School Anecdotes Week 16: The Right to Sleep, the Right to Walk

Words of the week:
dar de alta- to be in outpatient care (hospital term, not describing myself at all, but a counterpart's family member)
la tarima-stage

What a bizarre and surreal week. I think that any week which starts with you and a friend coining the fake hashtag #kidneyinfection and ends with a teacher training and a trip back to the United States is bound to be full of new and interesting surprises. Asi es la vida...

Given the circumstances, I didn't do much teaching this week. I'm going to America for my sister Addie's graduation and missing 2 weeks of class, so I'm not going to see the kids for a while which is unfortunate. It should be noted, however, that the second week of school that I'm missing includes "Teacher's Day." Chances are that there will be more celebrations than school and I will realistically only miss like a week of classes. So I feel much less guilty.

 On Monday, I woke up feeling like I had been punched in the kidneys, which was sort of true. I walked a couple hundred yards to get some medicine and food, which tired me out so much that I was essentially useless for the rest of the day. I watched Love Actually for the second time this month, which is extremely pathetic and seasonally inappropriate, but I needed some cheer and eye candy to keep my spirits up and my food down. By evening, with my spirits no doubt buoyed by Colin Firth's doe eyes, I finally felt not horrible.

Tuesday was more of the same. I slept a bunch and planned some things for a teacher workshop and watched a Mexican movie called Amores Perros (Love's a Bitch) for the second time this month. You know I'm in a bad way when I prefer to watch a movie I've already seen rather than read.

On Wednesday, I felt ok, so I decided to go to school in the afternoon. Since my counterpart and I couldn't plan, I observed some of his classes (which was perfect for me since I wasn't really up to planning and then co-teaching). He's improved his teaching so much since I've been here- it's been amazing to watch it unfolding. It's fabulous when motivated people are able to connect with opportunities; thanks to a grant from the American embassy, he was able to get a TEFL certificate at a program in Costa Rica, which has helped him enormously. The 8th grade class did a listening class and then created a shopkeeper/ buyer dialogue. 11th grade reviewed human rights, and invented some interesting ones that we did not teach, such as the right to sleep and the right to walk. I wish the right to sleep was a real right because it is pretty frequently violated here by chickens, boom boxes and firecrackers. After watching 2 hours of classes in the heat, I was pretty much exhausted. I left early and went home to finish some things for the workshop and sleep.

On Thursday, I planned with my Saturday counterpart Xiomara in the morning. Since the students were doing an environmental project in Las Palomas, I didn't go to class, but used the opportunity to write a report in Spanish on what we've been doing this semester for the delegado (the superintendent type figure) and the principals of the schools where I work, and finished some materials for the workshop. We also had teacher class, in which we played MadLibs as a warm up to practice parts of speech, and then talked about the topic of "collocation," words that commonly appear together in a language, practicing words that commonly appear with the verbs "do," "make," and "take." These phrases, such as "take a test," "take a trip" and "do the homework" can be difficult for Spanish speaking English Language Learners because in Spanish, they commonly appear with different verbs.

On Friday morning, we had the workshop for teachers, on the topic of communicative activities that the teachers can use to teach each of the four language skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing. We only had 7 participants, including 4 of my counterparts, which was a little disappointing, because many of the teachers who live in the small, rural communities and need more support were not in attendance. I think it's going to take better planning, communication, and perhaps some transportation funds to work with them effectively. At the same time, everyone who attended participated enthusiastically  and I hope they learned a lot of ideas for class. I'm so blessed with really great counterparts, who are excited about English, and eager to learn strategies for helping students too. Overall, it was a good experience for me to put on a workshop here and get an idea of how to do it effectively (assume things will start late, don't try to do too much, give powerpoint outlines and make sure there is water and soda). It's cool to track my own growth as a teacher and learner through the course of service; everything I learn becomes something I get to share and discuss with at least four other amazing teachers. It's a beautiful thing.

