Goin' South

Well it’s been longer than I anticipated before having a chance to post due to a lack of internet, however we are scheduled to get that all hooked up on Friday…which means probably next Wednesday or so. See, even I’m getting the hang of this Latin American Time thing.

Well since we last left off, we were about to leave for Quito and our trip was a little adventure. We were allowed two checked bags each plus a carry on plus a personal item. Our checked bags were weighed and re-weighed prior to leaving with the meticulous hand of a Post Master General, or a Nicaraguan drug kingpin. We ended up maxing out, with a little wiggle room in case the airlines were a bit heavy on their own scales. Each bag weighed in at about 47lbs. So we were good.

We flew from Orlando to Miami on American Airlines and it was alright. It was uneventful, which is what I guess you want from a flight. Then we had about an hour to catch our connecting flight to Quito. For those of you who don’t know, Miami International is a big airport. Also, an hour isn’t enough time to go from one end of the airport to the other. We started run-walking (the thing you see old ladies doing in purple and turquoise jumpsuits in the mall at 9:00am) from one area to another. The run walk turned into a rush jog reminiscent of the scene in Home Alone where the whole family sprints through the airport. Run run Rudolph indeed. We were on our way and approaching our proper terminal before realizing that we had to go through security AGAIN! We had about 15 minutes until boarding and we were just now getting into a security line for an international city in a city that isn’t famous for its punctuality. Tensions ran high but Shannon and I made it with enough time to make our connecting flight barely.

When we got on the plane we realized that we struck gold. Attention everyone: FLY LAN AIRLINES WHENEVER YOU CAN. It was amazing. We only had a 4.5 hour flight, but we were fed a decent meal, followed by complementary wine, followed by complementary coffee. This may not seem like such a big deal, but I’m used to flying on Spirit Airlines who charge you in order to not be put in the cargo cage containing bananas and cobras. Our experience was delightful. We even had touch screen computers in each seat back in front of us with pre-programed movies, tv shows, games, documentaries on Latin American Cities (Shannon and I watched one on Quito), and a music library.

When we got off the plane, we went through immigration pretty quickly and then waited for our bags for about 40 minutes. We were quite a sight with 8 bags total. We made our way through customs, which was also quick and we were greeted by a party of our school director, one of the Assistant Principals, and a few other VIPS. It was quite a reception. We were greeted with cheers and clapping and smiling faces. It may seem corny, but it was exactly what we needed after a day at the airport and arriving in a foreign land. We later found out that the school director and a variety of others from the school were personally meeting each person at the airport, which shows you what kind of personal family touch our new administration believes in philosophically.

We were then quickly whisked away and taken to the Hotel Quito to settle in with instructions to drink a lot of water for the altitude (9000+ feet above sea level) and a pickup time the next day of 8:30am. On the way, our driver who spoke no English whipped around hair pin mountain turns and weaved in and out of traffic at about 80 miles per hour. He kept trying to talk to us and tell us about Quito and I finally decided to try to oblige. When we got to the hotel, Shannon commented that my 15 year old middle school Spanish was good enough to fool the driver and that he hardly noticed that I didn’t speak the native tongue. I was in the zone. *Also, he probably definitely knew we didn’t know what we were talking about so he used the easiest language he could, either way it was a confidence booster and I was already riding high from our arrival. When we got to the hotel, we followed the directions and aside from a few moments of exercise and getting short of breath easier than normal, we were relatively unaffected by the altitude.

The next morning we went for breakfast at the hotel and caught our first real glimpse of Quito, which is amazing. We obviously googled the heck out of Quito with relentless enthusiasm  when we found out we were going there, yet as beautiful as the pictures were, it was no match for what the city actually looks like. Quito is such a blend of beautiful mountains filled with trees and forests, clouds, sprawling city, giant buildings, fancy restaurants, and street venders. The differences between the natural beauty of the area mixed with poor slum-like areas, mixed in with modernity are really a unique balance that simultaneously take your breath away. It’s really a marvel.

After meeting some of the teachers and getting bussed to the school, we got our first glimpse of who we would be working with. I have worked with some wonderful people. Some of the best human beings I know are friends who I have met at work yet even they would agree that there are just some people who we’ve worked with in public schools who don’t share the work ethic, passion, and grit to really care about their job. Some people just show up and clock out, which is not what teaching is all about. I don’t know if it was the nature of the type of person who has to literally give up everything they have ever known in terms of culture, distance to their family, and possessions, but in my first impression it seems that every single teacher I have met truly cares about their job and is devoted to bettering themselves and their students. Again, this is not meant as a slight to people I have worked with in the past because I have worked with amazing people and educators who truly will change the world, but it seems that the percentage of people who flat out live for this is a much higher rate. They are all friendly, adaptable, funny, and warm people who seem just as apt to share a meal with a complete stranger as anything. We decided to teach abroad and heard stories of how we were crazy, brave, restless, and maybe even bored but meeting all of the wonderful people we have so far who have made a life out of traveling the world to teach has kind of provided us with some clarity and for a lack of a better term, validation. There are people like us who want to just go out into the world and explore; who think that this experience and alternate lifestyle can be and should be considered a valid one, although it would be a fair statement to say that I am perhaps clouded by the fact that I am in my honeymoon stage with international teaching and with Quito.

We got to know each other quite well and spent the next few days in different groups apartment shopping before getting to the nitty gritty of school business but that is an adventure best saved for another day. I’ll post all of these as soon as I have internet. Just understand they aren’t being posted as they happen. We’re here in Quito, happy and healthy and ready for what we’ve set out for.