The roaches go marching one by one....

After two days of pampering – delicious meals 3 times a day, comfortable beds, hot water, internet connection – we've been transferred to the high school accommodations. Our rooms are basic. Wooden structure with two bunked beds. We have been given several instructions by the students: don't leave anything on the floor because the cockroaches will crawl all over them, and the best protection for bug bites is Johnson's baby oil (aceite Johnson).

For the first 3 weeks at the high school we have about 20 students. Today we did interviews with them in groups of two, just to get to know them a bit. We first interviewed the girls who, not surprisingly, seemed much more enthusiastic, comfortable and... mature than the boys. In addition to asking the kids about themselves, we asked them about questions or worries they might have about this year which we are calling a Gap Year (because the year does not actually count as credit toward their graduation requirement). The most disheartening thing I kept hearing was the students asking us if we were going to stay here for the whole year. In years past teachers have left Yachana mid-year, causing them to have to start anew with new teachers, teaching styles and expectations. In some cases teachers have not been replaced. We did our best to assure them that we have come with the intention of staying with them for the full year and that we are going to do many activities and effective work to get them to where they want to be, especially in English, math and language arts.

At dinner last night we sat with the principal of the school, Carlos, and Fredy, one of our students. Somehow the conversation turned to student nicknames. It is pretty common in Latin American countries to use nicknames frequently, sometimes even more frequently than peoples' first names. Fredy's apodo is Guarinda because he is from a town in the Andes called Guarinda. He is our only student from the Andes. Then Carlos began to explain that one of our youngest girls, Johana, is what we might call a diva in the U.S. He flamboiantly explained that Johana attends dinner dressed to the nines, hair flowing, lips balmed, and always walks with an air of confidence and has thus been given the apodo “Sexy-Sensual” (Of course we understand the name because the words are the same in English, but here it is said with a Spanish accent and hearing big old Carlos the principal explain this story had us nearly falling out of our seats). We then met Johana for the first time in her interview. When we asked her how old she was she said she was going to be 16. We excitedly asked when her birthday was and she told us it was mid December. We all looked at each other amused and wrote on our papers under age... 15.

Living at the school is rustic. Our showers are chilly and we share them with little frogs and the occasional cockroach, but at the end of the day the cold water feels refreshing on sticky skin and it's quite liberating to look up and see the trees and moon overhead. The generator for light turns on at 6:00p.m. (if all is in order) and turns off precisely at 9:00p.m. which is not a problem considering we wake up at 6:00a.m. for breakfast.

Today we had a minor predicament when Megan found a cockroach in her backpack. In order to get it out she unfortunately had to reach in and take out a plethora of items (including a hair straightener which we decided won't do her much use here in the middle of the jungle). After a good shake out and a few high pitched screams, the situation ended in a cockroach casualty but a happy Megan with a roach-free backpack. Really, its just that they're so big!

Tomorrow is the first day of classes. I will teach two English classes (one in the morning and one in the afternoon) as the group is split into two groups, and one class of Social Sciences. While I'm nervous about the first day, I'm excited to get things roling and hopful about the program we have put together. I think the kids are going to get a lot of hands on experience, as they are rotating throughout this year from the highschool where they will take their classes, to the lodge where they will get experience in working with tourists and maintaining a lodge, and finally to external internships where they will work in different areas such as at travel agencies, hotels, or animal reserves. Therefore there will always be three groups of students: one at the high school, one at the lodge, and one away at an internship. Every month they will switch and at the end will have completed 4 full cycles. Its an innovative program for Ecuador and especially for the kids in this region. We are excited and optimistic about the opportunities that this kind of experience will lend them in their futures.

Here's to a fresh new set of English-speaking social scientists! Does that sound at all ambitious considering the circumstances?