Thanks, Keely, for the post title! I have arrived at Casa Cacique in Montanita, the site of my 5 week course for teaching English that I began today. The program is put on by International House and the course will result in a CELTA certification, which is the most widely recognized and respected certification to teach English as a foreign language. You would never know by this gate that you've arrived:
This program is a residential program, meaning that students each have their own cabana, with a bathroom, as well as three prepared meals a day.
When I got here Sunday evening, I was allowed to choose whichever cabana I wanted since most of the group were still on the shuttle bus from Guayaquil. I asked Adolfo, the groundsman, for the quieter side and he pointed to the cabanas on the right. So I walked into the cabana that was straight ahead of me, put my stuff down, and decided to stay without second-guessing my choice like I always do.
The Guayaquil group finally showed up around 6:00.
We quickly introduced ourselves, people chose their cabanas, and we had our meeting to go over logistics, meet our trainers, see where everything is located, etc. Then we were served dinner, which was fish and rice.
After getting settled, a few of us decided to walk into Montanita (about a 10-15 minute walk) for a beverage. We found a table in a restaurant and got to know one another better over a few beers.
In the street next to the restaurant, a fire dancer lit a pile of what looked like dirt on fire in the middle of the street. Then he lit little buckets joined by a chain on fire. He started swinging the buckets in the street, dancing around them. A crowd formed and people cheered him on.
Pretty soon a street dog started barking at the flames, trying to bite them. I got so worried, I tried to grab the dog away, but he was very excited and couldn't pull himself away. Eventually, I couldn't watch any more because I was so scared that the dog was going to get hurt. So I went back to my table and let the crowd block my view. Evidently, the dog did a little yelp at the end -- I heard that it got the tip of his nose but he looked fine when he was eating a muffin someone gave him afterwards.
After the fire spectacle, we walked down Cocktail Alley where there is cart after cart of every drink you can imagine. It was quite the scene. We ended the night around 10:00 and walked back to Casa Cacique, where one of the girls and I went swimming in the pool. It was kind of cold but we had just enough of a beer buzz to make it seem OK.
We were only given a sheet on our beds though, and that night I froze. I put on all my sweatshirts, sweatpants, wool slippers, and added my sarong as an extra blanket. It's about 65 at night, with the fog. (Luckily, today they added blankets to our beds.)
This morning, our first day of classes, it rained. We had homemade granola and yogurt for breakfast, then went off to class. We stopped for lunch, which was fish and rice with vegetables. Back for more classes, then just enough time to drop off laundry at a jungle shack, then go to buy tablets, highlighters, and post-its in town, back for dinner at 6:00, which was a delicious Spanish tortilla.
I love that you get to walk up at mealtime, get your meal, then leave. No dishes, no shopping, no getting money out every time you eat! They had me at no dishes!
Tomorrow night we teach getting to know you/icebreaker lessons to our new groups of students. Should be interesting.
This program is a residential program, meaning that students each have their own cabana, with a bathroom, as well as three prepared meals a day.
When I got here Sunday evening, I was allowed to choose whichever cabana I wanted since most of the group were still on the shuttle bus from Guayaquil. I asked Adolfo, the groundsman, for the quieter side and he pointed to the cabanas on the right. So I walked into the cabana that was straight ahead of me, put my stuff down, and decided to stay without second-guessing my choice like I always do.
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| My cabana is the one on the right. |
 |
| The room |
We quickly introduced ourselves, people chose their cabanas, and we had our meeting to go over logistics, meet our trainers, see where everything is located, etc. Then we were served dinner, which was fish and rice.
After getting settled, a few of us decided to walk into Montanita (about a 10-15 minute walk) for a beverage. We found a table in a restaurant and got to know one another better over a few beers.
In the street next to the restaurant, a fire dancer lit a pile of what looked like dirt on fire in the middle of the street. Then he lit little buckets joined by a chain on fire. He started swinging the buckets in the street, dancing around them. A crowd formed and people cheered him on.
Pretty soon a street dog started barking at the flames, trying to bite them. I got so worried, I tried to grab the dog away, but he was very excited and couldn't pull himself away. Eventually, I couldn't watch any more because I was so scared that the dog was going to get hurt. So I went back to my table and let the crowd block my view. Evidently, the dog did a little yelp at the end -- I heard that it got the tip of his nose but he looked fine when he was eating a muffin someone gave him afterwards.
After the fire spectacle, we walked down Cocktail Alley where there is cart after cart of every drink you can imagine. It was quite the scene. We ended the night around 10:00 and walked back to Casa Cacique, where one of the girls and I went swimming in the pool. It was kind of cold but we had just enough of a beer buzz to make it seem OK.
We were only given a sheet on our beds though, and that night I froze. I put on all my sweatshirts, sweatpants, wool slippers, and added my sarong as an extra blanket. It's about 65 at night, with the fog. (Luckily, today they added blankets to our beds.)
 |
| Notice: no blanket! |
I love that you get to walk up at mealtime, get your meal, then leave. No dishes, no shopping, no getting money out every time you eat! They had me at no dishes!
Tomorrow night we teach getting to know you/icebreaker lessons to our new groups of students. Should be interesting.
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