Classes

For the past 4 semesters I have been filling my schedule as full as I could with 19 or 20 credits a semester.... for what? I invite you to look below and find a few reasons my semesters at Bridgewater College have been a bit crazy up until this point!

Reason #1
Tejido (Weaving)


I am taking a basic weaving class. This is my uncompleted first weaving where I was learning the basic techniques.

Reason #2
Andinismo (Trecking/Hiking)


One of the requirements for my Andinismo class is that I go on three weekend "paseos" or hikes. I went on my first hike the other weekend to a dormant volcano named Cerra Puntas. The picture on the left is our campsite (bottom right corner) while the other picture is myself with Cerra Puntas (The pointy looking mountains) in the background. We left on Saturday morning and arrived at our campsite just as it was starting to pitch down the rain. Later that night we watched a lightning storm, saw some incredible stars, and drank cinnamon tea. The following morning we walked to the base of Cerra Puntas. To actually climb the points you have to have rock climbing equipment which we did not have.

Reason #3
Alta Cocina 3 (Spanish and South American Cooking)


First thing I had to do for this class was buy a uniform which includes a hat, jacket, apron, towel, and black and white checkered pants. Second thing I had to do was buy a large chefs knife. I have this class once a week for 3 hours. For the first 2 hours or so we split into groups, are given recipes, and cook. For the last hour we get to "probar" or taste everything. This past week the main focus was meets. We cooked a pig, cow tail, rabbit (my group made the rabbit and the recipe included chocolate so you know it was good!), lima bean salad with sausage slices, eggplant, zucchini, asparagus, stuffed peppers, and some flan to finish it off! I am the only non ecuadorian in the class so I have really enjoyed getting to know the other students. In addition they are all like legit cooking students so will give me pointers on the best way to cut things up or how to wield my large knife :)

Reason #4
My Internship (Teaching English)



I am working in the small town of Lumbisi which is a 20 cent and 15 minute bus ride from my University at an afterschool program 3 days a week. Life teaching English in Lumbisi is never dull! The first day we had about 10 -15 students. That number has steadily increased until now we have 30-40 students in a day and have had to say we will not take any more kids. For the first week and a half we had one room, not enough chairs, very few resources, and were told to create our own curriculum. Nothing like being thrown right into things! We also had a bathroom door that was broken so it wasn't uncommon for children to get stuck in the bathroom during class. Now we have gained access to another room, enough chairs, are gaining access to a few more resources, and are getting the bathroom door fixed! The ages of the kids range from 4-14. I have been teaching the younger group which is about 15-20 4-9 year olds. Many of the kids are eager to learn and it is so fun to watch their faces as they struggle to remember how to say something and come up with the right words. Although I technically am the teacher many times it feels like they are my teachers as they help me as I struggle to find the spanish words I need during class. The program is 2 hours long, the first is English class while the second hour we help students with homework as well as have games available. Not every day is good but on those days I remember something my friend once told me, "Courage does not always roar, sometimes it is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, I will try again tomorrow." On those days when things don't go well, if the others on the bus on my way home listened carefully they would hear me under my breath saying, "I will try again tomorrow." Some days the kids will walk with me to the bus station and as the bus pulls out they all wave and yell "Goodbye Teacher" I open my window and yell Goodbye back to them. I get quite the looks from the other passengers on the bus when this ritual occurs but I just smile and think of the smiles on the faces of my students.

My Address

I have had several people asking what my mailing address is here in Ecuador so I figured I would post it on here. You can send any snail mail to:

Risa Heatwole
c/o BCA Quito
Casilla 17-22-20164
Quito, Ecuador

I love mail! I just got my first mail yesterday. I wasn't feeling the best and was trying to rest a little bit before my internship when one of my friends told me I had mail in the international office. While it didn't completely make me feel back to 100% health wise it sure did improve the afternoon!

Every Day Life with the Family

Yesterday someone asked me out of all the things that I have done while in Ecuador what has been my favorite thing. I thought back over my trips and all the things I have been able to do from shopping and meeting artisans in Otavalo, to puenting and canyoning in Baños to spending a week on the coast where I was able to see Howler monkeys and swim in the ocean, however none of these made the cut. I replied that I have been able to do some pretty amazing things and see some incredible sights but really the thing that I have been able to do which is my favorite is simply hanging out with my Ecua family. I have taken some of my other posts to tell you about some of my grand adventures, well this post is to share with you the every day adventures I have with my Ecua Family.



Food is a big part of my family life here. I have enjoyed cooking with my family whether it be my Mom or with my siblings and cousins. A staple food that is perfect for breakfast lunch and dinner here is rice. It is a great thing that I really enjoy rice : ) However the other night I decided that I wanted to make dinner for my family. This turned into quite an interesting feat as I quickly discovered that my family does not own measuring cups and that while they have an oven in a downstairs back room it is rarely used and therefor my family does not own bakeware. I caved and bought a 9x13 pan and a pizza pan and then tried my best to estimate amounts while making pizza dough. : ) Speaking of the pizza dough I had asked my sister if their was yeast in the house. She said yes but in reality what we had was baking soda. While it wasn't the best pizza I have ever made all things considered it was pretty good and we had a lot of fun in the process : )




Another big part of my life here is church. My family are evangelical Christians and a couple weeks ago my brother Oscar got baptized along with 2 of my cousins. After church in the morning everyone piled into a few cars and my family's bus (they own a bus because they run a tourism company) and made our way to another church about an hour away where we had a joint baptism service at the public swimming pool. The pictures above are my sister attempting to through me into the pool as we were waiting for things to begin and me with my brother after he got baptized. It was a great day of celebration with family; both the family I live with and my brothers and sisters in Christ.



Here are a few more pictures from the day Oscar was Baptized. In the photo on the left is myself, and my cousins Damaris, Belin, and Kelly with my Pastor sneaking into the picture in the background. Both Damaris and Belin were baptized as well! In the other picture are my friends Frank and Henry (Upper Left) my cousin Eddy (kind of in front of me) and my brother in the us on the way to the baptism. Many international students complain that it is difficult to make Ecuadorian friends... I have not had that problem as I have found myself surrounded by my immediate family, cousins, and friends from church who have just taken me in as one of their own.




Last saturday morning I was talking to my Dad and he asked if I was free during the day and would like to go with them to a ferria. I didn't know what a ferria was but figured why not go and find out. A ferria is more or less a cow show : ) We walked around and admired the Holsteins, Jerseys, Brown Swiss, and Ecuadorian breeds of cows. There was also a ring where the cows where paraded and judged. In addition there were lots of demonstrations of milking machines. Not exactly the experience I had anticipated when thinking about going to Ecuador but a lot of fun none the less! These are just a few of the many adventures I have had with my family. Another thing I have really enjoyed is learning how to play Ecua Volley (different than volleyball) with my Dad, brother, and cousins. But I believe this post has grown long enough so until later, Dios les bendiga!