Teaching in Loja

We are slowly becoming accustomed to our new teaching assignment. To say it is different from what we are used to is an understatement. Having spent our entire careers in public education we are finding some obvious, and some not so obvious differences, in teaching a small group of missionary children.  

There are a total of five students in our school. Yes, five! There are 3 elementary students and 2 high school students. And how many teachers do we have? Four! I know what you’re thinking, but let me explain. The other couple is involved in other ministries as well, so we have divided up the workload to allow them time for other things. It also gives all of us time for our Spanish lessons during the week. Dave is teaching the elementary math, science and history (and the phys. ed. which happens once a week!)  I’m teaching all of the language arts, both elementary and high school. Even though we only have five students they are at different grade levels, which means preparing multiple lessons. The preparation is essentially the same whether you have one student or twenty-five.

Our day begins at 8:30 every morning. We meet in a room on the top floor (actually, it is the whole top floor) of the Loja Mission Center. We liken it to the old one room schoolhouse, although we are much too young to have experienced itJ The high school students usually work in a small room, off of the larger area. The students work until 11:00 when they have a break. There is a small rooftop area where the kids play. They have learned to improvise and play their version of dodge ball or baseball with an empty plastic pop bottle as a bat. At 11:30 they resume their studies until 1:00 when they are finished for the day.

To be honest, the first few days we really felt like there wasn’t enough to do. When you’re used to dealing with 25 or more students at a time, 3 is just weird! Those of you who are teachers can probably understand. Obviously classroom management isn’t an issue. Class discussions? Difficult. Group activities? Almost impossible. Competitive games and activities? Very difficult. We are having to come up with new ways of doing things in order to motivate students and facilitate learning. Now that we have completed three weeks of school, we feel like we are getting into the groove and can appreciate the differences and the time we can spend with each of the students.

Another big difference is the curriculum. We come from a public education background where we are not permitted to discuss Christianity or try to influence children in that direction. To look at all subjects from a Christian perspective and to be able to talk about it freely is new to us. All of the students have surprised us with their Bible knowledge as well as their spiritual maturity.

We are enjoying getting to know our students and are learning some important things from them. Things like, what to eat and more importantly, what not to eat. Where to find the best pizza, what soccer team to cheer for (depending which student you ask), and how to pronounce things in Spanish. (They love to correct our pronunciation.) They are a wealth of information when it comes to Ecuadorian culture. We hope they will learn as much from us as we are learning from them.

Catching the gas truck

Getting drinking water and gas for the stove and hot water tank has been a bit of a challenge. The gas trucks come around all the time, playing a little tune. And I do mean, all the time. We hear that tune constantly. When you hear it, you have to run out with your empty container to signal them to stop. They don’t drive slowly, allowing you time to get to the street. They go flying by at what seems like highway speed. The other problem is that even though you may hear the tune you don't know which street they're on or which way they're going. We kept asking people, “How do you do it?” No one could really tell us, just that you had to time it right and be quick. Everyone also helpfully informed us that there is a number you can call and they’ll deliver it for you. That’s fine if you can speak Spanish and you know your address. The day before we actually moved into our apartment we were here doing a bit of cleaning. Our propane tank was empty and we were getting a little concerned about how we were going to do this. We heard the tune so Dave went outside and waited. No truck came, so he finally came in. As soon as he was in, there it went, right by our building. The next day, we heard the now familiar tune again, so Dave ran outside and this time he was determined. He stood out there for about 20 minutes. Still no truck came. Finally he gave up again and came in. Then, of course, I heard it really close by. I yelled, “I hear it!” Dave ran back out and just caught it. We were so excited that we were finally successful. We are hoping that this will last until Christmas! Since we need water much more often we have decided that it isn’t worth the stress to try to get water from the truck. We’ll pay the extra 20 cents and get it from the corner store.