Island Adventures

Word of the Day
los comejenes-termites
la garza- heron

Went out to the amazing Solentiname archipelago this weekend. Really starting how to appreciate how stunning Rio San Juan is, and at the same time, as I spend more time here, it's even easier to take all the beauty for granted. I don't think I've ever been to a place as peaceful or welcoming.

Solentiname is made up of over 30 islands in Lake Nicaragua, only some of which are inhabited, and some of which only have one or two families living on them. Despite being small and remote, the place has got a fascinating place in history: in the story of the Nicaraguan revolution, in the history of liberation theology, etc. Communities of artists live on the bigger islands: painters and sculptors of balsa wood whose work reflects the beauty of their surroundings.

I'm too tired to write well today, so I leave you with pictures. 

This One Time in Peace Corps...

Words of the Day:
un suero- an IV
los riñones- kidneys
renal- adjective, of or relating to the kidneys

...I got a kidney infection! I should preface this by clarifying that I am totally fine now. Thanks Alexander Fleming!  Antibiotics were a top-notch invention!

Absolutely, this was an all around horrible and terrible experience. Worst pain of my life. (Say this in the Gap Yah voice for full pretentious Peace Corps Volunteer effect) But like most things in Peace Corps, it provided some humor, mostly at my own expense. It was almost fun once they gave me painkillers in an IV for a really long time and I just sat around texting everyone I know because I was extremely bored and deranged. Some of the best scenes:

Phone call #1
Peace Corps Doctor: So how bad, on a scale from 1-10, is the pain you're experiencing?
Me: Oh, I don't know probably a 4 or 5. (Imagining other painful things like childbirth or dangling appendages) But I can't really concentrate on anything else. (He definitely missed this statement)
Peace Corps Doctor: So you are able to go about your daily activities?
Me: Oh, not at all. I'm currently curled in the fetal position, close to tears.

In which pain diminishes all of my Spanish comprehension ability
Doctor: something diagnostic something something needle something IV. Go in there.
Me (Unnecessary hysterics): Please talk to my doctor from Peace Corps!!
Doctors on the Phone: Bla de Bla de Bla, no, she only has a regular infection.
Me to PC Doctor: I don't what is going on but I think they want to inject me with something!!! Do I have appendicitis?
PC Doctor: They're going to take a blood sample. And no, you don't have appendicitis.

Phone call #5
Me: So they say I have a kidney infection "bien fuerte (really strong)." I don't really know how precise the bien fuerte diagnosis is, but...
Peace Corps Doctor: That means really bad.
Me: Well yes, obviously I know that, but...
Peace Corps Doctor: Is this your first kidney infection in country?
Me: Err yes, and ever...
Peace Corps Doctor (completely deadpan): Well, there's a first time for everything.

Nurse putting in an IV
Me: What drugs are you giving me? (Trying to make conversation, but also wanting to make sure they weren't giving me something I didn't want. As if I know anything about medicine.)
Nurse: We're giving you an antibiotic. It's a medicine, not a drug.
Me (What I thought): Are you kidding me? Do you think my Spanish is good enough to make distinctions like that at a time like this?
Me (What I said): Ah, yes, sorry, my Spanish isn't very good when it comes to talking about medicine.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
Don't try to be tough. Go to the doctor. Especially when health care is free. Or, if you are a PCV, call the doctor. Don't be lazy. Don't assume that you can self medicate all things with lots of water. Don't ignore symptoms and take them seriously. Little things= easy to treat. Big things= not easy to treat. Don't be too busy doing your job to ensure that you will keep living it healthfully.

School Anecdotes, Week 15: Never! You are a Woman!

Word of the Week:
tomar la ruta once-hoof it, walk: "take the 11 bus", so named because you have 2 legs

Rough week. It was hot. Despite this, I got a bad cold. It rained a ton, so I have no clean clothing. And the power/water situation was dicey for a couple days. But hey, full week of school, so no real complaints.

Grossest: I nearly ruined a chart about human rights by accidentally dousing it with sweat droplets.

