Student Day Off To The Parks

Just a short note today. Today is "students day off to somewhere day". Different classes went different places such as parks pools, or recreation area.
In our case, we reviewed school budget with an eye towards establishing some kind of teacher salary schedule that recognizes both education of teachers and experience of teachers. Looks like we have a ways to go on that one.

Esperanza School: This and That

Thought we would do a misc. picture blog today. There are times when there is a bit here and a bit there that is a bit interesting. The first two pictures show two 7th grade students who were sent out of class for whatever reason. I came along with the camera and started taking pictures. They scrambled like crazy to find some way to hide but the flat wall provided no cover. The one decided to look through the window to look "normal" while the other one hid behind the first. Now how normal is that!!!

The picture below is of the second grade. The teacher wanted a class photo and so I was pressed into service. Notice how "normal" they are in that there is a monkey in every group.

Finally, during teacher recognition week, the 4th grade along with a parent or two planned a surprise for the teacher. The boys with the rose hid behind their back was cute. The teacher was also served lunch.

Puyo Market - Products

The posting today (delayed a day because of internet problems here) features the products of the Puyo market. It is obvious that this area produces more than rain forests and wood. The picture above is only a small part of the bananas in the market. Bananas are eaten many different ways. We still are not into roasted bananas over a grill.

The rivers bring in things like this huge live turtle. I am sure he was a good soup meal for some family.

We have eaten a lot of fresh pineapple. This cost about a dollar each.

The root and leaf vegatables are very plentiful. We eat fresh radishes all the time. Amazing how a huge radish can be woody like in the midwest, but they never have a strong taste.

Fresh meat is another issue. We just have a problem buying fresh meat after seeing how it is handled and is out in the open air for hours at a time.

A comment on our last blog posting asked about the US dollar being used at the market. Yes, the US dollar is not olny used at the market, it IS the currency of this country. They were looking for some economic stablity and went to our money system several years ago. And now with the value of the US dollar taking a nosedive --- well so much for stability.

Puyo Market (Part I)

We have begun to look locally for things we have not done or seen yet. Yesterday we were in Shell (about 5 miles away). A blog about that trip later.

This morning we went to the Sunday morning Puyo market. Had not made that trip yet. The pictures today are the PEOPLE of the market. The next posting will be about the products of the market.
The picture above shows that not everyone thinks having their picture taken is the highlight of their morning. The lady with the folded arms was sending a strong message.
This market is actually very large. Many of the vendors are indiginous people from the area around Puyo.

MJ is buying some locally made jewelry. Most of the jewelry is made from various kinds of seeds.

When one gets too old to carry the heavy stuff, there is always a way to do it. Not sure my neck could take this load even now.

The kids are really something! This little gal was really IN TO her cotton candy!

The ladies above were obviously old hands at this market stuff. A wide variety of dress is evident around the market.

Mothers with babies and young children bring them to the market as a matter of fact. This mother was very pleased when we showed her the picture on our viewer. Kids are always cute!

More Cultural Differences

In the teacher class yesterday, we did a presentation on cultural differences between the US and Ecuador. This was done in chart form to minimize language and translation difficulties. Such topics as time, people relationships and communications were discussed.

There seemed to be a number of surprises. For example, the fact that we view people and ideas separately in the US while here they are viewed the same. Viewing them separately allows us to accept the person while rejecting their ideas. “He is a good guy, but he has some strange ideas” is not a possible conclusion here. The view that people and ideas are one in the same causes people here to be very careful in disagreeing openly with another person for to do so is step one in severing the relationship.

In the US we are a lot more individualistic. Here the person is always viewed as part of a group be it family, social, or work group. You have to be careful what you say because it reflects on the group. An outspoken person in the US can be viewed as just that, while his or her remarks are not viewed as a reflection on the family or other group.

All of the above causes communications to take on a totally different characteristic here. It is difficult to get straight “yes” and “no” answers especially if the question is a bit sensitive. Communication with “the boss” is especially troublesome. You must not challenge the boss. In the US, many leaders expect to have probing questions raised to help clarify their thinking and their decisions. A boss who never allows questions is viewed as some sort of low self-esteem individual in the US.

Finally, the receiving of visitors under any conditions and at any time here is viewed as a must. When I suggested that people other than very close friends and immediate family should call first to see if a visit was OK, they were surprised. When I went farther and said a visit request might be turned down because one was busy, they were horrified. No matter what your plans or how busy you are, you never turn down a caller.

Seems the leaders of our government might do well to research some of the sensitivities of communicating with other cultures. If we were to do so, maybe our image in the world could be improved.

Teacher Day Assembly

After experiencing download difficulties yesterday, we are posting pictures from the Teacher Day celebration held this past Monday. As usual, our assemblies are held outside as shown in the above picture. The day was "sponsored by the student queen and family of the school. Apparently a contest is held early in the school year and a school queen is selected. This year the queen was in 4th grade. This appears to be a fairly expensive thing for the winning family.

Some of our female teachers were called forward to participate in a game in which they collect clothing and other things you wear from students. They each selected a student in advance to "dress" with these things. The winner got a small prize. The winner had approximately 14 additional items on including several jackets.

A professional clown team was hired from another city. They were very good as they held the attention of the entire school for about 90 minutes with all kinds of silly games.

At the end of the assembly for students, teachers were gathered around a three person band for traditional music. The trio was really very good.

Finally, the teachers were each presented with a gift from the queen and her family. the bottom picture shows this presentation.

The entire assembly event was a full two hours. It was plain, simple fun and a nice way to honor teachers.

Teachers Day Out (Part II)

The bridge over the river Napo is pictured here. I thought at first it was a footbridge. I believe this is the last bridge crossing for some time. Few people have cars so the traffic is not a problem on a single lane bridge.

In Tena, later in the day, we saw a guy selling crabs out of a cart. You could smell them before you could see them.

The teachers group did what all staff do on an outing. Relax, be silly and have a good time. The swimming was in a river at Tena.

Some people just wanted to lay back and relax. No problem with doing that either.

You were allowed to bring immediate family along on the trip. This teacher brought her two children.

It was too hot to play volleyball on a near by sand court. So, playing in the river was the next best thing.

Today we had another half day of teacher day celebration at the school. Tomorrow some pictures from that event. (We just have got to learn how to celebrate more in the US!)