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."

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.

More Swine Flu News

News reports locally here say that there are five more cases of Swine Flu, all spreading from our one student. The Ministry of Health has closed four more schools until May 28. I wonder if we will be out longer than we thought?

Swine Flu News Story - Closed School

Here is a translation of a news article in the Guayaquil newspaper "Expreso" announcing the closing of our school, Colegio Americano, due to the Swine Flu Outbreak.

"Cellular text messages calls were used by students of Colegio American to alert their parents of the presence of an outbreak of the virus AH1N1 in the institution. Near 10:00, and while an assembly was ongoing to choose the student leaders, the presence of the authorities of Education and Health of the Coast it interrupted the activities. The representatives of the Government informed the school administrators of the infection, tens of family parents arrived at the facilities to retieve their children. At 11:00 it was unusual to see as much activity at the entrances of the school. The constant traffic of vehicles drew attention of the passers-by, who prior to this had been ignorant of the situation. After the official news was announce, the students were held at the stadium of the institution. There, a brigade of the Ministry of Health explained the situation and gave instructions on what to do in case of presenting/displaying symptoms. The authorities of the school gave an official notice in closing of the establishment for 8 days. Also one of the representatives asked students, “like an act of citizen responsibility”, to stay in house and to avoid contact with third parties or to be in public places for 8 days, time that is for delay in the virus in presenting/displaying symptoms. In case of suspecting the contagion, it was requested for students to contact the Ministry from Health or authorities of the Colegio Americano."

Details on Swine Flu - School Closing

Now that the chaos has settled down, and I’ve had a good night’s sleep, here is a more detailed recollection of the Swine Flu outbreak at my school:

The day started knowing it would be chaos anyway. It was student council elections, which is pretty much an all day affair here at Colegio Americano. The schedule was supposed to be:

Period 1 – Normal Class
Period 2-3 – Assembly at the stadium to “present the candidates”
1st Recess – Normal
Period 4-5 – Normal Class
Lunch Recess – Prepare for chaos
Period 6-7 – Student elections.

Of course, here, student elections are more like a big run up to a massive soccer game here, with even more pageantry, but I digress.

The first thing that happened was there was no power to the secondary school, then there was, then there wasn’t. Since my room has few windows and is poorly ventilated without the electrically powered A/C-Fan unit, we switched from inside to me giving a lecture outside for my marketing class. First period finally over, it was off to the stadium.

Elections in Ecuador are quite different than what we do in the states. In the states, we vote for individual candidate who just happens to be a member of a political party. In Ecuador, you vote for a political party. You vote, and the members of the political party you vote for get office. So for our elections there were two competing slates – “Lista A” with their blue and white colors matching those of the Guayas state flag, and Lista B matching the yellow, red and blue of the Ecuador State flag (kind of like one being in the colors of the American flag while the other is in the colors of the flag of Texas, as an example).

First we start with some boring speeches by school officials about what we were going to do, and listening to stern advisements to all to behave in a “dignified and disciplined manner.” Then the student speeches started and the party began. With the student introductions there were horns blowing and confetti flying, with students singing and dancing to pounding drums in celebration after every speech and announcements of one of “their” candidates.

Great times, and I fully expect to regain my hearing in 2-3 weeks.

Finally, the candidates were sat down in chairs while school administrators asked each candidate a series of questions – two in Spanish and Two in English – with more singing, chanting and pounding drums made at every answer.

Then two final speeches from administrators about how the elections would proceed – and then there was a delay.
In fact, there was a delay that stretched on for quite a while.

With the whole stadium becoming restless, the principal finally came out to announce that members of the state’s health department were on the campus. One student who had just returned from a trip to Miami had just been diagnosed with Swine Flu, which officially was known as virus N1H1, and because of this classes would be suspended for eight days. And all hell broke loose.

The kids were cheering as if Ecuador had just scored the winning goal to win the World Cup Championship. This attitude changed fairly quickly, though, as Health Department officials removed the infected student’s course from the stadium to undergo examinations at the infirmary. Even more so as the minutes dragged on, and information was meted out piecemeal. This was not a vacation. Students would need to stay at home and not go to crowded public areas: no sporting events or extracurricular activities, no malls, restaurants, parties or movie theaters. Realizing what they had been hearing about the Swine Flu outbreak in the news, many students dived into their backpacks to pull out the breathing masks they used in chemistry. Others wrapped cloths over their faces. Some cried in fear. Many times I was asked, “Mr. Evans, are you worried?” and I would patiently explained why I wasn’t that worried, but that the restrictions were extremely necessary to follow to prevent a wider contamination.

Finally we were told that buses were arriving to take the children home, but that no one would be able to leave unless they first had been given an official notification that was being jointly made by the Health Department, Department of Education and the school. All of the students were dismissed to their 5th hour classes to await the notifications.

By this time a number of the students had checked their Blackberries to see that the school closing had already made the news on the local paper El Universo.

Finally the official notifications came. The students were sent off. There was a final meeting of teachers and staff, mostly saying that the same restrictions applying for the students applied to us as well. Classes would restart on May 25.

And home I went.

Swine Flu is Here!

Well, for those not knowing the breaking news, Swine Flu (excuse me, Infuenza virus H1N1) has hit Guayaquil, Ecuador - AT MY SCHOOL!

Yes, a young 13-year-old child who just returned from a trip to Miami on Sunday, and attended school on Monday for only 2-3 hours before going home sick, has been announced as Ecuador's first confirmed case. Our school was one of the first to know, due to the phalanx of department of health workers who descended on our school with no warning about 9:30 this morning. After a great deal of confusion, the student's classmates in Segundo Curso (equivalent of 8th Grade in the US system) were trotted off to the infirmary for a checkup - and a second student was quarantined for "suspicious symptoms" - school is canceled for eight days - until May 25th at least.

As for me, I am sternly cautioned to remain at home, avoid public areas and especially around crowded areas, maintain a high personal hygiene and take lots of Vitamin C. If a start to show any symptoms, I must immediately contact the department of health.

As my good buddy Justin is probably saying - Oh, Joy.

I think I'm feeling a bit feverish.

Busy and tired

Today was hectic but fun. After a rollicking day teaching my normal set of classes at Colegio Americano, I had a short break before teaching my Technical English class with my group of pilots. It was also the first night of teaching American History at Blue Hill College. One surprise is that I have a couple of friendly faces in my college night class. Two students who were seniors last year, including one who was an IB Diploma recipient in my business class, are taking my history class. Good times.

One bit of news that made me really happy: I received an email from Ashford University - the college with the Distance Learning Program I am using to obtain my teaching certificate - to tell me it is time to start doing the final paperwork towards graduation. Yahoo-ee! It has been a long hall, but the light is getting ever bigger at the end of the tunnel.