Ecuador!

On August 9, 2013 I boarded a plane and flew to Quito, Ecuador. I was entering a new and radically different phase of my life. 

My flight from Sacramento left at 6 AM and since I was traveling internationally I wanted to make sure I arrived at the airport with time to spare. I'm glad I did because there was some baggage drama that was far too much to handle at 4 in the morning! Fortunately, I got all 4 suitcases to Ecuador. Yep, I brought four suitcases and 2 carry on bags! It was incredibly difficult to narrow my stuff down to just four suitcases that weighed less than 50 pounds. I was told to bring sheets, towels and blankets because the quality in Ecuador is not as good as in the US. I also wanted to make sure I had a decent supply of toiletries and the like since I wasn't sure what the availability of certain products would be once I got to Ecuador. I also had to pack clothes for work and my casual clothes. I thought I did a pretty good job getting everything into just 4 suitcases! 

My travel day got off to a pretty intense start, but the rest of my trip was pretty uneventful. I didn't arrive in Quito until almost midnight. By the time I got my bags and got through customs it was nearly one AM. I was greeted by my hostess, Raquel, at the exit. The school where I would be working arranges host families for all of the new teachers. Raquel helped me load all of my belongings into her car and we left the airport. Quito has a brand new airport that has only been open a few months. It is nearly an hour outside the city! Fortunately we weren't going all the way to Quito so it only took us about 40 minutes to get to Raquel's house. I was utterly exhausted since I'd been up for close to 24 hours. I pretty much collapsed into bed and slept for a solid 9 hours. It was wonderful. 

I woke up to this view still wondering what I had gotten myself into: 

Looking over Raquel's wall to the farm animals that lived next door. 

Raquel's house is only a couple years old. It's very close to the school where I would be working. It is actually in a suburb of Quito called Cumbaya (go ahead and sing the song... you know you want to). It is almost 2000 feet lower in elevation than Quito. It is a much newer, more modern area. But you also get views like the one I had from the bedroom window. New houses next to large plots of land where cows, a couple horses and several chickens roamed. Raquel was a wonderful hostess. She spoke English, but also wanted to help me practice my Spanish. She made me breakfast and then said that she was heading to Quito for the afternoon. Even though I was still pretty exhausted I wanted to go. I was curious to see the city and I didn't want to just sit around all afternoon. So I showered and got ready to head to Quito. 

Raquel also owns an apartment in Quito that she was hoping to rent so this was also going to be my first chance at finding a place to live. There are several ways to get from Cumbaya to Quito, including a tunnel that was built in the last few years due to a huge landslide that destroyed a good portion of one of the main roads. We entered the tunnel in Cumbaya and exited the tunnel in Quito! 

My first view of Quito was a little overwhelming. I knew that I was definitely in a developing country. There were people selling things at intersections. There were indigenous people selling fruit and other goods on almost every corner. There was crazy traffic and no one seemed to obey many of the traffic laws. I knew I would get used to it all, but it was a lot to take in at first. 

Raquel, her friend and I got to her apartment and I took a look at it. It was nice, but not for me. Then Raquel let me know that she had a date. I was going to spend the afternoon with her friend. She was incredibly kind, but her English and my Spanish were pretty limited. We did have a really nice day, though. We walked through Parque Carolina, which is basically like Central Park in Quito. On weekends it is packed with people doing just about everything. There are families having picnics, there are soccer games and basketball games and bikers and walkers and runners. There are people selling things and all kinds of things for kids. 

After we walked through the park we went to Quito Viejo, or Old Quito. Unfortunately, because I didn't know that I was going to be doing any touring around I didn't bring a camera of any kind. Don't worry, I'll be going back there again soon. The old part of Quito is beautiful. There are several churches built in the 1600s and 1700s that are simply amazing! I promise to do another post when I go back there.  We actually had a really nice day, but all the walking, the elevation (Quito is above 9000 feet!), and my exhaustion made for a long day! 

Once we headed back down to Cumbaya late in the afternoon I was ready for a nap. Then I found out that many of Raquel's relatives were coming to her house that evening for a party. Her entire family was incredibly kind and welcoming. There were several younger people, ranging in age from 14-26, that spoke pretty fluent English. That was a bit of a mental break for me. I'm still at the point where I really have to concentrate when speaking and listening to Spanish. It gets pretty overwhelming pretty fast. But they were all really nice. And I got to listen to them all sing karaoke in Spanish. 

I also was able to get myself online and let people know that I had arrived and I was safe! One of my fellow new teachers let me know that she had found a place to live and that her new landlord had several apartments available and he was waiting for my phone call. So on Sunday I called Daniel to talk about apartments. He's from Argentina, but has lived in Quito for over 20 years with his wife (who is from New York). He was willing to drive down to Cumbaya to pick me up, drive me back to the apartments, show me around, and then drive me back home! It was incredibly kind. He picked me up that afternoon and we went to look at the apartments. I immediately fell in love with the building. It was exactly what I was picturing when I thought about where I would live once I got to Ecuador. 

