Mother's Day in Nicaragua: it's a big deal. With good reason: I'm pretty sure that the society would instantaneously collapse if Nicaraguan mothers stopped their daily devotions. Nicaraguan mothers are worshiped by their children, even if the men in their lives don't always treat them as well...Given this context, it's pretty unsurprising that many of the schools where I work only had one day of school this week.
Monday: School! Learning!!
Tuesday: School-wide Mother's Day celebrations, with mothers invited to watch. And no celebration would be complete without folklore dancing, hoochy dancing, and poetry reading
Wednesday: Town-wide Mother's Day celebration
Thursday: Holiday- no school, etc.
Friday: TEPCE= teacher meetings
Most frustrating: On Monday, I got trapped in El Tule, one of the rural schools, for an hour and half because the bus passed on the highway instead of going through town like it usually does. Due to this, I missed my class for the 7/8th graders, after I had planned an awesome lesson about animals. (Who doesn't love animal jeopardy!?) But did the kids show up? No, they did not. So I was doubly grumpy.
Most fun: My sitemate Christina wanted to do an activity with some of the little kids in town we've become friends with, so we decided to do a Mother's Day craft: recycled bead bracelets/necklaces! We were trying to figure out how to get kids to come to the event, when we stopped by the primary school to go talk to the delegado, the equivalent of a regional superintendent, more or less. While we were there, the kids mobbed us to say hi, and so we asked them if they wanted to do crafts with us the following day. Surprisingly, with a little prodding from a few of their friends, we had 13 kids show up, including a lot of young boys, which is great, because I'm sure we kept them out of trouble for the afternoon. It was noisy and a little crazy, but a lot of fun. Chris and I are hoping to do more crafts with them in the future. You can see the instructions on how to make the beads here!
Awkwardest: Several people have told me that I can celebrate Mother's Day too, because I will be a mother in the future. There is no way in hell I would be honest and express that I'm not particularly interested in having children. It's great that women are celebrated for the tremendous work that they do as mothers, but it's also incredibly limiting that the very definition of what it means to be a woman is reduced to motherhood.
Song of the Week: This is the way I ______________
My counterpart Jonathan taught this one to me. It's great to review basic verbs (you can use any phrase that fits the rhythm of the song) and days of the week/times of the day.
(Do the actions as you say them)
This is the way I brush my teeth, brush my teeth, brush my teeth, brush my teeth
This is the way I brush my teeth, on Monday in the morning
This is the way I brush my hair, brush my hair, brush my hair
This is the way I brush my hair, on Tuesday in the morning
This is the way I wash my hands, wash my hands, wash my hands
This is the way I wash my hands, on Wednesday in the morning.
Etc.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
School Anecdotes Week 13: Beware of Venn Diagrams, You Silly Horse
I'll be honest. This week sucked. Personally, I had lost my momentum and motivation from so much time out of San Miguel, mentally and physically. Also, I got weirdly sick for a little while, missing a day of work with some of my favorite classes. I noticed that minor annoyances were bothering me more than usual: milk thirsty ants (SERIOUSLY WHY DO THEY LIKE MY MILK, THAT'S NOT A THING), the fact that finding vegetables on a non-market day is tantamount to a treasure hunt, the faces that everyone makes when I don't have exact change, etc.
To top things off, rainy season started in earnest. This means that almost everyday, it will rain at least once. I have mixed feelings about rainy season. There are beautiful romantic moments, like when the sky is filled with gigantic, majestic thunderheads, or like when you are lying in bed and there's a light rain falling, making a calming plinking sound and afterward it is cool and everything smells richly of wet earth. Then, there are other moments of rain season which are much less agradable, like when a downpour pounds against the zinc roof of your classroom as you are trying to teach, or when you get ten consecutive mosquito bites on your elbow and fear dengue, or when everything is muddy and the roads are washed to bits, or when the refrigerator spontaneously starts molding everywhere, and as a result of all this, you have a much stronger urge than you should to beat a leering drunkard with your umbrella. Can you tell which part of the culture shock cycle I'm in? It's like playing level of satisfaction limbo, how low can it go?
I'm being very dramatic, it's not actually that bad at all. And it was not certainly not without highlights:
Awkwardest: Apparently Venn Diagrams are not really a thing here. So I accidentally drew an admittedly very phallic looking three-way venn diagram on the board during my youth group. Another strike against me on the list of inappropriate things I have done and or said to them. Clearly, I didn't catch on quickly enough, because when I tried to draw one in my 9th grade class, I got a similarly smirk filled reaction. Should have overlapping circles going VERTICALLY. Next time...
Runner Up: It's been so hot that I can't stop sweating, even when I am not moving. Like sweat dripping off my chin and nose. I ran out of sweat rags and so I just upgraded to using a tee shirt, which drew some looks, but I was totally sweating enough to warrant it. All in- class movement is pretty much on hold: no Total Physical Response (TPR) until further notice.
Best original student thought in English of the week: One of my students in my 7th and 8th grade enrichment class likes to insult other students despite my admonishments and the class rule expressly forbidding being disrespectful to other students.
Two excellent insults this week resulted from some direct Spanish translation.
You are horse. (Vos sos caballo!)- What he meant to say? You are stupid.
You are strawberry. (Vos sos fresa!)- What he meant to say? You are lazy.
"Teachers and Other People Who Speak Lots of English Class": We did a section on time idioms this week. We made up for lost time since we didn't have class the week before. Time flew as we had fun.
Inspiring person of the week: This guy who lives way out in the campo came to the "Teachers and Other People Who Speak Lots of English Class" because he was visiting San Miguelito. His English was really good, which was awesome. Imagine living in the middle of the countryside, three hours from the nearest small town and making the tremendous effort it takes to try and learn a foreign language, with very few opportunities for practice. That's drive.
Song of the Week: The Jellyfish Song
On Friday morning, I went to nearby (2 hours is close enough for me!) Nueva Guinea (New Guinea, no idea where that name came from) today to watch fellow TEFL PCV Isabel's presentation in a workshop put on by the American Embassy as part of their English Language Fellows program. It was a really cool teacher training, focusing on pronunciation, the ECRIF teaching format, and Reader's Theater. Before her presentation on Reader's Theater (a reading, speaking and listening activity where you take books and adapt them into a script format for informal theatrical performances), Isabel had the brilliant idea to do the jellyfish song as an energizer. We got about 40 or 50 English teachers and students doing this. Then, that afternoon, I introduced the Jellyfish song to my 7/8th grade enrichment class. The two students who attended class (grumble grumble where IS everyone?) greatly enjoyed it.
