A Tech Trip Summary

Whew! A bunch happened while away from the internet... that always seems to be the case, but this week even more so. I'm going to sum up our TechTrip in a play-by-play - bear with me. Also, forgive the wee number of photos, as I was more concerned taking my time enjoying myself rather than sitting behind a camera! I'll try to scrounge up some more from other volunteers and facilitators to add as time goes on.

Day 1:
Our trip was off to an early start - we met in the town square at 6:30am to depart - the trip usually takes at least 30 minutes, but my awesome co-volunteer Shelley and her family drove me into town. We had a bunch of hiccups occur, as a giant reorganization of bus terminals had just happened throughout the country, but were finally in the bus on our way by 8:30am. Instead of one bus, we ended up having to cobble together three buses, and eventually reached our destination around 7:30pm - we were dog tired, but ready to go!

Day 2:
We got to do our first charla (lesson) at a local public school - I survived a lesson on non-verbal communication with 40 8-year-olds all to myself! Some things you can plan for, and others you really can't... Little did we know that this was about a closely to plan as any of our lessons would go for the entire week - improv is rapidly becoming a friend of mine.

Joe being mobbed during a game of KeepAway

Tony braving the oncoming storm during the aforementioned game of KeepAway

After our bout of teaching, we were swept off to visit a museum of the oldest remains found in Ecuador (though I believe they also held the claim that they're older than most in South America) - it was a neat museum, with a lot of fun information about the pre-historic peoples that inhabited the area. That evening we got to watch the USA game (sincerely sad that we lost) at our hostel, and were gifted free beers and free pizza from a bunch of expats at the bar to thank us for our service - it was a lovely surprise to help wrap up a jarring day of energetic youngsters!

Day 3:
I wasn't feeling great, but made it through several cultural activities that took us to a park looking over the edge of Santa Elena (in the background, you can see the westernmost point of South America).

The westernmost tip of South America!

Immediately after that, on to a rock quarry where artesians mine rock throughout the day, and carve it into various souvenirs or blocks for tourists or local buildings.

Quarry workers, showing us how to break large rocks - the rock is composed of seabed deposit, and is a very rough version of sandstone, from what I could understand.

After the mine visit, we dashed off to perform a surprise charla for a group of about 40 parents and 40 kids - they divided us into two groups to execute the lesson, which (considering we pulled the entire thing together in less than 10 minutes of planning) went pretty well. I'd been feeling pretty ghastly throughout the day, but the adrenaline kicked me back into gear, and I felt fine for the rest of the trip. That night, we jumped into the ocean and watched the sunset while in the water, and were then treated to a round of tequila shots by the owner of the hostel before bed. Let me tell you, I was very sad that we were leaving that place! It was a bunch of fun!

Day 4:
We pulled out nice and early and journeyed to Puerto el Morro, the site of a current PC Volunteer. It was his last day, so we were treated to a goodbye party, and also to an estuary boat-ride to see some Dolphins! I've done lots of these boat tours, but we had a solid halfhour of between three and five dolphins (including a calf) swimming alongside our boat - it was awesome! That afternoon, another charla for adults took place, and then we split off for dinner, puppy-dog adventures, and sleep.

Our view out the hostel window around 6am

Day 5:
An early start to Guayaquil! The largest city in Ecuador, this place has a reputation for thieves and trouble, so unfortunately no pictures were taken. Though the entire trip has been refreshingly hot and humid, Guayaquil was oppressively muggy - I was so gross just halfway through the day.. We rattled off another charla at a private school, and got our stuff dropped off to our hotel around 3pm - lunch was a welcome site! We had chinese food in Ecuador, while watching soccer and drinking beer on the 4th of July. Seemed about as American as we could make it. After a long culturally informative wander down the historic riverside, we were informed that we'd have to leave by 5:30am the next morning, so partying was minimal. That just means I'll have to return to see more of the city soon!

Day 6: 
Bus

OK, I know that was a long summary, but it was a ridiculous week! I've left a lot out, I know, but suffice to say that it was stressful, sweaty, and really fun.

This week - lots of work. Next week - site visit!!!