Papallacta

Big News! School doesn’t start until next Monday, September 6th. Being a private school, Colegio Menor has to abide by a set of rules put in place by a Ministry of Education (reminds me of the Ministry of Magic in Harry Potter!). Colegio Menor, along with two other private liberal arts schools, petitioned to start a week earlier because they have international programs. Well, the administration at the ministry has changed since this deal was made, and now the agreement is being interpreted differently. SO, we start on the 6th. This week all of the teachers have half days, so I’m hoping to get some traveling in. We shall see!

On Friday the school put together a trip to Papallacta for all teachers who wanted to go. Papallacta is a small area in the mountains where volcanic hot springs draw both tourists and quiteños (people from Quito).



It sits about a two hour bus ride outside of Quito and is a relaxing, spa-like experience. The grounds include several pools of natural water that vary in temperature, along with a river that mimics Lake-Superior-in-April-cold water. The game-plan most people have is to continuously switch between hot water and paralyzing cold water. “It’s good for your nerves.” Oh, okay. Suuure.



It was really nice to sit in the warmer pools and take in the Andean mountains surrounding the complex. We arrived around 5:30 and stayed until 7:30. About 6:30 it started to mist/rain, which was a fantastic addition to the experience. The rain cooled off your face and top half of your body and you could easily warm yourself by going deeper into the water. It was very peaceful, but fun to chat and get to know some of the other teachers better. We stopped for pizza on the way back into the city, and I called it a night after getting home around 11.

There are four other girls that I’ve been spending a lot of my time with. Claire, Angie, Athena, and Susan are all from the states, and they all did their student teaching at CM too. They’ve been really helpful in my transition to life here in Quito. We all went out last night to Plaza Foch in Mariscal. We had dinner at Vino y Tapas – a restaurant where it’s all you can eat tapas, and all you can drink wine for $20. My girls in the states – yes, you are thinking correctly: heaven. We had some great and some not-so-great tapas (we think one dish included tongue and intestinal ingredients), and bottomless glasses of Merlot and Cabernet. After dinner we went dancing at The Bungalow until they turned the lights on. A very fun evening, but this morning wasn’t quite as pleasant. Claire, Angie, Susan, and I sat around their apartment all day, watched movies, and ordered Chinese food that was delivered. Unfortunately it was a wasted day, but we had a lot of fun laughing about the night before and just spending time together.


This is (L to R) Susan, from Boston; Claire, from Atlanta; Angie, from Atlanta, and myself at Bungalow.

This week I’ll be starting to put together my unit that will start mid-October. Angela, my cooperating teacher, has been helpful with guiding my planning. Now I’m just anxious to meet the students! One more week to wait…