What are we doing?

Greetings from Maynard, MA      December, 2012

We three have a somewhat different year than usual ahead of us.  If all goes according to plan, we will board a plane for Quito, Ecuador at the end of January, 2013, and return to Massachusetts sometime around the middle of June.  No, we have not decided to retire. Nor have we won the lottery (though we do feel very fortunate). This is all about exercising a spirit of adventure, and a long-held desire to do something more substantially out of the ordinary.  The time is now right for us to actually do rather than hope.

A market near Quito where UBECI operate.  Families allow their kids to join UBECI classes for a few hours instead of working at the stalls, or just hanging out.

The plan at present is to spend most of the time volunteering for three different organizations, and to combine this with some travel and exploration.  Our first three weeks will be spent working for UBECI (United to Benefit Ecuadorian Children,International).  They are committed to providing education for children of families that work in the markets in and around Quito - children who would otherwise not attend school.  We visited UBECI on a reconnaissance mission back in July and have already spent some time volunteering in two of the markets.

Realizing that we are not inclined to spend too long in the city of Quito(which, for the curious, is about 15 miles long and just three miles wide), we will spend the remainder of our time based in Otavalo, a smaller city about 60 miles north of Quito.  We will work with two small schools there, doing what we can to lend extra help teaching English, art, phys ed, technology -really anything that we can offer. 

One of many reasons why we chose Ecuador to visit is that , as some of you may know, there is an immense variety of physical terrain, culture and economic circumstances in a relatively small area (about the size of the Britain and Ireland, or New England).  At an altitude of a little over 9,000 feet, the temperature remains consistently between 55-75 F (10-20 C), so we will hopefully evade temperature extremes, unless one of the many volcanoes decides to throw a party.

This trip is partly made possible because Mike was granted to 1/2 year sabbatical from school.  This requires that we establish some meaningful connections between the schools in Ecuador and Maynard.  Online access at both ends certainly provides opportunities for adventurous communication between the schools. 

Emma is officially 'home-schooling', but will volunteer as well, teaching art, dance and gymnastics for starters. She may not learn the exact same curriculum as the school here in Maynard, but it is easy to see her learning all kinds of other culture. 

We are wondering if this is the first time a teacher-resident in Maynard has requested to home-school his own child. We hope she will choose to publish some of her own experiences of the adventure.

Cotopaxi,     nr. Quito  - 19,347 ft -

As for our travel hopes,we will see what happens.  Certainly there is a wealth of opportunities,from the mountains, to the rain forests and the islands - we are spoiled for choice.  Once we set off, we will probably keep a blog on the go for those of you who would like to follow along.  We certainly look forwards to having something worthwhile to share. 

In the meantime, our best wishes to you for the holidays and the new year.