one point five more weeks of school

Only 8 more days left of school! Woohoo! We end July 15^th, though teachers stay until the 17^th. After that I have a week off until summer camp starts on the 27^th. I am trying to decide what to do/where to go.

I think I am going to go to Saraguro for a few days (about 4 hours outside of Cuenca in the Sierras, and lower elevation which means it's a lot warmer than it is here!). I went there two years ago and it was easily my favorite pueblo. It's completely indigenous and its number one export is handicrafts such as beaded necklaces, rugs, and hammocks. The reason I want to go is to get out of the city for awhile and slow down the pace of life for a bit. Don't get me wrong, the pace of life here is a lot slower than in the US!! But the hikes and views are spectacular, so I can't wait!

I hope everyone had a fun 4^th! I was definitely homesick for the first time since arriving in Ecuador, but I did see some fireworks and drank some brewskis…so pretty much the same right!? I even celebrated national hangover day on Sunday the 5^th, so…

I am meeting more and more people. I mainly hang out with friends from work and my housemates, but I have lately been hanging out with one of my coworkers and her family (Maria). She is from Cuenca but moved to Eden Prairie when she was 19. Now she's back and most of her family lives here. (WEIRD? yes. What is even MORE weird is that one of her cousins is visiting for the summer and she teaches at my old Elementary School--Prairie View!) She has a ton of cousins around my age which is a lot of fun. On Saturday, I taught them the shoulder drinking game, and I ended up losing BIG time, ie-my Sunday the 5th. They're pretty well off. Actually, funny story…Friday was pay day and we were told to meet at this building downtown at 3pm to pick up our checks. We get there and they aren't signed (this is getting to be less and less of a surprise), and we end up waiting until 5 o'clock for this guy to show up. By that time, all of the banks were closed and we were pretty bummed out. Maria to the rescue! She called up her uncle and we signed over our checks to him and he cashed them for us! Gotta love the rich uncles of the world.

So my plan for this week is to get my foot in the door with CEDEI's OTHER school closer to my house and work there part-time starting ASAP. I already talked to my boss at my current school and told her I wanted to work with the Kindergarten and Preschooler's next year (mainly because it's less hours, but of course I didn't say that) and she said fine but I am also the Educación Corporal teacher now for next year for all grades (gym teacher) which is fine with me. We don't really have any resources (ie-balls, jump ropes, etc) so I could use any and all suggestions you have!

Anyway, that's all I have to say for now! I can't believe I've been here for a month already. Make sure to look at my Picasa site because I keep uploading new pictures! Chau chau bacalao's!!