is my español. But the students are inordinately well-behaved, and understand that their profesoras are learning Spanish as they learn English. There is much laughing and a good deal of learning accomplished on both sides.

More later, but for now, ¡que les vaya bien!