Archive for the Education Category

International Day of Charity

Today is the International Day of Charity, established with the objectives of getting people together from all around the world, to help others through volunteering and acts of kindness.

The 5th of September was chosen as it marks the anniversary of the passing away of Mother Teresa; a woman known for her nurturing character, love of humanity, and hard work to over come the struggles of poverty.

Some may see charity as purely a monetary donation, but charity is much more than just this and comes in many forms. Giving your time is perhaps the greatest form of charity because when you give your time, you are giving a portion of your life that you will never get back. Another aspect of charity is that of raising awareness of local and global issues, such as those highlighted by the Millennium Development Goals, which leads more people and organisations to act charitably.

Here at Lattitude Global Volunteering, charity is about volunteering to help those in need around the world, about raising awareness of global issues and our common humanity, and above all it is about empowering young people through the beneficial experience of charity and volunteering; developing skills, meeting new people, and opening our eyes to the world we live in.

To get you thinking about charity, here are some quotes from some of the most inspirational figures in our history:

“It’s Not How Much We Give, but How Much Love We Put Into Giving” - Mother Teresa

“Charity sometimes gets dismissed, as if it is ineffective, inappropriate or even somehow demeaning to the recipient… Let us recognise charity for what it is at heart: a noble enterprise aimed at bettering the human condition.” - Ban Ki Moon, UN Secretary General

“The Best Way To Find Yourself Is To Lose Yourself In The Service Of Others.” - Mahatma Gandhi

“No One Is Useless In This World Who Lightens The Burden Of Another” - Charles Dickens

“It’s the action, not the fruit of the action, that’s important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power; may not be in your time, that there’ll be any fruit. But that doesn’t mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result” - Mahatma Ghandhi

“Everybody can be great because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love” - Martin Luther King, Jr.

“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” - Winston Churchill

“Not until the creation and maintenance of decent conditions of life for all people are recognized and accepted as a common obligation of all people and all countries - not until then shall we, with a certain degree of justification, be able to speak of humankind as civilized.” - Albert Einstein

“Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go” - Mother Teresa

I Now Call Fiji Home - Abbey Paterson

Lattitude volunteer Abbey Paterson has recently extended her 8 month placement for another 4 months, because of of the attachment and commitment she has developed for her placement; calling it her new home. Read all about her experience below:

I have spent a wonderful 8 months living in Fiji as a Lattitude Global Volunteering volunteer. This year has shown me things I never expected to see and thrown challenges at me which I would have never expected to be able to deal with. Fiji is now somewhere I call my home and I am very excited to inform you that it will be my home for a further 4 months, as I have extended my stay as a volunteer to include the third school term.

I was originally placed in Bureta Village on Ovalau, where I spent 9 weeks volunteering at the Kindergarten and the primary school. I fell in love with the people in Bureta, most of all the children I spent time with. I have many life long memories from my time there and I made some very close friends during the short time I lived in Bureta. Unfortunately my host family were experiencing family issues and it was decided by Lattitude that I, along with my volunteering partner, would be removed from the placement. On return home, I hope to arrange to work with the charity ‘Children of Fiji’ to provide a box of resources for the Kindergarten in Bureta, as it is where I spent the majority of my time while volunteering in Bureta.

Bureta Kindergarten

One of the benefits of volunteering overseas with an organisation such as Lattitude, is that they support you in the unlikely event that your placement doesn’t work out. My country manager Joanne Rymell arranged for us to stay in accommodation close to her home on Ovalau. After two weeks, Joanne had a new placement arranged. My volunteering partner and I would be moving to Lovoni village, situated in the interior crater of Ovalau. Lovoni is a hardcore traditional village, where life is centred on farming, house duties and church activities. There is no running water to this village and we are a one hour carrier ride away from shops in the town of Levuka. I arranged to extend my stay to include third term as I have always felt that a long term placement is important when volunteering abroad. This is very much true for a Fijian village as you really do become a member of your village during your stay. With one term in Lovoni complete and another to go, I will return to my village ready to embrace my final term as a volunteer in Fiji. During the first term in Lovoni I was able to redecorate the library, which I will be taking charge of for the remainder of my time in Lovoni. It was clear that the school needed a library which the children were excited to use and somebody willing to spend the time organising the books. In addition to that I have been teaching classes when teachers are away and found the children respond so well to an English speaking teacher in the class room. In only one term I have seen the conversational English of the students advance a great deal from when I arrived. The children of Lovoni have not had a volunteer in 5 years, so it has been a challenge to get them to use their English, as it is common for a teacher to use their mother tongue of Fijian. I have been able to integrate with the staff well, even starting up a tea and coffee club every day at recess, as teachers didn’t spend much time together previously.

