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.