As my second month in Zamora draws to a close, I am beginning to settle into a routine. During the week, I spend roughly fifty hours in the colegio. Most of the hours are spent in the classroom—working primarily with students between 11-15 years old in the morning and older teenagers and adults at night (most are returning to school after having left or must work or care for children during the day). The highly controversial afternoon sessions are spent planning classes, grading exams, and shooting hoops with other teachers. Recently, daring students have begun venturing back to the school as well in order to challenge the gringos to a game of basketball, which, surprisingly, is the most popular sport in Zamora. Luckily, at 5'5 I am a giant in Ecuador so I have rocked the majority of these games. When we play soccer, on the other hand, the Ecuadorian students most assuredly dominate.
My athletic pursuits have not solely been limited the the basketball court and the soccer field; the inspector (roughly the equivalent of the vice principal) at my school is a former national-calibur track and field athlete and the accountant is a soccer player hoping to return to top form. Thus, after challenging me to races and narrowly defeating me, both have begun training with me twice a week on a mountaintop track. Under the blazing sun and 95+ degree temperatures, we run intervals ranging between 300 meters and 5ks. Not gonna, lie it definitely makes me miss my 5:00am jogs on the other weekdays or my weekend log runs through the rainforest. But, it's also a great time and will hopefully pay off come my next race (most likely a local 10k in Loja ).
Moreover, I have not only been participating in the local sports scene as an athlete but as a coach. In early October, the high schools of Zamora competed in a team triathlon. Each school entered a co-ed relay squad consisting of bikers, runners, and swimmers. The relay teams then raced the 14 kilometer distance between Cumbarantza and Zamora. “12 de febrero,” unfortunately, finished in a disappointing second place but many athletes ran/biked/swam excellent splits and we will be seeking our revenge in our next inter-colegio competition (they are reportedly relatively rare since fights often break out amongst the fans).
Furthermore, I am also co-teaching a swimming class at APNELE (Asociacion de Padres de Niños Especiales Luz y Esperanza) to children with Autism, Down's Syndrome and a variety of other disorders. The students are, without question, wonderful and loving. Yet, many come from incredibly difficult circumstances. One of my favorites is a ten-old-girl. She has a lot of rage; understandable considering that she was abandoned as a young child and lives in an institution for abandoned children. Moreover, she is completely deaf in one ear. With a hearing aid, she could hear reasonably well through the other. Unfortunately, due to a lack of funding, she is without a hearing aid and has thus been rendered completely deaf. Yet, in spite of her anger and tendency to lash out at the limited staff (for 78 enrolled disabled individuals, APNELE has three paid staff members), we've become good friends and experts at charades and some basic sign language.
In spite of many hours spent at work, I have still found much time to relax. In fact, the entire town of Zamora took a break in early October to celebrate Foundation Day. Festivities lasted nearly a week, beginning with the Reina Ceremony. This well-attended beauty contest proved surprisingly interesting; although I had anticipated a ceremony celebrating western ideas of beauty, the reina competition actually considered other norms. Rather than crowning solely a “Reina Hispanola”--think Miss Universe beauty norms—they city also crowned a Saragura queen and Shaur queen, both of which dressed in the traditional attire of their respective indigenous group. I must admit that, in spite of the interesting glimpse into local cultures, the program was beginning to get a bit boring by about 2:30 AM. Luckily, we were all jolted awake by a bit of a brawl between some drunken men and teenagers only a few feet away.
In the days following the Reina ceremony, the town enjoyed various events which culminated in a parade. As a teacher at “12 de febrero” I was, of course, expected to march (although, ironically, it often seems that it isn't mandatory to leave the teacher's room in order to teach classes). In spite of the mix of sunlight and rain, it was relatively enjoyable to meander through town and relax with my fellow teachers afterwards. After returning home to have lunch and swim with my "nephews", I met up with the teachers once again to attend a free outdoor concert that left the entire city dancing salsa and merengue in the streets despite pouring rain. By 4:00, I had finally tired and wandered home and crashed into my bed, ready for a long night's sleep along the thumping music drifiting through my window most certainly complicated this endeavor.
After a week of fiestas, I can only imagine what Novembers' fiestas, beginning next week, will bring. After all, they are supposed to be much, much bigger.
When not in the midst of festivals (which apparently are a monthly occurance), weekends are pretty tranquilo in Zamora. The city is, in fact, a ghost town on Sundays when everyone in town seems to go to church and hide in their homes. This did not stop my fellow PCVs from visiting however. We recently spent a day frolicking in Podocarpus National Park with my host family before treating them to an American-style breakfast the next morning. Although I have lived in the midst of the park for months now, my surroudings never cease to amaze me although the recent spat of wild fires and charred hillsides are quite alarming. Luckily, after a long dry spell, the rains have seemingly returned although I am hoping they subside before festivals commence once again with a giant costume parade early next week (I guess I won't be missing out on Halloween after all).
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