Thursday, July 9, 2009
Lies, Censos, and English Lessons
We wake up bright and early and are out the door at 8:15 sharp. First stop of the day is the police station to report our missing Censos. Dunc and I decided earlier to explain the situation as arising from a single incident (aka theft), rather than two separate ones, to simply things in an otherwise very complicated bureaucratic structure. On the way to the police station, the two of us go over the details of our “mugging” so that we would be on the same page when questioned by the police. *Let it be known that while we were indeed fabricating an event, Dunc and Mark have both been mugged on different occasions and I have been pick-pocketed, which seemed to partially validate our actions.* Arriving at the police station, we get the gringo treatment as an officer immediately escorts us through the crowd, past a sketchy looking man- who may or may not have been selling fake passports in front of the police station and all of the officers- in the side door, and up to the office where robberies are reported.
As we go through the details of the incident with the police officer upstairs, she tells us that to request a new Censo we first have to file an official report with the Quito police. No problem. "So when did the incident occur," she asks. "Saturday," Dunc responds, and her face twists a bit. She informs us that they only accept reports that have happened in the past 72 hours. To report a prior incident we have to go to the city police station a few blocks away. When we get there, the scene is straight out of a Hollywood film that takes place in South America. We walk down a grimy smelly cement hallway, past a bench with 3 handcuffed men- one of whom had recently vomited on himself- to a small windowless room leading to a smaller windowless office. The line to enter the office is about 30 people long, and Dunc gives me a look that clearly says “how the hell do we do get ourselves out of here FAST?!”. We timidly ask the policewoman if it would be possible to lie about the (already fake) date on our police report, changing it to something within the required 72 hour period to avoid the smelliness of the current police station and the ridiculous line. We were pleasantly surprised when she agreed at once with a smile, looking just as relieved that we had been the ones to bring it up as we were to get out of there.
The three of us trek back to the first office, and Dunc and I fill out the required paperwork reporting the fake mugging with the doubly fake date. After getting the reports stamped and official looking, we were just getting up to go when the officer asks us a question about English grammar. She then goes on to explain that she is trying to translate the Aerosmith song that has been playing all morning in the background of the office- on repeat- and pulls out a copy of the lyrics from her report folder. Mind you, there is now a line of gringo tourists waiting behind us to file reports with the lone policewoman, but Dunc and I being seasoned English teachers just couldn’t help ourselves. So we dive into long-winded explanations, such as the difference between “awake” and “wake up”, as the officer took notes with a furrowed brow.
Ten minutes later, after wishing our new police friend a good morning, Dunc and I hail a cab to take us to the Immigration office in north Quito, where, supposedly, we will be able to attain new Censos with our fake robbery reports (yay!). Our taxista weaves in and out of the late morning traffic, turning up the radio to an annoyingly catchy reggae-ton song, and the two gringos in the backseat chat about the silliness of our encounter at the police station. We recap, finally getting to the point in the story where we filled out the date and time of the report... all of a sudden, as if a light bulb turns on above each of our heads at the same time, we realize that the incident we reported had, in fact, not occurred yet, but was scheduled to take place in about 7 hours, at 5pm that same day. Oops!
Knowing that the people at the Censo office probably wouldn’t notice this minor detail, and even if they did, would look the other way, we continue on to the office bright eyed and optimistic. However, upon reaching the Censo office, we are informed by the grumpy police officer at the counter that the Censo office doesn’t open until the afternoon. “Come back at 1:30 to get in line for when the doors open at 2:30 and they’ll start helping people at 3” he tells us. Unfortunately we don’t have time to stick around because of afternoon programs, so we head over to Sanduches del Rey for an early lunch before making the trek back out to the valley empty-handed. All in all a pretty typical morning in dealing with Ecuadorian government/bureaucracy!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Los Muchachos Dulces!
I realize I haven´t updated Quitopia in quite a while despite the fact that there is so much to report! Here is an entry I wrote for MPIE´s Open Hands and Dirty Feet blog a few weeks ago during our first summer volunteer session (apologies for recycling again!)
After hosting such amazing volunteer groups during spring break season, all of us here at MPIE have been eagerly awaiting our newest arrivals- volunteers from all across the U.S. (and one from Canada!) who will participate in a variety of programs and projects over the course of a month this summer. It is without hesitation that I inform our readers of the fact that we have a pretty sweet group of volunteers here right now, and so far they have done a fantastic job with the tasks they’ve been handed. One of the summer volunteer projects is the planning and teaching of a 3-week intensive English language class for middle-school aged kids in a barrio close to our house. The group in charge of this project have aptly, and enthusiastically, named themselves “Los Muchachos Dulces” (The Sweet Kids), and consequently named me, their fearless leader, “Capitan Dulce”, a title I hold with pride.
We are only 4 days into the program, and “Los Muchachos” are already rocking each class like seasoned professionals. For Rebekah, Priya, Patrick, Maria, and Jeremy, their days look a little something like this:
8am- breakfast (hovering over the flapjack-flipping PD for a second helping or trying to get Perry to poach another egg)
8:30- 11:30am- Spanish class with professors from Quito
11:30- 1:45- lunch, go into town, print worksheets and make copies
1:45pm- toss around the pigskin, head to the bus
2:30-5:30pm- teach English class
6pm- go for a jog as the sun sets (they are hard core)
7:30pm- family style dinner with all the volunteers and PD’s
8:30- 10pm- lesson plan
10pm- read/hang out by the fire on the roof/climb over to the apartment
As you can see, they’ve got a lot on their plate and are handling it beautifully. The first day of class, “Los Muchachos” got their feet wet when 14 kids from the barrio registered in the class, but it was on day two, as 30 children showed up with their notebooks, grinning and ready for 3 hours of English instruction, that they really realized what they had gotten themselves into.
Today’s lesson was one of adjective vocabulary, and since Los Muchachos Dulces had everything completely under control, I sat back and watched as 30 Ecuadorian children in small groups fervently hung onto every word that came out of their Profe’s mouths. The individual teaching styles range from Rebekah acting out adjectives like “tall”, “short”, “fat”, and “skinny” in exaggerated motions, to Patrick rewarding his students with exploding handshakes every time they got a word right. With so many students, the ability levels span a wide spectrum; so personal attention and games are key to keeping each child interested in the daily lesson. Then there are the students who can’t help but stand out among the crowd. For example, my favorite kid, Erick, is a cheeky smart-alec who bugs me constantly for new English vocabulary that he uses to show off for the girls in his group (demonstrating his all encompassing foreign language knowledge).
With two weeks left of the San Juan English class, I can’t wait to see what fun and creative activities Los Muchachos Dulces will think of next. Whatever they are, I know the students will love them, and cherish the time spent with the volunteers to whom they already look up as role models and new friends. It will be a sad day for teachers and students alike when summer ends and we all part ways, but until then, let the exploding handshakes and impromptu vocabulary lessons live on!
Monday, March 30, 2009
The Ripple Effect
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Barrack and Roll!
Yesterday, we at MPIE spend one of the most historic days of our country's history well outside of its borders. Not only was the first African American U.S. president being sworn in, but the event marked the first real change in U.S. leadership during our politically conscious lives. The last time George W. Bush was not our president, I was 15 and way more preoccupied with tennis practice and geometry than foreign affairs and taxes. This particular shift, however, we have been following with scrutiny, from reading daily articles online to organizing and attending debate watching parties in Quito. Yesterday was significant in that we were all extremely aware of what this shift in power meant for us and for our country.