Dumbest: I got completely soaked in an intense rainy season downpour. I was trying to get back to San Miguel to plan classes and I thought I heard a bus coming. Since transport is notoriously scarce on Mondays at this time, I hurried out into the street to find it, thinking the rain wouldn't be that bad. It was. Pretty much instantly, I was soaked to the skin. Also, there was not actually a bus passing. I ducked into a random construction site, and 15 cold minutes later, I saw a real life bus coming up the road. I ran out, waving my arms like a crazy person. Did the bus stop? Of course it did not. Damp and dejected, I stood around for a while, finally managing to find transport. When I finally rolled up, 15 minutes late, my counterpart, upon seeing me, joked "Did you go swimming?" I think I have gone swimming and gotten less wet. I have since learned my lesson and bought the largest, most expensive, and heavy duty umbrella I could find, with a mystifying print combining Dalmatian spots and roses. Gonna be a cool cat now. Watch me shine.
 
Best Original Student Produced Language of the Week: While the 11th grade was learning about human rights in El Tule, we had the students create and perform mini skits. To demonstrate the "right to work", some of the students presented the following:

Female Student: Give me a job please.
Interviewer: Never, you are a woman!
Male Student: Give me a job please.
Interviewer: Ok, please sit down.

Clearly we need to work on teaching politeness strategies, but I thought it was pretty effective at showing discrimination in 30 seconds or less. Not to mention that "Never! You are a woman!" is a highly amusing phrase when delievered by beginning English speakers.

Don't scare the children: While I was teaching about personalities and emotions to 10th grade in El Tule, I did some very over the top acting to demonstrate the word excited, jumping up and down and yelling enthusiastically. In response, the kids made terrified faces at me. One of the students asked if the word  I was trying to act out was "crazy." I find it amusing that my teacher personality is pretty much the opposite of my real life introverted personality: I am confident, goofy, cracking jokes, working the crowd, bringing energy...all this acting probably explains why I am so drained at the end of the day.

This will probably be my legacy: My counterpart told me a story about how he sings the "Very Good Friend" song to his puppy. (You are, you are, a wonderful friend!) Apparently his nephew, who is my student, overheard him and asked him why he was singing it, since it's "Emily's song." If that isn't a nerdtastical thing to be known for, I don't know what is.

7th and 8th Grade Class- Straggling attendance as per usual. Luckily, we're ending in a few weeks anyway, so I'm not beating myself up over it. Learning curve: don't disregard the advice of people who've gone before you....This week, we did a class on wild animals. I made the kids organize the new vocab by mammals, reptiles, amphibians and birds. They made a ton of mistakes. Then, I realized that I couldn't remember what the technical scientific distinctions are between reptiles, amphibians and birds...feathers? types of skin? live birth and eggs? cold-blooded/warm-blooded? (but what do those really mean and how do I explain them in Spanish?) I took a cop out: I just re-sorted everything correctly and left it at that. This was the sort of moment where a smart phone would have been useful, because clearly I'm too dumb to remember basic science. Categorizations are all social constructions anyway, right?

Teachers and Other People Who Know Lots of English Class- This week we mixed things up quite a bit, to bid farewell to our German member of the group, a volunteer named Verena who's been living in San Miguelito teaching English at the private primary school here. We planned to meet for a goodbye party at a bar overlooking the lake at 6 pm. The Gergringa pack rolled in a bit late, around 6:15. Apparently, the Nicaraguans were all punctual and left, because they thought it wasn't happening. We ended up waiting around for a while, watching the sunset, the volcanoes and then a wonderful lightning storm rolling in across the lake.

Luckily, everybody else decided to check back again, rolling in around 7:30. Apparently, no one wanted to bother me, so they didn't call me. I explained that this is a perfect instance in which calling me would not be a nuisance, but this is an excellent example of the culture of indirectness that exists here. Eventually, we had a quite a nice evening. Verena will be sorely missed; she is a really sweet, thoughtful person who brought a really interesting perspective to the conversation group and late afternoon muelle chats.