My Accommodation in Lovoni Village

One of my biggest challenges in Lovoni village is the issue of running water. The school has running water at most times, however the village does not. As I am accommodated in the village I bathe and wash my clothes in the river which runs through Lovoni village. I learnt to wash my clothes on a ‘papa’(a plank of wood) to scrub my clothes on, while sitting in the river. This was a challenge, not only because it was completely new to me, but also because the amount of time I had to spend after school washing in the river. I spent the first 3 months of washing my clothes in the river every day after school, often the sun would set and I would still be scrubbing away down at the river. Luckily the teachers offered for us to use their water up at their school accommodation, allowing us to spend less time at the river and more time with our host family. Every day I still bathe at a small pool in the river just outside my village, usually with the company of my school students. Some days this is the last thing you want to do, especially when you are sick. However, most of the time I find myself laughing with some of my students while we all take a bath in the river. I must be one of the few lucky volunteer teachers in the world who bath with their students to join them!

Lovoni Kindergarten

Embracing village life has been the most enjoyable part of my stay so far. I can honestly say I feel part of my community. As a volunteer living in the village my experience is so full of culture. Life is simple, but that has allowed me to view life through new eyes. I have seen how Fijians can enjoy life with all their heart, inspiring me to follow suit.

Fijian Landscape

With each village event my eyes are opened to the wonders of Fijian culture. I was lucky enough to take part in the preparations for a funeral in my host family, where days are spent preparing for the feast after the burial. I joined my host family for all of the preparations for the funeral, where I learnt to appreciate why maintaining our traditions can add so much value to our lives.

My First Host Na Cooking on the Open Fire

Being lucky enough to be placed in Lovoni village, the original village of Ovalau, I have learned a lot about the history of Ovlalau and Fiji before the country came to be a British colony. The story of how Chief Cakabau came to be the king of Fiji, involves Lovoni being the only village in all of Fiji not to be conquered by Chief Cakabau.

My aims for the third term include branching out to teach more classes throughout the school. Also to become Lovoni schools first librarian, so that the children can spend time with me in the library enjoying the books they have while strengthening their reading abilities. As my host mother is the head of the Lovoni Women’s Club, I have involved myself in helping her to arrange for the funding of a new hall with kitchen for the women of Lovoni. Currently the women do not have a hall to teach each other skills such as weaving and sewing, which is an important way for the women to earn money and maintain their traditional skills. Furthermore there is no place for the women’s club to keep their cooking utensils and sewing machine, meaning women must keep them in their own homes where they are not used appropriately nor kept safe. To add to this, it falls upon the women of Lovoni to cook for any event in the village, and as it stands there is no place for them to do this. Therefore it is vital that a kitchen is added to the hall where the women can work together to cook for the village. There is a long term benefit to a hall and kitchen owned by the Women’s club, as it can be rented out for family events and the money gained can be put back into the Women’s club.

At current we are awaiting a quote for the costs of the building. When this is received I will begin enquiring to organisations which may be able to assist in the costs of building a hall for the Women’s Club. I already have produced a list of organisations within Fiji and in the UK which I can write to, but any additional contacts you may be aware of that would be interested in supporting this project, please let me know via email.

What Makes Vanuatu Special - Ruby Allen

Recently returned Lattitude volunteer Ruby Allen from Pentecost, Vanuatu told us exactly what makes Vanuatu such a special place:

A yellow fishing boat bounces merrily through the glimmering turquoise water, nearly tipping myself, my volunteering partner and her copious luggage into that beautiful, shark infested Pacific Ocean stretching along the Coast of Pentecost Island, Vanuatu. The tiny speck of land, only a dot on the map rises impressively out of the waves into a cloud of mist. The exotic jungle on top of it will be my home. The people on the boat with me will be my family.

