My last few days in Rosario were very bittersweet – mixed in between the delight that Ian and my host family could finally meet each other was a deep sense of impending loss. But first, the pleasant part: even though Ian can’t speak Spanish, and they speak almost no English, Continue Reading
Saying goodbye (school edition)
Goodbyes are never pleasant, and to be honest I’ve been putting off writing this post for a while because I just couldn’t handle it emotionally. Just editing these photos brought me to tears. English exams As I’d been teaching English for 5 months (an unprecedented amount of time for Continue Reading
More waterfall chasing and baking in San Antonio
My last week in Intag was a very eventful one: my boyfriend Ian arrived in Ecuador, we spent a couple of days at Ned and Patricia’s, and the next couple of days with my host family – before finally leaving this place where I’ve been so happy for the last Continue Reading
Carnaval, gardening and (more) eating
Carnaval came early Carnaval (or Carnival) isn’t a holiday celebrated back home in Singapore, but it is a big thing in many other parts of the world, including Ecuador. It falls on the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday (the start of Lent), and (in Ecuador at least) is celebrated Continue Reading
Time marches inexorably on
It’s a tired old cliché: time and tide wait for no man. But it’s undeniably true, and over the course of my last few weeks in Intag, time seemed to fly by faster and faster the more I tried to hang on to it, to slow it down – even Continue Reading
Experiments in teaching & cooking
Little victories in school (The school year has now ended, so I’m looking back on my 5-month teaching stint with the benefit of some hindsight.) The first and second graders were my most challenging class, because the first graders can’t really read or write. A previous volunteer very helpfully left flashcards Continue Reading
Birthdays, waterfall chasing and a reality check
A series of birthdays January has been a month of birthdays in the family. Anthony (the 11-year-old)’s was on 10 January, Kevin (the 3-year-old)’s was on 16 January, and then mine a couple of days later. For Anthony’s birthday we had sopa de gallina (chicken soup) with freshly caught chicken, Continue Reading
Kicking off 2017: power failures, teaching and culinary developments
New Year’s Day After a relatively late night (by my standards), New Year’s Day was very relaxed. We slept in and went to Cuellaje briefly. Then we had a late lunch, made empanadas, and sat around chatting. Usually there are some guys playing volleyball nearby in the evenings, but today Continue Reading
New Year’s Eve in Otavalo and Intag
Stuck in Otavalo The best laid plans of mice and men… I arrived back in Quito late at night, fresh from an unforgettable trip to the Amazon, and had planned to go back to Intag the following day (30 December). Unfortunately, by the time I arrived in Otavalo at about Continue Reading
Pre-Christmas Activities and Festivities
Knitting Knitting is one of those things that I did briefly once before a long time ago. It was so long ago that I’d forgotten entirely how to knit, but for some reason I’d been thinking about picking it up again. Perhaps it was that failed crocheting session with Patricia, Continue Reading