The Jellyfish Song (Call and response, with actions)
Arms up...wrists (or hands, if adapting for easier vocab) together...And do the jellyfish, the jellyfish, the jellyfish fish (make a jellyfish motion)
Arms up...wrists together...elbows together...And do the jellyfish, the jellyfish, the jellyfish fish
Arms up...wrists together...elbows together...knees together...and do the jellyfish, the jellyfish, the jellyfish fish
Arms up...wrists together...elbows together...knees together...ankles together (or feet if adapting for easier vocab)....And do the jellyfish, the jellyfish, the jellyfish fish
Arms up...wrists together...elbows together...knees together...ankles together...butt out.... And do the jellyfish, the jellyfish, the jellyfish fish
Arms up...wrists together...elbows together...knees together...ankles together...butt out.... face squished (make a squishy face)....And do the jellyfish, the jellyfish, the jellyfish fish
Arms up...wrists together...elbows together...knees together...ankles together...butt out.... face squished...tongue out (THE BEST PART)...And do the jellyfish, the jellyfish, the jellyfish fish
A fun site visit: My friend Isabel visited on Saturday, and graciously sat through a Mother's Day celebration at my Saturday school in the community Never Oporta. Then we hung out on the dock, and ate fritanga (grilled meat with fried plantains and salad), which are pretty much the best things to do in San Miguel on Saturday nights. On Sunday, we hung out with Verena, a German volunteer who lives in San Miguel. She made us German style pancakes, with condensed milk and bananas on top, which are sort of like crepes. Then we walked around San Miguel a bit, taking in the gorgeous view from the top of the hill and visiting an artist's house. 4 extranjeros definitely caused a stir. It was super fun to have her visit. It's always great to have other PCVs understand what your site is like, and it's really cool that there are so many of us in Nicaragua, because in every department, you're guaranteed to have someone to stay with.
To top things off, rainy season started in earnest. This means that almost everyday, it will rain at least once. I have mixed feelings about rainy season. There are beautiful romantic moments, like when the sky is filled with gigantic, majestic thunderheads, or like when you are lying in bed and there's a light rain falling, making a calming plinking sound and afterward it is cool and everything smells richly of wet earth. Then, there are other moments of rain season which are much less agradable, like when a downpour pounds against the zinc roof of your classroom as you are trying to teach, or when you get ten consecutive mosquito bites on your elbow and fear dengue, or when everything is muddy and the roads are washed to bits, or when the refrigerator spontaneously starts molding everywhere, and as a result of all this, you have a much stronger urge than you should to beat a leering drunkard with your umbrella. Can you tell which part of the culture shock cycle I'm in? It's like playing level of satisfaction limbo, how low can it go?
I'm being very dramatic, it's not actually that bad at all. And it was not certainly not without highlights:
Awkwardest: Apparently Venn Diagrams are not really a thing here. So I accidentally drew an admittedly very phallic looking three-way venn diagram on the board during my youth group. Another strike against me on the list of inappropriate things I have done and or said to them. Clearly, I didn't catch on quickly enough, because when I tried to draw one in my 9th grade class, I got a similarly smirk filled reaction. Should have overlapping circles going VERTICALLY. Next time...
Runner Up: It's been so hot that I can't stop sweating, even when I am not moving. Like sweat dripping off my chin and nose. I ran out of sweat rags and so I just upgraded to using a tee shirt, which drew some looks, but I was totally sweating enough to warrant it. All in- class movement is pretty much on hold: no Total Physical Response (TPR) until further notice.
Best original student thought in English of the week: One of my students in my 7th and 8th grade enrichment class likes to insult other students despite my admonishments and the class rule expressly forbidding being disrespectful to other students.
Two excellent insults this week resulted from some direct Spanish translation.
You are horse. (Vos sos caballo!)- What he meant to say? You are stupid.
You are strawberry. (Vos sos fresa!)- What he meant to say? You are lazy.
"Teachers and Other People Who Speak Lots of English Class": We did a section on time idioms this week. We made up for lost time since we didn't have class the week before. Time flew as we had fun.
Inspiring person of the week: This guy who lives way out in the campo came to the "Teachers and Other People Who Speak Lots of English Class" because he was visiting San Miguelito. His English was really good, which was awesome. Imagine living in the middle of the countryside, three hours from the nearest small town and making the tremendous effort it takes to try and learn a foreign language, with very few opportunities for practice. That's drive.
Song of the Week: The Jellyfish Song
On Friday morning, I went to nearby (2 hours is close enough for me!) Nueva Guinea (New Guinea, no idea where that name came from) today to watch fellow TEFL PCV Isabel's presentation in a workshop put on by the American Embassy as part of their English Language Fellows program. It was a really cool teacher training, focusing on pronunciation, the ECRIF teaching format, and Reader's Theater. Before her presentation on Reader's Theater (a reading, speaking and listening activity where you take books and adapt them into a script format for informal theatrical performances), Isabel had the brilliant idea to do the jellyfish song as an energizer. We got about 40 or 50 English teachers and students doing this. Then, that afternoon, I introduced the Jellyfish song to my 7/8th grade enrichment class. The two students who attended class (grumble grumble where IS everyone?) greatly enjoyed it.
The Jellyfish Song (Call and response, with actions)
Arms up...wrists (or hands, if adapting for easier vocab) together...And do the jellyfish, the jellyfish, the jellyfish fish (make a jellyfish motion)
Arms up...wrists together...elbows together...And do the jellyfish, the jellyfish, the jellyfish fish
Arms up...wrists together...elbows together...knees together...and do the jellyfish, the jellyfish, the jellyfish fish
Arms up...wrists together...elbows together...knees together...ankles together (or feet if adapting for easier vocab)....And do the jellyfish, the jellyfish, the jellyfish fish
Arms up...wrists together...elbows together...knees together...ankles together...butt out.... And do the jellyfish, the jellyfish, the jellyfish fish
Arms up...wrists together...elbows together...knees together...ankles together...butt out.... face squished (make a squishy face)....And do the jellyfish, the jellyfish, the jellyfish fish
Arms up...wrists together...elbows together...knees together...ankles together...butt out.... face squished...tongue out (THE BEST PART)...And do the jellyfish, the jellyfish, the jellyfish fish
A fun site visit: My friend Isabel visited on Saturday, and graciously sat through a Mother's Day celebration at my Saturday school in the community Never Oporta. Then we hung out on the dock, and ate fritanga (grilled meat with fried plantains and salad), which are pretty much the best things to do in San Miguel on Saturday nights. On Sunday, we hung out with Verena, a German volunteer who lives in San Miguel. She made us German style pancakes, with condensed milk and bananas on top, which are sort of like crepes. Then we walked around San Miguel a bit, taking in the gorgeous view from the top of the hill and visiting an artist's house. 4 extranjeros definitely caused a stir. It was super fun to have her visit. It's always great to have other PCVs understand what your site is like, and it's really cool that there are so many of us in Nicaragua, because in every department, you're guaranteed to have someone to stay with.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Reading Reviews, Volume 4
Aww yeah, up to 35 now. Except that's not good because I'm running out of books again and I just visited the Peace Corps office twice. #nerdsgonewild
35. Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide- Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl Wu Dunn
Horrible stories of female suffering, inspirational stories of perseverance despite all odds.
