Carnival

So we're getting into carnival time here in Ecuador. This weekend is when there will be the most partying, but all of Feb has been a party for the kids. How do they celebrate you may ask, well it involves chucking water balloons and shooting squirt guns at eachother (and any innocent bystander in the vicinity). This would be fun if it were warm and sunny out, but since most days are cold and gray I don't find this tradition particularly appealing. As if it weren't hard enough to get your clothes dry after washing (and getting caught in the rain) now you have to deal with wet clothes due to water balloons. Oh well, one more week and I won't have to worry about it =)

One year in Ecuador!

Wow, I can't believe I've been here for a year since training doesn't feel like it was that long ago. The other day I was thinking about how I've gotten used to the constant barking of dogs outside my house. There were a few times when I first got here that I would get up and go outside to see if I could shush them, but now I can pretty much roll over and go to sleep with no problem (I don't even need ear plugs!).
Not much new to report since my last post. I'm now teaching english at the high school instead of primary school. There are two german volunteers that have come specifically to teach english and have taken over with the little kids. I wonder if the kids will speak with a german accent now. It's easier teaching the older kids as I can have them do group work which I wasn't able to do with the younger kids.
The internet at the one hostel still isn't working so my posts and emails will be fewer, just fyi.