Hello everyone! If you have been wondering where we have been, the answer is simple: we’ve been trying to soak up every second of our new life here in Quito, Ecuador. We could not be more excited to be starting our lives at our real, in person international school. Now, if you are wondering what we mean by this, let me explain.
At our last position in Myanmar, for all of the COVID and Coup related reasons, we never actually made it to our school in Mandalay. Of course, this meant we were working online, but it also encompasses a whole bunch of other things.
International schools are known for the entire experience they provide for the people working there. When applying to international schools all over the world, we weren’t just thinking about the position and the pay, these schools need to provide an entire package to their teachers (they are moving to another country to work there, after all). So, coming into Ecuador, we couldn’t wait to see what one of these international school packages would provide, and boy, they did not disappoint.
We flew in on August 15th at about 9 pm, on a flight that our school booked for us, and were
immediately greeted by a fellow teacher from the school and a driver who would take us straight to our hotel where we would be living for the next week (our school also paid for the hotel). We fell asleep immediately after the full travel day, already feeling well taken care of and eager to see what the next day would hold.
We were told to meet for breakfast at 7:30, so we stumbled down to eat, and met many of our fellow new teachers. Our new cohort is composed of 8 others and everyone was super excited to have arrived and ready to meet some new friends. After some small talk, the same teacher we met the night before herded us into a conference room where something amazing happened.
When we were in Thailand, we had to figure everything out on our own. We spent days trying to figure out our new cell phone plans, literal weeks working on visa paperwork, and never even attempted to open bank accounts because we just couldn’t be bothered to do more paperwork than we already had to do.
In this conference room, we finished setting up our bank accounts, cell phone numbers, and insurance plans, and signed some paperwork to get us started on our visas. Over the next week, we went to immigration twice and were told where to sit, where to sign papers, and where to take pictures. The school had hired lawyers to figure out everything else for us. It was a DREAM.
The next morning, a bus came to pick us up from the hotel and take us to our school. This was our first time seeing the school in person and we were all nervous and excited to see our new
classrooms and the school as a whole. We were first ushered into a big assembly area and then to the teachers lounge that was decorated with white tablecloths and a buffet breakfast. The room was full of administrators from all over the school, and Nolan and I finally started to connect all the faces we had seen from interviews and other meetings, to the people we were seeing in real life. My coordinator, Male, immediately found me in the crowd, and I knew from the start that she would be an amazing boss and friend.
We grabbed our breakfast, some of the first Ecuadorian food we had so far, and sat down. As breakfast started, we all went around the huge table, introducing ourselves. It was a little overwhelming to meet so many administrators at once, but everyone was very supportive and welcoming. We learned that many of these people had been working at this school for a decade or more, and really felt like this school was a family. Nolan and I looked at each other so happy to have finally found the international school community that we were looking for. As I started to introduce myself, I even got an applause and cheer from Male and my principal Christina. It was amazing to feel so appreciated and welcomed into this new life.
After breakfast, I went on a tour of the school with Male and one other teacher, and I got to see my first ever classroom. At this point, it looked fairly barren and gray, but it was surreal to finally be in a space that I could create for my students, and I quickly started to imagine what the next two years in this room could look like.
The school as a whole was beautiful, too. I was excited to see that most of the school was entirely outside, with covered walkways between classes and big courtyards full of sunshine. The walls were painted with colorful murals and they had every resource I could possibly imagine. My room came stocked with books, whiteboards, and art supplies. Just around the corner there was an entire bookstore and Teacher Resource Center where I could borrow any kinds of books, games, puzzles, supplies, or anything else that you can imagine. It felt amazing to be so supported in my classroom, and it created a picture of what education can look like for teachers and for students, which was especially stark after hearing from friends what teaching often looks like in the United States.
The other major factor of the school tour was how many people I had there who I could rely on. Every time we entered an office, walked by a classroom, or saw a random person walking down the hallway, Male would stop to introduce me to them, and then tell me that they could help me with anything I needed. It really seemed like any person who had ever worked at this school before could help me with ANYTHING. I left the school that day with a huge smile on my face, feeling incredibly optimistic for the year ahead.
The rest of the week was mainly dedicated to apartment hunting. The school had found dozens of potential apartments for us to look at, and Nolan and I were chauffeured around with a real estate agent to at least 10 different places. This was something that I was definitely the most excited for, because I LOVED our apartment in Thailand, and really wanted to find a nice home for us here. Ideally, we wanted a place that wasn’t too expensive with 2 bathrooms, a kitchen with an oven, and in a nice neighborhood, with extra points for a second bedroom. Nolan was most keenly looking for a place that would work well for hosting, as we love to have our friends over as much as
we can. Apparently, these were high askings because we really started to struggle to find the perfect place. On our second day, we felt very fortunate to bring a fellow new teacher, Monica, along with us. Luckily for us, she was a new teacher at our school but she was not new to Quito. She had worked at another school here before, and was just switching to our school. As we looked and turned down a few different places, she started to understand what we wanted. We had a break between places, and over a craft beer at a local brewery, she told us about an apartment that some of her friends had lived in previously, but they recently moved away. From what she told us it sounded amazing: Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, two floors, and a big kitchen with an oven, washer, and dryer.
