Galapagos AGAIN!

For spring break, Justin and I had the fortunate opportunity to return to the Galapagos Islands, as guests of our friend, Narsiza. After much deliberating, we decided that this was an offer we couldn’t possibly turn down, and I’m so glad that we were able to visit this incredible place once more.

Tuesday: Manzanillo tortoise ranch & Darwin Station
Our direct flight from Quito arrived on Tuesday afternoon. Narsi was waiting for us with private transportation and we made our way to the ferry, and onward to Puerto Ayora. On the way, we stopped at a nature preservation called Rancho El Manzanillo. (Manzanillo is the name of the “poison apple tree” that grows along the property. The fruit, and even the sap of this tree are reportedly quite toxic. The owner of this once private plot of land partnered some time ago with the local government to establish this as an ecological reserve, where visitors can roam freely among the giant tortoises, and enjoy lunch on an open, breezy patio. Rubber boots are loaned free of charge so that are free to splash through the mud puddles (tortoises cool themselves in the mud) and avoid fire ants. This is the spot where Justin and I found the biggest tortoise we have ever seen, and we named him Big Papa.
The top of his shell probably came up to my chest.

After some exploring of the property, we sat down for a delicious lunch of grilled tuna steaks and fresh salad. To wash it down we had lemonade made with mint and hierba buena, and I think I nearly drank the whole pitcher myself. (It was extremely hot!)

Before leaving the ranch, we saw an empty tortoise shell on the patio, left behind long ago by some dearly departed tortoise, and couldn’t resist the fantastic photo opportunity this afforded. For those of you who may be wondering, “How does one get inside a giant tortoise shell?” I will paint you a word picture. First of all, it is far from graceful. The largest opening is in the front. So first you must stand in front of the shell, and then basically lay down flat on the floor in a push-up position, your feet facing the opening of the shell. Next, you perform a backwards shimmy-shuffle, easing yourself feet-first into the shell. There is a surprising little upward slope in the middle of the bottom of the shell, so you’ll need to navigate this as well. This provides quite the spectacle for anyone watching! Soon, you’ll be able to poke your feet out the back of the shell and voila! You are a tortoise! This was actually a lot of fun, and I’m glad we sacrificed temporary embarrassment for these pictures which make me laugh every time I look at them. The shell is also unbelievably strong, and we even able to sit on top of it without the slightest fear of it breaking.

We then continued our drive to Puerto Ayora and our hotel and home for the week. Per usual, the whole family gave us a warm welcome and we immediately felt like we were home with family. We unpacked our suitcases and spent a little time enjoying the AC. Once we were sufficiently refreshed, we made the 10 minute walk down to the Darwin Station.

After viewing all the tortoises and the baby tortoises with numbers painted on their shells we came upon a new exhibit - Lonesome George! In the flesh...or rather, shell. As you probably know, Lonesome George was the last of his species (Pinta Island Tortoise). For years, they tried to get old George to produce some offspring, but alas all attempts were futile and he finally died in 2012 at the age of 100 years. George’s body was then frozen and sent to the American Museum of Natural History in NYC to be preserved. After a short tour in the States, Lonesome George was finally returned to his home in the Galapagos in March of 2017. So, we were some of the first tourists to see him returned. The Darwin Station built him a small climate-controlled room, and to preserve the ambient temperatures necessary to preserve him, only 10 visitors are allowed in at a time, for a visit of only a few minutes. I noticed George was missing a toenail, but otherwise looked really good for a 100 year old taxidermied tortoise.

It is hoped that Lonesome George will serve as a reminder of the importance of conservation of species and human impact and responsibility of conservation and protection. We will remember, George. Rest in peace.

Wednesday: Tortuga Bay
We woke up on Wednesday and took our sweet time to get moving. Prior to the trip we reflected on how amazing our first trip was. However, our last trip was also our first, and we only had a few days. Plus...I had some other things on my mind as we prepared to go there. We resolved to make this trip much more slowly paced. We wanted to see the wildlife and the beautiful vistas, just like last time, but this time we had twice as much time to do it and we were hell bent on using it.

After a leisurely breakfast, we went to our rooms and packed our bags. In the spirit of taking it slow, we were going to spend the day reading books on the beach. We were told of a beautiful set of beaches within walking distance and that was all I needed to hear. We were warned of hot temperatures so we dressed accordingly and we began our journey to Tortuga Bay.

To start the journey, you need to take a taxi to the entrance of the national park. Once there, you walk through a beautiful long path made of lava stone. It is gorgeous, as is the surrounding vista, but it is HOT. We were warned, but we still had no expectation of lava rock. When the sun hits the rock, the rock undergoes a chemical reaction simulating a volcanic eruption of lava and fire. (Or at least that’s what I think…)

After a hour of walking through a cactus forest full of cacti more than 40 feet tall, and well...forest, a clearing opens up and BAM! You are smack dab on the most beautiful beach ever. I mean ever. Tortuga Bay is the epitome of white sugar sand beaches, clear water in the shallow that opens up to deep aqua blue. As beautiful as it was, we weren’t allowed to swim there due to park regulations and dangerous swimming conditions. So we walked along the beach to a little cove that was much calmer and 90% as pretty. Along the way, we spotted the first of many marine iguanas hiding out on some lava rocks.

When we got there, we set up our towels in a little shady spot beneath a set of trees. We spent the next four hours swimming in crystal clear water, reading, and guzzling a lot of water. It was HOT. After a little while, a small shark (19 inches) swam up to the coastline and along it for about twenty minutes. We could see it from 20 feet away due to how clear the water was. We decided to investigate so we rented a kayak on the beach and spent the next hour paddling around the calm cove looking for wildlife among the mangroves lining the beach. We didn’t see anything else, which was okay. We had fun anyway paddling around.

Around fifteen minutes after our kayaking, a big 30 foot boat pulled up to shuttle people back to the port for a fee of $10. They knew that no one wanted to walk, fully exposed, through the gauntlet of beautiful scenery and soul melting lava rock pathways. So we hopped on. I asked the guy as we boarded if it was returning to Puerto Ayora, where our hotel was. He replied with a quick “Si, si. Vamos,” and hurried me along.

Now I’m admittedly not the strongest math person, but in my mind, an hour walk, plus the speed of the boat, minus any lag in time for waves or the curve of an island means that we should have returned to the port after about 20 minutes of boat time. HA! An hour and fifteen minutes later, Shannon and I were convinced that we were headed for another island hours away. But eventually, after cutting through the water alongside a few sea turtles who popped their heads up to say hello, we pulled back into Puerto Ayora, had tuna for lunch, and retired to the hotel for an afternoon nap.

Post nap, we got all ready and headed over to the restaurant where Shannon and the whole family ate post-proposal. We spent the evening drinking wine, watching pelicans take turns plunging into the water, and enjoying delicious food, and each other’s company.

Thursday: Day Trip
Thursday morning, we woke up early and had a hearty and delicious breakfast. We joined Narsiza and her family, as well as a co-worker and her son, and we boarded the water taxi to a boat that we had all rented for the day. We spent about thirty minutes zooming through the water along the coastline that we passed the day before. (Note: We passed the Tortuga Bay Beach in less than ten minutes. Go figure.)

