A very belated happy new year!  The past few months have taught me a lot, and I have also made a big decision about the next five to six years of my life: in February, I committed to attend the University of California, Santa Barbara to pursue a combined MA-PhD in education!  I will focus on language, culture, and human development.  Even though I have never physically visited California before, I have a great (virtual) impression of the school and community and can't wait to surf all the time gain research experience starting this September!  Go Gauchos! :)

Right after Christmas, my mom very kindly made the long journey down to Ecuador to spend three weeks with me.  We started off in Quito and spent a few days touring the old city, meeting cute alpacas at 13,000 feet, and enjoying museums.  We then flew to San Cristóbal, the easternmost of the inhabited Galapagos Islands!  The landscape was absolutely incredible, and we couldn't get enough of sea lions, marine iguanas, sea turtles, and funky birds that were not phased at all by our presence.  Some trip highlights include visiting a tortoise breeding center, snorkeling at some of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen, enjoying New Years festivities including a "viuda" (widow) pageant that was like a big community drag show, plus "monigotes" (effigies burned at midnight) and chaotic clowns.  We also snorkeled with hammerhead and reef-tip sharks--I was a little apprehensive about this at first, but from what we learned it is statistically and anecdotally extremely safe!  It turned out to be a very peaceful and beautiful experience. 

Please enjoy this picture of the noisiest, sassiest sea lion I have ever seen.  Lovingly dubbed "Big Boy" by my mom, he boldly roamed a very popular beach and did not stop barking (?) the entire time we were there.  At one point, my mom and I were minding our own business lounging on a blanket when he and a female sea lion approached us and did not stop.  We dodged out of the way, and the two proceeded to lay and roll dramatically on our blanket for at least 10 minutes.  Eventually a park ranger took the opportunity to snatch back the blanket, which I think will always smell a little sea lion-ish no matter how many times I wash it.  

On one of our last nights, my mom and I were leaning up against a boardwalk fence watching the sea lions.  My mom was recording a video to capture their hilarious noises when she accidentally pushed with her full body weight against a loose latch and the gate went flying open.  She almost dove headfirst into a sleeping sea lion but luckily caught herself at the very last second.  It could have been disastrous, but thankfully no sea lions were smashed and my mom even caught the whole thing on video!

Overall, I feel so fortunate to have visited the Galapagos!  The animals and beaches were absolutely breathtaking, and I loved spending so much time with my mom, who probably took at least 3,000 pictures exclusively of "lobos marinos" (sea lions) in just 9 days.

After flying back to Quito, my mom and I survived a crazy taxi ride down to Riobamba, where I am living.  She got to visit the university I work at and also came along to the Indigenous community school in Columbe Grande.  I assumed she would stick with me and follow my regular teaching schedule, but when the school's director learned she spoke Spanish, he asked her to solo teach the middle schoolers with zero warning!  She gave a great lesson, and then we worked together with the youngest students playing variations of "Duck Duck Goose" and "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" with them in English.  My mom also got to spend time with some of my Riobamban friends, and my supervisor kindly invited us to her home for dinner. 

We ended "Becky's Ecuadorian Adventure" in Baños, a small city that you might call the Pigeon Forge, Tennessee of Ecuador because of its touristic downtown and plethora of outdoor adventure activities.  We enjoyed the burning hot volcanic hot springs, a massive waterfall at the edge of the Amazon, a very budget spa, and a scenic rainy hike.  

After my mom left, I kept busy with classes at the university.  Here, first semester runs from late October/early November through March, and second semester is scheduled from April through August.  I have been fortunate to work alongside great coworkers, and the freedom I have been given since day one in coming up with my own lesson plans and managing my classes has taught and challenged me a lot.  These past few months, I have worked to incorporate more cultural themes into my classes such as the Amish, New York City, the American Revolution (with, of course, songs from Hamilton), the cultural iceberg model (which states that 10% of a culture is superficial while the rest can only be learned through deep research or immersion), and a special screening of the Groundhog Day festivities live from Punxsutawney!  With most of these lessons, I try to present the foreign (U.S.) culture first, followed by lots of time for students to discuss and ask questions before working on projects reflecting on their own culture and opinions.

I have continued to volunteer at the Indigenous Columbe Grande school weekly (when the schedule is not interrupted by an unanticipated (on my part) holiday, which is very often).  I love working with the younger students, especially since they enjoy outside games like "What time is it, Mr. Fox?" and "Sharks and Minnows," all in English for practice of course!  I have also begun to volunteer at a second rural school in the San Martín community.  The teachers and director have been very welcoming and kind, and in the next few weeks I hope to conduct an independent research survey to learn more about bilingual (Kichwa-Spanish) students' linguistic and cultural experiences at school.  The project also aims to learn more about teachers' training and preparation to work in an intercultural educational environment.  I completed a lengthy IRB application through a university in Quito in February, and while the project has been approved, I am still waiting on a few logistics to go through so I can finalize the permissions to conduct my survey. 

While in the communities, I have faced several challenges.  For instance, in my experience, a lack of extra support for special needs students and classroom management cultural differences have been a challenge.  I have been working to channel students' energy into positive, fun English-learning tasks (with, in all transparency, varying results).  Outside the classroom in the community, I was once accidentally locked in a very scary concrete bathroom and at the mercy of seven-year-olds to help me out (which fortunately they did) and was later pursued aggressively by an overeager pitbull walking to the bus stop.  Not too many foreigners pass through this area, so people are usually pretty surprised to see me taking the bus and walking to the school.  Overall, I feel welcome and safe in San Martín.  

