Week 8: So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
Sunday
Today was mostly uneventful, except for one thing. I slept in this morning, and then had brunch with Flor and the girls. They've recently come into possession of some Prison Break DVDs, so that was the viewing choice - I watched for a little while before I realized that it's really not the kind of show I enjoy, so I retired to my room.
Once there, I made a nasty discovery. A few mornings ago, one of the more scraggly chickens flapped up and perched on my windowsill for a moment. Apparently she returned during brunch, because there were globs of chicken poop on the windowsill and floor, and a long stripe of it down the wall. Disgusted, I went to Flor for cleaning supplies, and spent the next half-hour scrubbing. I learned that powdered detergent is not the best stuff to use for this - it doesn't stick, it barely foams, and it took the paint off the wall (though a stripe without paint is preferrable to a stripe of chicken poop, probably). To cap it all off, as I was leaning out the window to pour some water over the sill, the same chicken lept up onto the sill right in front of me. I yelped in surprise and jerked back, spilling water all over myself and everything, and gave the chicken a good hard whap, sending it clucking to the ground (don't worry, it wasn't hurt). As I went to return the cleaning stuff, I grumbled to Flor, "Un pollo muy, muy malo." She thought this was very funny.
Monday onward
Since this was my last week of classes, I decided to shift focus away from just copying and repeating, and try to do fun stuff instead. With the older classes, I drew labeled diagrams of the face and body (Me, with an embarrassed smile: "I'm not a good artist" or "It's an ear. It's not pretty, but it's an ear"). After those, I moved on to the five senses, because I wanted to teach the kids a song about that:
With my eyes I see
With my ears I hear
With my fingers I can touch
With my nose I smell
With my mouth I taste
Now thank you very much
This song is from Barney & Friends, I'm ashamed to admit, but I shortened it and modified the lyrics a bit to make them simpler. Regardless, the kids loved it - I got standing ovations every time, and while I'm not sure the kids will actually remember the song, they did well repeating it with me. I'll leave the lyrics in case the next volunteer wants to use it.
With the two youngest grades, I made the rounds with Can I Keep Him?, a Steven Kellogg book about a boy who brings different animals home, only to have his mom explain why each wouldn't make a good pet. This book was one of my favorites when I was a kid, and it was a bit hit here too. The kids especially loved the picture that goes with the mom's explaination of why a tiger is a bad pet (Me, in a Mr. Bill-esque voice: "Oh no, ¡el tigre comio la mama!").
Puerto Lopez is holding the 'Fiesta de las Ballenas' on the 25th, celebrating the humpback whales migrating here to breed, and the school's been preparing for it all this week. The older kids are practicing a dance that looks like monkeys jumping (even in class - I have to ask them not to jump in their chairs). The teachers, meanwhile, are building a big cardboard float shaped like a clamshell, about the size of a big wading pool. I tried to help put the cardboard sections in place, but ran into conflict when the others didn't understand my suggestions, so instead I just took photos of the float at their insistence.
I took lots of photos this week, in fact. The older grades knew that I was leaving, so at every last class, they always wanted me to take their picture, and I did, as well as some video clips because they kept moving around so much. The fifth grade was especially cute - there were three little girls who latched themselves onto me and begged me not to go. I hugged them and said I was sorry, but my family wanted me to come home, but they still held on. I ended up swarmed and having to pry them off. I'm going to miss these kids.
On the home front, to save time and make sure I'll have enough room, I packed everything I knew I wouldn't need this week at the start, and I've been adding things to the suitcase each day as I finish with them. I've decided not to buy another suitcase, so instead I'm trying to unload and leave everything I possibly can. There wasn't even the pretense of room for that white volleyball I bought a while back, so I peeled the tape off and asked Denise if she'd like to keep it - she did. Things like shampoo, sunblock, what bug spray there was left (not much), and other things that take up space and can be easily replaced were all left behind, as were the most worn-out of my socks and such. When all 'twas done, I think there may be room for those presents yet!
On Friday I made my last afternoon expedition to Lopez, to write up notes on what I'd taught so the next volunteer can pick up where I left off. I also stocked up on snacks for the bus ride - I don't want to go hungry like I did on the ride here. The house was locked when I returned and the keys that were left didn't work, so I made my third ninja escapade over the backyard fence. I'm getting good at it.
Friday evening over dinner, Flor and I talked about the last two months, and my general thoughts and feelings. She's still puzzled that I was sick so much, and I tried explaining about being new and not having immunity, but she didn't buy it, saying that none of the other volunteers got sick. She also criticized me for not having gone snorkeling or done other touristy stuff - look, it's not that I don't enjoy that, but I came here to work, and if I'm going to play tourist I'd rather have the free time to do it properly. Denise was nice, though, and I added my name, number, and birthday to the log-book she's kept for past volunteers. I also talked on the phone with Roc to touch base, since he's so busy that I probably won't get a chance to see him in Quito.