However, I am really not a fan of Wu Dunn/ Kristof's writing. Not totally sure I buy their opinions or their prescriptions to right the injustices described, although they present the positives and negatives of most things. Also, they're way too into the white man's/rich people's burden thing, which as a volunteer working in a foreign country I can't really get uppity about, but still. I also personally took offense at the way they kept describing the women they were profiling. For example, describing the founder of Women for Women International, Zainab Salbi: "Zainab Salbi is thin with olive skin and close-cropped black hair framing large, luminous eyes. She looks like central casting's idea of a free-spirited Middle Eastern princess..." GAH. Would Salbi's life and work be less awesome if she weren't conventionally beautiful? If the founder of the organization was a man, would you describe him that way? Also, that next line is so rife with Orientalism I don't even want to deal with it. You're writing a book about women's rights and you don't bother to proofread it to make sure you're not being obnoxious? Yes, it's hardly up there with Female Genital Mutiliation, throwing acid on people, or depriving women of economic opportunity, BUT COME ON, SERIOUSLY? Clearly, Peace Corps service is accentuating my cynical, grumpy person qualities.
34. The Wisdom of Whores: Bureaucrats, Brothels and the Business of AIDS- Elizabeth Pisani
Written by an epidemiologist who's worked on AIDS internationally for many years, this was an interesting read with some very strong ideas about how money can best be spent on AIDS, and a good explanation of why it often is not: politics, religion trumping science, squeamishness about dealing with drug dealers and prostitutes, duplication of effort, or attempts to not duplicate effort that create counterproductive competition, etc.
33. Eat, Pray, Love- Elizabeth Gilbert
I got this book from the Peace Corps library because I figured I should try and read something fun and light for a change. Shouldn't have bothered because it just made me grumpy. I would just like to point out how for all her talk of being spontaneous and living life, Gilbert was being PAID to go write about mucking about, eating delicious things and having a lot of sex, which is pretty much the least spontaneous thing I can think of. But maybe I' m just jealous because of my own lack of gelatto (hell, I can't even get a proper ice cream cone most of the time), spiritual fulfillment and romantic love. One thing I will give her credit for was acknowledging that Bali's history is far from the rosy, lackadaisical paradise that has been marketed to tourists. Grump Grump Grump.
32. Reservation Blues- Sherman Alexie
Magical realism meets rock and rock and Native Americans. Good stuff, enit?
31. The Year of Magical Thinking- Joan Didion
A beautiful, raw portrait of the irrationality of grief.
30. The Jaguar Smile: A Nicaraguan Journey- Salman Rushdie
This was one of the best books I've read about Nicaragua, because it manages to capture in rich, poetic language so many things about the culture of this country, both funny and profound, in a little over a 100 pages. Also, the revolutionary period in Nicaragua in the 1980s is pretty fascinating and I think he does justice to its bright and dark spots. I also thought the author's perspective as someone who understands both the Global North and the Global South provided a really fascinating lens through which to view a country like Nicaragua.
29. Rayuela (Hopscotch)- Julio Cortazar
Re-read. This book is amazing as a literary creation; you can read the first two books sequentially (as I did this time), or you can read the entire thing in a hopscotching fashion.
I personally find it too esoteric and complicated to actually enjoy in my second language, but I suppose I get some bragging rights for having read it, and understanding most of it this go round.
28. Residencia en la Tierra- Pablo Neruda
Re-read. I've read this poetry collection a bunch of times, and it's always something I can come back to, to take shelter and solace in. If only we can free ourselves from the chains of linear time, we can find freedom in the eternity of nature.
27. Angela's Ashes- Frank McCourt
Frank McCourt is a great writer and did a great job creating a portrait of a really dire situation, but I just couldn't really get into this. I don't know if it was because I wanted a break from thinking about poverty (although I don't exactly think about poverty that much here, which could be a subject for another post entirely), but just can't rave about this the way a lot of people have.
26. The Gulag Archiepelago (Books I and II)- Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn
Man, reading about people being tortured in Soviet prisons sure made for a fun spring break! Super fascinating stuff though, especially the way he introduced the reader to the language of the prison system. I wish I had the books and the stomach to read the entire saga but that might be too soul sucking.
25. Chasing the Flame: One Man's Fight to Save the World- Samantha Power
Mixed thoughts on this book, which profiles the life of humanitarian, long time UN employee, Sergio Viera deMello. I kind of have a problem with Samantha Power's tendency to fangirl about famous men in IR, but again that's probably a longer rant than I have time or space for. The book raised a lot of really fundamental questions about peace-keeping, but because it was so tied to the narrative of Viera deMello's Life, I didn't feel like it really explored them adequately. Then again, it was already a long book, and it wasn't intended to be a technical IR treatise or anything, so I should probably tone down expectations.
24. Norwegian Wood-Haruki Murakami
As normal as Murakami gets, but still unmistakably marked by his style. A really enjoyable read about the frailty of human relationships.
23. The Devil and the White City: Murder, Madness and the Fair that Changed America- Erik Larsen
Great historical fiction, looking at Chicago's World's Fair and a grisly mass murderer from the same era. It's really cool to think about the way America has developed in the last century, and the role that architecture had in shaping urban destinies and imaginations. Very meticulously researched. My one complaint is that there wasn't more of an attempt to weave subaltern histories into the account, but that's probably a fault of the historical record. As interesting as it was to hear the stories of the powerful men who planned the fair, I would have liked to hear more from the workers who toiled to bring it into reality, especially as that era was such a critical moment for labor rights.
35. Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide- Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl Wu Dunn
Horrible stories of female suffering, inspirational stories of perseverance despite all odds.
However, I am really not a fan of Wu Dunn/ Kristof's writing. Not totally sure I buy their opinions or their prescriptions to right the injustices described, although they present the positives and negatives of most things. Also, they're way too into the white man's/rich people's burden thing, which as a volunteer working in a foreign country I can't really get uppity about, but still. I also personally took offense at the way they kept describing the women they were profiling. For example, describing the founder of Women for Women International, Zainab Salbi: "Zainab Salbi is thin with olive skin and close-cropped black hair framing large, luminous eyes. She looks like central casting's idea of a free-spirited Middle Eastern princess..." GAH. Would Salbi's life and work be less awesome if she weren't conventionally beautiful? If the founder of the organization was a man, would you describe him that way? Also, that next line is so rife with Orientalism I don't even want to deal with it. You're writing a book about women's rights and you don't bother to proofread it to make sure you're not being obnoxious? Yes, it's hardly up there with Female Genital Mutiliation, throwing acid on people, or depriving women of economic opportunity, BUT COME ON, SERIOUSLY? Clearly, Peace Corps service is accentuating my cynical, grumpy person qualities.
34. The Wisdom of Whores: Bureaucrats, Brothels and the Business of AIDS- Elizabeth Pisani
Written by an epidemiologist who's worked on AIDS internationally for many years, this was an interesting read with some very strong ideas about how money can best be spent on AIDS, and a good explanation of why it often is not: politics, religion trumping science, squeamishness about dealing with drug dealers and prostitutes, duplication of effort, or attempts to not duplicate effort that create counterproductive competition, etc.
