Category: cuenca, ecuador

  • Soccer

    Soccer

    Tomu joined a soccer school. He has practice from 4:30 to 6 pm on Tuesday & Thursdays, and has games on some weekends. The school goes year-round. The coach takes it seriously and practices are well organized (way higher caliber than the Metro Parks soccer Tomu did in Tacoma). He loves it! We can bike…

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  • The Shifting of Language

    The Shifting of Language

    One of the reasons we moved here was so that Tomu and Jade could be immersed in Spanish, in the hopes they would begin speaking in Spanish. While they are still a little shy speaking Spanish with strangers, in the corner store or a restaurant, they speak a ton more Spanish to us, to each…

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  • The Gift of Time

    The Gift of Time

    As a parent, it feels there is never enough time in the day. Well, never enough time (and energy) in the day for me to do things for myself. In the States, I was working a little under 50 hours a week teaching Spanish at a high school. When I got home, I wanted to…

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  • Advanced Spanish

    As a language teacher, we evaluate our students on the ACTFL Scale of Proficiency which goes from Novice to Distinguished. As a high school teacher, my students were generally in the range of Novice-Advanced Low. Proficiency means what tasks the student can perform, or what the student can do in the language. Since we have…

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  • Reunion de los padres de familia

    Reunion de los padres de familia

    Last Thursday we had our first obligatory meeting for the parents of all the kids in Tomu and Jade’s school, which is called Fernando Ordoñez Cordero. The meeting began at 6:30 pm, and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. We were told we were meeting to plan the special event on Saturday October 27th,…

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  • House and School Hunting

    House and School Hunting

    House hunting was stressful. Turns it is hard to have three little kids, whether in the U.S. or Ecuador. And turns out it’s hard to schlepp them around town via bus, taxi, and walking. Jade’s 2 year old legs didn’t last too long before she asked for “uppie”. So we found it hard to make…

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  • The First Few Days

    The First Few Days

    The first day after we arrived in Cuenca my neck and shoulder were really hurting, and I didn’t leave the house. I felt really far away from family and friends and realized the magnitude of what it means to move to Ecuador. The next day was my birthday and I felt better mentally, emotionally, and…

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  • The trip here…

    The trip here…

    was long and crazy, as to be expected when you begin it with a red-eye with 3 kids under 5 years old. We said goodbye to our dear friends Joy, Lucas, Shel, & Mo at Mo’s house after a dinner of takeout Thai food, and left for the airport. Goofballs Shel & Tomu We planned…

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  • Why Cuenca?

    Why Cuenca?

    When we found out I was pregnant last August (surprise!), I knew I couldn’t go back to work at Lincoln High School full-time with 3 kids under 5 years old. Too hard. We were already planning on moving to Latin America; I was looking for work at international schools.  As time went on, and there…

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  • Mural

    Tomu appreciating a sweet Cuenca mural in El Centro.

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