We arrived at a snorkel spot that Narsiza told us was a secret local place that had great snorkeling, lots of animals, and few tourists. I can’t say the name of the beach in confidence, but girl knows her stuff. We spent the next two hours snorkeling around. We saw stingrays flapping their wings, trying to hide under the sand, sea turtles gracefully gliding through the water, and countless fish.

We had already seen these things before, on our first trip, but snorkeling in the Galapagos this second time was just as magical. We were both filled with child-like glee at the sight of each and every new thing. Along the way, we saw a shark, about a meter long. Then we continued to follow our guide blindly through the water and found ourselves in some kind of shark dungeon pit. The next twenty minutes were spent swimming among between 16-22 sharks. They all varied between 24 inches and four feet long. It was so cool to float along the top of the water looking down on them. A glance to the right, and there were a dozen more. Look to the left, WOA! Sharks swimming towards your face to check you out. This went on for a little while, before we were spent.

We swam up to an island beach nearby and put our snorkel gear down among the mangroves and marine iguanas three feet or more in length. After a short hike across the inlet, we came to a jetty of lava rock. On the jetty we saw iguana heaven. The black rock eminanted heat that made me wilt, but attracted dozens and dozens of marine iguanas who sat content on the rock, cooled by the ocean mist of crashing waves. We took our customary pictures and walked to the other side of the jetty where we found a blue footed boobie that we got up close and personal with. We concluded our hike and walked back to the boat where fresh ceviche was awaiting our arrival, alongside some fresh homemade...well fried, fresh fish sticks. After lunch we hopped back into the water where we swam, waded, and wandered among the sharks and fish. I walked along the shallow water watching the fish encircle my feet. Then, a puffer fish decided to take a nibble of my toe as I watched. I don’t think he like what he found. He promptly swam away. It was absolutely surreal.

On our way back to the port, we did some troll fishing. We were only about 500 yards from the coastline, but considering we were more than 600 miles off of the coast of Ecuador, we were effectively DEEP DEEP sea fishing. After about fifteen minutes of trolling, one of the fishing poles snapped down. I hopped up and grabbed it and as soon as I hooked the fish, the captain yelled to the crew to get the belt harness. I thought I was in for reeling in Jaws but I knew I’d be happy with Nemo.
I fought the fish for about ten minutes or so until I brought the fish in. The mate gaffed it and we hauled it on board. It was about a three and a half foot “jurel” fish, which is something akin to a tuna or a jackfish. As soon as the fish was on board, the captain took it under deck and came back four minutes later with the freshest sashimi and carpaccio I have ever seen. It was delicious. We went back toward shore and after a day of shark filled swimming, fishing, and hiking, we were both exhausted. It was one of the best, and most complete days I had in a long time.

Friday:Grietas
After an exhausting and amazing day on Thursday, we decided to keep it light on Friday. We slept in, had a leisurely breakfast and read for a while in the hotel room. After that, we did some souvenir shopping, we threw on our bathing suits and took a short walk to Las Grietas. Las Grietas is a small local swimming hole and natural grotto. It is a canyon of crystal blue, chilly, water that goes about 30 feet deep at its deepest. It was apparently made by years of rain, tide, and time. It evolved slowly chiseling a crack into a gap, into a gorge, into a canyon. Rain water filtered through the lava rock and pooled at the bottom. The chasm shielded the water from too much direct sunlight, which kept the water chilly. We walked there and hopped in.

We were told to try to time it well since sometimes tour groups go there, in addition to the locals. The canyon is about twenty feet wide by thirty yards long. It would have been tough to enjoy ourselves had it been busy, but we took Narsiza’s advice and got there right at 12. On our way down the path (about fifteen minutes) we saw about 40 people pass us, going back to the port.

When we arrived, there were only about six people. There were three high schoolers, and two guys in their twenties. We swam around for about a half hour, and due to the intense noon, lava rock baked heat, the cool water felt incredible. As we floated along, we saw fish of all sizes swimming around below us. After a short while paddling around, we swam to the far side of the grotto and saw another marine iguana sitting on a rock. We swam up to it quietly and watched him pluck algae from a rock, at eye level, from about three feet away. As soon as the high schoolers saw this incredible sight, they swam up splashing, squealing, and yelling; which of course forced the iguana to take off. It wasn’t a surprise, but it was disappointing nonetheless.

We went back shortly after and had our own lunch, another mid day nap, and then went out to the small beach town nightlife. We went to dinner and had a delicious meal and met up with a few friends who were also visiting the Galapagos on vacation. We had a few drinks to celebrate my birthday (the following day) and went back to the hotel to retire for the night.

Saturday: Birthday Beach Day
I woke up on Saturday morning to a new milestone decade. I had finally reached by thirties, which I felt like I had been in the middle of for at least five years. Shannon and I had breakfast, packed up our beach bags, and took the long hike back to Tortuga Bay to spend my birthday doing exactly where I wanted, the beach.

After arriving we set up shop again in the shade and spent the next few hours napping, reading, swimming, talking, and hanging out. It was simple. It was relaxing. It was everything I wanted and needed, and nothing more. We saw another marine iguala sauntering along the beach, commonplace to us by this point. After a while of sitting there, we met a few friendly finches. I named on Atticus and Shannon fed them cookies, which is probably totally okay. I mean, we were in the single most protected natural preserve in the world. They probably want you to feed the finches cookies. It’s good for their evolution...or something. Regardless, Atticus and his friends were happy.

We decided to walk all the way back instead of taking the boat for an hour and change. It took us about the same amount of time, but by 2:00 when we left in the afternoon, the lava rocks somehow got hotter than eruption level heat. Shannon swayed from heat exhaustion as we walked, but we soldiered on. We drank bottle after bottle of Gatorade and water, which we packed in anticipation of this walk. It felt like we were walking across the coals, but instead of on our feet, we were draped in a cloak of coals.

We finally arrived at a lunch spot where another cold water and the ocean breeze cooled us off. We went back to the hotel for showers and naps. (So much napping on this trip!) When we woke up from our slumber, we got dressed up for a family style dinner that Narsiza had invited us to. We were the special guests of honor. We had fried fish, plantains, rice, and wine. After the plates were cleared, the lights went out and out of the kitchen emerged a birthday cake. They sang “Happy Birthday” to me in English and in Spanish. Just before cutting the cake, I was told of an Ecuadorian tradition that I had to partake in. They were yelling “Bite the cake! Bite the cake!” in Spanish. After asking about it, they told me it was customary to take a bite of the whole cake. Then as I was biting it, they would lightly shove my face into the cake. I was skeptical, but didn’t want to offend our gracious hosts. They probably could have told me to sit on the cake and I would have done it. Anyway, I “bit the cake” and got smashed into it. I pulled my head back, with icing filling my nostrils, and everyone was laughing. The smashed piece containing remnants of my face outline was, of course, to be mine. The rest was spread amongst our Galapagos family.