In January, my good friend from yoga invited me to her home for a traditional "Temezcal" ceremony.  This is a spiritual sweat lodge event conducted outdoors in a waterproof tent designed to simulate the experience of being in the womb.  It was co-led by my friend and an ayahuasca spiritual master (to be clear, no drugs were taken during this ceremony, except for an optional tobacco snort at the start which I personally abstained from).  The green structure was situated next to an altar and a heart-shaped fire, where the ceremony began as all twelve participants (including myself) sprinkled tobacco leaves over the flames to set our intentions and express gratefulness for the experience.

To enter the tent, we all had to get on our hands and knees and waft burning herb smoke over our bodies to cleanse ourselves.  The ceremony was very spiritually ambiguous in the sense that Andean ancestors, mountains, Jesus, Buddha, and general spirits were mentioned.  After everyone was seated inside, we went around in a circle and said (in Spanish) something to the effect of: "oh great spirit, this is your daughter Mallory speaking to you, and today I ask joy and gratitude of this Temezcal."  My friend made it clear that we could exit the sweat lodge if needed, as it gets really hot, and the leaders began chanting and singing.

We then began to reflect on the human lifestyle in stages: childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age.  For each period, the ayahuasca master brought in a certain number of volcanic rocks from the heart-shaped fire through the tent flap to be placed in the center pit we were all seated around.  Each stone was considered a grandmother or grandfather ancestor and was greeted with a specific chant.  After bringing in the rocks, the tent was sealed, and the leaders began pouring water over the pit to create steam and used songs, spoken meditation guidance, and silence to focus our attention on the life stage in question.  The steam made the air unbearably thick--as my dad would say, it was hotter than Hades.  We went through this process of loading the stones, which were transported by wire rake and then deer antlers, steaming up the tent with intense chanting and reflection, and then opening the flap to air out the space over and over.  About 45 minutes in to the 2.5 hour ceremony, I felt like I was going to faint, so I waited for an opportune moment and quietly crawled over toward the exit.  The memory of the ayahuasca master proclaiming "nobody's leaving this Temezcal!" and enthusiastically blocking the exit will forever be burned in my mind.

I'm sure if I'd felt sicker or if was more insistent I could have left, but wanting to push myself and not feeling too sick, I decided to stick it out.  For the next two hours or so, I curled up in the fetal position by the tent flap, trying to breathe in air from the lower part of the structure as the steam rose upward.  My hair and loose athletic clothing became completely saturated in steam, sweat, and dirt.  I tried my hardest to reflect on the spiritual themes by focusing on my own lifecycle and that of my ancestors, but in all honesty, about 90% of my mental energy was focused on maintaining temperature homeostasis and breathing though the burning sensation of the HOT steam on my exposed skin.  At the end of the ceremony, the idea is to feel as if you are born again and to deepen your connection with the natural world.  The "Pachamama" (Kichwa for Mother Earth) should be respected and thanked as we contemplate our own mortality and connection with both the ancestors and future generations.  I feel grateful to have been included in such a thoughtful and unique spiritual journey, even if this was a pretty extreme physical challenge.

January and February were full of other fun social events, including two surprise birthday parties for me at the university!  I was completely clueless about the parties and am so thankful to work with such lovely coworkers and students.  Additionally, the university's research director invited me along to visit an indigenous community implementing an irrigation infrastructure project and also to an indigenous wedding (actually my second Ecuadorian wedding--I went to another in November)!

My time in Ecuador has been continuously marked by surprises and new experiences, like in January when I was watching a parade with a local friend and a clown pulled me out of the crowd and forced me to dance in front of everyone!  I also visited some festive cities for Carnaval (celebrating the start of Lent) in February; this holiday is huge here and is commonly celebrated by spraying people on the street and at parties with water, foam, colored powders, and sometimes raw eggs! On a stroll after a late dinner in downtown Baños, my friends Riley and Halee (who are teaching in southern Ecuador) and I were getting blasted with foam on every corner, so I decided to buy myself a can in the name of self-defense.  As you can see, this majorly backfired, and I just turned myself into an even bigger target!

February ended with a Fulbright mid-grant training in Quito.  I arrived early to meet up with some friends to attend a Romeo Santos bachata concert (which ended dramatically with hordes of people pushing and shoving aggressively toward the exit at the same time), visit a contemporary art center, and dance (twice!) at a magical salsoteca called Lavoe.  Entering Lavoe was like stepping into an alternate universe that felt glamorous and timeless and also very comfortable and safe.  Everyone changes partners for each song, and I had such a fun time with friends dancing salsa (I am very much an amateur) and enjoying the upbeat music.

The Fulbright Commission staff have been so supportive and kind, and I am grateful that they organized a week full of meaningful and fun sessions.  An Ecuadorian Fulbright alumna who specializes in English foreign language education led discussion sessions for us English Teaching Assistants to improve our teaching skills and navigate workplace cultural differences, and we also enjoyed outings to the historical old city center (coupled with a surprise concert in a main plaza where--yet again--a clown forced us all to dance while wearing traditional masks much to the amusement of local onlookers), a frog conservation center, and dance and cooking classes.  We ended the week with a memorable dinner at a fancy hotel overlooking Ecuador's presidential palace.

I have learned so much and been fortunate to have had so many new and exciting experiences these past few months!  To be honest, I have also felt pretty anxious at times waiting for grad school decisions to come out and navigating life in a new place.  I am grateful to have such a solid support system and in general for this opportunity to be challenged both professionally and personally, and I am looking forward to my remaining few months here and also for my move to Santa Barbara, California this fall!  Thanks for reading and have a great week! :)