Word of the Day:
efeméride- celebration, special day, anniversary. Average number per month? I'd venture to say 5 or 6, but that might be a conservative estimate.
So this week was pretty underwhelming as far as teaching goes. It was good to be back in Rio San Juan though!
On Monday, there was no school, because Teacher's Day had fallen on a Saturday, so everyone needed to have off. Ah, yes. I tried to read Spanish picture books to my neighbors, but they got bored.
On Tuesday, I taught my only classes for the week, in San Miguelito. Mostly, though, we just reviewed old material, so my contributions were minimal. I also went to El Tule, but because the teachers had to meet about the students' grades, I didn't do a whole lot more than help a student make a powerpoint presentation.
On Wednesday, my counterpart told me there wouldn't really be class in Las Palomas, but I went anyway, because I hadn't seen everyone in a while. He told me they would be making a mural. This turned out to mean that the teachers were making a giant paper presentation board (for lack of a better term) to celebrate July's efemérides: World Population Day, Day of the Triumph of the Sandinista Revolution, 124th Anniversary of the Publication of national poet Ruben Dario's book Azul, Day of the Nicaraguan Sportsman/woman, Day of the Students. The poster featured a lot of flowers, a giant butterfly, flags and revolutionaries. Best looking revolutionary on the poster: Carlos Fonseca Amador, founder of the FSLN. Can't get enough of his geeky hot glasses. Worst looking: Fidel Castro. His beard is really struggling with age. But I suppose outlasting 5 (is that the correct figure?) US presidents is hard work.The fact that I had time to make such vapid observations is pretty indicative of how much I was contributing to the process.
On AMERICA'S BIRTHDAY, we had a Rio San Wide volunteer meeting and then had a goodbye party for Matt, a business volunteer in San Carlos. It was a fabulous day. We went down the Rio Frio, a smaller river that flows from Costa Rica into Lake Nicaragua, fishing, swimming, jamming. Great people and scenery.
On Friday, I tried to organize my room. It is overflowing with English materials. I officially don't have enough space for all my pronoun/verb dice and my "materials that could perhaps be turned into recycled crafts" collection.
On Saturday, I went to school, even though the teachers were just turning back grades. We didn't teach, although I did some play some bingo and hangman to review with my favorite 8th grade class. There was a meeting with a lot of parents who were worried because their children had failed this semester. I also helped the teachers rework the schedule after they had made it, because according to the old schedule, I was going to be at the school for nearly 5 hours with nothing to do; they've extended the school day, and there are only 2 sabatino English classes this semester.
Now, headed back to Managua for a regional NicaTESOL conference; my friend from training, Jamey, and I are giving a presentation about how to speak more English in class using cognates. Should be a fun time!
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