Routine established.

I made it through the first week of all my community classes. The youth and adult classes are gigantic (50-60 people in each class) and, surprisingly, the adult class is more difficult to manage than the youth class. The youth pay more attention and don´t talk as much with each other while I´m talking, and for this reason they are already ahead of the adult class, after only 2 days. Still, both classes are way too big and would be so much more productive with smaller numbers. Last night I had a few adults sitting outside the classroom because there wasn´t anymore room inside. The delegate from the Ministry of Education (my main Nica boss) came by to check it out. I think he was a little shocked by the overflowing classroom. Unfortunately, I don´t have any extra time in my schedule to break them up into smaller groups.

The sixth grade classes have been a little more challenging, though I was able to consolidate two groups into one so I have two sections instead of three now. The kids don´t seem to absorb much or anything of what I´m teaching them, despite the fact that children are supposed to be able to learn foreign languages easier.

Sunday was the anniversary of Sandino´s death. Sandino is like Nicaragua´s George Washington, except he led the revolution and started the Sandinista movement. At school yesterday, Monday, to honor this date, there was an ¨acto¨ at school. I felt like I was in East Germany getting ready to go off to war. They played military songs that condemned the gringos/yankees and were chanting things about patriotism, solidarity and, of course, ¨Viva Sandino!¨ Some kids dressed up in military fatigues and the majority of the 600+ students had an FSLN (Sandinista) or Nicaraguan flag. The best part is that they made me sit in front of everyone with the honored guests-- the mayor and the delegate from the Ministry of Education--so I had to feign enjoyment.

I started to think that things with my iffy counterpart were going better until the other day. She came up with excuses for not planning three times in a row. Then she showed me her plan book where she had copied (alone), word for word, from a manual made by Peace Corps that we use for ideas (not entire plans). I asked her nicely if we could do it together next time. We´ll see how that goes.

In other news, I think my pet chicken ran away, was stolen or was eaten by a bigger animal. I haven´t seen her in over 3 days. Her single, working mother (me!) didn´t have enough time to pay attention to her. Oh well...at least I won´t have to deal with convincing people not to eat her.

I just got BUSY!

Holy cow. In the past 24 hours I went from just 17 hours of classes at the high school to 17 hours at the high school plus 15 hours of English classes in the community (1 group of adults, 1 group of kids, 3 groups of 6th graders). I got the mayor to pay for an announcement (a guy in a truck drives through town with a microphone) for my community English class. 115 people came! I divided them into 2 groups of about 55 each, which is a lot, but I´m pretty sure the numbers will dwindle as the class continues. Then, this morning, the principal of my high school and the principal of the elementary/middle school asked if I could teach the sixth graders so they come to high school with a basic knowledge of English. I think it´s all feasible. I should be able to use more or less the same plan for the majority of my classes outside of the high school which will save some time. I´m only here for 2 years so I guess they might as well take advantage!

Everything at the high school has settled down now and is going much more smoothly. The schedules are finally set and I have been CO-planning and CO-teaching, instead of flying solo, with both counterparts. Yay!

Spoke a little too soon

So school has started...sort of. Tuesday, the supposed first day of class, was only what they call here an ¨acto¨ or a form of presentation. It consisted of a prayer (church and state are NOT separate here), 2 piñatas/dance contest, music and a reminder of all the rules that will soon be ignored and not enforced. The second day of school actually started classes, but this week and next are supposed to just be ¨diagnostic testing,¨ or seeing what the students do and don´t remember from last year.

I am going to be teaching first and second year (7th and 8th grade) kids in the high school. When I arrived at school the second day for the morning classes, my counterpart was in a different class and asked me to make up the plan for our next class together. The whole point of the PC TEFL project is to CO-plan and CO-teach so it´s sustainable (when I leave the English teachers can keep doing what we were doing when I was here), so there´s one rule broken (didn´t co-plan). Then, once class started, my counterpart left me in the class alone with 60 kids for about half an hour. Second, and more important, rule broken (didn´t co-teach). Classes in the afternoon with my other counterpart were a little better.

Some of my classes are composed of mostly kids who are repeating a grade. There is even one kid in first year who is in first year for the fourth time! The worst part is that when we ask them what they remember from English class last year, we get blank stares. It´s been a struggle just to get them to spell the numbers from 1-10. So there is lots of room for improvement, from the students to my counterparts. Hopefully once everything at is settled down and organized (they are still fiddling with the schedule) it will be better...

My dad was here in Nicaragua last week. I got to see him and watch some of his surgeries in Managua on Tuesday and Wednesday. Between him and his friend they did 20 knee surgeries in 3 1/2 days! On Friday I brought him back here to my town to meet my family and see where I live. Saturday we went to the Masaya Volcano, Laguna de Apoyo and the market in Masaya. It was really nice to see him and to have him see my new home!

Last weekend four new PC trainees in the health group arrived to my town for their 3 months of training. They all seem really nice so far. I´ve been running with one of them in the mornings.

Hopefully next time I write I´ll be able to report some positive news from the school front.