Adventures in Galapagos

So, I'm finally becoming accustomed to the "island life". I have been exploring the island a little more each day. The first couple of weeks were intense, but now I am getting the hang of it!

I really became accustomed last week because I didn't have work for a week! My students had a holiday because it was the birthday of the school, so classes were cancelled (more or less) for about a week. The students celebrated with couple of the events. My first and second graders are actually in the picture on the right. They are sooooo cute!a parade, a lil' mis pageant (nina deportes), a dance party, and a flag ceremony. I went to a I also spent a lot of time on the beach, and spending time with a friend who moved to Germany Sunday. We did a beach cleanup on

Saturday morning with a group of local kids. Except for the part where I fell in the water (not surprising), it was a success! You can see the clean mangroves to the left. These are right next to the beach!

My friend had been here for two years, and she started the English

teaching program. She, the blonde in the white jacket, is returning to Germany to complete a Masters in education.To celebrate, we went to a fantastic restaurant in the "highlands" called the Housers. The food was fantastic. The owners had a granddaughter who was three years old who could already speak English, Spanish, and German! Incredible. The view was also breathtaking. We could see another island from the restaurant. The other island (to the left) is a volcanic crater! The weather is finally warming up a little bit, but the water is still cold. When the water warms up, I will be in it all the time :)

On Sunday I taught a yoga class. I am going to be teaching one at least once a week during my stay here. I have a regular group who like a challenging class, so it's great for me. We have been practicing on a porch that overlooks the main beach here. On Sunday we saw a rainbow during our yoga class. Our "theme" for the class was commitment and remembering why we were here in the first place because it's easy to forget. I am offering my free classes to the overworked volunteers and workers here! I have two teachers, a Peace Corps volunteer, and a

volunteer coordinator. Hopefully more next week. I helped them with alignment because

they're very strong and flexible but need a little adjustment on the "basics", and they held the poses! It was sooo beautiful. I love teaching yoga.

I went to the highland of Isabela again today. It is very lush and green in comparison to the dry area closer to the ocean. We visited two farms. I hope to do an appropriate technology project at a farm in the highlands, but I am still working on the details. The first farm had three hectares of vegetables and a lot of chickens. The chicken on the left is actually protecting about five of her babies under her!

We, the institute and I, also went to a farm of a husband and wife. He is 91 and she is 86. They have been married for 65 years! They were so beautiful and sweet. We ate sugar cane, learned

about coffee and bananas, saw a de

ad pig, and painted our faces with seeds. This is why I have red paint

on my face here! It's actually the same type seed the indigenous people of Ecuador use to paint their hair!

Overall I am really enjoying my time here. The girls in the picture are my roommates, and they're wonderful. I will keep everyone posted with new information. Love and miss home very much.

Namaste,

Anna