My apartment building. My apartment is on the very top right. You can barely see the door in this photo. 

I looked at three different apartments. One was slightly more expensive due to the views, but I opted for the top floor apartment that didn't have as nice a view, but it was cheaper. I would have to pay just over $400 a month and that includes gas, water, electricity and cable TV! The only thing I would have to pay for was internet. I was sold! 

Oh, and the courtyard has this view: 

Looking down towards Cumbaya from my apartment building.

So every morning when I go outside I get to see this! No complaints. I'm also going to do another post about my apartment and neighborhood, so you'll get to see more soon. 

Daniel also showed me around the neighborhood so I could get an idea of where things were, like grocery stores, restaurants, etc. I was ready to make this place my home. 

I spent another night or two in Cumbaya. I had to sign all the paperwork to rent the apartment and then it was mine. I was home! And in another day or two I had to report to school and then it would all really get started! 

Move and move and move some more

I had accepted a job in Ecuador! Ecuador! What was I thinking? What would my friends say? How was this possibly going to work? I accepted the job in late February. I still had many months of the current school year to finish. I had to stay focused, but it became more and more difficult. I will readily admit I became increasingly disinvested in the school where I'd been working for 10 years. I knew I was leaving! I continued to make sure I did as well as I could teaching my students, but I certainly didn't care about planning for the next school year. I was leaving! 

Once it became official I began telling my friends. Many already knew that I was in the process of looking for an international teaching position, but were excited to hear that I'd actually accepted a job. Most people reacted with enthusiasm. Many had little to no knowledge of Ecuador (myself included). Many seemed to think I was going to be living in a village, riding a donkey as my main form of transportation. Or maybe they just found the image of me in that situation humorous. 

February very suddenly became May and things were happening very fast. I had to figure out which things I was going to keep, which I was going to sell, which I would give away and which things just needed to be trashed. I decided that whatever I ended up keeping was going to go into a storage unit somewhere in Sacramento, California. That's where my brother lives and I wanted someone to be able to check on my things if necessary. 

My brother (and his family) had also generously offered to let me live with them during the month of July. I would be able to save a little extra money by not paying rent for a month! Then again, the generosity of my brother showed when he told me he would drive his truck down to Los Angeles, we could load up a U-Haul trailer and he would drive it back to Sacramento! 

As May rolled on I began going through things at school. I had done some purging over the past few years, but I had a lot more to do. And then I had to start bringing things home. It was challenging to find places to put everything I was bringing home, especially since I was trying to pack there, too. I also had to finish out the school year, which is always a madhouse of paperwork and projects and packing and a million other things. But as June began I had a pretty good handle on things. I spent quite a few long days getting things packed up and I began to say my goodbyes to my school family. As the school year ended I did more than just pack up my room for the summer. I took everything that was mine completely out of the classroom! This was a different form of packing than I had done in years. 

It was time to say goodbye to the school I'd called home for 10 years and the district I'd been working in for 17 years. 

Once school was over I had two weeks before I moved to focus on my house. I thought I did a pretty good job getting things organized and packed and cleaned up and sorted, but it was still a hectic two weeks. I made multiple trips to donate clothes, and shoes and lots of other things. I had two old, boxy TVs that could only be donated and one organization offered to pick them up. They took those TVs, an old dresser, a bookshelf and my loveseat. They refused to take the sofa, but only because it was going to be a horrible challenge to get it out of the apartment. I sold my refrigerator to a friend, and boxed up just about everything else. 

During this time I also was trying to find a home for my two cats,  Buster and Lucille. I'd had them for several years, but there was no practical way to bring them with me to Ecuador. I wanted to keep them together, but it was challenging to find them a home. 

Buster (in front) and Lucille

Fortunately, a brave kind soul offered to take them into her home. All I had to do was get them to the bay area. But I could do that! Jennifer was a lifesaver and I felt a tremendous sense of relief knowing they would be going to a good home! Sadly, the last few days of life in my apartment, the only home they'd known was pretty traumatic. More traumatic than I realized it would be. Once the couches and TVs were gone there was a lot more space. Then Santiago purchased some things from me and they were gone. It was getting to be boxes and boxes and boxes around my house and not much more! This did not make the cats happy. And I was freaking out a little too!

I got to have one last blast with many of my friends. Tony offered his house to host my going away party. Lots of friends came by to wish me well and send me off! I promised them I would be starting a blog to keep them up to date. I told them that yes, I would be living in a house with electricity AND the internet. So I would be able to post updates and photos on Facebook, too. Tony set up his now famous "photo booth" and I have many photos to remember the fun we had!