33. Eat, Pray, Love- Elizabeth Gilbert
I got this book from the Peace Corps library because I figured I should try and read something fun and light for a change. Shouldn't have bothered because it just made me grumpy. I would just like to point out how for all her talk of being spontaneous and living life, Gilbert was being PAID to go write about mucking about, eating delicious things and having a lot of sex, which is pretty much the least spontaneous thing I can think of. But maybe I' m just jealous because of my own lack of gelatto (hell, I can't even get a proper ice cream cone most of the time), spiritual fulfillment and romantic love. One thing I will give her credit for was acknowledging that Bali's history is far from the rosy, lackadaisical paradise that has been marketed to tourists. Grump Grump Grump.
32. Reservation Blues- Sherman Alexie
Magical realism meets rock and rock and Native Americans. Good stuff, enit?
31. The Year of Magical Thinking- Joan Didion
A beautiful, raw portrait of the irrationality of grief.
30. The Jaguar Smile: A Nicaraguan Journey- Salman Rushdie
This was one of the best books I've read about Nicaragua, because it manages to capture in rich, poetic language so many things about the culture of this country, both funny and profound, in a little over a 100 pages. Also, the revolutionary period in Nicaragua in the 1980s is pretty fascinating and I think he does justice to its bright and dark spots. I also thought the author's perspective as someone who understands both the Global North and the Global South provided a really fascinating lens through which to view a country like Nicaragua.
29. Rayuela (Hopscotch)- Julio Cortazar
Re-read. This book is amazing as a literary creation; you can read the first two books sequentially (as I did this time), or you can read the entire thing in a hopscotching fashion.
I personally find it too esoteric and complicated to actually enjoy in my second language, but I suppose I get some bragging rights for having read it, and understanding most of it this go round.
28. Residencia en la Tierra- Pablo Neruda
Re-read. I've read this poetry collection a bunch of times, and it's always something I can come back to, to take shelter and solace in. If only we can free ourselves from the chains of linear time, we can find freedom in the eternity of nature.
27. Angela's Ashes- Frank McCourt
Frank McCourt is a great writer and did a great job creating a portrait of a really dire situation, but I just couldn't really get into this. I don't know if it was because I wanted a break from thinking about poverty (although I don't exactly think about poverty that much here, which could be a subject for another post entirely), but just can't rave about this the way a lot of people have.
26. The Gulag Archiepelago (Books I and II)- Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn
Man, reading about people being tortured in Soviet prisons sure made for a fun spring break! Super fascinating stuff though, especially the way he introduced the reader to the language of the prison system. I wish I had the books and the stomach to read the entire saga but that might be too soul sucking.
25. Chasing the Flame: One Man's Fight to Save the World- Samantha Power
Mixed thoughts on this book, which profiles the life of humanitarian, long time UN employee, Sergio Viera deMello. I kind of have a problem with Samantha Power's tendency to fangirl about famous men in IR, but again that's probably a longer rant than I have time or space for. The book raised a lot of really fundamental questions about peace-keeping, but because it was so tied to the narrative of Viera deMello's Life, I didn't feel like it really explored them adequately. Then again, it was already a long book, and it wasn't intended to be a technical IR treatise or anything, so I should probably tone down expectations.
24. Norwegian Wood-Haruki Murakami
As normal as Murakami gets, but still unmistakably marked by his style. A really enjoyable read about the frailty of human relationships.
23. The Devil and the White City: Murder, Madness and the Fair that Changed America- Erik Larsen
Great historical fiction, looking at Chicago's World's Fair and a grisly mass murderer from the same era. It's really cool to think about the way America has developed in the last century, and the role that architecture had in shaping urban destinies and imaginations. Very meticulously researched. My one complaint is that there wasn't more of an attempt to weave subaltern histories into the account, but that's probably a fault of the historical record. As interesting as it was to hear the stories of the powerful men who planned the fair, I would have liked to hear more from the workers who toiled to bring it into reality, especially as that era was such a critical moment for labor rights.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Love You a Bunch a Bunch, Pop-Pop
"The skylark was born before all beings and before the earth itself. Its father died of illness when the earth did not yet exist. He remained unburied for five days until the skylark, ingenious of necessity, buried its father in its own head....."
Salman Rushdie, The Jaguar Smile
"We might, in that indeterminate period they call mourning, be in a submarine, silent on the ocean's bed, aware of the depth charges, now near and far, buffeting us with recollections."
Joan Didion, The Year of Magical Thinking
Word of the Day:
presentimiento- literally- pre-feeling= premonition, feeling
After a long struggle with cancer, my grandfather passed away on Tuesday. I immediately felt the weirdness of someone so strong, large and permanent- seeming being gone. I had known for months that this was going to happen, but I was taken aback at how fiercely I felt the news. I'm going home for my sister's graduation in a month, and I'd had this idea that I'd be able to see him again. The breaking of my illusion of control shattered me. As did the idea that one side of my childhood had really drawn to a close. You'd think that after over a cumulative year of living in Latin America I would have picked up on the "si Dios quiere" (Godwilling) mindset, but it turns out my East Coast type A personality is pretty ingrained. And hates thinking about death.
Immediately, I wanted to be with my family. I had a crazy urge to just show up and hop on the next plane home. The distance between us, which has been blunted over time, came sharply into relief. Even though everyone told me that I shouldn't, I felt guilty for not being there. My love of running off to experience life elsewhere has the unfortunate side effect of me being less available for my loved ones. I might be able to bequeath them good stories, but I'm not there to give out hugs or cook dinner after a long day spent at the hospital. I felt guilty for not being able to help my parents more with daily life, for not calling Pop-Pop more, for not knowing what to say, for fearing "How are you?".
The one thing I knew was that I couldn't stay in San Miguelito. I've always found that movement is healing and I knew I was going to lash out at people if I stayed. And I didn't want to be a self-pitying wreck here around people I knew, people with far more difficult daily dramas. So I circled back around in the boat to Granada, numbing myself with yet another overnight journey and tried to lose myself in the tangled stalls of the market. Feeling emptied, I went on to Managua, holed up in almost 1st world luxury for a bit (the hot showers helped a lot), and tried not to feel guilty for being self indulgent. Getting to skype with my family was worth it. We reminisced and joked and it was almost as if I were there, if only for a little while. Miracles of wi-fi. A bunch of my friends happened to be there too, and they helped far more than they realized. It probably seems redundant to note, but most people in Peace Corps are extremely nice.
After Pop-Pop passed, it was as if everything that was tied up with his life came loose and tumbled into my head. There was a specific geography to these recollections. As the saying goes, the past is another country, a sunny landscape not yet marred by Hurricane Sandy. My memories of Pop-Pop are entwined with a child's love of being at the beach. Going around different places in Spring Lake/the northern end of the Jersey shore, the North End pavilion at the board walk, the waves, the salt water pool, learning to body surf, watching the draw bridge with the boats going out to sea, going to Saint Catherine's, going to the park in Spring Lake. Eating fish and waffle fries at Klein's. Eating shrimp cocktail with horseradish sauce, Aunt Debbie's salmon with dill, grapes, cheddar cheese, salami on ritz crackers in the family room, which he built and meticulously wired with speakers over the years. Playing bocce in the backyard. My cousins and I jamming ourselves onto the swing bench. Looking at his drawings, going through his carpentry shop. Playing in my father's old bedroom, still decorated with 1970s plaid blankets. Goofy sing alongs with the aunts and cousins. Remembering the play house he constructed for my sisters and I, which we named "Ginger and Pickles" out of an old electrical box and which was subsequently reincarnated as a home, general store and restaurant.
