Carnaval, etc.

Carnaval officially begins on Monday, but it is definitely in the air already.  Everywhere you go there are spray cans of a mousse-like substance, called Espuma, for sale and thousands of various kinds of water guns, mostly large ones, at every market as well.  I understand that children & teens like to use the water guns, the spray, and throw water balloons at every passer-by & some have already started.  We had sort of a party in each of my  classes today as trying to do anything serious was out of the question.  I wasn't prepared for the spray, the powdery substance, or the water in my first class, but I came armed for the 2nd one.  In both classes we played musical chairs and a relay race.  Lots of fun.  Lots of laughter.  My students stayed about an extra 1/2 hour in the second class as one of the students brought her computer &   played music so everyone hung around & danced.
A photo of some of my students from the evening class:

Playing musical chairs.
And yes, we did have wine, but 2 bottles goes a long way when there are 15 students!

I have decided that making a commitment to volunteer at the program for children of the vendors at the big outdoor market is not realistic for me because I want the flexibility to do what I want when I am not teaching or prepping for teaching.  So instead of that, I now am teaching English/helping to improve the English of 2 people.  Both are informal, when-available arrangements.  One is Hugo, the tour guide, who wants to improve his English & the second is Karina, who, with her husband has an Internet cafe close to where I used to live.  She & I became friends as I was there everyday.  I no longer go there, but want to continue our friendship.  I went to the Internet cafe today, where we worked on her English, but laughed until we cried today.  She is always smiling or laughing & it is contagious.    

An update regarding my students is that they decided that they wanted to give presentations to give them more practice in speaking English.  As I have previously said, I shouldn't be surprised, but have been by the topics that they have chosen and the breadth and depth of their reporting.  Some of the topics so far have been:  teen pregnancy/single motherhood, homosexuality, the impact on Cuenca by foreigners who make Cuenca their home,  the death penalty, the Yasuní Rainforest Project, and others.  Sometimes I wonder who is learning more, my students or me.