After dinner, I spent the rest of the evening finishing packing and tidying up my room. The biggest task was cleaning my hair out of the shower - Flor said I didn't need to, but I feel better not leaving it for her.
On an unrelated note, there was a peculiar incident mid-week. I woke up on Wednesday morning to the sound of a bird cheeping inside the house, and went to investigate. In the kitchen, there was a baby chick - a newly accquired addition to the backyard flock. Before leaving for school, I helped Flor get the chick settled in a fenced-off area, and caught and returned it when it escaped and was chased and attacked by one of the bigger chickens. I really don't like this particular chicken - I think it's a rooster, since it gets up and crows now and then, but it's scraggly and ugly, and it picks on the littler chickens. I had to grab it by the neck to make it let go of the new chick.
When I asked about the new chick a few days later, Denise said they'd searched for it on Thursday, but hadn't found a trace of it. I assume that either it escaped under the fence or a cat got it. ¿Who knows?
Saturday
I got up a bit early this morning, had breakfast and paid Flor, and then went to take down the mosquito net and strip the bed. I had planned to take a bus to Lopez, but Flor said that there was a guy in town who could take me in his truck, and since this would be less of a hassle with my giant suitcase, I agreed eagerly.
While waiting for him to arrive, I went around trying to take photos of those miniature mourning dove-esque birds I've described before. Usually they're everwhere, but this morning I could only find a few, and they didn't like being photographed. Isn't that always the way?
The truck arrived at 8, and I loaded up and waved goodbye to the family as we drove out of town. Marianne had said she's meet me at the interprovincial bus station at 8:30, so I waited out front there, in a chair that one of the employees very nicely brought out for me. 8:30 came and went, so I called Marianne - turns out she thought I was going on the other bus line that goes to Quito, and was at that station a block away. This was soon remedied, and I delivered to her my notes and the bag of school supplies I'd kept for this week. Good wishes were exchanged, and we parted ways as I boarded the bus.
They let me keep my backpack with me this time, and the ride itself was fairly uneventful. It turned out to be a good thing I bought snacks yesterday, because we didn't stop for lunch - the only food source was local vendors who walked down the aisle at each stop, and one thing all the guidebooks agree on is not to eat street food. I spent most of the time listening to my iPod, until its batteries died, and looking out the window or reading. The view wasn't as interesting this time, since I'd seen it on the way down, but it was still fun. Sights included:
- A mother turkey and her chicks
- A flock of ducklings of various sizes
- An extremely cute donkey foal (or whatever baby donkeys are called)
- A truck holding four or five lions (yes, live lions, big ones)
- A guy who boarded the bus carrying a big, realistic crucifix and nothing else
- A vendor who went down the aisle selling sex manuals
- Other stuff that I'll add when I remember it
We reached Quito around 9:30 or so. The last leg of the ride was quite exciting. As I said before, it's lots of little windy mountain roads, and they're exciting enough to drive on during the day. Driving them in the dark of night, able to see nothing but a long fall into blackness, is not a fun experience. Near the end I had to get up to use the bathroom - it was every bit the adventure of the last time, but more so, because the bathroom was pitch-black and the door was broken, so I had to brace it closed with my feet.
Nonetheless, we arrived unscathed at the bus terminal, and from there it was easy to get a taxi to Isabel's place. Her dogs have returned since I was gone, and they're incredibly adorable Pomeranian-wannabes. I managed to get my giant suitcase up the stairs without help, and after getting the bag of presents from Isabel, I spent the hour or so before I went to sleep trying to pack them. Praise the powers that be, they fit!
Sunday
I slept in, enjoying a bed with a real quilt and blankets, and then went to take my first hot shower in two months. It was heavenly, and gave me a chance to steam out the dress I wanted to wear today as well.
Breakfast was eggs, fruit, bread, and real cafe con leche with Isabel and the dogs. If you're familiar with the stereotype of old ladies who spoil and dote on their little dogs, Isabel's exactly like that. The dogs won't eat dog food, so they get fed rice and ground meat and egg, and they get fed when they beg at the table. Since they're so little, though, it's not such a problem - I joked with her that we couldn't do this with my dogs, since they were big enough to actually take the food off the table, and told the story of the time Hercules stole and ate two loaves of bread in four minutes. She remarked that my Spanish has improved a lot - I was glad to hear it.
After breakfast, I went out to find an Internet cafe, and now here I sit typing this. My plane leaves at 9:45 tonight, so if all goes well, I'll be back in Easton by tomorrow afternoon.
I've learned a lot about myself on this trip, and while it's rarely been easy, I'm very glad I did it. At this moment, though, I just want to go home and not have any more big adventures for a while.
For now, to live will be a great adventure.
