Oh Canada

Oh Canada

Oh Canada with your summer days and polar nights
Representing the true north with a southern face
Our safe haven, our home away from home
Although- not as cozy as we would have liked..

Oh Canada we love you with your latin flare,
Your southern glow.
We want to know more about you, about your compassion
Your cool friendship.
You barter and trade, your hearts are large but,
In proper Canadian style, cool and distant-
Cautious and calculated

Oh Canada you've opened your homes and your hearts to those less fortunate
Taking pity on those who could never stay here,
Those who need refuge from the storm
As the Magdalena river runs red,
Colombians arrive one by one, two by two
Until the boarders are overflowing into the valley of Pichincha,
causing the carita de dios to shed tears of sorrow,
Washing the Quito of its grime, letting new sun shine down on a new life

Oh Canada, we are happy you've made friends,
You've wrapped yourself in red, blue, yellow
colours plastered on the sides of buildings, walls;
Swishing in the cool afternoon breeze
Ecuador is a temptress who sings to us in the night
Come dance in the street, drink and be merry
But careful- Ecuador is harsh and firm when you betray her
Seven others have learned that devastating lesson
Destined to live up the mountain, with cool nights and
glacier water splashing down as the scrub off their sentences

Oh Canada, we thank you for allowing us a glimpse into of your life,
Your camaraderie with Ecuador
We too have made a new friend in her which, with the passing of time
may blossom into a rose red romance
As we find our centre at the the middle of the world.

UN: peace & security

  Canada is known as a multicultural nation, and that is obviously due to the amount of immigration and refugees accepted. As a life-long citizen of Canada, who has gone to school with and been friends with many immigrants, I know surprisingly little about the logistics of it all. For this reason I was very excited to be visiting the UN to gain a little bit more background knowledge.

Ecuador is heavily involved in immigration as it acts as the country of origin, destination and of transit between countries. Most immigrants are from Columbia that are arriving in Ecuador, at 98%, and the other two are from 70 other countries. The UN does a lot of interesting work in Ecuador, one concept, that I believe is unique to this country, is the law of human mobility. This states that it is a right of all humans to have the freedom to leave a country and not be sent back if the implications would involve risking your safety or freedom. Unfortunately, these types of laws in human’s rights are more often violated against migrants and seekers of asylum.

As Ecuador has no refugee camps, immigrants are actively brought into communities. I believe that this integration would help the transition into a new culture. I find this similar to Canada as many internationally arriving students are put right into the Canadian educational system, although it can be very difficult for immigrant children to find their place in a new school full of students who don’t fully understand their culture or way of living. This is also seen in the schools we are working at in Quito, with a main focus on children from Columbia. There are many factors that can act to segregate these students, regardless of social norms or language barriers, the base structure of schooling; its curriculum, is often completely different and puts them at different learning levels. The UN does a lot of heavy work in the law and world peace but I found it interesting to learn that they also work on a smaller scale Helping families adjust through the educational system or finding work, shelter and food are part of these goals.

The United Nations is an amazing organization joining the world together to target world peace. As necessary as this is, it is also quite ambitious. The UNHCR was originally meant to last 3 years as they were hoping to end a conflict in that time, its present existence prove that that was not possible and is an example of the complexity in gaining world peace. The UN symbolizes its goals of peace very well within their logo. The olive branches and the colour of blue depict peace, and the view of the countries are the regions that are protected by the United Nations. Overall their goals are in peace and security.

 

Even though this last section was requested by a certain group leader I'd like to note that it is still completely sincere. soo.. 

P.s.  As we say goodbye to you this weekend, David, I'd like to let you know you are super good at your job. If it wasn't for you none of us would be in Ecuador right now, and I'd like to thank you because I am getting so much out of this trip. From your salsa lessons to charade based debriefs, you're one hell of a leader. See ya around.  

