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Satruday, May 21, 2005. Happy Birthday Geoffrey! Well it has been almost two weeks since we last updated this and so much has happened it seems difficult to find a place to start. Last weekend we decided to try to follow a road less travelled. Instead of going to the usual tourist hotspots, we travelled to a little town (Pop. 2000 max) called Mindo. We spent the weekend hiking in a subtropical rainforest, feeding butterflies, getting sunburns and blisters (from hiking), hunting for waterfalls, and enjoying the scenery. The bus ride to and from Mindo was as picturesque as the town itself. We crossed the Equator a total of eight times, as we zig-zagged our way through the mountains.
The week prior, Shelley took her class to the Museo de la Ciudad where they learned about Quito's history, life of indigenous people in the region, and made their own masterpieces in the museum's courtyard with beans, seeds, and pressed flowers. Together, we assisted the kindergarten teachers with their field trip to an amphibian exhibition at the university. This week, Monty took his class to a waterfall only an hour and a half hike (uphill) from the school. From the top we could see three volcanoes and Quito stretched out before us.
This week Shelley's class undertook their major project. A 10 foot high by 25 foot long mural in the school courtyard. The results are stunning as the whole school became involved in the project and spent time in the courtyard watching it unfold. It is a nice focal-piece for the school and can be seen from the road passing by the school as well. |
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At the end of week 4, Sunday, the interns treated the extended family to a "Canadian Breakfast". Large quantities of scrambled eggs, French Toast, maple syrup, coffee con leche, and fruit salad were consumed. It was a big hit and the family posed in front of a Canadian flag for all to see the connection that had been made between the two cultures. It was the beginning of our hardest week by far. Flip to the next page to see why. |
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