Pop-Pop and I drew such different conclusions from the world we were presented with, but I think we were both people who are deeply curious about the world in front of us. I remember studying the books he had about the history of the New Jersey shore, and reading his "Discovery" magazines when I went over to his house. I think in many ways he encouraged my nerdy love of reading and armchair adventures, which over time have catapulted me into even more dramatic, real life adventures.
This flock of images has taken up a stubborn residency in my head, and it's going to take time to process everything, without making a hagiography, but to think a bit about what Pop-Pop's life has meant for us, and what his absence means. It will take time to reconcile that these parts of my childhood were in the past but that they didn't need to stop influencing my present semi-autonomous, wandering, stumbling into adulthood.
All this has reminded me though of how many wonderful communities I am a part of, how infinite is the care we can show each other, how connected family can be even across big distances. There are upsides to everything.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
An interesting talk
A Few Good Quotes
In the cathedrals of New York and Rome
There is a feeling
that you should just go home
and spend a lifetime, finding out just where that is.
Jump Little Children, "Cathedrals"
What, I wonder, is the message of Nicaraguan cathedrals?
We returned to our separate lives, two migrants making our way in the West stuffed with money, power and things, this North that taught us to see from its privileged point of view. But maybe we were the lucky ones; we knew that other perspectives existed. We had seen the view from elsewhere.
Salman Rushdie, The Jaguar Smile: A Nicaraguan Adventure (1987)
I think this is the best articulation I've seen in a while for why I do what I do.
I am sailing, I am sailing,
Home again cross the sea.
I am sailing, stormy waters,
To be near you, to be free.
I am flying, I am flying,
Like a bird cross the sky.
I am flying, passing high clouds,
To be with you, to be free.
I hate Rod Stewart, but I love teaching this song, and it popped into my head on my second boat ride in less than a week.
There is a feeling
that you should just go home
and spend a lifetime, finding out just where that is.
Jump Little Children, "Cathedrals"
What, I wonder, is the message of Nicaraguan cathedrals?
We returned to our separate lives, two migrants making our way in the West stuffed with money, power and things, this North that taught us to see from its privileged point of view. But maybe we were the lucky ones; we knew that other perspectives existed. We had seen the view from elsewhere.
Salman Rushdie, The Jaguar Smile: A Nicaraguan Adventure (1987)
I think this is the best articulation I've seen in a while for why I do what I do.
I am sailing, I am sailing,
Home again cross the sea.
I am sailing, stormy waters,
To be near you, to be free.
I am flying, I am flying,
Like a bird cross the sky.
I am flying, passing high clouds,
To be with you, to be free.
I hate Rod Stewart, but I love teaching this song, and it popped into my head on my second boat ride in less than a week.
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Teaching Anecdotes, Week 11: "You Should Go to the Hell"
Word of the Day:
el entierro- burial
I actually taught school this week. Well, the majority of the classes!
Class cancellation of the week: In San Miguelito, a teacher's grandfather died (He was at least 90), and since he was an elder in the community, the first two classes were cancelled so that the students and teachers could go to the funeral mass and then the burial. We didn't actually fit inside the church, so we all hung out nearby. Before they went up to the cemetery, which is a very beautiful place overlooking Lake Nicaragua, the funeral procession circled around the town, which I found very symbolic, as if saying goodbye to everything before moving on.
Runner Up: My teacher had to get a tooth pulled and was super drugged up, so we didn't have class.
Best "original student thought expressed in English": I came into class to find that my 10th graders had written "You should go to the hell" in giant letters on the board. This statement is rather indicative of their attitude towards English class. But the fact that they correctly used the modal "should" was awesome and shows that they are learning. I spent the entire class laughing and grinning proudly.
Runner Up: We played "2 Truths and a Lie" with 7th graders to practice verb "have."
One of my students wrote this:
I have two babies. (False)
I have three lambs. (True)
I have one love. (True)
I gave him a high five because I thought it was awesome and had a great poetic ring to it. Also, he correctly remembered the y to ies plural spelling rule. Boss.
Best Student Sass: I was talking about the future "will" with my 11th graders and as an example I used "I will get married in 5 years." This is not even remotely a plan of mine, but it popped into my head. One of my students who knows a lot of English and likes to be a wise guy yelled out "You're gonna be really old then, teacher!" By that estimation, I will probably be ancient by the time I actually settle down, if that ever happens.
Props: I brought my groceries for the week to 8th grade to teach them about food. This was a lot of fun. In addition to doing my favorite mini dialogue (below) and singing a song (also below) we did a critical thinking/shopping activity where I gave the kids a list of food pictures and prices and they had to try and buy as much as they could with C$120 (about $5 US).
A: This is a squash.
B: A what?
A: A squash.
B: O, a squash.
Endless amounts of fun...
Youth Group: Kids actually came to youth group this week! On Monday, we learned the phrase "What _____(insert noun) do you like?" and learned vocab about colors, music and sports. We did a lot of Total Physical Response (TPR), a teaching technique where you use physical movement to teach new vocab. The kids liked class a lot and that simple phrase really drastically expands their possibilities for basic conversation, which is super cool.
On Friday, there was no school and a rainstorm, so no one came to class. This was unfortunate, because I had delayed a trip to Managua. Instead of taking the bus, I decided to take the 12 hour ferry ride so that I could give class. Rookie mistake. But the boat ride was lots of fun. I caught up with my sister and my parents on the phone, stargazed, hung out with my neighbor and her friend, and watched "I am Legend." The ferry operator really seems to have a thing for zombie movies. The only thing that sucked was that we got attacked by a giant swarm of horrible little insects called chayules during the night.
Teachers and Other People Who Know a Lot of English Class: This week, I didn't really feel like planning a structured lesson per say, so I adapted a card game to practice conversation skills, talking about the past and vocabulary. To play an odd card, players had to answer questions, such as "Describe your favorite teacher when you were a child" or "Describe your favorite memory of hanging out with a good friend." To play an even card, players had to ask a follow up question about another player's story. To play a face card, the player had to initiate a game of categories. It was a fun time and I learned a bunch of things about everybody.
Nerdy Song of the Week (To the Tune of Frere Jacques): I am Hungry
I am hungry, I am hungry
Please bring me, please bring me
Rice and beans and chicken
Rice and beans and chicken
Thanks a lot, thanks a lot.
el entierro- burial
I actually taught school this week. Well, the majority of the classes!
Class cancellation of the week: In San Miguelito, a teacher's grandfather died (He was at least 90), and since he was an elder in the community, the first two classes were cancelled so that the students and teachers could go to the funeral mass and then the burial. We didn't actually fit inside the church, so we all hung out nearby. Before they went up to the cemetery, which is a very beautiful place overlooking Lake Nicaragua, the funeral procession circled around the town, which I found very symbolic, as if saying goodbye to everything before moving on.
