starting this teacher thing

Hey Everyone! (if anyone is even actually reading this)

I started teaching yesterday! Oh goodness, this is sure going to be interesting. Things are not necessarily the most organized here...and we are all brand new teachers. I am teaching this one boy, David, every morning, which should be cute but also takes a lot of patience. There are 5 kids that are in the "special" special ed...so it is intimate, but also each students takes a lot of personal attention. David is sweet though and shy, but I hope he will warm up after a bit.

I also have to plan activities to do with the girls 3 days a week to sell and make money for their family. I love doing arts and crafts with kids and stuff like that...but making stuff that is actually nice to sell will take some work. Anyone have ideas???

Then I had "special ed" again in the afternoon for 2 hours....well, no special ed exists in the afternoon. So, I spent a while walking around with the elementary school director trying to figure out what I should do. She ended up pulling these two boys out of their 4th grade class, Jasson and Sebastian. They both were old for their grade, 12 and 13, so that is why they got pulled out. When I got them for 1.5 hours alone, well actually Sarah another volunteer came for a while too, (neither of us knowing at all what to do) I started to find out more about them. Yesterday was Jasson's first day of school ever! And yes he is 13 years old. He is smart and really knows math, but can't read at all. It's hard pulling him out though too, because today we were talking and he was saying that he hadn't really met any friends yet. Talk about a totally different life...school, a home with more than 1 room/ 1 bed for 7 people, and not working as a child are things that I completely took for granted!

Also I give out towels for an hour a day....everyone in the Center is required to take a shower everyday (but then still put on dirty clothes, so often don't appear that much cleaner). Well I thought this would be a super easy job...yikes. It probably will become an easy job and fun to get to talk to a bunch of people, but these past 2 days it has been super confusing trying to figure out everyone's last name to X them off and making sure they get their towel back, which need to be counted so they don't get stolen. Some of the little ones don't even know their names or don't pronounce it very clearly which made it even more confusing. I'm glad it's been busy though, otherwise it would be boring just sitting there.

I haven't started my adult classes yet, but I will be teaching the highest level..level 3. I guess this is actual grammar and such...really wish I had my high school Spanish material here with me to bust out!

Well, some parts of these past couple weeks have been a difficult adjustment, but I still definitely believe that God has me here in Ecuador for a reason. It is a lot of different cultures for me to adjust to (some unexpected), which has been at times lonely, but I think it will make me stronger over all and I will find 'home' here in Ecuador. Also the amount of hugs I receive in a day can't keep me down too long!

I love and miss you all!
Abrazos (hugs),
Taylor