My name is Ruby Allen I’m 19 years old and live in Bristol. In May of 2013 I made the decision to apply for a placement teaching and working in communities after spending hours and hours on the internet looking at the endless lagoons, amazing culture and simple contrasting lifestyle the South Pacific offers (it also makes pretty happy procrastination for a stressed A-level student). After looking into it a bit more thoroughly I decided to apply with a non-for profit organisation called Lattitude Global Volunteering, they’re one of the only charities offering gap year placements in Vanuatu (as well as plenty of other remote places). I’ve always had an itch to explore untouched and unknown places of the world. Teaching and living within a community (which stretched as far as sharing a room with my younger host sisters) seemed like such a rare, and rewarding chance to do this.

In December I was sent the news that I would be placed in the North of Pentecost, one of the most non-western and traditional parts of the country. This would be my home for the next 5 months and there I would teach, live, laugh, work in the gardens, go on endless jungle treks and cry over bleeding sores and infections. I was based at a small, francophone school (120 students – though more like 80 actually attended) named Abuanga Primary School. I was there to teach English (as a fourth language) as well as Arts and Crafts, Drama and Music. Overall, though incredible difficult and at times testing, the teaching was very rewarding. One moment I’ll never forget – my top student in class 6 Keitsy, wrote me a note as follows ‘I love Miss Ruby, she is the best on the island and in the world and I like her because she is very kind and she is from England’. This might not seem impressive for an 11 year old…. But when they are writing in their fourth language and have only been learning English for a year and have Bislama (the native tongue) to confuse their English, I thought it was simply incredible. I felt and still feel very proud to be a part of those childrens’ education and lives.

As well as exploring and being known by the entire north of the island. We also took our half term break in beautiful Espirito Santo and spent 5 days in Erakor Village on the island of Efate, a 20 minute drive out of Port Vila before heading to our outer island placements. After my placement had finished, my volunteering partner and another volunteer from the UK Joe Wilde took the opportunity to go and hike up an active volcano in the darkness and watch the sunrise on beautiful Mt Yasur in Tanna before heading into our travels in Australia.

We cried every month but laughed every day. I am yet to visit many countries, continents even – but somehow I feel confident in my explanation of Vanuatu as a country ‘unlike any other’. I accustomed very quickly to this hard, simple, joyous lifestyle, almost ‘too’ quickly. I have two homes now; two families and two very different ways of life. This journey – these people, everything about this trip has inspired me. In ways I find hard to put to paper, I was given a new lease of life, immense, simple happiness and utter peace. It goes without saying, this journey was challenging and Vanuatu – well Pentecost - is not for the faint hearted. Yet my arrival back to the UK brings an utterly new appreciation for that bizarre voyage. There’s something about the Pacific, perhaps, the salt in the sea, the breeze in the bush or the copious amounts of taro you’re forced to eat – it’s magic, it sticks and I will certainly never, ever forget it.

Being A Lattitude Volunteer In Fiji: Laurel’s Story

So my placement in Fiji is a teaching placement, at a primary school called Marist Convent in Ovalau. Myself and another Lattitude volunteer Ashlee are here for 2 school terms and the first school term we were teaching.

During our first term, we found the library which had been neglected and needed a lot of organising and tidying so we asked our head teacher if we could change our role to librarians when we began term 2. The first four or five weeks we worked hard to organise, clean and decorate the library and then we had a donation of a few hundred books from an Australian charity called Bula Books, so we added these fantastic aids to the collection of books and organised a timetable for classes to come in and have the opportunity to read and borrow books.

We spoke to teachers about students who need help with their reading and began a 40 minute reading programme twice a day every weekday inviting a few of those students who need extra help from each class for one on one sessions. It’s been fantastic to watch the students grow in confidence when they read and very rewarding.

We decided that the children would benefit more if they could come to the library more than once a week and outside of class time too so we began staying in at recess and lunchtimes and made a timetable for different activities, quiet reading, storytelling sessions, colour and crafts and fun and games. The quiet reading sessions have been really popular, we have almost 50 children lined up outside the library, the response has been fantastic. The children come in and pick books to read and sit with their friends or by themselves and it’s wonderful to see them so interested. They eat their lunch and then come straight to the library to spend as much time as possible reading the new books; it’s really wonderful to see.

I really am having such a wonderful time here, I’ll be sad to say goodbye and go home at the end of next month!

