Hello friends! I know... I know... it's been awhile since I've blogged. Life has a funny way of keeping me busy it seems. Even here, in Ecuador, where life is simpler... it still seems to keep me moving and has a way of making me so tired and ready for bed!
Life here has been good. We have had several events at our school over the past few months... a Dad's day celebration, an International Day celebration, a Halloween day that was full of costumes, dancing and performances by the kids, a Secondary school "lock-in" where the middle & high school students got to stay at the school overnight and the Student Council planned games, food, activities, etc. (which Dan and I chaperoned for a few hours), and then we also have had some Volleyball tournaments held at the school which were all day events, and more recently there was a Pet Expo/Dog show. With each event comes schedule changes, assemblies, etc. which keeps everyone on their toes. The school has a great community of families who are involved and the PTO (parent group) really stays involved, which is great!
Teaching has been good for me so far and I know that Dan is really enjoying teaching P.E. We have gotten to know our students better and it's nice to be able to finally remember all the names with the faces. I have 9 different classes, Pre-K through 7th in computer class so there is a lot of planning and they keep me on my toes which I like. I always say... it's better to have something to do rather than nothing to do.
Sam is doing good. It's difficult adjusting to a new area, school, friends, etc.. especially at his age, but I think he is handling it fairly well. He is enjoying his many sports.
We have went to the beach, Montanita several times now. Dan would like to learn to surf so maybe one of these times he can take a lesson or two. Recently when we were in Montanita we met two couples from the States. One of them was from Lodi, California - which is where I went to school for a period of time while growing up. That was very interesting to run into someone from an area I was very familiar with and had lived once. It's a small small world.
We still don't have a car and are not sure if we are going to buy one. They are very expensive here. So far we have been able to walk places and take a taxi or bus which has been fine. We are very careful what taxis we use here and same with the buses. Friends we have met give us advice on the best places to stay, and best means of travel.
We hope to go to Cuenca soon. From what I understand it is a little historical city that is very nice to see. It's a very popular destination. The weather continues to be very nice... high 70's - mid 80's most days. We have only had a couple rain showers in 4 months and those only last a few minutes each. From what I hear the "rainy season" will be starting up soon and with that comes the humid heat... yes, I guess it gets a lot hotter and sticky. We will see... I'll have to report back.
Our Spanish is coming along VERY slowly. Nothing to brag about, that's for sure. It's a tough language to learn (at least for us it is).
Well, I have taken many photo's of various things, but to be honest with you, I'm just too tired right now to post them, so I will write more in the next week and post some pics then. Maybe I'll have more good stuff to write about. :)
~ Buenas Noches, Michelle
