Picture a big volcano...

Seem to have some problems uploading photos, so please imagine there is a nice picture of volcano Cotopaxi here!! Which I took on the bus from Quito down to Ambato on my second day here! The route is sometimes known as the Avenue of the Volcanoes due to the number of them that line both sides of the route. Unfortunately though it is often cloudy here, or at least over the higher land, so they are not always visible... I was lucky to have this view. Down near Ambato we have Tungurahua which is one of the most active volcanoes at the moment.. only on orange alert though not red as I had thought. Like Cotopaxi it is a fairly perfect symmetrical cone but sadly even more elusive. It is maybe about 20km from Ambato and right next to the little spa town of Baños which I visited last sunday. The tourist office give you an evacuation map of the town along with the normal map, which is good to know.
I have not yet started my classes yet, i.e. the reason I am here... this week I have just been preparing the classes, and meeting the schools. The main one that I will be working at is a tiny primary school in a village called El Porvenir de Mocha, which is about 15km from Ambato. There are a maximum of 16 students per class and only 6 year groups. English will be taught by year group and focusing on the final year (11 year olds) as they need a certain level for when they go to secondary school. For now they seem to know colours... numbers... and not a whole lot more! I will also be teaching art & craft classes on a Monday but for that they will be 2 year groups at a time. Also will be helping with english classes one or two days a week in a (slightly larger and more organised) school in a village called Quinchicoto. The organisation by the way is http://www.voluntariosdeoccidente.org/
As for where I am staying... in Ambato, a town of about 300,000, with delightful hosts Maria Teresa and Gonzalo who run the organisation. They are originally from Colombia and have been in Ecuador since maybe 1990 or so. VDO has been around for 10 years now. Maria Teresa and I went to Quito on thursday to pick some things up (some clothes donations for the schoolchildren, documents, and a copy of The Big Lebowski on my reccommendation after watching Fargo the other night). Did some touristy stuff like visiting er the touristy area of El Mariscal, the botanical gardens which were beautiful, and listening to Maria Teresa go on about how dangerous all of Quito is. Didn´t even touch the historical centre which will have to do on another visit! And try not to get mugged or kidnapped!