Runner Up: My teacher had to get a tooth pulled and was super drugged up, so we didn't have class.
Best "original student thought expressed in English": I came into class to find that my 10th graders had written "You should go to the hell" in giant letters on the board. This statement is rather indicative of their attitude towards English class. But the fact that they correctly used the modal "should" was awesome and shows that they are learning. I spent the entire class laughing and grinning proudly.
Runner Up: We played "2 Truths and a Lie" with 7th graders to practice verb "have."
One of my students wrote this:
I have two babies. (False)
I have three lambs. (True)
I have one love. (True)
I gave him a high five because I thought it was awesome and had a great poetic ring to it. Also, he correctly remembered the y to ies plural spelling rule. Boss.
Best Student Sass: I was talking about the future "will" with my 11th graders and as an example I used "I will get married in 5 years." This is not even remotely a plan of mine, but it popped into my head. One of my students who knows a lot of English and likes to be a wise guy yelled out "You're gonna be really old then, teacher!" By that estimation, I will probably be ancient by the time I actually settle down, if that ever happens.
Props: I brought my groceries for the week to 8th grade to teach them about food. This was a lot of fun. In addition to doing my favorite mini dialogue (below) and singing a song (also below) we did a critical thinking/shopping activity where I gave the kids a list of food pictures and prices and they had to try and buy as much as they could with C$120 (about $5 US).
A: This is a squash.
B: A what?
A: A squash.
B: O, a squash.
Endless amounts of fun...
Youth Group: Kids actually came to youth group this week! On Monday, we learned the phrase "What _____(insert noun) do you like?" and learned vocab about colors, music and sports. We did a lot of Total Physical Response (TPR), a teaching technique where you use physical movement to teach new vocab. The kids liked class a lot and that simple phrase really drastically expands their possibilities for basic conversation, which is super cool.
On Friday, there was no school and a rainstorm, so no one came to class. This was unfortunate, because I had delayed a trip to Managua. Instead of taking the bus, I decided to take the 12 hour ferry ride so that I could give class. Rookie mistake. But the boat ride was lots of fun. I caught up with my sister and my parents on the phone, stargazed, hung out with my neighbor and her friend, and watched "I am Legend." The ferry operator really seems to have a thing for zombie movies. The only thing that sucked was that we got attacked by a giant swarm of horrible little insects called chayules during the night.
Teachers and Other People Who Know a Lot of English Class: This week, I didn't really feel like planning a structured lesson per say, so I adapted a card game to practice conversation skills, talking about the past and vocabulary. To play an odd card, players had to answer questions, such as "Describe your favorite teacher when you were a child" or "Describe your favorite memory of hanging out with a good friend." To play an even card, players had to ask a follow up question about another player's story. To play a face card, the player had to initiate a game of categories. It was a fun time and I learned a bunch of things about everybody.
Nerdy Song of the Week (To the Tune of Frere Jacques): I am Hungry
I am hungry, I am hungry
Please bring me, please bring me
Rice and beans and chicken
Rice and beans and chicken
Thanks a lot, thanks a lot.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Coloring
Coloring Time with Emily: Tools of the Trade
So cute
The aftermath
On Sunday, I was having a great morning, sitting on my porch drinking a cup of coffee and reading Rayuela. I had just come back from church and I had no plans to do much of anything for the rest of the day. Like clockwork, my 5 year old neighbor wandered over. "Emily, can we color today?" I told him to come back later in the afternoon, but he got into the house and ran into my room. It was a mess, and I was trying to keep him from touching everything.
We looked at some maps and National Geographics that I had lying around and it was awesome to see his reaction to the pictures. Since he's the kind of kid who loves to touch everything, I decided that it would be easier to keep him occupied with coloring supplies. He also got into my glue and scissors and recycling collection. His sister found out he was coloring with me and came over too. They stayed for over 2 hours, cutting and drawing and writing. It was a super tiring hanging out with them, but it was admittedly kind of fun. Especially because I got to return them to the parents later on.
Today, when I arrived home from school, my neighbor was on the porch, watching my host-brother play a game. He lept up: "Emily!!!!!!!!!" Then he grabbed my water cooler and my heavy bag of school supplies and tried to carry them to my room even though they were bigger than he was. And then he made a beeline for the coloring supplies.
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Play
One of the things I really enjoy here is watching young children in the street playing. In country where only about 10% of people (or something like that) have access to internet, there's still plenty of time for unplugged, face to face, non- screen play. Of course, almost everyone has a television in their home, and I'm willing to bet kids are starting to spend an increasing amount of time in front of the TV. But in a small community like San Miguel, it's impossible to walk through the streets in the late afternoons, when it finally gets cooler, and not see kids scurrying about.
On the one level, it's terrifying to think about the global and national inequalities that are being perpetuated and deepened by uneven access to technology, particularly computers. On the other hand, though, it's so wonderful to watch kids being creative and resourceful and together, making toys and inventing games as they gallivant through the streets, in a way that seems reminiscent of my grandparent's stories of how life used to be. Toys don't come out of boxes, they come from what's around. Old cans become animals dragged along on strings. Sticks become horses or swords. The metal grill of our front porch becomes a jungle gym for the five year- olds who climb on it and attempt flips. Plastic bottles become soccer balls. Electrical poles become "base" for races and tag. Nothing has to have a set purpose, you-will-play-with-this-toy-this way, we must buy more toys for Little Johnny: it's profoundly radical and anti-capitalistic, although I'm positive that no-one intends it that way.
Maybe it sounds cliqued, but I think the lack of toys bought from stores is good in some ways. Sure, it will be cool if everyone's parents had lots of money and could buy them toys and books (more importantly) but it's not as if their absence is noted. The kids improvise their own playthings. And it's precisely this spirit of innovation that could be revolutionary, if we can find a way to create educational programs to keep this flame lit.
On the one level, it's terrifying to think about the global and national inequalities that are being perpetuated and deepened by uneven access to technology, particularly computers. On the other hand, though, it's so wonderful to watch kids being creative and resourceful and together, making toys and inventing games as they gallivant through the streets, in a way that seems reminiscent of my grandparent's stories of how life used to be. Toys don't come out of boxes, they come from what's around. Old cans become animals dragged along on strings. Sticks become horses or swords. The metal grill of our front porch becomes a jungle gym for the five year- olds who climb on it and attempt flips. Plastic bottles become soccer balls. Electrical poles become "base" for races and tag. Nothing has to have a set purpose, you-will-play-with-this-toy-this way, we must buy more toys for Little Johnny: it's profoundly radical and anti-capitalistic, although I'm positive that no-one intends it that way.
Maybe it sounds cliqued, but I think the lack of toys bought from stores is good in some ways. Sure, it will be cool if everyone's parents had lots of money and could buy them toys and books (more importantly) but it's not as if their absence is noted. The kids improvise their own playthings. And it's precisely this spirit of innovation that could be revolutionary, if we can find a way to create educational programs to keep this flame lit.
