Beach Day in Montanita

We made quite the picture as we all walked down to the beach together all hand in hand; 40 primary school children from Montanita, 8 MSS students and 6 teachers from the Montanita Spanish School, and 5 of us staff member and some family that didn’t want to be left out of the fun. We were all heading to the beach for a game day with the Spanish school and a group of local children. The kids were so damn cute that I started snapping picture before we even made it to the beach. Some of our MSS teachers and students used the event as a learning opportunity and came down during the class hours reserved for “Language Application” to practice their Spanish. The kids aged from 7 to 13 years old and were so excited for a break from the normal routines of classes, and the chance to goof around with us extranjeros. We broke into smaller groups of about 8 niños with a few MSS students and a staff member to help with the Spanish. And then the fun began.

One group got a rope out and began a tug-of-war battle. On another part of the beach we set up 3-legged races and sack races. Further down, there were groups playing more traditional Ecuadorian games. The ninos and our Spanish teachers taught us the words to the song for the game in Spanish and we all joined in. We finished off the day with a giant game of Ameba Tag and El Gato y El Raton. I had forgotten how much energy kids that age have. After running and pulling and hopping around for 2 hours, I had bruises on my knees and my muscles were screaming. The niños who had been playing a lot harder then I had, were just screaming for more. After all the games had been played, and lunch had been eaten, we all grabbed hands again and escorted them back to school. Again, we must have made quite the picture; the same large group returning, but this time exhausted and completely covered in sand.

The Montanita Spanish School is not just committed to teaching Spanish right, but also being involved in the local community in a positive way. We do this through our volunteer program, and by having regular events, like this one, with our non-profit partners in the communities. It allows our students to really experience more of the amazing Ecuadorian culture, and our friends in the community to get to know us and our students. It was with these goals or community activism and cultural exchange in mind, we organized a day at beach to throw ourselves in the sand, practice Spanish, and be kids again.