Then there is the garbage truck. It also plays a tune, longer and catchier than the gas truck. In fact it sounds quite a bit like an ice cream truck. They collect garbage every week day, compost garbage 3 times a week and other garbage 2 times a week. You're supposed to put it out on the street and then take your cans in right after they pick it up. When you hear the tune outside your house, you know to pick up your garbage cans and bring them in. Apparently people steal them because you have to have one of the official garbage cans and they cost $15.They usually come after we leave for school so yesterday we were wondering if  we would still have a garbage can when we came home. We did. Our landlord had very kindly put it inside the gate for us.

So we are slowly getting a few things figured out. More next time.

Getting to Loja (Aug. 2012)

Big newsy catch up

When we cancelled our telephone at the end of Aug. we didn't get around to getting our contact information off the email programs we had been using for years. Oops! We would love to hear from you at cooksinecuador@gmail.com. We can then add you to our contact information.

There is a lot to tell from the time we left home. We were not quite ready for our renters when they came on the 20th. We were carrying things out the back door as they were carrying things in the front door. We were so happy to be done all the cleaning and packing. We stayed in Edmonton at Kyla and Sean’s the next two nights. We spent Tuesday getting ready, shopping for last minute things and repacking to distribute the weight evenly. In the end, we had space to take more but we would have had to pay for any additional weight as we were already over our limit for TAME in Ecuador. It was difficult saying goodbye to the kids in Edmonton as the evening got later.

We didn't go to bed until about 1:00 and then had to get up at 3:00 so Kyla could take us to the airport. The trip was rather uneventful up to Quito. Now we think Dave left his camera in one of the security checks along the way.  It has not turned up anywhere. We had a six hour wait in Houston, but it didn't seem that long. Since we had had so little sleep the last while (packing and cleaning and preparing to leave) we slept on every flight and bus ride. Neither of us could seem to stay awake. We had no trouble with immigration or customs in Quito except that the line was very long and it was late (although we did get into Quito about 11:00 pm,  20 min. early). The other teachers from the states had flown in the day before and they were waiting with a sign that said "COOK". We were very happy to see that sign since it meant that we would be taken care of the rest of the way to Loja. It was a short taxi ride to the guest house. It was about 1 a.m. by the time we saw our beds. The taxi came back for us at 6:30 the next morning to get the flight to Cuenca. We had our hundreds of dollars ready for the extra baggage fees. When she said 34.50 we thought we heard wrong. The Loja airport is closed for modernization so the last 200 kms are by bus. In Cuenca we had to get our luggage to put on the bus.... no problem. We've checked luggage many times. We got it put on but then there wasn't enough room on the bus for all of the passengers. There was a van behind the bus but that didn't have enough room either so we had to wait for a second van to arrive. In the meantime, the bus with our luggage, including the carry-on with Loretta's cameras and our wads of cash, had left. The van ride was a bit harrowing since our driver liked to take the curves at speeds much greater than the speed limit, and it was all sharp curves. We heard screeching tires (ours) many times. He also liked to take the inside lane on the left turns and pass on solid lines.  If you get a chance, check Google Earth for the PanAmerican Highway from Cuenca to Loja....high mountain passes with continually twisty turns. The trip usually takes just under 4 hours. We made it in about 3 1/2 hours but that included a 15 min. bathroom break, two police checks and two stops for construction. Luckily, we were too tired to stay awake for much of the trip. When we got to Loja the van driver took us to the airline office to get our luggage. At first it appeared as if no one was there but someone did come to the gate. He opened the door and there were all our bags.

We stayed at the Loja Mission Centre for the first six nights until we could get our apartment cleaned, organized our way, and get used to things around here a bit and until we could get cell phones. We had our own little apartment in the LMC. We have been well looked after since our arrival. The first day one of the missionary families brought us supper - spaghetti, homemade sauce, carrots, cucumber and a tomato. It was actually really nice to just be by ourselves instead of meeting more new people. We were really tired those first couple of days and enjoyed several naps. Since then we have been invited out by other missionaries and have received practical advice about living in Loja and had many offers to help with anything we might need help with.

Loretta and Dave