My Multi-Grade Mountain School =)

This past Thursday, I left my host family's house at 5:30am to begin the trip to my fourth school, way out in the mountains. I met Gisselle, the teacher that “commutes” out there everyday, and the two of us started our trek on foot. We took the dirt road out of town, crossed the river, and climbed two of the “lomas” (giant hills/mini-mountains) before her brother caught up to us with a mode of transportation that I don't have the liberty to talk about right now. Thanks to him, we arrived at school a half hour early, and the kids that have to trek from their farms to the school always arrive late, so we had plenty of time to work on decorating the two classrooms they have there – one for 1^st - 5^th grade, and one for pre-school. Yes, I said one classroom for 1^st - 5^th grade. Not counting my bi-weekly visits there, these kids have only one teacher and she has to plan lessons for each subject for each grade to keep them all occupied and productive everyday.

Being there with her for the day was such a culture shock – and that's coming from someone who's lived here for more than 5 months now. The other three schools I work in are all pure-grade like back in the States, and the two “urban” ones (using that term loosely) have way over-crowded classes (47 kids in my 3^rd grade class). The kids there though, generally show up with complete uniforms, usually clean and very crisply pressed. I think it's safe to say that the majority of students in my urban schools are matched age-to-grade about the same as in the US, obviously with a bunch of exceptions. There's a large variety in terms of socio-economic status, parents who are professionals, others who work in the plantain/sugar cane farms, others who can't read, kids that live in the center of town, those that travel miles to get there.

Out in the mountain though, things were very different. First through fifth grade consisted of only 38 students – 20 of whom showed up that day because the older boys have to work in their families' farms in the mornings, and many of the girls already work making and selling tortillas, etc. Four of the 1^st graders were over the age of 9, the oldest being 11. The oldest in 5^th grade for the day was 14, but the teacher told me she had two 16 year olds on her matriculation list.

I observed in awe as she wrote her four separate assignments on the board for them (there is no one in 3^rd grade, which means she has to plan for 1^st, 2^nd, 4^th, and 5^th. Then, as the older students worked in pairs to read and answer questions from shared textbooks, she sat with the few 1^st graders that couldn't copy the alphabet from the board because they had never attended pre-school. Supposedly, there was going to be another teacher with her for the year, which would've meant that she could just teach the 1^st and 2^nd graders, but last minute, it was decided that there was no money for another teacher. Now, Gisselle, this awesome 28 year old that's 100% dedicated to her students, and who travels 6km each way to teach them everyday, is sick to her stomach, worried about how she's failing them because it's not possible to give them all the instruction and attention they need.

On top of all that, every cheerful song and tearful cry coming from the pre-school classroom, which is only separated from them by a sliding wall, can be heard perfectly all day long. There is no water in the school, which will make my job of starting a garden and tree nursery very challenging. (The mothers that helped to clean the school before the first day, for example, walked from the well with buckets on their heads to do so.) Worst of all, after 6^th grade, these kids have to travel into Belen for high school, and there is no form of transportation from their community out to Belen, aside from the motorcycles or carretas their families might have.

Speaking of carretas...

After school, we walked to the house where Gisselle grew up (and where her family still lives), which is less than a kilometer from the school we were at. We had an awesome lunch there and then got a ride back to town in her father's carreta, aka ox-drawn wooden cart!! Yeah...it's going to be a lot of work, but I love love love it here. =)

Yep...I Still Love Teaching =)

I am SO in love with my English class!!!! =D First of all, I just walked home with a bag full of freshly picked jocote because one of my students picked and gave them to me saying, “I don't know if you like them. I...I think you.. do.. not.. have jocote in New York.” Cue my immediate and genuine excitement over 1. being thought of by my students outside of class 2. receiving awesome new fruit that we indeed do not have in NY and 3. his awesome English explanation!

