Deadlines and Downpayments

I sent out an email this weekend regarding how and what of the letter of commitment and the down payment, but I have had frequent problems with my school email address this year and worry that not everyone received the email.
I would like it if you could stop by after 4:15 either today or tomorrow (Tuesday or Wednesday) to sign a new copy of the letter of commitment. It is basically the same, but has a few minor changes.
I would also like an email with your child's name and birthdate so that I can make plane reservations. Once the reservations are made, I will send you the reservation number and you can pay the travel agency directly as your deposit on the trip (that way you will get a plane ticket out of the deal). When you come in, I will give you more information about the next steps in getting ready for the trip.

Travel Clinics

I am going post what I can find about travel clinics. Please add any information you find that will help us.
Here are links to:
Multnomah County Health Department Travel Clinic
Travel and Immunization Clinic of Portland
The Portland Clinic (They have specialized nurses who help with travel immunizations)
I would be curious about information related to any clinics that accept health insurance. I believe that the top two don't, but the Portland Clinic might.

I have officially invited participants to contribute to the blog, so please feel free to add what you can.

Yeah, we're going!

Now that we are gathering participants and looking forward to the details of the trip, I am getting really excited! In the next few weeks I plan on giving more concrete details of what the trip will include and how much extra spending money students might need to take along. I will also look more into travel clinics so that we can begin to anticipate what vaccines we may need to stay healthy while travelling.
I will also begin to compile a packing list and plan our next meeting in which we will be able to begin to go over specifics of the trip and answer more detailed questions about what it will involve.
I would like to take moment at this point to introduce a few of the people who will be involved in making this a great experience:

• Carlos Molina (my husband) will accompany us as well as our two-year old daughter on the plane there as well as spending time in Quito and Cuenca with the students. His main job will be to hang back in Quito and Cuenca and take care of our daughter Sofia (with help from his family there), so that I can focus on the students %100 of the time that we are there. He has worked as an architect, teacher and school custodian and therefore has a lot of experience with youngsters. He is originally from Ecuador and so is always a wonderful resource to have along.
• Ani Molina (my sister-in-law) will be our tour guide and host in Quito and Otavalo. She took students on tours last year and has been quoted as being "the best part of the trip" by former West Sylvan students and their parents who went to Ecuador last year. She currently works as a journalist and loves to spend time with teenagers.
• Mark Odenwelder is an old friend, and former co-worker of mine, who is currently in charge of CEDEI in Cuenca. He has worked for years with student groups going to and from Ecuador as well as being a former middle school teacher himself. He has been my contact in Quito as I have been setting up the language school and homestays and is excited about our arrival and ready to welcome us in any way he can.
• As we travel around Cuenca and in the jungle we will also be sub-contracting with local tour agencies and tour guides, all of whom I have worked with or have been highly recommended to me.
• Of course, there will also be host-families that we have yet to meet. I lived with a host-family my first year in Ecuador, when I lived in Cuenca and it was set up through CEDEI. It turned out to be a great experience I wouldn't be surprised if either I or my husband already knows at least one of the families.
• In Quito and Cuenca I have many contacts with teachers and directors of the language school that I taught at in Quito as well as people I worked with in Cuenca. As we get closer to the date I will be checking in with my contacts there to make sure we aren't missing any safety details.

Insurance

Here is a link to the website for the travel insurance that we are planning on using
http://www.statravel.com/cps/rde/xchg/us_division_web_live/hs.xsl/travelinsurance.htm

Language School Curriculum

Here is a translation of sample curriculum that I received from the language school.
We have agreed upon two hours of class a day.

Class Level: Intermediate/ This corresponds with having completed 8th grade Spanish at West Sylvan.
At the end of the class the students will be able to:

• Review the tenses and conjugations of the verbs.
• Develop the four areas (reading, writing, listening, speaking)
• Understand better the culture and tourism of Ecuador, specifically Cuenca and the Azuay Province.
• Improve reading ability.
• Think and reflect on their surroundings.
• Communicate within and outside of the classroom.

Activities:

• Games: questions and answers that develop fluency in the use of the verb conjugations and tenses.
• Outings: Visits to the most interesting cultural spots in Cuenca.
• Interviews
• Descriptions of Posters and Signs using ones imagination.
• Listening to music and filling in missing words.
• Analizing movies

Sample Units

- Who is who?

• Basic information in the present tense. Giving information about ourselves.

- From the picture

• Practice describing people based on a photo, physical as well as personality.

- What do you like to do in your free time?

• Use the verb "gustar" to talk about like and dislikes as well as express opinions about your classmates.

- What is the weather like?

• Use the verbs "Hacer" and "Estar" to talk about the weather.

- Communication

• React to different situations using forms of respect in the present tense. Expressing complaints.

- From verb to verb, without this I can't move on

• Practice the irregular verb conjugations in the present.

- Famous people in the Spanish speaking world

• Introduction of famous people in the Spanish speaking world using ser and estar

- Fruit and vegetables

• Review nouns related food through the study of markets in Latin America.

- Tell me what you eat.

• Use the verb "deber" to talk about what people should or shouldn't eat.

- Description based on silence.

• Descriptions, writing activity based on what you hear.

- Tell me a story

• Practice telling stories in the past using the preterite tense.

Meeting

I sent home a flyer with students about the meeting tonight, but I have a feeling not all of the flyers made it home.
The meeting will be held in the West Sylvan Library at 6:30 pm on Thursday February 19th. Please contact me if you are interested in the trip but unable to attend, or didn't receive this information. I can set up a private meeting with you to fill you in.

Deadlines

Sign up by Monday March 2nd - Letter of Commitment

Pay deposit by Friday March 13th - $1000 - This will be in the form of paying for a plane reservation.

Payed in full by Friday April 3rd (I am still working out the details of how much this will be and how this payment will be managed)