Día #4: Zumba

For breakfast today, we enjoyed rolls but also tried “manjar de leche,” caramel spread in addition to our usual cheese and butter.

When teaching in the morning, the younger group went over parts of the body, fruits and foods, and verbs including “to want,” “to run,” “to eat,” and “to drink.” The kids also taught us new games involving basketball and a “burrito” donkey game (similar to “monkey in the middle”). We continued going through conversational topics with Ismael including differences in traditions between Ecuador and the United States in terms of typical foods and largest meals during the day, distribution of religions in the country, holidays and customs for festivities, and family dynamics. Since Ismael is participating in a three-day program this weekend as preparation to work as an assistant in the nearby airport, and will be interviewed for a job, we also did a mock interview in English with him. We asked him about basic information, previous work experiences, greatest strengths and weaknesses, and times he had to work in a team. We continued talking about his interests in music, TV, and movies while kicking around a soccer ball. Before he left, we wished him the best of luck on his program!

After teaching, we ate a beef stew with vegetables, rice, and a squash soup. We also splurged on some of the ice cream we bought at the store the night before!

   

In the afternoon, we rested for a few hours before going to a Zumba class with two of the other UBELONG volunteers for $1.50 each. Our VA group was luckily all receptive to the idea of going to Zumba! Apparently, the Zumba studio has been an insider tip passed down in the UBELONG volunteer house for several years as they cycle through. We got dressed and left for the Zumba studio around 5:30 p.m., arriving at 5:50 to check in. As we paid the instructor at the desk, we each were assigned numbered spots on the floor – all of us were conveniently placed in the third row in a line! Before we knew it, the class had started and we were already struggling with stamina (given the altitude) within minutes, especially after doing jumping jacks, high knees, and other bootylicious dance moves! Many of the songs during the hour involved some pretty sensual hip shaking, which we got over after a few minutes as well. Our favorite part was trying out more traditional “cumbia Columbiana” and “bachata” dances at the end.

A (sweaty) group pic after returning from Zumba!

After returning from Zumba, we were all exhausted and in desperate need of showers! However, our hunger trumped how bad we smelled, so a few of us had lunch leftovers beforehand. During dinner, a UBELONG volunteer also showed us “maiz tostado” (toasted corn), also called “choclo,” a type of corn that has larger kernels. In the evening, we finished our ice cream, had coffee, and chatted in a group about our plans for Baños tomorrow.