Clara Luna/Cafe de Lenguas

Teaching right at the edge of the ocean can present a unique set of challenges. A high tide crashing up within 10 meters or so of the classroom can make it difficult to hear or be heard, especially in different languages.

But, of course, you are teaching right on the beach, which makes it hard to complain about anything.

Clara Luna / Cafe de Lenguas

The view from the ocean

Parked at the south end of the Malecon in Puerto Lopez, the Clara Luna Language School is as different from Escuela Katitawa as Puerto Lopez is from Salasaca. While Salasaca is made up primarily of farmers and artisans, Puerto Lopez residents almost all make their money from fishing and tourism. The tourism ebbs and flows, but the fish never seem to. (For more on the Puerto Lopez, see the Ruta del Sol entry earlier).

The mission of the two schools is completely different. While Katitawa is the primary school for its pupil, Clara Luna's purpose is to augment the English education the students are getting during the school day. The difference between teaching students who want to learn and those sitting in a class they are required to attend is night and day. Add in the difference between teenagers and youngsters and you have a completely different teaching experience.

The classroom and the library

The school has three different classes at the moment -- a children's class that meets Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 4 p.m. Ecuadoran time (which means almost no one is actually there on time and the class begins around 4:30) and two different "adult" classes which meet at 6:30 (Ecuadoran time again). The majority of the adult students are high-school age. The beginners meet Tuesdays and Thursdays, the intermediate group on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

The kids' class

The frustrating experience at the Clara Luna School, at least in the three weeks I taught there, was the attendance. Rarely were all the students present and often half or more would not show up, making it very difficult to build upon a previous lesson.

Paola Martinez, the owner of the school, teaches Spanish to tourists during the day, and that's where the majority of the school's income comes from. The English lessons are just $15/month, which works out to just $1 per hour (except that the students never show up for the first half hour of the 90-minute class, so they're really paying $1.50/hour. Still a good deal).

Paola (right) with a student

She is currently building a small house way on the other side of town for volunteers, with the hopes of having it ready by January. At that point she will have room for more English teachers and presumably more classes. For more information, visit www.claraluna.com.ec