Laurel Dunne

Yoga and the forest in the clouds

Hello again. I believe that I should start where I left off and that was the world of yoga…

Now, being a 19 year old chap who grew up in London, yoga and I have not been acquainted and I thought that Ecuador would be the last place I would delve into it. However, I took my gap year to explore and I plunged into yoga for an exhausting, yes exhausting, session with an Ecuadorian student, university student just to clarify, and a few of my brave companions. After being stretched this way and that and being told to do things which make you go, what!?!?!?, I completed my maiden session of yoga and was hurting in places where I normally didn’t have places. I touched my toes a few too many times for a man off my inflexibleness. So for the days following I was walking a little slower and gingerly, pardon the pun, sitting down, but this did not dampen my spirits, and I was planning my next adventure, to Loja and Vilecabamba.

Loja is a smallish city located in the south and is renowned, in Ecuador, for its Bocadillo, a type of sweet which is made of sugar, obviously, and peanuts, but there are many different varieties that can be found. I found my Bocadillo in a whopper of a Market slap bang in the middle of Loja, where they were selling a large variety of fruit, veg, meats and fish. Post Bocadillo sugar high, I headed up into the cloud forest with my pals, Tom and Richie, and went for a bit of a hike. We walked up to a peak of 3500m, which was no easy feat, and then started our descent down the ridge walk. From the ridge we could see for many a mile and all we could see was forest mile upon mile of forest, breath-taking, quite literally. When we arrived back to our hostel we were, especially yours truly, very knackered and quite happily slumped into our beds for an afternoon snooze. Post kip we set off for some food and found a very cheap place just round the corner and we had a variety of food, I had goat, tom a steak and Richie some chicken and we all had a drink, the sum total for all of us was $6, bargain. We then headed back to our beds and fell asleep watching fast and furious in Spanish, very funny.

We departed the next day for Vilecabamba, it took an hour from the centre of Loja through the countryside and into the small town. We then had a small walk to our hostel which was amazing, run by a French man it had a courtyard and plants everywhere and whilst lying in the hammock outside our room I got a view of the mountains we were riding up the next day. The rest of the day we spent recuperating from the climb by an awesome pool in a hotel just down the road which was a massive tree house structure. So cool.

The day of the riding, we were all looking forward some in anticipation and some in dread. I myself was a little nervous as I am no expert on horseback, but I do have a little experience up my sleeve. We set off from the centre of town and galloped out to the start of the trail, a river which we had to ford and then a steep mud path up the mountain, it rained heavily the day before so the path was slippery. We continued up the path for 3 to 4 hours, so we had very sore bums by lunch time. Lunch was simple but appreciated sandwiches of cheese, lettuce and tuna all in brown bread, which is very common in Ecuador. Post lunch we walked to two waterfalls one was 30ft tall and the other 100ft, with very cold water that only the mad went into, Tom and Richie. After wearing ourselves out on the two and half hour walk we were the told that we were going to fly down the mountain but before departing we munched a very tasty and very juicy pineapple. After, true to his word, we went rather rapidly down and then galloped back to the stables and slowly clambered down off our horses with the great stiffness and pain shooting up our legs and upper thighs. Great day and our last in Vilcebamba as we would be heading back to school in the evening.

Now I feel I must talk about food, yep again, because it is so good and I have been trying my hand at some Ecuadorian cooking and introducing a few English plates to my family and friends. Ecuadorian meal times are rarely without a form of maize be it boiled, Mote, fried to make popcorn, mashed up and made into pancakes then fried in oil or mashed and then steamed in their leaves, humitas. The latter was the dish that I made with the help of Claudia, the uni student, and her grandma who knows the ins and outs of all Ecuadorian cuisine. When making the humitas you start with maize on the cob and strip it, and then you mush into a paste with a hand worked machine followed by a bit of onion, oil and spices to your taste. After it was all thoroughly mixed together we stuffed the leaves of the maize and then layered them in a large pan and then steamed till the leaves turned dark purple. The results were lovely if I may say so myself, and I feel I will make them at a later date, look out England humitas are coming.

Going from the local cuisine here in Ecuador to English cuisine, the sweet sort apple crumble. In England I would eat a crumble with most Sunday lunches so being in Ecuador for the past 4 months has left me with a rather large craving. Eating that crumble after months without one was the great but the best thing was that my mum learned how to make it and has made two more since!!!

I am afraid I must leave you here, it has been a whopper of a blog today but look out for my next with markets, Corpus Christi and getting lost in a jungle!!!!!!

