One thing to always worry about when living and working in a Third World Country is Health Care. It is not just quality, but so often the crazy rules other countries have are even worse then what we hear about the US system. Consider this situation I just dealt with here in Guayaquil, Ecuador:
My wife is bedridden due to pain from a herniated disk in her back. The Doctor prescribes a pain medication - 20 doses of 5mg each. I go to the one pharmacy in the area that carries that medicine. Can't help me. They have the medicine, but they only sell it in quantities of 30. Can't buy 30 because the prescription is for 20. They can'
t just call or fax the doctor to clarify or correct it, like a US pharmacist normally would do. Can't buy 20 because the minimum is 30. It takes a second roundtrip to the doctor and again to the pharmacy to get the medication.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Resurrection From the Dead
After much thought and urging from the wife, it seems to be time to resurrect the old blog and share our experiences. yes, we are still a couple of over weight, middle-aged teachers in Ecuador. Yes we still have legions of dogs and cats and geckos. No, we didn't feel the earthquake in Chile (long way away), but living as expatriates is still as fun, and challenging, as ever.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Vacation
Midterms are done, grades are out and I have a one week vacation.
Sort of.
Pocahontas, the Shih Tzu, had puppies. Five if them. That is a total of 10 dogs in the house.
Also Elizabeth, the Himalayan, had kittens. Two of them. That means a total of five in the house.
Any one want a cute little puppy or kitten?
As a side note, I also have a bunch of writing assignments to work on. Such fun for my vacation.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Rushing
Stayed up late working on a week of sub plans. Wednesday is going to be simply hell. It is a day that I have a schedule with no prep periods, plus I have duty during 1st recess, so my last day before my trip will be busy. Meanwhile I am desperately trying to get some final grading done so I can give out academic notices as needed before I go. I have to do that so the parents get them early enough to know if their child is having some problems before the end of semester exams hit.
Plus I have to wash some clothes, pack, make sure I have all of my documents and whatever else must be done before I leave tomorrow morning. I need to be at the airport at about 7am so there won't be a lot I can do Thursday morning.
In a rush to be on the road...
Plus I have to wash some clothes, pack, make sure I have all of my documents and whatever else must be done before I leave tomorrow morning. I need to be at the airport at about 7am so there won't be a lot I can do Thursday morning.
In a rush to be on the road...
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Slammed, Study and being a Geographical Bachelor
Wow, things have gone from crazy to totally nuts!
Partly it is teaching at my school, Colegio Americano. We are set dead in the middle of our second quarter. You's think that things would have settled down into a rhythm, but no. Lots of teachers and clubs and everybody else are having school trips right now. In fact today (Tuesday) I will have only two classes all day, since everybody else are off gallivanting around. That really guts your teaching plans, as you see classroom hours melt away. Also, this is a middle of the South American flu season, so there are a lot of kids out sick right now. I suspect more are staying home than would normally due to Swine Flu concerns.
And then of course the history class I was teaching at nights is over (thank God)! It was a great experience but it was tough to get through with everything else on my plate.
Partly is Lisa left to go to the States for a few weeks, so I am at home holding down the fort with five dogs, three cats, two kittens and a bird. Plus, I had to go through another round of bureacratic nonsense to get a replacement Ecuadorian ID card which I had lost earlier at the same time I lost my passport on my previous trip to the States.
Add to that I am in the middle of taking a Critical Thinking class which is required for the teaching certification program I am working in online. It is not a bad class content wise, but it is quite a bit more "thinking" required than most - strange, hmm?
Plus I am trying to get together for my next trip to the States. I am going to Phoenix and Las Vegas for a week. Partly it is to at least see my wife for a few days during her vacation. Partly it is because I need to pass the APEA - which is the test you have to pass to get your Arizona teaching certificate.
Finally, I am pulling all the paperwork together so I can officially apply for conducting my final practicums. I think this part is so much fun. Not only is it paperwork intensive, but I find the fact that I am a working teacher with over 12 years of experience need to take 9 weeks of student teaching and Practicums in order to get my certificate to be ironic. Understandable on some levels, but dripping with irony nonetheless.