All in all, it was a remarkable trip. We were hosted by Narsiza, who truly made us feel like family. We weren’t guests to her in her hotel. We were family. We saw mind-blowing sites. We swam. We ate. We slept. We hiked. We fished. We ate. We slept. We laughed. We ate. And we slept. It was the perfect vacation. We both needed it after a long stretch at work. It was the perfect birthday. Thank you to Narsiza for giving us a home in the Galapagos. We are so incredibly fortunate to have met her, to have traveled as much as we have, and to have spent time with such truly incredible people.

Election Update

The last time we checked in regarding the Ecuadorian Presidential Election, we were at a bit of a stalemate. To summarize, in Ecuador, if no candidate reaches 40% of the popular vote AND achieves a margin of victory of 10% or more, there is a run-off election with the two most popular candidates.

The run-off election was this past Monday. Leading up to the election, we were peppered from all sides with differing opinions. The majority of the Ecuadorian teachers we work with sided with conservative Lasso. The majority of taxi drivers and blue collar workers we ran into supported the left-wing Lenin Moreno (current  VP). Even our students got into it. We were told by our students that if ___________ won, it would mean the end of the country's prosperity and success. "We will surely become like Venezuela if __________ and their corrupt party takes power!" said the tiny echo chambers of their parents' political views. It was a touchy subject and both sides were charged with fear, emotion, and hope.

The weekend of the election, the city took on it's "Dry Law" again, banning the sale, consumption, or consideration of an alcoholic beverage. Hypothetically, IF we had consumed a beer, we would have been outlaws...

Election weekend was made a bit more complicated by our school hosting a ten person accreditation team (more on that in a different post) so we needed everything to go well. We were told that we needed to be prepared for riots in the streets, cars flipping, and general mayhem.

The Friday before the election, I went to the US Embassy for a community trivia night fundraiser with some friends. While there, the US Ambassador came to our table and spoke with us for about a half hour about the high probability of mayhem. He even told one of my friends who lives near the election office to "Go to a friend's house for the week...Just in case." Needless to say, we were all a little freaked out. He then told us that a one sided victory for either side would be the best possible solution, if the goal was peaceful transition of power. Anything close might put the entire city in a precarious balance of fury and protests.

The morning of the election, we had a meeting at a hotel with the accreditation team. "Don't worry visiting folks, nothing to see here, not impending political doom..." About an hour into the meeting, we realized that one of the candidates would be using the hotel as campaign headquarters again. So, we literally put them in the proverbial lion's den.

Throughout the day, exit polls showed close projections. Both sides claimed victory. But at the end of the night, the current VP, Lenin Moreno was declared the victor. Many people were upset at the results. They demanded recounts. They took to the streets in protest. On Monday, Lasso and his campaign workers went to the election offices to request a formal recount. There was allegedly proof of  improper counting, exit polls not matching ballot reporting, etc. On Tuesday the election offices declared that "Moreno wins and it is final, no further review would take place." The final numbers that were reported had Moreno at 51% and Lasso at 48.9%. Our school immediately cancelled all after school activities for concern that the buses wouldn't be able to get students home quickly enough through protests in the streets. Then the decision was made to dismiss classes about twenty minutes early. All teachers were told to get off campus at 3:00pm sharp. Road closures were coming, and there was a general feeling of impending eruption. We were told before 4:00, it was going to go down.

 At 3:10, tumbleweeds blew through the campus. It felt like that played out scene in every western movie where everyone goes inside and waits for the impending showdown between the good guy and the sheriff, only in this case it was people vs riot police. I texted Shannon and she wasn't ready to leave. She, as the woman in charge of our school's accreditation process, had to get everyone on the bus and safely to their hotel. She foolishly courageously offered to take them on their bus as a security escort. You know, since she has extensive training in Muy Thai, Krav Maga, CIA Training, Assassin Training, from watching the movie The Bodyguard one time.

We finally left at 3:25. This was no problem, because we had about 35 minutes to get home, and we only live 15 minutes from school. But wait, there's more. We found out as we were leaving that the normal route we take from school was closed off. The police were closing main intersections to try to contain potential marching protest routes. So now we had an issue. We had to take a back route that we had never taken before, not knowing how long it took, and based on everything we heard, 4:00 was the witching hour. That's when it was going to go down. We were told by someone at school that it was possible that since we were foreigners, and there were rumors of US involvement in the election, we were potential targets if things got really bad. We were told to go home immediately and stay inside, just in case.

In my mind, all I heard was "Get you and Shannon home before 4:00pm or the world is going to deteriorate around you in some sort of post-apocalyptic nightmare. I was on a mission. My family was at risk, and it was turning into The Purge. (Don't watch if horror movies freak you out)

We got in the car and floored it as much as possible. Traffic was already starting to pick up and we were winging it by the seat of our pants. I turned into a getaway wheel man. We may have gone up on two wheels once or twice as we navigated the treacherous winding mountain roads. We may not have. I can't tell. It was all a blur. We finally made it home and got inside.

We monitored the news and checked out as many potential sources as we could to get as much information as possible. There wasn't much. We were told to expect school cancellations, which did not happen. So we got up and went to school the next morning, as usual.

We were told that there were protests. They have been ongoing for a week. Luckily, the most unrest we experienced came in the form of rhythmic car horn blowing while people waved their Ecuadorian flags out of their window. There was shouting. But nothing serious. There have been protests around the country and the city, but luckily, for us it never turned into The Purge. It appears that Moreno is the winner and that is irrefutable. If that stays, I hope that Ecuadorians can find peace with the decision and get back on the same page, working towards making Ecuador a better place. That's the dream we all have for our countries. Being in democratic countries allows us to have a say in the way we want to be governed, but once the people have spoken (assuming no improprieties) time comes for the nation to unite again and work towards progress, regardless of who or what you have in the seat of President of your country.

Guys Weekend Pt. 3

In posts I've made for each of the previous two years, I detailed our annual guys trip. In the spring of every year, all of the expat guys rent a bus and take it to somewhere around Ecuador. We have BBQs, hang out, play outdoor games. It's a great time and a nice way to unwind with the fellas. The ladies have their own trip every year as well. This year, we went back to Banos, to the same location as last year.

We decided to return to the same spot because it's beautiful, secluded, has plenty of space, and is next to a rushing river. Banos is surrounded by cool outdoor activities. Last year we didn't have an opportunity to do many of the activities due to excessive rain. This year we rectified that. Check out the video below for a little snapshot of our weekend.

It was a nice way to say goodbye to some of the guys who I have grown close to. I made quite a few friends through our professional circles, and this was a great opportunity to spend some time with them before we go on our separate ways.

Last Trip to the Coast

Justin and I both love the beach so we definitely had to get in one more trip to the coast before leaving Ecuador in a couple months. We had a long weekend for Carnaval at the end of February, so us and group of 8 other teachers headed back to Montañita for one last hurrah.

We left right after school on Friday and headed to the airport. Then we had a one-hour flight to Guayaquil, and from there a 3-hour taxi ride out to the coast. After some delays to our flight, we arrived at the beach just before midnight. Once again, we stayed at Balsa Surf Camp since we had such a great time there before.