Getting to teach in a classroom full of students who are eager to learn and participate is the best feeling ever. Back in the states, I had plenty of days when I left work on a high because I was proud of my kids or because I loved how a lesson went, or because someone asked a question that showed me they were really thinking; but those kinds of results always required careful strategy and diligent lesson planning – plenty of hard work on my part. Getting to teach these kids/adults who asked me for class and who ask me for homework is so refreshing! During class, I get to see them really challenge themselves. It's genuinely hard for them to speak in front of the class when every single pronunciation “le cuesta” (costs/is difficult for them). I told them right from the start though, that to be in my class, they'd have to participate and I've been holding them to that. There are a few that require a lot of prompting, but they always at least try. =) (Don't worry...during my daily science classes, I'll be with regular school kids during the regular school day, and they will be just as obstinate, distracted and regular as the American kids I'm used to teaching – if not worse.)

Speaking of which, the school year officially started today!!! I had an awesome day and got to meet 4 of the 7 classes I'll be working with. Of course I love them all already. I guess I should fill you all in on my work schedule for the next two years since I've been slacking on the Peace Corps duties part of this blog lately. =P

Well, I'll be working full school days in 4 schools in my municipality. Two of those, (the ones I visited today for the welcome back ceremonies) are large schools located in the “centro urbano” of Belen – which means I'll have between 35 and 47(!) kids in each class. One of the other two is a half hour bus/45 minute bike ride from town. I'll be headed there once a week – hopefully by bike if I can ever find one that's decently priced. And the other is the mountain school I hiked to a few weeks ago – I'll only be out there like twice a month. I'll be working with two teachers in each school to co-plan and co-teach Natural Sciences (since the mountain school only has one teacher for all the grades put together, I'm only working with one there haha). With my teachers, I'll be working on forming interactive, student-centered lessons that encourage question asking, discovery, hands-on participation, and actual thought on the part of the students – all of which are rare in these classrooms where students generally copy from textbooks all day. I'm excited to get things started here, and I'll be sure to keep you all posted on what I'm up to!

Consider this a despedida (goodbye) to my vacaciones! I'm gonna be busy literally dawn 'til dusk!

“I see not too much has changed...”

After the above was mentioned to me yesterday, I decided it was time for a little self-reflection to see what indeed has/hasn't changed in me in the last 5 (that's right folks, 5) months. I came to the conclusion that:

I still...

exclaim “yay!!” when I get excited =P
eat all day everyday
dance any time I hear good music playing (which is pretty much all the time here)
take trillions of pictures
can't make it through the day with my hair down
wear boring natural colors 95% of the time
prefer writing to reading
prefer teaching boys to teaching girls
procrastinate and produce amazing results regardless
truly admire nature's subtle (and not-so-subtle) beauties
am super low maintenance compared to the other girls around me
love listening to r&b/reggae/broadway/acoustic rock/reggaeton on my mp3
am a perfectionist
smile and make eye contact with strangers on the street
walk fast
love my students to death and get super excited (yay!) when they master something new

So what has changed? Well, now I...

don't react at all to large insects on my floor/wall/bed
never throw my clothes on the floor (see above)
run every morning
don't mind washing dishes
have added tons of bachata to my mp3
am gaining weight like woah
can communicate better in Spanglish than English or Spanish
don't stress if I'm running a little late
consider sleeping until 8am sleeping in
can choke down hard boiled eggs (after 24 years of egg-free breakfasts on Easter)
enjoy eating cabbage – cooked and raw
eat at least 2 bananas a day – usually more
(ASIDE: clearly it hasn't changed that in order to talk about myself, I must talk about food.)

Yeah....so after reading this, I realize that aside from forcing those of you who miss my Krista-isms to remember me and smile for a second or two, this blog was completely pointless haha. I'll try to update you all on some PC stuff next time – although now that school has started, I'm insanely busy and I'm not sure when that update will get posted.

“Yay” for the new school year!!

