"My Heart Will Go On"

This morning I woke up with the worst headache. Definitely because of the altitude... I acted like I was a champ when we were in Quito because I didn't feel anything..... JOKES. Thankfully we had an amazing breakfast at Hotel San Juan. This place was so beautiful. When I come back to Cuenca I will be living here. It was a colonial style, family owned hotel that was very regal. I LOVE it. They had a wonderful courtyard that I sat in while I waited for our community partners to meet us. We had a buffet breakfast with our conversation partners at the Universidad de Cuenca. Our conversation partners are all studying to be English teachers. They start at level 4 and work up to level 9 when they graduate. It is finals week for them, so I was very thankful that they took the time to meet us.

This hotel reminded me of the Royal Family in England. I totally felt like a Duke when we were having our "photo shoots" in their classical sitting room. Every room in this hotel was perfect. As breakfast started, they had a pianists playing. What was the first song she played? My favorite - "My Heart Will Go On"... I know, super corny, but come on, really? I love Titanic - it couldn't have been better! I may have "geeked" out a little... just a little haha.

At breakfast I sat with Gabbi, Sandra, and another student from University of Cuenca. We had a very fruitful discussion talking about access to education, different public education systems, and the communities access to higher education. Communities are the rural areas of Ecuador like the one we will be working in. The public universities in Ecuador do not have tuition fees. Only around 24% of the country attends a higher education institution. The students told us this is because the entrance exams were very difficult and their public education system does not properly prepare them to take the test.


We discussed the type of classes that we take at OSU versus their course work. It was difficult to explain what I did for my assistant-ship. Leadership Programs.... Que es esto? No comprende... LAWLZ.... It was also difficult to explain the concept of the Student Union. Their student center is a courtyard with places to eat. After breakfast we went to orientation.

At orientation we heard from Ana, who is our coordinator at the Universidad de Cuenca. She gave us the rundown of the do's and don'ts in Cuenca and Cahuazhun Grande. I AM SO EXCITED to meet our children and classrooms. They sound wonderful. This trip has inspired me to want to search for jobs overseas after graduation... sorry mom and dad... At least you'll have a fun city to visit at Christmas??? Si si si, Claro claro, Claro.

After orientation we went back to our host parents house. Nancy and Fernando were waiting for us with the entire family. In Ecuador people get off from 12-2 and lunch is the large meal of the day. It was so perfect. We had meat, corn, rice, avocados (grown in their jardin) and juice. I am going to be so fat. I took a siesta after all this craziness.

We met back up at Universidad de Cuenca and took a tour of the city. We went to see the mercado, casa de la mujer (textile, craft market), plaza de flores (plaza of flowers), and some of the historical squares in the city. I have also gotten basically the title of the person who buys the most stuff... untrue, I just like all the things haha. I bought a blanket made of alpaca and negotiated it down from $30 to $13. "Like a boss". The currency in Ecuador is US dollars.

After this we went to a hat factory. I have never seen hats being made. It is a remarkable process. They buy the hats from women in the communities and then press them into different shapes and sizes in the factory. You better believe I am coming back with some bomb hats. The roof of the factory had some of the best views I  have seen so far. We hung out on the veranda and headed back to our host family.

Tomorrow we are going to visit a woman's cooperative and meeting our community. Muy emocionado! Needless to say, My heart will go on but I am seriously in love with this city, people and the culture.