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Deepest Darkest Peru

So, since I last wrote a lot has happened, so I will, hopefully, be putting up two blogs in quick succession, telling my tales and stories.

My first tale starts in deepest darkest Peru…

… Well, as deep and as dark as I was willing to go, at this point(spoiler), Mancora. I needed a trip to the coast as life in school is tough and, well, I needed a break, and wanted one. The journey to Mancora started off at 9pm with a taxi ride to the bus terminal, I was promptly overcharged because I am a gringo. This is a bit annoying, but I guess with white skin and ginger hair I will never get past the stage of, gringo let’s rinse him off his cash. At the terminal I went to find the ticket stand and was directed to my bus. So all was good and I boarded my bus after paying a small travel tax, 0.10cents, so keep some coins handy.
My bus. As it is with all long journeys, you need good transport. My bus was air conditioned, spacious and then a party of 20 guys got on, and it went downhill from there. They came on playing their music really loud, and that was just the start. I feel I should quote my mate, why can´t they shut the !@*? Up I´m sleeping and that was my sentiment as well.
As we went on through Ecuador the bus got hotter and hotter as the air conditioning was none existent. Then a smell wafted through the bus. Weed. The lads at the back of the bus had lit up a joint on the way to Peru. Risky to say the least, but they were not done there, it happened another 3 or 4 times on the journey. So sleep eluded my fellow volunteers and I, except Tom who sleeps like a log, so envious.
The border was upon us at around 1:30am, which is not fun, we were knackered so when it took another 2 and a half hours to get through the border we were all sleeping on our feet. Little tip, do not, I repeat, do not take sleeping pills, my mate did, she provided a few humorous hours for us as she dozed off at the border desk. We were on the road at around 4ish, but this time the windows were open and we could actually sleep for two hours. We got to Mancora at 6ish, and were set upon by two men in hi-vis jackets and were ushered into a tuk-tuk, so cool they have them in South America, they took us to our hostel, Richie and I were clung onto the back ours as they only seat three. Then, and not for the first time, we were ripped off, 20sol for each tuk-tuk, it should have cost 5. I guess this is where knowing before you go can help. Our hostel was great, my room was a shared room with 5 of my fellows and we had an absolute laugh, starting with the first supper.

As we were situated on the beach, we strolled to town along the sands and stopped at the first place we found, also on the beach, and grabbed some food. At the dolphins restaurant we were sat on the top tier of a beach shack around wooden tables, and we all tucked into the local seafood. Prawn Cerviche was the meal of choice for me, and I loved it. The Prawns were soaked in lemon juice then served with a load of red onion and banana chips, so they were very sour but still tasty. Others munched on squid or fish and one of us had a very tasty looking whole fish. After stuffing ourselves with the local comida, we set back off to our beds walking in the sea the stars. Great way to head back to our hostel.

I woke rather early, 7ish; it seems to be an annoying habit that I have got into out here. I feasted on the free breakfast at the hostel, egg, bread and jam, which is a lot better than the other hostels that we have been to. Another feature that was better is the pool. I spent most of the day chillaxing by the pool and lathering on the sun cream as it is bloody hot in the sun, and then had a cheap bowl of spag bog which was great. In the afternoon I set out to use the contact that we had in Mancora, Anna an ex lattitude volunteer who was working at Loki hostel, to have a free night out. So that night we were at the Loki hostel and we partied the night away and finished it by sitting on the beach and chatting under the stars.

Beach breaks are always too short and go exceptionally quickly, so when the last day came around I was a little sad to leave. However, I still had the whole day to enjoy as we had a bus home over night. So I headed to the market grabbed a few oddities and headed back to the pool and waited for the bus.

This is where I shall leave you, so look out for my next blog to learn of my adventures to Loja and dipping into a little Ecuadorian Yoga…

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Cuenca, Teaching and all the stuff in-between!!!!

It’s been a long time coming but my second blog has arrived.

I have started teaching, yes los niños en Cuenca have encountered the best teacher ever, hopefully. From math to Spanish to colouring and of course to English, I am teaching the lot. With my volunteering set up I teach at two completely different schools, but they are both amazing in their own way.