Don't Tolerate Intolerance

Why don't they just move? 
This ignorant, yet all too common statement is often uttered impulsively by Americans responding to reports of people living in dire poverty. Ironically, it's these same people who then vote to limit immigration into the "land of opportunity" that our ancestors sought out when times were hard in their native lands.
Think before you speak/vote/act. Try walking a mile in someone else's shoes before you judge their situations/decisions/worth.


The above is strictly my own opinion and is in no way related to Peace Corps´ mission/ideology. 

The Time Has Come...(the walrus said)

The time has come for me to start looking for my own place.  Sure there are a ton of good reasons to stay living with my host family, but I really think I'm ready to have my independence back and to have a place to call my own. I'm sure that once I find my home sweet home, I'll be asking myself why I left the many comforts of life with the school director, but I want to live at the socio-economic level of the majority here, and that is not what I'm doing right now.  I'm currently living in a house with painted walls that touch the ceiling, interior doors that close and seal securely, and an indoor bathroom with a toilet and a shower!  I can open my glass windows if I want a breeze, or I can just turn on the fan that's mounted on my wall.  I also have three amazing meals a day, along with some delicious frescos and someone that cleans the house, mops the tiled floor, and maintains the yard daily.  The only critters I've seen in here are the little lizards that run all over the walls eating the mosquitos (the ones we call anoles and keep as pets in the US – they're harmless and there are always at least 4 in sight at any given time, no matter whose house you're in) and of course a few ants, roaches, and PLENTY of mosquitoes. 

Why on earth move out, you say? Well, for starters, I hate having to explain where I'm going all the time, and it's really inconvenient coming home to a locked house on those days when all of our schedules conflict.  I also really want to be able to have visitors, and a hammock to just chill in, and believe it or not, I want to shop and cook for myself – someone remind me of that when I'm complaining about how I can't cook, and how I'm dying for some good gallo pinto.

The problem with moving out?  It's extremely rare for anyone, let alone a “muchacha,” or young girl, to live “solo” here in Nicaragua.  Traditionally, everyone lives at home with their families, until they get married, and sometimes even after that!  Therefore, the idea of little, helpless me living allll alone concerns some people.  Today I had two teachers telling me that it's just not safe because I'd have to sleep all alone at night – gasp – aren't I worried?  They also mentioned that sometimes there are people that smoke marijuana here. Bahaha it was so hard not to laugh at that statement – you know those dangerous pot heads...

Really though, Peace Corps told us this would happen.  It's no more dangerous to live alone here than it is to live alone anywhere else.  As a matter of fact, it's wayyy safer since I'll know all my neighbors and it's literally impossible for anything to happen here without everyone knowing – especially if it happens within a 500 meter radius of the gringa.  Still, it's unusual, therefore like I was told would happen, people are trying to convince me not to move out. 

Little do they know, a more convincing argument would begin with a discussion of snakes/scorpions/tarantulas/mice/roaches/komodo dragons...okok maybe not...but HUGE iguanas  creeping in to my house when I least expect it.  Yes I've seen a giant male iguana (much creepier looking than the pets I've seen in the US) enter someone's house through the open window when no one was looking – and yes there was a roadkill snake on the road this morning and a roadkill scorpion the other day.  Luckily, I have yet to see either of the latter two alive – knock on wood.  I will say that I'm a little concerned about such critters, but after having a calm conversation with the giant spider in my bed the other day, I realized my tolerance level for unwelcomed “wildlife” has raised considerably. Therefore I plan to just get a dog and cat and let them fend off/chow down on such impostors. Ahh yes, pets, another reason I want my own place! =)

Oops, did I mention there are basically no available houses to rent here in Belén? Haha, I guess this process might be a little longer than expected.  In the mean time, I'll soak up being spoiled with 3 cooked meals a day and relatively no fear of waking up in the middle of the night to the sound of rats  rummaging through my things – a horrifying reality that my fellow volunteer friend lived through the other night. Don't worry Mom/Omi/Gram, I'm a camper, remember?? (I know you were thinking that all along Dad.)

Happy February everyone! Love always. <3