Living The Good Life

Finally, I was able to experience a typical "Dave Day" here in Ecuador. I wanted to know exactly what Dave spends his time doing while I am off slaving away during the week. So, what is a typical day in the life of Dave? I found out that it is a day that is filled with bus adventures, people watching, and a lot of walking. Dave and I left our gated community for the busy streets of Guayaquil on Saturday morning. He was armed with his handy-dandy spy camera , and I was armed with my purell hand sanitizer. We caught the ChongGong bus headed towards the city and our day officially began. Oh, the things we did see! Here are some of the highlights: 1. Party balloon truck. Awesome. 2. Iguana Rumble. I wish we caught a picture, but they are quick little buggers. You will just have to let your imagination take you to the Lizard WWF that we witnessed. 3. The Bahia: Ecuador's Black Market. You will be able to find absolutely anything you can imagine in this district, at any price.

I know that it has been awhile since I have written a "real" post, but Ecuador has kept me one busy chick-a-dee. I think I've made up for it with this last one. Warning---it's long, but there are pictures. Read it in doses if you must. :)

Field trips, I'm pretty familiar with them. During my 12 year career as a public school student and my four previous years of teaching middle school, I have been on my share of visits to the local zoo, government buildings, cultural centers, and city parks. When I arrived at InterAmerican Academy and they told me that I would be chaperoning a "field trip" for my advisory class, which happens to be a class full of eleven year olds, I readily agreed. I mean, how hard can it be? Foolish, foolish Danielle. Apparently, in Ecuador a field trip is not your typical quick little trip to Guayaquil for the day. Oh no. It is a four-day adventure out in the middle of nowhere. Did I mention I was in charge of a group of 13 sixth graders? Yes, there was an initial bout of panic, but I quickly got over it and began to prepare for this new adventure. Another teacher and I were in charge of taking the kids to Bucay, Ecuador, a little village that sits right at the base of the Andes Mountai

I'm exhausted.