The weather was absolutely perfect this weekend - sunny skies with some clouds, warm air, and the ocean was cool without being cold. We had four days to spend but we quickly settled into a beautiful routine that we would wind up repeating every single day. That was:

• Sleep in until pleasantly awoken by a symphony of tropical bird songs.
• Meander down to the breakfast table for El Duke, a breakfast platter consisting of 2 fried eggs, fresh baked bread with butter and jam, a bowl of fresh fruit, yogurt and granola, and a cup of tea or coffee.
• Mosey back up to the room to pack our beach essentials for the day (towels, books, hats, sunblock, money for ceviche, and a small canteen of cheap rum)
• Traipse on down to the beach and stroll along the coast until we find a good enough looking cabana with lounge chairs.
• Pay the cabana man $10 for the use of the cabana and chairs for the whole day
• Plop down into the lounge chairs and begin reading
• Wait until the ceviche man comes down the beach and have our first snack of beach ceviche, washed down with a lukewarm Pilsener
• Wait a little longer until the coconut man comes down the beach, buy a coconut, drink out some of the water, top off with rum, swirl and drink your roncoco.
• Swim - wade - stroll - lounge - doze - repeat
• Watch the tide come up and the pink sunset before roaming back to the camp to ponder dinner plans

Now this is our idea of a blissful beach weekend.

I avoided trips into town with the group, due to it being Carnaval weekend - which means that you have a 100% chance of being sprayed with foam (ask Meagan about last year) or drenched with water, or attacked with water balloons. As I was looking for a much more chill experience, I stayed back most nights and lazily read my book, the next installment of my adored Flavia de Luce series by Alan Bradley. The air was warm and humid and it made the pages of my book slightly damp, which I found oddly satisfying. I enjoy the humidity. I love how good my skin feels in the humidity, and my lungs loved it too. Any trace of the asthma flare up I had days before simply vanished. I take this as irrefutable proof that I’m made to live at sea level.

Other highlights of our weekend included: delicious fish tacos from a seaside hippie hostel and, also courtesy of the hippie hostel - quite possibly the best piece of key lime pie I’ve ever had (and we eat a love of key lime pie in Florida).

I couldn’t have asked for a better farewell memory of Ecuador’s coast. And I’m really going to miss beachside ceviche on a bicycle and rum in my coconut...

Election Time

As we are moving forward to the end of our time in Ecuador, we plan on doing our best to keep the blog updated as much as possible. It seems that we have just as many logistical things on our horizon as we had when we moved here. We will need to ship our things back to the U.S. and to Saudi. We will need to sell our car, some of our furniture, and close out the year strong. We have a few favorite places we want to visit again before we leave, and a few that we have not visited yet. All the while, life goes on. Our jobs go on, and events throughout Ecuador are going on. Today, I am going to write about an important event in Ecuador that we aren’t directly involved with, but we are witnessing and experiencing from afar, the Ecuadorian Presidential Elections. As an outsider to the process, I will do my best to write with as much accuracy as possible from the perspective of someone witnessing this historical event from within the country, but without the emotional or political attachment of many of Ecuador’s citizens.

Ecuador conducts voting for the office of President every four years. Up until very recently, there were no term limits. That was changed last spring, and the new limit is two consecutive terms. The current President is Rafael Correa. He was elected in 2006 and has been re-elected twice, in 2009 and 2013. Voting is obligatory in Ecuador for all citizens living here for more than 5 years, and above the age of 18. It is voluntary for citizens between the age of 16-18, or above the age of 65. In order to win the election, the winning candidate must have received 40% or more of the popular vote, AND they must have at least 10% more than the second place vote getter. My understanding is there are usually between 7-8 candidates who run.  If a candidate does not achieve both of those requirements, there is a runoff election including only the top two candidates.

Prior to election day, for 48 hours, the “Ley Seca” (Dry Law) takes effect. The “Ley Seca” states that the sale of alcohol is illegal. It is also illegal to consume alcohol, or to be intoxicated in a public area. If you violate that, you will be put in prison. In addition, hosting a large party in your home that draws attention and/or drinking is also prohibited.

This is an especially important election due to the fact that there is no incumbent running. In the past two years, in Quito, there have been quite a few protests against specific decisions the current President has made. For many Ecuadorians, this election is going to frame their own economic and social experience for their immediate and long term future. Needless to say, tensions are high and so are the stakes.

Ecuador’s first round of elections took place on February 19th. The two favorites were Lenin Moreno and Guillermo Lasso. Moreno is the current Vice-President under Correa, and Lasso is a former banker and the opposition party. There are 8 total candidates and for lack of a better reference point, Moreno is the far left candidate and Lasso is the far right. The remaining candidates lie in the middle of the political spectrum. In a really interesting twist, the elections happened two weeks ago and Ecuador does not have a President yet.

Round One Results

The reason lies in the information I listed above. Lenin Moreno achieved the majority at 39.36%, with Lasso in second at 28.09%. Since Moreno did not get to 40%, there will be a runoff election on April 2 between those two candidates. Following the results of the first round, there were various protests around the city of Quito and the entire country. There are allegations of corruption and election tampering from both sides, but I don’t know enough about that to confirm it.
Either way, in a little less than a month, things are going to get very interesting here. I appreciate the enthusiastic energy surrounding the election and I sincerely hope that whatever happens, Ecuador has a bright future under its new leader, and the people are able to accept the results of the next round peacefully. Let’s hope for the best.

Chile

As we near the end of our stay in South America, we decided we wanted to pay a visit to Chile while we had the opportunity. If you know me, then you know that I love wine - red wine - and cabernet, specifically. And if you know a little bit about wine, then you know that Chile is famous for its cabernet.

While researching what else Chile has to offer, besides the delicious wine, purported “European feel”, and the tail-end of the Andes, I also discovered that Chile mines a lot of copper and lapis lazuli. I’ve adored this deep blue stone that symbolizes truth and wisdom since I first saw it in Egypt (Afghanistan happens to be the other major miner of the stone).
So to recap, Chile: red wine and blue stones!

I really enjoyed our time in Chile and wished we could have stayed longer. In fact, it’s a place I would like to visit again. The city of Santiago is very modern, with tree-lined streets, a myriad of cafes, and is extremely pedestrian-friendly. The apartment we stayed at was in the Bellavista district. There were wide sidewalks, beautiful landscaping and shade, and each apartment building had it’s own little grassy courtyard and garden out front.

There is also a very convenient subway system, where for the fare of $1.25, we could ride to most places on our itinerary. We were thrilled to find the grocery stores stocked with loads of delicious smoked cheeses and cheap, good wine. Oh, so much wine! Cabernets for essentially $6 per bottle, including a new favorite of mine - the Cabernet Franc. Other modern comforts included two six-story shopping malls and Starbucks!

The language in Chile is Spanish, obviously, but it has a much different tone to what we hear in Ecuador. It’s a melodic rhythm, and the pitch of the voice tends to go up and then down at the end of the word, like the intonation is on a wave.. If I could compare it to something, I would say the intonation sounds similar to Italian. It is gorgeous to listen to, but all four of us, including our friend Delaney who is fluent in Spanish had a bit of difficulty understanding everything.

