Cheater cheater, pumpkin eater

My friend thinks I'm cursed. I taught three semesters of freshmen at Northwestern College and had one plagiarized paper each semester. Of course, all three of them vehemently denied it, and I'm such a push-over that I let them off the hook easy, and they all still passed their classes (even if they failed that paper). Well, here I am, still at a Christian college, and I got two word-for-word identical homeworks yesterday. It's just not fair. Don't they know how absolutely sick they make me feel when I have to confront them and punish them? I seriously will lose sleep over these cases (well, not yesterday's homework so much as those plagiarized papers), but I just don't get it. I cheated one time in 5th grade, and the trauma of being caught has stuck with me for the past 17 years!

I did have a helpful conversation with a missionary today who's taught this class before as a sub, and she said it's cultural. They honestly don't view it as cheating but as "sharing." She said, in fact, some students argued with her that it was the Christian thing to do. Flabbergasted, she asked how lying could be the Christian thing, and they'd never considered it like that. They saw it as helping out your fellow man in need. Oh well, I still have so much to learn.

On another note, I really like to eat pumpkins. I'm missing pumpkins right now.

The CCC

The school I'm working at is called the CCC, short for Christian Center of Communications. There are 6 full-time staff (2 admin and 4 admin/profs) plus a whole handful of part-time profs, some of which I see and some of which are only names to me. Currently, the enrollment is 28 students, divided into 3 classes (they graduate with an Associate's degree)., and students get to choose from 3 majors: journalism, TV, and radio. In the first picture, you can see 8 of the 10 freshmen, most of whom I have in my classes - though some are in Beginners, some in Intermediate, and some in Advanced. The second picture was from graduation. I actually didn't know any of those students, but I still got to be in the student-prof picture. Scary! I'm a professor!!!



The Northwestern College president and his wife were down for graduation, so I got to tag along on all the fun field trips they made, exploring Ecuador. Mary (standing next to me) is the interim director of the CCC and a great friend already, even if she's also my boss. Here we are in a hideaway garden at an old resort that used to belong to the president of Ecuador.


On Sunday of that weekend (seems forever ago already), we went to a place called Mindo which is smack dab in a rainforest, most famous for containing every species of hummingbird known to man. But I found the vegetation to be just as spectacular. Here are some pictures of some of the cool things we saw, of which I don't remember a single name. The beetle was the only gross thing.

I really wanted to take one of those shelter leaves with me, but the tour guide wouldn't let me. He was picky like that. Guess that's all for now. Ciao chicas!

Exploring Quito and volcanoes

I'm so behind! But I guess that's good for you because you'll only get highlights rather than my babbling on and on. First picture: this is what I fall asleep to every night and wake up to every morning. The airport is so close and the planes so low that I can often read the company name on the tail. Fun fun!

This last Friday was a holiday. Actually, Thursday was the real day, but the government gave everyone Friday off. I thought it was a good idea. My friends Serene, Adeline, and I went hiking down Pululahua Crater. It was like a lost world down there, completely cut off from the rest of the world other than via the steep path we hiked down. Those who live down in the crater (it's extremely fertile farmland) have to use donkeys or horses to bring all their supplies in and their goods out. In the second picture you can see a man we passed heading out, and look at the steep cliffs ahead of him. That's what we hiked down.


Melon patch growing on top of a roof:

Of course, hiking down wasn't the hard part. After lunch at the only restaurant down in the crater, we had to hike back up! Serene (in the red) is pretty used to hiking, but Adeline and I had to stop about every three minutes and catch our breath. That incline plus the altitude just didn't make for ideal hiking conditions. Well, Serene thought so, but we don't ask her anymore.


These pictures go back to the previous weekend. Adeline took me downtown to the historical center of Quito. There are tons of hidden courtyards, nooks, and crannies that are going to make it one of my favorite old towns, I can already tell. In the second picture, you can see the two towers of the Basilica, Quito's biggest church. They only have about 100 ornate Catholic ones. The picture that has me with the view was taken from the restaurant where we had an afternoon snack before the rains hit. (They come almost without fail every afternoon.)



