This week we are in Baños, Ecuador for the second week of our language lessons. The first week was spent on a farm near Las Delicias, where we met the the owner of the language school, Lorena. We spent a the mornings of every day last week in Spanish lessons, and the afternoons hanging out on the farm. One day was spent working on the farm; harvesting plantains, then washing and boxing them.
The trip to Baños started at 2 in the morning last Sunday, we rode a minibus for an hour or so and departed Santo Domingo at 4 in the morning on a public bus. Four hours later we arrived in Baños and walked to the language school to meet our host families. After being taken to our host families houses we had the rest of the day free. The next morning we started our language lessons and in the afternoon began our community work. Half of us were sent out to work in the countryside, ostensibly building roads for the locals. The others were divided into groups to teach English to some local children and young adults.
Baños is a very touristy town, with many places offering tourist activities for foreigners and Ecuadorians alike. The namesake of the town and a major attraction are the hot springs heated by the nearby volcano, Tungurahua. These thermal baths, or Piscinas Termales, are open almost all day and a major draw for both locals and tourists. The town is situated in a valley surrounded by mountains which can be hiked to see the town or the volcano, or in some places both. Our schedule remains more or less the same this week, with Spanish lessons in the morning and community work in the afternoons.