One of my favorite things we did in Chile was to discover the delight that is, what I have dubbed, “wine hiking”. It’s exactly what it sounds like. You take a bottle of wine and some plastic cups on your hike, find a nice spot to sit with a beautiful vista, and have a little wine and cheese picnic. I have also found that this makes the hike down a lot more enjoyable.

On one of our days in Chile, we rented a car and drove about 2 hours out of town to El Morado national park to do a glacier hike. At this time of the year, it is actually summer in Chile so the weather was incredibly warm and pleasant. Sadly, we arrived to El Morado and learned that the park was closed (and had been for 2 months) due to fires. I guess Ecuador isn’t the only place to not post these types of notices on websites where people might learn of them before making the drive! However, not to be deterred, we drove down an access road to another area of the park and were able to find a trail in. So I guess, in effect we “snuck into the park, but we didn’t see any rangers to stop us, nor did we spot any fires or smoke. This was a much more pleasant hike then what we usually get to do in Ecuador, where the elevation climbs steadily. Rather, we hiked on virtually flat terrain through a valley surrounded by mountains and glaciers. It was a neat sensation to see snow-capped mountains all around you, yet be warm enough under the sun to hike comfortably in short sleeves. There were some incredible rock formations along the trail and so I spent a lot of time looking down and around me.
After about an hour of mild hiking, we found a few rocks to serve as picnic tables and sat down to enjoy a snack of sliced turkey, bread, smoked cheese, and of course, wine!

On the hike back, I found the most perfect little souvenir rainbow rock that looks like it was made of six different types and colors of rocks that all melted together. We also spotted a few baby goats frolicking along some rocks but they were a little too skittish to allow us to get close enough for a pet. Driving back to Santiago we stopped on the side of the road so I could buy a tub of fresh honey a man was selling. And I would be lying if I said I didn’t immediately pop the top off and eat a few finger fulls of fresh honey right there in the backseat.

On one of our other days in Chile, we visited the vineyards of Cousiño Macul, one of the oldest vineyards in Chile, started back in 1856 by guess who - priests who said they had to grow wine for communion. Brilliant! The vineyard is the only one in Santiago that is still owned and operated by the founding family. On this particular tour, we got to ride cute green cruiser bicycles around the vineyard, looking at different vines, tasting grapes, and of course stopping under the shade of a willow tree to sample the Rosé. This was a fun thing to do. It was such a cool landscape to be pedaling through a 160 year old vineyard, with a wine glass in your basket, overlooking the modern city of Santiago all around you, and behind that the brown hazy peaks of the Andes. Following the bike ride, we returned to the main building where we all sat outside and continued a wine tasting. Justin and I picked our two favorite bottles - a Cabernet and a Syrah, and brought them home with us. We also bought a few smoked cheeses from the supermarket so that we can re-enact our own little Chilean picnic back in Quito.

As I mentioned, Chile is known for its copper crafts and lapis jewelry. I was on a mission to find some blue stone treasures for myself and my mom and sisters. We took a 10 minute subway ride to the Santa Lucia artesanal market where there was no shortage of lapis stalls. I found a beautiful strand of lapis pearls and matching earrings. I also picked up a charming little cross for my mom’s collection made of copper and brass and set with a lapis stone in the middle.

Also on our list was a famous fish market at the Mercado Central where you can buy fresh fish and seafood right off slabs of ice, or sit down at a table and have them cook one up for you right then and there. Once you get past the initial “ew” factor of smelling all that raw fish, you start to get a little hungry. After perusing the perimeter of the market, we found a little restaurant to sit down and sample the local fare. I picked out a pretty silver fish with huge black eyes called a reineta. It is a white fish with firm flesh that I had grilled and served with veggies and fresh baked rolls. It was delicious!

At a different restaurant, known for it’s extensive pisco menu, we all enjoyed some of the most delicious ceviche I’ve ever had - big chunks of almost rare fish, soaked in lime juice with onions, peppers, corn, and sweet potatoes.


Though we spent a little less than four full days in Santiago, I got the feeling that this is a place I could definitely see us living in someday, if we return to South America. I would love to learn to speak Spanish in that melodic way of theirs. I also loved the balance of modern conveniences with a real bohemian, pedestrian type of lifestyle. The people seemed sophisticated yet casual, and relaxed. There are no shortage of green spaces, parks, and areas for walking and picnicking. The shopping is good, the air is clean. And I think I’ve already made it pretty clear how I feel about the array of wine and cheeses available...and don’t forget, wine hiking!

The Decision

One of our most recent posts detailed our decision to pursue a new job and a new opportunity. Due to the nature of international teaching, we were required to make that decision in the early fall. We spoke with our head of school and asked some of our friends and colleagues and those who fit both profiles for advice. As I said in a prior post, this upcoming summer will mark our last days in the beautiful city of Quito.

That decision set off a whirlwind of events including late nights researching new schools and vacancies, checking job search websites multiple times per day, and if we’re being honest here, a borderline unhealthy fixation on figuring out what was going to come next for us. It’s hard not to dive into fully since it is literally a complete change of everything. One way or another we were going to end up in a new country, in a new school, probably in new roles, surrounded by new language, new experiences, and new everything else.

We used a job search engine that many international schools world-wide sign up for. We posted all of our resumes, letters of recommendation, and nice little headshots of us. (Very handsome and beautiful I might add) Schools posted snapshots about their vacancies, benefits packages, philosophies, and the entirety of their information. In a weird way, the whole process is kind of like some sort of online dating process.

We were told early on, that while we had to make our decision early on (Sept. 1), every school is on their own timeline. Some schools don’t ask their teachers to announce their intentions until January, while others like to post vacancies, and make their hiring decisions in September and October. This makes it a little tough, because unlike at the stressful job fair, we were forced into a position of “pursue this vacancy hard” or wait for whatever unknown may or may not come open behind the proverbial “door number two.” To counter this challenge, Shannon and I made the decision to only apply to schools and situations that we would say yes to. That way we would always be prepared to move towards a final choice while also preserving some of our flexibility.

The only downside of this approach is it led us to really think hard about every single positional posting that fit both Shannon and I. If a school in Prague made a post, we thought long and hard about whether to apply or not. Would the school match our philosophical views on education? Would the positions be an adequate challenge for us? Would they be too similar to what we were doing? Would they be too different? What is the weather like in Prague? What is the benefits package? We asked ourselves all of these questions. Inevitably, this process allowed us to weed out some options that weren’t right for us. But it also led us to strong potential connections. Every time we chose to apply somewhere, we envisioned that it would become our lives. We were no longer sending out feelers for jobs. We were applying for a lifestyle we had conjured in our heads. The jobs were a huge part, but it was applying for the complete picture of a life we had cultivated through the question process. We didn’t apply to a specific international school in Prague, we were applying to life in Prague.