I am going to start with my morning school, instituto de San Jose Calasanz. I work with disabled children ranging from 5 or 6 years old to the odd adult, one who is 64!!!! Due to the type of school I am working in I am not required to teach English, Joel is also here with me, the activities that we help with are based around therapy and achievement. These activities include baking in a fully functional bakery, sploshing some paint on wooden canvases’ made in the carpentry or the more therapeutic sewing or ceramic painting. Yes, I know I am volunteering in one of the best schools in town, however I had a tough choice at the start. Which place do I go to first???

I opted for the bakery, where I would be working with a very friendly pupil named Jonathan, he tried as much as he could to speak English, which shocked me, but it helped a little as my Spanish vocab was not the best. For first few days, I was baking bread in the bakery and then helped the kids paint their wooden canvases’, this got a little messy at points but Pancho, one of the nicest Ecuadorians I have met, provided me with an overall so that my bright orange trousers would stay orange and not a mish mash of colours. Then I was moved to my current location, a classroom of 8 children, working with Clarita first and then Cathy. The ages of my class ranged from 9 to 14 and their ability was also a wide range. When I first started working with the kids I thought, eight children in one class with two teachers, well a teacher plus me, the class surely they don’t need both of us. Have ever been so wrong!!!!!!

Working with the kids offers a variety of challenges, firstly, I am speaking and teaching in Spanish the whole time, secondly, I can teach one child the numbers one to ten and then test another on the numbers to a thousand, and finally, Cathy and myself have to keep them happy and healthy, whether that is playing with them during their recreation, helping them eat their food or clean their teeth. This is the most rewarding experience that I have had, just seeing a little boy or a little girl smiling and laughing because I have helped them down a slide or put them on a swing a given them a push. Getting them happy when they are sad, it makes my day every day.

As you can probably tell I love my morning school, but you need to; as there are some very difficult challenges that you need to tackle.

As I mentioned earlier the kids have varied abilities, this is putting it mildly. If I ask a twelve year old to recite the numbers from one to ten I would get a snarky retort or a look that meant I was born yesterday. Unfortunately, due to the blocks that have been put in their way and the challenges that they have to face every day, they don’t give me a snarky retort or look at me as if you I was speaking another language, well hopefully not the latter as my Spanish isn’t too bad, they struggle to tell me the first five. This really hit me as this not only means they do not know the numbers but they cannot tell me the date, they can’t tell me the time or even tell me how old they are. One can only imagine how difficult their day to day life must be. From my point of view, it is very difficult to see why they don’t know the numbers, or why it takes so long for them to learn then, but it does and I take my time teaching the numbers, the days of the week or the colours. This can be very frustrating at times because you feel that you have taught them the numbers from one to ten and then the next day they have no clue at all. So I go in to school with an open mind, one that is prepared to help them in whatever way they need, I will always be patient with them and, when I can, make them happy.

I feel it is time to talk about the school I am volunteering at in the afternoons, but before I do I have to talk about the amazing food that I am eating in Cuenca.

Food. Food is one of the best unexpected surprises that I have had whilst in Ecuador, well apart from getting my head firmly planted in a cake on my birthday. When I was getting ready to go, one of the worries I had was about the food; will I like the food, will it agree with my stomach, will I eat enough???? My mind was not put to rest when I was in Quito either, as I was not eating very much as there was not much or us to eat. I had fruit for breakie, soup for lunch and rice with the random bit of meat from that day. So by the time I left for Cuenca, my trousers were a lot looser than when I arrived. Then, I got to Cuenca and I haven´t looked back since. I have eaten rice, rice, rice and yes more rice, but that is not a problem for me because as we have some amazing meals. One such meal, the specialty of the family, a rice, cheese, marrow and prawns dish baked in the oven. It comes out with a crisp layer of golden cheese across the top. Lovely. It´s making me feel hungry just writing this!!!!!

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From, food I must move reluctantly on. I work at a high school in the afternoons, this is great fun, the kids are aged from 12 or 13 right up to 20. I teach 5 classes a day, yes I do teach, they are all great fun to teach and at times they do talk a lot, which is annoying because I don’t really know what they say, but Marta, the actual teacher, always whips them into line. The classes are not all the same age, as there are the odd one or two students who are older than the rest of their class mates. As well varying ages there are also varying abilities, as you would expect, there are some students who can speak English pretty well, but there are others who I must use my expanding knowledge of Spanish to get the aim of the lesson across. Not all school life is in the classroom though, at the recreation times the teachers head of to the staff room and tuck into the treats that they provide that day, it could be cheesy bread, sugary bread or the traditional corn filled leaves with Durazno jam. Once I have grabbed myself one of these treats and a mug of hot water, yes I don’t drink tea or coffee the teachers cannot believe it either, and I watch the football matches that accompany most recreation times. These matches are accompanied by the girls screaming their heads off, be it teachers or students, and they are often cheering for it to go on for as long as possible as the headmaster waits till the end of the football till he finishes break, which is great and would never happen in England.