I did take a few hours off during the 4th of July. I went over to Colegio Americano where the American Community was having the typical 4th of July picnic stuff - games - food - music, etc. Good times - and all free too. I don't know who paid for it, it was some sort of a joint venture between the local American Consulate, InterAmerican Academy and Colegio Americano, but free beer, hot dogs and burgers is always a good thing
Partly it is teaching at my school, Colegio Americano. We are set dead in the middle of our second quarter. You's think that things would have settled down into a rhythm, but no. Lots of teachers and clubs and everybody else are having school trips right now. In fact today (Tuesday) I will have only two classes all day, since everybody else are off gallivanting around. That really guts your teaching plans, as you see classroom hours melt away. Also, this is a middle of the South American flu season, so there are a lot of kids out sick right now. I suspect more are staying home than would normally due to Swine Flu concerns.
And then of course the history class I was teaching at nights is over (thank God)! It was a great experience but it was tough to get through with everything else on my plate.
Partly is Lisa left to go to the States for a few weeks, so I am at home holding down the fort with five dogs, three cats, two kittens and a bird. Plus, I had to go through another round of bureacratic nonsense to get a replacement Ecuadorian ID card which I had lost earlier at the same time I lost my passport on my previous trip to the States.
Add to that I am in the middle of taking a Critical Thinking class which is required for the teaching certification program I am working in online. It is not a bad class content wise, but it is quite a bit more "thinking" required than most - strange, hmm?
Plus I am trying to get together for my next trip to the States. I am going to Phoenix and Las Vegas for a week. Partly it is to at least see my wife for a few days during her vacation. Partly it is because I need to pass the APEA - which is the test you have to pass to get your Arizona teaching certificate.
Finally, I am pulling all the paperwork together so I can officially apply for conducting my final practicums. I think this part is so much fun. Not only is it paperwork intensive, but I find the fact that I am a working teacher with over 12 years of experience need to take 9 weeks of student teaching and Practicums in order to get my certificate to be ironic. Understandable on some levels, but dripping with irony nonetheless.
I did take a few hours off during the 4th of July. I went over to Colegio Americano where the American Community was having the typical 4th of July picnic stuff - games - food - music, etc. Good times - and all free too. I don't know who paid for it, it was some sort of a joint venture between the local American Consulate, InterAmerican Academy and Colegio Americano, but free beer, hot dogs and burgers is always a good thing
Friday, June 26, 2009
Insane Week - US - Farrah and Michael
Wow, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson both gone. For a Generation-X guy living in Ecuador this has been a truly astonishing week. Much of it actually life changing in their own ways. I'm not just saying that the deaths of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett changed the world. I think it gave notice that the world has changed. What a week.
The week got off to a grand start with the US soccer team's shock win over Egypt, vaulting into the semi-finals of the Confederations Cup. Shocking even more that they trounced soccer giants Spain 2-0 a few days later. This allowed me to walk around with chest puffed out in soccer-mad Ecuador.
Then Farrah Fawcett died. Then Michael Jackson died. Wow.
Farrah of the impossible hair and dazzling smile, the young woman in that awesome one-piece red swimsuit that adorned the bedroom wall of millions of teen aged boys (me included). Michael Jackson of Thriller and the Moonwalk and the iconic single glove. Dead.
Farrah Fawcett succumbing to a painfully long battle with cancer. Oh My God! She was in her 60s!
Michael found dead in his home - autopsy to come. I am half expecting his to come back in a "Resurrection Tour", but then not really.
It is the notice to guys like me that we really are getting old. The icons of our era are starting to fall. How long until we too see our last days?
Pardon me, but I think I will just get through Friday and get very drunk this weekend. I'll start with a toast, "Farrah and Michael, good luck on the otherside."