"The Internet is Where the People Are": Thoughts on the Internet and PCV* Life
*Peace Corps Volunteer
I chanced across a really interesting article today, "I'm Still Here: Back Online After a Year without the Internet" on my facebook newsfeed no less, that made me reflect on how my own relationship with the internet has changed during Peace Corps. It's the story of a man who gave up the internet for a year, in the hope of making himself whole again, but then found himself feeling isolated from the people he loved. A lot of things in the article resonated with me, particularly the feeling of isolation from loved ones that arises when I don't have access to it.
I have moments where I fantasize about how "pure" the Peace Corps experience might have been like in the 1960s, where people just marched off, saying "Bye, I'll talk to you two years from now." Thanks to the internet, and phone calls, I feel like I'm living three completely irreconcilable lives simultaneously: the life I have with people in San Miguelito, the life I have with other friends who are volunteers, and the family and friendships I left dangling back home. It's disorienting sometimes, and complicated. Over time, though, I've come to appreciate how beautiful my tangled up life is and how much the internet enables me to know what's going on back home.
When I first got to Nicaragua, I was terrified of the internet. I couldn't deal with seeing my friends on facebook, seeing emails about fascinating talks back at college, checking the news and feeling disconnected from everything that was important to me. I wanted to hide from the virtual reminders of home, thinking it would make me feel better, cleanse me, make me more present to my new reality. I wanted to pretend that I could become a Nicaraguan version of me and erase my identity back home.
Over time though, as I've become more settled in here, I've built my peace with the internet, realizing it would be insane to try and live without it. I smile, instead of wanting to cry when I see pictures of people having fun back home (unless there's good food or beer involved) and I cherish the moments when I can get a good enough connection to Skype with my parents or friends. I read articles to keep me mentally sharp. Once in a blue moon, I can even get youtube videos to load. The internet is a beautiful place, inhabited by people I love, and it's easy enough to get to.
At the same time, less frequent access has generally made me feel less stressed out, twitchy, overstimulated. Like the author of the article, I've found that I can really concentrate much better now and that my memory is sharper. I can read, 200, 300 pages in a sitting if it's a good book, just like I used to when I was little, in the age of dial-up. And I write a lot more too, journaling, planning, writing letters sometimes, a homage to the experiences of volunteers of past decades.
As a wise hipster once counseled me when I was trying to decide what kind of tomato sauce to buy: "Life's all about balance."
I chanced across a really interesting article today, "I'm Still Here: Back Online After a Year without the Internet" on my facebook newsfeed no less, that made me reflect on how my own relationship with the internet has changed during Peace Corps. It's the story of a man who gave up the internet for a year, in the hope of making himself whole again, but then found himself feeling isolated from the people he loved. A lot of things in the article resonated with me, particularly the feeling of isolation from loved ones that arises when I don't have access to it.
I have moments where I fantasize about how "pure" the Peace Corps experience might have been like in the 1960s, where people just marched off, saying "Bye, I'll talk to you two years from now." Thanks to the internet, and phone calls, I feel like I'm living three completely irreconcilable lives simultaneously: the life I have with people in San Miguelito, the life I have with other friends who are volunteers, and the family and friendships I left dangling back home. It's disorienting sometimes, and complicated. Over time, though, I've come to appreciate how beautiful my tangled up life is and how much the internet enables me to know what's going on back home.
When I first got to Nicaragua, I was terrified of the internet. I couldn't deal with seeing my friends on facebook, seeing emails about fascinating talks back at college, checking the news and feeling disconnected from everything that was important to me. I wanted to hide from the virtual reminders of home, thinking it would make me feel better, cleanse me, make me more present to my new reality. I wanted to pretend that I could become a Nicaraguan version of me and erase my identity back home.
Over time though, as I've become more settled in here, I've built my peace with the internet, realizing it would be insane to try and live without it. I smile, instead of wanting to cry when I see pictures of people having fun back home (unless there's good food or beer involved) and I cherish the moments when I can get a good enough connection to Skype with my parents or friends. I read articles to keep me mentally sharp. Once in a blue moon, I can even get youtube videos to load. The internet is a beautiful place, inhabited by people I love, and it's easy enough to get to.
At the same time, less frequent access has generally made me feel less stressed out, twitchy, overstimulated. Like the author of the article, I've found that I can really concentrate much better now and that my memory is sharper. I can read, 200, 300 pages in a sitting if it's a good book, just like I used to when I was little, in the age of dial-up. And I write a lot more too, journaling, planning, writing letters sometimes, a homage to the experiences of volunteers of past decades.
As a wise hipster once counseled me when I was trying to decide what kind of tomato sauce to buy: "Life's all about balance."
School Anecdotes Week 10: Have You Ever Seen the Rain?
*I've had this song stuck in my head all week, you definitely hear it sometimes here. Appropriate for the start of rainy season, no?
Words of the Day- Basketball Edition
tirar- shoot
perder un tiro- miss a shot
el tablero- backboard
In the last two weeks, I have taught 50% of the classes I am regularly scheduled to teach. If we exclude my Saturday classes, which aren't cancelled as regularly, I've only taught a third of my weekday classes. Frustrating beyond belief. I'm trying not to let the under-whelmingness of this week get to me, but it's hard.
On Monday, I taught my only weekday classes in San Miguel, a class on -Wh questions to 8th grade and a continuation of a class about family members to 7th grade. For lunch, I ate lengua con salsa, cow tongue with sauce, because my host mom made it for me after I mentioned I had never eaten it. I wasn't expecting to like it, but it was ok actually, really tender. Then I did my laundry.
In the afternoon, I taught a lively class to the English club, about informal phrases in English. I accidentally used a vulgar phrase to explain the phrase "I'm doing great". My host brother had taught it to me, and I thought it was just very informal street language, but I didn't realize that it would be perceived as vulgar, especially by 8th graders, although I definitely should have. So now the kids think that the phrase "I'm great" is hilarious, and they bust up laughing every time they say it. Then the kids started asking me about curse words in English. When I told them not to say bad words in class, they pointed out that I already had. I did however take the time to explain the difference between "beach" and "bitch" because we had just had a class on pronunciation...the difference between the /i/ and /I/ sounds in English are really hard for English language learners who have Spanish as a first language. Then one of the boys in my class asked me what the phrase "Give me your number" means, because he had heard someone use it to call out to me in the street while I was chatting with him. Dangerous language, who knows what trouble these kids will get into now that they know the phrases "How's it going?" "Take it easy" and "Give me your number."
On Tuesday, school was cancelled for a pre-Labor Day march. I finished Part I of Julio Cortazar's Rayuela (book reviews forthcoming),fell into the giant, beautiful abyss that is the internet and helped my sitemate Christina move. We figured this would be easy, because there are lots of taxis that pass by her house, and we assumed we could flag one down. Nope. After over an hour of waiting and after calling several taxi drivers, Chris (this is what the Nicas call her, pronounced KRees) finally got a former student to stop for her, but we couldn't fit all her stuff. We ended up having to make three trips carrying heavy boxes and bags in the hot sun. Everyone stared at us, as we literally dripped with sweat. None of the men gawking at us tried to help. I guess machismo doesn't equally chivalry. But whatever, we did it ourselves, so clearly we didn't need help. Welcome to the gun show, San Miguelito.
