First day of class

I started classes Thursday, and I loved them! My first class is at 11:30, History of the Enlightenment in Ecuador, with Sabrina Guerra. She's a beautiful, young, intelligent, ball of energy, and I think she really loves what she does. Her philosophy for Ecuadorian history is that we're doing ourselves a disservice by studying only the colonization and forward. She uses a quote from Harold Macmillan to describe her methodology: "Deberíamos usar el pasado como trampolín y no como sofa" or "We should use the past like a trampoline and not a sofa." Cool. She expects us to read a lot and come to class with all kinds of opinions and questions, and she says she refuses to teach a class like it's her personal monologue. It should be kind of an interesting class dynamic, because there aren't any students with a focus in history, most are first-years, and there are about 7 foreign students. She said she's not used to teaching first-year students, and she hopes that they'll step up and participate.

The second class, Social Problems in Ecuador, starts at 2:30. There are two, count them, two Ecuadorian students, and 24 students from the US. It must be a very American thing to come here and want to take sociology. I wanted so badly to be in the professors mind yesterday, because I'm sure she was surprised to see a room full of gringos. I hope that this class doesn't turn into a competition to see who's traveled and volunteered the most, because that's kind of what it felt like as we introduced ourselves. Many spent their summers in places like Guatemala or Panama teaching english and building houses... funny how something so amazing can make my stomach turn when it's explained like a girl scout badge or something to check off the list.

I have hope, because the professor is pretty incredible. Karla Díaz. Also young, beautiful, strong, confident. She received either her masters or doctorate at Portland State, and her focus is child sociology, specifically children working in the streets. She seemed very passionate, and also wants us to struggle and discuss and bring ideas to class. I decided to do my social work at Mensajeros de la Paz, which is an organization for abandoned children with disabilities, so I'm VERY excited to be able to process with her. Our last project is an investigation and interview process, and I think I'll be able to use my experience at Mensajeros for the project. Anyel is taking the class as well, so I'm sure we have lots of good conversation ahead!