The week got off to a grand start with the US soccer team's shock win over Egypt, vaulting into the semi-finals of the Confederations Cup. Shocking even more that they trounced soccer giants Spain 2-0 a few days later. This allowed me to walk around with chest puffed out in soccer-mad Ecuador.
Then Farrah Fawcett died. Then Michael Jackson died. Wow.
Farrah of the impossible hair and dazzling smile, the young woman in that awesome one-piece red swimsuit that adorned the bedroom wall of millions of teen aged boys (me included). Michael Jackson of Thriller and the Moonwalk and the iconic single glove. Dead.
Farrah Fawcett succumbing to a painfully long battle with cancer. Oh My God! She was in her 60s!
Michael found dead in his home - autopsy to come. I am half expecting his to come back in a "Resurrection Tour", but then not really.
It is the notice to guys like me that we really are getting old. The icons of our era are starting to fall. How long until we too see our last days?
Pardon me, but I think I will just get through Friday and get very drunk this weekend. I'll start with a toast, "Farrah and Michael, good luck on the otherside."
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Surviving
Life has been so crazy. I can't believe it has been three weeks (almost four!) since I added an entry here.
Well, lets see. We are back in school at Colegio Americano after our swine flu vacation, and running amok trying to get caught up on the classes missed due to the school closing. Right after we got back it was our mid-term tests so I was deluged in tests and last minute papers to grade.
Meanwhile Lisa's school, Interamerican, finished out their year and Lisa is enjoying her vacation - NOT! The first couple weeks of her vacation two of our cats, Beth and Vicky, have dropped litters so we are awash with little rat-like things that someday may become cute. Also the male Shih-tsu has a bad case of kidney stones. The dogs and cats being Lisa's little babies, she is a freaked out lady at this point.
We had a great little dinner tonight. One of Lisa's fellow teachers at InterAmerican, Kevin, is moving on to a post teaching Special ed at the International School of Manila. We had lettuce wraps and mushroom-and-onion soup and talked a while. Good times.
In July we are both going to the States. Lisa will be using her vacation time to buy some clothes and blow off steam. i will meet her for a few days in Phoenix since I have a mandatory test I have to take for my teaching certification.
This is all fun, of course. I still have my full slate of classes at Colegio Americano, plus I am teaching a High-Level IB program so I am doing some tutoring on Saturdays to help some of the students get ready for the IB Exams in Novemeber, I am also teaching a history class at night at Blue Hill College, and finally I am still working on my Internet/Distance Learning program to get my Social Studies teaching certificate. It is nice to have so much free time.
BTW, that was sarcasm in that last statement, for those not sure.
Well, lets see. We are back in school at Colegio Americano after our swine flu vacation, and running amok trying to get caught up on the classes missed due to the school closing. Right after we got back it was our mid-term tests so I was deluged in tests and last minute papers to grade.
Meanwhile Lisa's school, Interamerican, finished out their year and Lisa is enjoying her vacation - NOT! The first couple weeks of her vacation two of our cats, Beth and Vicky, have dropped litters so we are awash with little rat-like things that someday may become cute. Also the male Shih-tsu has a bad case of kidney stones. The dogs and cats being Lisa's little babies, she is a freaked out lady at this point.
We had a great little dinner tonight. One of Lisa's fellow teachers at InterAmerican, Kevin, is moving on to a post teaching Special ed at the International School of Manila. We had lettuce wraps and mushroom-and-onion soup and talked a while. Good times.
In July we are both going to the States. Lisa will be using her vacation time to buy some clothes and blow off steam. i will meet her for a few days in Phoenix since I have a mandatory test I have to take for my teaching certification.
This is all fun, of course. I still have my full slate of classes at Colegio Americano, plus I am teaching a High-Level IB program so I am doing some tutoring on Saturdays to help some of the students get ready for the IB Exams in Novemeber, I am also teaching a history class at night at Blue Hill College, and finally I am still working on my Internet/Distance Learning program to get my Social Studies teaching certificate. It is nice to have so much free time.
BTW, that was sarcasm in that last statement, for those not sure.
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