I'm pretty fortunate to have such a great group of friends all wishing me the best!

And then it was time to leave. I had lived in the same apartment for 7 years. I had lived in the Los Angeles area for more than 20 years.

My apartment was empty. My belongings were sold, donated, trashed or on their way to Sacramento. I packed up what was left in my car. I loaded the miserable cats in, too. And drove away. The part about leaving didn't truly hit me until that moment. I left my apartment, my neighborhood, my street, my city and my home for the last time. It was a tough drive. 

I dropped off my cats at their new home. They were beyond terrified, but I knew that they would be given a great home! 

*side note - they are VERY happy in their new home and Jennifer and her daughters LOVE my cats! I've been getting some great pictures and seeing Lucille sprawled out like she used to do with me lets me know they are very comfortable and happy! Huge sigh of relief! 

Once I got to Sacramento I found a fantastic storage area for a really great price. My brother, being the ever helpful guy he is, helped me unload the trailer into the new storage area. It is a strange feeling to see everything you own stacked into a little boxlike room. 

I spent all of July in Sacramento. I visited some friends I hadn't seen in years (Samantha) and some friends who live in the bay area (Emily and Dan). I even got to see the cats one more time! I also got to spend a lot of time with my niece, Claire. It was fun to just hang out with her. We can still laugh and have a great time together. She's now in 7th grade and growing up so fast! 

I also took a short trip to Montana to visit my dad. That was a fun time. He took me to a great show at the local theater. We went to Glacier National Park one day. That place is just so beautiful! 

Before I knew it, it was August! I was ready to go! It was time to move to Ecuador! 

*side note part two - I know I left a lot out of this post and it seems to kind of rush through some things, but I want to get this blog moved ahead to the part where I actually am in Ecuador because that's kind of the point! 

Where It All Began

How on earth did I end up here? I have very recently uprooted my all too comfortable life, rid myself of the majority of my worldly possessions and moved to a developing country. Is this my version of a mid-life crisis?!

I guess I should go back to where this all began.

For the past few years my life has felt very stagnant. That’s the only word I can use to describe it. I was growing increasingly dissatisfied at the school where I was teaching. Once upon a time it was a really fun place to work. It was exciting, it was challenging and it felt like the whole school was making amazing progress educating kids. That started to change over the last couple years due to many factors. It came to a head when many teachers left the school just over a year ago. At that time I told myself that I would give myself one more year at the school and then I, too, was going to move on. At the time I didn’t know if that would mean moving to another school in the same district, moving to another district in the Los Angeles area, or maybe even leaving California.

I was also somewhat dissatisfied in my personal life. I have friends I love and care for very much. But I felt like I was spending too much time alone and my life felt exactly like the movie “Groundhog Day.” Many of my days felt exactly the same. I got up, I went to work, I came home. I made dinner, cleaned up and sat in front of my computer or the TV. Day after day after day. A part of me wanted to take my life, flip it on its head and really shake things up. I felt like I was just coasting through life and that is NOT how I want to live.

As the 2011-12 school year ended I began to explore my options knowing that the following school year would more than likely be my last year at that school. As I began exploring options I thought, “What about teaching internationally? I mean, if I am going to shake up my life, why not REALLY shake it up?” So along with searching for possible options a little closer to home I also began looking at the idea of international teaching. Almost immediately the search was overwhelming. As with many Internet searches I found many, many recruiting agencies for international teachers. It was difficult to tell which companies were reputable or not. Fortunately, a friend of my sister has done quite a bit of international teaching with her husband. She gave me the names of some companies she had used before. I found a company I liked and began the process. I had to do many things I hadn’t done in years, like create a resume, ask for letters of recommendation and write cover letters. That alone was a hefty challenge! I created a profile with all my uploaded documents and began sending out letters (well, emails) of interest to schools all over the world.

As the 2012-13 school year began I continued exploring the idea. Since I needed letters of recommendation from my current administrator and others in similar positions I had to let a few people know what I was thinking early in the process. I also told some of my closest friends that this was something I was considering. Since it was early in the process it all felt very tentative.

Then in February I attended a job fair with my recruiting agency. It was held over President’s Day weekend in San Francisco. The job fair was a crazy experience! I had about 10 interviews in 2 days! I interviewed with schools from all over the world, including a school in Ecuador. After I got home from that fair that I had an interview with the director of the school. It was my first ever Skype interview; a rather humorous process because I wasn’t sure what to wear or what should be in the background. Eventually I got offered a job! After some serious consideration I accepted a job at Colegio Menor San Francisco de Quito. I was moving to Ecuador!