Let me just say, the whole idea of preaching patience when your life is in the balance is easier said than done. Logically, both Shannon and I realized that the process was likely going to take a few months. Yet, every time a colleague had an interview or went through the same process, it ramped up my anxiety. If a friend accepted a job, I was torn between true unbridled happiness for them, and a slight twinge of jealousy that their process was over. I had a series competing thoughts in my mind. Logic and emotion battled it out.

We went through the process and interviewed with schools here and there. We applied to some and didn’t receive much interest back. We were approached by others that weren’t good fits for us. We even made it pretty far with one school and we thought we had our solution, but it didn’t work out. After a few months of this, we resolved to book flights to the job fair in Boston if we didn’t have anything with traction within a week. Then, low and behold, traction.

During that week, Shannon and I were approached by three schools offering very different things. One school would have provided Shannon with the opportunity to begin her career in school administration as an Assistant Principal. Another, a chance to do meaningful work building something strong, with the added bonus of life in Europe. And the third, was a better match with our educational philosophies, with a school where Shannon knew people, and with a school that fostered the most growth opportunity for us. It was a crazy week. All the week before Christmas break on top of it!

We began our interview process on Wednesday of that week. Oh that’s a nice added surprise bonus. I forgot to mention. Interview times are weird. You are interviewing with schools around the world so if they are 9 hours ahead of you, interview times are scheduled for afternoon their time and insanely early of you. It’s hard to have your A game before the sun comes up. I had one at 6:00am our time on that first Wednesday. Shannon had hers at 8:00. By Thursday, she had her second interview with the first school. On Friday, we had a joint interview with the second school followed by a second interview with the first school. Then the third school came in for an interview with Shannon. Essentially, from Wednesday through Friday, we had 6 interviews. Shannon had three in one day! On the Friday before Christmas break! It was madness. In fact, I believe due to the late nights spent researching schools, intense concentration during the interviews, lack of sleep for early wake-ups, and some stress, Shannon got a cold. In the middle of an interview. There was a sniffly nose. Maybe even a snot bubble that popped mid-interview. I cannot confirm nor deny that. The point being, we were run through the ringer that week.

On Friday afternoon, we left for the airport to visit our friends and family in the US for Christmas. We were confident that we would have offers from all of the schools, and we were badly in need of some downtime.

Promptly after arriving in NJ, Shannon heard from the third school, looking for an opportunity to interview on Saturday. She had her interview and was fairly confident in an offer for that as well. Sunday morning, we again interviewed with the second school as a couple and received an offer and a 24 hour window to accept it. I interviewed with the first school and then they offered. We were down to our final three schools and under a time crunch. Man, after four months of hot and cold doing research and waiting for things to happen, it was refreshing and overwhelming to have everything happen at once.

Shannon and I had some long conversations, asked our family and friends for advice, and really prioritized what we want out of life in the next two to three years. We ultimately made a decision, so our process is over.

Wait...that's the wrong one. This is the right one.

After a lot of consideration, we decided to go to school two. We will be moving to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It’s a little scary to say and everyone we’ve told has needed a few minutes to process and a few questions answered, but it’s the right choice for us. We will be moving in August and walking into a situation that is going to fulfill us professionally, push us, and afford us the greatest opportunities to grow. We will be going to a school where Shannon already has friends in place in an open and friendly community. It will also give us the best chance to succeed in our personal and family life with regards to our individual and collective goals.

The next few months are going to be spent focusing on squeezing the very most out of our experiences in Quito and South America as a whole. Sprinkled in here and there we will have a whole new process and new hurdles to jump with regards to medical exams, visa paperwork, selling our Quito stuff, and shipping what we can take with us. We’re very comfortable with the decision, amazed at the process, and thankful that it yielded us a truly wonderful experience to move on to our next adventure.

Stay tuned for whatever comes next…

Home(s) for the Holidays

Part 1-New Jersey aka the Frozen Tundra

In the previous post, I addressed the manic lead up to our Christmas vacation. At least the job stuff. Scattered throughout the month of December, we also had a nice work holiday party, lots of Christmas movie watching, and our annual ugly ornament white elephant party. (Derived of course from our friends Bethany and Meg) Anyway, the festivities, the job search, countless holiday events, basketball season, and just general stress made our Christmas break well needed and deserved.
We decided that we wanted to make sure we went to visit both of our families in their respective locations and enjoyed our trip immensely. At the moment, I am typing this from the plane on our way home. The plan is to write this post as a two-parter. I’ll write about our time in NY/NJ/PA and Shannon will write about our time in Florida.

So to begin with the very beginning of our trip, our last week of school before the holiday break went by quickly. We had interviews and events all week. As soon as we got out of school, we rushed home, finished some last minute packing, and hopped in a cab to the airport. We were wasting no time. We wanted to maximize every minute we could with our families.

We flew from Quito to Bogota, Colombia where we had a three hour layover. Then we hopped on a plane at midnight and took a 5 hour flight to NYC. We were greeted in the city that never sleeps with a nice white dusting of snow on the ground, a heavy snowfall on our heads, and a temperature to match. To me, it felt like Christmas. To Shannon…well I don’t think she could feel anything. The Florida girl isn’t used to cold weather.

We hopped into a cab at the airport where the fare reminded us that we weren’t in Quito anymore. We took a short ride to Shannon’s sister’s apt. and the cab fare was about $60 (which would have been closer to $12 in Quito). When we got there, we immediately crashed on her couch. It was 6am after-all.

The next morning, our plan was to take a few trains to NJ to see my family, but our friend Justin, being the angelic Christmas saint he is, refused to let us do that, and instead drove 2 and a half hours each way to come pick us up personally and drive us to NJ. What a guy. (In general, I think Justins have a tremendous track record of being good people, but I digress) Upon arrival at his house, where we would be staying, we immediately wrapped some presents and hit the road for our first Christmas party hosted by our friends Jamie and Jen. It was an amazing time with good food, music, and friends who I hadn’t seen in years. It was a wonderful chance to catch up with everyone. It made me realize how much I miss holiday gatherings. It’s hard to be so far away from such a large group of people who I love so much. But we got a chance to make the most of our time with them.

The next day, we had some skype job interviews in the morning, followed by a big family day planned. Shannon and I went to my mom’s apartment to spend the morning with her and my stepdad. It was a really cool experience for me since I hadn’t been to her new place yet. She didn’t have the chance to join us for our wedding due to some health concerns, so it was really nice for us to go over our wedding album with her and my stepdad. That night, we all went over to my Aunt Natalie’s house and had a big old fashioned family dinner. My Nona was there (grandmother), my sister, niece, her husband, parents, cousins, and aunt were all there. Everyone chipped in a little something including a masterfully cooked turkey by my sister and the collaboration pumpkin cheesecake by Shannon and my mom. It was incredible food, and more importantly, a chance to spend a family Christmas together. There were presents, and playful arguments, and catching up. It was great.
The next day was decision day for our job search so the majority of our day was spent weighing options and making a decision. At night, we met up with our friends and their kids for a brisk (25 degrees or so) evening at Storybook Land, which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. In between chattering teeth and sips of piping hot coffee, I joined a gaggle of children ranging in between age 2-6 in a series of teacups, train trolleys, mazes, and the like. It was absolutely frigid, but a really good time.

