My Students

The majority of the time my students act like the devil’s personal minions of torture but once in a while they do something that makes me chuckle. A few weeks ago I was lecturing to my freshmen about the Mughal Empire in India. One of the greatest Mughal Empire leaders was Akbar. He was known for his religious tolerance. In fact, he invented his own religion, a combination of Hindu, Islam and Christianity. I gave the students an assignment to create their own personal religions based on some values and ideals that were really important to them. What would your religion be called? What are some of your beliefs and rituals? This is what they came up with…word for word.

“My religion would be called Marlianism because we would worship Bob Marley. Instead of Father we would call him Uncle Bob. Smoking marijuana would be optional.”

“God would be called ‘The Great.’ The followers are called ‘The Greaters.’ The book of this religion would be called ‘The Holy Book of the Great.’ This book would have some rules that must be followed in order to be a good Greater.”

“In my religion there would exist at least two or three holy books. The first I would call ‘The Book of Life,’ the second would be ‘How to Survive with Big Mistakes’ and the third, ‘How to Die in Peace.’

I know you’re thinking: “Where do I get my hands on those holy books, especially, ‘How to Survive with Big Mistakes.’” I asked my student and it turns out that publication is indefinitely delayed due to a hold up in the editing department and apparently there’s a disclaimer on the front page of ‘How to Die in Peace’ that says if you have kids, if you rely on the U.S. dollar or if you are a Republican…too bad, you’re SOL. (he he he...just kidding!)

Below are some pictures of my freshmen at the Renaissance Fair. For my class they had to choose one famous Renaissance person to study and then create an information booth with activities meant to teach others about the impact their person made.

Despite the rotten students, some days this job can be very rewarding.

-Jen




Doesn´t Jay make a handsome Copernicus?

Does Anyone Else Hear Wedding Bells?

Last week we enjoyed a romantic and relaxing weekend in Canoa, a small beach town about 12 hours south of Quito. This small town has only a few main streets which are made of sand...perfect for exploring the town barefoot (except at high noon when you were likely to burn your feet!) Every day we went swimming or body boarding twice because the waves were so perfect. Our favorite activities including watching the ocean while we swung in the hammocks on our porch at the hostel and eating delicious selections of frech seafood. Every night we watched the sunset reflected in the waves. On Wednesday, while we were enjoying the last rays of twilight and the first stars hovering above, Jenny proposed to Jay... and he said yes. It´s official! Jenny gave Jay a silver ring engraved on the inside with "Mi vida, mi amor, para siempre" which means "My life, my love, forever." We are planning on getting married in August 2009 in Oregon. We´re so happy and excited to share this special news with you, our family and friends.







Our official engagement photo:

Hugs and Kisses to all. xoxoxoxoxoox

-JBird and JRo

Woo Hoo No School!

Apparently the rainy season this year has been worse than normal. Landslides abound especially in our neighborhood which rests on a steep hill. Despite a 2 week vacation we just finished, school is cancelled today and tomorrow because of this monstrosity:













This sink hole is 20 meters wide, 50 meters deep and strategically placed on a main road which prevents our students from arriving at school. Darn.

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Otavalo Trip 2

We spent last weekend in a small town called Otavalo where we engaged in activities that ranged from lounging around in the luxurious home of a nice woman that Jenny met on the plane trip home in December (and who let us stay there for free) to watching 3 foot indigenous women drag 500 pound pigs across a busy street to a large animal market. The town was cool, traditional, but small enough to see in a morning. The main draw was this woman´s vacation home, where we just chilled out, cooked, and enjoyed the roof-top balcony view pictured below. The bonus was the early morning animal trading- also pictured below. Many things were seen on this fine day, some welcomed, some a little shocking.

After eating many a cuy, we were curious to see what these greasy, chicken like tasting animals looked like alive. We have seen the charcoaled version stretched over a spit, but never the live version. It turns out that they are just really just chubby hamsters which are handled and sold like apples- grabbed, waven, and thrown into bags by the dozen. Apparently, there is a reason why they uphold the mystery standard in ¨mystery meat.¨

Fiestas in Ecuador

Ecuadorians love their fiestas. Despite harsh economic conditions and an unstable political system, it seems like around here, there is always something to celebrate. In December the city shuts down for the Fiestas de Quito. It is a celebration of independence. Cultural events such as bull fights, plays and concerts abound. The cultural event we couldn´t pass up was the traditional Chiva.Once a year these infamous party buses emerge from their hiding places to spread holiday cheer. The buses are open air vehicles equipped with benches that cruise around the city with no particular destination (unless you run out of booze and then it´s "to the liquor store for a fill up!") The cool people however hang out on the rooftop terrace where they dance the night away to a brass band. The most important chiva crew member is the man who yells "Duck!" when a low hanging cable or bridge is in danger of injuring someone. Despite his warnings, chiva accidents are inevitable. Last year, Jay was concentrating so hard on his slick salsa moves that he didn´t hear the duck warning. He was biffed by a cable but thought no one noticed so he continued dancing. A few minutes later a pal said, "Jay, you have a huge black mark on your forehead." This year Jenny was following Jay from one chiva to another. When Jay started to climb up the back of the bus he biffed Jenny in the nose. She thought no one noticed and continued to party until Jay asked her why she was bleeding. Party wounds are more priceless than battle wounds. Below are some pictures to document our intense cultural investigations.

Another fiesta we celebrated this past weekend was Carnival. Carnival in Ecuador is basically one big water balloon fight. Even your allies are enemies. Parades and dancing are common but if you dare step outside your house be prepared for a full attack of water and spray foam like these poor people. We don´t know them but all´s fair in Carnival war.

- Jay and Jen

Feliz Año Amigos!

Hello Friends!

Happy New Year! We hope that 2008 has gotten off to a great start for our friends and family. We had a wonderful vacation visiting our loved ones and taking a break from the intensity that is living in Latin America. We will continue to update our blog regularly so stay tuned for more stories, pictures and videos.

xoxoxo

Jay and Jen