Rainy Day in Cuenca...Today was pretty tiring. Last night, I could not sleep although the trip was really exhausting. I only had one class in the morning (South American Literature) and it was so so. There is much to be said about a classroom dynamic when working in a foreign language setting. I think the situation lends itself to a lot of waves of doubt and insecurity -- asserting one's opinion can be daunting enough but this can be two or three-fold when it is in a language other than your mother tongue. People just get plain frustrated and I don't blame them. I think it takes a lot of focus and patience to accept that fact that when you are not speaking in your native language, you are indubitably going to make many many errors. On top of that aspect of challenge in the classroom, then you can add everything else that students deal with -- acceptance, intelligence, learning, processing, etc. -- and it just forms into a powder-keg of frustrations. And I think, too, that our situation down here in Ecuador is also special in the fact that we are surrounded by the same five or six people everyday -- adding a little more pressure to find one's own niche.
Class went O.K. but then the Internet was down. I am slightly ashamed on how much I depend on the Internet. This whole blog project is a big part of it. I am not ashamed however, that the Internet lets me talk on Skype or iChat with people I love. I was supposed to talk to Caitlin today but the Internet kept on going in and out (mostly out) and we couldn't talk. It was so frustrating to sit in the computer lab not being able to do anything! The server was down and I was in tears! Ha.
But really, it has been a hard day. I really miss Caitlin again and its wearing on me more. I think the rainy days here (there have only been a few of them) especially bring out homesickness and sadness. On the bright side, it is already half-way through April and the time will only fly by even faster. We have already almost been here for a month (which is hard to believe). It is strange to think now but I know I will miss this place when I leave, however I can feel how happy I am going to be when I step on good old (north) American soil.