Because we are gluttons for punishment, disinterested in rest, and interested in spending every possibly minute with our families as possible, we woke up early the next day to take my sister and niece to the Ben Franklin Institute and Science Museum in Philadelphia. Jessie, my sister, and I grew up going to the museum so it was really cool to take my niece. Oh and on top of that, they had a JURASSIC WORLD exhibit! This was proof that divine intervention is a real thing. We roared at various robotic dinosaurs, ran from a few, and checked out all of the exhibits. Throughout the rest of the afternoon, we did lots of experiments, made jokes, and generally had a good time.

When we were done, we drove back to NJ to meet up with our friends to go BACK to Philly for a Sixers game. This was a really cool experience for me because, well…I’m a big Sixers fan. When I was in college, I used to scrape whatever money I had to go to games all the time, however, it had been years since I was in the NJ/Philly area for winter and for basketball season. A group of 9 of us got together and watched the game. It was pretty much perfect for me. Like a Christmas present. Plus, it was a nice little bow on top of our trip to NJ.

The next morning, we drove to my mom’s house to have a nice goodbye and present exchange over breakfast. After that, we took Nona out to lunch and made our way to the airport to go to Florida. It was an action packed, festivity laden, busy, fun, loud, trip. And it was perfect.

Part 2-Christmas in Orlando

Christmas in Orlando is great for 3 reasons: 1) my family is there, 2) the weather is in the high 70’s, 3) Chik-Fil-A. My dad and Meagan and Franklin scooped us up from the airport with a cooler full of Jeremiah’s Scoop Froggy Frog gelato and we hit the Chik-Fil-A drive thru on the way home for what was to be my first of 5 Chik-Fil-A chicken sandwiches of the vacation. We were off to a great start!

Over the next 2 days as we waited for Christmas to arrive, we did some shopping and what was basically a tour of all the Target stores in the greater Orlando area.

We also got to sleep in almost every day which was a great treat. On Christmas day, we had a leisurely blueberry and banana pancake breakfast and took our time opening presents. Then, the sisters went back to bed and Justin cooked a second breakfast of New Jersey pork roll for the parents.

The day after Christmas we had a very special family reunion and Christmas party. Everybody brought a dish or two or three! And we spent the afternoon eating and chatting. It was nice to be able to see some of my aunts and uncles and cousins who I don’t really get to see that often. My mom compiled a cookbook from all our family recipes - many of them from Nanny herself. I think both Nanny and Pepa were probably smiling down on us that day and loved to see us all together for an afternoon.

I got to read a fantastic book over this break as well, All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. This story was absolutely beautiful, moving, heartbreaking, and inspiring all at once. I can easily say that it is the best piece of literature I’ve read in the last 5 years and I would highly recommend you read it.

Something else special that happened in Orlando is that I officially changed my name and I am now a Muenker!

I tallied up our time in Florida and can sum up our visit as follows:
10 hours of sleep a night
8 Starbucks lattes
5 Chik-Fil-A chicken sandwiches
4 Jeremiah’s gelatos
3 Target stores
2 sleeping sisters
1 lovely novel
And a partridge in a pear treeeeee!

A Weekend Away in the Cloud Forest

For the first time in our time in Ecuador, our school gave us a 3-day weekend for the Thanksgiving holiday. We worked a half-day on Thanksgiving and then had a small “Friendsgiving” with about 10 of our work pals. Then the next morning we drove the two hours down to Mindo with our friends Brian and Delaney for the weekend.

Not a bad weekend

We checked into Sisakuna lodge where we had each reserved a cabin and were pleased to find that at least for the first night, we had the place to ourselves!

Justin and I have only been to Mindo on one other occasion when my family was visiting for Christmas two years ago. Seeing as how it was a Thursday and Thanksgiving is not a real holiday in Ecuador, we seemed to be the only visitors in the small town this evening. It was nice to see the sleepy town as it must be on a normal weekday evening. Brian and Delaney recommended a little restaurant that specializes in quinoa dishes, and that is where we went for a late lunch. I had a quinoa burger and it was delicious!The rest of the afternoon was spent back at the cabins, swinging in hammocks, snoozing and reading.

We also learned how to play Cuarenta, a Quiteño card game popular during Fiestas de Quito, which was happening the following weekend. Brian taught the 3 of us the rules of the game, which is played in pairs to get a total of 40 (cuarenta) points. We drank warm red wine on the open air deck and played until about midnight.

Yeah...that's probably safe...

The next day we had hiking on the menu. Again, we seemed to be the only tourists in town so when we drove up to the Tarabita (which is essentially a jungle teleferico) we were able to get right on and ride over the canopy. There are 2 main hiking trails on this side, one that leads to a large waterfall, La Reina, and the other trail that leads to about 5-6 smaller waterfalls. We started out at about 9:30 on the first trail to the bigger waterfall. We were the only hikers on the trail and I walked in front. This allowed me to see some really cool wildlife. First, something that looked like a large cat with a long tail dashed out from the bushes and ran right across the trail. We never really found out what the animal was. Bobcat maybe? Later, a bird flew out of the leafy cliff to the left of where we were walking and came close enough to almost brush my hair. As the bird seemed to have flown out of the side of the cliff, we took a closer look and discovered a little nest hidden behind the foliage with 3 tiny pink eggs inside! After about an hour we reached the big waterfall and unlaced our hiking boots to wade in the clear, crisp water.

Snack break

Then, we walked back down the trail and went in the other direction to reach the trail of smaller waterfalls. The hike down this trail took about 40 minutes and then we stopped to eat some snacks and rest our feet. I was just about ready to call it a day when our friends suggested we try to reach one more waterfall so we ventured out again. And I am glad we did. When we reached the next waterfall we saw that it was surrounded by a cave and poured into a charming little lagoon about 10 feet deep. Justin said we should all jump in! Delaney and I sat on the rocks while the boys took off their boots and waded into the water. We could tell right away it must have been really cold water based on their whooping and shouting. Not to be outdone, I also unstrapped my boots and started wading into the water. I dared the boys to swim across the lagoon and touch the rock wall on the opposite side where the waterfall was coming from. But before anyone had a chance to accept my dare, I dove into the water and made a swim for it!

Justin came swimming after me and we were the first to touch the wall. Then Delaney jumped in and we all enjoyed several minutes of youthful spontaneous frolicking. But man, was that water cold!

We found ourselves vibrant and refreshed after our dip and happily hiked back up the trail to the tarabita. Then we went back to the quinoa restaurant for more quinoa burgers and milkshakes and another evening of playing cuarenta.

Nice bike ride through the cloud forest

Sunday was our last day in town and we wanted to visit the famous butterfly farm. We rented bicycles in town and pedaled up the 3 kilometer trail to the mariposario. I’ve never been to a butterfly farm before so this was a really cool experience for me. Once we stepped into the garden it was like a scene from a fantasy movie. Hundreds of colorful butterflies fluttered through the air and perched on every flower and sugar feeder. Almost immediately a butterfly with wings that looked like the eyes of an owl perched on Brian’s shoulder and remained there the whole time. We got to see rows and rows of pupa in various stages of unfurling. These were amazing. Some of them were in a milky jade green color that looked like jewelry. Others were completely transparent where you could see the colors of the butterfly wings inside.

