August Newsletter
Newsletter
August 2005
1. CEDEI
Classes at our Community Arts School continue with more offerings of both tropical and classical dance, hand-made jewelry, guitar, painting and lesson on how to be a clown. A new round of black and white photography classes, taking full advantage of our darkroom and photo studio, taught by respected photographer Mike O?Brien begins on August 1st. All of these courses are available to our students at a discounted rate, and are free to our English language teachers. A new round of intensive English classes begins shortly, and our English department and Training Center get together again for another round of training courses offered to primary and secondary school teachers in Cuenca and its surroudings.
2. Medical Spanish in Ecuador
Enrolments are now being accepted for the October program of Medical Spanish. During the program our students take intensive Spanish classes and are immersed in local culture and healthcare while living in the houses of medical professionals. In the afternoons they visit places of medical interest in the community, including a mobile surgery unit, visit a public hospital, hear an explanation of medicinal plants and see a demonstration of shamanism. The next program is due to commence on October, but we also have dates right through to March 2006 posted on our web page at http://www.cedei.org/cuenca/programs/spanish/medical.php. When the program ends, participants are presented with a number of competitively priced academic and travel options, including the unforgettable Galápagos Islands, or an adventure in the Ecuadorian rain forest.
3. Fall Semester in Ecuador
Calling all future Foreign Correspondents! Last chance to enroll in our Fall Semester Program ? co-sponsored by the University of Wisconsin Whitewater. This unique program offers a unique combination of International News Reporting and intensive Spanish instruction, cultural and language immersion, and extensive travel in one of the most beautiful countries in the world, including a trip to the Amazonian rainforest. We also offer a number of independent study and research options, classes in art and history, and more. This is an opportunity not to be missed, but there is no time to be wasted. Enroll now at: http://www.cedei.org/cuenca/programs/fall/.
4. Augustana College Summer Spanish Program
The Augustana Summer Spanish Program continues racing towards the finish line, with students already starting to feel the sting at the thought of leaving. In July most of the students visited the jungle at Macas where they hiked through primary forest, showered under waterfalls, met members of the native Shuar race and learned about their culture, and were even interviewed live on the Shuar Federation radio station! Others to ride horses, hike, or just relax in the southern paradise of Vilcabamba. Another significant activity was their service learning project, which involved refurbishing a shelter for underprivileged children and elderly people. This month sees students finish the program and head off on an 11-day study trip to Peru, taking in the pre-Incan ruins in the north of the country, capital city Lima, the ancient city of Cusco and of course Machu Picchu.
5. Summer TEFL
Our TEFLitos are almost at the end of their experience. Four intense weeks of study, practice teaching and winning tattoo competitions (a long story!) The students also learned the value of service and something about rural education while volunteer teaching in the village of Jima. Now the end is near and they?ve almost reached the final curtain. But their studies are behind them at last and it?s time for some relaxation and travel. The month begins with a flight to Quito, passing over the snow-capped peaks of as many as 6 volcanoes. In capital city Quito they?ll take a guided tour through the colonial old town and visit the gallery of Ecuador?s most famous artist, Oswaldo Guayasamin. Then it?s time to get their wallets out for a visit to the famous Otavalo indigenous crafts market, see the making of traditional musical instruments and get ?cleansed? by shaman. The trip ends
6. Race and Ethnicity in the Andes
Our inaugural anthropological program ? cosponsored by the University of Lethbridge ? has proved a huge success so far. A whirlwind orientation tour took them from the coastal city of Guayaquil up into the mountains to visit the villages of Gualaceo and Principal, and finally to their new home, the colonial city of Cuenca. Here students met their families and began Spanish classes. If that wasn?t enough, their afternoons have been packed with cultural activities such as ceramics, dance and cooking classes, a conference on emigration, a visit to an ethnographic museum, and of course their core anthropology course. Weekend visits have taken them to the indigenous town of Canar, the Inca ruins of Ingapirca, and finally to the cultural and geographical wonder that is Saraguro. There students had a demonstration of healing by a shaman or ?yachak,? attended a local wedding ceremony, heard a talk on a local community justice initiative, and ate with their hands at a traditional pamapamesa. This month they finish classes and head off north, spending several days in the rainforest in Macas, Sucua and Tena, visit capital city Quito and buy their final souvenirs at the crafts market town of Otavalo.
7. Individual Students
Our students who arrive independently always bring their own histories and personalities to the mix that is CEDEI. This month a student in our Spanish Immersion Volunteer Program concluded her volunteer stint at the CEDEI Bilingual School, teaching English to children of pre-school age. Meanwhile other students of our Full Immersion Spanish Program have been sharpening their Spanish, not to mention guitar, skills.
