Frio-bamba

One hour south of Ambato we make our way in a loaded van through the twisting hills to another city in the Andes; Riobamba.Lorena Rivera, a former GSE member from an Ecuadorian teacher team, accompanies us on the southern trek to her city, which she affectionately calls, “frio”bamba.We drove through the main part of town, which looked like a smaller version of Ambato. Numerous small businesses line the streets alongside colorfully and creatively painted homes and street vendors sell fruit, ice cream and packets of nuts and other indistinguishable bags of treats only brave foreigners may want to try.We park outside a church and make our way to the backside of the building.We are here to visit a recently completed Rotary project - an after-school day care facility.The children are patiently waiting for us, and when we arrive they greet us with songs and a dance. They have words of thanks and flowers for the money that Rotary has provided them for this after-school program.

Later that night we meet with the Rotary Club of Riobamba for introductions and dinner. It is Thanksgiving for the US, but for us it is just another day and we feast on langostino (lobster) and fillet mignon. Turkey and pumpkin pie are hard to yearn for with this incredibly tasty meal. Another late night, and our arrivals to our host family’s homes are at 11pm. Our next day consisted of vocational visits to three institutions. The first was a visit to the private school “Despertar” (escuela particular). An Australian woman who sought a more child-centered educational program similar to schools in her homeland established this school 15 years ago. Lorena’s daughter attends this program. It is the only school we have seen with soap, towels, and a private bathroom in each classroom. School tuition fees are about $200 monthly. Gardens, play equipment, and clean rooms grace the inviting atmosphere of this school. Our next stop is a visit to a school for the cognitively and physically challenged students from ages 5 to about 21. The goal is to give students life skills and some students receive vocational training in agriculture, sewing or carpentry. Psychologists and specialists in speech/physical therapy provide services for students alongside teachers and university students who are teachers in training. Over 300 students gathered in the gymnasium for a “Rumba-therapia” session and we joined in on the musical aerobics program. To end our visits for the day, we head to the school for the hearing impaired. This school serves about 80 students ranging from kinder to 18 years old. Four teenage students entertain us with a comical mime about preparing for a date and the trouble that arises when the boyfriend flirts with another girl. The program gives instruction in sign language. An important goal for Ecuadorian sign language is for the creation of national language signs. Many regions have their own signs for words and colloquialisms in their area. Students also learn skills such as welding, pottery, and crafts.

Our night ends with a celebration called a pena in the Hotel Cotopaxi. We are joined by more members of the Ecuadorian GSE San Diego group from 2004 which included Lorena, group leader Rafael (Heather and Rachael's host dad in Guayaquil) and 3 other teachers. They have been getting together twice a year every year since their return from the states. Two musical groups entertained us with regional Ecuadorian music. We were on our feet dancing long into the night. The dancing and party finally closed down at 2am. Tomorrow we head to the country mountain home of District Governor Luis Villacres and his family for the weekend before heading back to our starting point of Guayaquil.