Finally, here are more pictures of Quito from the top of Mt. Pichincha. Look at that wind! (No, I didn't grow antennas out the side of my head.) We took the cable car up to the top around 12,000 feet for a gorgeous view of the entire valley. In the second picture, you can see not only part of the mountain but half the antennas. HCJB Radio owns the two tallest, but unfortunately you can't see them in this picture because they're also the two skinniest and don't show up. The clump of "whiter" clouds in the distance is hovering over Mt. Cayambe, which is much higher than Pichincha. I know because it has snow on it.


Anyway, I'm at work and should probably get back to it. Anyone convinced they need to come for a visit yet? I'm ready!

First News from Ecuador

As you probably assumed, I made it to Quito safe and sound just under a week ago, and I love it here. The mountains are gorgeous, the weather is just perfect with a blend of sun, rain, warm, and cool every day, the food (so far) has been delicious, and the people are faultlessly welcoming. My Spanish skills are weak, but I'm set up on a daily 1/2-hour computer program, and my downstairs neighbor and I agreed to do a trade-off every week: an hour of Spanish for an hour of English.

Here's a view of my house. I go through the middle door (the reddish-orange one), up the stairs, and to the right. That three-paned window on the right is my living room. (Notice the dud balcony that has no door out on to it.)

The HCJB (world radio) campus is just to the left of this picture, and my school, the CCC, is on that campus. It takes me 2 minutes to get to work. J Here’s the best overview shot of the campus I could get. I’m standing on an overpass, looking toward Mount Pinchincha. The yellow buildings just beyond the soccer field are the start of the HCJB campus. In fact, those closest buildings are the school, CCC.

Here’s the CCC from the front. The top two floors are actually the school (small, isn’t it). Then there’s me in front of the CCC-NWC sign, then me in my office, and then the view from my office with Pinchincha in the background. Clearly, I’m suffering.

Last Saturday, one of the permanent missionaries and another short-termer took me to a market downtown in one of the parks. They only sold Ecuadorian-made things, all of which are things I love: scarves, blankets, jewelry, art, ponchos, etc. We happened to be there over noon. Look Ma, no shadow!

That’s basically it so far. I’m in the office 8 – 5, and since it’s dark by 6:15 and I can’t be out by myself, I’ve either been indoors reading or with other missionaries (played games one night, joined a Bible study on Tuesday nights, and volunteered at an English Club Wednesday night). Next week, Dr. Cureton, the president from Northwestern, is coming, so everyone’s in a frenzy about that. It’s going to be great for me though because we’re going to go into the Amazon one day and up Pinchincha another. Catch you all later!

This Journey is My Home

Yes, I stole this title from a Steve Green song. My musical tastes leave a lot to be desired. But I do like this line, and it sure defines my upcoming adventures. 

I leave tomorrow! Ahhhhhhh! And here I sit typing away when I should be packing. (Packing early is so overrated. I'm all about this last-minute, stay-up-all-night stuff.) Here's my fun itinerary for the next few days:

Sun: St. Paul - Madison, see good friend Karen Rice

Mon: Madison - Chicago - Indianapolis - Cincinnati - Atlanta (or as Lizzie says: Bears - Colts - Bengals - Falcons)

**Actually, I only make it to Knoxville on Mon, but I wanted to get the Falcons in there. I stay with friends Jim and Kay Frank

Tue: Smokey Mountain National Park - Atlanta - Tampa, see brother Scott and his wife Fiona

Thu: fly Tampa - Houston - QUITO, ECUADOR!!!!

Keep in touch everybody!

Well, football didn't exactly start off on the right foot, though the Broncos won (that one's for you, Rachel). 

But I can't even begin to describe what a wonderfully encouraging week it has been! I thought I used to know a little something about the power or prayer. I felt I used to honestly say "Prayer support is more important than financial support, " and I was sure I actually believed it. Well, whether or not I understood it before, this last week proved it over and over. Being prayed for is a true treasure, a gift that really is so easily to give and can mean a world to the person who hears it. Standing before the throne of God with fellow believers and hearing them lift you up humbles me immensely. 

I feel inspired to pray more for others, to be able to intercede for others in the same powerful way they have been for me. My biggest fear is that this new desire will pass again in a week. How do I stay fervent?

FOOTBALL STARTS THIS WEEK!!!!

Just a tad excited.