Slowly waking up

In the garden they had trays of smashed ripe bananas to feed the butterflies. You could smear a little banana on your finger and hold it out for a butterfly to land on. It was so cool to see their little face straws uncurling to reach down and probe the banana goop. Cool stuff!

Cool stuff indeed...

We pedaled back into town and made one final trip back to the quinoa restaurant and in addition to our usual quinoa burgers we loaded up on quinoa cookies for the road. It was a lovely weekend and it was great to be able to relax with friends and be in nature for a respite.

The Best Field Trip

When I was young and growing up, my family went through a wide variety of tough circumstances and maladies, as any and every family does. I say this not to get into past circumstances, but instead to frame the context of a personal and professional interest of mine. Depending on the context, the degree program or school your in, or your criminal record, it goes by many names. Service learning, community service, court ordered service, and the like. Past family experience, my own mom's career as a social worker, and trips as a child to local soup kitchens and the like instilled a strong desire to help others within me.

 When I was in college, I was typical kid vacillating between mature budding adult and immature poor decision making teenager. I found myself in a class that provided a community service opportunity teaching and tutoring people who lived in a local homeless shelter. It is something I jumped at the chance to join and it was a program that I was involved with throughout all four years of my college experience. It was an experience that I consider to be profoundly formative in my life, and the bonus, ten years later my love of teaching and service that was born in that homeless shelter still lives on today.

My first teaching job was at a public school in Orlando. My first order of business after figuring out how to lesson plan and establish rules in my class was to establish a community service based after school club. Thus, Freedom Films was born. The idea of the club was that on Friday we would meet and watch a movie. The following week, we would pick a community service job related to the movie we watched. For example, watching Iron Man would lead to a discussion focused on heroism within our community and we would write thank you letters to military members stationed in the Middle East. We had a variety of activities and it changed every week. I paid for snacks out of pocket and enjoyed my small group of 3-5 kids and one adult. Then something happened and the group grew to 10 then 20 then 50. By my last year at that school, our club had more than 110 members and we were biting off chunks of larger projects. The club later spawned other branches at local schools around Central Florida.

In my second year at my current school, I was approached by my principal about leading a service learning initiative at our middle school. The idea behind it was we would start at a very base level and hopefully build a program from the ground up. We would require students to complete a very modest number of hours doing service work in the community. I jumped at the chance, made a website, and immediately began reaching out to the local community.

While doing this work I began to research similar programs around the world. I found some truly inspiring programs around the world but a nagging question kept popping into my head as I dove deeper and deeper. Do requirement programs do anything? Does a requirement kill natural initiative and the desire to do this sort of work? My main goals were to help the community and instill within my students a love and desire to participate in sustainable projects that could benefit their own development and programs that inspire them. I read a few articles arguing that requiring service hours had the same impact as overloading kids with homework, it killed the love to help. Others suggested that exposing students to new opportunities they wouldn't have come across anyway can spark interest in service projects.

I was torn on the issue. Creating and fostering a sustainable program designed to help the community was something I was deeply passionate about but I wanted to avoid the creation of a requirement to be checked off or trivialization of such programs. So I did what made the most sense to me, I asked the kids. For one of our writing prompt assignments, I gave students the opportunity to sound off on the topic. Should schools require service learning? The results were yet again split. Many students wrote about the very things I was wrestling with. The idea of requiring service and the benefit of potentially sparking a natural interest remained.

Let's jump ahead a bit. Throughout this introspective period our school and our students continued with the program as is. With the help of my school's CAS Coordinator, we set up a trip to a local orphanage. Specifically, we visited an orphanage that houses students with special needs. Within a day of posting a sign up sheet for the optional trip, I had maxed out my total amount of students I could bring and I had a wait list ten students long. The results were the same with the CAS program. Regardless of whether it was due to requirement or simply student interest, we had our trip filled.

The morning of the trip, all 26 students met on campus at 7:00am (on a Saturday!) and we set off for the trip. Our work was simple. We played with the kids and took them for a walk. With many of the kids living at the orphanage struggling with wheelchairs and needs that made it impossible for them to walk without support, they didn't get out a lot. We had middle and high school students carrying infants, pushing wheelchairs, and walking arm and arm with kids with muscular dystrophy. The afternoon was full of laughter and smiles from all those involved. When we returned, our kids helped the orphanage feed the kids lunch. For many of the orphans with severe needs, our students had the opportunity to help feed them and wipe their mouths. After lunch was served they cleaned the kitchens and continued to play with them until it was time to leave. The maturity, leadership, and willingness to do whatever was required on the part of my students was remarkable. I left the field trip inspired and hoped that it had a similar impact on our students.

For many of those students, they were simply fulfilling their required hours. For others, it was an eye-opening experience. The trip only took place a little over a week ago. Since then, I have had students ask me to set up another trip to the orphanage. Some have already reached out to local affiliate orphanages closer to our school and scheduled trips on their own. I've had kids propose fund raisers designed to help raise money for supplies needed at the shelter. I've had students begin putting toy drives together for Christmas and others do the same for school supplies and books. It all filled my heart and truly inspired me. But as with most things, I realize that sometimes the initial momentum of a recent trip can fade. However I am full of hope that these programs will be sustainable and inspired by the initiative that my students have shown.

However, amid the chaos of 26 students or more getting involved, the thing that made the most impact on me came from one student who came on the trip. The day after the trip, this student's mom came up to me and told me that the trip impacted him deeply. She told me how this student went home after the trip, sat down with his parents, and described what he had seen, what he had done, and how he wanted to continue to help. She told me that her son, herself, and her husband spent the better part of the evening talking about it all while crying. The next Monday, we started our creative writing assignment in my language arts class. The  protagonist of his story was a kid with Down's Syndrome. He wrote from the perspective of one of the kids he had met on the trip. Perhaps this trip was a moment that will resonate with him and his family. Perhaps it becomes formative for him moving forward. But even if it's not, it was reassuring and impactful for me. It helped lend clarity to the service learning debate raging in my own head.

I am not telling this story to simply talk about cool stuff I've had the opportunity to do, or highlight the work of my students. But rather, I am sharing it to frame the context of this my own reflection. I think all professionals should be reflective in their work, whether that be teaching, construction, or providing medical care. There were 25 pre-service teachers who were a part of that first program at the homeless shelter. It was required for many of them and voluntary for others. I have no idea how many later became teachers or social workers, or folks who regularly contributed to the community. Maybe all of them. Maybe only me. But what I do know is that one experience, shaped my perception of the world. Since that first day at the homeless shelter, I have led or participated in programs focused on engaging students to participate in the same opportunities. By my count I have been in organizations with, and worked alongside more than 600 students doing community service projects so far. I deeply hope that if even 1% of those kids find a love doing service work, maybe they grow up to be adults who have their own 500 students and doing projects. More would be better, but if that can be achieved, it seems like the program as it stands is enough.