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Day in the Life

SECAP in Machala, by Annie Gomez

I lived in Las Brisas which is one of the "cool" sections of Machala. Machala is a small city, so there are sections, just like there are sections of New York City or D.C. Thus each section has its own community atmosphere. Las Brisas and Porto Bolivar are the two districts people go out in at night. People go to these districts to go to bars, discos, get something to eat or just drink while sitting in their cars.

My students at SECAP varied from complete beginners to intermediate. I had some English teachers in my classes who have been taking English classes for 8 to 9 years and some students that only had a few classes in their colegio over 16 years ago. The students varied from university students, to doctors, to community members. They varied in age from 12 yrs. to 55 yrs.

24 de Mayo in Puerto Lopez, by Justin Brown

Puerto Lopez is a very chill, relaxed, and awesome town.  A lot of animals run around the streets, ranging from pigs, chickens, roosters, and stray dogs.  The dogs can be a bit crazy and may attack you so just remember that all you have to do is make like you are picking up a rock and they will take off.  The beach is beautiful but has a lot of trash on it.  The residents are all very friendly and like to hang out and talk over a beer. Bring some sunscreen, a beach towel, some good books as you will have a lot of free time, and a flashlight for the power outages, and have a good one.

In the mornings I taught three waiters who worked at a hostel.  These students varied in ability from beginner to intermediate to more or less advanced. In the afternoons I worked at the 24 de Mayo school where  I taught four classes ( 4^th and 5^th grade together, a single 5^th grade class, 6^th grade, and 7^th grade) each week. Their ages ranged from 9 years old to 13.   Each class at the school contained approximately 45 students in each class.

The community is amazing.  I love it very much.  The village is composed of about 90% fishermen with the rest of the people making a living off tourism.  From June to September tourism is booming due to the presence of humpback whales off the coast.  The other time of the year is pretty quiet in town.  Even in its high season, however, the weekdays are pretty relaxed.  The weekends are marked by fiestas on Friday and Saturday nights.  Most of the people are very friendly and relaxed.  Very few speak any English.

For fun?  Of course there is whale watching and the ocean to keep you occupied.  Sea kayaks can be rented from Restaurant Spondylos, an Italian guy rents a jet ski out, and you can venture off to the Machalil National Park which is close by. "Los frioles" is a very beautiful beach.  There about three fun bars in town which are usually packed with tourists on the weekends.