One Last Chance

Kiss of ocean and sky bleeds into blush

Awakening the soul of greenest lush

Press hard and deep into my black red core

 Hear sounds of humanity being tore

Quivering breaking shattering falling

Their feet are coming I hear them bawling

Fleeing the red crown’s evil twisted greed

Darkness fills memory, they only bleed

Softer, softer our pain is almost gone

Darkness is fading into one last dawn

New is safe for only a sweet short time

No home now, you are a victim of crime

For centuries I have drank your spilt blood

Pounding woman and child into the mud

You left your own man wounded and broken

Enter me; I will have won their token

Educational presentation @ PUCE

On May 15, 2014 the group went to hear an educational talk at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE). Although all the discussions that we have heard have been interesting and informational, the talk presented by Dr. Nelson Reascos Vallejo was my favorite thus far.  His presentation was in regards to the educational system in Ecuador. He discussed various topics such as the generation of the universities, the objectives of the universities, and the effects of the new regulations for universities that was implemented by Correa passing mandate 14(?). Although the professor presented a biased opinion, it was refreshing to hear someone challenge the positive views of the education system that our group has been hearing.

            One topic that the professor covered in his presentation that I found interesting was when he discussed about the grading scheme created by C.E.S, C.E.A.C.E.S, and SENESCYT for universities in Quito.  The grading scheme is based on letters A to E with A being the highest and E being the lowest grade. It was shocking to hear that 14 universities in Quito have been closed due to receiving a letter grade of E and 40,000 students have been displaced because of this process. From my understanding from the presentation, the students of the closed universities have not received anything in compensation for the government shutting down their school. This means that those students did not get refunded their tuition, accreditation or acknowledgement for the progress in their programs, nor were they able to transfer their grades/courses to different universities.  I was shocked to here that the government did not support the students who were displaced.

The new regulations and policies defined by Correa’s government state that students must take two exams in the middle of the degree and two at the final (one is about general knowledge and the other is specific to program) as well as an exam before becoming a certified professional. The one similarity that I can see between the University of Manitoba (U of M) and the system in Ecuador is some degree programs have a final exam at the end of the program.  For example programs in law, medicine, nursing, and physiotherapy have final examinations before students can become certified professionals. However, U of M is different in the sense that degree programs do not take two exams in the middle of the degree or at the end, the courses have there own midterms and finals.  I found it interesting that the general exams the students take in Ecuador are based on questions from all fields around the degree program. For example, if a student were specializing in criminology during the general exam period they would have to have knowledge in all of general sociology. I find this very unfair to students and would make it very difficult to do well.  Overall I found his presentation to be extremely interesting and very informative.

Politicized Education

 

CEAACES, CES, SENESCYT.

The government is re-thinking education;

Education falls victim to Politics.

The student’s voice is muted.

The cost of free speech is incarceration.

Silence is more affordable;

The cost of silence is time wasted, worthless degrees and jobless futures.

 

Big brother is watching.

The teacher’s voice is muted.

Surveillance reigns-in the freedom to think and to be different.

Unrealistic standards discredit public education.

Standardized tests marginalize the poor and the indigenous.

The rich once again prevail.



Lama Love

Hi this is Ali. This is my first blog entry ever, so keep  your expectations low. This is my first time travelling to Ecuador. This country encompasses many different components that when totaled make this country very unique. So far since I have arrived, I have been teaching English with Ella at a Spanish school. I have truly enjoyed the children whom I am teaching. They are very smart and really friendly. I found it amusing that when I first arrived everyone was confused when I said I was Canadian. I suppose that is due to the difference in immigration between Canada and Ecuador. The children I teach are very inquisitive and ask many questions which makes each day exciting and fun. The country itself is beautiful and provides numerous types of nature. I have seen green lands and mountains. This is something I will cherish when I return to Winnipeg since we are unable to view this type of nature. We have so far done site seeing in many different places. Each place I  visit, people are very friendly and kind. Since I have met Amber, I love lammmaaassss.  I can see myself living in this type of a country. The city seems to always be alive, and there is always activities to be done. I love the group I am with. Everyone is so supportive and kind. Being the only guy is at times a bit awkward, but I have to admit I truly am enjoying my time.

llama face.

We have all had a variety of New experiences in our schools over the last week. Learning lots and seeing what the education system is like in another country. It's quite different from the schools I've been in back home, and in a way almost refreshing. Students are all very confident and comfortable talking in front of the class, the all laugh with each other and with very well together. The classroom dynamic is quite different, and learning is controlled by the teacher rather than the clock like back home.

We have been teaching grammar rules to our classes, and taking time to talk about Canada. The students were very excited to see a map of Canada and pictures of animals and landscapes that we brought to share. They had a lot of questions for us and were very eager to learn about our home.

Possibly my favorite activity we have done outside of class was taking a gondola ride up a mountain to get a view of Quito. It was here that we also came face to face with some llama friends.