We headed over and knew almost immediately that this would be the perfect spot. It had everything that we were looking for, and was in a neighborhood where we are surrounded by other teachers from our school. We quickly jumped on the opportunity and spent the rest of the week moving into our new home.
The last thing that happened that week was a fancy dinner with only the highest administration at our school. We were bussed into the old cultural center of Quito, and had an amazing meal with drinks included at a very nice restaurant. It was so much fun to be able to hang out in a social setting with our principals and head of school. By the end of this week, we felt so welcomed into our school community, which was very special since it was exactly what we had been looking for.
We spent the majority of our first weekend moving into our new apartment. After a summer of living out of suitcases between multiple different houses, it felt so good to finally get unpacked and settled into a space of our own.
On the Sunday before our first day of “school” we walked over to the big park that sits across the street from our apartment, and went on a six mile hike with some of the other new teachers. This
hike was absolutely stunning. We found amazing views of Quito, walked through the most beautiful eucalyptus trees, and found many interesting art exhibits around the park. We even spotted our first llamas in Ecuador! Nolan and I felt so lucky that this amazing outdoor space was so close to our new home, and we could visit it anytime we liked! We continued getting to know our new coworkers as we prepared for our first day of work.
When we woke up the next day, Nolan and I both had a surreal feeling of “going to work” for the first time since college. We had to dress nicely, pack a lunch, catch the bus, etc.! Although nervous, we couldn’t wait to get used to being out of the house and walking around a ton during our days as teachers. (The only downfall of this is that our bus arrives at 6:53 every morning, so we are up and at 'em by 5:45 every day).
The first two weeks of school were completely dedicated to prepping for the year ahead, something we were immensely grateful for. We spent most of the first week in back to back meetings, learning everything we needed to know to teach on campus to our students. Any spare time we had was dedicated to getting our classrooms ready for students, and beginning to prep lessons for the first few weeks of school. The days were very peaceful and slow, and I was so happy to have time and people to talk to to learn more about how the year would run. It seems crazy to most, but I have never worked in a classroom as a teacher before. Our entire last job happened online and I did my teaching credential online from Thailand as well. As everyone was prepping for new students in a new classroom, I was just trying to conceptualize what classroom management actually looked like. Luckily, I was surrounded by amazing people who were there to help every step of the way.
On the last weekend before school started, we decided to take on our biggest challenge yet. Ecuador is a perfect place for outdoorsy activities, and we felt ready to dive in head first. Most of the people who we’ve met who have lived here before love camping, hiking, fishing, and kayaking. The mountains are such a beautiful backdrop to the city, but also a fun backyard for exploring any time you’d like. We heard that the first mountain we should attempt to summit is Rucu Pinchincha. The mountain sits right behind Quito, and on a clear day you can see all the way to the top on our bus ride to school. Although we were slightly worried about the elevation, we decided to make our attempt to summit with our new group of teacher friends.
To get there, we took a taxi to the very East of Quito where there is a Teleferico (read: gondola) that takes you up to 13,000 ft. We reached the top and immediately went to the beautiful cafe to buy some necessities. First, we picked up some empanadas to pack into our bags and eat once we reached the summit. Second, we were told by a friend that a tea called coca could help us acclimate to a very high altitude. Coca is actually the plant from which cocaine is made, but without all of the processing that's done to make it cocaine, it is known as just a natural energy boost that helps with high elevation. We decided to do as the locals do, and have our coca tea before starting the assent.
As soon as we started walking up the first part of the mountain, we felt the altitude. We had
become mostly acclimated to Quito at 9,000 ft, but the jump to 13,000 was no joke. I soon realized that even though the hike was only about 3 miles, it was going to take a lot longer than expected. On the steep sections, I was taking the smallest steps I’ve ever taken, walking slower than I’ve ever moved. It was definitely a huge challenge, but Nolan and I felt good that even though our breathing was very heavy, we weren’t feeling nauseous or light-headed at all (the tell-tale signs of altitude sickness). We moved slowly but continued making progress, eating snacks along the way to stay energized. Luckily for me, Ecuadorians also believe that chocolate helps with altitude adjustment, so every 30 minutes or so, Nolan and I were sure to break off a piece of chocolate before continuing. After about two hours, we started to approach the submit where things got a little more interesting.
We had heard that before you reach the top there is a giant hillside of sand that makes walking even more of a challenge. We moved slowly up the sand, where each step only got you 75% of the way you wanted it to. It was a massive challenge where I just had to keep my head down and take the next step.
Then, once the sand was over, the scrambling started. If you’re not a big mountain climber, scrambling is basically rock climbing (but on this mountain it was not to any degree of needing ropes or harnesses). We spent the next 20 minutes trying to pick the right routes to the top. Nolan and I loved this part, it totally brought out our inner child where we loved to climb trees and big rocks. After the scramble, we finally made it to the top at 15,695 ft. Our entire group made it, and we celebrated with chocolate and empanadas at the summit. We had a fairly clear day and could see all the way down to the city. It felt amazing to complete this first goal in our new home of Quito, Ecuador.
Comments