On Wednesday, I didn't do much because we had off from school for International Worker's Day (the International version of Labor Day), and town was dead. I shot hoops and swopped English vocabulary with my counterpart Jonathan, cleaned my room super throughly after I found an infestation of weird little paper eating bugs (DON'T YOU DARE GO NEAR MY SCHOOL MATERIALS!!!!), and watched soap operas and 12 Corazones, which was terrible for my brain, but probably not so bad for the Spanish. In the evening, I tried to do real things and made a calendar/syllabus for the 8th grade class. I also made a list of various projects I would like to do, and it ran onto 2 pages. This was just for English related projects. Ay Diosito lindo.
Supposedly, rainy season always starts every year on May 1st. It did not rain.
On Thursday, it became unbearably hot and horrible little bugs called chayules came up on a southern wind, invading personal space- mouths, eyes, ears. EW. I planned with the Saturday teachers in the morning and had my "English Class for Teachers and Other People Who Speak A Lot of English" except only 2 people showed up. It's sort of frustrating when stuff like that happens, but I need to get better at dealing with disappointment.
On Friday, I went to Las Palomas to help my counterpart with materials for a TESOL Certificate workshop he was going to go to in Costa Rica. In the afternoon, I had my English Club class, but only 3 kids showed up, which was disappointing. I drowned my frustrations about all of this by venting to Christina over batidos and eating lots of cheesy bread.
Rainy season began at promptly 8 pm. A beautiful, steady downpour washed the ambient heat out of the sky, punctuated by violet and white streaks of lightning that lit up the sky. Thunder roared rhythmically. Violent, yet oddly peaceful and wonderful.
On Saturday, I finally had school again (why is Saturday school never cancelled?) which was pretty fun with the grades that like English, and pretty awful with the kids who are less into it. One of my eighth grade classes is obsessed with the song I taught them last week (which happens to be from the TV show Barney, blast from the past!!) "I like to eat apples and bananas." So they all go around singing the song all the time, which helps them master "like to + infinitive". Good times. The other thing that made my day was that one of my students who hasn't been interested in class pretty much all semester came to school well rested and was excited about participating. In a week like this, it really is the little things that keep you going...
Words of the Day- Basketball Edition
tirar- shoot
perder un tiro- miss a shot
el tablero- backboard
In the last two weeks, I have taught 50% of the classes I am regularly scheduled to teach. If we exclude my Saturday classes, which aren't cancelled as regularly, I've only taught a third of my weekday classes. Frustrating beyond belief. I'm trying not to let the under-whelmingness of this week get to me, but it's hard.
On Monday, I taught my only weekday classes in San Miguel, a class on -Wh questions to 8th grade and a continuation of a class about family members to 7th grade. For lunch, I ate lengua con salsa, cow tongue with sauce, because my host mom made it for me after I mentioned I had never eaten it. I wasn't expecting to like it, but it was ok actually, really tender. Then I did my laundry.
In the afternoon, I taught a lively class to the English club, about informal phrases in English. I accidentally used a vulgar phrase to explain the phrase "I'm doing great". My host brother had taught it to me, and I thought it was just very informal street language, but I didn't realize that it would be perceived as vulgar, especially by 8th graders, although I definitely should have. So now the kids think that the phrase "I'm great" is hilarious, and they bust up laughing every time they say it. Then the kids started asking me about curse words in English. When I told them not to say bad words in class, they pointed out that I already had. I did however take the time to explain the difference between "beach" and "bitch" because we had just had a class on pronunciation...the difference between the /i/ and /I/ sounds in English are really hard for English language learners who have Spanish as a first language. Then one of the boys in my class asked me what the phrase "Give me your number" means, because he had heard someone use it to call out to me in the street while I was chatting with him. Dangerous language, who knows what trouble these kids will get into now that they know the phrases "How's it going?" "Take it easy" and "Give me your number."
On Tuesday, school was cancelled for a pre-Labor Day march. I finished Part I of Julio Cortazar's Rayuela (book reviews forthcoming),fell into the giant, beautiful abyss that is the internet and helped my sitemate Christina move. We figured this would be easy, because there are lots of taxis that pass by her house, and we assumed we could flag one down. Nope. After over an hour of waiting and after calling several taxi drivers, Chris (this is what the Nicas call her, pronounced KRees) finally got a former student to stop for her, but we couldn't fit all her stuff. We ended up having to make three trips carrying heavy boxes and bags in the hot sun. Everyone stared at us, as we literally dripped with sweat. None of the men gawking at us tried to help. I guess machismo doesn't equally chivalry. But whatever, we did it ourselves, so clearly we didn't need help. Welcome to the gun show, San Miguelito.
On Wednesday, I didn't do much because we had off from school for International Worker's Day (the International version of Labor Day), and town was dead. I shot hoops and swopped English vocabulary with my counterpart Jonathan, cleaned my room super throughly after I found an infestation of weird little paper eating bugs (DON'T YOU DARE GO NEAR MY SCHOOL MATERIALS!!!!), and watched soap operas and 12 Corazones, which was terrible for my brain, but probably not so bad for the Spanish. In the evening, I tried to do real things and made a calendar/syllabus for the 8th grade class. I also made a list of various projects I would like to do, and it ran onto 2 pages. This was just for English related projects. Ay Diosito lindo.
Supposedly, rainy season always starts every year on May 1st. It did not rain.
On Thursday, it became unbearably hot and horrible little bugs called chayules came up on a southern wind, invading personal space- mouths, eyes, ears. EW. I planned with the Saturday teachers in the morning and had my "English Class for Teachers and Other People Who Speak A Lot of English" except only 2 people showed up. It's sort of frustrating when stuff like that happens, but I need to get better at dealing with disappointment.
On Friday, I went to Las Palomas to help my counterpart with materials for a TESOL Certificate workshop he was going to go to in Costa Rica. In the afternoon, I had my English Club class, but only 3 kids showed up, which was disappointing. I drowned my frustrations about all of this by venting to Christina over batidos and eating lots of cheesy bread.
Rainy season began at promptly 8 pm. A beautiful, steady downpour washed the ambient heat out of the sky, punctuated by violet and white streaks of lightning that lit up the sky. Thunder roared rhythmically. Violent, yet oddly peaceful and wonderful.
On Saturday, I finally had school again (why is Saturday school never cancelled?) which was pretty fun with the grades that like English, and pretty awful with the kids who are less into it. One of my eighth grade classes is obsessed with the song I taught them last week (which happens to be from the TV show Barney, blast from the past!!) "I like to eat apples and bananas." So they all go around singing the song all the time, which helps them master "like to + infinitive". Good times. The other thing that made my day was that one of my students who hasn't been interested in class pretty much all semester came to school well rested and was excited about participating. In a week like this, it really is the little things that keep you going...
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