As well as football, there is a teachers day in Cuenca, and it is a few days before Cuenca Day (April 12^th), where all the lessons are cancelled and all the students honour their teachers with cards and a fun game of Piñata, where teachers names were picked out at random from a bag and they then proceeded to be blindfolded and put in the middle of the playground near to the little terracotta pots and told to whack ´em. Why do I know this?? My name was one of the unfortunate thirteen to be picked out of the hat. I was promptly embarrassed in front of the whole school as they put a broken pot out for me and then put a new pot as far away as they could. So all in all I was not great at it, but I did get my sweeties in the end.

What about my time outside of Cuenca? Well, I shall begin with Montanita, often called the Ibiza of the Latin American world. From the beaches to the bars to the clubs, Montanita was amazing, and the weather was perfect for the beach I loved every second that I was I there. The beaches were long and sandy and stretched on for miles and had little beach bars along them at fairly regular intervals. I must say, the cocktails that we got from these little bars were some of the best cocktails I have had. The piña coladas that me and Richie were all too eager to drink were superb, and at only $3 we were even keener to drink them, and they were a decent size as well!!!!!
After enjoying cocktails as the sun set on the pacific, we headed to the bars and clubs in town. This was where the term ‘Ibiza of Latin America’ can be seen. Lots of booze, lots of chicas and plenty of salsa!! By the end we all knew how to dance salsa decently whilst being rather drunk. This did not stop us though and we had a great time.
Due to it being carnival when we went, the town’s population quadrupled and the streets were packed so we kept each other close and our cash closer. Everyone had little spray cans of foam or water balloons, so they coated is in foam and water which made us look like walking talking snow men, but we just went with the flow.
After loving the flow of life in Montanita I am very much looking forward to heading to Mancora, PERU!!!!

Until Next Time!!

Ecuador and Me

My First Blog!!!!!!!

28/2/2014

Ecuador, it has to be said, is an amazing country. The diversity of life, the kindness of its people and the constant flow of life makes it the best place that I have been so far in my short life.

My name is James and I have begun one of the biggest challenges so far in my life. Living in Cuenca, Ecuador for the next 5 months. As this is my first blog (hopefuly not my last) i am just getting to grips with it so, apoligizes if it gets a bit boring or you cannot help yourself but laugh at my naivity as I am starting a new chapter in my life.

I landed in Quito on the 7th of February 2014 (yes my blog might be a little late), and I have had many challenges and experiences since I have arrived in Ecuador, hopefully this blog will be a portal into my time in Ecuador.

I feel that I should start by letting you know a little about myself, I am a 19 year old student who has lived in the great city of London all his life and is looking to expand his horizons, in all senses of the word. In september 2014 I am headed to University, to study Chemistry for the next four years at the University of Southampton. I have studied spanish in the past but, admitidley, it is not up to scratch, but as i have found through my first few weeks in Ecuador, you soon pick it up. I was also helped in the language department by attending a two week spanish course in Quito before I left for Cuenca, this was invaluable as it eased back into the language after a few years break.

