Your Reality.

If I had any advice for every person in the entire world it would be to just live. Live day by day. Do not live in the past, do not live in the future, but concentrate on the present. Concentrate second by second on what will happen next. If you don't, parts of you will remain miserable when you don't even realize it. One thing that I have learned so far living in a third world country is to let things pass. This is something I will carry with me the rest of my life. Perfect example. Before my class, I went to make copies. All three copy stores were closed. I  find out when I get into my building where I have class-the electricity is out. My students arrive to class and I have no electricity. I teach anyways. I know this is a small, simple thing, but this is one example out of many that I go through each day living here in Ecuador. Another huge factor is the challenge of the language barrier. Trying to communicate everyday is exhausting. But I do it. I love it-and I am learning. I keep going. So this is my reality. I live in Manta, Ecuador. I am adapting to a new culture, I teach, I learn, I find what is going to make me a better person. I look forward to the decisions I make now and how it will shape my future. I strongly believe that everyone makes their own reality. If it is working forty plus hours a week and they enjoy it-then thats awesome. Find your reality and be happy because life is too damn short not to.

Time to Have Some Fun in Class

Class can be overwhelming at times, especially when trying to learn a new language. I know for me learning Spanish, I am overwhelmed everyday with the amount of grammar points and vocabulary that is thrown in my head. I am positive my students feel the same way. I have been teaching my students why we use pronouns and all kinds of vocabulary such as clothing, colors, direction & location, family, and much more. I felt that my class needed a break so I decided to throw a Halloween party for my students. I incorporated a lot of what they have been learning in multiple activities. I was able to see a lot of their personalities come out; even my shy students had a blast! Take a look!

The objective of this project was to create a Halloween monster. There were rules. The monster had to include a certain amount of color and clothing vocabulary as well as sentences using pronouns. The class then shared their monster to the class.

This was a fun group activity. It was to get the students to work together. They had 3 minutes to wrap a student in toilet paper to resemble a mummy. They had a great time! They said "teeaacchherr....can we do this again?"

Our first mummy winner!

My class enjoys working together in groups the most. It not only helps them to have conversations in English with their peers but makes them feel more comfortable in the class as well. I am always sure to incorporate activities that involves every student. It is important to capture their interest before approaching your lesson, otherwise they will get nothing out of the class period. It is difficult to learn a new language. Therefore making learning engaging and fun will make the new language come more naturally.

Until next time...

Tena, Ecuador

Tena. What can I say about Tena...


Tena is an absolutely, amazing place. It is the capital of the province of Napo and is located in the northern oriente part of Ecuador. The climate encourages adventures to waterfalls, rivers, indigenous communities and, of course, the jungle. The two rivers, Rio Tena & Rio Pano, get most attention. There are so many things to do in Tena including river rafting and tours through the rainforest. Read a little about the exploration that I had.

Day 1: Hike to Cascada de Latas. Cascada de Latas is located right before the town of Misahualli. It is about an hour hike-it is well know as the el camino a las cascadas (trail to the falls). Not only are you walking through the rainforest but stopping along the way to swim in various swimming holes!

Cascada de Lata

Day 2: River People, a tour company in Tena, took us on a private tour throughout the jungle. This was not your average walk through the forest. We climbed up waterfalls, around dangerous peaks, worked our way through mud, and crossed various rivers. It was a difficult but well-worth it hike! We stopped a lot to swim in clear water swimming holes. It was, by far, one of the best days I have had in Ecuador. Around lunch time, we stopped and ate with a Quechua family.

To end the day's hike we climbed through a cave. It was about an hour hike through this tiny, bat filled, spiders larger than your head, cave. I have to say that this was not the best experience but in the end, I don't regret doing it. Take a look at the pictures below! What do you think?