As mentioned earlier I spent two weeks in Quito learning spanish but, more importantly, I saw many of the sights that Quito had to offer whilst I Lived there. I am not going to bore you with all the sights that I visited, I shall name just a few of the highlights that Quito has to offer. Firstly, the day after I arrived I went up the Teleferiqo. A cable car that takes you from 3000m to the top of the Pinchincha Volcano at 4000m, the ascent was completed in just under 8minutes and the views from the top are amazing. There are amazing views of Quito, but due to the length of Quito you cannot see the entire city. At the top I had photos with llamas in traditional gear consisting of a poncho and a hat, then walked a little further to get better views of the city, it is a little chilly up the top so you need a jumper handy. If you do struggle with the altitude when you arrive then don´t go on oyur second day, wait a few days before ascending. Another of the attractions to see when you are in Quito is the market in Otavalo. The market is a few hours away by bus but the variety of goods on offer at the market is outstanding. It varies from jumpers and t-shirts made from alpaca wool, to rugs, paintings and small hand crafted figures made of wood, stone and cloth. The market is a lot cheaper than the markets in Quito so bargain hard, I managed to get a jumper, painting and a mask all for $35 so you dont need to spend grand amounts whilst you are there. Finally, and probably the most beautiful place that you will visit whilst in Quito, is the Laguna de Quilatoa or the lake of Quilatoa. Quilatoa is an extinct volcano whose crater has slowly filled with water to form a vast crystal clear lake. When you arrive you are at the top of the crater, so there is a bit of walking involved, as you need to walk down roughly two kilometers to the lake shore. However, going down is the easy bit, its the journey back up thats a little more difficult, but my return journey was easy as there are plenty of donkeys ready and waiting to take you back to the top.

I beleive that I have rambled on plenty for my first entry, I shall be posting most weeks so look out every weekend for a new post.

Play Soccer Army invade Cape Coast

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Third week into placement and things were really getting exciting…the Street Walk was the first of our events we had organised and it was a key method in raising awareness of the re- launch of the Street League programme- one of the main programmes at the centre that target unemployed youths. We had decided on a street walk as it would grab people’s attention and with the aid of leaflets, put across our information immediately.

Around 9am on Saturday after our 2 hour core soccer programme we gathered the kids in a massive rally. This wasn’t a considerably hard task as the kids tend to follow us everywhere! We were amazed at how engaged and energized the kids were about going on the walk. We had been scared initially as the UK volunteers had ever organised an event quite like this and we had a severe lack of drums and whistles- there was no need to worry, the kids made it! From start to finish they bellowed out different chants and songs, accompanied with make shift drums and instruments.

Armed with a 70 child army, 2 banners, whistles and various instruments and led by our very own Abraham , we owned the streets of Cape Coast for over an hour- stopping traffic, chatting to locals and sticking leaflets anywhere that would hold it. The atmosphere was electric and unlike anything we had experienced before. Through fountains of sachet water children could be seen dancing and singing like their lives depended on it! It really hit us how surreal the experience was when one of the centre staff, Coach Ali, was running up and down a busy road hailing at oncoming traffic and throwing leaflets in taxi windows…unreal!

This walk demonstrated how different things are here, it would be hard to get the kids parents to agree to their children participating, never mind local councils letting us take over the roads! The culture here is so relaxed and allowed us to have a great event and really spread the word about the programmes at the centre. One of the best days here easily!

- Thenneh and Johnny UK Volunteers

Meeting our host familys- by Lysette Hacking UK volunteer

We’re on our last day of in country orientation today and all i can think about is my host family. There’s so many questions flying round in my head; who are my host family? will they like me? is there children in the family? I just can wait to meet them and find out. We were on our last lecture before dinner and all i could think about was the host family, its effecting my concentration. After the lecture our project coordinator asked if she could have a word with me and my counterpart Cat, She took us to the Lecturer, Elvis and told us that he would be our host father. I can’t begin in tell you how much this put my mind at ease, to know that our host father was actively involved in the project so he knew the in’s and outs of hosting volunteers.

So the time had come we were on our way to Cape coast, i cant wait now, 2 hours and i would be there!

We arrived at the center, i just couldn’t believe how wrong my preconceptions were, this place is amazing! There’s a solar lit astro-turf, a fully furbished computer suite, a library its unbelievable! Now all thats left to do is actually see our host home and the rest of the family.

Our host father arrived to pick us up from the centre about 7pm, the suspense was killing me I just wanted to get there. On the way we drove through a school, our host father explained that this is the oldest school in Ghana and that it would be the shortest route to work for us. After about 10 minutes drive we turned down a dirt track, we were nearly there! As we arrived at the house I couldn’t believe my eyes it was massive and it was purple my favorite colour, we walked through the door and where greeted by 3 children and our host mother Catherine. The children were very shy and just hid round a corner butthe Catherine ensured we had a warm welcome. Elvis then showed us to our room to get settled. I couldn’t believe my luck with the room we had wardrobes, plug socket and an ensuite with shower it’s better than my room in England!

All that was left to do now was to get acquainted with the family, I was sure I was going tolike it here.

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